Dear Parent/Carer

I hope you enjoy reading about the fantastic exploits of

AVA students in this newsletter. Their actions speak

more about their commitment, qualities and star

potential than I can describe but I, like you, continue to

be impressed by the talent and abilities so evident

demonstrated repeatedly.

Mr Burman

Executive Principal

Dates for the Diary 2016

Friday 21st October - End of Term

Monday 31st October - Students return

w/c 31st October - Year 11 Maths and English walk-

through mock exams

Tuesday 1st November - KS3 and KS4 trip to Waterside

Theatre

Wednesday 2nd

November - Year 10 trip to Oxford

Thursday 10th November - Year 11 Parents Evening

Friday 25th November - Year 13 trip to British Film

Institution

Thursday 1st December - Year 11 Options Evening

w/c 5th December - Year 11 mock exams

Thursday 8th December - Awards Evening

Thursday 15th December - AVA/Berryfields Carol

Concert

Year 10 Netball

Aylesbury Vale Academy vs John Colet

John Colet were a very strong opponent to play against

and definitely brought the best out of our team. Both

teams played very strong and should be pleased from

the outcome. All four quarters were played with

determination by both teams with many goals scored

from both sides of the game.

The final score was 11-15 and I’m overjoyed to

announce we won!

Chelsea and Milly scored amazing goals, Aimie, Emily,

Jemma, Demi, Bethany Jess and Aimee were great in

defending and in the centre court. Finally Sehrish was

exceeding at centre.

We couldn’t have played if it wasn’t for Miss. Packham

and Mrs Lambert being great coaches and so

supportive towards us all not only in the match but

training too.

By Demi Hunt

Newsletter of The Aylesbury Vale Academy

Paradise Orchard Berryfields Aylesbury Buckinghamshire HP18 0WS

t 01296 428 551 enquiries@theacademy.me www.theacademy.me

October 2016

Wow what a start to secondary

school life! It has been truly wonderful

welcoming all the new Year 7 students

to the Academy and seeing how they

have adapted to the large building, additional subjects, timetable

and new opportunities in and around the Academy. Beginning

secondary school is an exciting, yet challenging time and all the

students have embraced this with a very positive attitude. Some are

already navigating the building as though they have been here

years, all those first day nerves and concerns seem a distant

memory.

It’s lovely seeing the students looking out for each other and

helping whenever anyone is feeling upset, lost or generally

unsure about anything. There’s a real sense of community forming

amongst the form groups and as a whole year group.

Year 7 have already faced their first exams in the main hall, a very

daunting experience. Sitting Reading, Spelling and Maths tests

during the first few weeks. This was all conducted in a very

professional manner and they can feel proud of themselves. Then in

the last few weeks they have also completed Cognitive Ability Tests

(CATs). All this is to help inform us as teachers about your Childs’

strengths and areas to develop, enabling us to provide suitable

resources and challenge in lessons.

As Achievement Director I was very impressed with the number of

students applying to do the speeches at the Year 6 open evening,

we had some excellent entries and on the night Davis Agyei-Baah,

Jodie Farnham and Selma Adel did an amazing job. Year 7

students volunteering in subject areas also did a fantastic job,

answering questions of the year 6 pupils and parents. They really

can be proud of themselves and I hope they have written about

their experience and placed it in the Records of Achievement during

form time.

During this busy time the Year 7 Student council has also been

elected, with students putting themselves forward, some even having

to do speeches during tutor time to earn votes and the right to be

the voice of their tutor groups, a big congratulations goes to the

following pupils.

A further well done goes to Emily and Leo who are the Year 7

representatives in the Academy Council.

Hopefully you all got to meet your Childs tutor during the

settling in evening, but if you were unable to attend please feel

free to make contact with them. You should also do this if you

ever have any concerns or your child is unhappy in anyway.

This last week has seen our first

rewards assembly. Teachers are asked

to nominate students according to the

Academy Values. It was a pleasure

receiving so many nominations recognising all the hard work and

excellent effort the students have been putting into their work,

unfortunately there can only be one winner per category and they

are as follows:

Attendance is

very important

a s eve r y

missed day of

school can

impact on the

grades achieved in year 11. I am pleased to report that Year 7

have the highest average attendance of all the year groups and 89

pupils are on 100%.

Achievement points are coming in thick and fast and if your child

has not received their 50 points postcard home yet I am sure it will

not be very long before they do! The Top 10:

This year my dream is for Year 7

to be the best year group with

them ful ly embracing a l l

opportunities and challenges.

They have made me very proud so

far with the best turn outs for both

boys and girls for the intercollege

Football competition. Its also

great seeing so many students

attending the Enrichment clubs,

make sure your child shows you

the Enrichment timetable and identifies which clubs they are going

to attend. There is something every night and all are free to attend

with no pre signup required. This includes homework club up in

Summit where they can get help and advice when doing their

homework.

By now most students have logged into Show my Homework, the

online system we use to set additional work and place resources to

support their studies. If anyone has forgotten their PIN or is unsure

of how to use the system they can ask their tutor for it during

registration time. It’s a brilliant system which allows you as parents

to see what your child is being set. There is also a comment section

where a student can message their teacher if they have any issues

or questions regarding the work set. So please encourage them to

use this rather than panicking about any work they may be stuck on.

We have a National Champion!

On the 9th of October, I competed in a dance

competition at the ISID National Grand Finals

2016. In my solo event I came 1st place in the

under 12’s category. This meant I was the 1st

in the country in that style of dance (Rock and

Roll) and age category! Two years ago I

managed to come 1st and the following year I

accomplished the same, I never thought I

would achieve this. Furthermore, if you train

hard, practice regularly and never give up

then you can always achieve your goal.

By Mya Francis 7 Nobel 2

‘I look forward to seeing Mya Dance in the

school production and during dance lessons

in school, fingers crossed she may perform

for us in an assembly one day. A big well

done.’

Mrs Lambert, Year 7 Achievement Director

Nobel 1 Ellen Hayes Jamie Cooper

Nobel 2 Jodie Farnham Leo Peacock

Nobel 3 Ezra Morris Mohammed Bilal

Franklin 1 Selma Adel Davis Ageyi-Baah

Franklin 2 Michelle Morley Jordan Mangena

Faraday 1 Emily Brooker Jerry Adeshina

Faraday 2 Jodie Hatcher Danny Byrne

Faraday 3 Sophie Druitt Cezar Dulgheru

Form Staff

Nobel 1 Miss Packham

Nobel 2 Mr O’leary

Nobel 3 Mrs Thomas

Franklin 1 Miss Street

Franklin 2 Mrs Adetoe

Faraday 1 Mrs Lu

Faraday 2 Miss Kissick

Faraday 3 Mr Fromont

Achievement Director Mrs Lambert

Assistant Achievement Director Miss Street

Pastoral Support Ms Toohey

SLT link Mr West

Faith Oliwier Berlanka

Aspiration Henry Mannall

Creativity Katie Norman

Service Abbie Smith

Respect Ramya Vijandran

Equality Katie Thomas

Achievement Directors Award Owen Randall

Perry Havor 215

Michelle Morley 200

Selma Adel 180

Corey Martin 170

Jayden Mark 165

Harry Grantham 165

Hannah Morgan 155

Sarka Slavikova 150

Ramya Vijendram 145

Shabraiz Hussain 145

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. “

Marianne Williamson

A fresh start means new beginnings, letting go of past mistakes

and hurts, starting again on a new page or journey. This is what

has been offered to Year 8 this term, by myself Miss Larkai and

Miss Dutson. We particularly ask them to remember the

following:

Everything you do leaves a footprint..

You have the intelligence to choose what you want to be.

Make sure you can take pride in what you have done,

you can move forward and up.

Year 8 have been challenged to tap into their creative skills in

order to promote community empathy in and out of school.

Students had the initial task of creating a literary piece that

shows their understanding of what a fresh start means. Below

are some of the examples.

We decided that in the spirit of community, and fresh starts it

would be a good time to think of a form motto. All were

brilliant but below is a sample.

Don’t let your fear, choose your fate.

Everyone is awesome when we work as a team.

Based on this students had a competition to design their own

reward postcards. Below are the winners who will see these

made and appearing in a letterbox near you!

Year 8 are keen to support those in need and therefore have

committed to supporting the following charities.

They are currently planning fundraisers. More details will be

available as they actualise, but please feel free to discuss and

encourage at home.

We are excited and look forward to supporting Year 8 to their

journey to the top this year!

Miss Larkai & Miss Dutson, Year 8 Achievement Directors

….is an opportunity to redeem yourself. It’s a chance to

show your ability and skills in a variety of areas. It’s a way

to believe in yourself and achieve bigger and better things

and reach your goals! Our school motto is ‘achieve

today; amaze tomorrow’ and we think that if you believe

in that you can do almost anything. The past is history

and you can start now, it’s what you do now that matters.

….means good behaviour and

homework being handed in on

time. People should be given fresh

starts when they do something

wrong, but they can only be given

so many chances. That’s why we

all need a fresh start.

…is good because the student could

improve their behaviour and work

well to get good grades and possibly

a better future. To make a fresh start

you could start doing and bringing

homework in on time. Also you

could get good grades to have a

better future. A fresh start could be

the beginning of the school year or

a new month. Every student has the

chance to change their behaviour

but some decide not to. It’s your

chance to change your attitude and

behaviour, you can start over and

have a fresh start.

…is when you forget the past and look to the

future. You can improve your life and get good

grades at school. You can get a good life and

you only get once chance at life.

It’s a new school year, which means a fresh start.

A fresh start shouldn’t be taken for granted

because it allows students to improve on their

behaviour and to work more. When it’s the start of

the school year you have 100% attendance and

zero behaviour points. This means that people are

able to improve on their behaviour and make

themselves feel proud. It allows them to

concentrate on the important issues in life other

than behaviour.

My name is Elise Waller and I’m in 9 Faraday 2. My personal success is

swimming competitively for Aylesbury District Swimming Club. I have competed in

a number of competitions against local clubs from Thame, Leighton Buzzard,

Milton Keynes and Didcot. I have only been part of the club for 2 years and

recently moved up to the next stage, which is the Development squad. Moving up

a level means I’m training 3 times a week, every week. With all the training it has

made me a stronger swimmer as I am swimming greater distances. All the training

has helped me in my recent competition and I achieved personal bests in every

race. This now shown me that I can achieve anything for my club. My next big

achievement is that I would like to win at least 1 or 2 medals in my next

competition, which is Club Champs.

I’m Charlie Herridge and I’m in 9 Franklin 1. I am in the Fourth Platoon Rifles of Bucks

Army Cadet Force. Twice a week I will go to the Territorial Army Centre and carry out basic

army training. This may involve shooting exercises, field training exercises and navigation

among many other activities. I recently completed an adult obstacle course, of which I won.

This involved a fortnight camping expedition with the regiment. I have succeeded in

completing my 1 star training and just about to start my 2 star training course. I’m proud to

have accomplished these exercises and look forward to further challenges that will assist in

my future dreams to join the Army once I have left Aylesbury Vale Academy.

My name is Lewis Edmonds I’m

in 9 Nobel 1. After school every

Wednesday I attend a swimming

club. Right now I’m learning to

dive and developing my butterfly

stroke, it’s really fun and it also

builds my confidence.

A fresh start…..

Year 9 Franklin 1 were asked what ‘Fresh start’ meant to them. Here is what they had to say.

In year 9 we have many students who also succeed outside of school, three students share their own successes.

Year 11 have had a busy start to

their final GCSE year.

Revision timetable

Students have been given a

revision timetable and are

encouraged to attend as many

sessions as possible. Students

can have their 'passport' signed for

each of the sessions they attend

and this will lead to rewards

throughout the year. If sessions

clash, students should use the two

week timetable on the back of

their passports to plan which

sessions to attend. So far sessions

have been well attended and I

hope this continues throughout the

year.

Student voice

There are 23 Year 11prefects and all have made a

great start to the year.

This year prefects have been given different ties so they

are easy to spot in the crowd for younger students

should they need help.

Prefects have an important role within the Academy;

they act as role models and leaders for the younger

students as well as having duties to complete.

Congratulations to all the year 11’s acting as prefects

this year.

The prefects form one part of the year 11 council.

Each tutor group has representatives who meet once a

fortnight to discuss ‘all things year 11’.

Important dates for Year 11s

Mock exams begin the week beginning 5th December in

the run up to this we will be holding a ‘Getting the

Grade’ evening open to students and parents where we

will share some revision and exam techniques with you,

specific to English, Maths and Science.

More information regarding this evening will be

available nearer the event, however please pencil in

Thursday 10th November.

If you would like to discuss your child's progress in this

important year then please do not hesitate to contact

myself or your child's form tutor.

Miss Gibbs, Achievement Director Year 11

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

English C-02-08

Maths JFE

E-01-10

Science GCSE/BTEC

C-00-07

Maths E-01-10

BTEC Art & Design/GCSE Art CDA/NWA B-01-19

BTEC Sport NLA

C-01-10

Spanish C-01-11

Geography DMI

E-02-02

Computer Science

NLI E-01-04

Catering FAD

B-00-08

GCSE PE CBA

C-01-10

Business Studies ECC/AIN B-01-09

RS SMO

E-02-08

ICT NLI

D-01-03

Engineering MFR

E-00-01

Media MBR/IFE C-02-02

Graphics DAN

B-01-08

History KTH

E-02-04

Homework Club

JGI/NSK C-00-03

Music GCSE/BTEC CHA

B-02-06