City Academy Norwich
MAGAZINE
Summer 2015
part of the
Contents
From the Principal Page 3
Camouflage Learning Day
Page 15
Drama Department Round-Up:
Summer 2015
Pages 4 and 5
Accelerated Reader
Millionaires
Page 16
Sports
Pages 6 to 8
City Academy Norwich
Students attend TEN Schools
Debate
Page 17
CAN New School Day
September 2015
Page 9
Eleven Million Takeover Day /
Doddle
Page 10
Year 10 Textiles
BAGS BAGS BAGS! /
Leisure & Tourism Theatre Trip
Page 11
High-flying former student returns
to City Academy Norwich
Page 12
About Creative Writing Club
Page 13
Literature Festival
Pages 18 to 20
Superhero Puppet Project /
UEA Scratch-Off / Students
making great progress
Page 21
Norfolk Children’s
Book Festival
Page 22
New Gymnastics Sessions
for 5-8 year olds
Page 23
Where to find us
Back page
UEA Mentoring / A Student Poem
Page 14
Find out what’s going on at CAN...
VISIT OUR WEBSITE!
www.cityacademynorwich.org
2
Term Dates
2015/16
Autumn Term
• Tuesday 1 September
2015 – INSET
• Wednesday 2 September
2015 – Autumn Term
starts for students
• Friday 23 October 2015 –
INSET
• Monday 26 to Friday 30
October 2015 – Half Term
• Friday 18 December 2015
- End of Autumn Term
Spring Term
• Monday 4 January 2016
– Spring Term starts for
students
• Monday 15 to Friday 19
February 2016 – Half Term
• Thursday 24 March 2016
– End of Spring Term
Summer Term
• Monday 11 April 2016 Summer term starts for
students
• Monday 30 May to Friday 3 June 2016 – Half Term
• Friday 15 July 2016 – End of Summer Term
• Monday 18 July 2016 –
INSET
• Tuesday 19 July 2016 –
INSET
• Wednesday 20 July 2016
– INSET
From the
Principal
Dear Parents & Carers
It’s been a roller coaster two
terms of getting to know everyone
and I’m really proud of the
direction we are moving in.
In our Ofsted inspection in March,
inspectors recognised that there have
been “rapid improvements” at the
Academy over recent months. The
report identified progress in many key
areas. I am looking forward to much
improved exam results in August.
I have been made to feel really
welcome by everyone. Students have
made cakes, and written stories (I
am looking forward to reading the
story about a character named Faith,
written by one of our students) and
shown a real commitment to wanting
to improve our academy. I am proud
to be the Principal here.
The summer break is just around the
corner and we say good bye to some
of our staff. I would like to thank
them all for the help and support they
have given to our students and wish
them all the best for the future.
We are fully staffed for September
and look forward to greeting our new
staff, who I am confident will help
us to make the Academy a fantastic
learning environment for your
children.
We hope our students have a welldeserved break and lots of fun during
their holiday, but we don’t want them
to stop learning completely! Please
see our website for some activities
that they can do during the break:
https://cityacademynorwich.org/
summer-work
It would be great if you could
also remind your children of the
importance of doing some reading
over the holiday. It doesn’t have to
be a school book, just a book that
interests them. I will probably be
reading a book about boats!
Thank you for your continued
support and I look forward to seeing
all our students back, refreshed
and ready for the new term on
Wednesday 2nd September.
Mrs M Sparrow
Principal
part of the
3
Drama Department Round-Up:
Summer 2015
The summer term here at City
Academy Norwich has seen the
Drama department undertake its
busiest and liveliest term so far,
with its usual array of trips out and
excursions, added to by a range
of exciting in-house projects and
performances.
The play delivered heartbreak and
food for thought in equal measure.
Following the show, we were also
treated to a specially arranged Q&A
with the key cast members, which
allowed CAN students to discover the
potential inner-workings of a life on
the stage.
First up, the start of May saw us
take our largest group ever – 50
students, spanning Years 7 to 10, to
see a particularly moving staging of
John Boyne’s ‘The Boy in the Striped
Pyjamas’ at the Theatre Royal.
Telling the story of the relationship
between a young German child and
the interned Jewish boy he befriends.
Similarly, June saw over 20 Year 9s
and 10s experience ‘Every Brilliant
Thing’ at the Garage Theatre, a show
about one man’s steadfast refusal
to allow tragedy to bring him down
by compiling a list of all the brilliant
things life had to offer instead. With
audience members taking on various
scripted roles and lines in the show,
4
together with a guest appearance
by Mr Watts’ coat as the host’s pet
dog (!), it was impossible not to get
involved in it all. “If I was writing a list
of all the brilliant things I had seen,
this show would definitely be on it!” –
Morgan, a Year 9 audience member.
Elsewhere, the Summer term saw a
number of in-house performances
taking place, ranging from our annual
GCSE Drama performance, which
this year saw candidates stage their
own interpretation of the play ‘100’,
through to a workshop version of
Willy Russell’s ‘Blood Brothers’
carried out as part of students’
Year 10 course.
In addition to these, there were also
other performance opportunities
throughout the school, with the
UEA’s annual FLY festival (Festival
of Literature for Young People). This
saw 10 of our students from Years 8
& 9 team up with students from the
UEA, as well as another Norfolk school
to perform a comic piece about the
invasion of Norfolk by a race of giant
Coypu! As well as the collaborative
processes involved, the piece gave
our students the chance to perform
live at the Maddermarket Theatre, with
students taking on the roles of the
mighty Thor, Aquaman and Superman
amongst others, as well as – naturally
– giant ratty Coypu monsters!
Our final in-house performance saw
our Year 9 Drama students eagerly
working on various sketches - and
even a Rap – as part of the Year 6
Transition Day project. Here students
were tasked with producing short
‘message’ plays designed to inform
and inspire the new intake of students
as to what they could expect in
September. As well as showing
them some of the exciting things
they could get involved with when
they arrive here at City Academy
Norwich, the plays proved a great
way of allowing our own students
to reflect back on just how far they
themselves had come in such a
relatively short time.
With a host of other exciting
performances, visitors and excursions
already in the pipeline for the new
term, there’s certainly going to be
something to shout about in Drama
here at City Academy. Long may the
Show go on!
5
Athletics
JUST
SOME OF
OUR
AMAZING
STUDENTS
City Sports
On Wednesday 20th May, a large
City Academy Norwich contingent
headed across the field to the
UEA Sportspark to compete in the
annual City Sports (Norwich City
Schools Athletics Championships).
With a history of impressive
performances at the competition,
the 75 CAN pupils gave their all in
their events, be it running, jumping
or throwing.
U14 (Year 8) Girls
1st - Notre Dame HS (142 points)
2nd - Norwich School (131 points)
3rd - Norwich High School for Girls
(113 points)
4th - CNS (97 points)
5th - Sewell Park College (96 points)
6th - City Academy Norwich
(70 points)
7th - Open Academy (61 points)
8th - Hewett HS (29 points)
The overall standings are as follows
with details of notable individual
performances:
U15 (Year 9) Boys
1st - Notre Dame HS (252 points)
2nd - Norwich School (241 points)
3rd - CNS (202 points)
4th - City Academy Norwich
(147 points)
5th - Open Academy (99 points)
6th - Hewett HS (90 points)
7th - Sewell Park College (31 points)
U13 (Year 7) Boys
1st - Notre Dame HS (134 points)
2nd - CNS (102 points)
3rd - City Academy Norwich (96
points)
=4th - Norwich School (77 points)
=4th - Open Academy (77 points)
6th - Sewell Park College (51 points)
7th - Hewett HS (40 points)
U13 (Year 7) Girls
1st - Norwich High School for Girls
(127 points)
2nd - Notre Dame HS (120 points)
3rd - CNS (117 points)
4th - Open Academy (81 points)
5th - City Academy Norwich (66
points)
6th - Sewell Park College (36 points)
7th - Hewett HS (26 points)
U14 (Year 8) Boys
1st - Notre Dame HS (167 points)
2nd - Sewell Park College (131 points)
3rd - CNS (119 points)
4th - Hewett HS (118 points)
5th - City Academy Norwich
(112 points)
6th - Norwich School (93 points)
7th - Open Academy (53 points)
6
U15 (Year 9) Girls
1st - Norwich High School for Girls
(222 points)
2nd - Notre Dame HS (175 points)
3rd - CNS (128 points)
=4th - City Academy Norwich (116
points)
=4th - Open Academy (116 points)
6th - Hewett HS (103 points)
7th - Sewell Park College (41 points)
U17 (Year 10 & 11) Boys
1st - Notre Dame HS (254 points)
2nd - City Academy Norwich (193
points)
3rd - CNS (178 points)
4th - Open Academy (173 points)
5th - Sewell Park College (155 points)
6th - Hewett HS (135 points)
Notable performances:
John Eze - 2nd in U13 (Y7) Boys 100m
Thomas Fry - 2nd in U13 (Y7) Boys
Long Jump
Jamie Greenacre - 2nd in U14 (Y8)
Boys 100m
Taylor Rush - 2nd in U14 (Y8) Boys
High Jump
Anton Juganzon - 2nd in U14 (Y8)
Boys Shot Putt
Jamie Greenacre, Bita Kiza, Chrystian
Mane & Darcey Reil - 2nd in U14 (Y8)
Boys 4 x 100m Relay
Alfie Payne - 2nd in U17 (Y10 & 11)
Boys 800m
Bilal Kamal - 1st in U17 (Y10 & 11)
Boys 1500m and 2nd in U17 (Y10 &
11) Boys Triple Jump
William Kopita - 2nd in U17 (Y10 & 11)
Boys Long Jump
Adam Howes - 1st in U17 (Y10 & 11)
Boys Discus
Norfolk Schools
Athletics
Championships
The Norfolk Schools Athletics
Championships took place on
Saturday 6th June with the best
athletes from across the County
descending on the UEA Sportspark.
City Academy Norwich Year 10 pupils
Adam Howes and William Kopita
were in attendance. Adam competed
in the U17 (Y10 & 11) Boys Shot Putt
and Discus finishing 3rd and 4th
respectively. William competed in the
200m and after a series of close heats
managed to qualify for the final.
These are both fantastic
achievements, especially considering
that the majority of competitors are
in the year above and the experience
should stand Adam and William in
good stead for next year’s event.
Netball
CAN Year 9 & Year 11
Netball Leaders
Sportshall Athletics
County Final
After their emphatic victory at the
Norwich SSP Sportshall Athletics
competition earlier in the year, CAN
Year 8 Boys team were optimistic
heading into the County Finals of the
event on Thursday 5th March. Well
versed in what lay ahead having also
qualified the previous year, the team
knew the standard of competition was
going to be high as they competed
in events including speed bounce,
standing long jump and shot putt,
and excitedly cheered on teammates
from the sidelines adding to the
Year 8 Team from left-right: Etien Omari,
Darcey Reil, Jamie Greenacre, Bita Kiza,
Chrystian Mane, Ethan Lloyd-Patrick.
atmosphere. Special mentions to
Darcey Reil and Jamie Greenacre
who won the vertical jump and
2-lap race respectively. After good
performances all-round, the team
finished in joint 3rd place overall and
were awarded medals in recognition
of this achievement.
All pupils should be proud of their
efforts and how they conducted
themselves throughout the
competition.
In addition to hosting the Norfolk
School Games Year 5 & 6 Netball
County Finals on Tuesday 23rd
June, City Academy Norwich
provided leaders for the event.
The eleven Year 9 pupils and four
Year 11 pupils were responsible for
scoring matches, umpiring duties as
well as managing the fixtures and
results table. Year 11s Courtney
Bale, Alisha Mallett, Genevieve
Richardson and Maddy Tuthill even
came in to offer their help whilst on
exam leave. All 15 pupils were a
real credit to the Academy and their
support was invaluable in enabling
the event to run smoothly.
England Netball
Pass on your
Passion Programme
Two City Academy Norwich
netball enthusiasts are giving back
to the sport by volunteering their
services at matches, coaching
sessions and competitions.
Year 7 Boys Get a
Taste of University
On Tuesday 5th May, 23 Year 7
boys spent the day at the UEA to
get a taster of what university is
like and to raise their aspirations
in education and beyond.
In the morning the students took
part in a range of sporting activities
including rock climbing, archery,
fencing and karate.
It was an enjoyable and eye-opening
day for all. Codie Marjoram summed
up the day:
After lunch, students had a tour
of the university from the fantastic
UEA ambassadors before testing
their reaction times in the biology
laboratory.
‘I really enjoyed the range of
activities we studied today, our
ambassador was really good - and
fun. Today has made me want to
get great GCSEs, so I can go to
university in the future.
Charlie Plant (Year 9) and Courtney
Bale (Year 11) are enrolled on the
England Netball ‘Pass on your
Passion’ programme, which rewards
young people aged 12-25 years old
in return for their time. The rewards
include an England Netball water
bottle, t-shirt and hoody as well as
discounts to enable young people
to attend accredited coaching and
officiating courses. With 2 years from
the date of registration to complete
their hours and claim the rewards,
both pupils are well on their way
with Charlie already accruing over 50
hours of volunteering and Courtney
just behind on 34 hours.
Well done and keep up the good work!
7
Angling
Cricket
Norwich SSP Year 7-11
Angling Competition
It has been fantastic to see the
increase in Cricket at CAN this
summer, culminating in our first
cricket team for many years.
City Academy Norwich had five
competitors in the Norwich SSP
Year 7-11 Angling Competition on
Tuesday 9th June at Barford Lakes.
Upon arrival, pupils were briefed
and given tips about setting up
their equipment to suit the lake and
weather conditions. Pupils were then
randomly allocated a peg to base
themselves at for the duration of the
match. The aim of the match was
for the young anglers to catch the
heaviest haul of fish possible within
a 3-hour period.
The results for CAN pupils are below:
1st – Jack Coleman (22.14lbs)
2nd – Adam Howes (17.06lbs)
6th – Spencer Mallet (2.05lbs)
7th – Thomas Harrison (2.04lbs)
8th – Tommy Lee Williams (2.03lbs)
The top three pupils from each of the
schools taking part were then invited
to represent the Norwich SSP at the
Norfolk School Games Angling Finals.
A turnout of 47 young anglers were
present for the Norfolk School Games
Angling Finals on Thursday 25th June
at Barford Lakes. Competing in teams
of three, one angler from each team
fished in each of the venue’s three
lakes. The aim of the match was for
each angler to catch a greater weight
of fish, during the 3-hour period, than
the other anglers in their section of
the lake. They would then be awarded
points and the scores of each of the
three anglers were added together to
give an overall team score.
City Academy Norwich pupils
Jack Coleman, Adam Howes
(both Year 10) and Spencer Mallett
(Year 8) represented the Norwich
SSP at the event following their
impressive performance at the
qualifying competition. Jack Coleman
was awarded a prize for winning
his section with a total haul of 32lbs
14oz, the second highest in the
competition by a long way. Overall,
the CAN team finished = 10th out of
16 teams but their passion for angling
has been awakened and no doubt
next year, there will be a high level of
interest from pupils at the Academy.
8
JUST
SOME OF
OUR
AMAZING
STUDENTS
“I’ve been fishing for 11 years.
My dad use to take me
to a private water called
David’s Lake and he took
me to Shallowbrook Lakes
in Costessey. I fish most
weekends and I’ve fished
many matches in the past.
I was selected to attend a
school match at Barford Lakes
against students from CNS.
It was a three hour match and
the winner was the angler with
the most weight in their keep net.
The conditions were warm and
I pulled peg 27 which was in
direct sunlight, unlike the others,
which were in shady pegs and
windy ones. I used a method
called pellet waggling and I
also used maggots, sweetcorn
and pellets.
I had a good session all the way
through and although I missed
a few good carp, I still thought I
had a good chance of winning.
My best fish was a 10lb mirror
carp and my final weigh-in was
22lb 6oz. I’m looking forward
to the final with my mate Adam
Howes, who I fish with a lot.
He came second with 18lb.”
Jack Coleman year 10
Cricket has been introduced to the
PE curriculum and it has been great
to see students smashing sixes and
some wonderful catches in Year
7-10 PE lessons.
The buzz from lessons has seen a
large number of students attend
weekly cricket club on a Wednesday
after school and we have formed a
Year 7 & 8 team that have played
four matches so far in the Year 8
City Schools league.
We have played Sprowston, CNS,
Broadland and Wayland so far and
recorded our first win against Wayland
with some fantastic batting from Josh
Brown and Tommy Lee Williams.
The boys have been fortunate to play
two of our games at Sprowston and
Saham Toney Cricket Clubs.
It has been fantastic to see the
progress students have made this
summer from complete beginners,
playing with a tennis ball, to playing
with a hard ball all padded up in
school league games. Well done to
all who have attended cricket club
and represented the Academy
so proudly.
We have got big plans for cricket
at CAN. Next year we will be looking
to install an artificial wicket so we
can play home games at the school,
create more school teams, go on
a trip to watch an international
cricket match and potentially even
go on tour!
If you can help, or know of anyone
that can help fund an artificial
cricket wicket, then please e-mail
[email protected]
Your support
would be
gratefully
received.
CAN New School Day September 2015
Timings
KS3 Day
KS4 Day
8.45am – 9.35am
Lesson 1
Lesson 1
9.35am – 9.38am
9.38am – 10.28am
Walk to next lesson
Walk to next lesson
Lesson 2
Lesson 2
Walk to next lesson
FORM TIME
BREAK TIME
Walk to next lesson
Walk to next lesson
FORM TIME
BREAK TIME
Walk to next lesson
Lesson 3
Lesson 3
Walk to next lesson
Walk to next lesson
Lesson 4
Lesson 4
LUNCH
KS4 Walk to form
FORM TIME
10.28am
10.31am
10.48am
11.05am
11.08am
–
–
–
–
–
10.31am
10.48am
11.05am
11.08am
11.58am
11.58am – 12.01pm
12.01pm – 12.51pm
12.51pm –
12.54pm –
1.10pm –
1.20pm –
1.37pm –
1.40pm –
12.54pm
1.10pm
1.20pm
1.37pm
1.40pm
2.30pm
2.30pm – 2.33pm
2.33pm – 3.25pm
FORM TIME
Walk to next lesson
LUNCH
Lesson 5
Lesson 5
Walk to next lesson
Walk to next lesson
Lesson 6
Lesson 6
The
Brilliant
Club
A group of Year 9 students
successfully completed the
Scholars Programme with The
Brilliant Club PhD tutors.
During this programme the students
embarked on a programme of
university style learning. The students
participated in small group tutorials,
submitted homework and a 2,000
word final assignment. Students
enjoyed studying Self Interest or
Sympathy with Dr Fernando Morett
from the London School of Economics
and Political Science.
Congratulations to all the students
involved in the programme, your hard
work and effort show in the
fantastic results you received for
your final assignments, including
two distinctions.
As a celebration of this achievement,
students visited King’s College
Cambridge.
9
Eleven Million
Takeover Day
All the young people who attended
the Eleven Million Takeover Day
were selected by the Safer Schools
Partnership Officers.
On one of the evaluation sheets a
young person had written ‘the police
force isn’t as bad as I thought’!
They were chosen for things like
turning their lives around, improving
or consistent good behaviour, or
students who want to join the police.
Chloe Waters was chosen from City
Academy Norwich as she is interested
in joining the police force. The police
have run this event for a few years
now. It gives young people an insight
into some of the roles that Police
Officers carry out.
The Academy will soon be going
live with ‘Doddle’!
online. It also provides access to
hundreds of revision materials.
Doddle is an online teaching and
learning resource that allows students
to access and complete their homework
As a parent, this online tool will help
you support and encourage your
child to complete their homework
and to revise and learn outside of
the classroom. Doddle will give
students access to exciting, interactive
resources that make learning more
interesting and fun. Further information
will be available on this soon.
10
PC Howard
City Academy Norwich
Safer Schools Officer
Year 10 Textiles
BAGS BAGS BAGS!
The Year 10 textile students have
been busy making bags inspired by
20th Century Design Movements.
The project helped develop their
practical skills through working
with a range of materials and
techniques, which resulted in a
variety of well-made products.
Students carried out coursework-style
research and designed work based
on art and design movements, such
as Pop Art and De Stijl. The class
are now ready to embark on their
journey into Year 11, which will see
them design and make a unique textile
product based on a design task that
they have chosen.
Leisure & Tourism Theatre Trip
On Friday 5th June Mrs Temple’s
Year 10 GCSE Leisure and
Tourism class took a trip to
the Theatre Royal Norwich.
Whilst at the theatre we got
the opportunity to stand on the
Derren Brown stage and took
a tour back stage to see all the
props for his show!
We then had a talk from the
Marketing Manager, Mark who gave
us loads of information about the
ways in which the Theatre Royal
promotes itself. We got given lots of
helpful information like brochures,
leaflets and posters to help us with
our controlled assessment for our
GCSE Unit 2 coursework.
Good luck Year 10 – one more year
to go!
Gemma Price
Assistant Head of
DT Department
JUST
SOME OF
OUR
AMAZING
STUDENTS
We then took a trip to McDonalds
for lunch!!
This was a great trip and will
really help us to do our controlled
assignment.
The GCSE Leisure
and Tourism class
11
returns
High-flying former student
to City Academy Norwich
Jon Thompson has travelled in Air
Force One with Barack Obama,
he is regularly called to Number
10 Downing Street for meetings
with the Prime Minister, he jets off
to countries where the UK Armed
Force have operations, and he has
flown in a Tornado jet and driven
tanks – all in the course of his
high-powered job as Permanent
Secretary of the Ministry of
Defence.
Mr Thompson is also a former
student of City Academy Norwich,
back when the Academy was called
Earlham High School, and he took
time out from his busy schedule to
speak to students during a visit to
CAN on Thursday 23rd April.
During his visit to the Academy,
Mr Thompson met with small groups
of students in Years 10 and 11. He
spent time mentoring the students,
working with them on employability
skills and qualities, CV building,
applying for jobs, interview skills
and techniques and on how to write
a strong personal statement. He
12
also answered questions about his
day-to-day working life and what it
is like to work at the highest levels of
government.
Mr Thompson also spoke in the
Year 11 assembly, talking about
his journey from school to his
current position at the most senior
level of the civil service – including
the barriers he encountered, the
mistakes he made and lessons he
has learned along the way.
Jon Thompson, who attended the
school from 1977 to 1983, said: “We
have been trying to give the students
two messages. One is about how
they are as people, trying to be the
best version of them that they can
be. And then, secondly, follow what
they are passionate about… that’s
what’s going to carry them through
and get them that opportunity that
they want. It’s been very interactive
and great fun.”
After taking part in one of the small
group sessions with Mr Thompson,
Year 11 student Denise Salguero
said: “I found it quite inspiring, the
fact that he started basically from
the same place that we are starting,
and how far he got. It gave me hope
that if I work hard I can get there
someday.”
Sasha Carroll added: “I found it
really useful, with how to write out
our personal statement and what
to include and all the positives
to include that will make you
stand out.”
Sixth Form Co-ordinator Mrs Temple
commented: “It was a fantastic
opportunity for the students to meet
someone like Jon. He was very
forthcoming and approachable and
gave lots of top tips for preparing for
the world of work, as well as pointers
for interviews and how to present
yourself when applying for jobs or
university and college places. To
see someone from the local area in
this position was inspiring and also
got the students thinking about their
own aspirations.”
About Creative Writing Club
Creative Writing Club is a club for
creative kids who love writing in
Years 7, 8 and 9.
We meet between 3.15pm and
4pm on Tuesdays. We talk about
writing, share stories, write poems,
eat biscuits and have fun! We have
regular visits from our Patron Of
Reading (Alexander Gordon Smith),
who specialises in horror writing. Our
next project is to create a radio show
with Future Radio. If you’d like to join
the group in September, speak to
Miss Swain.
Comment from our students:
I like Creative Writing Club because I
can improve on my story writing and
make it stronger and better.
(Victoria, Year 7)
I like Creative Writing Club because
it’s fun and I like the words we come
up with; for example: black magic
shy. Also, I like how my friends
are there, like Lennon and Victoria.
(Sophie, Year 8)
It’s an amazing experience, being
able to share your thoughts and
ideas for stories, but the best part is
that people listen. I also like the free
biscuits – mostly the free biscuits!
(Joe, Year 8)
Normally I wake up on a Tuesday
thinking what a boring day, but then
“YES …. I have Creative Writing
Club”. This gives me a really nice
feeling after a horrible day.
(Alisha, Year 7)
I love Creative Writing Club. It gives
me a chance to learn new words and
meet new people who enjoy writing,
like me. (Annabel Year 7)
I absolutely love Creative Writing
Club. It’s a place for having fun and
being yourself, expressing your love
for writing stories and using your
brain to write amazing pieces of
writing. (Samantha Year 7)
Some writing by Creative
Writing Club members
Senses, By Sophie, Year 8
The sense of loneliness
The sense of fingers trickling
down my spine
When I turn my back I see ….
The Plane Crash, Joe, Year 8
I glanced at the wreckage of the
plane in horror. A sense of fear
covered my body. A footstep.
I expected to die, but nothing
happened. I stood still for a few
seconds before asking, “Who are
you? What do you want?” It was
hard trying to sound confident at
this point.
Nothing happened, no-one spoke.
I asked a second time, but still
no answer. Was this my worst
nightmare? I slickly turned my body
to face the footsteps. I saw nothing
at first, but then I noticed a shadowy
figure in the bottom left hand corner
of my eye. I froze. Could it be?
Untitled,
Samantha,
Year 7
Piercing Silence,
Smell of decaying flesh
punches at my nostrils,
Sharp screams slice
through the silence,
Twigs cracking send shivers
up my spine,
Opaque fog like pitch black night,
only it’s day.
Piercing twigs snap in the silence.
Story opening, Lennon, Year 8
In the world we live in, much is said
about when we are born and when
we die. Our birthday is celebrated to
commemorate the very instant we
came into the world. And a funeral
marks the day we leave it. But lately
I’ve been wondering … what can
be said about all the moments in
between our birth and our death?
The moments when we are reborn.
Story extract, Annabel, Year 7
Evening felt the warm sun stream
through the curtains and checked
the clock. “Evening, are you awake?”
whispered her guardian through
the door.
“Maybe,” whispered Evening.
“Well, birthday girl, you can’t
have breakfast until you’re awake,”
said Lily
“I’m awake,” she shouted, jumping
out of bed and opening the door.
“So, can we go and get my first
wand please?” said Evening,
munching on a bacon sandwich.
“Yes, it’s your birthday, we can do
whatever you want” laughed Lily
as she sat down. Then the
door opened.
“How’s the birthday girl?” asked
Lyra, entering the room.
“I’m going to get my first wand
today!” exclaimed Evening.
13
A Student
Poem
UEA Mentoring
A group of Year 9 City Academy
Norwich students took part in a
mentoring programme organised
by the UEA, in which students
meet and talk online to UEA
Student Ambassadors. These
ambassadors are studying a wide
range of subjects from History to
Medicine. The ambassadors spoke
to the students about higher
education, how to achieve goals
and study skills.
During the day the group had a tour
of the university campus and had
to decide if a number of scenarios
met the criteria for theft. They then
received their certificates.
Once the students had successfully
completed the programme
CAN students were invited to a
celebration event at UEA.
Caleb:
Firstly we went to a workshop
containing activities about reality
TV. We watched a few clips and
answered some questions. We
then came up with our own reality
TV show idea. The next workshop
was law-based. The man taught
us how to identify theft and
misunderstandings.
14
Armina:
We also went into a UEA flat.
The room was small but nice.
Today was great, I really enjoyed it.
I learnt more about the university.
I really like that the UEA has its
own sweets.
Megan-Louise:
I loved everything, I didn’t want to
leave. I want to visit UEA again.
Morgan:
It was really, really good and it made
me feel more confident with my
choices about what I want to study
at university.
Courtney:
The activities we did today made me
realise what sorts of things they do in
university and it made me think a bit
more about what I want to do.
Cerys:
Today has made me feel more
aware of what will be happening at
university. It will be fun meeting new
people and sharing flats with them.
I’m tired of crying
I’m tired of yelling
I’m tired of being sad
I’m tired of pretending
I’m tired of being alone
I’m tired of being angry
I’m tired of feeling crazy
I’m tired of feeling stuck
I’m tired of needing help
I’m tired of remembering
I’m tired of missing things
I’m tired of being different
I’m tired of missing people
I’m tired of feeling worthless
I’m tired of feeling
empty inside
I’m tired of not being able to
just let go
I’m tired of wishing I could
start all over
I’m tired of dreaming a life I
will never have
But most of all, I’m tired
of just being tired.
You are always responsible
for how you act, no matter
how you feel. Remember that.
Tamara and Megan Year 8
JUST
SOME OF
OUR
AMAZING
STUDENTS
Camouflage
Learning Day
The Camouflage Learning day was
an interesting experience. We had
to make instruments out of rubbish
and it was very hard but fun. We had
to be very creative and imaginative.
We had to explore the different
materials and try new things. We
had to make these instruments for a
wedding, because the groom didn’t
want to pay for a band. That’s why
we had to use rubbish to create the
instruments (our master pieces).
Some people won prizes for their
teamwork and effort, but everyone
got some chocolate buttons!
On Wednesday 22nd April we had
The Camouflage Learning Team
come to us so we could make our
own instruments out of rubbish.
It was fun working in teams to make
your own wedding music.
Chloe and Nesta
Chardonnay and Rita
On Wednesday we had the special
Camouflage Learning day where we
made crazy instruments. The one
I made was a drum with bamboo
sticks. I even made a holder for
the sticks out of the same material
as the drum – a red pot and two
pipes and it was all held together by
masking tape – a bit too much!
The people were nice and funny and
I really hope they come here again.
At the Camouflage Learning we
made musical instruments out of
stuff that’s not helpful e.g. things
like tubes, rope and many more.
We had a lot of fun making and
playing them and got chocolate
buttons. We worked in groups of
4 to 5 and had about 40 minutes to
complete the task. We had to make
instruments for a wedding. We had
string ones, shaky ones, banging
ones and hitting ones. It was a lot of
fun and we hope to do something
like this again.
Alfie
We had to make the instruments
out of ordinary stuff, like bottles,
bamboo, paper and tubes etc.
I enjoyed it because we had to make
instruments and make a tune for the
people who were getting married
walking down the aisle. I made a
shaker. I was with John, Warren,
Jack, Joel. We had a fun day. Also
at the end we got chocolate and my
friend won free cinema tickets.
Jack Lemmon
I found it challenging to make the
instruments but everyone in my team
done at least one each. It think it was
a good experience to have in life.
Rose and Gypsy
15
Accelerated
Reader
Millionaires
Reading for enjoyment at a young
age has a marked and hugely
positive effect on a child’s success
as an adult. All Year 7 and 8
students at City Academy Norwich
have been using the Accelerated
Reader programme as part of their
weekly library lessons.
Students take a test at the beginning
of term to determine their reading
comprehension level, and then
choose from a wide selection of
suitable books to enjoy. Once they
have read the book, they then use an
iPad to take a reading comprehension
quiz and gain points for every
correct answer. Accelerated Reader
encourages friendly competition both
in classes and across the year group.
From September this will be rolled
out to include Year 9 and will become
part of form time activities.
16
Accelerated Reader has encouraged
all our students to engage with reading
but we have a few who have really
taken on the challenge and managed
to become Accelerated Reader
millionaires during this academic year.
This means they have read over a
million words and successfully passed
all the quizzes they have taken on the
books they have read.
These students will act as reading
ambassadors for the LRC next year
by sharing their love of reading
and book recommendations with
fellow students.
LRC Student
Librarians
Volunteer to
become
Challenge
Champions
City
Academy
Norwich
Students attend
TEN Schools
Debate
A group of City Academy students
attended the University Technical
College to join our TEN Federation
schools for a debate and vote
on the winner of the prestigious
CILIP Carnegie book award. The
CILIP Carnegie Medal is awarded
by children’s librarians for an
outstanding book for children and
young people.
Students had been shadowing
the Carnegie awards for the last
10 weeks and meeting on a weekly
basis to read and discuss the
shortlisted books. They have
been busy creating a Carnegie
Shadowing newsletter full of their
book reviews, which you can
see on the CAN website –
www.cityacademynorwich.org
During the event students
participated in a lively debate about
the books and then voted on their
favourite to win the Carnegie medal.
They then took part in a quiz to test
their knowledge of the books they
have been reading, before watching
the live broadcast of the awards
ceremony.
The surprise winner was Buffalo
Soldier by Tanya Landman.
A beautifully written, heart
breaking novel, which engages
the reader from the very beginning.
As the story develops our views
and perspectives also develop
providing an unforgettable
reading experience.
“It has been a great morning and
I really enjoyed meeting students
from other schools and having the
chance to talk about the books
with them. I was really surprised
by the winning book as we
voted for ‘Cuckoo Son’ by
Frances Harding.”
Annabel
A group of City Academy
Norwich student librarians have
volunteered to help their local
community this summer by
becoming Challenge Champions
at their local libraries.
Challenge Champions will
work alongside library staff to
help younger students with the
Summer Reading Challenge.
They will register young readers
for the challenge, help them to
select books by sharing reading
recommendations, work with
staff to prepare activities and use
creative skills to assist with craft
activities and preparing displays.
Student volunteers will attend
a training session at their local
library before starting their summer
placements.
They will have the chance to gain
valuable work experience, meet
new people and learn new skills,
promote reading for pleasure, and
make a positive contribution to
their local community.
At the end of the summer all
volunteers will attend a certificate
ceremony and celebration event so
they can be thanked for their time.
Sophie Nobbs: “I am really looking
forward to becoming a Challenge
Champion this Summer as I enjoy
working in the Academy library and
hope to be able to share my love
of reading with younger readers.”
Anoushka Apelian: “I think it’s
important to volunteer for things
often because it can provide you
with opportunities and can help
you succeed in the future.”
17
Literature Festival
On the 28th April, City Academy
Norwich held its first Literature and
Creative Writing Festival. This was a
unique opportunity for all of Year 7
students (and some Year 8s and 9s)
to take part in Creative Writing
workshops; work with Student
Ambassadors from the UEA; meet
famous authors and take part in
CAN’s Creative Writing Competition.
It was a really successful and
inspiring day.
The English Team and the LRC
Team organized the Creative Writing
Festival, with help from our amazing
Literature Prefects, who are members
of the Creative Writing Club, Book
Club and Library Helpers Group.
These students were a credit to the
Academy, and really made the day
go smoothly.
In the morning, all our Year 7 students
assembled in the Interactive Theatre
where there was an introduction by
Mrs. Sparrow. Our Literature Prefects
then took the students to their
workshops. Student Ambassadors,
teachers and published writers
led the workshops. Some of
the workshops included: Gothic
Literature; Adapting a Classic Novel;
Horror Writing; Fortune Cookies
and The Jabberwocky. After having
attended two different workshops,
the students re-assembled in the
Interactive Theatre.
In our second assembly of the
day, Alexander Gordon Smith (our
Patron of Reading, and writer of
‘THE FURNACE’ series), read out
the winners of the Creative Writing
Competition. There were over a
hundred entries to the competition,
so it was a really difficult task to pick
the winners. Alexander Gordon Smith
was very impressed with the standard
of all the entries and the creativity
of our writers. The winning entry
received a ten pound book token;
second prize winners won five pound
book tokens, and the runners up got
a certificate and a signed copy of
either ‘TimeRiders’ by Alex Scarrow,
or a signed copy of one of Alexander
Gordon Smith’s recent novels.
Gordon: ‘The Festival was wonderful…
a huge success. It was great to be
a part of it.’
Tim Bowler: ‘I’d love to come back to
visit again … wonderful students’
18
The winners of the competition
are as follows:
Overall Winner:
Anoushka Apelian Year 7
The World Has Come to an End –
Chloe T Year 7
My World - Jasmine Barber Year 8
The End of the World During Maths –
Sorin Iacob Year 7
Runners Up:
Ryan Secker Year 7
Joe Lincoln and Jack Bailey Year 8
Sequoia Davey Year 8
Rose Charlotte Smith Year 7
Chloe Smith Year 8
Nikita Shalders Year 8
Levi Read Year 7
Holly Tuthill Year 7
Bethany Newton Balls Year 7
Jogita Ozola Year 7
Lydia Howden Year 7
Rita Carolina Pais De Sousa Year 7
In the afternoon, the students had
an author talk from the celebrated
Children’s writer, Tim Bowler, who
has written over twenty books for
teenagers and won fifteen awards,
including the prestigious Carnegie
Medal. Tim’s talk was really engaging
and very funny. Afterwards there
were copies of his books to buy, and
he was available to sign them. Tim
really enjoyed visiting City Academy
Norwich, as he studied as a student
at UEA, and was very positive about
the students that he met.
Write up by Abbie Thomas,
Year 7:
In April we had a Literature Festival.
We had loads of fun. We did lots
and lots of cool things to do with
literature. We had a really funny
author talk from Tim Bowler who told
us loads of really funny stories and
he gave us good advice on becoming
a writer.
We did activities to do with writing
and creative writing. In my workshop
we did a descriptive writing task
where we were given a picture of a
person and we had to describe their
past, what they look like, what job
they do etc.
In our second workshop we did a
‘black out poetry’ task where we were
given a passage from a story and we
had to cross out words so we were
left with a few that would give us a
poem! We also had our Patron of
Reading, Alexander Gordon Smith,
come in and see us.
Write up by Levi Read, Year 7:
Write up by Kye Baker, Year 7
On April 28th we had a magnificent
time because two world wide selling
authors came into our school. They
were Alexander Gordon Smith and
Tim Bowler. Another reason why
we had a great time was because
people from the UEA came to give us
a lesson. In my workshop we learnt
about the front covers of books and
their titles. The other workshop was
about poems.
Our Literature Festival was one of
our 2015 highlights with stories from
our favourite authors, like Alexander
Gordon Smith and Tim Bowler. There
were a lot of impressive and creative
stories, although a chosen few stood
out and won a prize.
There was a big competition for
Creative Writing. I won a prize as
well – I won a ‘Time Riders’ book
signed by Alex Scarrow. At the end
Tim Bowler read a chapter of one
of his amazing books called Game
Changer. I bought one of his books
for £7 and he signed it for me.
Everyone had fun as we learnt
about the importance of reading
and writing. There were activities all
through the day where we could let
the inner author out and express our
full potential and creativity.
A lot of teachers were pleased with
the amount of work shown by the
students on the writing competition.
Gordon was very pleased but it
was very hard for him to decide
on a winner.
It was a really fun and good day.
Thank you to all the staff, especially
Miss Swain for organizing it!
19
Write up by Warren Birch,
Year 7
Write up by Alisha Redgrave,
Year 7
CAN’s Literature Festival was
so fun.
As the Year 7s entered the room, the
Creative Writing club helpers (the
Literature Prefects) had their heads
held high! Year 7 students were
going to have an amazing day. As
Miss Swain explained how the day
was going to go, she mentioned the
authors who were coming: Alexander
Gordon Smith and Tim Bowler.
We had interactive activities like
writing really imaginative stories,
and world-renowned authors like
Alexander Gordon Smith and Tim
Bowler came in to talk to us.
Write up by Tai Charoenprasit,
Year 7
A few weeks ago we held a huge
Literature Festival for Year 7 and it
went off like a rocket!
Everyone enjoyed doing the festival,
but one of the best things was
meeting Tim Bowler, a very famous
author.
Reading is one of the most
important things in your life, it may
even effect your future career.
20
After Miss Swain sent the groups
with the Prefects, we got started.
The students were in their Year 7
English groups, and were split into
halves. We got into our rooms and
people from the University came and
taught us some amazing things. After
a brilliant day, Miss Swain asked us
to go into the Interactive Theatre.
She handed out the prizes for writing
a 500 word story with the title: ‘I
always knew the end of the world
would end during maths’. Well done
to the winner: Anouska Apelian! As
the activities finished, we had lunch
and Tim Bowler told us all about his
writing. Thank you Miss Swain!
Dionne and Nesta’s poem,
written by blanking out words
from the travel book:
‘Notes from a Small Island’
by Bill Bryson.
My first sight of the
midnight ferry was made
for the London low-lit town.
The only mildly dismaying
thing was the rail station.
I’d catch a train to London,
but the station was
dark and shuttered.
Standing wondering,
I noticed a grey light
and a large dill pickle.
Superhero Puppet Project
This year in Textiles, Year 7 have
been working on a Superhero
puppet project.
Using a variety of skills and
techniques, students have
produced some outstanding
hand puppets.
Pupils started the project
by learning how to use the
sewing machine.
Combining this with some
hand embroidery techniques,
Year 7 learnt the skills required
to design and make original and
creative puppets. There were a
variety of superheroes created this
year from super animals to super
monsters, all of them unique!
Well done Year 7, you should
be proud of your super creations!
UEA Scratch-Off
On 18th June, six Year 7 students
went to the UEA for the final of
the Scratch-off competition.
The competition is open to all
primary and secondary schools
in Norfolk and over 150 students
attended the final.
The competition is organised by
the UEA and the Computing at
School organisation, with the aim of
promoting programming in schools.
This year the students had to take
games they had written and also
enter a programming challenge on
the day.
All students in Years 7, 8 and 9 had
produced games in their computing
lessons and the best three
represented the Academy.
The students representing the
school were:
• Lewis Templaars
• Joshua Chiesa
• Joshua Brown
• Ethan Delaney
• Macauley Smith
• Anoushka Apelian
They were the only Year 7 students
present and represented the
Academy fantastically.
They had completed most of their
games in their own time. Anoushka
won the most promising girl
programmer and Josh Brown and
Josh Chiesa were runners-up in the
programming challenge.
A fantastic effort – well done!
Mr Smith – ICT Department
Students
making great
progress
We are delighted that the following
Year 10 students made the most
progress in our last data capture
and as a result have chosen the
music to be played around the
Academy to help move students
between lessons:
• Alfie Payne
• James Goldie
• Bilal Kamal
• Samuel Howden
• Chelsea Jeary
• Anya Allen
We are monitoring progress closely
and are thrilled with the progress
these students are making.
21
Norfolk Children’s
Book Festival
Students from City Academy
Norwich visited the Norfolk
Children’s Book Festival at the
Norwich School with the Library
team for the fourth year running.
This visit is the annual highlight
for student librarians and a reward
for all their hard work in the LRC
during the year. This year we
also included students who had
done exceptionally well in their
Accelerated Reader lessons and
managed to read over a million
words!
to make the most of the day. We
then saw illustrator Dave Sheldon
talking about his career and the
beautiful illustrations he creates for
his children’s novels such as Boy
in a Boat. This was followed by a
hilarious performance by stand up
poet Paul Cookson who is the official
Poet-in-Residence for the National
Football Museum. He is also the only
poet who has received the National
Heroes Award and has published
over sixty titles since he began work
as a poet.
The festival aims to promote literacy
and a love of books by encouraging
the reading of good literature by
young people across the county.
Hearing authors talk about what
inspires their writing, and sharing
these stories with readers, not
only encourages reading, but also
broadens horizons and generates a
buzz around reading. Our students
joined over 650 students from all
over Norfolk and enjoyed an exciting
day around books and their authors.
The event took a more serious note
with author Annabel Pitcher, winner
of the prestigious Branford Boase
award for her debut children’s novel
My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece,
discussing how she came to write
this moving tale of a family torn apart
after a terrorist attack. Then Steve
Feasey author of the internationally
bestselling Changeling series
followed with a talk about his next
venture Mutant City and Mutant
Rising. In this book, Steve blends
fantasy and horror writing about
four teenagers who discover that
their mutant blood brings with it
special powers.
The event kicked off with a welcome
from Norwich School Headmaster
Steffan Griffith encouraging students
22
The final session was by Nick Arnold
author of the Horrible Science series
which has been published in over 40
countries. He gave an engaging and
lively performance involving student
volunteers in some humorous and
enlightening experiments.
Students had the chance to browse
the stalls set up by the Writers’
Centre Norwich, the Norfolk
Children’s Library Service, and the
City of Literature for Young People.
They were also able to meet the
authors and have their books signed.
A fantastic day was had by all and
students all came away keen to read
more and to illustrate and write their
own stories.
Kordian: “It was an amazing day and
the best trip I have been on so far!”
Jordon: “I was really excited to see
Nick Arnold as I love his books and
had always wanted to meet him.
It was a great day and all the authors
were really interesting.”
s
n
o
i
s
s
e
S
s
ic
t
s
a
n
m
y
G
New
s
d
l
o
r
a
e
y
for 5-8
Would your child like to be more physically
active and meet some new friends?
If so, then the Norwich School Sport
Partnership has the answer.
The SSP has recently launched a new
community gymnastics coaching session
for young people aged 5-8 years old.
The session runs on a Wednesday evening
between 5.00pm and 6.00pm at City
Academy Norwich. The session is suitable
for young people of beginner/intermediate
ability and only costs £3.50 per week.
To book your child a place please
contact Jon Osborne on:
Email: [email protected]
or call 01603 452628 ext 327.
23
Where to find us:
BLUEBEL
L RD
City Academy Norwich
299 Bluebell Road
Norwich
NR4 7LP
For more information, please visit www.cityacademynorwich.org
City Academy Norwich
299 Bluebell Road
Norwich NR4 7LP
Tel: 01603 452 628
Principal Mrs M Sparrow
Email: [email protected]
Fax: 01603 507 215
Our supporters and sponsors:
part of the
Please note: We make every effort to ensure that all information in
this directory is accurate at the time of printing. however, changes
to courses, fees, facilities or other matters may be necessary and the
College cannot accept any liability arising as a result. the College
reserves the right to alter, to close, or not to run courses/classes
as deemed necessary on the grounds of operational constraints,
financial viability or any other reason. We will notify applicants of
any cancellation at the earliest reasonable opportunity.