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Our Newsletter 20th December 2019
Our Newsletter
20th December 2019
Principal’s Welcome
I can’t believe it’s the end of my first term here as Principal. And, what a term it has been. I couldn’t be prouder of the staff and students that make our Academy a thriving learning environment.
It’s been a pleasure over the past term to meet with lots of parents/carers and members of the community. From the ‘Meet the Principal’s’ evenings to Parents’ evenings and the very constructive parental focus group meeting. I have met with, and listened to, a great number of you. We are still at the beginning of our journey as Co-op Academy Walkden but through your valued input, I hope you can see the seeds of change happening for the whole school community. We’re grateful for all the positive feedback regarding our new progress reporting system, the change of form time to the start of the day, and our improving communications. There’s a lot more to come in the new year and I look forward to hosting further parent forums in 2020 to help steer out future direction.
I want to thank parents and carers for working closely with us over the past term and for your continued support.
The students have been working hard over the past term. Our Year 11 students have had their mock exams and the sports teams and music groups have excelled in competitions and the community. The Christmas holiday is a chance to have a very well-earned break for them.
Of course, it is also a time for all the staff to rest and recharge after a long term. The staff at Co-op Academy Walkden are committed to our vision of giving your child a first class education and this has been seen in the hard work and quality lessons that have been going on right the way up to the Christmas break.
As we approach the end of this decade, may I wish you all a happy, peaceful Christmas and a New Year filled with good health and good fortune!
Mr Matt Hacker (Principal)
Key Stage Three Science Trip
Years 7-9 Science students exploded into Christmas as they attended the annual Flash, Bang Christmas Science show on the 9th December 2019. The Flash, Bang Christmas show is held annually in Bolton and is organised by Manchester University and the Royal Society of Chemistry.
The show was like a firework display! Explosions, flames, rockets and flashes wowed our students as they learned about the science behind the extravaganza. Dr Jim Street, who led the show, explained about the chemical elements used and the chemistry of metals. He also talked about combustion reactions and catalysts.
Mr Green, who took the students, said, “It was another fantastic show! It’s no surprise we go every year. We are already looking forward to 2020!”
We want to thank Mr Green and Mr Lamara for taking the students on this trip and also the students who behaved impeccably.
Food Hamper Project Successfully Delivered
A big thank you to all the parents, students, staff who donated food and gifts for our Christmas Hamper appeal this year.
To date, over 100 hampers have been delivered to families in need! That’s a happier Christmas’ for 100 local families. So, thank you! Special thanks to Mr Lamara and the Science department too. They have worked together to oversee the collection of food and gifts.
The hampers all have the complete ingredients for a Christmas dinner, biscuits, coffee, or tea and a small gift. This gives everyone a chance to share in festive treats. Our community partners have collected and distributed the hampers to young families, bereaved families and the elderly.
This project has been collaborative and shows what a community can do when they work together to do what matters most for those around them.
The Early Help Manager, Kathleen Curwen, wrote to express her thanks.
She said, “On behalf of our Early Help Team, I would like to take this opportunity to share our sincere gratitude to the students, staff and families of Co-op Academy Walkden. Their generosity, commitment and time in making the Christmas hampers to help families most in need of support in their local community, has been invaluable. We are extremely proud of each and every student who has supported such a fantastic project at this time of year. The importance of community cohesion, helping qualities and strong values have been clearly demonstrated by the young people of your school. Without such support, we would not have been able to help such a high number of families in the local community.”
Christmas Jumper Day and Community Carols
Christmas landed at the academy this Tuesday!
Staff and students arrived in an array of festive knits. From jingling Rudolph jumpers to sequinned Santa sweaters, our academy community got into the seasonal spirit.
Our Christmas jumper day was held to raise money for the charity ‘Save the Children.’ This charity works with children in over 100 countries, including the UK. They aim to help every child reach their full potential, making sure they stay safe, healthy and keep learning.
Thank you all who joined in and a special thanks to Mrs Bentley for arranging this.
On the same day, we served our Christmas dinner. Turkey, Leek pie, Brussel sprouts, roast potatoes and Christmas pudding were on offer. It was lovely to see so many students and staff sharing in this together.
To finish the day, we invited our community partners and local residents to join us.
Welcoming over 30 people to this event, we had a lovely afternoon listening to the choir while eating mince pies, sipping a warm drink, and chatting about what was happening in the local community. Residents, community partners and staff swapped ideas on how we can help each other succeed with community projects and all left feeling festive, full and informed.
Extra Curricular Clubs @ Co-op Academy Walkden
Want to learn the Ukulele? Then strum on down to Ukulele club!
You can improve your technique, learn how to read notation and learn popular tunes.
All are welcome in E3. Every Monday or Thursday lunchtime.
Want a career in journalism?
Love to write articles and edit others’ work?
Want to design and create your own magazine?
Join our student led news-paper – The Walkden Eye.
All are welcome in Co18. Every Wednesday at 3pm – 4pm.
BBC Career Aspirations
On Wednesday 18th December we welcomed the BBC Bitesize team to the Academy.
The team delivered three creative careers shows to Years 7, 8, and 9. The sessions focused on careers in the creative industries and featured a panel of professionals from a range of these industries.
The show was hosted by BBC Radio 1xtra presenter Nick Bright and the guest panel was made up of:
•Jonathon Twigg – Coronation Street - Crew Coordinator;•Brittany Ashurst - Apprentice – Zeal Creative;•Mona Ansari-Beni – BBC Education - Music Team.
The aim of the Creative Career Show is to offer inspiring insight into the world of creative work, right on our doorstep here in Salford. It was a really positive experience for the students at the end of the term.
PE Update and Dance Trip
The sports fixtures, this fortnight, kicked off with our Under 16 boys football team who worked hard to earn a well fought victory over The East Manchester Academy in the last 16 of the Greater Manchester County Schools FA cup. They are now in the quarter finals against Our Lady’s Catholic High School.
Our Under 16A boys football team have had mixed results in the Playstation FC School’s Cup this fortnight after beating West Derby High School 1-0 and then losing to St Francis Xavier College 3-2. A closely fought battle! Well done boys.
The Year 7A boys football team have extended their unbeaten start to the season with a 3-0 win over Bridgewater School’s team. They have had 3 wins from 3 matches, putting them at the top of the table and into the Salford Schools’ Cup quarter final!
The Year 7 girls netball team smashed their competition in a match against Harrop Fold, St Ambrose Barlow and Moorside. They won their games against St Ambrose and Harrop Fold and drew against Moorside. Well done girls!
On Friday 13th December 2019, the Year 10 Dance class visited Winstanley College. A level dance students taught the girls a dance from their production of The Adam’s Family, the girls performed on stage and then watched the college production of The Adam’s Family. They had a brilliant time and got a great insight into what they are aspiring to.
Anne Frank Trust Student Film
On 12th December 2019, a group of students made their own anti-prejudice video in collaboration with the Anne Frank Trust. All students that took part in this are Anne Frank Ambassadors.
Before the video shoot, the students had prepared a script and storyboard for the film maker’s visit. Working as a team, they had organised and written each of the scenes. On the day, they played different roles, from actor to director, to make sure the film was a success. This film is part of an ongoing project that the students have been involved in since hosting the Anne Frank Exhibition in April 2019.
Students have had lots of experiences through the work of the Anne Frank Trust. One of the events included three of our Ambassadors travelling to the Houses of Parliament to host the Celebration of Anne's 90th Birthday.
In the Summer term students were privileged to meet with a Holocaust Survivor, Sam Gontraz, who was sent to live in the Lake District following the atrocities in World War two. Sadly Sam passed away in October, but his words and experiences are being passed on through the great work of the Anne Frank Ambassadors.
Our Ambassadors are determined to make a stand against discrimination. The students have been taking part in workshops exploring Islamophobia and Xenophobia this term.
The development of the film is the next step in raising awareness of equality for all in the Academy.
Christmas Express Showcase
The Christmas Express Showcase arrived at Walkden, on the 17th December 2019, signalling that Christmas had begun!
Our Performing Arts department put together a spectacular show, with several talented students performing their work from this term.
The show included dance, music, and drama from students at Co-op Academy Walkden, as well as music from a local feeder school, Mesne Lea Primary School.
Our choir got the show started with Wham’s ‘Last Christmas’ and ‘Jingle Bell Rock.’ They were followed by a dance, performed by Key Stage three dancers to the song ‘Perfect to me.’ Other acts from Walkden included:
• A Year 9 Contemporary duet;• Two drama performances;• Year 7-9 Dance performances;• The Jazz band.
Mesne Lea Primary School students shone in their performances, singing ‘Silent Night’ and ‘Rocking Around the Christmas Tree.’
The evening finished with a combined choir from Mesne Lea Primary School and Co-op Academy Walkden. They sang two songs – ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’ and ‘Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day’.
It was a lovely evening packed full of entertainment to get us into the Christmas spirit. A big thank you to all the staff, parents, and students involved.
Envision Project
Our students are pioneers! Over the last term, they have proven this time and again, getting involved In the Anti-bullying week and being Anne Frank Ambassadors. But, one group of students at Walkden are set to bring social action to another level in the new year by being involved in a project run by Envision.
Over the past term, a group of Year 9 students have been working with the Director of Participation and Engagement, Mr Mangas, to start their own social action campaign. The Co-op Academies Trust and Envision have supported this social action campaign.
Students have already been to the Etihad Stadium to learn how to put together a social action campaign. Our students decided to focus on Meat Free Monday as an idea. Students want to introduce Meat Free Monday at Co-op Academy Walkden to help reduce the environmental impact of meat consumption on the earth.
As part of the project, students had to pitch for £200 to support their project in front of a panel of esteemed Co-op judges. So, on the 16th December 2019, the Year 9 pioneers went to Co-op Academy Leeds to do this. They had put together a presentation outlining their plan of action, how they would spend the money, and their vision for the project.
Nerve-wrackingly, our students were up first with their pitch, but they did a stunning job, getting £100 awarded to them on the day. They have been promised the other £100 after the submission of some other facts and figures to the panel.
The students did a fantastic job, and now Meat Free Mondays will be slowly introduced at Co-op Academy Walkden over the coming year.
Futsal World Championship
Liam Spinks, and the England team have returned victorious, beating off the competition to be crowned as runners-up in the Paritally Sighted Futsal World Cup.
The World Cup took place in Turkey, between 4th and 15th December 2019 and Liam, currently in Year 11, took his place in the England Senior team as their youngest player.
The England team opened their championship bid by beating Italy 4-2. They then went on to beat Spain 4-2 and Japan 6-2 in their next two matches. A loss against the Ukraine and a convincing 7-1 victory over Turkey eventually saw the team crowned in second place.
Well done to all of the team, but a special well done to Liam who has not only had training for this amazing tournament to contend with this term but also his mock exams!
We look forward to hearing more about your successes in the future.
Italian Workshop for Year 10
On the 10th December 2019, our Year 9 Hospitality and Catering and GCSE food students took part in an Italian cuisine workshop. Throughout the year, students take part in a variety of cultural workshops to develop their knowledge and skills in traditional international cuisine.
In October, students took part in an African cooking workshop with Yetti from Yetti’s Kitchen, in Eccles. Students cooked up a range of food from rice and peas to fried plantain, serving their food to hungry students as part of our Black History Month celebrations.
An Italian chef who specialises in street food led this workshop. Luca, who owns Fritto’s, has served his food in Liverpool and Manchester since 2015 and was all too happy to pass on his expertise.
Luca showed the students how to prepare a variety of traditional homemade pasta. Students had to master the tricky pasta machine to create different types while working together as teams. This took precision and technical skills to perfect the preparations. Luca also showed the students how to make three fresh sauces to go with their pasta. The students made a tomato sauce, a pesto, and a broccoli pesto.
In the summer term, students will be working again with Fritto’s to complete a pizza workshop using traditional pizza ovens.
The workshop certainly gave our students a sense of confidence and aspiration, with one stating, "I am the next up and coming Gino D’Campo!”
Luca from Fritto’s said, “It was a pleasure to work with your students, and I had so much fun. They are a credit to Co-op Academy Walkden.”
Thanks to Mrs Bentley for arranging this.
