News letter

www.dorcan .co .uk

Message from the Headteacher 2

Extend@Dorcan 3

Swindon Maths League 4

Blood Brothers 5

Practice Makes Perfect 6,7,8

BBC School Reporters 9

Trip to France 10/11

World Book Day 12

Accelerated Reader 13

Family Success 14

Sport Relief 14

Duke of Edinburgh's Awards 15

Girls’ Football 16

Pedal Power 17

Dorcan’s Got Talent 18

Dates for your Diary 19

Inside this issue:

Issue No: 016

Term 4: 2015/2016

Year 8 students became school reporters for a day during March. They took part in the BBC’s annual News Day, during which they created and published video, audio and text-based news reports.

Year 8 and 9 students have returned from a trip to France which included visits to The Albert Museum in The Somme and Disneyland Paris. There were organised outdoor activities and the opportunity to sample frogs legs and snails.

£1520.00 was raised for the Sport Relief Charity by students and staff. Many activities were organised including a cake sale and a fun run.

The Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award students have been preparing for their next practice walk and their qualifying walk recently. They completed a muddy 13km circular walk towards Chiseldon and back to Coate Water.

We hope you enjoy this edition of the newsletter.

www.dorcan .co .uk

Message from the Headteacher

Having read this version of the newsletter I am extremely proud of the achievements of our students and staff. I am particularly pleased that so many of our students are demonstrating our vision and values through their regular commitment to extra-curricular activities within school but also community events, productions, sports and activities outside of school. We aim for students to discover their talents and skills in order to become the best they can be and the articles in this term’s newsletter showcase individuals who are certainly doing that. The ‘Practice Makes Perfect!’ article shows Mr Salvidge’s tutor group ‘aspiring to greatness’ and I believe that with hard work and dedication they can and will achieve their dreams. Our staff are vital in providing exciting learning opportunities for students and I am always overwhelmed by how generous they are in giving of their time; the French trip and Duke of Edinburgh expeditions took place in holiday time when staff could have been spending time with their own families. It is a credit to our students that staff want to organise these trips and spend time with them. Dorcan has a compassionate and caring ethos and I am delighted that our students have raised £1520 for Sport Relief. This is a fantastic achievement. It has also been lovely to receive positive comments from members of the public about how our students have been ‘model citizens’ within the community. My most recent ‘Come Dine with Me’ event featured students who have all showed excellent citizenship: Scott Horspole (helped a staff member get their car fixed), Ethan Maslin (helped a student on the way to school who had fallen off his skateboard), Alisha Perkins (made several shoeboxes for needy families at Christmas) and Molly McCusker and Cerys Blackholly (catered for guests at our presentation evening). It was a pleasure to share a special Easter lunch with them complete with Easter bunny cakes, made by our fabulous caterers, Aspens. We were very sad to say goodbye to two of our very long standing members of staff at Easter: Mr Coombes who has worked at Dorcan for his entire teaching career and Mr Kirk. Both colleagues were highly respected, have made a huge contribution to the school over the years and will be sorely missed by students and staff. We wish them every success for the future in their retirements. Owing to reducing budgets we are currently undergoing a re-structure of our school staffing which will lead to some changes for students in September. Any changes made are being done with the best interests of your children and our students at heart in order to ensure that we still achieve our vision of becoming an outstanding school of first choice at the heart of our local community. Year 11 are in their final term of revision and preparation for their GCSE examinations and I wish them every success. Our intervention programme is still running so thank you for your continued support in ensuring they attend. We would like as many students as possible to attend the Prom and have started to send out invites to students who are working hard, attending intervention if required, and are on track to complete their coursework, as an incentive to others to do the right thing. As the summer months come upon us, I would also ask for your support in ensuring students adhere to our high standards of uniform. I have noticed some un-natural hair colours creeping in! Details of how to purchase the new uniform at a 15% discount will shortly be available on our website. We wish all our students all the best for their forthcoming examinations.

www.dorcan .co .uk

Extend@Dorcan

On the first two days of the February school holiday, almost one hundred pupils from the cluster primary schools came to The Dorcan Academy to participate in a variety of activities which engaged and stimulated the mind! Students selected two activities from the following choices: European Championships (P.E.) The Apprentice (Maths) Theatre and Musical Workshop (Expressive Arts) Be a Newspaper Publisher for a Day (English) Forensic Science (Science) SMART Technology (ICT) Pop-up Card (Technology) As the photographs show, students were actively involved in making, investigating, experimenting, playing and generally having a good time! The two days also provided an opportunity for the children to meet some of the teachers at The Dorcan Academy as well as to begin to find their way around the school and, most importantly, be introduced to children from other primary schools, who may be their classmates in secondary school. The positive comments from children and parents suggest everyone had a great time. The leader of the event, Mr Haskins (Y6/7/8 Phase Leader), thanked the staff who ran the activities: Mr Chapple, Miss Messam, Mr Allen, Mr Tollemache, Mr Walker, Mr Ansah-Johnson and Ms Gardiner. Mr Haskins would also like to thank Ms Hitchen and Mrs Rejek-Aldridge for their invaluable help. However, the biggest thank you is to the children, who participated fully in the two days and made it such an enjoyable experience. Everyone at The Dorcan Academy looks forward to working with the students again on several other projects, including the Raising Aspirations project. Mr Haskins Phase Leader

www.dorcan .co .uk

Swindon Maths League

Recently The Dorcan Academy took part in the first session of the Swindon Maths League. It was pleasing that we were able to take three teams comprised of the most able Mathematicians in Years 7-8. There were a total of eighteen teams competing, representing eight different schools. All three Dorcan teams performed admirably, with the best performance from Dorcan 2 who achieved a very creditable fifth place. All three teams are looking forward to the next session of the league programme. Mr Ansah-Johnson Teacher of Maths

www.dorcan .co .uk

Blood Brothers at the New Theatre, Oxford

Year 11 set off in sunshine for the dreaming spires of Oxford and after a quick crush at the doors, settled into excellent seats: front row in the stalls. We were instantly swept up by the opening bars and an excited hush fell in the auditorium. Olivia Secker was emotional by the end of the first chorus. How would we last three hours? Fortunately we had a heap of chocolate to sustain us. At first, Mrs Johnstone (Lyn Paul from ‘The New Seekers’) seemed old for the part (‘Like Mary Berry, Miss’ Amy Pitts told me) but the character of the poor, tender-hearted mother was finely played and the songs delivered with such an emotional punch that we actually forgot she was older. The narrator was played by a charismatic young actor, Kris Harding; all the girls had a bit of a crush by the end of his first song. Let’s hope it helps you revise those key quotes! Remember ‘The devil’s got your number. He’s creeping down the hall.’ We all enjoyed the fun of the middle section – the teen years. One of us (was it Jordan Harris?) caught a flying prophylactic projectile and Jacob Lyddiard nearly had a pram in his lap. The characters played it fast for laughs which added to the poignancy in the second half. The character of Edward was played by Joel Benedict, who was making his acting debut, and Mickey (Sean Jones) looked like Gary Neville. Or so Jayden Handel told me. After the interval (How much was that ice-cream?), the mood darkens and a sombre ending brings us all to an emotional end. The audience was transported by Lyn Paul’s emotional rendering of ‘Tell me it’s not true’, sung after the death of both twins. Did any of us manage not to cry? Matty Reed? Joe Swaby? It was an unforgettable performance. (That’s the idea, Year 11 – perfect for your revision.) We exited, blinking in the daylight, queuing up outside an Italian restaurant when eagle-eyed Year 11 girls spotted the narrator, sat in the restaurant, already tucking into a pile of pasta. Kerrie Clifton couldn’t resist getting his autograph. Our visit was made perfectly complete as Joe Swaby serenaded us back to the coach with his own version of ‘Tell me it’s not true’, the sun sinking behind the spires. We finally wound our way back to Swindon (only a short delay while we routed the two stowaways: Craig Johnsey and Keldan Steyn.) Well done Year 11 for setting an example for other schools in the theatre, for behaving and responding in a way that makes your teachers *very* proud of you and for just being a brilliant year group. You deserve to do very well indeed. Mrs Smith Head of English

www.dorcan .co .uk

Practice Makes Perfect!

In 2014, the BBC attempted to answer the question - ‘Can 10,000 hours of practice make you an expert?’ This question made us wonder what the students in 8B1 might be able to become masters in before they leave The Dorcan Academy. Here are the results of our enquiries. Mr Salvidge 8B1 Tutor

Neil is interested in producing drama shows. He recently played Lumiere in The Beauty and the Beast. His other hobbies include Yu-Gi-Oh (card game) with his friends after school.

Neil

Ashleigh plays football after school once a week and enjoys it for the physical activity and teamwork involved.

Ashleigh

Sophie is interested in participating in more cross-country running events after getting involved in the Swindon Schools Cross Country Championships.

Sophie

Hope is a footballer. She started playing four years ago. She trains hard and aspires to be a professional player.

Hope

Jack plays basketball for his year team and likes to play football for fun.

Jack

Tayler goes to Stagecoach, a professional drama, singing and dancing school, once a week. She aspires to be a drama/singing teacher when she is older. Tayler has also been learning to play the guitar for the past year or so.

Tayler

Jake recently started playing football two months ago. His goals are to improve his skills and formations.

Jake

Chloe has recently started ice skating. She aspires to become an Olympic figure skater. Chloe has reached Level 8 of the UK Skate Levels which means she is able to spin, skate backwards and perform jumps.

Chloe

www.dorcan .co .uk

Kelsey is a skater. She enjoys watching and participating in the activity. She also enjoys the contact sport - Roller Derby. Kelsey’s ambition is to play for the Leeds Roller Dolls.

Kelsey

Kye aspires to play for Wiltshire Schoolboys rugby team. He has been attending school practice sessions since September.

Kye

Dean is a keen footballer of eight years. He has also become interested in cross-country running since arriving at Dorcan. Dean is active everyday of the week.

Dean

Kellie-Ann is currently a green belt in Tae-Kwon-Do. She enjoys breaking boards and aspires to be a black belt soon. Kellie-Ann also enjoys going to the swimming pool. She would like to become a good swimmer.

Kellie-Ann

Kieron plays basketball for his year team and likes to play football for fun.

Kieron

Vanessa has progressed through the UK Skate Program and on to the UK Star Program and is currently a bronze-rated figure skater. She has been enjoying the skate program since 2014. Vanessa has targeted skating as a career opportunity. Vanessa

Cameron enjoys going to the gym and walking his dog. Maybe he will enter his dog at Crufts one day?

Cameron

Amber used to dance, play football and swim. Now she is focusing on running and hopefully competing in the long distance events throughout the athletics season.

Amber

For six years, Harvey has been involved with Scouts. He enjoys doing different activities, such as camping. He would like to use his survival skills to be able to survive in the wilderness.

Harvey

Thomas aspires to become a game developer and product designer. He has been learning Java Script to allow him to code video games for websites. He also likes to create 3D products using Autodesk 123D.

Thomas

www.dorcan .co .uk

Miles enjoys gaming on his console at home. He would also like to travel the world to achieve his ambition of being a world-class free runner.

Miles

Kim would like to be a professional dancer and drama teacher. For the past four years she has been learning jazz and tap dancing once a week and every Friday she performs in a drama group that she joined three years ago.

Kimberley

James is very active outside of school. He plays team sports (basketball, football and rugby) and regularly enjoys playing squash, boxing and cross-country running. James would like to be a professional basketball player when he finishes at Dorcan. James

Josh would like to play for our very own Swindon Town Football Club. He has been playing football for five years and plays every weekend. Josh also attends Army Cadets. He has set his sights on achieving the rank of staff sergeant. Joshua

As you can see, the students of 8B1 take part in a wide variety of extra-

curricular activities. ranging from football and ice skating to programming and

drama.

Well done 8B1! Good luck and enjoy!

Facts:

10,000 hours

It can be thought of as approximately ten

hours a day for three years!

The cost of success… The Brownlee brothers

(Olympic medallists in Triathlon) train four

times a day, six days a week. A typical day

is…

A three mile swim, three hour bike ride, and

two 45 minute runs.

Joshua Irving

preparing for his

Swindon Town

Football Club ball-

boy photograph

www.dorcan .co .uk

BBC School Reporters

On Thursday 10th March a group of Year 8 students became BBC News School Reporters for the

day. They worked solidly from 9am until 3pm reporting on a variety of topics. Their work included stories that interested them such as local news, and one group even collaborated with some of their peers who were on a residential trip in France to report on the importance of school trips. Students were able to choose the subjects they reported on, as well as which platform their news would take. Have a look on our website and follow the link to the BBC News School Report to view the videos and written reports. The day was a great opportunity for the students to work as journalists in order to research, perfect and present their work whilst keeping the strict deadline in mind. It also opened their eyes to what goes on behind the scenes when making the news. We owe a huge thank you to Mrs Farrow and her Year 11 Media students for their calm assistance in the editing of the material. Looking forward to next time and we hope you enjoy our news reports! Miss Ross Teacher of English

www.dorcan .co .uk

Trip to France

A group of Year 8 and 9 students have just returned from a packed programme of activities during the French trip. The students were fantastic and got involved with everything with gusto! The range of activities was superb with lots of photo opportunities for the teachers! There were capsized canoes, make-up sessions, football games, haggling at the market, huge waffles with chocolate sauce, meeting Mickey Mouse……you name it - we did it! On a more serious note, students spent a day on The Somme which was very informative. Students got to see the trenches and were also able to replicate WW1 photos, standing in the exact place where our soldiers had stood before “going over the top”. The Albert Museum really brought the events of WW1 to life and some Year 8 roving reporters on the trip conducted interviews which were sent back to school for the BBC News Report! In the evenings the students worked on their French workbook and wrote a diary showing off their knowledge of tenses – these were excellent and the overall winners were Callum Jackson in Year 8 and Sophie Ogbourne in Year 9. Well done to both of them!

www.dorcan .co .uk

Feedback from the students, not surprisingly, centred around Disneyland Paris and the food! Here are some of the things they said:

A huge thanks to the staff who came on the trip; Mrs Grace you are amazing, Mr Tanner you made the history day so realistic and your knowledge was amazing, Miss Brazell your lovely smiley face at all times was wonderful. And finally to the students; you were the best time-keepers (even you Maia), incredibly polite, hardly moaned at all and kept us smiling (yes Dean, you were a revelation!) Mrs Burnett Deputy Head of Foreign Languages

“The highlight was the meals, they were really nice. My favourite was the steak and chips..” Callum Jackson. (I can’t understand why he didn’t say the frogs legs and snails which we sampled?!…..Miam Miam….)

I found the French trip to be really fun because we were always kept busy

with fun activities. The best part was when we went to Disneyland Paris

because we could go off in groups and go on whatever rides we wanted.

Gabrielle Fuller

I thought that the France trip was fun and educational.

The trip was very good and I highly recommend it to people who like France and WW1. The best bit was Disneyland Paris and canoeing.

www.dorcan .co .uk

World Book Day

An eerie silence fell over The Dorcan Academy on World Book Day as staff and students settled down to participate in DEAR, Drop Everything And Read, during tutor time. Everyone in The Dorcan Academy community, including staff and students, dropped what they were doing and read for fifteen minutes. It was a great way to start the day and celebrate reading. Students were also given their World Book Day vouchers that can be exchanged at local bookshops and supermarkets for some great books that have been especially written for the day. Alternatively, they can use their voucher to receive £1 off a full-price book. Throughout the week of World Book Day a “Guess the Teacher!” competition was held. Staff at The Dorcan Academy were photographed hiding behind some of the great new books that we have in the library and students had to guess who the teachers were. It wasn’t always easy! The winners of the tutor group competition were Mr Skelton’s 11G1, congratulations! Why not try guessing which teachers are hiding in these photos! (Answers on page 19) Mrs Hardcastle Learning Centre Manager

www.dorcan .co .uk

Accelerated Reader

Students in Years 7, 8 and 9 follow the Accelerated Reader programme. The programme supports our students with their personal reading through book selection, regular quizzing and testing. Congratulations to all those students who have earned Word Millionaire status by reading more than one million words! Particular mention must go to Year 8 student Alex Harkness who has now become a Multi-Millionaire! Students who gain fifty or more points become Reading Champions. Congratulations to all our Reading Champions, who are listed below.

Year 7 Natalie Cole – 243.1 pts Lee Skull – 225.6 pts Owen Hughes – 178.6 pts Natalie Henry 171.1 pts Aleeia Bagnall 151.7 pts Kiera Wise – 125.8 pts Rhys Parker – 144.7 pts Madison Read – 106.1 pts Oliver Buck – 104.4 pts Sara Duciuc - 94.8 pts Madeline Hughes - 92.8 pts Kofi Kyei-Odie – 92.6 pts Jay Cleverly – 90 pts Megan Lau – 81pts Mya Haskins – 81.5 pts Natalie Richell – 71.5 pts Natasha Cole - 61.7 pts Francesca Shaw - 57.1 pts Layla Richards - 56.0 Emma Kennedy - 55.5 pts James Freeman - 54.5 pts Zack Minns - 54.0 pts Tyler Hughes - 53.1pts Millie Gee - 50.5 pts Lewis McLean - 50.0 pts

Year 8 Alex Harkness – 336.2 pts Maria Dumitru – 232.1 pts Charlotte Jones – 248.4 pts Russell Henry – 163. Pts Marilena Kostandinos – 150.6 pts Ana Maria Kostandinos – 136.0 pts Mollie de Boer – 116.1 pts Carmen Ball – 90.6 pts Abigail Stoneham – 107.6 pts Stephanie Richards – 102.8 pts Carmen Ball – 90.6 pts Ewan Reid - 72.7 pts Kiya Goodwin - 68.4 pts Daniella Page - 64.2 pts Evelyn Lau - 63.9 pts Matthew Perry - 59.1 pts Ruth Garrett - 56.4 pts Joe Cole - 56.2 pts Honor Fraser - 54.0 pts Maia Dowling – 52.7 pts Neil Holt - 51.8 pts

Year 9 Sophie Ogbourne – 159.3 pts Lauren Green – 151.0 pts Sam Vintner – 121.3 pts Caitlyn Bartlett – 112.0 pts Jessica Hendry – 103.8 pts Lee Waldron – 95.9 pts Megan Cook – 65.0 pts Jak Powdrill – 57.9 pts Abbiegail Wolf – 54.3pts Alicia Compton – 54.0 pts

Many thanks to the parents and students who attended the information sessions in the Learning Centre on Wednesday 3

rd February to find out more about Home Connect. Home Connect

enables parents to log on to Accelerated Reader to see how their children are progressing with the programme and the quizzes. It was great to have parents involved and interested in this. Home Connect also allows you to register an email address so that you can be notified every time your child takes a quiz and what they have scored! Fifty students have now taken advantage of Home Connect, it would be great to have more, so please give it a try. If you require more information on the Accelerated Reading programme then please contact Mrs Hardcastle in the Learning Centre fhardcastle@dorcan.swindon.sch.uk Mrs Hardcastle Learning Centre Manager

www.dorcan .co .uk

Family Success

Congratulations to Mali Easton, a Year 7 student, who recently attended England U14 Ice Hockey trials and received a letter saying that she had been selected to attend the England Girls’ School of Excellence in June. It will be a brilliant opportunity for her to experience a week of training in Hull with other like-minded girls and at an elite level. They will work on fitness, teamwork and of course develop their ice hockey skills. Good luck Mali…..

Congratulations also go to Ethan Easton, Mali’s brother in Year 10, who has been selected for the South West of England Ice Hockey team and will be playing for them in a tournament in Talinn, Estonia in April. Good Luck Ethan…… Mrs Craig Head of Physical Education

Sport Relief 2016

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who supported us in our Sport Relief fundraising day. The

students in Years 7, 8 and 9 did an amazing job running the Sport Relief mile, baking cakes and collecting sponsors. It is a real example of how our students pull together and show amazing teamwork and generosity when asked. We have collected £1520.00 which is an amazing feat for one day!

www.dorcan .co .uk

Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Practice Day Walk

Our bronze Duke of Edinburgh teams tackled their first walk in very muddy conditions! Students set out from Coate Water and completed a 13km circular route towards Chiseldon and back. Students were able to put into practice the skills which had been introduced in classroom-based lessons; such as following and taking bearings, measuring and pacing distances and recognising features on a map. At lunchtime the students practiced using the stoves and made themselves hot drinks to warm up! Leaders were very impressed by how the teams worked together, encouraged one another and shared their knowledge. We look forward to working with the students during their fast-approaching practice expedition which takes place on 22nd and 23rd April as well as their qualifying expedition in June. Hopefully the sun will shine for both!

Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Award

Well done to our Year 10 silver teams who came into school on Sunday 20th March in order to compete their training in preparation for their practice expedition in the Brecon Beacons. Good luck! Find out how they got on in our next newsletter. If you have any questions about the Duke of Edinburgh’s awards please contact atrigg@dorcan.swindon.sch.uk or bkoza@dorcan.swindon.sch.uk Miss Trigg Teacher of Physical Education

www.dorcan .co .uk

Girls’ Football

Well done to our students who have represented the school football teams over the last two terms in the Swindon Girls’ Indoor League. Year 7 Leah Dolloway (C) Sophie Vincent, Tea Lowe, Ellie McKina, Paris O’Donaghue and Natasha Cole. The Year 7’s also finished the league with their first win, beating Churchfields 4-2. Year 8/9 Honor Fraser (C), Ellie Bailey, Kiya Goodwin, Hope Jones, Gracie Mills, Cat Lawton, Lauren Green, Lucy Scrannage and Hannah Hayes. Thank you to those that committed themselves to the training and match play. A mix of results were achieved across the league but the most outstanding performance was the victory against Kingsdown. Year 10/11 Chloe Lawrence, Beth Fowler, Cerys Hawker, Lauren Doble, Isabel Dawson, Erin Beattie, Skye Downing and Lucy Mullis. Although the girls only played a few matches they finished the league off with another strong performance against Churchfields, winning 5-1. Mrs Gay Deputy Head of Physical Education

PE Dates to Remember!

Year 7 camp dates 4

th - 8

th July

(7BG 4th-6th July and 7RY 6th-8th July 2016)

Sports Day Friday 24th June at

The County Ground

www.dorcan .co .uk

Pedal Power!

I am a fifteen-year-old road and track cyclist racing for the Cotswold Veldrijden Racing Team. Last year I raced at regional level on the road, track and at cyclo-cross. I won every road circuit race that I entered and soon found myself being invited to invitation-only national events representing the South of England. One of my favourite moments of 2015 was finishing fifth at the London Prudential GP, competing against sixty of the best under 16 girls in the UK, while I was just fourteen years old. After proving my potential I was allowed to take part in a women’s circuit race. As a fourteen-year-old on restricted gearing, I came fourth in my first Women's road race. The top four were well away from the other twenty riders in the group and were decided in a photo finish. 2015 was a successful year. I won a few regional titles including: Girls’ Under 16 Pursuit Champion, Girls’ Under 16 Ten Mile Time Trial Champion, Women’s Track Endurance Champion, Women’s Pursuit Champion and the Women’s Keiron Champion. In only my second-ever time trial I entered a national event and won the fourteen-year-old girls’ National Ten Mile Time Trial Champion Title. I hope to defend my National Title next year and have many more to come. I have had a few interviews, presentations, trophies and earned myself a little money from racing and I cannot wait to receive a lot more this year! I also picked up many individual wins in road, track and cyclo-cross in 2015 and consider it a great year and I am hoping for even greater success this year! During 2016, I am aiming to be chosen for the Great British Junior Academy who race at international level and will take me a step closer to my Olympic dreams. I am aiming for a successful year and I will be competing in the National Series for both road and track. Jamie Kimber Year 10 Student

www.dorcan .co .uk

Dorcan’s Got Talent

www.dorcan .co .uk

Dates for your Diary

Start of Term 5 11 April 2016

Year 10 Prelims 11-22 April 2016

GCSE Drama Performance Night 27 April 2016

KS3 Accelerated Progress Evening 28 April 2016

Bank Holiday 2 May 2016

HPV Immunisation Year 8 Girls 3 May 2016

DTP Immunisations Year 9 12 May 2016

DofE Bronze Practice Expedition, Marlborough 13 May 2016

DETAILS OF ALL THESE EVENTS TO FOLLOW

Book Quiz answers are: 1) Mrs Barton 2) Mr Neads 3) Mrs Bareham Did you guess correctly?

www.dorcan .co .uk

The Dorcan Academy St. Paul’s Drive Swindon, Wiltshire SN3 5DA Telephone: 01793 525231 Facsimile: 01793 431461 Email: enquiries@dorcan.co.uk Head Teacher: Mrs S Bareham MBA GRSM (Hons)