Endeavour News Highlights from around the Academy

No 10

Defoe Road Ipswich IP1 6SG Telephone: 01473 464545 Website: www.ormistonendeavouracademy.co.uk http://twitter.com/WeEndeavour

Attendance Matters Message from our Principal

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We are really proud of how our students’ attendance and punctuality has improved over the past two terms. As you know, anything below 95% attendance means that a student would have missed two weeks of school by the end of the year.

Statistics show a direct link between under-achievement and absence below 95%

Regular attenders make better progress, both socially and academically Regular attenders find school routines, school work and friendships easier to cope with Regular attenders find learning more satisfying Regular attenders are more successful in transferring between primary school, secondary

school, and higher education, employment or training In this edition we are celebrating all our students who have maintained a 100% attendance record so far this year. We are very impressed with their persistence and resilience and hope that this long continues! Well done to all those students named below.

ATTENDANCE RATE

95% 90% 85%

NUMBER OF SCHOOL WEEKS MISSED

2 WEEKS 4 WEEKS 6 WEEKS

Alexandra Lewczuk Robert Richardson Kelsie Lee

Aislyng Thrower Aukse Valaite Lucy Curtis

Jessica Davis Scott Ridley Ethan Taylor

Rhys Allen Faith Driver Hayden Jones

Melissa Duncan Aleksandrs Kuzmins Charlie Smith

Rose Gant Joshua Mills Adelle Sheppard

Luke Fair Helana Blackman Louise Arslan-Wade

Jordan Jones Alishia Diver Molly Bailey

Courtney Macken Kaitlyn Fayers Holly-Mae Rimmer

Kieran Magill Libby Fox

Academy Principal, Mrs Woods

Attendance Matters Message from our Principal Dear Parents and Friends, Welcome to the newest edition of our newsletter. We have had another busy half term with lots of exciting things going on. Year 7 students are now settled with a growing confidence in themselves and their abilities. Before long, they will be welcoming a whole new year group to take their place and will be supporting and reassuring them, knowing how anxious our new students may be. Year 8 students have their option choices confirmed and know what they will be studying for the next three years. Year 9 have sat their first GCSE exam to prepare them for the next two years of further assessments, which will enable them to demonstrate the progress they are making with their learning every day. Year 10 have taken up the mantle of being the oldest year group in the school, helping take the pressure off the year 11s. We are currently appointing the new Head Boy, Head Girl, Deputy Head Boy and Deputy Head Girl and I am looking forward to announcing the results. Year 11 are a mere few weeks away from their final days at high school. They have done themselves proud throughout the exam period, despite the pressures they are currently under. The prom is going to be a well-deserved celebration of their achievements. Whilst we are looking forward to organised enrichment experiences for the last day of the summer term, we are planning to include further enrichment activities throughout the whole of next year as part of students’ timetables. More details to follow. If you are a parent of a current year 10 student, please note that they will be expected to attend an additional period 6 lesson three times a week once they enter their final year with us in September. This will ensure that they have more time to become fully prepared and supported in the build up to their exam period. Finally, I’d like to remind you of the importance that all students attend school every day unless they are too unwell to make it out of bed. The effect attendance has on your child’s success here is undeniable and we are more than happy to work with you to ensure your child is here and learning. Enjoy your half term break. Christine Woods Principal

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In this issue:

2. House Attendance

3. Message from our Principal

4. Exams

5. Create

6. DT Food

7. Science

8. Endeavour Stars

9. Discovery

+ Vivo Rewards

10. Lifestyle

11. Term Dates 2015-16

+ Dates for your diary

Exams Create

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Supporting students during the exam season During exam season, it is often tricky to know exactly how to offer the right support to teenagers. They cope in very different ways, sometimes struggling to organise their time and study in a balanced way. Here are some tips and reminders on how to best support your child if they are taking exams this year. 1. Good attendance at school is incredibly important during exam season, just as it is

throughout the rest of the year. There may be days when your son or daughter would really like to stay at home and may be feeling a little under the weather, however it is crucial that they make the most of every opportunity to work with their teachers and peers at this time.

2. Revision activities are often offered by subject teachers after school and we notice that students who attend these really benefit from more confidence ahead of their exams. Teachers are always happy for students to request extra revision or study sessions and we encourage our students to speak up if they would like some more support. Some students do not take this opportunity and we ask parents to encourage their children to do so as it can really help. 3. Space for study at home is vital for a student to make the most of their revision and preparation ahead of exams. One of the best ways to prepare for exams is to complete practice exam questions and papers. To do this well, students need a quiet space where they will not be disturbed or distracted. It can be difficult to avoid distractions (especially with TV, mobile phones and other technology on hand) so please speak with your son or daughter about how you can help them remove these distractions while they are studying. 4. Taking breaks from revision is also incredibly important. We advise students to take regular breaks and to leave their study space when they are taking a break. A little bit of exercise, some fresh air or something to eat and drink will help students to refresh before they return to their revision. Lastly, a huge thank you to all students, parents and staff during this busy and important time. This is the moment when students’ hard work throughout the year really pays off and we’re looking forward to celebrating your great results with you in August!

Miss Theobald

Exams Create

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Including Art, Design Technology, Music. Photography & ICT

Key Stage 3 students have been set one homestudy project that incorporates all aspects of the Create department. The Tribal Musical Instrument challenge was set at the start of this term. The first task was for year 7 and 8 students to each come up with research into the topic and initial design ideas. The variety of ideas and approaches that they are developing shows how amazingly creative the students of OEA are. The current challenge is to use these designs and information learnt during the research stage to make a working tribal musical instrument. Year 7 student Ernie has already completed this homestudy project with top quality research, designs, presentation and completed tribal instrument (below centre).

Key Stage 4 students are busy getting ready for exams with Music and Food examinations still to come. Art, Photography and ICT already tool place earlier in the exam season. After spending 10 hours over 2 days in complete silence the final pieces for the controlled assessment in Art and Photography are truly fantastic. Students have used a wide range of styles and techniques to create some breath-taking visual spectacles. Photography GCSE students captured and edited some excellent photographs as part of their final assessment, which you can enjoy on the front cover of this newsletter. Top left: Mia Etheridge, Year 11 Top right: Connor Carlin , Year 11 Bottom left: Megan Griffiths, Year 10 Bottom right: Tegan Green, Year 10 All GCSE Art and Photography work can be enjoyed at our Arts Evening on Thursday 16th June - Everyone welcome!

Chef of the Week

Create Science

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DT Food students are being told on ‘Show My Homework’ which ingredients they will require for their practical lessons in the following week. Hopefully this will help them to come prepared for these tasty lessons.

Year 8 students have been baking some great looking bread while Year 7 made some really delicious flapjacks.

Including Art, Design Technology, Music. Photography & ICT

Tyler Francis is our first Year 7 ‘Chef of the Week’.

Create Science

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All the teachers in Science were really happy last week that the GCSE courses that year 7, 8 & 9 will be examined on at the end of year 11 have finally been agreed by the government. That means that we can start to plan in detail for next year and publishers will soon produce books and other resources that we can use in the Academy. A key difference in the new GCSEs is that practical controlled assessment work has gone and all the assessment is by exam. Practical work is still important in Science and all students must complete 27 practical projects during the course. Questions will then be set on these practical investigations in the exam. The content covered is different to what we have done in the past. A lot more is included and the mathematical understanding needed is greater but we have been expecting and preparing for this for the last two years. The course we follow in year 7 & 8 covers a huge amount of content which we will return to at GCSE and give the time it needs to develop a full understanding.

The exam course we have chosen is called Trilogy from AQA and teaches the Biology, Chemistry and Physics topics separately. This means that most students will have three separate science teachers, each teaching one of the three sciences. Year 11 are well into their exams by now and this is the time of year we try to plan trips and visits to places of scientific interest. Watch out for information on visits coming soon.

Endeavour Stars Discovery

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Phone home Friday Teachers will be phoning the parents

of their star of the week to share details of the student’s great work.

Congratulations to the following students on their excellent work: English: Rinalds Vinbergs, Sol Martin, Jake Hewitt, Cameron Hill, Ethics: Jasmin Knock Form time: Charlie Beaumont French: Lewis Bannon Geography: Ruby Driver, Chelsea Easterbrook History: Olivia Frost, Ernie Simmons ICT: Megan Mason, Mia Bailey, Francesca Dunnett Maths: James Smith, Tiffany Hughes, Andris Urbus, Sophia Sparkes, Courtney Macken, Bradley Henry-Osborne, Brooke Compton, Pana Shareef, Jack Ardem, Miranda Summers, Music: George Page PE: Jade Davies Photographry: Connor Potter PSHE: Luke Walsh Science: Kai Maddix Uniform: Shafeeno O'Connor

Endeavour Stars Discovery

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Year 7 students have been studying prejudice, racism and discrimination within the last term. This has covered a wide range of topics such as: The media and how it influences Prejudice within 21st Century society in countries around the world Nazi Germany and Holocaust Civil Rights within USA Racism within sport. Year 9, 10 and 11 students are only days away from sitting their first GCSE exam on the topic of Religion and Life. The revision and effort students have been putting in, both in lessons and after school, has been very well received and commended on by staff members around the school. Year 9 students can collect their result from this examination during the Summer holidays with details being made available to students nearer the end of term. It’s a busy time in the Modern Foreign Languages department as we near the half-term break. Year 7 are learning about leisure activities and how to give opinions, whilst Year 8 are preparing for, and completing, assessment tests in all four major skill areas. In Key Stage 4 GCSE French students are preparing for a major controlled assessment on healthy lifestyles whereas Year 10/11 Spanish students are ‘cramming’ for their external examinations on the 20th May – suerte todo el mundo!

Including Ethics, Geography, History, French & Spanish

It's bonus rewards time at Endeavour! In addition to our Vivo rewards scheme, star of the week and rewards room, we have added some extra bonuses to our rewards scheme to say "well done" to all those students who put extra effort into their school life. Our new rewards ladder runs alongside our Vivos and the numbers on the side of the ladder relate directly to how many Vivos a student has. The more Vivos you get, the further up the ladder you go and receive additional rewards to your Vivos.

On another note, we are always looking for extra items to add to our in house Vivo shop. If you work for a company that has some freebies we could add to the Vivo shop or our summer fair raffle, please let us know.

Lifestyle

Including PE & PSHE

Year 11 GCSE PE Practical Exam - 25th & 26th April 2016 Well done to all the Year 11 GCSE students for a fantastic practical exam. The moderator was thoroughly impressed with everyone’s performance and commended the students for their effort. To gain an insight of the day, here is a piece from Jack Oxford about how he thought the day went. GCSE PE Practical exam - A student’s view In Year 11, we were given the opportunity to do GCSE PE as a one-year course. The course is made up of two parts: theory and practical. On the 25th of April we had to do our practical assessment for which everyone had to do some form of fitness. For me, and most others, this was the 12-minute Cooper Run. Everyone pushed themselves as hard as they could, and many of us came close to passing out, but no-one did. After that ordeal, we were quizzed on various elements of fitness; how the heart works, which muscles we used during our run, and what adaptations the body makes to exercise. Everyone had to be active in the discussion to get a good grade, and everyone was. Next up was the sports-based assessments, consisting of netball, football and rounders, but I didn’t participate as I had finished my assessment well before the day. However, I did have to speak to the exam moderator about basketball rules and principles, as I had been assessed on that a few weeks back. The discussion we had was surprisingly laid-back and easy, and I felt no pressure whatsoever. I had to analyse my friend’s performance to determine what changes he could make to improve, and I was given sample game situations to determine which decisions I would make during them. Overall, the day was actually rather enjoyable. There really was nothing to be nervous about!

Jack Oxford, Year 11

Lifestyle Excellence is standard

Term Dates 2015-16

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Summer Term Begins 11 April 2016 Ends 21 July 2016 Summer Half Term Begins 30 May 2016 Ends 3 June 2016 Autumn Term Begins 5 September 2016 Ends 20 December 2016 Autumn Half Term Begins 21 October 2016 Ends 31 October 2016

Dates for your diary

28 May Academy closes for half term

06 June Students return to academy 14 June Parents’ forum 6 - 7pm 16 June Arts evening 4.30 - 7pm 21 June Parent’s evening 4.30 - 6.30pm 27 June Sports day 27 June - 1 July Year 10 work experience 28 June New intake parents evening 6 - 7pm 7 July Summer variety shoe 6.30 - 8pm 13 July Summer fair 21 July Academy closes for summer break 25 August Exam results Please can you kindly donate your old PE kit to

the PE department when you leave. We would be extremely grateful for any polo shirts, rugby tops, shorts and fleeces to use as spare kit. Many thanks, The PE Department

Plea to Year 11 Leavers