Newsletter - The Dorcan Academy

News letter
Issue No: 017
Term 5: 2015/2016
The recent interview day
provided students with a
great opportunity to perfect
their interview skills. Many
thanks to local employers
and volunteers who put the
students through their
paces.
Inside this issue:
Students from The Dorcan
Academy were successfully
involved with both inter-school
and national maths challenge
competitions.
It has been an exciting few
weeks watching our resident
blue tits prepare the nesting
box for the new arrivals. We
have been privileged to be
able to watch from day one.
The chicks have now hatched
and both mum and dad have
been busy feeding the
ravenous babies, who are
growing at an astonishing rate.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s
Award students took on some
challenging conditions to
complete their expeditions.
Message from the Headteacher
2
Raising Aspirations
3
Singing Success
3
Year 10 Mock Interview Day
4
UKMC
5
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award
6
PE News
7
Swindon Senior Forum
8
Teacher Training
8
Dorcan Go Club
8
Dorcan Nature Project
9
Your Time to Shine
10
Dates for your Diary
11
We hope you enjoy this edition of the newsletter.
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Message from the Headteacher
Once again this has been a very busy term with Year 11 on the ‘final lap’ of their
Dorcan journey. Students and staff have been working incredibly hard to ensure
that all students achieve their absolute best in the final examinations and we
wish them every success in this. Year 11 will continue to participate in all
lessons until the May holiday, after which they will only be required to attend for
lessons where the examination has not yet taken place, for the examinations
themselves and for any drop-down days or extra revision sessions that have
been planned to maximise their success. I would like to take this opportunity to
thank Year 11 parents for all the support they have given the students during
their time here which is an essential factor in their achievements.
I was delighted to be invited to Buckingham Palace, along with Miss Trigg and
Mrs Koza, as part of the Duke of Edinburgh Award’s 60th Anniversary
celebrations. The Dorcan Academy received the invitation as recognition for our
success with the DofE award since our launch four years ago; at the time we
had fifteen students participating and have how grown to one hundred participants – the largest cohort
in Swindon! We mingled with celebrities such as David Seaman, Ainsley Harriott and Julie Bradbury
(from BBC1’s ‘Countryfile’) and Mrs Koza even had her photograph taken with Anton Du Beke! The
highlight of the event was seeing students from Swindon schools receiving their Gold Awards and then
meeting Sophie, the Countess of Wessex who was herself embarking on a DofE Diamond challenge to
cycle from Edinburgh to London. Fortunately, the weather was beautiful as we all stood and faced the
palace while the National Anthem was played and then we were presented with a plaque to recognise
our involvement in the scheme. I would like to thank Miss Trigg and Mrs Koza for the many hours they
voluntarily put in to running the DofE scheme which supports our vision of developing the whole child.
We have enjoyed having Year 5 students from our cluster primary schools visiting us to take part in
the ‘Raising Aspirations’ project, which focuses on encouraging students at a young age to aspire to
university. The children also had the opportunity to experience some exciting and engaging lessons at
Dorcan, from rocketry to cooking and musical theatre. Students who selected music were involved in
creating our new school song, ‘Aspire to Greatness’, which included inspiring lyrics about their hopes
and dreams for the future. We hope to be able to perform it at some point in the near future.
At the other end of the spectrum, our Year 10 students had the opportunity to take part in an interview
day where local business people gave up their time to enable our students to experience what it is
like in a real interview situation. Students came dressed for the part and looked incredibly smart and
professional. They took part in several interviews, receiving feedback from each one, enabling them
to become more confident each time. One of our students stated that she had learnt that when asked
a question, you can take time to think before answering and not just answer immediately; this became
particularly useful for her when taking part in a student panel which was interviewing for new teaching
staff. This event was exceptionally well organised by Mrs Koza and her team of helpers and we are
very grateful for the enthusiasm of local businesses to take part.
There is now a link on our website to enable the new uniform to be purchased online. Stock will be
available from July 1st. Alternatively, you can purchase from school at one of our uniform days; the
first one will be on Monday July 11th for our new Year 7 and siblings, the second on Monday August
8th and the third on Thursday August 25th. More information will be sent out via Parent Mail. For now,
have a lovely half-term break.
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Raising Aspirations Project
Last term, all Year 5 pupils from our partner primaries visited
the University of West of England (UWE) in Bristol as part of
the Raising Aspirations project. The aim of the project is to
encourage more children to think about the possibility of
studying at university and about the opportunities that
universities offer.
The children have been working on the project throughout
the year. It began with the children creating a collage
depicting different aspects of university life. During the trip
the children completed a quiz based on what they could
remember about university life, followed by a filming activity
focusing on one of the following themes: Accommodation,
Finance and Clubs or Societies.
The trip was filmed and then edited by Y9 Media students,
and the final film will be shown to children and parents at a
graduation ceremony taking place this term at The Dorcan
Academy.
I would like to thank Mrs Di Stone, from the outreach team
at UWE, for organising the trips and the student
ambassadors who supported the children in their filming
activities. I would also like to thank Mrs Ruth Farrow for
organising the Year 9 Media students and supporting the
production of some very good films depicting university life
through the eyes of Year 5 children.
R Haskins
Teacher of Maths/Phase Leader
Singing Success
Congratulations to Chloe Crawford on
passing her recent vocal exam with a merit,
she left the competition with seven trophies
and three medals.
Mr Morris
Year Leader
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Year 10 Interview Day
The Dorcan Academy recently held an Interview Day for Year 10 students to prepare them for
life in the world of work. Prior to the day, students prepared a CV and a letter of application, as
well as working through interview questions and techniques with their tutors.
On the day a number of volunteers from local businesses gave up their time to interview each
student. The interviewers included staff from BMW, Catalent, Honda, Intel, SBC, Swindon Radio
105.5, Torin-Sifan and Zurich as well as school governors, invigilators and retired teachers.
The event was a great success and employers were impressed by the standard of preparation
and maturity shown by our Year 10 students.
Feedback from students was really positive; they reported feeling anxious, nervous and elated!
Many thanks to everyone who contributed to the event, it was a very worthwhile experience for
everyone.
Mrs B Koza
Student Data Manager
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UKMC
Recently, twenty Dorcan Academy students took part in the United Kingdom Maths Trust
Challenge (Junior). We received the results and our students did extremely well. Between them,
they have been awarded four gold certificates, seven silver certificates and four bronze
certificates. Alex Harkness, Year 8, did especially well too; scoring enough to qualify for the
second round. Rhys Parker, Year 7, had the highest score over both year groups and will be our
first-ever student to go forward to sit the Junior Mathematical Olympiad Challenge in Europe, on
14th June. Well done Rhys!
The Dorcan Academy is very proud of everyone who took part!
Year 8 students Charlotte Jones and Donovan Tran along
with Year 9 students Aaron Webber and Shaun Moore
made up The Dorcan Academy team at the Regional Finals
of the UK Maths Challenge at Royal Wootton Bassett
Academy. They competed against nineteen teams from
across Wiltshire in a mixture of team challenges throughout
the day, with a particular highlight being the team relay at
the end. A fantastic effort from the team during the day and
a fun day experiencing maths outside of the classroom well done to all of you!
Miss McMahon
Teacher of Maths
The United Kingdom Mathematics Trust
(UKMT) organises national mathematics
competitions for secondary school pupils.
This year twenty Dorcan Academy students
took part in this year’s UKMT Intermediate
Math Challenge where we received one
gold, one silver and seven bronze awards.
Over 200,000 pupils from the across the UK
took part in the Intermediate Maths
Challenge, and nationally the top 6% were
awarded a gold certificate, the next 13%
were awarded silver and the next 21% bronze. The top 10,000 students in the country are then
invited to progress to the next round of the competition, where the top 25% of scorers will be
awarded a merit award. Robert Chudek was among these top– scoring students and progressed
to compete in the next round where we are very proud to announce he was awarded the merit
award. A big well done to all students who took part.
Miss Messam
Teacher of Maths
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Duke of Edinburgh’s Award
Our Year 10 silver award students completed their practice expedition in the Brecon Beacons
during the Easter holidays and the bronze students went to Marlborough for their practice
expedition. Students demonstrated fantastic team work, independence and resourcefulness to
complete the expeditions. The groups were totally self-sufficient throughout the expedition; they
navigated their own route and carried their tents, clothing, food, stoves and sleeping bags in their
sixty-five litre rucksacks. Despite the challenging weather on both expeditions, including snow in
the mornings along with minus temperatures during the night for the silver students and
persistent rain for the bronze students, they all persevered and encouraged each other to the
peaks where the sun broke through to reveal stunning views of the mountainous terrain.
Well done to our bronze and silver students who should be very proud of themselves. Myself and
Mrs Koza look forward to joining you on your qualifying expeditions.
Silver qualifying expedition– Saturday 28th to Monday 30th May 2016
Bronze qualifying expedition– Saturday 11th to Sunday 12th June 2016
Miss Trigg and Mrs Koza
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PE News
It’s almost time for camp!
Year 7’s should have now paid their £10 deposit for camp and
the final £30 should be paid by Friday 10th June.
7B1, 7BA, 7G1 and 7GA will attend camp from Monday 4th July
to Wednesday 6th July. 7R1, 7RA and 7Y1 will attend camp
from Wednesday 6th July to Friday 8th July.
Students should have received letters confirming the arrangements for camp and a list of kit
requirements. Please contact your child’s PE teacher if you have not received this letter.
Rounders
We have had a fantastic turn-out for rounders practice so far this term.
Keep it up girls!
Our Year 10 team remain undefeated and our Year 7 and
Year 8 teams have shown great dedication to the team.
Rounders practice is every Tuesday after-school. Why not
come along?
Miss Trigg
Teacher of Physical Education
Athletics
Kiya Goodwin represented Swindon Harriers in the Wiltshire County
Championship recently, winning gold medals in both the 100 and 200
metre race and beating her personal best in both races.
Football
Year 7 boys’ football team enjoyed a fantastic Wiltshire School’s
Cup Tournament, held at Wootton Bassett’s new 3G pitches.
They finished third overall, after reaching the semi finals and
winning their third-place playoff tie vs. John Bentley School in
Calne. They also enjoyed victories over St Joseph’s, Wootton
Bassett B and Lavington on their way to the semi-finals. Well
done lads!.
Mr Chapple
Teacher of PE/Cover Supervisor
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Swindon Senior Forum
Thank you to our bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award students McKayla
Gowland, Katie Long and Mia Fahy for volunteering to serve refreshments at
the ‘Swindon Senior Forum’. Their help was greatly appreciated by the
members and staff.
Mrs Koza
Student Data Manager
Teacher Training
Recently The Dorcan Academy hosted a visit from over forty
Swindon NQTs (Newly Qualified Teachers) as part of the Swindon
Secondary Schools Teaching Alliance. The topic for the afternoon
was ‘Developing Leadership Thinking’. Examples of innovative
and outstanding practice were discussed and there was the
opportunity to observe lessons around the Academy, before further
subject-specific discussions. This was a great chance to showcase
the progress students are making in lessons.
Mrs Bray
Teacher of Languages
Dorcan “Go” Club
Dorcan “Go” Club was launched this term and our students have been enjoying the tactical
challenges of the world’s oldest board game.
Go is a fascinating strategic board game that’s been popular for at
least 2,500 years. It’s simple rules and deep strategies have
intrigued everyone from emperors to peasants for hundreds of
generations, as our students have been finding out. Paul Barnard,
from the Swindon “Go” Club, has been helping students to learn the
game.
What is “Go” and why should I learn it?
“Go” is a two-player game in which players take turns to place pieces (called stones) on the
board, making one move per turn.
It’s fun and exciting for people of any age, regardless of whether you are five or one-hundred
and five. Playing “Go” helps you improve and retain memory, concentration and self-control. It’s
also a great way to meet new friends.
“Go” can be played almost anywhere. In fact, it’s even been played by astronauts in space! All
you need is a “Go” set and a partner.
Mrs Lowe
Teacher of Science
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Dorcan Nature Project
Students have been constructing bee homes which are now in place around the school site.
Weekly surveys have started and we are hoping to record plenty of bee activity now that the
weather is warming up. All the data is sent to researchers at University of Sussex. The Dorcan
Nature Project has joined ‘Pollinator Abundance Network’, one of the Buzz Clubs flagship
projects. This is the third year they have run this project, each year adding to a growing
database of insect populations. Students will use pan traps to measure the presence and
abundance of many different groups of pollinators on the school site; samples will be taken in
May, June, July and August and returned to the university for analysis.
Dora, the Dorcan blue tit, has been busy incubating ten eggs in our nest box and we are
following her every move on our nestbox camera. We were very excited to see the first chicks
on Friday 13th May. Both Dora and Derek have been very busy feeding their chicks, who are
growing stronger each day. You can keep up with all the action on the Dorcan Nature Project
Facebook page.
Filming for the first “Dorcan Watch” is underway; our presenters have been out and about
recording all the action and interviewing the students leading each project.
Preparations for Open Farm Sunday have started; students from The Dorcan Academy will be
working alongside farmers from the Marlborough Downs on 5 th June at Manor Farm, Avebury
Trusloe where they will helping visitors learn more about garden bugs and beasties as well as
building bee and bug homes.
Mrs Lowe
Teacher of Science
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Your Time to Shine
Hannah, a Year 8 student, has been very successful recently in her acting career. Hannah was
lucky enough to share a set with both John Hannah and Ronan Keating whilst filming scenes for a
new movie. The film, called “Another Mother’s Son”, is being released later this year and tells the
true story of Louisa Gould who took in and hid a Russian prisoner of war on the Nazi-occupied
island of Jersey. The production company is Bill Kenwright Films and the director is Christopher
Menaul.
Hannah also reached the final stages of a national 'Your Time to Shine' competition run by the
Stagecoach Agency this year, she played the part of Cruella de Vil in a piece she created herself.
After Hannah gained two distinctions in her acting exams (Group Musical Theatre and Acting
Solo) she is now working on two more acting exams which she will take at the end of next term,
so she is working really hard.
At the recent Swindon Stagecoach awards Hannah was awarded the Achievement Award
(awarded for her great enthusiasm and progress in developing her skills across the disciplines) by
the Swindon Stagecoach Principal, Sheryll Fox. Obviously Hannah was delighted to receive this
accolade.
Hannah will also be starring at the Wyvern Theatre later this year alongside the rest of Swindon
Stagecoach in their charity gala performance.
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Dates for your Diary
Start of Term 6
6 June 2016
Year 6 Transition Days
20 - 24 June 2016
Sports Day
24 June 2016
Techniquest Trip
28 June 2016
Year 10 College Experience Swindon College
29 June 2016
KS3 Celebration Evening
30 June 2016
DT Graduation Show
30 June 2016
Year 10 College Experience - New College
1 July 2016
Year 10 College Experience - Cirencester
4 July 2016
Year 6 Transition Week
4 - 8 July 2016
Year 7 Camp
4 - 8 July 2016
DofE Bronze Qualifying Expedition
16 - 17 July 2016
Rewards Trips (all years)
19 July 2016
Last day of Term 6
20 July 2016
DETAILS OF ALL THESE EVENTS TO FOLLOW
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The Dorcan Academy
St. Paul’s Drive
Swindon, Wiltshire
SN3 5DA
Telephone: 01793 525231
Facsimile: 01793 431461
Email:
[email protected]
Head Teacher: Mrs S Bareham MBA GRSM (Hons)
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