Curriculum Enrichment Week at Torquay Academy

Year 7 Rugby


Last Friday Torquay Academy took 2 teams to a rugby tournament hosted by Brixham Academy.  It was a very successful day for the first team who were in a difficult group with Teignmouth, Teign and South Dartmoor. We recorded victories against Teign and South Dartmoor and narrowly lost by 1 try to Teignmouth who are current Devon Champions. Finishing 2nd in the group we were entered into the Plate competition with Paignton, Coombeshead and Churston Grammar School. The team showed great character and they won all 3 games. Winning the Plate is a huge achievement for our year 7s who have turned up in large numbers for training every week. A lot of the players had never played rugby before they started Torquay Academy in September, making their win even more impressive. There are also a number of players in the 2nd team who demonstrated real potential to stepping up to the first team. Next season the fixtures will be 15 aside so we will be looking to establish a squad of approximately 22. The depth of talent we have identified so far is very encouraging.

 

Curriculum Enrichment Week

This week has seen students and staff taking part in a variety of activities during Curriculum Enrichment Week.  I hope you enjoy reading about their exploits below.

 

Year 7 Teamwork

All year 7 students have been developing their teamwork, problem solving and practical skills through challenges designed to test them. Students soon learnt that the best results were achieved through cooperation and commitment, never giving up even when the tasks got difficult. They showed resourcefulness and resilience to work towards their goals. They also had a lot of fun as you can see from the smiles on their faces.

 Year 10 Army Team Building

 
On Monday 16th November, 7 members of the Army spent the day with 86 year 10 students on a team building session. The day was filled with physical and mental challenges to which all students fully engaged in. I would like to say how impressed I was with their attitude towards the day and how they represented the Academy on the day.

 

 

Health & Social Care

 

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Students analysed what we mean by true friendship and they created their own friendship trees that will be displayed in the future within the learning area to highlight the way we value this at TA. They also cooked some delicious and nutritious food to illustrate the importance of healthy eating in Year 10 which they all enjoyed and I hope they will impress family members by re-creating their dishes.  Year 8 have enjoyed a taster session and have learned how to empathise and understand the feelings associated with a sensory impairment in creating a simple sandwich.

Religious Studies Day

As part of Curriculum Enrichment Week, Year 9 students have had a Religious Studies day looking at the Holocaust and exploring what anti-semitism is and how the Jews and other minority groups were treated. As a follow-on from this day, students are now invited to submit a creative response to the Holocaust as a way of remembering the horrific treatment and deaths of over six million people. Student contributions can take the form of artwork, sculptures, woodwork, music – anything which shows why we should continue to remember the Holocaust. Students also need to submit a small passage of writing explaining what their work shows/ represents. The deadline for submission is December 11th, when Mrs Langler will be assessing and selecting student submissions and deciding which students to take to Exeter Guildhall on January 27th 2016 for Holocaust Memorial Day.

 

Year 12 Maths

Some of our Year 12 Maths group decided to they and put Maths to dance.  Not sure how much my Maths improved, but it did make me smile!

 

Science Department

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The Year 10’s have been using their creative talents to make a huge version of the Periodic Table to be put on the wall in the Science Area. They researched the properties of the elements and used their knowledge to design a canvas for each element.

 

Year 7 Aquarium Visit


The Year 7’s had a whale of a time (sorry!) at the aquarium this week learning about the impact of human activity on the oceans and in particular, the problem with rubbish. The students got an unexpected surprise when they looked into the buckets on their tables and found they contained the probable stomach contents of turtles, dolphins and sunfish. It was sad for them to learn that many of these animals end up eating rubbish because it looks like their prey. Students also had a tour of each exhibit. Here are some of the comments…….

‘I learnt that when seahorses eat, they suck their prey in and it hits the back of their mouth like an insect on a windscreen. All the food they want, they swallow, all the food they don’t, well it bursts out of the hole in the top of their head.’
‘My favourite part was learning about the sharks and their teeth.’
‘It was so good to see fish from all over the world in one place without having to travel.’
‘The best fact I learnt was that if a starfish loses an arm then another one grows one back in its place. The arm that was lost develops into a whole new starfish! I never knew that!’

 

6th Form Music Trip to Amsterdam

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Year 12 & Year 13 Music and Music Technology students have spent 3 days in Amsterdam and have had the musical experience of a life time! The highlight of the trip was watching the Prodigy, supported by Public Enemy, live at the internationally renowned Ziggo Dome Stadium in central Amsterdam.  One of the students described the gig as ‘Insane, mental, off the scale amazing and literally the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my life!’  Other highlights of the packed trip included a visit to the Van Gogh museum to see the original paintings Starry Night, The Scream and The Sunflowers and touring the city on a canal boat. On the final evening the students were fortunate enough to be in the city for the annual Music & Light Festival, ‘Turn On the Lights 2015’. Dam square was packed with 1000s of people for the show which counted down to the switch on of the city’s Christmas lights and finished with a spectacular fireworks display.  A fitting end to an awesome trip. The very weary students and staff return to the UK today.

 

Duke of Edinburgh Cooking Group

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On a Monday 16th November  3pm to 4-30pm Mrs Peters took a group of Duke of Edinburgh students for cooking skills, this will take place over the next 12 weeks and it is going very well. There has been some very nice dishes prepared so far.  We look forward to seeing their progress.

 

Cockington Primary School Visit

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Blog 20.11.15 Year 5

We had a visit from Cockington Primary School Year 5’s who took part in an afternoon of science experiments and literacy challenges. As always, the pupils were very enthusiastic and had a great time working in our fantastic library and science labs. It was great to see them again and we look forward to future visits later in the year.

 

 

Student Blog

Cut Throat
In Year 8 drama, Miss Jagger set Year 8 the tricky task of interviewing a murderer and his helper Mrs Lovett. We had to set up a stage and act out a chat show like the Jeremy Kyle Show and find the truth behind these mysterious murders. We interviewed Benjamin Barker (or Sweeney Todd). We even had some re-enactment of him murdering people when he denied it.
As a special treat we were allowed to go into the prop cupboard and choose some sensibly suited props. We had many characters: Judge Turpin, Sweeney Todd, Lucy (Sweeney’s wife), Johanna (daughter), Mrs Lovett (lady who bakes the pies).
The story goes that Lucy and Sweeney are very happy with their daughter Johanna. Then Judge Turpin comes along and likes the look of Lucy so he takes Sweeney Todd (Benjamin Barker) to court for doing something he never did and he went to jail. Then Judge Turpin looks after Lucy and Johanna. Sweeney breaks out of jail. He meets Mrs Lovett and starts cutting people’s throats.

Hanah Wood, Year 8

 

Student Teachers
Last week was the last day of my Wednesday morning Science working with the Year 9’s. That day there were only 2 of us (the other 2 Year 7’s forgot that we had Science every Wednesday!). We measured the size of a jug using candles. The height of the jug was 300cm.  Hopefully I can do it again. I hope they can get a good job.

Connor Wakely, Year 7

 

 

Charity Fundraising

I have received thank you letters from Cancer Research UK and Rowcroft Hospice thanking us for our fundraising efforts.  We had raised £81.96 for Cancer Research and £164.37 for Rowcroft Hospice.  I am pleased that this money will go towards helping them with their worthwhile causes.