HAMMERSMITH ACADEMY NEWSLETTER JULY 2019 EDITION 6 IN THIS EDITION: ITV NEWS Feature l STUDENT EXPLORERS l DON Giovanni REIMAGINED TEACHING EXCELLENCE l CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW l GREEN FOR GRENFELL l YEAR 11 PROM YEAR 9 RESIDENTIAL l DEPARTMENTAL NEWS l AND MORE! A WORD FROM OUR HEADTEACHER As you look through this edition of the Twinkle space mission. Year 8 The Academist newsletter, you will students presented a project at the see just how much we have packed Materials Matter Student Conference into this summer term. in Oxford. This is traditionally the busiest term, Our garden continues to bring with many of our students sitting in opportunities with our student GCSE and A Level exams. Yet, gardening team being invited by the this term has not just been wholly RHS to a young person's breakfast focused on examination results. We at the prestigious Chelsea Flower have still found the time to do the Show. Our students' love for growing incredibly important extra-curricular plants is now benefitting members elements which deliver a well of our borough with produce going rounded education. to the local foodbank. The positivity around our garden programme has There has been a real focus on even attracted the attention of ITV mathematics this term, starting News for National Gardening Week. with our new wall graphics to help our students remember important There has been an abundance formulas. We also hosted our first of individual successes this term, ever Maths Week London and saw both student and staff. Noor in Year our Year 9 students launch the 9 achieved a silver medal at the Santander 'The Numbers Game' English Schools' Athletics Association Roadshow. Track and Field Championships, whilst Ms Suganthakumaran has Our students continue to make been highly commended in the lasting memories. Year 8 students Inspire Schools London Teacher of had a wonderful time in Norfolk for the Year award. Just two examples of their residential trip, learning to push many. themselves and trusting in each other to achieve bigger things as a team. The end of the summer term also marks the closing of personal This summer we will see five of our chapters. The Year 11s ended their Sixth Formers travel on once in a GCSEs with a prom on the Thames lifetime expeditions to the Peruvian and we say a fond farewell to our Amazon, Canadian Yukon and Year 13s who go onto university and Iceland, as part of our Ambassadors the world of work. We wish all our Programme. leavers the very best of luck. n Charity remains central to our ethos of reciprocity. This term alone we have supported Solidarity Sports, a charity that works closely with families of Grenfell Tower, as well as Cancer Research. We have also been on the receiving end, having books donated to our library. Mr Kynaston, Headteacher STEM continues to be at the forefront with students being recognised for their analysis work on data from ITV NEWS at HA Reporter, Lauren Hall, recording students busy at work in one of the Academy's greenhouses. National Gardening Week is the UK's seeds, dividing and potting up HAMMERSMITH biggest celebration of gardening, with vegetables, weeding and watering. events held up and down the country. ACADEMY Featured The feature extolled the virtues of This year's event took place between a school garden and how students ON ITV NEWS FOR Monday 29th April through to Sunday benefit greatly from having access to 5th May. RHS National a functioning green space. GARDENING WEEK. Hammersmith Academy was asked Primary schools commonly teach to take part in an ITV News feature students gardening, but is a rarity in about the benefits of gardening secondary schools. in schools. Reporter, Lauren Hall, visited the Academy having heard Dr Kirwan said, "I think there is a about the multiple awards the garden clear impact on morale in the school, had won. among staff and among students. If If a secondary a secondary school isn't operating She spent the afternoon following the some king of gardening activity, it is a school isn't gardening team as they carried out missed opportunity." n their duties, which included planting operating some king of gardening activity, it is a missed opportunity. Watch the report: Watch Hammersmith Academy's Students were asked how the garden appearance on ITV News on our benefits their education and wellbeing. YouTube channel. 24 WEEKS 24 WEEKS was WRITTEN BY A LEVEL STUDENTS KayleiGH AND BETHANIE. KayleiGH EXPLAINS HOW THE Play CAME ABOUT. The play explores the difficult debate and choices unexpected motherhood brings. Year 12 Drama students are required life and family. We researched the to devise their own drama piece as abortion ban in Alabama and how part of their A Level course. Students people across the state felt about it, can explore themes and plots from a and took a look at popular culture. variety of topics. We found that all of these pressured I play a pro-life women in society, particularly a need Bethanie and I were inspired by activist and Beth to have children. Brecht’s play Caucasian Chalk Circle, plays a pro- specifically his exploration of injustice We enjoyed creating this and the role of women in society. performance and it has benefited choice advocate. us in many ways, allowing us to 24 Weeks depicts a young, pregnant develop as individuals. It has been girl and the decisions that she has to a rewarding experience to create make in modern society. When doing and produce our own play, and we this, we wanted to highlight all of her feel extremely different options, and the factors that grateful that could influence her decision. we have been This is particularly evident in the able to inspire debate scene, where I play a pro-life and influence activist and Beth plays a pro-choice an audience on advocate. This was a very intense such important scene. It was important for us to topics. Drama portray both sides of the argument as has been a key Brecht would have. part of both our lives, and In light of the sensitive topic, we we are lucky to wanted to make sure that we did our be supported research so that our piece could be by incredibly as informative and thought-provoking talented staff. n The staging was devised by as possible. We interviewed staff Kayleigh and Bethanie. members on how they juggled work OPERA REIMAGINED Sheriff of the City, Liz Green, with Hammersmith Academy students during a rehearsal which was held in the Academy Theatre. STUDENTS REMAKE This year, The Lord Mayor's Appeal twist, whilst still keeping elements of is supporting a musical project with the famed opera. Student have also DON Giovanni Garsington Opera to inspire young designed the set and costumes for WITH THE HELP OF people to get involved in opera and the production. classical music. GARSINGton OPERA Sheriff of the City, Liz Green, visited AND THE LORD The project sees students reworking the Academy during one of the Don Giovanni, a tale of a nobleman rehearsals to check on the progress Mayor'S APPEAL. with a complex and murderous of the performance. She commented, HEAD OF MUSIC, MS love life. Mozart's opera was first "It's visits like these that make our performed 300 years ago positions special. It's great to see slav EXPLAINS. how young people have been so The students' interpretation fuses the involved in creating something so genres of rap, YouTube, and opera. brilliant." Students have been heavily involved with writing new lyrics and composing The official performance took place songs to give the tale a modern at the Old Library in Guildhall, City of London. n SILENT Theatre Year 9 Drama students participated in a workshop delivered by Bush Theatre, a local theatre company which we have built a relationship with over the years. The focus of the workshop was to develop techniques to deliver performances using non-verbal communication and movement. The students were given scenes to create using their initiative. This is not as easy as it sounds and they got progressively better with their Students devising their own performance improvisation which will help them without the use of words. creating their pieces next year. n FOOTBALL AND Mathematics Santander’S ‘THE NUMBERS GAME’ ROADSHOW UTILISES THE POWER OF FOOTBALL AND UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE to HIGHLIGHT THE IMPortance OF NUMERACY. Students with World Record holder Dan Magness at the London event. A whopping 43 per cent of Brits on top of the latest football stats or regret not taking maths more looking after your finances.” seriously at a younger age, research Students were split into two teams, by Santander has found. The We want to help competing against each other younger generation are particularly throughout the morning. The first raise awareness affected, with Generation Z (18-24) event saw the students having to having the least confidence when it and improve hit numbered targets to reach the comes to money management. correct totals whilst trying to achieve numeracy In response, Santander, official the fastest kick. through football’s sponsor of the UEFA Champions The second challenge of the day League, working in partnership widespread involved UEFA Champions League with the charity National Numeracy statistics, where teams had to score appeal. launched an educational football- the most points answering a series themed roadshow – ‘The Numbers of complex questions which included Game’ – aimed at raising awareness stadium capacity, number of goals of the importance of numeracy and scored and ball possession by all the the crucial role numbers play in different teams in the league.