1

Academy Newsletter Edition 18, July 2012 2012 International Baccalaureate results: Dr R S Gibson The 2012 International Baccalaureate Diploma results were released on Thursday 5th July 2012, and I am pleased to report a very strong performance from our IB Diploma Students; a 94.4 per cent pass rate was achieved overall, and two students have received offers at the University of Oxford this year – congratulations to them!

Important information regarding end of Term 6 and start of new academic year arrangements:

Wednesday 18th July 2012: The Academy will close to students at 1.20pm. This is a non-uniform day with students making a donation to their chosen charity. Buses will leave the Academy at 1.30pm.

Thursday 19th July 2012: INSET Day – The Academy will be closed to students.

Monday 3rd September 2012: INSET Day – The Academy will be closed to students, with the exception of Year 12 students who will be enrolling for their Sixth Form courses.

Tuesday 4th September 2012: The Academy will re-open to all students and the academic year will commence on a Week 1 timetable.

Message from the Academy Principal, Mr R C Evans Welcome to the last newsletter of the current academic year. Our third year as Winterbourne International Academy seems to have gone by very quickly and we are now looking towards the start of the new academic year in September. On Thursday 26th April 2012 and Tuesday 29th May 2012, the Academy underwent a Section 5 Ofsted Inspection. A copy of the final report was distributed to parents/carers on Friday 15th June 2012 and a further copy was posted on the Academy‟s website: www.trfwia.org.uk . Overall, the Academy is pleased with the inspection judgements which align with our own self-evaluation, and which are detailed below: Inspection judgements (2 = Good)

Overall effectiveness 2

Achievement of students 2

Quality of teaching 2

Behaviour and safety of students 2

Leadership and management 2

Parents/carers may be interested to know that Ofsted define “Good” as: “These are very positive features of a school; a school that is good is serving its pupils well.” I would like to highlight that I am always happy to receive comments from parents/carers on any aspect of the Academy. Comments sent directly or anonymously will always be considered and where possible a formal reply will be made. On Monday 2nd July 2012 and Monday 9th July 2012, the Years 7 and 8 and Years 9 and 10 Awards Evenings were held at the Academy. The Guests of Honour were Mr Roger Gilbert, Academy Principal of Yate International Academy, and Chris Smith, Chair of the Academy Trust. Both events were well attended and it was a pleasure and a privilege to celebrate our student successes on both of these occasions.

2

Please note the following dates for Awards Evenings during the next academic year:

Federation Year 13 Presentation Evening: Wednesday 5th September 2012 from 7.00pm-9.00pm at the Aztec Hotel and Spa.

Federation Year 11 Presentation Evening: Thursday 22nd November 2012 from 7.00pm at the Wills Memorial Building, University of Bristol.

As always, at the end of the academic year several members of teaching and support staff are leaving the Academy:

Mr N Cole - End of GTP placement in Music Mr P Foster – Teacher of English Mrs J Gray – Teacher of Mathematics Mr M Humphreys – Teacher of Technology/Deputy SENCO Miss K Moore – Teacher of Science Miss K Nelhams – Teaching Assistant (SEN) Mr J Prodger – Teacher of Mathematics Miss K Tamblin – Teaching Assistant (PE) Dr T Webster – Teacher of Science

I would also like to take this opportunity to highlight two long serving members of teaching staff who are retiring. Both members of staff have made exceptional contributions to both The Ridings High School and Winterbourne International Academy. The departures of Mrs C Hart (Head of Geography) and Mrs S Gay (Director of Studies) will leave enormous gaps to be filled as they move on to a well deserved retirement. I am sure that you will join me in thanking the above staff for all of their efforts during their time at the Academy and in wishing them every success for their future plans. The first newsletter of the new academic year will include the details of the members of staff that will have joined us in September 2012.

I would also like to take this opportunity to advise you of the arrangements for the distribution of examination results in the summer:

AS and A Level: Thursday 16th August 2012

GCSE, including Year 10 modules: Thursday 23rd August 2012

IBDP: students received their IBDP results on Thursday 5th July 2012.

On the designated results days, a printout of the examination results will be available from the Sports Hall Reception area at 8.00am for A and AS Level, and 9.30am for GCSE. Candidates can arrive in person to collect their results; however, if they are unable to collect them personally, a relative or friend can collect the results on their behalf. The candidate must give the person collecting the results on their behalf a signed letter giving them permission to do so. Results will not be given out over the phone or by email. We will fax results in response to a faxed request with the candidate‟s signature on it. These are the only circumstances where we will issue results to anyone other than the candidate in person. Our best wishes go to all students who are currently awaiting external examination results.

Finally, we anticipate that building work will commence at the Academy over the forthcoming holidays, and a number of changes will occur as a result: from September 2012, all students, staff and parents/carers will only be able to access the site from the rear entrance. Also, there will not be any parking available on site for visitors during this time. A separate letter will be issued before the end of term highlighting these changes, and there will be regular updates regarding other essential changes over the forthcoming academic year.

I hope that you have a pleasant summer break and I look forward to welcoming you back in September 2012.

Mr R C Evans Academy Principal

3

NEWSLETTER PUBLICATION DATES 2012-2013 For information, the 2012-2013 Academy newsletter will be produced on the following dates with copies also posted on the Academy website (www.trfwia.org.uk):

Thursday 27th September 2012

Thursday 6th December 2012

Thursday 31st January 2013

Thursday 14th March 2013

Thursday 16th May 2013

Thursday 11th July 2013 Paper versions will be distributed to all parents/carers who have requested such a copy.

PARENT/CARER FOCUS GROUP MEETING DATES 2012-2013 All meetings commence at 6.30pm:

Tuesday 25th September 2012

Thursday 6th December 2012

Wednesday 6th February 2013

Thursday 21st March 2013

Thursday 9th May 2013

Thursday 11th July 2013

IS MY FAMILY ENTITLED TO FREE SCHOOL MEALS?

You would be entitled to Free School Meals if you are in receipt of certain benefits (for example, if you are entitled to Child Tax Credits.) However, if you receive Working Tax Credit then you will not be eligible. If you wish to apply for your child to receive Free School Meals, please contact South Gloucestershire Council on 01454 868008.

WE HAVE GONE SOCIAL! We would like to let parents/carers, staff and students know that Winterbourne International Academy now has its own Facebook page. Make sure you „like‟ us for all of the latest news and events information – www.facebook.com/winterbourneinternationalAcademy We are also on Twitter, so make sure you follow us too! www.twitter.com/TRFWIA

YEAR 9 GIRLS ‘DO SOMETHING NICE FOR SOMEONE ELSE’

A group of 11 students from Year 9 have participated in the „Doing Something Nice For Someone Else‟ initiative. The girls visited the Barn Owl Nursery, which is based in Hambrook. During their time at the nursery the students spent an hour with the children playing games outside and colouring in. The visit ended with the students reading a story to the children and each child at the nursery was then given a certificate identifying each of the activities that they had undertaken that day. The girls that took part in the initiative were: Imogen Davey, Georgia Ace, Natalie Golebiowska, Jess Howard, Amy Jones, Lauren Sims, Daisy Hatfield, Georgia Hoare, Elise Denner, Tia Wills and Mahnoor Fatima. Well done to all of the students involved!

4

WEDDING BELLS! Former Winterbourne International Academy students Becky Payne and Alex Reed are getting married on Friday 31st August 2012. Becky was a pupil at the Academy for the full 7 years and Alex for 2 years. Since leaving the Academy they have both gone on to complete their degrees and have now been working for a year – congratulations!

YEARS 9 AND 10 PAMPER EVENING RAISES £150 FOR BLISS On Friday 25th May 2012 a group of Year 9 and Year 10 Hospitality students organised a ladies pamper evening. The students worked hard to ensure that the event was a success and they are really thankful to everyone that came along. The evening was very enjoyable and a highlight was the Avon Harmony Chorus performing outside in the beautiful sunshine. The event was a huge success and raised £150 for the charity “Bliss”, which is affiliated with Southmead Hospital and helps premature babies. There were several positive comments made by the ladies who attended to the event, which included praising the students‟ welcome and hospitality and also commenting how professional they were. Congratulations to everyone involved in making the evening a success! JONATHAN EDWARDS SUPPORTS OLYMPIC TORCH BEARER JESS HOPTON

Former Olympic triple jump champion Jonathan Edwards visited Winterbourne International Academy to witness the support for Jess Hopton in Year 10, who was nominated to take part in the Olympic Torch Relay on Tuesday 22nd May 2012. As part of the London 2012 celebrations, Jonathan visited a number of locations in the South West. He spoke to local people, and showcased their final preparations for the Torch Relay, for a film entitled “Jonathan‟s Journey” which is available on the London 2012 website (www.london2012.com). During Jonathan‟s visit to the Academy, he witnessed the support that was given to Jess, who had been recognised for her successes in badminton. Year 7 students, who made banners and posters in support of Jess, lined the route when she carried the torch from Old Market Street to Castle Street during the relay.

Speaking about Jess‟s success, Jonathan said “Jess is an outstanding sports woman and it has been great to see the high level of support that the Academy has given to her. Every sports person needs a support network in order to succeed, and it has been great to see everyone getting involved today and offering their encouragement. Jess has a very promising future ahead of her and she should go far!”

5

CHRISTMAS MARKET

Thank you to everyone who has supported The Friends during this past academic year. We are already thinking ahead to our Christmas Market, which will be held on Saturday 24th November 2012 from 10.00am- 3.00pm. If you would like further details regarding booking a table, please contact us as soon as possible by emailing office@trfwia.org.uk marked FAO Alison Bray, The Friends.

NEXT MEETING

Our Annual General Meeting will be held on Monday 17th September 2012 at 7.30pm in the Technology Centre Conference Room. All parents/carers are members of The Friends and you are welcome to come along to any of our meetings, without having to join the Committee. We would really appreciate some new ideas for social or fundraising events; so if you have any suggestions or would like to join our list of Supporters, please contact Alison Bray via the Academy Reception or email office@trfwia.org.uk marked FAO Alison Bray, The Friends.

Thank you to everyone who has joined our Lottery - at £1 per month, it is great value and the odds are good too! Winners since September 2011 are listed below:

Sept 11 1st Gill Harris

2nd Tracey MacDonald

3rd S Clark

Oct 11 1st Fran Deane

2nd Sarah Milne

3rd S Coltman Nov 11 1st Lesley Johnson

2nd Eric Bray

3rd Enzo Palazzoni Dec 11 1st Suzie Collins 2nd Amanda Hill 3rd Heidi Bassett Jan 12 1st Diane Craig 2nd Debbie Slayne 3rd Mrs Hayzen

Feb 12 1st Catherine Boyle 2nd Diane Knowles 3rd Jackie Jones

Mar 12 1st Chris Williams 2nd Juliette Hughes 3rd John Britton Apr 12 1st Toni Wright 2nd Sarah Louise Mason 3rd Lee Hann May 12 1st Kate Calver 2nd Susan Fox 3rd Alistair Wilkins June 12 1st Helen Jackson 2nd A.Leonard 3rd Tricia Partridge

The Friends of WIA

6

Many of the Winterbourne International Academy students are performing exceptionally well when representing the Academy or performing independently in their chosen sport. They are really putting the Academy on the sporting map at a national level, and deserve recognition and congratulations.

UNIVERSITY OF BATH’S ‘SCHOOL GAMES’ FESTIVAL

On Wednesday 20th June 2012, students from Winterbourne International Academy attended the University of Bath‟s “School Games” Festival. The university planned indoor and outdoor sports for all age groups which included everything from athletics and cricket to indoor badminton and water polo. After the Opening Ceremony, the groups took up their chosen sports. The Academy‟s water polo team from Years 9 and 10 took part: Karim Allaouat, Patrick McMinn, Fraser Crawford, Gemma Aitchinson, Amy Donnelly, Emily Crawford and Dan Williamson, who despite being on crutches, came along to cheer on the team. The team‟s coach, Jacob Newman and instructor, Alex Heath, also attended.

The University of Bath also arranged a water polo tournament with a total of seven schools taking part. Despite losing their first match, the Winterbourne International Academy team worked hard to win their remaining games. However, the structure of the tournament meant that the team had to wait until the final matches were played in order to be assured of their final position. An anxious time was then rewarded with the news that the Winterbourne International Academy Water Polo Team had won the tournament and the team members were all presented with t-shirts and medals at the poolside, along with certificates the following day. Well done to all of the students who took part!

CRICKET YEAR 7 MATCH REPORT On Monday 25th June 2012 the Winterbourne International Academy Year 7 cricket team played a cricket match against Kingswood School.

The game was a 16 over match and Tom Parker won the toss and elected to bat first. The batting started slowly but picked up pace as the game went on. Tom Harrison started the innings well and Kieran Slade batted excellently. Ben Parker achieved 18 runs with 2 fours and Tom Howell scored 12 runs not out, and was very pleased. The team head into the final with good spirit, and whatever the outcome may be, they have done very well to get this far. With a little more batting practice we are confident that the team could win this match. Team: Tom Harrison, George Hanham, Kieran Slade, Ben Parker, Ryan Sharpe, Tom Howell, Tom Parker, Ben Snell, Will Thomas, Dom Jewell, Max Wookey.

7

FIRST XI CRICKET TEAM MATCH REPORT The Winterbourne International Academy first XI cricket team played Wellsway School on Wednesday 27th June 2012 in a 30 over friendly match. The Wellsway team made steady progress, despite early wickets from George Ford. However, the Winterbourne International Academy team managed to advance and scored 71 runs from the first ten overs with Joe Coles and James Bracey setting the pace. Unfortunately, the Academy lost to Wellsway by 32 runs and finished on 180 all out overall with James Bracey scoring a fine 69 runs. Well done to all of the boys who took part! WATER SPORTS TRIP, SOUSTONS 2012: Dan Spalding, Tutor Group 10.9 and Emily Portergill, Tutor Group 10.4.

During the June half term, a group of Year 9 and Year 10 students took a 22 hour coach journey to Soustons in Southern France for the annual Water Sports trip. As part of the trip the students took part in many different water sport activities such as canoeing, windsurfing and white water rafting. The students also went to a water park, to the beach, bowling and enjoyed a pizza night. Comments regarding the trip included: „It was an amazing experience and I spent a week with some great people” (Dan Spalding) and „I would really recommend it and wish we could go back‟ (Emily Portergill)

Next year the Water Sports Trip will take place in Spain, with a two night stay in the mountains of Andorra. It will take place during May half term 2013 and is open to students that will be in Years 9 or 10 in 2012-2013. Letters regarding the trip will be available to collect from Mrs Bennett shortly. KEY STAGE 3 GAMES FESTIVAL A group of 20 girls from Years 7 and 8 went to the Key Stage 3 Games festival at the University of the West of England. During the event they were asked to take part in new and exciting activities which included climbing, squash, boxing and fencing. All of the students worked really hard and were a credit to the Academy – well done!

WORLD SPORTS DAY On 24th June 2012 the International Department launched the new annual World Sports Day event in conjunction with the PE Department. Year 7 students were challenged to play some more obscure sports from around the world, engaging with new rules and strategies while recognising the global themes of teamwork, competitive challenge and the spirit of fair play. One sport from each of the House continents was played: lacrosse from the Americas, jurksei from Africa, handball from Europe, kabbadi from Asia and ultimate frisbee from Oceania. The focus was not on the scoreboard alone, and students were also marked according to the Olympic principles of courage, respect, friendship, inspiration, determination and excellence. All of these attributes were displayed in abundance as students embraced these new sports and truly worked together to compete to be the first team to win the World Sports Day Trophy. A selection of Year 9 students really showed their ability to lead as they explained and refereed each sports session, not only

INTERNATIONAL

8

contributing to their PE GCSE course, but also gaining essential life experience in showing initiative and taking on aspiration responsibilities. Europe House triumphed overall, however, Africa House were only one point behind! Well done to all of the students that were involved.

EXPERIENCE OF TEACHING IN NEPAL On Thursday 28th June 2012, Sophie Calver, daughter of Winterbourne International Academy PE Teacher and Head of Year 7 Kate Calver, came in to talk to a group of students from Tutor Group 7.1 about her experience of teaching in Nepal. Sophie taught in Nepal for three weeks and showed the students videos and photographs of her time in the country.

MODERN

FOREIGN LANGUAGES

...One of our specialisms! EURO 2012: Miss Henecka Following the theme of Euro 2012, two Year 9 students (Ashley Wood and Ryan Beebee), delivered two interesting and engaging 60 minute lessons to Miss Henecka‟s Year 7 and Year 8 German classes. The students had to complete five work stations; two of which were run by Ashley and three of which were run by Ryan. The stations included sorting a number of football players into either the Spanish or the German football team. The students successfully completed the activity by recognising the sounds of each language. Further stations required students to read a German match report and then draw the course the football had taken during the match, as well as drawing the German home and away kits by following instructions written entirely in German. A big thank you to Ashley and Ryan from both classes for their hard work, strict marking and engaging teaching. The students thoroughly enjoyed the lessons and comments such as, “I would like to do something like this when I am in Year 9”, show what excellent role models Ryan and Ashley proved themselves to be.

9

YEAR 9 MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES KARAOKE EVENT On Thursday 5th July 2012, a group of Year 9 students took part in a Modern Foreign Languages karaoke event, during which seven groups competed to become the 2012 Champions. Representing French were a group from Mrs Adams‟ and Miss Hoareau‟s classes, lead by Omar Mostafa si „C'est Bon Pour Le Morale‟ by La Compagnie Creole, a group from Mr Cerullo‟s class sang „Toi plus Moi‟ by Gregoire and Amy Reynolds from Mrs Wilcox‟s group sang a song by Kyo called „Je saigne encore‟.

For Spanish, Mr Masters‟ group sang a rousing rendition of „La flaca‟ by Jarabe de Palo and a small group from Ms Roberts‟ class sang „Wave your Flag‟ in Spanish and English. For German two groups competed; one from Miss Szczekala‟s class sang „Das Fliegerlied‟ and one from Miss Henecka‟s class sang „die Stadt‟ by Cassandra Steen. It was a very close competition with the judges; Mrs Steel, Mrs Flynn, Ms Ludgate and our special guest all the way from Germany, Patrick, scoring each group. The overall winner was Amy Reynolds who scored 38 out of a possible 40 points and she was presented with the trophy by last year‟s winner Jess Hopton. At the end of the event, Patrick treated us to a song in German. The event was a great success and was a great opportunity to have fun with languages!

...One of our specialisms!

On 18th June 2012, 30 students competed for the illustrious title of Maths House Champions 2012. The competition began with a task where students were given a map of their continent and were asked topical questions about the House continent of which they were a member. There were two students from each Key Stage 3 Year Group representing their House and after some very impressive estimation skills and some very close scores, students move onto round two. In round two students flexed their mathematical muscles as a team in order to solve some challenging and unusual problems.

As the competition grew more intense, the Houses fell one by one. The deciding task was the team relay where the Houses were separated into two teams of three students; Team A took a question, answered it, handed it in and took another question to give to Team B. Team B then answered this question, handed it in and took another question for Team A. The competition drew to a close and well done to Asia House who took the title. We look forward to seeing if you can retain your title next year! The Mathematics Faculty would like to thank the students for all of their hard work during the day.

10

LRC Request – Mrs Green, Academy LRC Co-ordinator As it is very close to the Summer Holidays, please could all students who have taken books out on loan from the Academy Library either return them, or see the Librarians by the end of Term 6 about renewing them for reading over the holidays.

Pencil case 30p

Ruler 10p

Eraser 5p

Black pen 20p

Pencil 5p

Sharpener 10p

Compass 30p

Protractor 15p

Exam set £1

Highlighter 50p

Bookmark 5p

Available from the Academy LRC

CALENDAR

Term 6

Thursday 12 July Years 6 and 7 Transition Day

Friday 13 July Years 6 and 7 Transition Day

Monday 16 July Year 9 Anti-Crime Day

Monday 16 July Year 10 Tutor Evening

Tuesday 17 July Year 8 „Real Game‟ Careers Event

Thursday 19 July INSET DAY – Academy closed to students

Thursday 19 July TERM 6 ENDS

11

TERM DATES FOR THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2012-2013

2012 Term One

Monday 3rd September 2012 – Wednesday 24th October 2012

Holiday Thursday 25th October 2012 - Friday 2nd November 2012

Term Two

Monday 5th November 2012 - Friday 21st December 2012

Holiday Monday 24th December 2012 – Friday 4th January 2013

2013 Term Three

Monday 7th January 2013 - Friday 8th February 2013

Holiday Monday 11th February 2013 - Friday 15th February 2013

Term Four

Monday 18th February 2013 - Friday 22nd March 2013

Holiday Monday 25th March 2013 - Friday 5th April 2013

Term Five

Monday 8th April 2013 - Friday 24th May 2013

Holiday Monday 27th May 2013 - Friday 31st May 2013

Term Six

Monday 3rd June 2013

Ends Wednesday 24th July 2013

Please note - During the above terms Winterbourne International Academy will be closed for STAFF INSET on:

Monday 3rd September 2012

Friday 5th October 2012

Thursday 15th November 2012

Friday 28th June 2013

Wednesday 24th July 2013

12

13

14