edition 6: friday 12th october 2018 droylsden academy is a

Great learning through politeness, honesty and hard work

Newsflash Edition 6: Friday 12th October 2018

Droylsden Academy is a good school (OFSTED September 2017)

After many years of working in education I can say with absolute confidence that, in terms of success

in the GCSE exams, it is the students who work the hardest who will do the best. As such, I am

delighted to see that so many of our students have come back to us after the summer holiday ready

to face the challenges of Year 11, to work hard every day and to achieve or exceed their target

grades. When I speak to these students, it is a pleasure to see their determination to succeed and

their optimism and excitement about their futures. Similarly, with the ‘Lesson 6’ Timetable up and

running, I am grateful, once again, to our hardworking and dedicated teachers who give so

generously of their time to provide additional learning opportunities for our students. There is no

easy way to succeed; preparation for GCSE exams is hard and the students will need to be at their

very best if they are to compete against the best students nationally. Many of the best college

courses are now insisting on strong grades in Mathematics and English to access their courses.

Additionally all Level 3 courses at College require at least good passes in these important subjects. I

know that our current Year 11 have what it takes to achieve this.

However, I am perplexed and disappointed to see a small number of students who do not seem to

grasp the importance of this final GCSE year because they are either, not prepared to put in the hard

graft, or they do not understand the importance of the coming months and the impact they will have

on their futures. A minority of students do not complete the homework we set for them to

complement and build on the learning in class. A minority of students do not attend as regularly as

they should or work as hard as they might in class. Every year in August, it is upsetting to see such

students open their GCSE results to find that they have not achieved what they are capable of and

realise that they face an uncertain future. They are visibly upset.

That cannot happen to your son or daughter. Please help us to help them by ensuring that they are

well prepared, rested, organised and ready to learn each day and, like us, keep stressing the

importance of regular, meaningful revision at home (it should, have already started). Although the

next few months are challenging, the rewards are great and I am determined that every student in

our school will flourish.

Thank you

Mr P. Wilson

Headteacher

AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM MR WILSON


Duke of Edinburgh Award

Congratulations to the group of students who successfully

completed the map reading element of their Duke of

Edinburgh Bronze Award last weekend. The following

report was written by Miss Hamilton, the Academy Award

Co-ordinator.

‘We set off from the Academy on Saturday morning and

travelled to Broadbottom, in the Peak District, where the

group spent the day navigating their way around open

countryside. Armed only with an Ordnance Survey Map, a

compass and a healthy dose of common sense, the

students assumed complete responsibility for navigating

their way along a set route on footpaths and trails

through woodland and farmers’ fields.

There were some nervous moments when the students were required to follow footpaths that

directed them through a field of donkeys, a field of horses (very big and very inquisitive horses) and a

field of cows and calves. The donkeys and the horses were particularly interested in our students and

despite some nervousness and trepidation, the students were able to overcome their initial

apprehension and continued along their route.

The students' map reading skills really improved as the day went on and they were all soon able to

identify where they were on the map whilst looking for key features to help them to reach their next

checkpoint. Working within their teams, the students worked in pairs to locate their next landmark to

help them travel in the right direction.

IN THE NEWS THIS WEEK


Well done to everyone attended the exercise; you have have

all now successfully passed the expedition element of the

Duke of Edinburg Award! Thank you also to Mrs McCallum

for giving up her Saturday to help me run the day.’

Year 11 Food and Nutrition

Year 11 students studying GCSE Food and Nutrition completed their practical assessments this week.

We hope that they went well and that you have achieved or exceeded your target grades.


Health and Social Care

Year 10 students studying Health and Social Care visited Park View Care Home this week to complete

research that will go towards their final grade. The group will use their observations and their

discussions with staff to complete their controlled assessments back at the Academy.

Congratulations

Congratulations to former students Awais Chaudhary and Jeel Shukla hwho have both received

offers to study Medicine at University. Awais has received his offer from the University of Exeter and

Jeel has received hers from the University of Manchester.


Year 11, there are only 24 school weeks left, just 120 days in school, until your first GCSE exam.

Key Dates Make sure that the following important dates are in your Student Planner: Your first set of Pre Public Examinations will take place from 28th November to 5th December 2018. The Year 11 Revision Conference will take place at the Village Hotel on 29th January 2019. Your second set of Pre Public Examinations will take place from 6th to 14th February 2019. Your final subject based assesments and tests will take place in week beginning 1st April 2019.

The ‘Lesson 6’ timetable below shows which subjects are now running each evening from 2.35pm to

3.30pm. These additional lessons provide crucial support for Year 11 students and they know that

they must attend.

Monday Tuesday Art Miss Dunnington (I19) Computer Sci Mr Gately (ICT1) Photography Miss Hickman (ICT3) Science Miss Jackson (T4) Dance Ms Sherlock (P49) Science Mrs Isherwood (T14) French Miss Preston (I31) Science Ms Patel (T7) Sport Mr Eade (P24) Triple Science Mr Evans (T3) Photography Miss Hickman (ICT3) Wednesday Thursday Geography Mrs Banks (M25) English Mr Mayall (I7) Geography Mr Jackson (M27) English Miss Mezzone (I5) History Mrs Bugler (M15) English Mrs Fernandez (I4) History Miss Naylor (M16) English Mr Connolly (I14) History Mrs McCallum (M12) English Mrs Abel (I15) Maths Miss Toseland ((T27) Art Ms Noel (I16) Maths Mr Swingler (P14) Art Ms Dunnington (I19) Maths Miss Barratt (P41) Sport Ms Sanderson (P24 Maths Mr Tiley (P31) Friday H & SC Mr Rick ((T11 Spanish Mr Bambridge (I32)

GCSE COUNTDOWN


Congratulations to Federica Annessi and Phoebe Plant from Year 10 and Isabelle French from Year

11 who have all been nominated as Student of the Week.

Federica has been nominated by the English Department as she produced an outstanding piece of

work for her English Literature T1 assessment with an exploration of ‘An Inspector Calls’ that would

rival any A Level student's attempt. Federica works diligently and is completely dedicated to her

studies; she truly is a model student.

Phoebe has been nominated by the Science Department as she has worked incredibly hard this year

and has been top of the class every week in the assessment. On a couple of occasions, Phoebe has

beaten her target by an amazing 4 grades. This is down to her thorough preparation and the care

she takes when she responds to her feedback. Keep it up Phoebe!

Isabelle has nominated by the Maths Department as she is working really hard in lessons. She has

also volunteered for resits in her recent Maths Tests and completed extra revision. In last week’s

assessment, Isabelle achieved the top mark in the class. Well done Isabelle and keep it up!

As our students progress through school, it is crucial that they begin to think about life after

Droylsden Academy. The employment market is changing rapidly and there is an ever increasing

demand for more highly skilled and educated individuals to enter the workforce. Research clearly

shows that earning potential increases significantly for those people who achieve good degrees or

high level vocational training.

STUDENT OF THE WEEK

FUTURES EVENING


On Thursday 18th October we are holding our annual ‘Futures Evening’ for Years 9, 10 and 11 when

there will be opportunities for parents, carers and students to speak to a number of local colleges,

universities, employers and training providers, all offering an insight into the world of work and

education. The event will allow our students to begin planning for their post 16 provision.

Your attendance at this evening will have a huge impact on your child’s future.

The evening will run from 4.00pm until 7.00pm and you are welcome to attend at any time and for

as long as you like.

There will also be a free draw on the night with the prize of an Apple Ipad which is preloaded with

revision and educational applications.

This is an extra special event and we look forward to seeing you next week on Thursday 18th

October.

To celebrate ‘Horror Month’ in the Library, this week's selection is ‘My

Swordhand is Singing’ by Marcus Sedgwick. It is on the Year 7 Reading

List and is available to loan from the Horror Display in the Library.

In the bitter cold of an unrelenting winter, Tomas and his son, Peter,

arrive in Chust. Despite the villagers’ lack of hospitality, they settle there

as woodcutters. But there are many things Peter does not understand.

Why does Tomas dig a channel of fast-flowing waters around their hut so

they live on an isolated island? Why does Tomas carry a long battered

box everywhere they go – and refuse to tell Peter of its contents?

When a band of gypsies comes to the village, Peter’s drab existence is

turned upside down. He is infatuated by the beautiful gypsy princess,

Sofia, and intoxicated by her community’s love of life. He even becomes

drawn into their deadly quest – for these travellers are Vampire Slayers,

and Chust is a community to which the dead return to wreak revenge on

the living.

Positive Steps Careers Guidance Interviews Interviews will be held for selected Year 11 students on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. The students concerned will be given slips to remind them of the date and time of their appointment.

BOOK OF THE WEEK

REMINDERS AND MESSAGES


Your Library needs you!

A message for the parents of Year 8 Girls

The Screening and Immunisation and Public Health Commissioning team at the Greater Manchester

Health and Social Care Partnership are currently carrying out a review of the school aged

immunisation services across Greater Manchester.

If your daughter was immunised against HPV1 last week, the Vaccination Team would like to receive

any feedback or thoughts that you have. The survey can be completed through the following link and

should only take a few minutes of your time.

https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/YPSOJ/

The survey will close on 31st October 2018.

https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/YPSOJ/


Lost Property

Do you recognise anything in the photograph below?

We are only five weeks into term but are already collecting a large amount of lost property. If your

child has lost a coat, bag or PE Kit, please ask them to check at Student Services in case it has been

handed in.

For the attention of Parents/Carers in Years 8 to 11.

You may remember that, before the summer holidays, we sent you a copy of your child’s personal

details. We asked all parents/carers to check their child’s personal information and complete and

return a form so that we could update our records.

Whilst around half of parents/carers responded, we did not receive the information we needed from

around 400 families. Unfortunately, we have now had to send the letters out to these families again,

at a significant cost in terms of both money and time.

If we did not receive a completed response for your child, you will have received a follow up letter

last week which we would urge you to act on. Please help us by completing the form as directed

and returning it to Student Services as soon as possible. This is really important.

The first ‘Maths Battle’ of the year will take place tonight, Friday 12th October in the Atrium! The

Battle with be for Year 7 students and further information will appear in next week’s edition of

Newsflash.

Year 11 Parent Teacher Consultation Evening will take place on Thursday 25th October. Further

information will be sent out at the beginning of next week.

The Academy will break up for the half term holiday on Friday 26th October.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

edition 6: friday 12th october 2018 droylsden academy is a

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