Evelyn Grace News...Evelyn Grace News The EGA Celebrates Successful Ofsted Report Evelyn Grace Academy has been officially recognised as a ‘Good’ academy that is well on the way

Evelyn Grace NewsThe

EGA CelebratesSuccessful Ofsted ReportEvelyn Grace Academy has been officiallyrecognised as a ‘Good’ academy that iswell on the way to becoming ‘Outstanding’.

Four Ofsted Inspectors arrived on 6th Marchwith only half a day’s notice. They spent two daysvisiting lessons and speaking to staff, students,parents and governors about the academy.Students were congratulated for their excellentbehaviour and Inspectors noted just howwelcoming and polite students were throughoutthe inspection.Ofsted are now much more interested in howgood the academy is on a day to day basis whichis why there is virtually no notice for inspections.During the inspections there is much moreattention given to work in students exercisebooks and to student assessment grades. Mr Hanson said, ‘I am very proud of our staffand students who demonstrated outstandingprofessionalism and the highest of standards. It is very satisfying for everyone’s hard work tobe recognised by Ofsted Inspectors.’

• Message from The Principal

• Raising Aspirations

• Evelyn Grace Academy Houses

• Enrichment Opportunities

• Year 8 T.S Eliot Poetry Project

• Debating

• National Theatre Project

• Sport

• Key dates

IN THIS ISSUE

Parent/Carer Newsletter www.evelyngraceacademy.orgApril 2014

This years EGA Spelling Beewinners just one of many examples of academic excellence recognised by Ofsted

On Monday 24th March Her Majesty’s ChiefInspector of Schools, Sir Michael Wilshawvisited EGA. Sir Michael’s visit follows theacademy’s very successful Ofsted Inspection.However, the Chief Inspector was not here tojudge the school but to praise the excellentstandards of EGA.Sir Michael used his visit to speak to nationaltelevision about the importance of academy’spromoting positive behaviour and he used EGAas an example of where great learning is able to take place because of the excellent behaviour of students.

Students ‘listen to theirteachers and each other, andthey respect each other’sviews and ideas’ Ofsted

020098 Evelyn Grace newsletter_Layout 1 03/04/2014 15:20 Page 1

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to this edition of The Evelyn Grace News. I trust that you will find itinformative and useful as a way of keeping up to date with our fantastic range ofactivities and enrichment opportunities. We are very proud of the successes andachievements of all of our students and I hope you enjoy reading about them.

You will no doubt know that our academy was inspected by Ofsted this term. Theinspection was a term earlier than we anticipated but this made no difference towhat Inspectors saw. Inspectors are now interested primarily in what is typical inour lessons and around the academy. I am very proud that our students were quiterightly praised for their excellent behaviour and attitudes to learning. Likewise, staffwere, as always, extremely professional and were able to demonstrate excellentlearning through well planned lessons, work in students’ exercise books and studentprogress data. The Academy is now rated as ‘Good’ with a clear pathway to‘Outstanding’ so long as we can demonstrate that our students’ excellent rates ofprogress continue over the coming years. You may well have seen the academy onthe news when Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Schools, Sir Michael Wilshaw cameto the academy to speak on television about changes to Ofsted. It was a greatprivilege to be chosen out of all of the schools in the country for this launch andSir Michael was extremely complimentary about standards of behavior and ofteaching in the academy.

At Evelyn Grace Academy we believe in holistic education that will develop fullyrounded and happy citizens. Many of our students are now attending a wide rangeof enriching activities after school each day, ranging from debating to sport. Inaddition, we continue to provide excellent enrichment opportunities through, forexample, trips to France and Spain where students are able to practise theirlanguage skills while experiencing the culture. I was very pleased to hear of a Year 10 trip to The Mercedes Benz Training Centre in Milton Keynes where ourstudents were greatly inspired by the apprentice programme on offer there.

I am, as ever, grateful to the hard working staff at EGA who continue to provideexcellent learning and enrichment opportunities for students. This Newsletter isable to capture only some select highlights, but you will see that students haveattended educational theatre trips as well as participating in dramatic and musicalperformances at the academy. In addition, EGA staff are creating ever increasingopportunities for boys and girls to participate in a wide range of sporting eventsand competitions for students of all ages.

Finally, I would like to thank all parents and carers for your continued support thisterm. Your support was particularly evident during the Ofsted inspection and I amvery grateful for parents and carers who took the time to complete the Ofstedonline questionnaire. Please continue to support your child’s progress by talkingto them regularly about their progress at school and by checking your son ordaughter’s planner each evening.

Mr Hanson

Messagefrom thePrincipal

Welcometo newStaff

We would like to extend a warmwelcome to staff who started withus this term:

Pauline Gray, Head of Business Studies

Catherine Feasy, Second in Charge of English

Kereese Bernard, LSA

John King, LSA


Raising Aspirations

Year10 StudentsConsiderApprenticeshipsOn Thursday 6th March, 12 Year 10 students went tothe Mercedes Benz Training Centre in Milton Keynes.

On arrival, students were greeted and shown a demonstrationof the excellent brakes on Mercedes cars. Students got to takepart, testing how voltage and currents work. They then wentupstairs and had a look at the classrooms where lessons weretaking place.During the visit, students were given a short presentationabout Mercedes Benz andabout apprenticeships.Some students said that an apprenticeship would be the routethey would consider taking, even if it wasn’t with Mercedes.

Scott Greenfield in Year 10 said “It was agreat day overall. Ireally like the sound of an apprenticeship because we get tostart work straight after leaving school. We get to be hands On’.

Year 9 Sporting Aspirations ProjectFor the second year in a row, Evelyn Grace Academy pupils have been lucky enough towork on the Sporting Aspirations project. As part of the project they have been learningabout careers in sport as well as having guest speakers from the world of footballtalking to them about possible careers.

This year one of the highlights was having ex Chelsea and Leeds United player MichaelDuberry coming in and offering advice to the players. Duberry, whose highlights includebeating a Real Madrid team (including Raul, Clarence Seedorf and Roberto Carlos) inthe 1998 European Super Cup for Chelsea, offered advice on careers such as coachingand journalism in football.The next session will be a professional coaching session from Jason Euell ofCharlton Athletic FC, another ex Premier League footballer.


Evelyn Grace Academy HousesOn the 11th March the EGA House Football Leaguegot underway. Students from each Year Group andHouse will be competing in the league over the next3 weeks.

The league kicked off in fantastic style in the first week withYear 11s going head to head in a house competition for thetime since sports day last 2013. Each house worked hard, butit all came down to the final game between, Effra andBrockwell. In a fantastic game Effra snatched the winning goalto win 3-2 and win the first house football league for Year 11.In the coming weeks all Year Groups and Houses will havetheir opportunity for victory for their house.After Easter and in the summer term there will be many moreHouse events. Here are just a few: • Basketball • Netball • The Apprentice • Kryton Factor and many more.

If you have any questions about any of the events of the HouseSystem contact one of the Heads of Houses.

Ashby House - Mr Riley

Effra House - Mr Morrissey

Brockwell House - Mr Fogarty

Windrush House - Ms Fisher

Date Year Group

Tuesday 18th March Year 10

Tuesday 25th March Year 9

Tuesday 1st April Year 7

Wednesday 2nd April Year 8

Tuesday 30th April KS3 Girls


Enrichment Opportunities

Maths ChallengeOn Friday March 14th (Internartional Pi Day), eightmathematicians from across the academy were selectedto represent EGA at ARK’s first ever National MathsCompetition. Students were challenged to complete a variety of tasks, including: A Coding Challenge A Tower Building Competition Fastest Finger First timed challenge A mathematical Treasure Hunt A code breaking scenario And ARK’s coveted ‘Times Table Challenge’All students had a fantastic time, and although we did not comeaway as winners, we represented the Academy with aplomb.Particularly noteworthy was Lorrena Guitierrez who won theYear 7 “TT Rockstars Challenge”, becoming the fastest ever timestables champion for her age across the network.

Language TripOur Modern Foreign Languages Department continue toprovide fantastic opportunities for students to visitEuropean countries where they are able to practise theirlanguage skills while experiencing a different culture.

In January a group of Year 10 languages students went on a visitto Lille in France. Students had the opportunity to explore thecity of Lille, enjoy the French shopping experience and try Frenchcuisine! Staff and students had a great day and commented howmuch they would love to return next year, possibly for aresidential trip.

Then in February, Year 11 Spanish students visited Madrid inSpain. This was the first residential trip for this cohort and theyhad an amazing time. Students stayed in the heart of Madrid,attended a Spanish language school, visited all the famous sightsand got involved with the Spanish language and culture. Highlightsincluded visiting a bull fighting ring and the Real Madrid Stadium.Staff and students had an amazing time.


Year 8 T.S Eliot Poetry ProjectPoetry continues to be an enormous strength with students at Evelyn Grace Academy both in curriculum timeand with extra curricular activities such as the Poetry Slam Competition.

In January, all Year 8 students took part in a project based on The Wasteland by T.S Eliot. This particularly difficult poem, usuallystudied by undergraduates at University, is famous for its diverse range of ideas and imagery, much of it centred in London.As a way of inspiring our students at the beginning of this project, Photofusion worked with our staff and students on theLondon Southbank to photograph images that could be used to understand Eliot’s poetry as well as to inspire students’ own writing.The project culminated in a competition where students, inspired both by The Wasteland and by their photography, composedpoetry in the style of T.S Eliot. Our top six students’ work is now on display in Electric Avenue, Brixton.

BreakingBy Nii

OBreaking out of the tight green ball

Tearing through the dense gravel

Smashing through the impenetrable surface

Only to be welcomed to a dark, lonely world

She stretches out towards the last drop of

Light

She reaches out her palm for another

Isolated, in this abandoned waste

The harsh window of January destroyed her

colourful home

Family

Friends

Alone

Just leaves of broken images surround her

Memories turned to sand

Crystal dew drops remain in the pink of her eye

Clouds provide no comfort

They float across the sky carelessly

Her toes grip the ground, refusing to let death

through the door

Her only desire is to once more share a kiss with the

grassy warmth before she dies.


RememberBy Bianca Walker

Ornamental tenderness twirled in the obscure caliginous

of the bitter day

Looped between the bars of hell she dies giving messages

of sorrow

With her withered arms she stretches to the Jesus that

sits in the darkness of hell

Hell, behind the bars of trust, the wires of hope, the iron

of death but their body lays naked beneath the

city lights, bright

A million steps but we are left bewildered, lifeless by the

beauty in structures of man made, here are washed out

Perishing corpses in the everlasting darkness

We are a dull nothingness nor heart nor soul

Our minds controlled by the endless demands of

modernisation and she’s been caught up too

The endless baby blues and the bright pinks harmonize

and the paradise sings no more

I can hear them heaven’s chanters come singing in the

morning

Nobody believes in heaven, because nobody is perfect

She’s got us whipped on her astonishing lust on creation

She told me once before we shall leave words of remorse

But doesn’t remorse bring grief and remembrance that

soul shan’t remember

Remorse, remorse, remorse

The beauties many perplexities confuse me like thoughts

coming and going she’s dead but she seems unreal

beneath the wasteland around her

She’s a lover of Jesus and when she looked to see the sky

baby blue, it was the only thing natural she believed

Every thing around her made by man, left by man, used

by man but that man was the son of man neither his

father

But you let this beauty perish away like the creature you

leave it for

Metallic arms of heaven protect the doors to the

unearthly spirit

He’s chained up behind the bars twirled in the leave’s

dying below trees

Whoever told you looking outside would give you

insight, is only but halfway right

I resent what loss represents

The pink feminist of its innocent purity

She’s April in form, life at its worst, and society in its

happy days, but she is dying in the shattered cold

En los Brazos de Jesus muere en la casa de dios en el

lugar de nacimento de la sociedad (In the arms of Jesus,

she dies in the home of god in society’s place of birth)


UNcoNVenTIonAL G-R-O-W-T-HBy Lashay

It’s hard to grow!

The sun shines a path, which we all follow

The easy way around life but the path is still growing

Just before you reach success

You see a best friend, that girl that looked up too you holding a sign

THIS PATH IS UNFINSHED PLEASE GO BACK AND START AGAIN

A friendship bracelet around your neck

And a knife in your back you struggle back to the start

3, 2, 1 GROW! WAIT NO

Now you know people change

When life is pushing you to the end

Don’t flip the coin to see your destination dimenticato scomparendo nel vento crudele mi spinge al mio letto di morte

You will be alone in the dark

Burnt by the fire

Drowning your sorrows and tears

Aimed for the light ending up in a hole

Deep under ground

My tears fall from the sky

And the sun smiles at the ground

Letting off a beam of light

I now have enough faith and trust to start again

And this time I will be me

It’s a new life, new start, new me

Some things are not meant to be finished!

Light in the DarkBy Remi

An open door in darkness

The chance to do as she desires

The chance to be free

And she tends to do what she wants

Because it’s her own rules she follows

Abiding by the instructions of her own idol

A blurred vision of reality

Makes our path foggy

So automatically a new path is created

A different direction

But why is it so easy to be forgotten?

Because the foggy path is disregarded

And action is taken according to our own will

Nothing is impossible

Things like creating idols become normal

The world within the world is created within the mind’s eye

Is it not understood?

It’s not life that’s really been lived

But how about taking a step back

To see a clearer picture of what’s been drawn

Then maybe the path can be seen

A closed door and a beam of sunlight

il percorso di fede è luminoso

ha trascorso così tanto tempo in agguato nelle tenebrema no!

The pathway to faith is bright

Spent so long lurking in darkness - but no

Maybe we still have a chance to be free

Forget about the boarded doors

Realise when it breaks

Man Made versus NatureBy Moses

Nature, battling,

Taking over the model man made,

Abandoned and now as desolated and as vacant as

Space.

Man made standing potent, intense, staring

With erected & horizontal face, trying

To use facial expressions, To make themselves look dominant.

Why? Why? do I have to face the menacing nature?

I stand still like a statue.

Oh why am I located in this latitude and altitude?

The demolishing ,destroying ,decomposing war is just

Beginning.


DebatingThe debating team has represented EGA at two major competitions this year, and fought valiantly on both occasions.On 11th December, two teams entered the prestigious Cambridge Schools Debating Competition, held at Greenwich FreeSchool. Romario Williams, Kevin Coehlo, Muna Nur and Shaquille Scott-Davies were given 15 minutes to put together reasonedarguments on the topics of stay-at-home parents & conscription.They then engaged in verbal combat with some of the best debaters from the schools of South-East London (a number ofwhom were Sixth-Formers). Shaquille and Kevin were given a special mention in their room, although neither of the teamsmanaged to qualify for the finals.On the 25th February, three EGA teams took part in the pinnacle of the debating year, the Oxford Schools DebatingCompetition at Dulwich College. About 80 of the finest debaters in South London, from Year 13 downwards, were gatheredto fight for the honour of competing in the Finals - the three EGA teams argued with tenacity, ferocity and eloquence, but didnot manage to qualify - but all hope to be given a chance to battle again next year. Special mention was made to Amarachi andOnyinyechi Orie by one of the judges, praising their calm measured reasoning in such a combative environment. Shaquille Scott-Davis and Destiny Adeyemi, also deserve praise as the 1st EGA pair, arguing with great maturity and feeling on the issuesof whether we should arm our police, and on whether all schools should be forced to reflect the ethnic balance of theirneighbourhood. Muna Nur and Kevin Coehlo offered their characteristic mix of probing reasoning spiced up with humour, onthese key issues. It was a really impressive display by the entire team - Mr Shum and Mr Grogono feel sure that there will be afurther, even more compelling assault on the competitions next year.

J.P. Morgan TripTwenty four of our students made their way to CanaryWharf on Thursday, 13th of March. Their objective was todeliver a presentation on a subject of their choosing to aroom full of their peers, J. P. Morgan professionals andrepresentatives from ARK. As is always the case, some weremore prepared than others and the anxiety was palpableas we travelled from EGA to the J. P. Morgan building.

One notable aspect of the presentations was the diverse interestsrepresented by our students. They ranged from social concerns likehealthy eating and the impact of the media on young people to theorigin of Atlantis and history of fashion and anime. First place went toAIA (Ambassador's for Inspiration and Aspiration) Group comprisedof Yasmine Polson, Chenae Ferguson, Ejiro Odiahoke and SabineClough. There preparation and teamwork was clearly evident as wasthe varied approaches they adopted in delivering it, involving theaudience at each stage. Our students did us proud and it will beinteresting to see what they produce for the Dragon's Den style pitch.

Year 10Reward Trip

Mr Wingate took the Year 10 GCSE PEpupils to the Emirates Stadium, home ofArsenal FC as a reward for excellent workas well as to help with their coursework.Whilst there they got to view thechanging rooms, home and away dugoutas well as the trophy room.

Overall the boys had a great day andshowed themselves to be excellentambassadors of Evelyn Grace Academy.


YEAR 9 BOYS FOOTBALLThe year started with a friendly against Kingsdale.This first game of the season demonstratedthe character and resolve that the Year 9 squad has. Things did not start very well and we weretrailing 5-0 at half time. However, a roaring second half comeback meant we were unfortunateto lose 7-5 in the end. Our following game was against Globe in the second round of the SouthLondon Cup - this was one of those games where luck was not on our side as we missed abarrel load of chances and watched Globe take theirs as they cruised to a 6-2 victory.Our last couple of games have been in the form of the Lambeth 6 aside league competition.The first game we played against Lilian Baylis and we won 4-2 thanks to a hat trick from KeronPower Daley. The next game we played against the mighty ATS and held them to a 0-0 drawwith Craig Cox expertly marshalling the squad from the back .

YEAR 10 BOYS FOOTBALLYear 10s have had another good season and won twogames out of two in the Lambeth School Sports 6 a sideleague, winning the league. In the South London Cup wereached the Quarter- Finals where we played Kingsdale.We were 2-0 down at half time before 2 goals from KietleyKelly levelled to 2-2 before the ref awarded a penalty toKingsdale and they went through 3-2. We have also playedthe Year 11's twice with Year 10's winning both games.

National Theatre ProjectEGA played host to the National Theatre and to localprimary schools in a drama project this term.

The National Theatre Project was a great success, and manyprimary school students from Jessop and Hillmead were veryexcited to be shown around the school. The National Theatreand staff were delighted and impressed with the school andstudents, and have already informed me they would love to workwith them again in the future.We have some very talented primary school students whoparticipated and even performed themselves in some of theplays. The feedback from both schools were that the studentswere very polite, helpful and most importantly helped with thetransition from primary to secondary school.The highlights of the day were Fahra in Year 9 terrifying studentsin the corridor as she took on a strict teacher role, Gangnamstyle being played on repeat in 2.05 and the exciting game showin the drama studio.

FOOTBALL


In partnership with Nike, Evelyn GraceAcademy and Reforming Black Britain, LuolDeng will launch his first ever basketballAcademy this coming summer in his adoptedhometown Brixton, South London.DENG Academy will have a huge impact in thecommunity of Brixton, providing an exit route intoBrixton Topcats Basketball Club at the elite and grassroots development level. DENG Academy will provideathletes with the best opportunities on and off thebasketball court, in and outside of the classroom.Teaming up with Reforming Black Britain to add amentoring programme really helps to achieve this, asexplained by founder Jason Marriner.“Adding a customised mentoring scheme to theDENG Academy has been amazing. We want to ensurethat these young people learn key life skills and valuesin addition to the basketball provision. Using mentorsin the school to help guide these younger kids is vitalfor growth within the entire school and community, aswell as providing outlets for them off the basketballcourt. We are excited to be apart of such a greatproject and look forward in helping to grow theDENG Academy.”The key partnership has been between Luol DengFoundation and Evelyn Grace Academy which has beenthe main reason that DENG Academy can be launchedwhere CEO, Steve Vear emphasises the constantgrowth of this relationship.“Evelyn Grace have been everything you could ask for.Open, flexible, reliable and passionate about basketball.We have been able to start a great relationship withthe PE department which in turn has relayed onto thekids. We have already started our work in the school

fine tuning the Academy where we will officially launchin the summer when Luol is in the UK. Overall, all ofthe plans are running smoothly and this has been downto the hard work of everyone involved.On Saturday 1st February we took 14 Year 8 pupils tobe Ball Boys in the Fulham v Southampton PremierLeague fixture at Craven Collage. This is the secondtime we had taken a group to be Ball Boys at Fulhamthis season and the boys were very excited to seetheir heroes up front. Southampton won the game 3-0 with goals from 3 different England internationalsJay Rodriguez, Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert.

GIRLS NETBALLLambeth League has started for Years 7 and 8. Year 9 Girls have played matches against local Lambeth schoolsYears 7 and 8 had a great first week winning two out of three games. Year 9s showed great maturity as theyplayed against teams that consisted mainly of Year 10s.Big shout out to Marjorie Landeta-Villagomez and Shianne Williams who played for the Year 9 team and wereoutstanding.

LUOL DENG TO LAUNCH UK BASKETBALL ACADEMY IN PARTNERSHIP WITH EGA

Jahzi Jackson and

Alex Sessay in their

Fulham FC Ball

Boy gear.


At Evelyn Grace Academy we place great importance on attendanceand punctuality and understand that both you and your child play abig part in this. By ensuring your child attends on time every dayyou are teaching your child a valuable life skill which will stand themin good stead throughout their lives.

School AttendanceThere are 2 sessions in each school day: morning and afternoon andstudents may be absent from school for 1 or 2 sessions each day.Please note that the decision to authorise an absence will alwaysrest with the school.We will consider authorising absences for the followingreasons: • Genuine illness (not a minor ailment) but please provide proof where possible • Short term emergency • Bereavement • Emergency dental or doctor’s appointment (please try and make appointments outside of school hours and always provide evidence of appointment) • Hospital treatment (again always provide evidence of this to school) • Certain days for religious observation

ATTENDANCE AND PUNCTUALITY

255 Shakespeare Road, London SE24 0QN

Tel: 020 7737 9520 Fax: 020 7737 9525 Email: [email protected]

Website: www.evelyngraceacademy.org Twitter: @EGA_ARKSchools

The following types of absence will not be authorised: • Shopping (which includes shopping for uniform and shoes) • Hair cuts • Truancy • Birthday treats, days out, airports visits or trips • Looking after siblings or family member • Illness at the start or end of a term (unless proof is provided) • Non-urgent medical or dental appointments • Oversleeping or “not realising” school was open • Minor Ailments (including headlice, hay fever, sniffles etc) • Please remember school starts at 8.30am and the register closes shortly after this time. If your child arrives after the register closes they will be recorded as unauthorised absence from the morning register.Please note that all unauthorised absences are investigated andpassed to the School Attendance Officer. Where there are excessiveunauthorised absences, the school may decide to issue a PenaltyNotice. Please note that the Education Act 1996 states that ‘If anychild of compulsory school age who is a registered pupil at a schoolfails to attend regularly at the school, his/her parent is guilty of anoffence.”

Important changes to holidays in term timeParents do not have an automatic right to take children out ofschool for holidays and this is discouraged. Since September 2013schools are not allowed to authorise any holidays taken by familiesin term time unless there are exceptional reasons for doing so andproof is provided of these circumstances. Any holidays taken willbe subject to follow up by the School Attendance Officer andLambeth Council and the possibility of Penalty Notices being issuedto each parent/carer.

What you need to doYou must always notify the school before 8.30am if your child isabsent by calling the Academy number 020 7737 9520 andselecting Option 1 for Attendance.If you leave a message please speak clearly stating your child’s fullname, year group and the reason for the absence.If you have any questions or concerns please contact Ms Morris, outattendance officer who will be able to clarify any points.

Key DatesEaster Holiday: Monday 7th April to Monday 21st April 2014

Students Return: Tuesday 22nd April to Friday 23rd May 2014

Bank Holiday: Monday 5th May 2014

Half Term Holiday: Monday 26th May to Friday 30th May 2014

Term 6:Students Return: Monday 2nd June to Tuesday 22nd July 2014

Staff Inset Day: Friday 27th June 2014

Students return: Monday 30th June 2014

End of Academic Year Friday 18th July 2014

Parent Forum Wednesday 23rd April 2014

PTA Meeting Wednesday 7th May 2014

Parents Forum Wednesday 21st May 2014

PTA Meeting Wednesday 18th June 2014

Parents Forum Wednesday 9th July 2014

Year 9 Parents Evening 1st May


Documents

Evelyn Grace News...Evelyn Grace News The EGA Celebrates Successful Ofsted Report Evelyn Grace Academy has been officially recognised as a ‘Good’ academy that is well on the way