RIVERS
NEWSLETTER
Newsletter 2
Christmas card
competition
During October and November,
students from the Photography
extra-curricular club and the Art
department created designs for
the Ormiston Academies Trust
annual Christmas card
competition. Eight entries were
short-listed: Joseph Murray,
Ellee Smith, Megan Malcolm,
Megan Robinson, Pixie Smith,
Heidi Purdy, Nadine Warner,
Eden Pennycott.
2016 / 2017
Heidi
Purdy,
‘Northern
Lights’
pencil and
oil pastel.
Joseph
Murray,
‘The gift of
Christmas’
photograph.
The remaining entries were
entered into the ORA competition
and Ms Costello chose Joseph
Murray’s photograph for the
Academy’s Christmas card! His
prize was 10 Christmas cards of
his design plus a £20 gift voucher.
(Continued on page 2)
As we come to the end of
this very busy term, I am
delighted to share our latest
newsletter with you. As
always, this showcases the
vast amount of talent,
commitment and dedication
displayed by our students in
various different activities
throughout the Academy.
We are very proud of all of
our students’ achievements,
which as you can see, are
many and varied. I hope
you enjoy reading about
them as much as the
students enjoy participating.
We are thrilled that Heidi Purdy
was a winner in the OAT
competition. Her prize was £30 of
art supplies, a £50 iTunes voucher
and £100 towards a charity of her
choice – the RSPCA.
Well done to everyone who
entered. This is the third year in a
row that our academy has
submitted a winning design to this
competition!
Message from
Ms J Costello,
Principal
Christmas
Celebrations
ORA’s Elite Choir were invited to
perform at Creeksea Barns’
Christmas Festival, Parlour Café
on Sunday 14th December.
Our students had been working
hard to prepare for this event since
September. Mrs Turnnidge,
Achievement Director and Music
Teacher said: “The choir sounded
fantastic and sang to a large crowd
of supporters. I am extremely
proud of their outstanding level of
performance.”
The Choir also sang at the
Academy’s Carol Service on 12th
December, and will be performing
at Maldon District Council’s Carol
Service on 19th December, both
events at St Mary’s Church.
It only remains for me to
wish all our families a
peaceful and enjoyable
Christmas and a very happy
New Year. I look forward to
welcoming all of our
students back to the
Academy on Thursday 5th
January 2017.
In this newsletter:

Christmas events

Competition winners

Sports achievements

Literacy and Bookbuzz

Remembrance

Poetry success

Charity fundraising

Garden project

Trips and visits
Achievement celebration
for Christmas card
finalists and winners
Christmas card competition
(continued from page 1)
The Christmas card short-listed entrants
were invited to a special celebration of their
achievements with Ms Costello on
Thursday 24th November where they
enjoyed party cakes and refreshments.
Students received certificates at
photography club and in their art lessons to
recognise their success in this competition.
Carol Service
The Academy’s Carol Service at St Mary’s Church, Burnham was a
wonderful occasion to celebrate the Christmas season. On Monday
12th December, students, their families and members of the local
community were welcomed to the service which was based around the
traditional nine lessons and carols.
Performing Arts students took part in short plays, bringing the Nativity
story to life. Our choir and sixth form singers sang beautifully
and Year 7 students sang and played ‘Away in a Manger’ on
the piano. Traditional Bible readings were recited by students
Christmas across all year groups.
card
short-listed
designs:
Pixie Smith
After the service, mince pies,
mulled wine and soft drinks were
available for the congregation to
enjoy.
Ormiston Rivers Academy raised
money this year for Crisis at
Christmas.
Eden Pennycott
Miss Marable, Teacher of
Megan Robinson Religious Studies was proud of
everyone who took part, she
Megan Malcolm said: “Our students sang like
angels and were also very
Ellee Smith
confident delivering the readings
Nadine Warner and Nativity plays. Thank you to
all that joined us for the service
and to Father Mark for making us welcome at St Mary’s.”
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Concours
de Poésie
Afrique Poème
Je vais aller en Afrique
Ça va être magnifique,
Mais je suis allergique
Aux moustiques
Donc ça va être tragique !
Two of our talented
languages students are
celebrating their success
at a poetry competition!
Their work will be
published in Bonjour
magazine issue 4 (March
2017) and we are
looking forward to seeing
their work in print.
Je vais y aller avec Éric
Il voulait aller à Jamaïque !
Cependant Jamaïque
Ce n’est pas magique
Comme merveilleux Afrique !
Ms Raoult challenged
her Year 9 students to
write a poem about Africa, maximum 500 words, for the magazines’
spring poetry competition.
by
Oliver Nicholls & Oliver Rivers
She said: “In our French lessons, students have been practising the ‘going to’ future tense which became
an element in their writing for this competition. Several poems were sent to Mary Glasgow Magazines for
Bonjour and I am so happy that Oliver Nicholls and Oliver Rivers have been selected as winners.”
Afrique
Je vais aller en Afrique
Je ne vais pas aller en Jamaïque
En Afrique je vais porter un chapeau
Je vais visiter un château
C’est va être très historique
Parce que je vais aller au Afrique
Le château je vais visiter s’appelle le château Elmine
En Afrique je vais aller le piscine et bowling
Je vais caresser a la grande chats
C’est va être fantastique
Parce que je vais aller en Afrique
by Joseph Murray & Taylor Tuckey
Éric, le garçon dans le magasin
L’Afrique!
C’est magnifique!
Éric, le garçon dans le magasin
Il est chic!
Le château c’est magique
Éric, le garçon dans le magasin,
Il est athlétique!
Nous allons visiter le Mozambique!
Puis, nous allons visiter la Jamaïque!
Éric, le garçon dans le magasin,
Il est fantastique!
J’adore Éric, le garçon dans le magasin!
Nous allons chanter One Shot le Black Eyed Peas!
Éric, le garçon dans le magasin,
Il n’est pas sympathique!
Il n’est pas généreux!
J’ai fini le cœur sans défens!
Winter Wonderland
Ball
By Miss Lloyd,
English Teacher
Year 11 student,
Chris Lloyd and his
family attended a
Winter Wonderland
Ball at Braxted
Park, Witham on
26th November.
The event was to
raise money for
two charities:

Teenage
Cancer Trust
(TCT) and

Global Development Delay.
Guests were greeted by a live band along with a
glass of champagne before sitting down to an
amazing three-course meal. A silent auction was
held during the night, along with a raffle and a
lucky dip.
Chris, who has been undergoing treatment for
Leukaemia, acted as ambassador for TCT. All the
efforts on the night resulted in nearly £10,000
being raised to be split between each charity!
Chris has chosen to allocate the money to ward
T12N at the University College London Hospital
where he spent a month receiving treatment.
by Joe Terry
3
Burnham on Crouch
Remembrance
On Sunday 13th
November, Ms Joan
Costello and Year 7
students, Alfie Damps
and Edie Queen-Jones
represented the
Academy at the
Burnham on Crouch
Remembrance Service,
laying a wreath at the
War Memorial.
Students and staff at Ormiston Rivers Academy held
a formal act of Remembrance on Friday 11th
November. The entire Academy met to remember
those who have served and lost their lives or been
injured in conflicts that have taken place across the
world over many years.
Students who are members of local cadet forces wore
their uniforms on the day and formed a colour party at
the front of the hall. This year we were pleased to
welcome school Governors, Father Mark North and
Ms Jacqui Smith to the assembly.
Year 7 students made paper poppies in their art
lessons and the hall was decorated with a river of
more than 500 poppies created during the last three
years!
During the assembly, everyone listened to readings
and music associated with war and conflict,
performed by students across many year groups:
 Sixth formers, Thomas Damps and Thomas
Newman-Clark sang Bring Him Home, from the
musical Les Miserables. Leonie Hunt and Chloe
Daniells sang Empty Chairs, Empty Tables.
 Year 9 student, Carys Longman, read the Paul
Hunter poem, The Poppy.
 Jaime Brew, Year 13, recited In Flanders Fields,
written by John McCrae in 1915.
 Owen Griffiths, Year 12, read Exhortation.
 William Compton, Year 8, read Kohima.
Principal, Ms Joan Costello paid tribute to former
student, Pte John Thrumble who sadly lost his life
whilst serving in Afghanistan in 2007. She also spoke
about life and freedom, and how we show our
gratitude and respect to those who made the ultimate
sacrifice of giving up their lives for our freedom.
The Academy fell quiet as the last post sounded and
a two-minute silence was observed at 11:00am.
Year 8 student,
Raimee Dowling from
Miss Bikhazi’s mentor
group, baked a lovely
cake decorated with
poppies and a soldier
in tribute to
Remembrance Day.
Sixth Form student,
Thomas Damps,
proudly wearing his
Grandfather’s medals
on Remembrance Day.
At the end of the assembly, two of our youngest
students from Year 7, Archie Bill and Tori Brinkley,
read Peace: “Let there be peace – and let it
begin with us.”
After the assembly, sixth form students, Francesca
Johnson and Callum Newton, laid a wreath at the
Academy’s memorial plaque to Pte John Thrumble.
Laying a poppy wreath at the Academy’s
memorial plaque to Pte John Thrumble.
4
Shoebox Appeal
Ormiston Rivers Academy have
filled 109 shoeboxes for the
Samaritan’s Purse Operation
Christmas Child appeal.
The Academy’s Interact Committee
on behalf of Rotary International
encouraged students to fill a
shoebox to spread the joy of giving
this Christmas. Grace Cleary,
Emma Henderson, Sidney
Fairbank, Rebecca Harvey and Lilly Taylor
Hancock worked tirelessly to promote this
project over a two-week period.
Sixth former, Sidney Fairbank, said: “We are
essentially trying to improve the lives of the
disadvantaged by sending gifts such as
stationary and notebooks to children in
countries such as South Africa. We would
like to thank all of the students and their
families who were happy to donate items
suitable for the shoeboxes. A special
mention goes to Miss Dinan’s Year 7 mentor
group who created 11 shoeboxes; a
fantastic contribution towards the appeal.”
Halloween Movie
by Sidney Fairbank, Rivers Sixth Form
On Monday 31st October, the Academy’s
Interact Committee put a film on during
lunchtime in order raise as much money as
possible for charities such as The Stroke
Association, Asthma UK and The British Heart
Foundation. The movie was very popular
amongst Years 7-9, and one student stated: “it
added towards the Halloween atmosphere.”
The PG rated movie was accompanied by a
stall of many treats, including popcorn, crisps
and chocolate, which predictably, proved to be
popular with the whole school!
Students and staff prepared 109 shoeboxes with
gifts for children at Christmas.
Children in Need
Students and staff supported Children in Need
throughout the week 14th to 18th November by
getting involved in activities at break and
lunchtimes such as a cake sale, face painting, a
spotacular art challenge, selling Pudsey badges,
PE competitions and a Pudsey biscuit sale.
On Friday, everyone donated £1 to attend
school in non-uniform and we are delighted to
confirm that the sum raised is £1,023.56.
A-MAZ-ING!!! Well done to everyone involved in
the fundraising!
The Committee raised £60 towards a final sum
of money which will be calculated at the end of Everyone enjoyed the Pudsey
the academic year, and equally split among
biscuits!
the chosen charities.
Movember
£612
Staff have been fundraising for Movember.
MORAG (Moustachioed Ormiston Rivers
Academy Guys) grew moustaches to raise money
and awareness of men’s health issues; mainly
testicular and prostrate cancer.
As at 7th December, they have collected £612.
Maths Teacher, Mr Wiggs said: “MORAG have been
raising funds for Movember over the last few years
and we would like to thank everyone who has
donated to this important cause.”
5
£1023.56
Lille Christmas Market
Clothes Show
Students from Years 8, 9 and 12
enjoyed a day of fashion and glamour at
The Clothes Show Live in Birmingham
on Tuesday 6th December.
The fashion show started with a glimpse
of the top ten trends for Autumn/Winter
including striking 'Gothic Glamour'
featuring intricate lace detailing,
indulgent 'Midas Touch' full of metallic
finishes, 'Winter Florals' capturing
autumnal nature and 'On Parade' based
on military style tailoring. Key links were
also made to 1980's fashion taking a
lead with David Bowie tribute masks.
42 Year 8 languages students went on a one-day reward trip
to Lille in France on Friday 9th December. It was an early start
- 5:00am at the academy to arrive in Lille at 11.30am.
Students and staff took a walk into the old town and then on to
the Christmas Market where everyone was eager to shop for
lots of goodies.
At Lille market and the old town, students completed activity
worksheets aimed at increasing their knowledge of the location
and to encourage them to speak French. When asked what
they thought about the trip, the comments were as follows:
Heather Hurford - “My favourite part of the trip was walking
around and shopping. I spoke in French and learned how
to say how much is this?”
Maddison Tuckey - “The trip helped me understand how the
French people live. I bought gifts for my family.”
Rosie Dabson - “The highlight for me was going in shops with
my friends. The trip helped me with languages and I
understand more about France now. I bought Christmas
presents - it was fun and exciting.”
For lunch, many sampled the local crepes, baguettes and
doughnuts, whilst others visited McDonalds. Weighed down
with bags of French goodies and Christmas Gifts, everyone
headed for Euralille (the French equivalent of Lakeside
shopping centre) and a huge Hypermarket. Again there were
lots of opportunities to practice French phrases as very few
people in Lille spoke English!
Back on the coach at 4.15pm for the journey home, the
entertainment was watching ‘Elf’ and ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’
on DVD, as well as a good old fashioned sing song.
Mrs Compton, Head of Modern Foreign Languages said:
“Overall we all had a tiring but fantastic day and a really
enjoyable French experience. A big Thank You to the Year 8s
who did us proud and were fantastic representatives of
Ormiston Rivers Academy – well done! Thank you to Mrs
Bennett, Ms Raoult, Mr Hegarty and Mr Costello for
accompanying us! Let’s hope Lille will be ready for us again
next year!”
6
Sixth Form student, Sidney Fairbank,
reported: “We viewed current fashion
trends and gained an understanding of
how the fashion industry works and is
constantly changing. Students with a
serious interest in the industry
recognising that keeping up-to-date with
current trends is vital if thinking of going
into a career involving fashion.
Everyone was excited to see celebrities
at the show. The event was a great day
out.”
Students were given time to explore the
exhibition hall comprising of university
stands, hair and make-up, fashion
boutiques, designer alley and a smaller
catwalk show presenting university
students' fashion collections.
“We were all well and truly shopped out
and full of inspiration by the end of the
day! I hope to offer this opportunity to
students again next year; the Clothes
Show is moving to Liverpool and it will
be taking place in July… so, watch this
space!” said Miss Emmerson, Design
Technology/Textiles Teacher.
Leadership
Conference
by Matilda Newlyn Year 11
On Friday 21st October, myself and 8
other students were invited to
Chelmsford County High for Girls
Leadership Conference where we were
treated to several workshops about how
to raise our self-esteem, what lies ahead
of us in the world of employment and
how we can achieve our goals.
There were also many remarkable talks
on how important it is to stop the
inequality of women’s rights and the
imbalance of highly paid women in the
working sector in comparison to men.
Future leaders develop skills at the conference
Bronze Duke of Edinburgh
Award
13 Academy students have achieved their Bronze Duke of
Edinburgh awards. Each student had to participate in a range
of activities to complete a minimum of three months
experience in: volunteering, a skill, a physical activity, whilst
also training for a weekend expedition which took place in
June at Skreens Park, Roxwell.
The students; Molly King, Rebecca Mahoney, Ella Wicks, Leah
Rhodes, George Welham, Katie Ford, Max Willsher, Jodie
Morhall, Joshua Gregory, James Tavner and Annabelle Smith,
were presented with their certificates and badges by Town
Mayor, Cllr Ron Pratt, at Burnham Town Council offices on
Wednesday 30th
November. Amber
McCluskey-Keene and
Ellee-Mae Smith also
achieved the award but
were unable to attend on
the evening.
7
There were many guests who each
spoke to the assembly of girls including:

Jess Gillam, the woodwind winner at
2016 BBC Young Musician of the
Year

Heather Melville, the Director of
Strategic Partnerships at RBS
Mitra James, a Diversity & Inclusion
Manager at DLA Piper.
This impressive array of inspirational
women spoke to us about their
experiences and how they became who
they are now. This helped show us that
it is possible to become a successful
woman in many different careers.

Schools from the surrounding area of
Chelmsford were invited to the
conference which gave us an
opportunity to meet new people and
help develop our own leadership skills.
Garden
Project
Travel & Tourism
Year 12 and 13 Travel and Tourism
students visited the London
Dungeons and London Aquarium as
part of their coursework.
Our new Year 7’s began the
autumn term by learning how to
compost biodegradable waste.
Students collected suitable
materials from the academy site
including waste paper,
cardboard and green waste to
construct a compost heap in our
wildlife meadow. They also
learnt about the negative impact
household waste can have on
the environment and how to
make positive lifestyle choices.
The day started with a coach trip to
the London Aquarium where the
students enjoyed looking at the
marine wildlife. With some time to
spare before the next attraction, they
stopped to watch the street
entertainers overlooking the River
Thames. McDonalds was the agreed
place for lunch so everyone made
the most of the £10 allowance!
Year 8s harvested, measured
and calculated the amount of
compost they had made last
year for the annual compost
challenge - approximately
3800ltrs of home-made compost!
Community Volunteer, Mrs
Milton, said: “This is a fantastic
achievement and the compost
will be used in the academy
kitchen garden for students to
grow next year’s food crops. This
project is a practical
demonstration of sustainability.”
Mr Lee, SENCo, commented:
“This sounds like an amazing
opportunity and we are very
proud to see Wings students
representing ORA with this
environmental community
project! Well done, keep up the
fantastic work!”
Crisis at Christmas
Year 8 students have been reading ‘Stone Cold’ by Robert Swindells
as part of the English curriculum. The central theme of homelessness
of a young person prompted them to think about what it must be like to
be a homeless teenager.
They decided to make a difference and to that end, started raising
funds to support the charity. By baking cakes, running a lunch-time
film session and a ‘name the teddy’ competition, the students have
raised enough money to reserve 2 places at Crisis at Christmas for
homeless people.
Vice Principal, Mrs Morrish and Principal, Ms Costello invited the Year
8 team to meet and talk about their thoughts on homelessness, their
experiences of fundraising and congratulated them for their charitable
work.
8R3 at their
achievement
tea party with
Ms Costello and
Mrs Morrish
This week the Garden Project
took delivery of 50 native trees
from The Conservation
Volunteers (TVC) community
charity. This is part of their
'I Dig Trees' programme for
2016/17 which aims to plant
250,000 trees in over 1,250 sites
and green spaces across the UK
and ORA will be one of those
sites. All of the trees are native
and will be grown on by the
students before being planted
out on the academy site to form
hedgerows and wildlife corridors:
wild cherry, rowan, alder and
downy birch.
A visit to the London Dungeons was
a huge success. The tour was
interactive and everyone enjoyed it.
Several students and Miss Hayward
were even selected by the actors to
take part in some of the exhibitions!
8
Literacy news
ORA’s Literacy programme looks at new ways to
engage our students in their creative writing. This
year we have a particular focus on extended writing.
After the success of Echo Freer’s visit last year
(author of the ‘Magenta’ series), the Academy
followed this up with another author, this time
someone who had a strong appeal for boys. James
Campbell, author of the ‘Boyface’ trilogy, is
renowned for his stand-up comedy (aimed at KS3
students) and storytelling style.
Students enjoy the writing workshop
Online safety for
teenagers
Teenagers may be experts on using the
internet, but they still need guidance and
protection to help keep them safe. Make sure
you continue talking about what they are doing
online.
Discuss and agree your expectations before
you allow them to join a social networking
site.
 Check the minimum age requirements.
 Talk to them about the dangers of
oversharing information about themselves
that they might then regret – teach them to
think before they post.
 Encourage them to check the policies and
privacy settings on any sites and services
they use.
 Remind your child that the same rules apply
online as they do at home and at school, for
example, they shouldn’t post anything they
wouldn’t say face-to-face.
 Check your child knows how to report abuse
or block contacts.
 Discuss the use of parental controls.
For more help and advice visit
www.nspcc.org.uk/onlinesafety

or contact the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800
5000 to discuss any concerns
Safeguarding
- Child Sexual Exploitation:
http://www.escb.co.uk/Portals/67/
Documents/CSE/IDK/CSE%20Parent%
20Leaflet.pdf
This website provides information to support
parents and carers in the understanding of child
sexual exploitation – how to recognise what is
happening and how to prevent it.
All Year 7 students enjoyed a joyous hour of comedy,
storytelling and a chance to ask James lots of
questions about his journey to becoming an author
and the creative writing process.
Afterwards, James invited two groups of 20 boys to
take part in workshops with a focus on ‘planning to
write extensively’. They were encouraged to develop
extended words based around their creative writing;
so when the time came for the story to be written,
students had a more than ample stock of ideas. The
boys produced their own writing personas and visual
plans for an adventure story with beautiful maps of
their settings that will go on to inform their writing.
Ms Bowtell, Literacy Coordinator, commented: “The
boys were delighted with the sessions and all
reported that they felt even more confident with their
planning. There will be a follow up session with these
students to encourage them to create the actual
stories. We are sure they will be exciting reads!”
Bookbuzz
BookTrust, a UK reading charity, aims to inspire a
love of reading in children. Bookbuzz is one of their
reading programmes which supports participating
schools and encourages students to read by giving
them the opportunity to choose their own book from
a list of titles suitable for 10-13 year olds.
This year’s titles include:
 The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge,
 Leopard's Snore! by Emma Trithart,
 I am Malala by Malala Yousafzaia and Patricia
McCormick,
 My Brother is a Superhero by David Solomons,
 The Boy Who Sailed the Ocean in an Armchair
by Lara Williamson.
This is the second year the Academy has run this
programme and it is a great way to encourage
students to take ownership of their reading. All Year
7’s will receive a book of their choice.
In addition, the Learning Resource Centre is
running a Bookbuzz swap box for students who
have finished reading their book and wish to
exchange it for another title.
9
Rugby Waterfall Festival
from Mr Hanna, PE department
Year 7
On Thursday 10th November, our Year 7 rugby team
travelled to Brentwood RUFC to compete in their second
waterfall festival of the year. After two previous losses
and one win we remained in group C; welcoming Becket
Keys who moved up from group D with and waving
goodbye to St John Payne. These changes in groupings
still left us with a challenge, which the boys accepted
without hesitation. After a slow start the cobwebs
disappeared and we started to display some good free
flowing rugby before half time in our first game. The boys
fought hard in each game keeping the score line level
until the penultimate minute where the opponent
managed to slip past them to score. We accepted defeat
gracefully and look forward to competing in group D
where we hope to win.
Year 8
On 15th November, our undefeated Year 8 team competed
in their second waterfall festival. After recording 3 wins at
the last tournament, we were promoted to group B to meet
our new rivals: Boswells , Anglo European and William de
Ferrers (WDF).
These were all tough opponents, but from the very first
whistle we showed high levels of determination and fitness,
beating Boswells 10-5. The competition continued as we
battled WDF who were in the lead ready for the second
half. This added fuel to our fire, the boys were ready. We
dominated the field and 3 tries later the whistle blew and
we had won 15-5!
After a well-deserved rest ORA faced Anglo European, the
leading team in this group. It was our final game and both
teams were tiring. The score was even; the referee was
checking his watch as time was running out. Anglo made a
strong run down the touch line looking like they were in for
a try until a scrambled Ormiston defence regained
possession. The team was unstoppable; seconds later we
had scored and the whistle blew.
Victorious! 3 more wins under our belt, still unbeaten
and another promotion!
Cricket
trials
Louis Barrell, 9SCA,
attended the Essex
Cricket Trials on 19th
November. There were
30 under 14's at this
trial slot, and 200 people taking part overall.
During the trial, Louis was asked to bowl 12
balls and bat 18.
Louis has recently received the call that he
was successful in this trial and has been
shortlisted down to the last 60 contenders.
He will be attending the next stage of the
trials later in December which will narrow
the field down further.
Miss Carroll, Head of Performing Arts and
Year 9 Mentor, said: “We would like to
congratulate Louis on this achievement so
far and wish him the very best of luck in the
next round.
Cross Country
PE students participated in the MESSA Cross Country event at Hylands Park,
Chelmsford on Wednesday 9th November. A special acknowledgement goes to
Year 9 student, James Rashbrook, who ran a fantastic race, leading until the
last 50m and finishing in second place in the Year 8 / 9 boys race. We are
delighted to report that James has been selected to represent the Mid Essex
Cross Country team.
Our Year 8 / 9 boys team came 12th overall against all Mid Essex Schools.
PE teacher, Miss Williamson said: “I would like to acknowledge the effort and
achievements of our PE students at this event. They have worked extremely
hard to attain this level, both within their lessons and also representing the
Academy at inter-school competitions. Well done to everyone who took part!”
Second place!
10
PE High Achievers
The PE department are extremely proud to
acknowledge some of the excellent
achievements by former Academy students.
Harry Bush and George Griffiths represented the
Academy at Rugby for many years; look where
they are now!
George Griffiths
Harry Bush,
Royal Marine
Former student, Harry Bush, invited friends
and family to his Royal Marine Graduation
ceremony in November.
PE teacher, Mr Becker attended the event
and said: “I was very fortunate to be invited
by Harry. It was an incredibly moving day,
and I was VERY proud to see our ‘Rugby
Boy’ turned into a Royal Marine. As a top PE
student, he had represented the Academy
on the rugby pitch through Years 7 to 12,
was selected for the Essex Rugby team U15
& U16, and played Colts and Senior Rugby
for Burnham RUFC. Harry also won the
Commando Award - in normal language that
is like winning ‘Players Player’ voted by his
fellow marines in the 22 Kings Squad... what
an achievement!”
George Griffiths joined the Academy in 2010 and
immediately showed promise in many different
sports. The lure of rugby was irresistible as he started to
progress in the sport, and by Year 9 he had an
influential role in our school team and his abilities were
starting to catch the eye.
George achieved an A grade in GCSE PE, then opted to
attend SEEVIC College to further develop his rugby.
Over this time he advanced his skills at the game and
we would like to congratulate him on his success. The
PE department hope to see George back at the
Academy soon for some work experience. A handful of
his achievements can be seen below:

2016/17 season - Signed his first semi-professional
contract with Southend Rugby Club and made his
first start on December 3rd, playing in the National
3 London and South East League.
U17 league winners with Southend
Represented Essex at U17 and U18 level.
Played elite level rugby 7's in the summer of 2016
National finalist with SEEVIC 2016 (15 a side)
National finalist with SEEVIC 2016 (rugby sevens)





Head of Physical Education, Mr Clay said: “We're very
proud of how George has grown and progressed and
we hope our younger students aspire to match his
accomplishments - well
done from all of the PE
department at Ormiston
Rivers Academy!”
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ORA’s new
Youth
Health
Champions
Examinations 2017
PRE-PUBLIC EXAMINATIONS
Year 12: w/c 16th January and w/c 3rd July 2017
Year 13: w/c 16th January and w/c 17th April 2017
Year 11: w/c 27th February
Year 10: w/c 20th February and w/c 26th June 2017
SUMMER Examination Session:
5th May to 30th June 2017
In addition to the above dates, some subjects have
practical examinations, and controlled assessments
which count towards the final subject grade. Dates for
these will be advised by individual subject teachers.
RESULTS
Summer 2017 GCE Results:
Thursday 17th August 2017
Riverview
Summer 2017 GCSE Results:
Thursday 24th August 2017
Students from the Journalism club have
been working hard over the last half
term to produce the December issue of
Riverview. We’ve had some enthusiastic
new members join us to make this issue
even more packed than the last.
Features include: current news stories,
film reviews, a countdown of the best
Christmas songs and some festive
jokes. There are copies of Riverview
available in the Learning Resource
Centre.
Miss Price and Miss Lloyd are very
proud of the students’ contributions and
effort over the last few weeks and are
looking forward to the next issue for
which there are many ideas already.
Dates for your diary
December 2016
21st
End of term - Academy closes at 1:30pm
Save the Children Christmas Jumper Day
January 2017
5th
Start of new term
19th
Year 8 Parents Evening
February 2017
13th
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13 - 17 Half Term
Sea Cadet
Lego League
Drew Kuta, Year 7, in Mr Baldock’s
mentor group brought in a trophy to show
staff and friends at the Academy.
Everyone
was very
impressed
with Drew’s
achievement.
He said: “I
received the
trophy for
volunteering
for Poppy
collection,
door to door,
and finally
DCMT
(District
Cadet Multi
Training). So that is how I got my cup and
a big thank you to my chief for getting me
this far. I was surprised when I got it.”
Well done Drew!
9 ORA students participated
in the Regional Finals of the
First Lego League
competition. Their challenge
was to design and build a
robot capable of completing
a number of tasks, with
each task awarding points.
Additionally, a sub-team
worked on a project to
demonstrate how humans
and animals can work
together for mutual benefit.
After a careful start, ORA
finished in the top eight and
proceeded to the knock-out rounds: they beat their
opponents 72-24 and 57-26 in the quarter and semi-finals
respectively. Our students were congratulated on finishing
in second place against stiff competition from the City of
London School.
Crazy Tie Day
Sixth Form CILEx Legal Secretaries
organized a charity event on Friday 16th
December to raise funds for Little Havens
Children’s Hospice. Academy staff were
invited to wear a crazy tie for the day with
students voting for their favourite tie.
Participants donated £3 to take part and
there was also a raffle to raise funds. The
prize for the person with the most votes
was a meal voucher, kindly donated by the
Oyster Smack in Burnham.
Raffle prizes included a bottle of bubbly, a
beauty voucher, B&Q voucher and a
hamper of hair
products.
Christmas themed ties
were very popular and
Design Technology
staff created ties from
metal, wood and even
cake!
Everyone involved worked extremely hard over the last 3
months, practising and preparing for the competition.
Head of Computing, Mr Conway, said of the team: “I am
very proud of what the students have achieved. Watching
them grow as a team, supporting and helping each other
is one of the joys being a teacher.
Seeing them not just compete but
coming in 2nd in their first year in the
competition, highlights the resilience
and perseverance of our students and
the ability they have to compete.”
Team captain, George Welham, Year
11, thought the competition “allowed us
to explore our problem solving skills
using programming and teamwork;
learning from our mistakes to improve
the design and implementation of the
robot. The project team worked well to
produce a great presentation and it was
a good team effort.”
The winner on the day
was Mr Player, Head
of Sixth Form, who
wore an impressive 17
ties!
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Natural History
Museum
On Wednesday 7th December, Year 9 Health
and Social Care students went to the National
History Museum to see the Human Biology
and Dinosaur exhibitions. Travelling on the
academy’s mini bus added an opportunity to
see some of London’s visitor attractions along
the way.
Childcare/Health and Social Care Teacher,
Mrs Cooke commented: “The visit to the
museum has helped students with their
learning of the human body and how we
develop. Every member of the group was
incredibly well behaved, polite and friendly.
We even heard other teachers commenting
on how well behaved the children were! I was
so very proud of them, they are a real credit
to the academy.”
Our students
I enjoyed seeing the
enjoyed their
dinosaurs and the
experiences at
way they moved… I
the museum
liked the London
and in London.
Eye, Big Ben and
Tower Bridge!
I enjoyed looking at
the baby in the womb
model because I
could see what it
really looked like.
.
I enjoyed
seeing how
the body
works.
Legal Debate
By Sidney Fairbank,
Year 13
On Wednesday 9th
November, Sixth
Form students,
Abbie Smith, Emma
Henderson and
Natalie Clay took
part in the Gepp and
Sons Schools’ Legal Debate 2016; a Law competition
against Brentwood School, Anglo-European and King
Edward VI Grammar School.
The competition was extremely fierce, and the
candidates were extremely committed in their
rehearsals for the debate. Although Ormiston Rivers
Academy did not win overall, we did reach the final.
Our students also had an opportunity to meet some
very friendly faces within the Law industry, giving them
good links towards work experience.
The Gepp and Sons Schools’ Legal Debate is a very
prestigious event, and the Academy is very proud to
have reached the final. The Sixth Form would like to
thank Mr Knight and Mrs Head for dedicating their time
in taking the students to Anglia Ruskin University. We
would also like to thank sixth formers Francesca
Johnson, Sidney Fairbank, Callum Newton and Ben
Gentry who were also at the event to give their support
to the competitors.
In the museum, I
enjoyed looking at
the whale - it was
huge… I liked the
gold gates near
Buckingham Palace.
Students celebrate their success with
Ms Costello, Mr Knight, Mrs Head
and Mrs Smith
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Rotary Young Chef
Report by Miss Emmerson & Miss Williamson
This week saw the return of the annual Rotary
Young Chef competition for the tenth year at
Ormiston Rivers Academy. Year 11 students:
Max Willsher, Emily Symons, Faye Pringle,
Riley Pond, Lewis Leer, Rosie Braisted and
Ella Wicks cooked with spectacular
professionalism, demonstrating complex skills
to create their culinary delights.
The competition brief stated that competitors
must create a healthy two course meal for two
people, consisting of a main meal and a
dessert, for under £15 in total. Guest judges
from the Burnham Rotary along with Dan Hull
of Hull Prepared Foods, Trevor Howell of The
Oyster Smack Inn and Anita Smith found the
competition to be a close call.
Third place was awarded to Riley Pond
who created a delicious chicken and
vegetable pie in home-made short-crust
pastry, served with creamy mash and carrots
followed with a dessert of individual Victoria
sponge cake with raspberry jam and whipped
cream, served with fresh raspberries.
Second place was awarded to Max
Willsher for his menu of peppered pork fillet
served on a bed of seasonal roasted
vegetables with slowly cooked sweet red
pepper and an onion and mustard gravy
followed by a dessert of orange cheesecake
with an orange and vanilla syrup.
The winning menu for the Burnham Rotary
Young Chef 2016 was awarded to Emily
Symons who created a scrumptious main of
pork tenderloin, using locally sourced pork,
pan fried in Dengie apple cider served with a
sweet onion cider gravy, kale with buckwheat
and bacon and sweet seasonal English
carrots followed by a dessert of deconstructed
apple crumble tart.
Food Technology Teachers, Miss Emmerson
and Miss Williamson said: “Despite the high
competition from all students, Emily's cleverly
devised menu consisting of local, fresh
seasonal produce gave her dishes the leading
score. Emily will now be invited to the regional
competition; we wish her the best of luck with
the next stage!”
A huge amount of thanks go to Burnham
Rotary, Dan Hull, Trevor Howell and Anita
Smith for their support and contributions to
judging on the evening. Many congratulations
to the competitors for their hard work,
creativity and sheer determination; we are so
very proud of you all.
15
Contact Us
Principal: Ms J Costello BA (Hons), PGCE, NPQH
Ormiston Rivers Academy
Southminster Road
Burnham-on-Crouch
t: 01621 782377
e: [email protected]
… a good school
w: www.ormistonriversacademy.co.uk
16
CYE 12/2016
Essex CM0 8QB