It has been an incredibly busy two weeks since I last wrote an article

It has been an incredibly busy two
weeks since I last wrote an article for
the CA Update. We have had Year 10
parents’ evening, celebrated science
week, launched the Year 8 options
process and our Academy production
of Bugsy Malone kicks off on
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Wednesday 25 March!
With exams looming, staff and
students have been working together
to finish GCSE and A level courses
so that revision can start before
exams in May. I have been very
impressed at the dedication of our
Year 11, 12 and 13 students who
have been in the Academy working
late attending the numerous revision
classes on offer. I’m sure that all of
this hard work will pay off in August.
Science Week
We have just finished science week.
I’d like to thank the science faculty for
everything they have done to support
this. As science is our specialism it is
important we ensure every member
of the school community does
something ‘sciency’ this week. We
have had a solar eclipse breakfast,
‘awe
and
wonder’
science
assemblies, science immersion day,
visits to Imperial College, Ford
engineers talking to students and
loads of other fantastic activities. We
are also honoured to welcome Sir
Robert Winston to the Academy next
Monday. His lecture will be a treat for
us all!
that every student can be in coaching
time by 8.40am. Please support us
and ensure your child is in school by
8.35am every day.
Easter Holidays
With only two weeks to the Easter
break can I remind you the Academy
closes to students at lunchtime on
Thursday 2nd April and will re-open
for an 8.35am start on Monday 20th
April. There will be a half day closure
on the first Friday back (24th April) to
allow teachers to moderate GCSE
and A level controlled assessments.
These dates were shared with you in
September but I just wanted to
remind you of them. Over Easter a
number of revision classes will take
place. Further information will be sent
out before the Easter break.
Uniform
We have a clear uniform policy and a
very smart uniform which I expect all
students to wear with pride. Please
can you support us with this and
ensure that your child has a tie, a
blazer and wears correct school
shoes.
Punctuality and Attendance
You should have received a
personalised letter about attendance.
It is so important that your child is in
school every day. We will be
contacting and meeting with the
parents
of
students
whose
attendance is poor to see how we can
work together to improve things. You
will also be aware that we have had a
successful
drive
to
improve
punctuality to the Academy. We are
closing the gate at 8.35am to ensure
Internet Safety
I just wanted to remind parents of the
importance of keeping your child safe
on the internet. It is really important
that you know what your children are
looking
at,
who
they
are
communicating with and they know
what to do if they feel threatened on
the web. We have installed a help
button on the bottom of our website
called ‘Click CEOP’ it is a direct link
to the police and allows students to
report any inappropriate online
activity. Please spend 2 minutes
ensuring they know where this button
is and how to use it. Here is some
further guidance to help you keep
your child safe;
http://chelseaacademy.org/docs/newsletters/2015/i
nternet_safety.png.
Best wishes, Matt Williams
Congratulations to Will, who
won our horror story writing
competition last month. Will
won a signed copy of
Charlie’s Higson’s zombie
horror story The Hunted and
100 vivos. Well done also to
runner-up
Muntasir-Ul
Haque who won 50 vivos.
Students were invited to
write 500 words that would
scare us silly! This could
have been a whole story, the
opening chapter or prologue,
or even a scene from the
middle.
Will’s winning entry in a
complete short story called
Run, and you can read it by
following this link... if you
dare!
http://chelseaacademy.org/docs/newslette
rs/2015/run_by_will.pdf
Chelsea Academy will be holding
a Book Fair every lunchtime next
week in Food For Thought.
Students will be able to browse
and buy from a range of popular
teen fiction and non-fiction.
Please remind them to bring in
some money next week if they
would are interested in buying
something. Prices start form
£2.99! To see a selection of the
books that will be on sale go to
http://bookfairs.scholastic.co.uk/b
ookcases/tt
The community choir has had great
response and is building; Thanks so
much to all who came.
We look forward to seeing even
more parents, staff and members of
our
local
community
each
Wednesday, at 5.15pm in the
Academy Theatre – just come along!
See the flyer for more information:
http://chelseaacademy.org/docs/parents/2015/com
munity_choir.pdf
If you have any questions, email:
[email protected]
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On March 5 , Mrs Holgate took all the
Year 13 Chemistry students to the
Reach Out lab at Imperial College to
take part in a 2.5 hour Spectroscopy
workshop. The students got to use IR
and NMR spectroscopy equipment,
and work in teams to identify unknown
compounds. The workshop staff
commented that our students were
the best Year 13 students they had
ever had - well done!!
On Thursday 5th March we entered into Chelsea Academy's first ever
swimming gala held at Holland Park. This event had been anticipated for
years with many students interested in getting involved, the night itself was
filled with excitement and wonder of what was to come.
Year 7 & 8 were the year groups involved, participating in a variety of events,
25metre front crawl, back stroke and breast stroke, followed by 100metre
relays, finishing with a mixed relay. Students from both Academies’ swam
their hearts out with many races being a close call, furthermore both showed
their mutual love of the sport and supported each other with grace and
respect.
This is just the beginning for Chelsea Academy, there is another interborough event being organised as we speak with other schools and
Academies participating so swimmers get your goggles on and be ready for
the event of the year after Easter!
Please see the list below of those who represented Chelsea Academy in this
historic event: Isabella Annett, Sara Jaku, Anouk De Groot, Sky Harris, Ayla
Achenndova, Amelia Van Tlam, Ella Horner, Jovana Koprivica, Justin
Amoako, Nicolas Farah, Matthew Haile- Tweolde, Michael Vakarelshi, Lucas
Gago, Ibrahim Hassan, Bilal El-Khamlichi, Amir Ibrahim.
This year’s Academy production of Bugsy Malone is upon us – performance
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nights are 25 -27 March. Please see the flyer for performance details and
ticket price:
http://chelsea-academy.org/docs/events/bugsy_malone_poster.pdf
The following week, postgraduate
students from Imperial came into the
Academy to run AS Chemistry
sessions for our Year 12 Chemists.
What fantastic opportunities for our
students to get hands on experience
of using analytical techniques.
The Year 7 and 8 students competed within the Borough indoor athletics competition; there was sweat, tears and 100%
exertion from all involved.
The boys were unlucky, even with a valiant effort a special mention to the Year 8 team who had to complete many
additional events due to lack of participants.
The girls were valiant in their efforts and both became Borough champions to go through to the West London School
Championships, the Year 7's came 4th and the Year 8's came 8th.
We are the hub for London Youth Rowing and with
this had lots of opportunities for the students to
participate in exciting rowing trips; we have been to
Osterley Park where we were the first school to row
on the water there, with our very own Luke Gormley
being the first student to fall in!!
The students have really taken to rowing, we hope it
continues to grow and look forward to our students
competing at the National Junior Indoor Rowing
Championships this Friday.
The girls have had an abundance of games recently, winning 5,
drawing 2 and losing 1. They have been exceptional in their
performance and commitment to the team, hopefully this can
continue on the run up to Minehead Football Tournament.
They competed at the QPR Tournament and narrowly missed
out on getting through to the quarter-finals.
We will be highlighting attendance =
attainment over the coming weeks with our
attendance diamond initiative: http://chelseaacademy.org/docs/newsletters/2015/attenda
nce_diamond.jpg.
The U14 football team have had a very strong
second third of the season and remain unbeaten
in 2015 albeit through some good fortune
recently! It started with a very convincing win
against Westminster Academy 6-0.
This sparked a run of 17 goals for and only 2
against in the next 3 games! The unlucky
opponents were Fulham College, QK and
Ladywell Prentagast School. The latter opponent
was in the Inner London Cup Quarter finals where
the team eventually came out winners on a cold,
wet February day. The match was of very high
quality and all the players played their hearts out
to get that victory.
The last 2 games have been a bit closer with the
team edging out opponents by 1 goal in both
games. The league is very tight now with 4 teams
on 18 points and with only 1 more league game
to play it is going to go right down to the wire.
Well done to all the players in the squad who
have played fantastically in 2015!
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Year 12 students had a chance to meet business mentors,
and get advice, guidance and business cards!
On Monday 9 March, Mr Gilchrist and Mr Greenwood
took several Year 9 students to the Society of Motor
Manufacturers & Traders to assemble an electric
racing car. The students used a variety of tools and
learned intuitive mechanical principles as they built a
steering mechanism, fitted an engine and axles, and
made adjustments to improve the movement of the
parts. This racing car will be used to race in the
Formula E races in Battersea Park later on in the
spring.
On Tuesday 10th March, sponsor of the Music
Curriculum area Bryan Adams visited the Academy to
see some of our students who are in receipt of the
Instrumental & Vocal Tuition bursary funded by the Bryan
Adams Foundation.
He saw a vocal lesson with Phoebe Castillo (Year 9
Music Scholar) and Mr Jacklin, and a percussion lesson
where Mr Price was teaching Elif Karanis and Maria
Radivoj. To finish his visit, Bryan dropped in to a
student-devised performance of 'Skyfall' with Tanya
Perez Jovetic, Maya Szollosy-Jancso, Ava Sadeghi and
Sofia Panourgias.
Did you know:
- Applying for the non-means tested bursary for instrumental or vocal tuition reduces the cost by 80% (individual
lessons go from £136 per term to £27!!)
- Since the start of the scheme, the Academy has run 13,990 instrumental & vocal lessons
- the Academy has some instruments that can be loaned, free of charge, to students who sign up for tuition
- the application deadline for lessons to start after Easter is Thursday 2nd April
On Thursday 12th March,
Miss Lowe, Miss Williams,
Miss
Cato
and
Ms
Sarmiento escorted Year
7 students to the Science
Museum for the final day
of this year’s Building
Bridges project, to take
part in sessions such as
‘Science in the News’ and
‘Text Challenge’.
We are extremely lucky to
have such close links with
the museum that our
students and their families
can benefit from. Thank
you to Mr Walls for
organising this project
over the year.
On the evening of Immersion day, Mr Gilchrist, Mrs
Holgate and Miss Power (along with Academy Governor
Mr Eastwood) accompanied our team “Absolute Zero” to
the final of the School Science Competition at Imperial
College. Tabia, Ayman, Ali, Lucas & Christian were
shortlisted to the final 6 teams from over 60 entries, and
present their talk on DNA as the most significant
discovery of the last century. Whilst they did not win the
overall final, they got some fantastic feedback from
Judge Helen Arney on their links to all aspects of life, not
just science, and their use of arts and creativity in their
presentation.
On Tuesday 17th March, students at Chelsea Academy took part in Science Immersion Day as part of British Science
Week 2015. Students worked in their year groups on themes throughout the day:
Year 7 - Chelsea Science - looking at the Science in the history of
Chelsea through the work of Sir Hans Sloane, the development of milk
chocolate and the Chelsea Physic Garden; and new science from how
Oyster Cards work through to the building of the Super Sewer under the
Thames.
Year 8 - CREST award - students worked in teams throughout the day
the find out the science involved in designing a garden, completing their
CREAST award passport as they worked. The passports have now been
sent to CREST to find out which students will be awarded with the
CREST Discovery Award.
Years 9 & 10 - Design and Build a Car - students started the day with a
talk from two engineers from Ford Motors, before splitting off into teams
to design and build a model car. In the afternoon they worked on
marketing and finance in the motor industry. The winning team will get to
take part in the Formula E races in Battersea Park.
Year 11 - Exam preparation - Students took part in a bespoke
programme to enable them to prepare for their exams this summer. They
also were invited, along with Years 12 & 13, to attend a lecture from Dr
Adam Rutherford, a geneticist and Science broadcaster. We had a really
interesting talk about the role of genetics in society, and the common
misconceptions around inheritance and behaviour. Many students
commented that the most useful session had been the “Walking Talking
Mock” Exam, where Dr Greene and Mrs Holgate talked the students
through a mock exam paper, breaking down the questions and directing
them to the information to include in the answer.
Years 12 & 13 - Sixth Form Science - students took part in a bespoke programme of sessions, including subject
specialist sessions for those who study A level sciences, and Science in Society sessions, including Science in Politics,
Drugs, Budgeting and How to deal with Stress. They also attended Dr Rutherford’s lectures, making some insightful
comments about switching redundant genes back on, and the link between genetics and criminality.
Dear Parent(s) and Carer(s)
I trust you are well. Please meditate on our upcoming themes:
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Week 4 – 16 – 20 March: Awe and Wonder
God thundereth marvellously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend. (Job 37:5)
Week 5 – 23 – 27 March: Our Government: Rules and Laws
I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people - for kings and all those
in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our
Saviour. (1 Timothy 2:1-3)
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Week 6 - 30 March – 3 April Three Days that Changed the World (Easter)
Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may
have eternal life in him.” For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall
not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world
through him. (John 3:14-17)
Please remember our upcoming Parents' Prayer Meeting will be on Wednesday 1st April, from 5.30 pm-6.25 pm, just
before the Parents' Council Meeting.
If you ever need to contact me, please do not hesitate to email me on [email protected].
With every blessing
Rev Andrew Wignal, Academy Chaplain
[email protected]
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23rd – 27 March – Book Fair
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–
24 March ‘Bugsy Malone’ Academy production Matinee for primary school
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24 March - CAF trustees meeting
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25 – 27 March - ‘Bugsy Malone’ Academy production
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26 March – Student voice session with Governors
View up-to-date events information on our website http://chelsea-academy.org/news/page/upcoming_events
Previous CA Update editions can be found at http://chelsea-academy.org/news/caupdate