Term 3: February 2018

Mr Stuart SmithPrincipal

Dear Parent/CarerI hope you enjoy reading our latest newsletter. There have been many trips and achievements from students at the academy; we have included as many as we can into this newsletter.

With regards to the recent Ofsted inspection, please can I thank you all once again for your support in making these improvements possible. I am extremely proud that we have improved our grade for overall effectiveness to ‘Good’ with leadership and management graded as ‘Outstanding’. This is the best grading of any secondary school in Hastings and one of the best in the county.

Stuart SmithPrincipal

DanceThe students have been busy rehearsing throughout Terms 1 and 2 for this year’s gymnastics and dance evening. The students from Years 7-11 took part in this event, which was attended by parents, teachers and fellow students in order to raise money for future costumes and leotards.

The evening started with a collection of the gymnastic students, who have been attending the after school club in PE every Thursday evening. They have worked hard, both as individuals and as a team, in order to develop their skills. This has resulted in some fantastic choreographed routines which were performed to music. After a quick turnaround of the stage, the GCSE dance students continued with the show, performing the pieces they have been working hard on over their time as a GCSE dance student. We had an array of genres and dance styles on show, with the students upholding their professionalism throughout their performances.

The evening was a great success, which is testament to all of the students hard work and commitment.

ParentPay – As from the start of Term 5 (16th April 2018) we will be a cashless school. All trips and school meals (except FSM) must be paid via ParentPay www.parentpay.co.uk Only deposits for overseas trips will be taken as cash/cheque.

To access ParentPay - online you will need an activation letter. If you have not already received this please contact j.ryder@hasla.org.uk.

ParentPay’s integration with the PayPoint network offers cash based families a free and convenient way to make payments to school. Contactj.ryder@hasla.org.uk for a barcode.

All occasions where students would normally bring in cash/cheque, e.g. revision books, leavers hoodies, will now be paid via ParentPay. MUFTI day/charity events will be the only exception and students will be allowed to donate in cash.

Well done to all students who have shown commitment in doing their homework on Hegarty Maths. We would like to say a massive

congratulations to the following students who have shown exemplary resilience throughout Term 3 in using Hegarty Maths to help them with their progress:

Year 7 - Kelsey Lawrence, Thomas Buckle, Ned Eldridge, Aadhil Awal and Faith Langford

Year 8 – Jonathan Noble, Lila Perrotton, Joshua White, Joshua Wells, Omar Banton

Year 9 – Alexander Noble, Phoebe Gould, Ellie Patten, Nikkita Truslove, Ciaran Wren

Year 10 – Lily Gallagher, Orson Coupland, Millie Britt, Aaron Barham, Heather Russell

Year 11 – Kiera Brooks, Jessica Muniz, Joss Downes, Tallulah Warren, Molly Colwell

If you wish to know how you can make more progress in Maths see Mr Hooker.

Poetry LiveIn January students from Years 10 and 11 visited Poetry Live in Brighton where they could see some of the poets from their GCSE Anthology watch them perform their works and ask any questions to aid their GCSE studies.

Some of the reviews from students:“I found Poetry Live an amazing experience, to see all the poets we have been studying was simply thrilling”.“Poetry Live was a great experience which really helped me develop a deeper and clearer understanding of the poems”.“Poetry Live was really interesting. I liked the fact that we went to listen to different types of poetry. It meant that we were able to find out why the poet wrote something in a particular way”.“Overall the event was a favourable way of involving ourselves in the world of poetry”.

Geography TripOn 23rd January, Year 11 Geography students visited the Dungeness B power station to learn about how nuclear energy is created and the future plans for the power plant. They were taken on a tour to the nuclear reactor as well as the generator room.

Photography TripOn 23rd January, Year 11 photography students visited the Romney Marsh estate including Derek Jarmen’s house. They took photos to support their GCSE photography exam unit.

United Kingdom Mathematics TrustCongratulations to the following students who achieved these impressive results in the UKMT Mathematics Intermediate Challenge:

Year 10Matthew Steward - GoldBrendan Hitchman - SilverHeather Russell - SilverNathan Vennall - SilverBlair Hirst - BronzeMelissa Kennell - BronzeRichard Stone - Bronze

Year 9Ollie Brett-Andrews - SilverBethany Nagle - SilverThomas Bruges - SilverMia De Oliveira - BronzeJasmine Martin - BronzeHarriet Nobbs-Hobden - BronzeHatti Tippayanasa - Bronze

Special congratulations to Matthew Steward who has also qualified for the next level Intermediate Challenge, an achievement only attained by the top 5500 pupils in the country!

PRIDE TalksIt was a pleasure to see so many students and parents at the launch of our PRIDE Talks project. The aim of this project is to build students’ self-confidence in public speaking. Students will be asked to talk for a short time on an area that interests them. The quality of ideas has been outstanding and we are really looking forward to seeing the students’ presentations take shape.

The students will be supported at all stages of their preparation. Villiers Park Scholars will deliver academic support sessions at The Hastings Academy; in addition the Villiers Park Programme Manager and Learning Mentors will run academic surgeries when requested by the students. In preparation for their final talk, the students will have the opportunity to present to audiences of different sizes.

Last year’s project was PRIDE Dissertations. The aim of this was to challenge students through a supportive research project in which they wrote their own dissertation based on an area of their choice. More information can be found on our website: http://www.thehastingsacademy.org.uk/learning/gifted.

Molly Wicks, Year 10, Selected for EnglandMolly has been selected to play for England in this years Roller Derby World Cup. Teams from around the world will be competing over four days in this televised event (BBC iPlayer).

12 Juniors have been selected to represent Great Britain, three of those are from local schools with one from The St Leonards Academy, one from Claverham College and Molly from The Hastings Academy.

Drama TripOn Tuesday 20th February a mixed group of 28 Year 7-10 students travelled to London to see The Woman in Black. This was a great day with truly jumpy and spine chilling moments.

PSHE The new curriculum statement is available to view on the Academy website. Students will be taking part in RSE (Sex and Relationship Education) throughout the year. If you have any questions or require further information please email Mrs Treloar, the PSHE coordinator, at s.treloar@hasla.org.uk.

This year's National Theatre play 'Dungeness' is underway and will be performed at The Marlowe in Canterbury in April.

Key Dates

27th March - Year 10 Parent Consultation Evening29th March - Last day of Term 416th April - First day of Term 5

If you would like to attend Parent Forum please contact Ann Bourne, Events Manager, at a.bourne@hasla.org.uk

Maths FeastOn Monday 5th February, the following Year 10 students took part in a “Maths Feast”: a mathematics competition against other local schools, organised by the Further Mathematics Support Programme.

Team 1: Blair Hirst, Oscar Perrotton, Melissa Kennell, Matthew Steward. Team 2: Ryan Vennell, Brendan Hitchman, Heather Russell and Ashley Kingshott

They were challenged in their ability to work as a team, apply their mathematical understanding to unknown scenarios and problem solve.

The two teams both did really well, with Blair, Matthew, Melissa and Oscar winning the competition!

Fantastic, well done to everyone for all your hard work!

The Hasting Academy ShowcaseOn Thursday 22nd February The Hastings Academy held an evening of Drama, Music and Dance. This was an amazing event of talented students sharing their unique gifts in song writing, performing and dance.

If your son/daughter feels unwell during the day, they must go to Student Services in the first instance to be assessed by a Student Welfare Officer. If the academy feels they are not well enough to stay in school, a phone call home will be made.Students should not ring home themselves as this will be treated as an unauthorised absence.

Update of Nikkita’s Truslove ProgressNikkita recently competed in Nottingham in the North of England tournament. She bowled above her average and came top in the girls singles, and 2nd in All Events. (A combination of singles, doubles and team). We have also had confirmation she will be representing Sussex again in the girls under 18’s, and for the first time in approx 5 years, there will be an under 25 girls/ladies team. She will also be taking part in this team.Congratulations Nikkita.