theHallParkAcademy newsletter Issue 10 - July 2016 As we come to the end of another academic year, we reflect on our many achievements over the last 12 months. In September we started the new term with the news that the school had achieved record GCSE exam results that summer. Students in Year 11 had a lot to live up to, but they certainly did not disappoint working tirelessly throughout the year with the support of their teachers to try to achieve a new record this year. We wait with baited breath to see if their efforts have paid off. In Sixth Form, our Year 13 students showed tremendous drive and ambition in their University applications, with more applying to Russell Group Universities than ever before, and in successfully securing higher level apprenticeships. Our extra-curricular provision has gone from strength to strength this year, with the launch of the pledge programme ensuring that more students are beginning to get involved in a wider range of activities outside of the classroom. Our links with the RFU strengthened and to coincide with the Rugby World Cup in October, we hosted our first Rugby Festival, with the girls also playing their first competitive game of Tag Rugby. At Hall Park we’ve also competed at National level this year. In this edition you will read about the success of the Key Stage 3 STEM club and the GCSE dancers. There is much to be excited about at Hall Park Academy. However, the end of the year also means we have farewells to say. We say goodbye to the following members of staff: • Miss Dawkins is leaving to train to be a Psychology teacher with the Redhill Trust teacher training programme. • Mr Hall has been appointed to a Maths teacher post at the Bluecoat Academy in Nottingham. • Miss Page and Miss Lawrence are relocating to different parts of the country and have secured teaching jobs there. • Miss Parrott has secured a full time teaching position in the Geography department at Brunts Academy in Mansfield. • Miss McGarry-Thickett has been promoted to Key Stage 3 Co-ordinator at Ashfield School. • Miss Yeomans is moving abroad to teach. • Mr Shenton has been promoted to Deputy Headteacher at St Benedict’s School in Derby. I would like to thank all of these staff very much for their hard work during their time at Hall Park Academy and on behalf of everyone at the school I wish them the very best of luck for the future. Have a great summer. Stephanie Dyce Headteacher www.hallparkacademy.org.uk www.twitter.com/hallparkacademy National Robotics Champions! A team of nine students from Hall Park Academy has won the Tomorrow’s Engineers EEP Robotics Challenge. They went head to head with teams from across the country at the National final held at The Big Bang West Midlands at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry on 23 June 2016. The winning team of students - Libby Reddish, Imogen Tomlinson, Hannah Lakritz, Dexter Fairbank, Ben Crompton, Aidan Shaw, Harry Hinkley, Aaron Bostock-Penny and Luke Cook - built, programmed and controlled LEGO robots for a series of ‘space missions’. They also had to research and present their own solution to a contemporary scientific problem - developed by LEGO Education with NASA. Erika Smallridge, Tomorrow’s Engineers Product Development Manager, said: ‘The Hall Park Academy team has shown remarkable skill in the design and programming of their robot and in working together to provide solutions to challenges they were set. I hope they will build on this success and continue to explore the world of robotics and engineering.’ The Tomorrow’s Engineers EEP Robotics Challenge introduces students to real-world engineering, technology, robotics and computing challenges. The challenge aims to help students put school learning into context and discover exciting new careers. Miss Worker said: ‘I couldn’t be more proud of these students, who put in all those hours to build their robot and really rise to the challenge. Their hard work and dedication has really paid off, what an incredible achievement! I hope this experience will be an inspiration to them and their fellow students’. Research from EngineeringUK, which runs the Tomorrow’s Engineers EEP Robotics Challenge, shows that communicating engineering careers to young people is vital for the future of the British economy. Chief Executive of EngineeringUK Paul Jackson said: “In order to meet the country’s demand for engineers we need to double the number of graduates and apprentices entering the engineering industry.” “Programmes such as the Tomorrow’s Engineers EEP Robotics Challenge aim to help young people from all backgrounds understand the variety, excitement and opportunity presented by a career in engineering.” Libby Reddish, Imogen Tomlinson, Hannah Lakritz, Dexter Fairbank, Ben Crompton, Aidan Shaw, Harry Hinkley, Aaron Bostock-Penny and Luke Cook Year 9 S.T.E.M Year 9 STEM pupils have started their Silver Crest awards choosing their own projects which they will complete during the autumn and winter terms next year. This is one of the biggest STEM groups we currently have and we can’t wait to see what the students find out from their new and exciting projects which range from investigating Cosmic Background Radiation to Drugs and their effects on the brain. Good luck for next year to:- Jennifer Chung, Abbie Sweet, Tom Read, Grace Langley, Abby Jones, Thea Mapstone, Chloe Fordham, Harvey Pickworth, Lucy Crompton, Novaya Bedward, Sarah Leonard, Max King, Caitlin Worthington and Tegan Skellett. Year 10 / 11 S.T.E.M Cars Year 11 STEM pupils have continued to work on their green power electric car over the last year, with the aim of racing the car next spring. The car is now in the final stages of preparation with the pupils ensuring it meets the strict entry regulations for the green power F24 race. The race car now has a fully operational seven speed gear box and a display on the steering wheel that not only informs the driver of the car’s speed but also tells them the current drawn from the car’s batteries and how much energy has been used. The car project has been a true labour of love over the last 3 years and has involved a huge amount of work by the pupils outside normal school hours. So well done for some fantastic work to: Daniel McChord, Emmie Westley, James Wilson, Joseph Hinz, Brent March, Brandon Whatman and Charlotte Fox. Year 10 STEM pupils have spent the summer term building rocket powered cars with the intention of setting up an Annual School Speed Record event. Alongside this they have also spent some time repairing the wind turbine built by previous STEM pupils in the hope that this work from 6 years ago can be extended over the next couple of years. Their first cars exceeded 50 mph and they hope to set a school speed record later this year of over 70mph. Well done to Liam Hall, Thomas Paton and Abbie Mcphilbin . Visit to the National Space Centre In preparation for their Year 8 work on space, the Year 7’s had the opportunity to go and visit the space centre. Almost the whole year group piled onto a double decker coach in the June rain and headed south to Leicester. Our timing couldn’t have been better with the return to Earth of Tim Peake just a couple of days before. On arrival we went straight in to see the ‘Astronaut’ show in the Sir Patrick Moore theatre at the centre. This was so inspiring even the staff left the show wondering if it was too late for a career change! The rest of the day saw the pupils learning about all aspects of space from what satellites do (the weather booth was very popular!) to how far away planets, stars and galaxies are. A particular favourite was the rocket tower accessed by a lift which all the pupils wanted to see several times over. After lunch the gift shop proved to be a big draw although with all it’s space themed goodies even the teachers had a hard time staying away. All in all it was a really excellent trip – the pupils learnt a lot about space and were reciting facts on the way home and proved themselves to be excellent ambassadors for the school. Roll on next years trip! Sports Day On Friday 15th July all students in Years 7 - 9 deserted Hall Park to travel to Harvey Hadden Stadium to compete in the 2016 Hall Park Sports Day. Pupils chose 3 events in which to compete and all entered a running, jumping and throwing event. Pupils showed great sportsmanship throughout the day - with some of the most memorable being Jack Banford stepping aside for Sam Hinz to take part in the 100m final, the whole school chanting for Ericka Stokes in the Year 7 800m and finally Courtney Wrenn and Jodie Kidger cheering on their house team mate Angel Milner in the 800m to then give her a huge high 5 to her as she crossed the finish line. This shows just how important Sports Day is - it’s not just the winning, but the atmosphere pupils create and the teamwork they show on the day. The following new school records were set: Yr 7 Boys Triple Jump - Jake Lawes - 6.50m Yr 7 Girls Discus - Libby Casteldine - 13.65m Yr 8 Boys Javelin - Ryan Straw - 19.29m Yr 8 Boys Triple Jump - Josh Bowler - 8.30m Yr 8 Girls Discus - Chloe Talmey - 12.13m Yr 8 Girls Javelin - Holly Calow - 12.84m Yr 8 Girls Shot Putt - Caitlin Leivers-Johnson - 6.00m Yr 8 Girls Triple Jump - Megan Rigley - 6.60m Yr 9 Boys Discus - Beau Manners - 21.49m Yr 9 Boys Javelin - Anthony Pulford - 28.60m Yr 9 Boys Shot Putt - Freddie Place - 8.65m Yr 9 Boys Long Jump - Jack Simpson - 4.30m Yr 9 Girls Shot Putt - Novaya Bedward - 6.90m Yr 9 Girls Long Jump - Novaya Bedward - 3.89m Pos House Points 1 Astle 1144 2 Lawrence 1044 3 Collier 914 4 Erewash 698 Sports Celebration Evening The 2016 Sports Celebration Evening took place on Tuesday 7th June.