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From the Principal As we come to the end of our first term, and I reflect on the first 12 weeks at Ark Boulton Academy, I look back with pride and forward with excitement. The Academy has gone from

strength to strength, with students making remarkable achievements, and the support we have received from you has made this possible. Our girls won the School Games football final, our boys won the badminton final and both have qualified for the Winter Games in February. More than 20 pupils had their short stories published in the Grim Tales anthology as part of a national short story writing competition. The career and further education fair hosted over 40 providers to ensure that our year 11 students are fully informed of the choices available to them for the next stage in their education - whether that be studying A levels, a vocational course or entering into an apprenticeship. The academy has welcomed many visitors through its doors including Sarah Montague from the BBC who described the behavior as “phenomenal”, and Emma McKinney from the Birmingham Mail who was surprised with the calmness around the building. If you have not yet listened to the Radio 4 The Educators programme which features Ark Boulton it is still available on the iPlayer - http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06r5d01 As we approach the end of the year it is a time for reflection, renewed hope and for being grateful for family, friends and the community we are part of. Our students have generously donated food for those less fortunate than us - reflecting the virtues of compassion, service and charity that we pride ourselves on here at Ark Boulton Academy. I would like to end by thanking you all for the trust and commitment you have demonstrated in the Ark Boulton team who are working tirelessly to ensure

every one of our students can achieve their potential. For those in the community who are observing and celebrating Christmas I would like to wish you a very happy Christmas, and I wish you all a peaceful and blessed New Year. Herminder Channa Principal

Principal’s Leadership Award

The Principal’s Leadership Award was given to one student from each year group at yesterday’s end of term assemblies. The Principal’s Leadership Award recognises students who: 1) Model the academy virtues 2) Show determination 3) Rise up against adversity 4) Independently overcome barriers to learning 5) Give public service 6) Lead by example Congratulations to the following students who were the first recipients of this award: Year 7 - Haider Ali Year 8 - Lakhan Singh Year 9 - Akeel Nawaz Year 10 - Khadija Abdi Year 11 - Thembeka Zwane

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Awards Assemblies

Yesterday we held our end of term award assemblies to celebrate the achievements of our students over the last term. Students in every year group received awards for 100% attendance and best student progress in each subject area. Students were also given bronze, silver and gold certificates for the number of merits they achieved during the term.

Food bank appeal

This year’s Food Drive has been a huge success with students and staff from across the Academy collecting hundreds of items that will be donated to the St John’s Church food bank in Sparkhill. The food bank relies on donations to help support thousands of people across the area when they have little or no access to food. The donations made by our Academy will make a huge difference to people’s lives this winter.

Special congratulations go to Haider in Year 7 who managed to donate 96 items! Congratulations also go to Year 9 Honesty who were the most charitable form group as virtually every member of the form collected items. Well done!

Representing the Academy The success we celebrated at yesterday’s assemblies demonstrates the pride that our students have in the Academy and its’ values – and we are delighted that some local businesses and members of the community have commented on how smart our students look in their uniform on their way to and from the academy. We would like to remind parents that at the end of each day our students are expected to go straight home and that Academy rules still apply whilst they are on their way to and from the academy. This is particularly important because while they are wearing their uniform they are representing Ark Boulton and we want to show the community that the excellent behaviour we see in the academy continues when our students leave the school gates.

Enrichment update Well done to all the students who are attending enrichment activities. Keep your eyes out next term for a new enrichment timetable.

The year 9 girls competed against local schools in the collegiate handball tournament. They came fourth and found it really exciting. A huge well done to Tahera Zaman in 9 Service who was identified by the handball coach for her exceptional skill and talent.

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the collegiate handball tournament. They came fourth and found it really exciting. A huge well done to Tahera Zaman in 9 Service who was identified by the handball coach for her exceptional skill and talent. Debate club The Debate Club is very proud of its members Meheya Begum, Aasha Mohamed, Gulab Khan, Abdul Wahaab Ali, Bilal Ali and Hudayfa Hussain who came to the debating workshop at Ark St Alban's on Tuesday 8th December. They represented Ark Boulton in an outstanding fashion, Meheya in particular showing exceptional skill in preparing a rebuttal in only 30 seconds! The Debate Club looks forward to taking a team to Ark's Senior Debate on Tuesday 23rd February in London.

100% attendance

Congratulations to all of our students who achieved 100% attendance during the first term at Ark Boulton Academy: Year 11 Thembeka Zwane, John Gaga, Kevin Kung, Jalat Senezay, Ahmed Mohamoud, Haleema Usman, Mujahid Ahmed, Mohammed Usman, Ravi Singh, Amaad Naeem, Gul Khoshal Khil, Amrita Kaur, Omayma Oualkadi Moukadem, Mohammed Islam, Safwan Hassan, Kamal Hassan, Fatima Begum, Innayat-Ali Babamiya, Maria Akhtar, Numan Khan, Anisa Tariq, Husna Shahzad, Aisha Ali, Rizwaan Ahmed, Maqsud Hashi, Mohammed Zubair, Hazim

Malik, Abdul-Latif Tarafder, Momin Abbas, Rashad Ali, Iqbal Hussen, Zara Afzal, Mohammed Sahed Saju, Tanwir Gul, Moona Abdul Ali, Usman Ali, Belkis Bibi, Mohammed Eltaf, Rasheeda Abdo, Sadia Begum, Farhan Sakinder, Shahzaib Munawar, Muaad Sucule, Imraz Ahmed, Mahima Yasmin, Hasnain Ahmed. Year 10 Hamza Iqbal, Asad Mohomed, Raisa Hana, Jahanzaib Munawar, Mohammed Uddin, Mohammed Shah, Fatima Begum, Husnain Ali, Aqib Ali, Yasmin Abdo, Rasna Chowdhury, Byron Bains, Anadil Naveed, Nozfat Tarafder, Sohail Gulfam, Asmathe Mougamadou, Riluwanudeen Mohamed, Mahima Ahmed, Anisha Khanom, Jamil Ahmed, Mohammed Yousuf, Mohammed Zakaria Ahmed, Khadijah Nasrin, Tasnim Ahmed, Tariq Zaman, Mohammad Hashar, Ahlam Hassan, Kiran Khatoon, Ghazaalah Babamiya, Noor Hassan, Jalal Khan, Aleena Ahmed, Gulfaraz Amjad, Haleemah Arif, Habiba Miah, Shaheen Ara, Kiran Akhtar, Sulayman Ghani, Radi Ahmed, Faizah Ahmed. Year 9 Zulkifl Shah, Abdirahman Mohamed Said, Ibrahim Abdulwahed, Mansoor Shah, Safah Nawaz, Ruqayyah Kauser, Muhammad Owais, Sadiyah Begum, Iqra Bashir, Mohamed Hassan, Ahmad Hussain, Sajda Mahmood, Rabiah Hassan, Muhammad Ali, Saeem Hussain, Janathul Likha, Aleena Habib, Mohammed Hoque, Ateeqa Ibrahim, Juvairia Yaser, Anan El Zarow, Hamaira Ali, Arman Miah, Serish Hussain, Zara Fatima, Sannah Shafaqat, Tahera Yasmin, Kaynath Kauser, Kabir Mahmood, Sammy Abdo, Nadia Ayoob, Akram Miah, Maryam Darr, Imaan Abdi, Hamza Azeem, Taibah Ali, Hamza Ali, Sobia Kauser, Yonis Abdulle, Tariq Islam, Aaliah Zaman, Alina Kauser, Momna Alam. Year 8 Abdulrahman Mohamud, Shahil Chowdhury, Adnan Dahir, Ibrahim Nawaz, Arwa Hassan, Juwairiyyah Kouser, Ahee Choudhury, Ummi Habibah, Lakhan Singh, Muhammad Sarfraz, Mohammed Hassan, Savera Jan, Aaminah Tasneem, Ewura Ama Nhyira Annan, Mohammed Numan, Mohamed Ismail, Asmine Mougamadou Moubarack, Alisha Wasim, Ayshah Tahirah, Jibril Mohammed, Ibrahim Ali, Wafa Ahmed, Khadija Tarafder, Safyan Shezada, Ahmed Nahiyan, Alyma Hussain, Suffiyan Mohammed, Jakir Ahmed,

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Hibaaq Mohamed, Shahid Khan, Shoaib Hussain, Raja Khan, Haleema Sadia, Samina Begum, Faheem Qureshi, Shazmeen Begum, Aryan Malik, Zara Fatimah, Mohammed Akhlaq Hussain, Halima Begum, Juwariah Bibi, Haleemah Jamil, Safia Leahy, Omar Farah, Sidra Hayat, Hudayfa Hussain, Jayed Hussain. Year 7 Ezequiel Begean, Adnan Hussain, Abdikarim Osman, Ikra Khan, Benish Hussain, Aanis Jama, Alisha Ahmed, Haider Ali, Amilah Wajid, Fariha Ria, Thomas Kung, Sania Rani, Zubair Hanif, Anisha Rahman, Mariya Shaheen, Syed Rasheed, Ilias Triebener, Muskaan Haider, Sharlaawe Mohamed, Mohammed Hussain - Jwaqin, Amro El Zarow, Raed Mohammed Ali, Muwafaq Hasan, Ali Hassan, Ibrahim Ahmed, Abu Bakar Aden, Maheya Begum, Salma Kauser, Henna Hussain, Iqra Kabir, Saba Shah, Asmat Al-Shamery, Mohammed Miah, Rahmo Musse Ali, Mohammed Bahar, Tahira Begum, Tanjina Yasmin, Sheryar Khalid, Naila Imtiaz, Ibrahim Hussain, Muhammad Syed, Tehniayyat Bibi, Shamsa Ghafoor, Aasha Mohamed, Muhammad Yousaf, Jaseem Uddin, Faizah Ramzan, Ubaydah Nasrin, Inayah Ishfaq, Aleena Zaman, Sidra Haidary, Abdirahman Ali, Oumar Butt, Anas Bashir, Abdurrahim Ali, Imaad Mahmood, Ruweyda Yusuf.

Staying safe over the holidays Hello everyone! I have been in post as Safeguarding Officer for the last seven weeks and have enjoyed getting to know the young people who attend Ark Boulton. I am pleased to say that most of them are very sensible and look after themselves and their environment at all times. However, it has come to my notice that some students go to Ackers Park after school and at weekends and this is worrying because there are sometimes negative influences to be found there. Our advice is to encourage young people not to get involved with fighting in any way (not even to go to watch a planned fight), avoid getting involved with the groups of young people who hang around there behaving in an anti-social way and not to visit the park without an adult present. Local police are aware of the issues that concern us. So, stay safe and have a very enjoyable festive break. Valerie Russell Designated Safeguarding Lead

Dates for your diary Start of term – Wednesday 6th January Please note that Monday 4th and Tuesday 5th January 2016 are inset days so school will re-open to students on Wednesday 6th January 2016 at the normal time.

Newsletter December 2015