Issue 32 13th June 2018

Contents

A Team Effort! 2

Student Endeavour

Award and ‘Love our

Learning’ 2

Shell Bright Ideas

Challenge Regional

Winners! 3

ICE Anniversary and

Bridge-Building

Challenge 4

Housekeeping 5

6th Form Graphics

at Bovey Tracey

Contemporary Craft Fair 6

Fundraising and

Safeguarding Update 7

‘Healthy Habits’

Survey Results 8

In this issue of the Newsletter, it is wonderful to

highlight the creativity of our students.

Team ‘H.E.R.B.’ recently won the Regional award

for the 2018 Shell Bright Ideas Challenge. They

designed an energy solution for our cities of the

future and, as you will see on page 3, they came

up with an amazing idea!

Year 9 students have also been busy in DEC! -

taking part in the Building Plymouth ‘Road to Mayflower’ bridge-building challenge. We are

anticipating very positive results from our Civil Engineers of the future.

I am looking forward to attending the Constructing Excellence South West (CESW) Awards night

on 22nd June, where I will be able to seek funding from prospective employer partners. We already

receive support from our regular work experience colleagues, and I am grateful to CESW for

providing me with the opportunity of securing further funding in these difficult financial times for

schools.

This Friday will no doubt be an emotional time for our Year 11 students as they finish their last

GCSE exam and prepare to say their goodbyes. As our inaugural cohort of students they have

helped shape our school community into an environment where students of all abilities are

welcomed, encouraged, and believed in. Not all of them have succeeded in every aspect of school

life, but each have found their own place in which to thrive while discovering their unique talents.

As they prepare to embark on the next exciting stage of their life, on behalf of all the staff I

sincerely thank you, their parents and carers, for entrusting us with their education for the last

three years.

I also understand that all parents and carers naturally wish to be kept informed of any recruitment

developments at Atrium Studio following my departure this summer. I would like to take this

opportunity to reassure you that this is also my priority. I can now confirm that the Academy is

seeking to make a replacement appointment from September, and intends to make a decision by

the end of June. As soon as all the formalities have been completed, I will then be able to give you

further details.

‘Change is the end result of all true learning”.

Leo Buscaglia

Matt Messias, Principal

Atrium Studio

ATRIUM STUDIO, Balland Lane, Ashburton, Devon TQ13 7EW

Tel: 01364 655399

www.atrium-studio.co.uk

enquiries@atrium-studio.co.uk

Designing the future together

Diary Dates

Thursday, 14th June:

6th Form UCAS

Careers Evening (6pm)

Friday, 15th June:

Year 11 Shirt-Signing,

Hot Dogs and

Farewells

Friday, 22nd June:

Years 12 and 13 Art

Exhibition, Place

House, SDCC

2

I would like to nominate Jensen as he has made great progress and is constantly smiling and making positive input to the lessons. Jensen also is making a huge effort to remember equipment for each lesson.

We believe it’s important to celebrate achievements, so

for each Newsletter a member of staff nominates a

student who’s shown high levels of commitment and

progress. This week, Ms Smerdon, one of our Teaching

Assistants, has chosen Jensen from Year 10.

Atrium Studio Endeavour Award for

“Student of the Fortnight”

Jensen

“ A TEAM EFFORT!

LOVE OUR LEARNING (LOL)

“The Year 11 Study Support

lessons are great to help us with

organising our revision and

helping us come up with our

best way of revising, as well as

preparing us for our next step.”

Antony, Year 11

Everyone in Atrium is keen to do what they can to help our students achieve their potential. We are particularly grateful to Evon and Jane, two of our amazing cleaners, who came in to support Harry in his DEC! learning. Harry presented his proposal for ‘Young Professional Accommodation’, and discussed the details associated with cleaning and maintaining the building. As a result, he could then reflect on his proposal and address any issues and concerns which were raised.

Thank you to both ladies!

3

SHELL BRIGHT IDEAS CHALLENGE REGIONAL WINNERS!

We’re very proud to report that Atrium’s Team H.E.R.B (Heather, Elise, Rosie and Beth) recently won the Regional award for this year’s Shell Bright Ideas Challenge! The brief was for students to develop their own energy solution for the cities of the future. Teams submitted their ideas via a written application and presentation, explaining how their solution could help to combat cities’ increasing energy demands. Following extensive research, Team H.E.R.B devised an innovative system of pressure pads that convert the kinetic energy of people walking and or dancing on them to electrical energy. This can be placed in areas with a high level of pedestrian tracking, and the generated energy can then be used for a nearby building. They have won an all expenses paid trip to ‘Make the Future Live’ in London - a festival of ideas and innovation featuring Shell Eco-marathon (https://uk.makethefuture.shell) and £1500 of equipment for the Science, DEC!, Maths and Arts departments. We are so thrilled with the girls’ achievement, and wish them a fantastic time at the event next month!

Mr Westaway, Teacher of DEC!

4

This year, the ICE are celebrating 200 years of civil engineers - designing, planning and building our world!

Civil Engineering is everything you see that’s been built around us. It’s about roads and railways, schools, offices, hospitals, water and power supply, and much more. The kinds of things we take for granted but would find life very hard to live without.

The ICE is working with the Building Plymouth ‘Road to Mayflower’ Team, who want to transform the appearance of Embankment Road to make it a world-class entrance to Plymouth - Britain’s Ocean City. We look forward to supporting the next generation of ICE at the Civil Engineering Extravaganza, which takes place on Saturday 23rd June at Ocean Studios, Royal William Yard. See you there!

A number of our Year 9 DEC! students have been selected to enter the ‘Road to Mayflower’ bridge-building challenge. They worked on this during their DEC! and Project-Based Learning lessons, and have now submitted their entries (see below). We’ll keep you posted!

Adam and Max’s 3D printed bridge design Anton and Fergus’s bridge design on Google SketchUp

Rosie and Heather’s bridge design model, Jack, Tom and Oli’s bridge design on Google SketchUp

superimposed on the location

5

Spare

Uniform

New school uniform can

be expensive, so we

always appreciate it

when parents and carers

pass on items which are

no longer required.

Please feel free to bring

in any outgrown or

unused uniform which is

still in good condition,

and we’ll be happy to

distribute it for you!

Please also feel free to

ask at Reception if your

child needs any items of

secondhand uniform,

and we’ll let you know

what’s available.

Attendance

We’d like to take this

opportunity to remind parents

and carers that our

attendance target for all

students is 96%. We

appreciate your support in this

regard, and for keeping us

informed of any circumstances

which may affect your child’s

attendance.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

ABSENCES FROM

SCHOOL

To inform us of your child’s absence due to

illness, medical appointments or previously-

approved sporting activities, please email:

absencereporting@atrium-studio.co.uk

By 9am

Thank you

HOUSEKEEPING

Summer term school uniform requirements

Please be aware that during the Summer Term, we require all

our students to continue wearing:

White shirt

Black school trousers / skirt. Jeans are not acceptable

Grey fleece embroidered with the Atrium logo.

Plain black sensible leather shoes (no logo). No canvas,

trainer-style shoes, sandals or open–toed footwear.

Many thanks for your continued support.

REMINDER: CLASS kit list

All students must bring the following items to class:

Two working pens (black or blue) AND a pencil

Ruler AND calculator

Planner AND reading book.

6

Sixth Form Graphics Students at Contemporary Crafts Fair, Bovey Tracey

Last term, Atrium and SDCC’s Year 12 students took part in an inspiring screen print workshop led by Phil Summerscale of

Dartmoor Screen Printing in Ashburton, which trained them in all aspects of screen-printing. This prepared them for their

screen print exhibition at the recent prestigious Contemporary Craft Fair in Bovey Tracey where, as the “Print House”,

they exhibited their artwork alongside over 200 of the very best contemporary artists and makers in the country. Over

10,000 visitors attend the Fair each year! In addition, the Graphics students have been integral to the creation of a new

area within the Fair, catering for young people aged 13-18. They were set a live brief by Sarah James, Director of The

Contemporary Craft Fair, to name, and design the branding of, this new area. Students worked tirelessly to create

numerous visuals, with the final design branded ‘The Den’. Within The Den, the students ran screen print workshops

generously funded by The Helen Foundation, enabling them to utilise their newfound skills.

Student quotes from the workshop:

“The screen print workshop taught by Phil was very relaxed and fun. He was very patient and helpful so that we could

learn and enjoy every step of the screen print process. I got a lot out of this workshop because I now feel confident

with a new exciting skill.” Emily

“Fantastic! The explanation was clear and a good guy. He made sure that everyone understood and it was just an

enjoyable experience.” Anonymous

“Phil was good at speaking to everyone in the group, and making sure we all understood the process. Phil was pa-

tient with everyone, he was very clear and easy to understand, whilst being able to joke and have fun. I learnt how to

screen-print!” Enya

“Phil explained thoroughly and ensured that we all understood the process. Very helpful.” Anonymous

“Interesting process, explained well with humour added, cool dude.” Anonymous

Staff quote:

“Having not practiced the art of screen printing before I found the day very engaging, challenging and really reward-

ing. Working alongside students allowed us to share our common challenges while supporting each other as we

offered words of advice and problem solved as a team. The process of taking digital images and finishing with a hand

made print was very satisfying and allowed for an understanding of how digital technologies can be used to support

7

FUNDRAISING FOR LOCAL CHARITY

In the coming months, Joe Long from our Art Department will be cycling and swimming to raise money for the

South Devon bereavement charity, Children and Families in Grief (www.childrenandfamiliesingrief.co.uk).

Joe will be very grateful for any donations so if you’d like to contribute, please go to:

https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/josephlong?View+your+page=View+your+page

Instagram: @jlong_fundraising

Thank you!

CONSULTATION PROCESS:

CHANGES TO LENGTH OF THE SCHOOL DAY

Dear Parents and Carers,

Consultation: Atrium Studio School finishing at 5pm instead of 5.30pm

I am writing to you as part of a consultation process about shortening the school day from September 2018.

We have already consulted Atrium staff about this, and are now seeking your views before implementing any changes. Please note we are confident that we will be able to offer the same transport arrangements, and that Devon County Council will accommodate any changes within the services they currently provide.

This proposed change is in response to concerns expressed by many parents and carers that, under the present arrangements, their children often do not return home until after 7pm.

Finishing at 5pm instead of 5.30 could also increase our students’ safety, as they would not be travelling home quite so late during the dark winter months.

May we reassure you that we firmly believe this proposed reduction will not have a detrimental impact on your child’s academic achievement. On the contrary - it should give them more energy for their studies!

I would be grateful if you could you kindly use the link below to share your view and feedback on this proposal by Friday, 22nd June:

https://s.surveyplanet.com/BJ14-u3em

Finally, we would like to thank all stakeholders for taking the time to respond to this consultation, and trust that the outcome will increase our opportunities to offer all students an enriching education.

Garry Murphy, Assistant Principal

8

‘Healthy Habits’ Survey Results

Before half term, we carried out a quick and informal ‘Healthy Habits’ survey with some of our Year 9 and 10

students. Forty-eight students responded to seven questions.

The results were so interesting that we thought we’d share them with you!

First of all, a healthy start to the morning undoubtedly has a huge impact on student learning. Therefore it was

encouraging to learn that over two-thirds of the surveyed students start their day with a sustaining breakfast.

We also learned that an impressive 75% carry a water bottle around school at all times. Studies have shown

that drinking water regularly aids clear thinking, and can even help to reduce stress and anxiety levels.

Around 30% reported eating the equivalent of 5 portions of fruit and veg daily.

The same amount consume one or more fizzy drinks every day,

Almost three-quarters of the surveyed students (nearly 90% of boys) play some form of video game every day.

This was rather worrying, as studies have shown that certain games can lead to more aggressive behaviour in

teenagers. There is an upside, however: young people love playing games, which can improve their

coordination and quick thinking! Do please be aware though that if they play for more than two hours a day,

this can have a detrimental impact on the quality of their sleep.

Only nine of the surveyed 48 students reported getting the recommended 9 hours or more of sleep each night.

This is a genuine cause for concern, as lack of sleep is a major contributing factor to poor behaviour and

impaired academic performance in school. Following our excellent Ofsted report earlier this year, we are really

proud of all our students here at Atrium - imagine what they could each achieve after a good night’s sleep!

Mr Poultney,

Year 9 Tutor, Teacher of DEC!, Maths and Science

9

GOVERNOR VACANCY

We currently have a vacancy for a new governor - ideally, someone with experience in Human Resources

or related fields. If you’re interested in this role, please contact Matt Messias to find out more.

Tel: 01364 655399

Email: matt.messias@atrium-studio.co.uk

Contact Us

We hope you’ll always feel free to contact us with any queries, concerns or

feedback. Our Reception office is open from 8am until 6pm (4pm on Fridays).

Mary Hodge (Mary1), Mary de Vere Chamberlain (Mary 2) and Michelle Smerdon

will be happy to help you.

Telephone: (01364) 655399 Email: enquiries@atrium-studio.co.uk

YEAR 9 ENRICHMENT WEEK

(16th - 20th July)

payment reminder

Not long now until Enrichment Week!

Many thanks to all parents and carers who’ve now paid in full.

Would those who haven’t yet been able to do so (the final instalment was due on 1st June)

kindly make the payment as soon as possible. This can be done either by:

ParentPay

Cash, given to Mrs Hodge or Miss Chamberlain on Reception

or

Debit card (please telephone Mrs Hodge on 01364 655399 with your details).

Thank you!