Welcome
It is with great pleasure that I introduce our Christmas Family Bulletin. It seems a very long time since we all returned from the Summer holiday to a school that looked and felt very different from the one we left last July. Looking through this newsletter fills me with great pride at all of the wonderful things that our students have been part of during terms 1 and 2.
We return on Thursday 3rd January, and this will be a Week A. On the first Thursday all students will go to tutor first period where they will be issued with new passports and other information that they will need for term 3.
I would like to thank you all for your support during the first two terms of this academic year, and wish you all a wonderful Christmas and fantastic New Year.
Best wishes,
Mr Carroll, Principal – Secondary
From Pip to Plate
In Term 1 student were given the opportunity to visit Hadlow College to learn about the journey of an apple from pip to plate and all the associated job roles along the way. Thank you to Hadlow College for hosting us and for the apple trees to plant at school!
My First Day 2018
Hear from some of our Year 7 students about their first day at the Academy.
The Red Box Project Folkestone
We are very excited to be working with The Red Box Project Folkestone in providing our students access to emergency sanitary wear. The project is always needing donations - please contact: theredboxprojectfolkestone@gmail.com
Author Visits English Students
A group of Year 9 English students welcomed local author Julie Wassmer back to Folkestone Academy to further inspire and develop their writing talent.
Despite a busy summer finishing her new book and promoting previous works, Julie took the time to read and judge the students’ stories (written in Year 8) which she said were “of a really high quality.” Julie talked with students, read their work out and awarded prizes.
The winning students were: Bethany Lacey, Amelia Griffin and Bibi Wheeler
Mr Platts Wins Bronze in European Championships
Our very own Mr Platts (Head of Year 9) raced at the European Aqua bike (Swim, Bike) Championships in Ibiza representing GBR Age-Group team. The weather was very challenging with the course being flooded and the race being delayed and almost cancelled. Luckily the weather managed to clear but it made for a very dangerous bike course seeing lots of athletes come off their bikes.
Mr Platts finished the race in 3rd place making him the 3rd fastest in Europe in his Age-Group and 4th fastest Brit on the day. Mr Platts has now been provisionally selected to represent GBR at the World Aqua bike competition in May.
Remembrance Poppies
In Tutor time students wrote messages on poppies which were used to create a poppy wall created by our amazing Art Department.
Minerva Theatre Club
As part of the Academy’s Associate School collaboration with The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) we are delighted to introduce our Minerva Theatre Club. The club runs every Tuesday after school.
Children In Need
Big thank you to Samantha for making all her teachers BBC Children in Need cupcakes.
Speakers For Schools Visit
We were honoured to welcome Professor Michael Kolling from King's College London to present to some of our Computing and ICT students. During the talk students learnt about programming and it's different uses, as well as a variety of career paths within the industry. We were very impressed with the questions our students had for Professor Michael Kolling. Thank you for Speakers for Schools and King's College London
BookTrust Bookbuzz project
The Academy presented all Year 7 students with a book to keep as part of the BookTrust Bookbuzz project. This was organised by Mrs Melia our Academy Librarian. We hope students enjoy reading their new books!!
Kent Police 'Is It Worth It?' Tour
Students watched a presentation by Kent Police with their 'Is It Worth It? Tour. The show was about e-safety, looking at how to keep save and what is right and wrong when using social media. Thank you to all involved, including local performer Robbie White.
Piano for Young People
It's great to see young people at the Folkestone Youth Project- The Shed using the piano they purchased with some of the money donated by our Breaking Waves 2018 dance show.
Christmas Music Concert
A huge well done to all of our students who performed at our annual Christmas Music Show. Thank you also to pupils from Folkestone Primary Academy who also performed. We are bursting with pride with how many talented students we have!
Christmas Jumper Day
This is always a great event for the Academy, with students and staff raising money for an important charity - Save The Children. Thank you to everyone who participated, the final total raised will be announced in the New Year.
Year 7 Rainbow Centre Charity Food Bank Appeal
Year 7’s have made a fantastic effort to contribute and give to the community at this time of year. For most, Christmas is one of the most special times of the year, but for some it is deemed to be the loneliest. This is where our work within the Academy will make a difference and provide the homeless with something warm, something new and something tasty. We have seen so many of our Year 7 students go out of their way this month to design shoe boxes and Christmas cards that will be handed over to the Rainbow Centre; our chosen charity. The Rainbow Centre has been committed to supporting people from Shepway who find themselves either homeless or at risk of becoming so. They rely heavily on donations for the public which shows the importance of our Christmas Shoebox Appeal. A huge well done to all students and parents/carers involved in this amazing collection. We celebrated with a handover during Year 7 Assembly which we also invited our Principal and patrons of the Rainbow Centre.
Year 7 & 8 HEART Values Week
Year 7 and 8 devoted a whole week to the Turner Schools Trust HEART values. During this fun and creative week students designed their own book covers, created their own hand prints in a variety of different colours and took part in an informative and engaging assembly run by their Head of Year. Students were instrumental in transforming the KS3 hub into a colourful and creative base, filling the space with the ethos and core values of the Turner Schools Trust that is H.E.A.R.T. Students now have a good understanding for these core values and are confident in explaining the acronym. Students understand the importance of regular reading, having high expectations of themselves and others, and value the academic curriculum they are studying within the Academy. Our KS3 base area is now vibrant and displays the students work for all to see.
Inter-Form Dodgeball Competition
Well done to Miss Phillips tutor group for winning the Year 7 Inter-Form Dodgeball Competition this term. 2nd place went to Miss Diwell's tutor group.
Year 7 Bushcraft Trip – June 2019
An exciting opportunity has arisen for 60 Year 7 pupils to undergo a weekend residency with The Bushcraft Company in June 2019. Provisional dates are 29th and 30th June 2019. This weekend promises to be action packed with activities such as; archery, fire building and Bushcraft workshops. This weekend is perfect for those who enjoy the outdoors, being active and experiencing new opportunities. More information including dates and prices to follow shortly or please visit the website: www.thebushcraftcompany.com.
Key Stage 3 Rewards Board
In the Key Stage 3 Base area we are displaying twice a term the students who have won Subject Star awards, Tutor Group Awards, Head of Year & Progress Leader Awards. This is so all students can celebrate success together and congratulate one another on fantastic accomplishments. Each student is rewarded with a certificate to take home and a free lunch fast pass to skip the lines! At the end of Term 2 we will be rewarding the students who have achieved over 100, 200 and in some cases 500 passport stickers with special bronze, silver and gold certificates. We wander if any KS3 students can achieve the special platinum certificate for collecting over 100 passport stickers by the end of the year?
Year 7 Student Rewards
Subject Awards:
- Milly Sheeran - PE
- Kian Veerapen - ICT
- William Airey - English
- Callum Wenham - Drama
- Alfie Heath - Science
- Rylee Taylor - Maths and MFL
- Emma Sims - History
- Tobias Horvat - Geography
- Alice Laferme - Art
- Josh Broome - Music
Tutor Group Attendance Award: 7-7 Miss Diwell
- Progress Leader Award: Ethan Turrell
- Head of Year Award: Louie Rossi-Buss
- Key Stage Award: Chelsy Marshall
Year 7 Top Stickers (All with over 200 stickers each!):
Year 7 Top Stickers (All with over 100 stickers each):
Year 8 Student Rewards
Subject Awards:
- Skye Morosoli - PE
- Akira Edmonds - ICT
- Daisy North - English
- Toby Venner - Drama
- Nada Hamade - Science
- Marlie Covey - Maths
- Samantha Gatland - MFL
- Roland Makula - History
- Ivy Miloch - Geography
- Jessie Carter - Art
- Daisy Knowles - Music
Tutor Group Attendance Award: 8-4 Mr Gasson
- Progress Leader Award: Ruby Young
- Head of Year Award: Harry Morgan
- Key Stage Award: Will Phillips
Year 8 Top Stickers (All with over 200 stickers each!):
Year 8 Top Stickers (All with over 100 stickers each):
Tutor Group Points
Well done to the following tutor groups with the highest points. This is a calculated through a combination of all students points within each tutor groups, passport stickers, postcards and positive calls home.
GCSE Revision Support Evening
If you missed the GCSE Support Evening presentation please click on the link below:
GCSE Revision Timetable
Year 11 students are encouraged to attend revision sessions as set out in the timetable below:
Reward Points Stars
The KS4 team would like to congratulate the following students for achieving the highest number of reward points so far this year:
Year 9
- Abigail Sinstadt
- Abigail Nicol
- Caitlan Dykes
- Lauren Stewart
- Jordan Pizzey
Year 10
- Kian Wilkes Morris
- Fateha Begum
- Jayden Smith
- Connot Cruickshank
- Ciaran Jones
Year 11
- Emma Baker
- William Swallow
- Harry Law
- Chloe Sainsbury
- Kirsty – Leigh Pearson
I would also like to take this opportunity to remind students of the importance of ensuring they are punctual in the morning and invite them to attend breakfast club in the mornings from 8.15 – 9.00am to prepare them for the school day.
Finally, on behalf of the KS4 team, I would like to wish you all a very merry and safe Christmas. With thanks for your continued support,
Mrs. Patchai
This term has seen the creation of our school’s brand new CCF (combined Cadet Force). We have 30 cadets who have attended several special events as well as parade nights. They have shown great credit to themselves and the cadet force as well as the school.
Our first event as a cadet force was year 6 open evening. We had four cadets turn up to help us out. They put up bashers, spoke to parents and help various members of staff try on the Army uniform. They learnt very quickly how to communicate with different types of people and to have confidence in themselves.
Our second event was our opening parade, the cadets spent days practicing for this event and various parents and members of the armed forces came down to watch this. This was to celebrate the launch of our CCF Contingent at Folkestone Academy. The VIP guest list included:
- Brigadier (Retd) Trevor Minter OBE DL (Canterbury)
- Lieutenant Colonel (Retd) Peter Ellis QGM
- Colonel Kevin Hearty
- Major Rodney Gray MBE OC CTT
- Town Mayor Councillor Ann Berry
The cadets were very nervous before the big parade but worked as a team and gave themselves courage to go out and perform; they did this extremely well with the VIPs saying how amazing they were.
Remembrance was our third and final event of the term. The cadets were asked to parade three times in front of the whole school. This was the first time they have paraded in front of their peers and friends, but they did not let this faze them.
Next, we will be looking at what cadets to promote up the ranks and getting ready to go on summer camp, this will be the highlight of the school year.
Lea Baynes, Contigent Commander CCF
Our sporting students have had a busy full term - check out this video:
To keep up to date with all our sporting news like our dedicated Facebook page: www.facebook.com/FolkestoneAcademySport
All term dates and planned events can be found on our website, click on the links below:
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