TDANEWS
SUMMER ISSUE 2015
A Message from The Executive Principal
Welcome to the summer edition of the Academy newsletter
which, as always, contains details of some of the amazing
events in which our students and staff have participated this
year. We have welcomed many visitors to the Academy
throughout the year and everyone has been impressed with
the facilities, the calm atmosphere and the behaviour and
attitude of our students. After meeting some of the 245
students who will join us in Year 7 in September, I am sure
they will fit in really well and will achieve huge success. On
the theme of success, we recently said farewell to our Year
11 students - the class of 2015 - with a glittering Prom Night
at the Moat House Hotel in Hanley. They have all worked
incredibly hard this year and are now anxiously awaiting
their results. We are all confident that their hard work will be
rewarded with some great results on 20th August.
I am sure all parents and students are aware of the
arrangements for the distribution of the new Academy uniform
for September. The new uniform looks fantastic and will help
us to raise standards still further and I am delighted that the
Academy has been able to fund brand new uniform for every
student - I look forward to seeing them all in September.
Finally, this is the time of year when we say farewell to
colleagues who are moving on to other positions. I am
delighted that those colleagues who are leaving us this
summer are moving to promoted roles in other schools and
academies. Having worked with them for the past two years I
know they will be successful and wish them all well.
I wish our students and their families a safe and happy
summer break and hope the sun shines wherever you
are. I look forward to seeing and working with you all in
September.
John Patino
Executive Principal
Performing Arts
As part of their GCSE coursework, the Performing Arts
group recently performed
various dance pieces to
residents at the Berryhill
Retirement Village. The
students worked extremely
hard in researching
different genres of dance,
costumes and music for
their chosen era and then
choreographing their
own routines. The residents at the retirement village were
overwhelmed by the talent and confidence of the dancers
and invited them for refreshments after the performance. We
look forward to planning and presenting more performances
to the retirement village in the near future.
During this half term, more Year 9 business
students have had the
opportunity to work with staff
from Stoke City FC. Ben,
from the Community Trust, has
been working with students on
an enterprise project where
they have been learning
about enterprise and business and how this
applies to Stoke City.
As well as learning theory to support their Business GCSE,
students have been developing their skills, especially
team work and communication skills. Students attended
an Enterprise Day at the Britannia Stadium on 3rd July,
which involved workshops covering Products and Services,
Publicity and Providing Information, Advertising and Steps
to Success. During the day, students participated in a range
of engagement activities, whilst completing these final
workshops.
Each of the students are eligible to enter
an Enterprise Competition organised by
‘Premier League Enterprise Core Programme’
and supported by Sport Relief and Intu
Potteries Shopping Centre.
The competition is to design an
Stoke City FC mug that will go
on sale in the Stadium Gift Shop
and the Intu Potteries Shopping
Centre. Students must consider all information shared during
the programme and come up with a successful design. Entries
must be in by 17th July, 2015. We wish them luck!
Film Studies
Hollywood Comes to Discovery
It’s been another busy term in GCSE Film Studies! Year 9
students have been working hard at creating their own film
sequences; trying their hand at filming and editing scenes
of their own. Meanwhile, Year 10 are coming to the end
of their coursework and we already have students who are
working at A and B grades! They are in a great position to
start work towards their final exams in June next year.
One of the most exciting things this
term has been the filming of a new
Hollywood zombie picture here
in the city. The film, ‘She Who
Brings Gifts’, stars Gemma Arterton
(Quantum of Solace) and Glenn
Close (Guardians of the Galaxy).
You may have seen photos from the
location in The Sentinel. Part of the
email: [email protected] - web: www.thediscoveryacademy.co.uk
old Hanley bus station and car parks were dressed to look
like a post-apocalyptic landscape. Year 10 were really lucky
to have Camille Gatin, the producer of the film, come in to
the Academy to talk to them.
Camille came straight from the set of the
film, to explain her role as a producer
and to talk to us about how a film gets
made. We learnt that it costs about
£50,000 a day to film on location.
She said that one of the challenges
was filming in a busy city centre and
allowing people to get close to the set
but not too close to stop filming!
Students asked how film makers made everything look so
old and dirty. Camille said
that it takes just 20 minutes to
turn a brand new BMW into
something that looks like it has
sat in the street for 10 years.
Apparently they have a huge
foliage budget, with two crew
members being responsible for
moving a truck load of trees and plants
from one shot to the next.
It was fascinating to hear someone who works in the industry
and for us to gain an insight into a career in film. Camille
explained how she became a producer and how long she
had spent getting this project off the ground. She said that
her next project would be a stage musical of The Hunger
Games - on roller blades!
Images courtesy of The Sentinel
Hay-on-Wye Literary Festival
This term we have seen the
start of the festival season and,
with Literacy a big focus in
classes, we were fortunate to
take 35 students to the Hay-onWye Literary Festival. This is a beautiful village on the border
of England and
Wales, so it was an
early 7am start. We
had hoped to arrive
in time to see the
screening of the film
version of ‘Skellig’
by David Almond,
but traffic meant we
were too late for this! However, it did give
students the opportunity to explore the different stalls at the
festival in detail before our picnic lunch.
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Following lunch, we were able to join around 1000
students listening to David Almond speak about how he
started writing, the methods he uses to plan his stories and
the inspirations that form his
ideas. Discovery students were
impressive as they volunteered
to ask questions and listened
to his responses thoughtfully.
David Almond then invited all
students to his book signing
and we were delighted that
he agreed to sign the copies of Skellig that Mrs Belt had
provided for our students through the World Book Night
initiative in April. Hay-on-Wye was a brilliant start to this
year’s festival season!
Hot Air Literary Festival and Too Write! Competition
In the second year of the
Emma Bridgewater Hot Air
Festival, we were delighted
to take part in both the
opening ceremony at the festival, as well as sending over
thirty entries in to The Sentinel’s Too Write! competition.
Despite not making the finalists, we were delighted to take
Year 10 students to see the winners receive their awards and
listen to former SAS soldier turned author, Andy McNab,
discuss his transformation from a teenager, in trouble with
the law and with
a reading age of
eleven years, into the
award winning author
of today. He is an
inspiration to everyone
who struggles with
reading and proves
that with practice, barriers and difficulties in Literacy can be
overcome. Alastair Campbell, who was due to speak about
his new book, ‘Winners and How to Succeed’, but was
unable to join the festival until the following day because
of his commitment to attend the funeral of his close friend,
politician Charles Kennedy, sent each of the Discovery
students who had attended, a signed copy of his book.
The Discovery Academy Summer Literary Festival
We finished the festival season with our
very own Alice in Wonderland themed
festival for our students and those from
Maple Court and Sandford Hill. Discovery
students worked hard for two weeks
preparing poems and short stories to
share in poetry readings and short story
workshops which took place in our library.
This is the first Discovery Literary Festival
and we are delighted to be able to
showcase our work with students who are
joining us in September. It was also an
opportunity for students to work together
and share their skills and successes.
Millionaire Readers Cinema Club
The success of the Accelerated Reading programme
continues to grow! We now have:
53 Millionaire Readers
(more than double last term’s total!)
they have read and successfully passed quizzes for
books that have totalled over 1,000,000 words.
They each receive a Gold Star badge and £20 Amazon
voucher.
107 Silver Star Readers
they have read and quizzed over 500,000 words!
244 Bronze Star Readers
over 250,000 words read and quizzed.
The Millionaire Cinema Club this term
will be watching Charlie and the
Chocolate Factory, based on the Roald
Dahl novel. Following last term’s emotive
Book Thief screening, we felt this was
a great way to end the term – a fun
and magic filled journey through the
amazing world of the unusual sweet
and candy maker.
Library Supervisors
This term we welcome Mrs Griggs
and Mrs Adams to the library as
our new Library Supervisors. They
are job sharing and have already made some brilliant
additions to the life of our library. They are looking to
recruit new student Librarians and Reading Buddies to help
during break and lunch times so, if your child has a love
of reading and would like to help, ask them to pop in to
speak to either of them. They replace Miss Walker, who
loved us so much she has decided to train as a teacher!
We wish her all the best in her new career.
Reading Buddies
This term our Reading Buddies have been joined by
the Year 5 students from Maple Court
Academy. It has been fabulous to see
them exploring our bookshelves to discover
new books to take away and read.
They are also able to access their own
Accelerated Reading accounts direct from
our library computers so that they can
complete quizzes on the books they have
read. Hopefully, this will help to make their move to the
Academy a much smoother process when they join us in
Year 7.
Drop Everything and Read
This term’s Drop Everything and Read event is another
popular dystopian novel that is also now a film, The Maze
Runner by James Dashner. All students listen to, or read, the
opening chapter about Thomas, a young boy who wakes
up in a dark, metal lift. He has no memory
of his previous life, only remembering his
name! It is this one fact that sustains him
as the doors open and he discovers a
community of young boys all living on a
farm surrounded by moving high walls
and having to fend for themselves.
Questions during discussion time
included: How would you cope if
you found yourself in this position?
Would the story be different if the main
characters were adults?
As Literacy Co-ordinator, Mrs Belt loves to read the books
that are trending with the students to find out what the
attraction is. The Maze Runner was so compelling that she
read the trilogy over a half term holiday! Please feel free to
read with your child to find out what books they enjoy; you
may find you want to read more too!
Camp Discovery Summer School
This summer we have up to 50 students joining us, from
both Maple Court and Eaton Park, for a week of creative
learning around the theme of Alton Towers. The aim is
to support students as they move between
primary and secondary school, ensuring
they keep their literacy skills active over the
summer break. The dates are from Monday
20th July to Friday 24th July and invitations
have been sent to those eligible to attend.
If you have received an invitation, please
return your reply slip as soon as possible to book one of
the limited places. We will be reading The Watchers, by
Helen Cresswell, a mystery novel set in Alton Towers before
the big rollercoasters arrived. We will be developing our
literacy, numeracy, art and sports skills; there will be creative
writing in the Discovery garden and, for those with 100%
attendance over the first four days, a visit to Alton Towers
to experience first-hand the amazing gardens in which the
mystery is set!
Parent Support
We love to work in partnership with parents and we know
you are supporting your child, and ourselves, in aiming for
the highest levels and grades. You can help to develop
reading at home by trying some of these tips:
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Read every day
Listen to your child read
Ask questions about the book
Read in front of your child
Books can be borrowed from the Academy library
If you would like to add summer reading to your child’s
holiday, here are the current favourites:
email: [email protected]
web: www.thediscoveryacademy.co.uk
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Top 10 Teen Books
1. The Hunger Games Trilogy – Suzanne Collins
2. The Fault in Our Stars – John Green
3. The Perks of Being a Wallflower – Stephen Chbosky
4. Eleanor & Park – Rainbow Rowell
5. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian –
Sherman Alexie
6. The Maze Runner – James Dashner
7. Vampire Academy – Richelle Mead
8. Looking for Alaska – John Green
9. Thirteen Reasons Why – Jay Asher
10. The Outsiders – S E Hinton
Library Opening Hours for Students and Parents
Students
Monday – Thursday 8:00am – 4:00pm
Friday 8:00am – 3:30pm, including break and lunchtimes.
Students must obtain a pass from reception at lunchtimes.
Parents
Wednesday – 2:00pm – 3:00pm
Thursday – 11:30am – 1:00pm.
If you would like to use the library, please ring the Academy
on 01782 822100 to leave a message for Mrs Griggs or
Mrs Adams, our Library Supervisors.
Auf Wiedersehen, Lena!
This year in the Modern Languages
Department, students have benefited
greatly from the services of two foreign
language assistants, Mohammed from
France and Lena from Germany. Working
alongside teachers in class and with small groups of students
from Years 8 to 11, their input has been invaluable in the
preparation of controlled assessments and speaking practice
in particular, and we are sorry that their placements have
come to an end.
One of the
highlights of
the MFL year
has been
Discovery’s
involvement
in the
nationwide
initiative
‘My Country, Your Country’, which Lena led during lunchtime
sessions with an enthusiastic group of Year 8 students.
Following an initial link with the Droste-Huelshoff Realschule
partner school in Dortmund, students were paired up with
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students of similar age and interests and encouraged to
share their thoughts and opinions about their Academy, local
area and culture with their partners abroad.
Hand written letters and parcels were exchanged on a
regular basis and students were involved in the production
of ID cards and other information about themselves and
their interests, as well as producing a photo profile of their
Academy, a brochure about Stoke-on-Trent, video logs and
amusing drawings of national stereotypes! At Christmas and
Easter, cards and boxes of typically German/English treats
were sent and received with much enthusiasm!
At the end of the project, students received certificates of
participation and some exchanged email addresses to
enable them to keep in touch with their German partners.
We were also delighted to hear, when Lena went to a
celebration event in London, that the Discovery-DrosteHuelshoff project had been rated in the top 3 in the country.
Well done to all students who took part in a valuable
appreciation of another country, language and culture. A
big thank you also to Lena, for making it all possible. We
wish her every success in her future studies and teaching
career in Germany.
Routes into Languages
This term, eight Year 8 students took part in a ‘Routes into
Languages’ day at
Keele University.
Our intrepid
Discovery linguists
had the opportunity
to discover new
languages including
Russian, Lithuanian,
Greek, Italian and
Spanish. Marcus
Gratton was one of our star performers
on the day, as he won a competition to identify Spanish
speaking countries from their national flags. Well done to
all who took part, you all showed enthusiasm and great
confidence as you rose to this language challenge.
Normandy Trip
During the last week of June, 42 language students headed
south to Dover for a trip to Normandy in France. It became
quite an adventure when it was discovered that the port
of Calais was closed. Undeterred, our Francophiles were
re-routed to Portsmouth where they all enjoyed a ‘mini-cruise’
on the way to the Chateau du Baffy in Colombiers. Once
safely arrived great fun was had at the Festyland theme
park, the bowling in Courseulles and the swimming pool in
Caen. There was also time to practise the language in the
local shops and appreciate the history of the area, including
the WW2 landing beaches and the American Cemetery at
Omaha Beach, where Discovery students actually met visiting
American relatives of the soldiers resting there. A successful
trip - well done to all who took part.
the GroZone. Thanks to the persistence and enthusiasm of
students using The Bridge, one of the big successes has been
growing tiny plants into lovely, flowering hanging baskets
as this year’s Enterprise Project. Thanks to all staff who have
kindly supported this by buying one or two to take home. Our
funding target, to further develop the garden’s facilities, is
£600 and we are already well on the way to reaching this.
Whilst The Bridge has been busy on this year’s Enterprise
Project, students of
Studio College have
also been working
Food Technology
hard to create the
Our Year 7, 8, 9 and 10 students explore a range of recipes
garden, including
from various countries and cultures, ranging from chilli to
barbecue areas, so
cheesecake. One of our Year 9 boys, Taren Perry, created a
that parents can come
recipe we just had to share - cinnamon and almond bars.
and enjoy growing,
The children explore lots of adjectives to describe the look,
cooking and eating tasty food from the garden. A pizza oven
taste, texture and odour of their dish. This dish will send your
is also in the planning!
senses crazy, so enjoy!
Cinnamon and almond bars
Ingredients
• Fat for greasing
• 175g plain flour
• 1 table spoon ground cinnamon
• 50g caster sugar
• 20g almond flakes for filling
• 5g almond flakes for the top
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Method
Pre-heat oven to 2500/gas mark 6.
Mix flour and caster sugar then add
cinnamon and granulated sugar.
Mix well. Add butter and mix with
wooden spoon until sticky, then
add 20g flaked almonds. Add
grease to grease proof paper, put in swiss
roll tin, put the dough in the tin, spread out and put in oven
for 15-20 minutes. When golden brown remove from oven
and sprinkle the 5g almond flakes on top - leave to cool.
When cool, cut into mini bar size pieces.
Serving suggestion - serve with custard.
Extended Learning
The Discovery Garden
This spring has seen the beginnings of a new and exciting
facility for the Academy
and our partners. Step
by step, many students
of all years have
worked alongside Mr
Goodwin to create The
Discovery Garden and
email: [email protected]
web: www.thediscoveryacademy.co.uk
Our new garden will be used to provide new opportunities to
support and develop students’ learning whilst also supporting
health and well-being both in the Academy and at home.
Year 9 Foundation Learning
What a year the Foundation
Learning students have had! These
eight young men have covered
every type of skill you could
imagine, from bricklaying to
painting and decorating. Kiefer
won Star Student of the Month,
chosen from 300 students. The
students have produced the
name plaques for The Discovery
Garden and the pond, which
were made from copper pipe.
They have achieved so much and should be proud of what
they have done. Bring on next year!
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Uniform – September 2015
All students have now had the opportunity to be measured for
the new uniform. The new uniform will be a navy blue blazer
and jumper, grey trousers or skirt (option for girls), navy blue
cultural dress, grey tights or socks and an Academy tie.
Students will be able to continue to wear their current white
shirt or blouse and appropriate black shoes (must not have
any logos or be trainers). There will be no changes to the
existing Discovery Academy PE kit, which comprises: one
outdoor top, one indoor top and black shorts.
Students will be given the following items free of charge: one
blazer, one jumper, a tie plus, for boys, one pair of trousers
and for girls either one pair of trousers, a skirt or cultural
dress. Uniform will be available to collect from the first week
in July from Longton Protective Clothing in Longton or Motif
Marketing in Milton.
Sports Day
The annual sports day took place
at Northwood on Thursday 9th July
where the houses competed to take
the Academy trophy. Beckham won
for the second year running!
City Athletics
This term Years 7-10 took part in the
City Super 8 Athletics Competition. They competed against
all secondary schools in Stoke-on-Trent. All teams worked
extremely hard and were a credit to the Academy.
Tennis
Over the last half term boys and girls from Years 7-10 have
competed in the City Tennis Tournaments at Florence Tennis
Club where they have been great ambassadors for the
Academy.
Spain Trip
There were 48 students who travelled to L’Escala in Spain
to take part in an activity week consisting of a variety of
watersports. They also visited Barcelona’s football stadium,
where they had a tour and looked at the club’s history and
achievements.
Year 9 Sports Leaders – Top Links Sports Festival
A group of Year 9 Sports Leaders took part in the Top Links
Sports Festival at Northwood Stadium on Wednesday, 24th
June. They led some disability
sports including wheelchair
basketball and goal ball.
They also led boccia and
curling to primary school
students from several city
primary schools. The Sports
Leaders performed brilliantly
on the day and were a credit to
the Academy.
The Year 9 Sports Leaders were: Matthew, Aimee, Tijanna,
Carly, Georgia, Stephanie, Danny, Lucy and Hollie.
Recycling Academy Uniform
As every student will be having a new uniform from
September, the Academy are keen to recycle any old uniform
and donate it to a local charity called Triumphant Christ
Chapel. We would like to encourage students to bring in
any old uniform from Monday 7th to Friday 11th September
2015. Students will be asked to leave it in bags within form
rooms where it will be collected.
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Primary School Games
The Academy hosted the Primary School Games on Friday
10th July. A number of primary schools were invited to
participate in the event and each brought 30 students to
take part. They took part in several sports sessions on the
day, across a variety of different activities. This was another
great opportunity for the Year 9 Sports Leaders to show off
their leadership skills.
The Discovery Academy Sports Centre
Come and join us for the Sports Centre open day on
Saturday,1st August. The day’s fun and games are between
10am - 3pm and entry and parking are free. Activities
include: a charity football
match, tyre flip competition,
bouncy castle, football
events and more. Our
special guest will be
Pottermus, who will
be coming along with
Stoke City Kicks. For
more information please
contact Jenny or Hayley,
the Sports Centre Managers, on 01782 882175.
A Goodbye from Mr Taylor
After seven years working at Edensor Technology College
and The Discovery Academy, I am sad to be saying
goodbye to students, parents,
colleagues and friends. I am lucky
to have worked with an incredibly
dedicated and talented department and
would like to thank everyone for their
friendship and support, particularly over
the last year. I am taking some very
fond memories with me (not least, my
times entertaining with Mrs Lawton!).
The Academy has a fantastic team of staff and I will miss
them all, I wish you all the very best for the future.
Attendance
Attendance Rewards
We have some exciting rewards for attendance, here are
some of the rewards available for students whose attendance
is above 95%:
Reward trips – Alton Towers/ Uttoxeter ice skating, cinema
£10 Intu shopping voucher
Attendance rewards lucky dip – extremely popular
Praise postcards
100% attendance texts
Praise/attendance letters
Cinema/disco nights
Form competitions – sweets/chocolate rewards
Keep your attendance above 95% to be in with a chance to
win!
If you have any questions regarding your attendance and
ways which you can improve it, pop into F16 or get your
parents/carers to call the Academy on 882100 and speak
to Mrs Horton or Miss Ashton.
The following students achieved 100% attendance this
academic year:
Eltayeb Adbel-Karim, Jasmine Adams, Sanjida Ahmed,
Nicola Armstrong, Joseph Barker, Ethan Baylay, Morgan
Benson, Sean Burton, Ashton Lee-Chapman, Chisanga
Chileshe, Anna Coulson, Benjamin Davis, Chloe Eardley,
Nathaniel Edwards, Kian Gocol, Georgia Hay, Katie
Johnson, Ellie Knapper, Jake Knight, Mollie Knott, Wesley
Mota, Maria Pachucka, Shannon Perry, Jackson Proctor,
Aleksandra Sabatowska, Benjamin Stanway, Savannah
Surtees, Rebecca Wall, Callum Wallbanks, Teri Walters,
Cameron Wilson, Marshall Wilson, Ryan Abir, Georgia
email: [email protected]
web: www.thediscoveryacademy.co.uk
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Barnett, Thomas Boginiso, Amber Bradbury, Aidan
Burton, Megan Cotton, Scott Dineen, Jade Edwards,
Joshua Edwards, Oliver Edwards, Lewis Ennis, Marcus
Gratton, Ryan Harrison, Dale Hough, Heather Hulson,
Marcus Lee, Shanie Littleford, Nathan Mycock, Shaun
Osborne, Constance Owen, Harry Palmer, Olivia Rowley,
Jade Seddon, Jade Shufflebotham, Amy Stratford, Jade
Stanford-Jones, Adam Washington, Paige Williams, Tiffany
Woolley, Ryan Abbotts, Jake Bramhall, Nathaniel CluttonSmikle, Cee-Jay Copeland, Serina Gordon, Emily Mitchell,
Georgia Mitchell, Samuel Holland, Joseph Jessett, Taylor
Kirkham, Kira Knapper, Connah Lucking, Dylan McLeanInglis, Oliver Plant, Mateusz Podymny, Lauren Postles,
Shania Rushton, Lucy Shufflebotham, Thomas Talbot, Keeley
Wood, Haseena Zaheer, Muneeb Ahmed, Shamir Arshad,
email: [email protected]
web: www.thediscoveryacademy.co.uk
Aneesa Aslam, Georgia Bailey, Sarafat Basharat, Jay Birks,
Jazmyn Clutton-Smikle, Adrianne Colclough, Courtney Davis,
Liam Derbyshire, Jessica Edge, Antonia Edwards, KatyAnn Gordon, Aaron Green, Chloe Greensmith, Alexandra
Hollins, Jamilee Hough, Alexandra Hulson, Georgia Knott,
Chloe Meir, Lewis Mitchell, Nikola Neckar, Alanna Orpe,
Megan Philpott, Abdul Razaq, Jadean Rotherham, Megan
Seadon, Chloe Tabbinor, Adam Taylor, Scott Wara, Meg
Wildin, Ashley Wright, Naomie Yombo, Nathan Yombo
and Sahib Mohammed Zabir.
Well done to all those who achieved 100% attendance this
year! September is a fresh start for everyone - let’s all aim for
100% next year.
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