WEEKLY NEWSLETTER – 9 MARCH 2018 Website www.facebook.com/GreenswardAc/

w/c 12 March: B

@GreenswardAc

WORLD BOOK DAY

CONGRATULATIONS TO …

A big thank you to everyone who attended the academy on Thursday dressed as a beloved literary character. Characters ranging from Oompa Loompas from Roald Dahl's 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' to Orcs from Tolkein's 'Lord of the Rings' were sharing in the day’s festivities. Students in Years 7 and 8 were also seen racing around the academy in order to be the first to identify all of the characters on their 'Where's Wally' quiz sheets. The winning student of the quiz, as well as the winners of 'Best Dressed Department' and 'Best Dressed Staff Member' will be awarded next week.

… Sian McLintock in Year 13 who has received an offer to study Medicine at Manchester University in September. In order to secure this offer she had to sit BMAT examinations, complete an additional personal statement, attend mock interviews at Dulwich College in preparation and finally travel to Manchester for a final assessment and interview day. She still has Sheffield and UEA to hear back from, but in addition to this offer she also has been given a place at Bristol University to study Biochemistry.

World Book Day, now in its 21st year, is the biggest celebration of its kind, designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, and is marked in over 100 countries all over the world.

Evidence suggests that children who read for enjoyment every day not only perform better in reading tests than those who don’t, but also develop a broader vocabulary, increased general knowledge and a better understanding of other cultures. In fact, there’s evidence to suggest that reading for pleasure is more likely to determine whether a child does well at school than their social or economic background.

NATIONAL APPRENTICESHIP WEEK We were delighted to welcome back ex-student Mica Ellis and her colleague, Eimi to the academy this week. Mica, who completed her A levels in 2017, successfully gained a place on the prestigious Deloitte BrightStart Higher Apprenticeship programme and is currently gaining invaluable experience across a range of different functional areas within the organisation. Clearly impressed with the calibre of Greensward students, Deloitte asked Mica to return to her old school and promote the scheme to a new set of potential applicants. Year 13 students were very keen to speak to them both, with one already submitting an application. Falling as it did in National Apprenticeship Week, their visit was a timely reminder of the host of opportunities that exist and of the rewards hard work now can reap in the future.

60MM MENTORING

Congratulations to the first group of Year 8 students to complete the 60 Minute Mentor programme in conjunction with Southend Borough Council. The programme aims to get students thinking about their future careers by teaming them with local mentors. The mentor for this group was ex-Greensward student Billy Haynes, owner of Miru 3D.

ESSEX CUP NETBALL SEMI FINAL This week the under 16s netball team took on Southend High School for Girls in the Essex Cup semi-final. The girls got off to a slow start in the first quarter and went down by 4 goals. However, they came back fighting in the second and third quarter, with some fantastic interceptions and through court play. Going in to the final quarter the girls were only 2 goals down. Unfortunately they were unable to hold off a strong Southend High side and the game finished 31-27 to Southend.

ART WORK OF THE WEEK A special mention goes to the Year 11 girls; Hollie Cox, Lauren Smart, Rebeka Thompson and Amy Peacham who have represented the academy’s netball team throughout their time at Greensward and have achieved numerous district and county titles.

PURPLE DRANK

Congratulations to Dylan Schubert in Year 12 who has produced this extremely intricate pen drawing.

LOST PROPERTY Student Services has a lot of glasses, jewellery, keys, umbrellas and memory sticks that have not been claimed. If you have lost any of the above since September please pop along to Student Services after school next Monday 12 March and Tuesday 13 March to see if we have it. Anything not claimed on these 2 days will be disposed of.

YEAR 9 OPTIONS EVENING Thank you to all parents who attended last night. The PowerPoint and revised options form has been emailed out to parents today but can also be viewed on our website along with the Science information.

We have been made aware of a new youth culture phase called Purple Drank. This is made by mixing cough syrup with fizzy drink (commonly Sprite). Optionally a boiled sweet can be thrown in to add to the sweetness. The codeine and other ingredients of the cough syrup are taken in much higher doses than medically recommended. It reportedly gives euphoric and dissociative effects, including constricted pupils, slow/slurred speech, uncontrolled eye movement, droopy eyes, slowed heart rate, drowsiness, loss of balance, loss of co-ordination and paleness. There is a risk of overdose particularly because of the codeine, and this will be increased when taken in conjunction with alcohol. There are recent cases in mainstream and social media of its use amongst children.

BRITISH SCIENCE WEEK To help celebrate British Science Week next week, the academy will be running a mix of science and maths activities during form time, there will be STEM assemblies for Years 7-10, and there will be small practicals available for KS3 in science (E103) at lunchtime all week together with special STEM week activities for KS3 in maths lessons.

TERM DATES It has been brought to our attention that by looking for our term dates via an internet search there are websites that are displaying incorrect dates for us. We would advise all parents to check our Greensward website where dates for this and the next academic year can be found in the parents section.

CHARITY FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT

On June 16, the Brainstrust is holding a charity football tournament on Saturday 16 June at Hockley Community Centre. It is a fun, family day out for all with the goal of raising a lot of money and awareness. If you can’t attend but would like to donate please do so via www.justgiving.com/Sharon-Springall. The event is been organised by Mrs Sharon Springall.