Ark William Parker Aca

Ark William Parker Academy

newsletterOCTOBER 2015 : ISSUE 12

Aspire . Achieve . Suc-

In this issue Being StreetwiseSeeking former studentsFootball successesEmirates Stadium visit

Duke of Edinburgh tripHouse updateThe ApprenticeOpen Evening and more...

Aspire . Achieve . Succeed

Dear Parents and Carers,I have pleasure in writing to you in our first newsletterof the academic year. We were extremely pleased to welcome new Year 7students to Ark William Parker Academy at the start ofSeptember. The students started a day ahead of therest of the school which enabled us to spend qualitytime together to start their secondary schoolexperience. They have settled in well and we have allbeen impressed with how well we are seeing themadapt to secondary school life. The Year 7 footballteam have already begun to earn themselves quite areputation in the county after their recent wins! TheYear 11 football team are also starting the year in thesame way.As you can see, from the articles included in thenewsletter, this year has started as full as last yearfinished, with lots of activities underway to extend ourstudents’ curriculum. There have also been manyevents to recognise the effort students have made tostart the year with a tone of high expectations andacademic rigour.You will remember from my letter to you in Septemberthat we have been trialling a revised strategy tosupport our learning and behaviour expectations. Weare constantly reviewing the impact of this and thankyou for the support you have overwhelmingly offeredus in helping us to make it consistent and also inreinforcing messages at home. We will continue tosupport students but importantly will continue to insiston eliminating all disruption to learning as a result ofpoor behaviours. We have very clear expectationsaround classroom conduct and attitudes to learning. Inorder to support the progress and daily experience ofall our students I will ensure that we are using allresources and actions open to us in order to ensure ahigh level learning culture in our classrooms - we makeno apology for that and I am sure you would expectnothing less. We set out this year to really help students wear theacademy uniform consistently well. We have seen anexcellent improvement in the appearance of studentsnot only on their arrival at the academy but also asthey are travelling to and from home. This is sopleasing for us as it represents Ark William Parker sowell in the town and beyond - it is also an importantindicator of how the boys see their academy and therole they play in its success.Thank you to those of you who were able to come toour recent run of curriculum information evenings.Information evening for Year 8 is during the first weekback on Wednesday the 4th November. Full details willbe available on the academy website.In the meantime thank you, as usual, for your ongoingsupport in helping our students to achieve theirabsolute best.Yours sincerely, Daniel Hatley, Principal

Welcome

On Tuesday 13 October, Year 7 students attended a performance andworkshop called “Streetwise” as part of the PHSE programme. A team,from Performance in Education, was invited to the school in order toremind students of their need to be “streetwise” and safe.For most students it is probably a long time since they learnt the‘Green Cross Code’ and arriving at secondary school is often the firsttime they put this into practice on their own.The performance was set around three friends, with a fourth unseen,on a school trip. The group of friends were carrying out various surveysincluding shopping and traffic. The performance asked students toconsider the impact of using mobile phones and listening to music, onheadphones, as they walked around busy area. The performancefinished with a shocking cliff hanger which left the students with plentyto think about. Afterwards the actors reinforced key messages about the student’ssafety and how they can ensure they are safe. The students were askedto come up with slogans to remind them of how they should stay safewhen walking to and from school e.g. “Take the subway to Subway” or“Hold the call”.Ark William Parker Academy believes it is priority to ensure the safetyand well-being of students and the message given will ensure they aresafe when walking to and from school.

An unusual way to remindYear 7 students to be safeand “Streetwise”


Year 9 students were called into animpromptu assembly on Friday 18thSeptember at the Academy. As they made their way into the mainschool hall, there was much speculationand rumour as to why they were beingbrought together. “I wonder what hashappened” and "do you think I'm introuble?" were just some of the commentsstudents were overheard saying to eachother.The year group need not have worried asthey soon found out why they had beenassembled. They were told by Ms Kelly, VicePrincipal, that together, they had collected

more reward points than any other yeargroup in the first two weeks of term; thesepoints are awarded to students for positivebehaviours and attitudes to learning, bothin and outside the classroom. The studentswere then told that, as a surprise treat, anice cream van was ready and waiting forthem outside the hall. There were smiles allround as they queued eagerly, despite theodd shower of rain, to get their flaketopped, ice creams. The reward wasthoroughly enjoyed by all and was a fittingend to the week. Well done to all our students in Year 9!

Much speculation and rumour

Shout Out assemblies arespecific to each year group,running half termly.These assemblies are aimed atdelivering good news stories,celebrating success, progressand achievement.They are an opportunity for allstaff to have an input intothanking the students forsporting successes, participatingin house events, trying new and difficultchallenges and, generally, giving of theirbest.Some of the words and phrases, supplied byteachers, include;Superb effort, awesome, great homework,dedicated and hardworking, impressive anda pleasure to teach, challenging languageand sentence structure, a greatunderstanding and, engaging with parentsat open evening.

Mr Sully, Head of Year 7, says,“I would, personally, like to congratulateand thank all of the students that are alwaysdoing the right thing; making the rightchoices and behaving in the correct manner.“Well done to the Year 7 football team whowon all 3 matches played and the 37 Year7s who played in last Fridays Housefootball.“Finally, a big Shout Out, to the 47 Year 7swho have 100% attendance and zerobehaviour points against them. Well done.”

NEWShout Outassemblies

A good finish for BTECconstruction studentsFifteen Year 11 BTEC constructionstudents have recently undertakensome work based practicals aroundthe Academy.The main areas of focus have beenthe Inclusion and Special EducationalNeeds department.The students have been workinghard, preparing and emulsioning thearea for the past 3 weeks and theproject is close to completion. Well done to the students who havetaken part in this project andenhanced their construction skills.

Seeking former studentsDid you go to Ark William ParkerAcademy? If you’re a former studentwho would like to support currentstudents and stay in touch with theschool we want to hear from you.Right now, there are students in theassembly hall where you once sat,facing similar challenges andopportunities that you did. Beingconnected to you could really helpthem.The school is one of more than 450state schools and colleges acrossBritain which have registered with thecharity Future First to set up networksof former students or alumni.It doesn’t matter when you left school,whether you’re in further education oremployment, whether you still livenearby or have moved further away,we want to find out what you’ve beenup to since leaving school. To sign up to William Parker’s alumnicommunity, please visitwww.networks.futurefirst.org.uk/former-student/williamparker, or get intouch with Ellie Newbery [email protected] forward to reconnecting withyou.


The Football Academy began their 2015/16season campaign with a well-deserved 6-3win at home to a physical Carshalton side inthe F.A Youth Cup. The U’s started brightly with an early goalfrom left winger Bradlee Mepham aftersome well-crafted build up play from theUnited midfield.Carshalton didn’t take long to respondhowever, after a well struck free-kickcaused havoc within the United defence,finding its way into the Hastings goal,bringing the scores level at 1-1.Carshalton took the lead around half anhour into the first half after a quick counterattack and some good attacking play,ending off with a defence-splitting passleaving the Carshalton striker one-on-onewith Hastings’ keeper Dan Rose who wasunable to save the close range attempt. 2-1It didn’t take long for the U’s to equalise.Brandon Miah scoring a fantastic individualgoal after beating three of the Carshaltonback line, topping it off with a composedfinish. 2-2United took the lead just before theinterval with a second goal from BradleeMepham. A good strike from just outsidethe 18 yard box, after an unselfish passacross goal from Charlie Ball when he couldhave easily taken the opportunity himself.United went in at half time 3-2 leaders.The U’s again began the superior side in thesecond half, Joe Brister providing an aerialthreat against Carshalton’s small full-back,and it wasn’t long until Hastings pushedtheir noses further in front. Bradlee

Mepham swinging a corner towards theback post which at first seemed to flystraight in the net. However, after looking atthe photographs of the game and discussingwith the dubious goal’s committee. The goalwas awarded to Brandon Miah, who justflicked the ball past the Carshaltongoalkeeper at the back post. 4-2Carshalton weren’t going to give up withouta fight. The game was brought back withina goal after a mistake by the U’s keeper leftan open goal for Carshalton to simply passthe ball into. 4-3Carshalton nearly equalised minutes after,when a corner was swung out to the edge ofthe box and struck with venom at the Unitedgoal forcing a good save from Dan Rose.Hastings dominated much of the gameafter this, with attempts from the entirefront three, and Bradlee Mepham getting avery well deserved hat-trick, neatly slottinghome from 10 yards after a fantastic longpass from right-back Ben Cornelius.Charlie Ball finished proceedings with a goalof his own. Holding the ball up on the edgeof the Carshalton box; turning on a six-pence in order to create space to pass theball into the bottom left corner of the net.

Winners!

The Year 10 Football team have started theyear very impressively, defeatingClaverham 5-0 and St. Richards 3-1. Theyhave adapted very well to a new formationand have shown some great promise. A big

well done to the seventeen boys who haverepresented the academy so far. Let’s hopethe good start continues against Bexhill andSt. Andrews at the beginning of half term!

An impressive start for Year 10

The WolfThe wolf howls,The wolf howls creepily,It howls spookily, scarily, disturbingly,The wolf whistles madly,When the female arrives.

by Houssam Bencaid, Year 9

To Space and BackJordan Page looked around the jetblack limousine, wondering why hehad been put on the team - he wasonly a scientist. Looking around theshadowy, brown interior of thelimousine again, this time he noticedthe ice cold water cooler; he hadbeen gasping for a drink but it wastoo late. He braced himself andstepped out. He was greeted by anumber of flashes.The camera’s flash lit up the redcarpet. The gargantuan structure thattowered over the city was a state ofthe art theatre hall. Jordan had beenhere once before when he had wonbest scientist of England; the titanictrophy still sat proudly on his diningroom table with a vast layer of duston top of it.

by Lewis Parker, Year 8

by Dan Rose, Ark 6th Form

Over the last few weeks, Ark William Parker has beenwelcoming prospective students and parents to openmornings to see the academy in action. On the 30th September we also held a very successfulopen evening. After a welcome address by thePrincipal, visitors were taken on tours by academystudents. They were invited to take part in a range ofexciting activities, which included making badges andlaser cutting in DT, ‘Guess the famous historicalperson’ in History and a name the logo contest inBusiness Studies. Visitors to the PE department hadan energetic evening; they tried gymnastics andbadminton, took part in basketball shootouts andparticipated in rowing and cycling challenges.Curious children were drawn to the bangs andexplosions emanating from the Science departmentwhere lots of experiments were taking place. Theyused test tubes in Chemistry, tested strengthequipment and had a few hair-raising experiences.When seeing a teacher handling balls of fire theyeagerly joined the queue to set light to the methanebubbles in her hands!There was inquisitive apprehension, in the Englishdepartment, when Year 6 students stumbled acrossthe motionless body of a student clutching a syringe,surrounded by hay and lying near an abandonedItalian blade. In order to solve this ‘whodunnit’mystery, visitors had to look for clues around the‘dead body’; gather evidence; watch scenes from‘Mice and Men’, ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’, and ‘Romeoand Juliet’. Ark William Parker students enjoyedputting on the show with Milo Moody, who narratedthe scene from ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’, saying it was“awesome” and “a lot of fun”.Taste buds were in for a treat with samples of finecontinental cuisine in the language department andjam tarts and a salad bar in food technology. In Art,Matthew Harris and Bobby Salmon enjoyed makingclay pots with the older students. Children also hadfun making lots of noise in the Music department,trying all manner instruments including a very louddrum kit!The event was held so prospective students andparents could catch a glimpse of life at Ark WilliamParker Academy to help them when making theimportant decision as to their future education. If youmissed this event and would like to visit the academy,please telephone 01424 439888 to arrange a tour.

Dr Jekyll and MrHyde greet Year 6sat open evening

visit our website for more photos


HouseResults

Overall House Summary1st place Parker 20 points

Even though the weather has turned colderwe still had a good turnout for the housetug of war competition. All houses pulledagainst each other to see who would bebranded the strongest team with the best

tactics. Supporters encouraged andcheered over over 50 students who battledit out on the field. Parker took the lead, again, for the start ofthe year with 20 points.


Pulling together for the first event

A warm welcome back to the Ark WilliamParker House competition.For those of you that are new to theAcademy, a brief outline of what this is allabout.There are 4 houses, Becket (blue), Parker(yellow), Saxon (red) and Saunders (green).The aim of the house system is to includeas many students as possible, in as manyevents as possible, including;Football, basketball, rounders, cycling, cross

country, tug of war, quizzes, spelling bee,science challenges, ready steady cook and,many, many more.Most events run after school; there areusually two per half term and the boys areadvised when, where, how etc. viaassemblies or Tutor time.The overall winners for 2014-2015 were atriumphant Saunders.Let the battle commence…………………….

House events

1st place Parker 20 points

2nd place Becket 15 points

3rd place Saxon 10 points

4th place Saunders 5 points

The Year 8 football team have made anindifferent start to the season having wonone and lost twice. The season started with a tough game awayat Peacehaven in the County Cup, a poorfirst half saw us trail 3-0 at the break. Amuch improved second half saw us pull 2goals back through Terry Davies and KyleChurchman. Unfortunately we were unableto carry on the fight back and concededtwo further goals to exit the cup and intothe shield. In the District League we edged outHastings Academy 4-3 in the final minutesafter a pulsating end to end match. TerryDavies got the winner with the other goalscoming from Kyle Churchman (2) and WillBrown. The game against Robertsbridge was a goal

fest, with both teams creating chances atwill and duly converting them. Despitetrailing after the first minute we foughtback to lead 4-2 at half time. Shortly intothe second half we trailed 5-4; both teamsscored further goals to make the score 6-6;unlike the previous we were unable tosnatch the winner and it was Robertsbridgewho scored to win 7-6. The goals werescored by Will Brown (3), Harvey Cheshireand Lewis Rushton. With all four teams in the group on thesame points it will go down to the nextround of games. We play Rye College for aplace in the semi-finals. Congratulations to Harvey Cheshire whowas successful at the South East SussexDistrict trials and made the squad for futuregames.

Year 8 football update

158 applicants!This year’s Apprentice themedcompetition has kicked off to a greatstart. The prize money has doubled,along with the interest fromstudents. With 158 students recording an initialinterview on why they are the idealbusiness-man, the overwhelmingdemand was evident. During the 3-day interview process, an additionalroom was required to ensure that allapplicants had the opportunity tostate their case. With applicants fromall 5 year groups, the judges,including last year’s winner, short-listed the initial 158 down to the final16 candidates. Throughout the coming months,these students will face numerouschallenges, testing a variety ofqualities; including creativity, timemanagement, leadership and thehandling of finances - gainingvaluable skills that they can utilise inthe real world. However, these taskswill be tougher than before, as thechallenges are being designed by theYear 13 sixth form business students- the future generation of AlanSugars. Wait for the next instalment with theresults of the first challenge.


With the weather forecast promising to produce adamp and miserable weekend, 11 students fromArk 6th Form East Sussex set out to complete theirqualifying Silver Duke of Edinburgh expedition. Meeting at Bodiam Castle early on Friday morning,maps in hand and routes planned, rucksacksloaded, they set off. With a seven hour walkahead of them the weather tried its best todampen their spirits and experience. Storms aside,they made good time, along the way collectingevidence for their planned projects, arriving ontime, tired but cheerful in Cranbrook. This set thetone for the following two days with walksthrough Bedgebury, Goudhurst and Brenchley. The expedition is the culmination of eight monthsof preparation and planning along with completingphysical, volunteering and skills projects. After three days of walking along planned routes,the students were relieved to be informed by their assessor that they had successfully passedthe expedition phase. The assessor commented on how well the students had worked togetherand on their excellent preparation. For some, the next step may be looking atattempting the Gold Award.

Duke of Edinburgh

A winning start for theYear 11 football teamThe Year 11 football team have madea winning start to the season indefence of retaining the District Cup.The opening game saw us defeat St Richards 4-1 with goals comingfrom Dan Ryan and Lewis Neech inthe first half; St Richards pulled a goalback shortly after half time but goodstrikes from Tom Climpson and LewisPalmer secured victory. The following game was a fieryencounter away at Buckswood. Aftera close first half we finally ran out 6-1victors with Lewis Palmer (2), ZakBoutwood, Lewis Neech andCameron Harding. Against Bexhill High, the boys put inan excellent team performance withall the squad contributing to thevictory. Goals from Lewis Palmer,Lewis Neech and Zack Boutwoodgave us a 3-0 lead at half time. Afterconceding an penalty we went on towin 5-1 with further goals from LewisNeech and Ben Tudor. The team haveone more tough district league matchagainst Claverham and travel toPortslade Academy in the CountyCup.Congratulations to Tom Climpson andSonny Dullaway who have bothrepresented the Hastings UnitedAcademy team, run in conjunctionArk 6th Form; as well Lewis Palmer,Tom Benford, Dan Ryan and LewisNeech who have also representedthe Ark 6th Form team.

Year 7 football team remain undefeated Our Year 7 football team continueswith their winning streak. They wontheir third match beating St Richards4-1. The team also won matchesagainst Claverham 4-0 and Hove Park3-1.So far, Jamal Lubanga is the topscorer with 4 goals; Joe Skinner hasone Man of the Match Award andBenn Ward has two.

Jay Muzzelwhite, in Year 9, has been awardedrunner-up by East Sussex Music in the artcompetition that ran in July. The task was to makeart while listening to a piece of music.In art, students took part in a project on Africa. Forthe competition, the students made their ownmark-making implements with found materialssuch as twigs, wire, sponge, cloth. They listened toan African piece of music and painted shapes andmarks that they felt represented the feeling of themusic.Jay won a certificate and prize T-shirt; his workwas put on display, alongside the winner and otherrunners-up, at the launch of East Sussex Music atthe Towner art gallery on the 29th September.

Jay creates a prize winningpiece of music inspired art

Give your views on Parent ViewParent View gives you the chance to say what you think about your son’sschool. By sharing your views, you’ll be helping us to improve. You will alsobe able to see what other parents have said about Ark William ParkerAcademy. Visit https://parentview.ofsted.gov.uk

www.arkwilliamparker.orgArk William Parker Academy . Parkstone Road . Hastings . East Sussex . TN34 2NT . Tel. 01424 439888 . Fax. 01424 448292


Year 12 students visited a UniversityFair at the Emirates Stadium. Thepurpose of this trip was for students toexplore the options available to themafter sixth form. The Fair provided anexcellent springboard for students tocommence their research.At the Fair students were able to seerepresentatives from every universityand higher education provider in theUK including actual admissions tutorsand former students. They provideddetailed course information throughleaflets and prospectuses for studentsto further develop their research.A good day was had by all!

Year 12s exploreoptions at theEmirates Stadium

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