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NEWSLETTER

This half term must be just about the shortest I have ever known, yet we seem to have crammed in a huge amount, with a broad range of residential and day trips/events – almost too many to fit into one newsletter! I hope that you enjoy the images and stories that reflect our half term – whether it be water, rocks, snow or simply dressing up and having fun, we’ve seen it all in the last few weeks.

We were pleased in January to welcome a new Administration Assistant to the academy – Jenna Maidana will work with us part time and is a welcome addition to the Administration Team. Please can I remind parents/carers that the uniform requirements are: - Black trousers not jeans - Shoes not trainers - Blazers are a compulsory

part of school uniform and coats/hoodies should be

worn over rather than under blazers

We recognise the importance that technology can play in the classroom, but please reinforce with your child that devices need to be used under the direction of the teacher, and that any inappropriate use of devices like smartphones in the classroom may lead to them being confiscated.

I would like to take the opportunity to wish you all a restful Easter break, and remind parents/carers that Monday 11 April 2016 is a training day, with students due back at 08.55am on Tuesday 12 April. A date for your diary – Wednesday 20 April is our final Progress Review Day from 2pm-7.00pm. Please make your appointments as soon as possible after the start of the new term.

ISSUE 8

MARCH 2016

The Skipton Academy Does World Book Day

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Outward Bound Trip

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BBC School News Report

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Rotary Club Technology Tournament

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PRINCIPAL’S UPDATE

Twelve Skipton students and two staff members hit the slopes of Folgaria, Italy, over the February half term in a trip they’ll never forget. The students were from a variety of year groups, with many having never skied before. The skiing conditions were fantastic, with large accumulations just before the group left, ensuring a softer landing for the more inexperienced! Said Principal Wendy Hamilton: “This is an excellent opportunity for students to experience something completely different. I went on my first school ski trip as an 11 year old, and it is something I have never forgotten” Said Assistant Principals Sara Elson and Ian Price “The students all had a great time, no matter what level of ability. Everyone made massive individual progress and can be proud of their achievements. Students had the opportunity to experience a variety of skiing

disciplines such as downhill, slalom, ski jumping and free skiing all under the watchful eye of our excellent ski instructors.”

HITTING THE SLOPES

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THE SKIPTON ACADEMY DOES WORLD BOOK DAY

Another exciting World Book Day was celebrated at The Skipton Academy on 3 March. A large number of KS3 students and staff rose to the challenge of coming to school dressed as book characters. A £10 Amazon voucher was awarded to the winner alongside certificates and sweet treats for the rest of the runners ups for their efforts:

1st Place: Isabel Harris 8AJ - Eliza Doolittle 2nd Place: Rachel Farrier 7WS - Queen of Hearts 3rd Place: Rianna Meehan 7KS - Tommo Peaceful Mrs Butterfield, Head of English said, ‘The turn out this year was brilliant so much time and effort had gone into a wide range of costumes. Our Learning Support team

especially rose to the challenge with their Wizard of Oz theme’ Jude Kershaw year 10 student ‘a great experience for everyone involved. Reading is so important as it boosts people’s intelligence as well as imagination. I was so glad I could be part of the day again, I especially enjoyed judging the staff competition!’ In addition to this we also held

a book swap event in the LRC where all students could go and swap their favourite titles with someone else’s favourite read! The whole day was also linked with our yearly story writing competition that links to National Story Telling Week, January 30th - 6th February. Our focus this year was Fairytales…with a twist!

Pictures by Stephen Garnett.

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ICELAND 2016On the 15 March 37 students from Y10 and 4 members of staff left school at 0300 bound for Iceland. This once in a lifetime trip would allow GCSE Geography students to experience a number of geographical features that they will study over their 2 year GCSE course.

Our first stop in Iceland was the Blue Lagoon, one of the 25 wonders of the world; the students had a great time relaxing in the hot geothermal waters with silica mud masks on their faces. The afternoon was spent in the city of Reykjavik, the most northerly capital city in the world as Iceland is partially in the Arctic Circle. The whole area looked very different from last year, with a lot less snow.

Our second day was spent along the south coast of Iceland. We started the day with visits to two impressive waterfalls, firstly Seljalandsfoss waterfall, which you can normally walk behind, however the path was unfortunately closed. Then on to Skógafoss waterfall, with its impressive 60m drop, some students walked to the top viewing platform (a walk up over 400 steps) while the rest walked halfway up to get an impressive view

down on to the waterfall. This year we took students to see the farm at the base of the site of the 2010 ash cloud eruption, Eyjafjallajökull. We got to watch a short video from the owners telling us how they had fought back during the eruption to keep their business going. Our next stop meant a short walk which took us to the Mýrdalsjökull glacier, which has been retreating at a rate of one football pitch per year; however, it has actually advanced since our trip last year which was great to see.

Our final stop of the day was Reynisdrangar, an impressive black volcanic beach with amazing coastal stacks and caves, with cliffs that can only be compared to the Giant’s Causeway. The waves were huge and crashing on to the shore line showing us just how the impressive coastal features were formed. After a brief stop in the town of Vik we headed back to the hostel. Our evening was spent at the local outdoor swimming pool, the students had a great time using the slides and relaxing in the hot tubs after a long day.

The final day of our trip was the popular Golden Circle Tour and started with a walk

between two tectonic plates (North American Plate and the Eurasian Plate) which are moving apart at a rate of 2cm per year. The national park has some amazing features including fissures and fast moving rives. A new addition to the trip this year was a stop at an ice-cream farm, the people of Iceland are well known for their love of ice-cream in all weathers.

The next stop was the Strokkur Geyser, erupting every 4-7 minutes. The students were made to stand awkwardly in front of said geyser for 5 minutes waiting to get the perfect photo; it was well worth it. We then continued on to the amazing views of Gullfoss Waterfalls. This impressive sight even gave us a beautiful rainbow this year to add to the view. After a short stop to meet some Icelandic horses we were given a tour of a tomato green house, using Iceland’s geothermal energy to grow crops for the 330,000 population. We even managed to get almost all of the students to try eating some freshly picked cherry tomatoes, most admitting they were lovely. After we left the huge bowl of testers that has been put out was empty. Our final stop was to the Kerið

volcanic crater, with striking red rocks. Some students decided to walk down to the crater lake while others walked around the crater rim.

To start our evening we had a very entertaining session at the local ice rink, with many people spending the majority of the evening falling over - we have the pictures as evidence. The last part of the trip was our Northern Lights tour, unfortunately although the lights were putting on a great show the whole of Iceland was covered in a blanket of cloud meaning we were unlucky this year.

We all had an amazing trip and the students had an amazing time. We had many comments from members of the public about how polite they all were.

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STUDENTS GET A TASTE OF UNIVERSITY LIFE Year 9 students from The Skipton Academy widened their horizons in February. As part of the Higher York Network for Collaborative Outreach (HYNCO), the youngsters visited university and college campuses across York to see the broad range of opportunities on offer. Some students had a chance to learn more about academic lectures and seminars, while others visited an agricultural science lab and a variety of other land-based teaching facilities. Higher York partners worked together to ensure students experienced a taste of the diverse range of courses available. Sara Elson, Assistant Principal at The Skipton Academy, said: “The visit has been brilliant at widening the horizons of our students and showing them what life outside Skipton could be like.”

February saw the arrival of the latest technology in the classroom thanks to a grant from the town’s Mechanics Institute. Its £4,125 donation allowed us to buy 20 iPads and cases, along with secure storage cabinets. Principal, Wendy Hamilton, said: “These iPads will provide a mobile teaching and learning tool that can be used by different subjects to enhance and give greater variety to teaching techniques. They will enable teachers to be flexible in the classroom with students able to undertake a variety of activities within the same environment. We are very grateful to the Skipton Mechanics Institute for their generosity and investment in the future of the town’s young people.”

English is one subject where the iPads will prove invaluable. Students studying First World War poetry will be able to use the devices to immediately investigate this in more depth and contextualise what they are reading with historical background. And it is not just students who will benefit from the use of the iPads. Parents, too, may find them a useful resource. Wendy added: “We can use the devices to gather parent questionnaire feedback at events, and they may also be used to support the adult learning and skills work we are currently undertaking with Craven District Council, which aims to upskill parents to better enable them to support their children with their learning.”

SKIPTON ACADEMY BUYS IPADS WITH MECHANICS INSTITUTE GRANT

This term's word champions are: 1st – Connor Yeomans – 1, 157,103 words 2nd – Victoria Lister – 1, 028,611 words 3rd – James Benstead – 683,813 words

Connor and Victoria become our first word millionaires!

This term's quiz masters (100% on 1 or more of their Accelerated Reader quizzes) are: Freddie Allen, Josh Craddock, Sasha Dickinson, James Dobson, Rachel Farrier, Ethan Madeley, Hamish McKie, Nathen Purdie, Lara Titorenko, Connor Yeomans, James Benstead, William Bisset, Woody Coxon, Brooke Jacques, Victoria Lister, Abbie Marshall, Tayeba Rafiq, Leon Stoddart-Hall, Sana Zaheer, James Brown, Karolina Kowal, Kyle Lambert, Chloe Nettleton, Kieran Thornber, Megan Slater, Keris Thornton, John Brown, Aimee Culverhouse, Kayleigh Hindle, Julia Naziemkowska, Haris Ali, Olivia Bacon, Erin Dryden and Bertie Rose. Well done from the English department, keep up the good work!

ACCELERATED READER CHAMPIONS

This year saw an exciting and fiercely competitive Chess Challenge with some extremely talented Year 7s making their mark on the tournament. Five students have qualified for the next round of the competition in York; James Ridler, Matthew Brooke, Gavin Ainsworth, Alex Parker-Colclough and Nathaniel Brazel-Pennie. Congratulations to The Skipton Academy Tournament winner, James Ridler and runner up Matthew Brooke.

UK SCHOOLS CHESS CHALLENGE 2016

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NATIONAL BBC SCHOOL NEWS REPORT - LIVE ACTION DAY FOR SKIPTON ACADEMY PUPILS WITH CRAVEN COLLEGE’S CREATIVE MEDIA

Mach saw twenty eight students from The Skipton Academy, supported by Creative Media students and tutors, go to Craven College’s TV studio to take part in the BBC School News Report. Divided into four groups, each member took on their chosen broadcast reporter’s role - photographer, sound recorder, interviewer, camera operator and editor, to become a real-life journalists making their own reports for a real audience to share with the BBC. They tackled local and national news stories including junior doctors strike action, should Skipton have a Starbucks, how many hours of sleep a night a teenager requires and Pie Week, and kept everyone up-to date on the day’s news, events and weather. The students simultaneously created video, audio and text-based news reports, and published them on the college website, to which the BBC linked.

The Skipton Academy student Kameran Alam said: “It’s been a great experience. I have really enjoyed my day taking part in BBC School News Report. It’s given me a lot of confidence and helped me gain skills such as team working and time management. I loved being in the College’s TV studio and using editing software on the Apple Mac computer and having Craven College students help me how to use the cameras.”

Creative Media tutor Jemma Crozier said: “I wanted the day to be a lot of fun for these young people and it certainly has been. From deciding which stories to cover, writing, recording interviews, filming and editing everything has come together and made a memorable experience. I hope it inspired some to look at journalism as a potential career choice.”

Bernadette Butterfield, Head of English at The Skipton Academy said: “All the Year 9 students involved were really keen to get stuck into being journalists, camera crew and weather reporters for the day. A really exciting day was had by all, something really interactive for them – hopefully inspiring them for their plans in the future.”

BBC News presenter and former teacher, Huw Edwards, is working on School Report. He said: “Over the years I’ve run many journalism workshops in schools. So I’ve seen how much fun it can be and how much can be learnt when there are real deadlines, real audiences and real standards to meet. I’m involved because I want to give young people the chance to make the news themselves, and I want to share the principles of good journalism.”

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LOTTERY GRANT LIGHTS UP BOLTON ABBEY CHURCHA HERITAGE Lottery Fund grant of £86,000 will enable visitors to the Priory Church at Bolton Abbey to see the historical surroundings in a new light. A grant of £86,600 will enable the Priory to complete its ambitious Lighting and Visitor Welcome Scheme during spring this year. As well as lighting, the scheme will involve graphic design students at Craven College in Skipton working with the Priory to produce new visitor signage, plus and an exhibition of photographs by students at The Skipton

Academy, which will be on display while the lighting is being installed. “The Priory Church at Bolton Abbey is one of the most significant church buildings in the north of England,” said the Rector of Bolton Abbey, Canon Simon Cowling. “Thanks to National Lottery players, and the generosity of a number of private donors, visitors to the church will be able to appreciate much more deeply the rich architectural and cultural heritage of the building.”

Head of HLF Yorkshire and the Humber, Fiona Spiers, said: “This project will dramatically improve the visitor experience to the Priory Church by revealing the historic features of the church, currently hidden in the shadows. The improved interpretation will enable schools, visitors, and the community to enjoy and learn about the history of this significant building.” Students spent their first day on site on 15 March. A sneak preview is shown here with more to come next issue.

THE SKIPTON ACADEMY GAINS FUNDING FROM THE BRITISH HEART FOUNDATION FOR A DEFIBRILLATOR.The Year 9 Other Pursuits students taught by Miss Brown, Mrs Altham and Miss Hall were focussed on raising money for charity.

As a group they chose to run bake sales at the school, the donations were given to British Heart Foundation.

They also got the whole school to take part in Wear Red day and Heels for Hearts where unwanted shoes were brought in and donated to the local Skipton Branch.

During the lessons staff delivered CPR (Call, Push, Rescue) a British Heart Foundation initiative; we managed to get a number of packs delivered to aid the delivery of this.

The most poignant reason for tirelessly fundraising for a defibrillator was hearing the news that Catherine White, Head of Science at The Skipton Academy, died due to a heart-related problem. As a group we decided to raise money for a defibrillator in her memory as British Heart Foundation was very important to her.

We got the backing of the PTA and held a Fair at The Skipton Town Hall where we raised £1,153.60.

Miss Brown and Miss Hall applied for funding through the British Heart Foundation and were successful in gaining this.

The school is now training up all members of staff to use the defibrillator and are being assisted by the North Yorkshire Ambulance Service.

The school has also signed up to Restart a Heart Day where Years 8-11 will be taught CPR in October 2016 by the Yorkshire Ambulance Service.

Photo: Miss Brown and North Yorkshire Ambulance Service representative Chrissie Blakeley.

PTA NEWS

Despite the horrible weather on a dreary Saturday in mid February, the PTA raised an amazing £850 by manning the tea room at Skipton Town Hall. Parents, staff and students gave up their day to provide tasty breakfasts, lunches and afternoon teas to the visitors. Stall holders and members of the public commented “the students of The Skipton Academy are always really polite and helpful” and “lovely, smart students looking great in their uniform”. We even had a thumbs up from Great British Bake Off star Sandy Docherty! Congratulations also go to Year 7 student, Kathleen Ideson, who won the main raffle prize.

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STUDENTS EXCEL ON OUTWARD BOUNDThirty students from Years 8 & 9 and 4 members of staff set off from The Skipton Academy in February to spend a week at the Outward Bound Centre on the banks of Ullswater. There was a degree of excitement and some trepidation as to what the week would have in store for all concerned. The students divided into 3 groups – Shackleton, Mallory and Francis. Each group tried out the infamous jog and dip ritual. As with any activity this was more enthusiastically participated in by some and certainly the older members were better at the dipping than the jogging! However, the groups worked well as a team to encourage the more tentative to give it a go, and the water was decidedly chilly.

Gorge scrambling up Angle Beck was another popular activity. All of the groups used this beck as due to the recent flooding a lot of the usual venues were unsafe. In fact this river had changed course and the bridge that had gone over the beck was now sat atop a pile of rocks that had been brought down by the deluges. Each group completed an overnight expedition, canoeing to their campsite location. Trip leaders Sarah Brown and Sarah Dewhurst said “A thoroughly enjoyable week was had by all. Everyone had wonderful new experiences and met the various challenges in a spirited and determined way.”

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For the seventh year in a row, The Skipton Academy fielded two teams in this year’s Rotary Club Technology Tournament on Tuesday 8 March. Two teams of four students from Years 9 and 10 set off for Gargrave Village Hall with the emphasis clearly on having a go at the challenge and enjoying themselves. The village hall was packed with tables to accommodate teams from several local schools and for Key Stages 3- 5.

The day began with a safety talk and then the teams were allowed to familiarise themselves with their tools and equipment; check the list of materials and open up their challenge envelopes to assess the challenge that lay ahead. This year the teams were expected to design and construct a vehicle for travelling along a pipeline with the ability to clear obstructions at the same time. The KS3 task required the vehicle to push the obstructing material to the end of the pipe whereas the KS4 team had to then bring back the vehicle. The use of electric motors; belts and pulleys; battery packs and some long lengths of wire were required to fit onto the vehicle and this all had to be built from some lengths of wood and straws.

A design portfolio was the first task that involved all the students coming up with sketches of ideas to solve the problem and then deciding on the design to construct. The portfolio was collected at lunchtime and represented a large proportion of the final score for the teams. This was not the teams’ strongest point so their efforts went into the making. The Year 9 team were very quick to make a vehicle and begin testing; Year 10 choosing a more reserved approach at first.

By lunchtime the teams had made effective pipe clearing devices, although the Year 10 team were struggling with a switching device to bring the vehicle back and stop it from twisting in the pipe. The Year 9 team on the other hand were having no such problems; using materials to add a fake V8 engine to the back and making a four-wheel drive system to aid grip on the slippery pipe – very impressive stuff!

The testing stage began with KS3 first. The teams from other schools were not having much luck and the judges nearly forgot our team and tried to move on to KS4. The Year 9s stepped up to the testing rig and made it look easy – perhaps our luck was about to change. The Year 10s were not so fortunate and their vehicle still kept trying to creep up

the side of the pipe instead of running along the bottom.

The results were read out in reverse order with an award for the portfolios first. The Year 10s knew their vehicle was unsuccessful and did not win the portfolio award either. The portfolio is something we need to work on for next year. The Year 9s were successful at winning their class and have won a beautiful trophy for the Academy’s trophy cabinet and a certificate from the Rotary Club.

The courageous Year 10 team were: Gavin Ainsworth, Ethan Camsey James Heyworth and James Ridler.

The successful and most excellent Year 9 team were: Tom Anson, Joe Moody, Lukas Papai and Jack Pighills. Both teams represented the Academy professionally and with a win under our belts we can look forward to next year’s tournament with the knowledge that we can beat the best of them!

Some comments from the teams: Lukas Papai, “I liked it because it was fun and creative, I enjoyed myself”.

Ethan Camsey, “I thought it was fun and a good experience”.

Jack Pighills, “I liked the trip but it wasn’t as challenging as they could have made it”.

James Ridler, “It was fun yet challenging. I think they could extend the times though”.

Gavin Ainsworth, “I thought it was good and I would like to go next year”.

WINNERS AT THE ROTARY CLUB TECHNOLOGY TOURNAMENT 2016

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This half term sees the conclusion of the White Rose Rugby series. The Year 10 team has continued to perform with enthusiasm, dedication and skill, in what is the most competitive year group of the festivals where any team is capable of beating each other. Most encouraging for the Year 10 team this half term has been their spirit and resolve as they have had key players missing in each festival, but they have not made any excuses and have believed in their own ability to cover for those missing. The Year 7 team has continued to make steady progress and have played with increasing structure to their game and should look forward to performing again in Year 8.

In the build up to Sport Relief on Friday 18th March, every PE group took part in the Sport Relief mile run. Many students went the extra mile to record excellent results. The most impressive performances came from:

Year 7 – Louis Barker, James Sabin, Erin Dryden, Abbie Marshall, John Brown, James Brown, Harry Calvert, Lewis Howes, Josh Craddock, Connor Yeomans, Molly Heald and Rachel Farrier.

Year 8 – Amir Alam, Jack Hunter, Shannon Thomas, John Thorpe, Dawud Aziz, Harrison Davis, Zayden Timmins, Kiera Astle, Julia Kulbaka, Chloe Thompson and Abbie Wagstaff.

Year 9 – Kameran Alam, Will Bentley

Year 10 – Joe Hudson, Lucas Turvill, Harvey Cole, James Stapleton, Harry Campbell, Joe Eastham, Harry Parkinson, Sefal Alam, Matthew Brooke, Cameron Brazel-Pennie, Luke Calvert, Jack Greatrex, James Ridler, Hope Kelly, Jenni Barker, Alicia Beresford, Emily Preston and Alexandra Webb.

Year 11 – Oliver Younger, Dylan Greenwood, Josh Degler, Josh Skelton and Megan Waterworth.

During PE lessons in the week of Sport Relief, Key Stage 3 students took part in a number of inter-form competitions which included football, uni-hoc, handball, volleyball, basketball, benchball and fitness. The winning forms in each year group were; 7WS, 8AJ and 9CB.

SPORTS UPDATE...

FOOTBALLING SUCCESSCongratulations to Year 11 student Ollie Younger who has been offered a 2 year scholarship at Burnley FC from June 2016. This is a great opportunity for Ollie to develop his footballing ability and hopefully the pursuit of a professional contract at the end of his scholarship. The school has supported Ollie over the last two years through the Day Release programme. Congratulations also to Year 11 Robert Harker who has been offered a 2 year scholarship at Bury FC from June 2016. Rob was named among the substitutes for the first time for the 5 March 0-0 League One draw with Bradford City - just one day before his 16th birthday. He has two more chances to beat the current record set by Jimmy Kerr in 1965 when he made his debut aged 16 years and 15 days. If Rob appears in either of Bury’s next two matches at Rochdale on March 12 or home to Shrewsbury on March 19 he will take the record. Watch this space….

Don’t forget the PE Department are on Twitter! Follow your PE Department on Twitter. See posts about fixtures, results and events from Ms Elson, Mr Milburn and Miss Brown at @TSA_PE

Photo: Rob Harker