Mr. Washington “I am a keen Manchester City supporter...” INSIDE THIS TERMS EDITION: PRINCIPALS WELCOME KEY DATES ASPIRATION DAY CAREERS CHRISTMAS FAIR THE VOICE KIDS SUPPLY LESSONS SKI CLUB UNIFORM AND LOTS MORE! Part of The Chalk Hills Academy, Leagrave High Street, Luton LU4 0NE chalkhills.thesharedlearningtrust.org.uk | 01582 884 100 | [email protected] Autumn 2017.indd 1 20/12/2017 08:28:34 PRINCIPALS WELCOME Dear Parents & Carers, It has been a very busy term at The Chalk Hills Academy. In September we celebrated Roald Dahl Day with a with a number of fun and engaging activities linked to his famous works. There was a fabulous display all week in our Learning Resource Centre, and members of the senior team read Roald Dahl extracts to our Year 7 students. September also saw a number of our Year 10 students win The Young Careers Challenge at Cranfield University, which was a fantastic achievement. Charlie Addison, Abigail Atkins, Louise Evans and Aaron Kedzierski, completed their winning project titled ‘How to Make a Home Sustainable’ It was a tremendous success. The past term has seen us develop our ‘Personal Best’ curriculum for all our Key Stage 3 students, and we successfully launched new sporting initiatives including fencing, tennis and karate. We have some seriously sporty students who have relished the opportunity to actively participate in new activities. At Chalk Hills we have developed a strong focus on charity, and acting selflessly. November saw us raise money for Macmillan Cancer Research through hosting a coffee morning attended by parents, staff and governors. I also had the opportunity to hold the first of three parental ‘drop-ins’ which enabled me to meet with parents and carers and discuss any concerns and issues. Please note the next session will be held in the New Year. Our Academic Review Day in November saw a record turnout of parents and carers and was held over a two day period. Feedback regarding the event was extremely positive. Finally, December saw us presenting our Academy musical ‘School of Rock’. The event proved to be exceptionally popular, and the musical had parents, carers, staff and students literally dancing in the main hall! The lead character Dewey Finn was played on alternate nights by Mason Burgess and Abraham Contreras, while Chaise Wood proved to be an exceptional Principal Mullins. Lead roles were also played by Josh Holding, Kiyana Maragh, Emma O’Brien and Beth Richards. The ensemble was made up of many talented students who were a credit to the Performing Arts Department. Gabriele Ignataviciute gave an impressive vocal performance as Tomika. Our Christmas Fair also ran on the first night of the production, and was a great success, with a wide variety of exciting stalls and tempting treats. Can I take this opportunity to wish all our students, parents and carers a peaceful and relaxing Christmas holiday. Strive, Achieve, Believe is clearly at the heart of all we do. I hope 2018 will be a successful year for all. Best wishes, Louise Lee. Principal The Chalk Hills Academy The Chalk Hills Academy, Leagrave High Street, Luton LU4 0NE chalkhills.thesharedlearningtrust.org.uk | 01582 884 100 | [email protected] Autumn 2017.indd 2 20/12/2017 08:28:49 Encouraging Life Long Readers The Academy firmly believes in the importance of promoting a positive reading culture. All students are encouraged to read widely, often and for enjoyment. To encourage positive and memorable reading experiences the Academy organises and supports a number of reading initiatives. Reading Champions: KS3 students support our Literacy Leader with promotional events, Academy displays, competitions, assemblies and reading walks. They are fantastic reading ambassadors and wear a purple badge on their blazer. Drop Everything And Read: Calendared KS3 sessions throughout the academic year allowing students to engage with their reading and discuss their book with their teachers. Roald Dahl Day: A celebrate event throughout the Academy to commemorate the life and works of this great author. Accelerated Reader: All KS3 students participate in this reading programme and have a dedicated lesson to improving their literacy skills. During this hour students are tested on their weekly spellings and are given the opportunity to visit the LRC and quiz using the AR programme. More details regarding Accelerated Reader are available on request. Book Buzz: The Academy provides every Year 7 student with a book of their choice from a selection available through the Book Buzz initiative. This is to promote different authors and genres to the students to widen their reading choices. This year, 268 books were given out from 13 different authors. Reading Clubs: The Academy run a number of reading initiatives to develop our students love of reading including small group reading during and after school, LLIP, tutor class readers and groups led by Year 9 and Year 10 prefects. We are very proud of our reading provision and the students enjoy the sessions. Upcoming Events: Next term sees ‘National Story Telling Week’ and we are busy planning a number of fun and engaging activities, including a visit from an author or poet. The Chalk Hills Academy, Leagrave High Street, Luton LU4 0NE chalkhills.thesharedlearningtrust.org.uk | 01582 884 100 | [email protected] Autumn 2017.indd 3 20/12/2017 08:28:58 2017-18 Key Dates - Chalk Terms 3 & 4 8th January INSET Day 16th April INSET Day 9th January Start of Term 3 for 17th April Students Return to the all students Academy 22nd January Principals Surgery For more dates, please visit our website; 9th February Term 3 - Break up chalkhills.thesharedlearningtrust.org.uk 19th February Start of Term 4 for all students 19th February Start of Year 11 Trial Exams 26th February Start of Sixth Form Assessment Week 12th March Start of KS3 World Maths Week 14th-17th March Science Big Bang Fair 28th-29th March Year 9 Immunisations 30th March Bank Holiday and End of Term 4 My name is Faith McNevin and I am a Year 8 student at The Chalk Hills Academy. Earlier this year I applied for ‘The Voice Kids’. I have loved singing and performing since I was three years old so I decided to see where my hobby could take me. I saw an advertisement on TV asking for applicants so I thought ‘Why not give it a try!’ I applied online via the Voice website and after two months of waiting, I was invited to take part in an audition at the ITV studios in London. On the day of the audition (my birthday) I arrived at the studios and I was informed that there would be two stages – stage A and stage B. In Stage A I had to sing A cappella, if I was successful I would then go through to Stage B. I was so happy when I was informed that I would go through. For Stage B I had to sing a song of my choice to music, both auditions were in front of a vocal coach and a producer. Therefore, after a lovely day and a successful audition I am waiting to hear to see if I have made it through to the blind auditions, fingers crossed! The Chalk Hills Academy, Leagrave High Street, Luton LU4 0NE chalkhills.thesharedlearningtrust.org.uk | 01582 884 100 | [email protected] Autumn 2017.indd 4 20/12/2017 08:29:04 Aspiration Day at Wadham College On Tuesday 21 November, a small group of Year 9 & Year 10 students visited Wadham College, Oxford for a taster session and to raise awareness of a Russell Group University. The visit started with an introductory talk and then an academic taster session where students attended a lecture. After lunch, a student ambassador took them on a tour followed by a question and answer session. The day ended with a tour of the Natural History Museum. Overall, the students had a great insight into university life. BUSINESS EDUCATION SKILLS PARTNERSHIP On Wednesday 29 November, the Baker from Mark Rutherford High launch of the Business Education School who gave a ‘School’s View Skills Partnership (BESP) took place of BESP’, Lucas Chamberlain from at Putteridgebury Conference Centre. Leonardo who spoke of why employers The purpose of the launch event was to should engage with schools and Trevor inform as many employers as possible Holden, CEO Luton Borough Council about the project, the timetable of who spoke of The Luton Investment planned meetings for 2018, the impact Framework and Skills. employer engagement can have on Two students from Year 10, Sophie a young person’s aspirations and the Cerasale and Alice Fry, represented benefits to the employer in engaging the Academy and supported the event with schools in this and other projects. and are pictured with Trevor Holden. Speakers at the event included Sam The Chalk Hills Academy, Leagrave High Street, Luton LU4 0NE chalkhills.thesharedlearningtrust.org.uk | 01582 884 100 | [email protected] Autumn 2017.indd 5 20/12/2017 08:29:12 Business Studies Enhancement The business department recently hosted a revision evening for all year 11 boys in preparation for their Unit 2 finance exam. This involved a focused and targeted revision session looking at topics relating to breakeven analysis, cash flow forecasts and balance sheets. Following this, learners were invited to play football on the astro turf with three 5-a-side games taking place at any one time and a number of teachers partaking including Mr. Langford (evidence below) with Mr. Cronin and Mr. Golding more than happy to dust off their boots and lend a hand (foot). In the sports hall with me was Mr.