Reflection on Summer Term
The last half term may have been short but it was incredibly busy. Our Year 11 students commenced their final exams, which will continue this half term. It has been a difficult couple of years for our staff delivering the courses and the students with the impact of the Covid pandemic, but I think we would all agree they have faced the challenge with determination and resilience. We wish them good luck in their exams and successful results. In a quest to getting back to ‘normal’ school life, a number of our students have had the opportunity to go out on trips. I have detailed below some of the opportunities our students have had. As the term draws to end, we will be celebrating our students in a number of events; Celebration Evening, Sports Day and Year 11 Prom.
LPPA Actions
Last half term parents and carers were given the opportunity to give feedback on proposals to changes to the length of the school day. We are now consulting staff and will confirm this half term on the final decision for September.
The SEND department hosted a coffee morning in Thursday 26th May for parents and carers. Urban Devotion delivered a session on the teenage brain and emotional wellness for parents. Also, the NHS Community Nurse was available to answer questions from parents.
Mr. Wright, Deputy Principal involved parents and carers in Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) Policy Consultation. As part of our regular policy review we sought your views on our RSE Policy, which will apply from September 2022 by completing an online survey.
‘You said we did’ following a recent parent forum meeting, members of the Senior Leadership Team will publish a weekly letter on the school website outlines areas that they have led on and recent development. Please also check our Mr. Mallett’s (Principal) blog with school updates. We will consider responses to the consultation so that our RSE Policy can be published before the start of the 2022/23 Academic Year.
The next Leading Parent Partnership meeting will be held on Thursday 23rd June 3.30-4.30pm in the school library.
Theatre Visit
On Wednesday 18th May, the Drama department took 30 students to see Waitress the Musical at the Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre. The trip was thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended. The students have benefitted from watching the live, professional production that was originally shown in New York, Broadway in 2015. The students will now use their experience to enhance their ability own drama productions in school through their realisation of acting and design elements.
Enrichment Day
On Friday 6th May 2022, Year 8 students were invited to attend a drama workshop provided by West End. In preparation for their studies of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, students engaged in a variety of activities to re-introduce them to Shakespearean language and the plot of this play. The workshop was led by The Crown’s Jessica Aquilina, who introduced the students to key characters in the play through Drama and storytelling.
The workshop began with a Shakespearean version of Splat which was renamed Pray Master; this was a fantastic ice breaker for students who were not familiar with each other. The warmup activity supported the Year 8s in becoming energised for the workshop ahead. To kickstart the excitement and to mark key symbols and moments from the text, students were to walk around the room; Jessica would then shout a number, and then the students would get into a group size of that number. Following this, students recreated images from the text under timed conditions such as a royal wedding, a flower, or an enchanted forest. Lastly, students were given the opportunity to dissect Shakespeare’s choice of words by re-enacting several duologues from the play; these key scenes allowed students an understanding of the relationships between key characters. At the end of the session, we chose the top performer, second best performer and the third best performer in the class. The following students came out on top in their sessions: Halima Saeed (8X1), Elisha Salmon (8X2), Jacob N’zoungou (8X3), Abdiraheem Mohamed (8Y1) and Jasha Majad (8Y3).
Year 11 Prom
This will take place on Monday 4th July at Hollyfields Sports Club, more details to follow.
Turkey ERASMUS trip
Last week as part of the Erasmus+ international programme co-funded by the European Union a group of students and staff visited Ceyhan, Turkey. This project links students from schools across Europe through exchange visits to develop their personal, social skills and to promote student’s being adaptable to the labour markets, locally, nationally and internationally. Schools from Italy, Portugal, Romania, Turkey and Erdington Academy represented the United Kingdom. For some of our students this was their fi rst time abroad or on an aeroplane. Students took part in school life at the Turkish school, including lessons in Turkish, cultural activities such as traditional folk dance and songs. They also visited sites of historical interest including ancient homes carved into sandstone cliff s, and the famous ‘Varda Bridge’ which you may have seen on the James Bond movie Skyfall. Our students engaged fully with students from all partner schools, meeting the families and parents of the Turkish students, whose welcome and generosity was overwhelming. Our students presented information to the other participants about their own backgrounds, our school context, the variety of cultures in Birmingham and careers opportunities in the West Midlands. During the students’ evaluation of their week as individuals, as a school and as an international party they produced a video which summarised their experiences with each other. The visit culminated in a musical performance, exchange of gifts and planting of commemorative trees in the school grounds as a lasting legacy. The next exchange is scheduled for Northern Portugal in October.
Gambia Trip
Fairfax Trust Venture Force expedition 2024 – We are excited to announce that in 2024 we will be taking some students from Erdington Academy to The Gambia on an incredible expedition. Over the next couple of weeks more information will come out regarding how you can find out more and if your child is eligible to apply. Watch this space!
Sports Day
Sports day will take place on Friday 15th July. We are looking forward to all of our students participating in the whole school event, competing in sporting activities and wider activities offered by a range of subjects in school.
Dates for the diary
Year 10 Mock exams – Tue 14th June – Friday 1st July
Year 10 Mock Exam Timetable – Erdington Academy
Leading Parent Partnership focus group meeting – Thursday 23rd June
Charity Week – 27th June – 1st July
Year 10 Parents Evening – Thursday 14th July
Monday 4th July – Year 11 Prom
Wednesday 6th July – Induction Day new year 7
Presentation Evening – Friday 8th July
Thursday 14th July – Year 11 Prom
Friday 15th July – Sports Day
Summer Performance – Tuesday 19th July
(Drama and musical performances)
End of Term – Thursday 21st July
Extra Curricular Timetable:
