Newsletters

SWA E-Newsletter #151

E-NEWSLETTER  •  ISSUE 151

A Message from Principal, Mr Martin

As we approach the end of the formal exam season, I would like to congratulate all the students who have sat examinations this year. I have been incredibly proud of the way in which they have conducted themselves, especially in the recent hot weather conditions. Their attitude and commitment to their exams has been everything that we could have hoped for, and I really hope that all their hard work pays off and they achieve the results they deserve this summer.

This fortnight has been a busy one, with film students out and about in the village making videos for their film coursework and our Year 10 geographers visiting the beach as part of their fieldwork. Last weekend, several students went away on their Gold DofE practice expedition and came back absolutely exhausted. This weekend we have over 100 students out on their bronze expedition. I would like to thank all the staff involved in these activities for giving up their time and organising such a range of fantastic opportunities.

Over the coming weeks our fantastic performing and visual arts teams lead and welcome you to two great events. It is the return of the Summer Arts Festival next Thursday and our ‘Night at the Musicals’ production the following week. Please get your tickets soon to avoid disappointment, links can be found below.

Next week we have our Pride week and a brilliant selection of activities are planned for our students, including assemblies, stalls, sports events, tutor activities and our brightly coloured non-uniform day on Friday 24th June. This is an important event for us as a school and a valuable opportunity for our students to develop our values of respect, equality and teamwork.

Messages From Heads of Year 

Year 9, Mrs L Clark

 

Year 9 have enjoyed a lovely start to half term, with plenty of exciting activities to get involved in. Attendance at our summer extra-curricular groups continues to be fantastic. You can find the full timetable on our website here. Our Duke of Edinburgh cohort are heading out on their second expedition this weekend. Let's hope the rain stays away for them!

Next week is Pride Week, we are looking forward to seeing our Year 9s engage with a range of activities developed by our Diversity & Equality team. We are incredibly proud that this team includes some of our Year 9 students. They have been directly involved in developing these resources with our staff, which demonstrates not only their knowledge, but their mature attitude towards educating others on important issues. Please join me in congratulating their hard work. 

As the high temperatures look set to continue, please do keep your eyes open for any communication from our Senior Leadership Team about permission to wear SWA PE kit. Please note that sports branded PE kit is not permissible. Further information about our uniform can be found on our website here.

Year 10, Mr P Johnson

 

On Thursday Year 10 students received their mock exam results and these should now be available to view on edulink. There were a mixture of excellent results and ones which show where more work is needed. This is a common theme for most Year 10 mock exams and historically, those who take time to consider what they need to do to improve in certain subjects and act accordingly, generally do very well. I encouraged students on Thursday to think about what they will do to improve between now and the next set of mocks in November. Overall there have been some very positive and mature conversations had between students and their form tutors.

As with any summer break there are changes in staff at school and the make- up of the year team will alter slightly. From next Friday Mrs Kirkman (formerly Miss Tabert) will be returning from maternity leave and will work alongside myself and Miss Prow for the remainder of term in the year team.

From September, Miss Prow will be Head of Year as I move to a new school and Mrs Kirkman will be taking the role of Associate Principal. Mrs Saggers and Miss Veazey will continue in their roles as PSO and Assistant Head of Year respectively.

Thank you for all the correspondence and support you have given both me and the students throughout this year.

YEAR 10 FILM STUDIES, FILMING VISIT

This week the Year 10 Film students have been undertaking their GCSE coursework. For this, the students are required to make their own individual short film, which counts for 30% of their overall GCSE grade. As a department, our students have been filming in a variety of locations around Shefford, which has allowed for them to be more creative with their ideas.

The majority of students have opted to utilise the woodland area in Millennium Green, to create some effective horror films. Whilst others explored the industrial estate, to produce their crime films. Throughout the course of the week, the students have directed, filmed and performed in each other's short films - showing a real sense of team work. The students have acted with a sense of maturity and have been highly professional on this trip. We look forward to the editing process, and to seeing their productions come together, in the coming weeks!

SUMMER ARTS FESTIVAL

Students across the Trust have been working extremely hard for the Summer Arts Festival on Thursday 23rd June at 6pm. This is a casual event where you are free to wander round and see the music, dance, drama and art work available and celebrate the talent that the students across the Trust have! As well, you can purchase food from the BBQ, the ice cream van and top up your drinks at the bar! To purchase tickets please visit here. 

NIGHT AT THE MUSICALS

Samuel Whitbread Students have also been working to put together their summer production of ‘A Night at the Musicals’. A compilation of songs and scenes from over 14 different musicals. Final touches are being added to the performance now to make it ready for the show nights which are the 5th-8th July at 7pm. Tickets can be purchased here.

YEAR 10 WALTON-ON-THE-NAZE GEOGRAPHY FIELD TRIP

This week Year 10 geography students have travelled down to Walton-on-the-Naze to complete their geography field work. The weather was amazing! On the sunny coast, students measured long store drift by measuring the distance over a two-minute time period with oranges. Students were able to see how hard engineering such as rock armour, sea walls and groynes are used to protect our coast. The students were excellent and we look forward to their Human field work trip to Cambridge in October.

THE ECO COMMITTEE GOT THEIR GREEN FLAG

The Eco-Committee is glad to announce that Samuel Whitbread Academy has been awarded the Eco-Schools Green Flag award. The Eco committee was formed in its current format in 2018, our founding Year 9 members are now in Year 12 and still taking part. We started with regular meetings to discuss changes we could make and completed our environmental review. From there we made progress by starting a litter picking club which counted as part of the volunteering aspect for Duke of Edinburgh award and writing student newsletters to help make students and teachers aware of changes they could make and why they should make them. The idea came to plant trees at school and in individual gardens to help alleviate the anxiety of a situation, human driven climate change, which was getting out of control. Doing a practical task that makes a difference can help. This escalated to a challenge put forward by Mr Martin to plant 2020 trees in the year 2020. Never one to back away from a challenge, the committee embraced it and despite what was to be a nightmare year for group activities with the ‘virus that must not be named’, we completed our challenge and went on to plant in excess of 2020 trees in 2020. This year saw the evolution of the committee and the introduction of student-led champions. Predominantly student-led, this year we undertook a second-hand fashion show to highlight the impact of fast fashion and the joy of repurposing items. We also planted a further 100 trees to help mitigate our carbon footprint. We have achieved so much and are looking forward to achieving much more.

If any students would like to get involved, they are always welcome and can do as little or as much as they like. We are in the process of planning a trip to Biogen facilities in November which will be open to committee members (there is a limited number of spaces) and we will start planning our focus and action plan for next academic year. Contact Ms Ambrose for more details.

YEAR 9 AND 10 FRENCH TRIP

The Year 10 food students had a three-day trip to France last week exploring local cuisine. The trip was mainly centred around St Omar (northwest) where we looked at organic milk, honey and bakery manufacturing from small artisan producers. 

As you can see from the pictures, the students immersed themselves in the experience and took themselves out of their culinary comfort zone.

Big thank you to Mrs Lund, Mrs Hollingsworth, Mrs Gurney and Mr Gibson for organising the trip.

DofE VOLUNTEERING

Samuel Whitbread has been awarded a certificate to celebrate the hours our students have dedicated to volunteering as a part of their DofE programme. A huge well done to our DofE students.

Participants from Samuel Whitbread Academy dedicated 871 hours to volunteering between April 2021 and March 2022, with a social value of £4024.02.

PRIDE WEEK

To celebrate Pride month, we have put together a week full of activities and events which all students are welcome to participate in.

MEDICAL

As we head into warmer weather it is important to drink plenty of water throughout the day to avoid dehydration and to stay focused. We encourage students to bring in their own water bottles, which can be refilled at our water fountain specifically designed for water bottle use. If students forget to bring in their water bottle, they can purchase one at the school canteen before registration, break or lunch.

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Samuel Whitbread Academy E-Newsletter
 
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Parent, Carer, Governor or Member of Staff at SWA. 
 
Samuel Whitbread Academy
Shefford Road, Clifton, Shefford, Bedfordshire, SG17 5QS
Tel: 01462 629900  •  Fax: 01462 629901
Email: swa-info@bestacademies.org.uk