Are You Smarter Than a Teacher?

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Maurice Summers
5 years ago
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Whatever the time frame, I remain so proud of what we have built here, the wonderful team of staff I m privileged to lead and, of course, the tremendous achievements of

We await the results of their endeavours eagerly and optimistically.

they will have done themselves, you and us proud. We look forward to welcoming many of them back to EA6 next year.

As ever, we celebrate not just academic achievement but the successes of our pupils on the sports field, in the community and in a number of enriching and fun extra

1 The Ebbsfleet Academy NEWSLETTER Summer 2018 Principal s Message I can hardly believe that I write this at the end of the fifth year of The Ebbsfleet Academy. In many ways, the time has flown and in others it feels like only yesterday that we opened our doors. Whatever the time frame, I remain so proud of what we have built here, the wonderful team of staff I m privileged to lead and, of course, the tremendous achievements of our pupils. Those Year 7 pupils who arrived in our first September back in 2013 are now the Year 11s who have just sat their exams. We await the results of their endeavours eagerly and optimistically. Whilst, because of the changes to the new reformed GCSEs, it won t be possible to compare this summer s outcomes directly with previous years, we remain confident that they will have done themselves, you and us proud. We look forward to welcoming many of them back to EA6 next year. I hope you enjoy reading about some of the highlights of this long and hot summer term. As ever, we celebrate not just academic achievement but the successes of our pupils on the sports field, in the community and in a number of enriching and fun extra curricular events. I wish you all an enjoyable summer break. Alison Colwell Are You Smarter Than a Teacher? On the last Friday of the summer term, four students and four teachers battled it out to decide, once and for all, who was smartest! Cheered on by students and staff, and covering a range of topics (English, Maths, science, history, technology and general knowledge), the teachers emerged victorious! We hope the students enjoyed this end of term event, and look forward to challenging the teachers once again next year!

Hampton Court Palace On Wednesday 28 th June, the whole of Year 7 embarked upon a special journey to Hampton Court Palace.

Staff at the palace were on hand to give live cooking demonstrations as they made sausages and roasted huge joints of meat.

The afternoon was spent meandering our way through the stunning gardens before returning back to Ebbsfleet.

2 Hampton Court Palace On Wednesday 28 th June, the whole of Year 7 embarked upon a special journey to Hampton Court Palace. After navigating the ever busy M25, Year 7 experienced the wonders of the great kitchens where hundreds of cooks and servants prepared meals for Henry and his courtiers. Staff at the palace were on hand to give live cooking demonstrations as they made sausages and roasted huge joints of meat. Students also saw Henry s living apartments and a beautiful ornate church Aspire, Excel Speaker before enjoying a relaxed lunch in the sunshine. The afternoon was spent meandering our way through the stunning gardens before returning back to Ebbsfleet. Students in Years 9, 10 and 12 were treated to VIP Dr Matt Perkins inspiring talk on engineering. Dr Perkins has worked in space engineering and run a business that has put more than 50 space crafts in orbit! We look forward to more inspiring guest speakers next year. The Ebbsfleet Academy NEWSLETTER Page 2 Volunteers Raise Money for Ellenor On Wednesday 20 th June, 13 students from Years 7, 8 and 9 volunteered to take part in a fundraising activity for the charity Ellenor. Students were taken in the minibus by Ms Lafferty, Ms Rose and Mr Townshend to the local Asda supermarket in Greenhithe, where they spent the morning helping customers pack their shopping bags in exchange for charity donations. Thanks to the kindness of our students who gave up their time, and of the customers who gave extremely generous donations, a huge 188 was raised for Ellenor within two hours! Well done to all of the students who took part, you are a credit to the academy and the community!

Duke of Edinburgh Gogglebox The Ebbsfleet Academy was proud to welcome Mr Siddiqui from Channel 4 s Gogglebox.

The best pitch from each school will be shortlisted and judged by Baasit Siddiqui and then the creator of Gogglebox if they reach the second round.

workshop, I really enjoyed having the opportunity to work with Mr Siddiqui. I developed many important skills such as creative thinking and presentation skills.

It was fun and very creative and we will never forget it!

than doubling the number of students finishing their bronze award.

communication and problem solving that they had been building throughout the year.

3 Duke of Edinburgh Gogglebox The Ebbsfleet Academy was proud to welcome Mr Siddiqui from Channel 4 s Gogglebox. Workshops for an enterprise competition were run with some of our Year 8 students. The students were tasked with pitching ideas for their own TV show. The best pitch from each school will be shortlisted and judged by Baasit Siddiqui and then the creator of Gogglebox if they reach the second round. If we win, students will receive funding for our school as well as a visit to see a TV show being edited in London. In the Let s Pitch It! workshop, I really enjoyed having the opportunity to work with Mr Siddiqui. I developed many important skills such as creative thinking and presentation skills. I also enjoyed presenting my team s ideas in front of the Year 6 s as this built my confidence and public speaking skills. It was fun and very creative and we will never forget it! Demi Barrett in Year 8 Carrying on from a successful 2016/2017 this year has been another successful one for the Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) team with us more than doubling the number of students finishing their bronze award. The final two day expedition saw students successfully navigating their way through over 15km of the local country side and showing the skills of teamwork, communication and problem solving that they had been building throughout the year. A big well done to all students that have taken part in the DofE award this year. Winner of David Wilson Homes Competition We are delighted to celebrate the recent success of Jack Lipscombe. He produced the winning interior design entry for a competition held by David Wilson Homes. Jack produced a design around a music based theme and this was then turned into a real bedroom within a David Wilson show home. This came as great encouragement to Jack who wants to be an interior designer when he leaves school. Well done Jack. The Ebbsfleet Academy NEWSLETTER Page 3

Science Does Pointless During this year s Science Does Pointless inter-house competition, the Houses went head-to-head in a series of heats

These included creating a neutral solution from an acid and an alkali, and using touch to identify a variety of slimy and squishy mystery

The students and staff then came together in the grand final at the end of the day, where the House teams competed in a Pointless style game

A huge well done to Scott House who were the event winners, followed by Sharman House in second place and Bell House in third place.

The event was enjoyable for all involved and was an excellent way to end the term.

4 Science Does Pointless During this year s Science Does Pointless inter-house competition, the Houses went head-to-head in a series of heats involving a range of scientific challenges. These included creating a neutral solution from an acid and an alkali, and using touch to identify a variety of slimy and squishy mystery objects. The students and staff then came together in the grand final at the end of the day, where the House teams competed in a Pointless style game show, featuring a range of scientific questions. A huge well done to Scott House who were the event winners, followed by Sharman House in second place and Bell House in third place. Sadly, Drake House finished last after an incorrect answer in the final rounds landed them with 100 points! The event was enjoyable for all involved and was an excellent way to end the term. Dinner at Ebbsfleet United On Thursday 12 th April we took several Year 11 Food and Cookery students to visit the Ebbsfleet United football stadium. Here they prepared and served a delicious three course meal to a table of ten diners, including some of the players from the club. The students did us proud, with the chef commenting on their excellent behaviour and cookery skills. We hope that this will be the start of a growing partnership with the Ebbsfleet United Football Club. Here are some photos of the event and the dishes that they produced. The Ebbsfleet Academy NEWSLETTER Page 4

Launching this September - TEA PPSA Women in Business For this term s Academy Day 3, The Ebbsfleet Academy launched The Women In Business Project, which took seven selected Year 10 girls to the

The girls had to apply by formal letter of application, and the letters they wrote were powerful, clearly demonstrating their ambitions and curiosity to learn about their career possibilities.

Ms Menhennet was really impressed with their professional conduct and the enthusiasm they showed; both businesses remarked on how thoughtful and engaged the students were.

the academy on their experience, and becoming mentors for next year s Women In Business applicants. Overall, The TEA PPSA is a new adventure!

It will create an informal dialogue platform for the sharing of ideas. The association will also organise functions of a social nature.

5 Launching this September - TEA PPSA Women in Business For this term s Academy Day 3, The Ebbsfleet Academy launched The Women In Business Project, which took seven selected Year 10 girls to the London headquarters of two iconic businesses: Ernst & Young (financial services) and M&S. The girls had to apply by formal letter of application, and the letters they wrote were powerful, clearly demonstrating their ambitions and curiosity to learn about their career possibilities. Throughout the day, they had the opportunity to speak to a range of people working in Ypres senior roles in both businesses. Ms Menhennet was really impressed with their professional conduct and the enthusiasm they showed; both businesses remarked on how thoughtful and engaged the students were. The girls are now in the process of using their experience to decide on their next steps - including their role as WIB Ambassadors, which will include the responsibility of running an assembly for the academy on their experience, and becoming mentors for next year s Women In Business applicants. Overall, The TEA PPSA is a new adventure! It stands for The Ebbsfleet Academy Pupil, Parent, and Staff Association. The Association will enable and support a partnership between the different stakeholders at The Ebbsfleet Academy. It will create an informal dialogue platform for the sharing of ideas. The association will also organise functions of a social nature. If you would like to get involved please Ms Knowles at knowlesh@theebbsfleetacademy. kent.sch.uk the girls enjoyed the day and have said it s helped them to gain a better insight into the options available to them after education. Thank you and well done for being excellent role models, girls! In April 2018, Year 10 and EA6 History students visited Ypres in northern Belgium, the site of major battles on the Western Front during the First World War. We visited the Passchendaele Museum, the Tyne Cot Cemetery and the town of Ypres itself. Year 10 have studied the Western Front for their GCSE exams and this visit helped them to understand the perils facing the soldiers 100 years ago. The students really enjoyed the trip, were impeccably behaved and were excellent representatives for the school. The Ebbsfleet Academy NEWSLETTER Page 5

Sports Day On Wednesday 4 th July we celebrated our fifth annual sports day. Students from all year groups competed in track and field events to win points for their house.

A special mention goes to Jodie Mason for breaking two sports day records and to Ebony Lyons for setting a new record for the Year 7 100m and beating the Year 7 boys on the day!

Thanks to the fantastic work of our SGO we managed to secure funding to bring in specialised coaches for American Football, Handball and Girls Football.

6 Sports Day On Wednesday 4 th July we celebrated our fifth annual sports day. Students from all year groups competed in track and field events to win points for their house. The day was a huge success with 30 sports day records being beaten and 16 academy records. Students excelled throughout the day and represented themselves and their PE overview Houses well. A special mention goes to Jodie Mason for breaking two sports day records and to Ebony Lyons for setting a new record for the Year 7 100m and beating the Year 7 boys on the day! Scott House finished as the winning House scoring over 700 points. The Ebbsfleet Academy NEWSLETTER Page 6 Another successful and extremely busy year comes to a close for the PE department at The Ebbsfleet academy. This year has seen the creation of the sports council, whose hard work in fundraising combined with sponsorship, has allowed us to purchase two brand new football kits for KS3. Thanks to the fantastic work of our SGO we managed to secure funding to bring in specialised coaches for American Football, Handball and Girls Football. These have been an excellent success and allowed us to bring exciting opportunities for our students to participate in alternative activities. Throughout the year we have had a whole host of teams representing the school, allowing students to experience the highs and lows of competitive sport. The creation of the Ebbsfleet Elite Athletes (EEA) has also allowed us to recognise and celebrate the success of the wide range of students that participate in elite sport at a variety of levels. Our sports leaders have grown in number and confidence and have been to a wide variety of local events. We then finished the year on a massive high with sports day and district athletics which between them saw over 20 school and sports records being broken. As a final farewell message from myself, a huge well done to all Ebbsfleet students who have represented the academy this year and every year since I joined the academy. It has been a real joy to see our students grow and flourish and to see them representing the academy and themselves in such a respectful and positive way.

PE Successes This year has seen our most successful one to date with us being able to get no less than 25 teams participating in district and county competitions.

being crowned district champions: U 13 Girls Badminton U 13 Girls Handball U 15 Boys Handball U 12 Boys Tennis U 13 Boys Tennis Well done to those teams but more importantly well done to all students

Sports Leaders We have seen the sports leaders programme grow again this year with over 30 students now taking part.

We are very lucky at The Ebbsfleet Academy to have a group of highly dedicated young sports leaders that do an excellent job of inspiring others wherever they go.

7 PE Successes This year has seen our most successful one to date with us being able to get no less than 25 teams participating in district and county competitions. Although our aim at the academy is for PE to be inclusive and for us to get as many students experiencing sport as possible it is always nice when we have some success with a number of our teams being crowned district champions: U 13 Girls Badminton U 13 Girls Handball U 15 Boys Handball U 12 Boys Tennis U 13 Boys Tennis Well done to those teams but more importantly well done to all students that have represented the academy in some form of sporting activity this year. The lessons of teamwork, respect and fair play in both victory and defeat are important ones to learn. Sports Leaders We have seen the sports leaders programme grow again this year with over 30 students now taking part. To be a sports leader is to be someone that is committed, enthusiastic and has a passion for sport and of sharing that passion with others. We are very lucky at The Ebbsfleet Academy to have a group of highly dedicated young sports leaders that do an excellent job of inspiring others wherever they go. The sports leaders have helped at a large number of events this year ranging from primary sports festivals in conjunction with our SGO, to primary school sports day events. The sports leaders were superb and some of the best leaders we have had. They are better than the University students last year at the Kent School Games Finals! Well done to all the sports leaders that have taken part in the programme this year! The Ebbsfleet Academy NEWSLETTER Page 7

Year 11 Ball Thursday 28 th June saw the fifth annual Year 11 Ball, celebrating the end of the GCSE examinations and wishing a fond farewell to those Year 11 students not returning to us for EA6.

8 Year 11 Ball Thursday 28 th June saw the fifth annual Year 11 Ball, celebrating the end of the GCSE examinations and wishing a fond farewell to those Year 11 students not returning to us for EA6. The students all looked wonderful in their suits and ball gowns, seemingly having left us after the exams as boys and girls and returning to us as young men and young women. Farewell... The ball started in style with a drinks reception in the atrium and the students chatting excitedly and taking photographs whilst parents looked on beaming - and some sobbing - with pride! We then journeyed to Greenwich on a beautiful old Routemaster London bus before the main event: a dance on board the Viscountess as we cruised up the River Thames into central London. Ms Lermer - I am really sad to leave Ebbsfleet after 2 years. I have really enjoyed working with all the wonderful staff and students here. I am leaving to teach in a school closer to home as my commute to Ebbsfleet is really far. I will miss all of the staff and students. Mr Roach - It has been an absolute pleasure to work at The Ebbsfleet Academy for the past 3 years and I leave with a heavy heart. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the fantastic staff, hard working students and supportive parents that have made my time at the academy such an enjoyable experience. I would urge all of our students to take every opportunity that is given to them and know they can achieve their aspirations if they are willing to put the hard work in. Ms Smith - After three fantastic years at The Ebbsfleet Academy, I regret to announce that I will be moving on to accept a promotion in a school nearer home. It has been an absolute pleasure to work alongside the diligent, respectful and enthusiastic students at this school, as well as the inspirational members of staff. I will be looking forward to hearing about the excellent future that The Ebbsfleet Academy has ahead and will be very sad to leave. Mr Hill - I have thoroughly enjoyed my time teaching at Ebbsfleet. I am sad to be leaving, but am looking forward to the new challenges teaching in a different area of the country. I wish the academy all the best in the future. Dr Handley - I m so thankful to all the students for making my time here at Ebbsfleet so enjoyable. I have loved teaching you all the weird and wonderful things that science has to offer. Best of luck for the future - Live long and prosper! Ms Osadebe - Teaching at The Ebbsfleet Academy has been a wonderful experience. I am thankful for the support I have received from students, staff and parents. I wish everyone at TEA all the best for the future. Key Dates All students to return to school on Tuesday 4 th September 2018 Year 7, Year 11, Year 12 and Year 13 to arrive at 8:10am Year 8, Year 9 and Year 10 to arrive at 11:25am Year 7 parents - Meet the Tutor - Thursday 20 th September 2018, 5pm-6pm Year 9 parents - Welcome to KS4 Event - Thursday 6 th September, 6pm-6.30pm Year 12 parents - EA6 Parents Information Session - Wednesday 12 th September The Ebbsfleet Academy NEWSLETTER Page 8

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