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Published by Ark Boulton, 2019-12-12 08:55:07

2019 12 - Issue 10 - The Boulton

2019 12 - Issue 10 - The Boulton

TheB ulton
issue 10/autumn 2019

‘It takes a whole community to bring up a child’

CONTENTS

3 Principal’s Message
4 Police Cadets
6 Year 8 Interform Challenge
7 Results Day
8 Remembrance Day
9 A New Ark Boulton
10 Parenting Article
11 Ark Teaching Summit
12 Boulton Gallery
13 Student Leadership Reflection
14 Virtues Champions
16 Values-Based Education Conference
18 In Other News
20 Novel Writing Month
21 Writing Club
22 “Get to know me...”
23 Student Spotlight
24 Anti-Bullying Week
25 What Makes Organ Donation So Important?
26 Caring for Your Mental Health
27 Staying Safe
27 Key Dates

2

Principal’s
Message

The autumn term day. As a result our new Year 7 students have
had time to settle in to the academy and have
always provides an coped very well with learning our routines and
opportunity to reflect have shown high levels of maturity as they
upon the year that begin to take on more responsibility for their
has passed and begin learning and development.
to think about our
priorities for the New Year. Priorities which GCSE students have adapted to the changes in
are close to my heart and for which I will be their learning as they now move on to the most
turning to parents, carers and to our local crucial stage of their education. Our Year 11’s
communities to support the academy with are: continue to demonstrate great determination
and commitment to their studies.
• How we can better help and support those
individuals who find themselves homeless, This term is always busy with many events
hungry and alone. for our students and parents alike. I hope you
enjoy reading about the main snapshots of this
• Improve the environment around Sparkhill. year so far and continue to support us on our
journey in becoming an outstanding academy.
• Working even more closely with our parents We are all looking forward to another exciting
and community to support our children year at Ark Boulton and I cannot wait to share
to develop a strong character and become the successes and joys with you.
confident young people as, “It takes a whole
community to bring up a child.” As the days become darker earlier, please take
extra care when you are out with family and
At Ark Boulton Academy we believe that friends enjoying the winter festivities. Wrap up
preparing students for life in modern Britain warm and ensure you keep safe on the roads.
and as global citizens includes providing Please take a moment to read more about
opportunities for students to develop morally, ‘Winter Safety’ on page 27.
socially, spiritually and culturally. This year
Ark Boulton had the great honour of hosting I will end by saying, holidays are a time to rest,
the Values Based Education (VbE) Conference. recuperate and visit loved ones. We should also
The VbE movement empowers educational use this time to reflect and be thankful for all
settings to underpin their life and curriculum that we have, and if possible help those who
with universal positive human values such as are less fortunate than ourselves. Providing
respect, integrity, honesty and compassion. a meal for someone who is hungry, donating
The outcome of developing such an ethical clothes to someone who is cold, offering a smile
vocabulary is ethical intelligence, which we and time to talk to someone who is lonely are
at Ark Boulton believe is the most important all acts of kindness and compassion that bind
intelligence for the sustainability of our world. us more closely together as human beings. I
wish you all a restful holiday with your family
Ark Boulton is proud to have now fully and friends and a peaceful and prosperous new
implemented its “Parent in School” pastoral year.
system. The new system has every child in our
academy allocated to a member of staff who Herminder K Channa JP FCCT
is there to support them through their school - Principal

3

Police Cadets

In September dozens of students took part in our communities, and giving our young people
opportunities to help others and learn new
a rigorous selection process including written skills.”
applications and face to face interviews. From
the many applicants, just twenty were selected The new cadets have been issued with a
to form the very first Ark Boulton Unit of the Uniform and meet every week to build the
Volunteer Police Cadets. skills and knowledge they need to become
leaders and give back to their community.
Competition for a place was fierce and
the successful Cadets had to demonstrate The cadets have also had a chance to gain
considerable courage and self-discipline as an insight into the world of policing and this
well as proving a commitment to the virtue of year they will have the opportunity to engage
justice. with the firearms unit, forensic services, dog
handlers and the traffic and motorway police.
The Cadets are working with their Unit
lead from West Midlands Police to practice Miss Rafiq, the Ark Boulton Volunteer Cadet
effective teamwork as well as developing their leader told us that “the cadets are learning
leadership skills. vital life skills and really enjoying themselves
at the same time.”
A west Midlands Police spokesperson told us,
“this scheme is not a recruitment tool, but is Congratulations to all the cadets on your
about creating active citizens, engaging with successful appointment.

4

5

Year 8
Interform Challenge

At Ark Boulton we believe that school is Students have risen to the challenges
magnificently and competition to be crowned
about far more than an excellent education in form of the term is fierce.
the classroom. We are committed to enriching
students’ lives with a wide range of extra- Head of Y8, Mr Taylor explained that:
curricular activities.
“80 members of the Ark Boulton
Year 8 have been blazing a trail on enrichment family come together every Tuesday to
this term with their weekly interform challenge. compete and have fun. The enrichment
An average of 80 students have been staying activities have led to a far quicker
behind on Tuesday afternoons to compete in a building of relationships in each form
range of physical and mental contests, cheered group and allowed our tutors to really
on enthusiastically by their form tutors. The get to know their tutees.”
tasks have included sports such as bench ball,
dodge ball and a tug of war, as well as problem Upcoming activities include a cross country
solving tasks like the mighty egg drop contest run, football, public speaking and the top of
and team building challenges. the form quiz.

6

Results Day
22nd August 2019

We at Ark Boulton are very proud of

our recent Year 11 leavers. They achieved
brilliant GCSE results in August.

One of our star students, Aaminah achieved
a level 9 in Chemistry, Physics, English
Literature and History. She commented:
‘It’s such a relief, I’m so pleased. I’m not
sure what I want to do next, but these
grades will mean I can go on to become a
pharmacist or a doctor’.

‘I’d like to thank all the teachers 7
for all their hard work. I can
now go to study for my A levels
and hopefully medicine at
university”

Mohammed achieved a level 9 in
English Literature and Maths

Remembrance Day
5th Nov 2019

At Ark Boulton we had an assembly and
minute of silence dedicated to all of those
heros who gave their lives in previous wars.

The school also participated in the Poppy
Appeal, raising money for charitable
initiatives.

Remembrance Day is important to us at
Boulton because it provides us with examples
of human beings who demonstrated the
virtues of service, commitment, courage,
charity and justice, amongst others.

The sacrifices made by these soliders and
their families are sacrifices that many of us
would not imagine having to make today.
Therefore they allow us to engage our hearts
and minds in this otherwise unknown
experience. Creating room for compassion
and gratitude for the world they have left
for us.

£30 / hour £25 / hour

HALLS TO HIRE

Ark Boulton are offering both school halls for hire between 5pm - 10pm on
weekdays, and 8am - 10pm on weekends. Perfect spaces for events, exercise classes,
conferences and much more. For more information about what we have to offer visit:
schoollettings.org

8

A New Ark Boulton
19th Nov 2019

After months of renovation, we are excited
to announce that our new toilet block opened
along with a new outdoor seating area for
students to enjoy. We thank staff and students
for their patience during the project.

However, this change did not come alone. It
was joined by the introduction of the new Ark
Boulton Lower and Upper Schools.

The Ark Boulton Lower School refers to Key
Stage 3 (years 7-9), while the Upper School is
for students in Key Stage 4 (years 10-11).

9

Parenting Course
A 6-Week Intervention

Virtues such as compassion, honesty, ideas to introduce into their parenting. They find
it a good way to address/discuss any issues without
humility and discipline are the foundation of having to hold back in fear of being judged and are
all interactions at Ark Boulton Academy, these happy to take on board suggestions for different
are common values that make us great pupils, parenting styles and every parenting style doesn’t
great teachers, great carers and great parents. necessarily suit all children even siblings!

This term we began the Ark Boulton Parenting The Ark Boulton Parenting Course is a six week
Course. The first few weeks of our parent course that runs fortnightly for invited parents as
sessions have been very successful. We have supported by the pastoral team. To register your
had a number of parents attend from across interest, please contact the Reception Team.
all year groups which was brilliant as it gave
us an insight to issues that parents from all Parent Drop-in Clinics run fortnightly on Friday
walks of life have with their children. mornings if you have specific concerns about your
child. We are here to support you and your child
We had positive feedback from parents saying through their journey at Ark Boulton Academy,
the sessions are really beneficial and that they please see our website for further details.
are taking away lot of hints, tips and new

10

Ark Teacher Summit

On Friday the 4th of October, the entire engagement. Our own principal Mrs Channa,
took the opportunity to ask these two highly
Ark Boulton teaching staff travelled to the influential women to share their thoughts on the
Westminster Methodist hall in London to challenge’s women in positions of leadership face
attend the Ark Teacher Summit. We joined in education.
over 1600 teachers from the 37 Ark schools to
celebrate 15 years of Ark Academies. The Keynote speaker was Julie Jackson, President
of Uncommon Schools, who had flown over from
There were several inspirational talks the United States specially to address the summit.
throughout the day. Lucy Heller reminded us She spoke passionately about the importance of
all how far Ark has come in 15 years, from the teachers who go the extra mile and care deeply for
very beginning with just one school in London their pupils, reminding us that students, “do not
to 37 schools, 1600 teachers and 27,000 learn from people who do not love them. And they
students across the UK, but insisted that “we know who that is.” Ms Jackson congratulated our
are still on our journey , we haven’t reached teachers on their commitment to improving the
the destination.” Viviane Clarke looked to futures of our young people, recognising that, “the
the future spoke passionately about the mission is in you. It’s part of you.”
collaborative efforts of Ark schools, working
together to create exceptional school which The summit ended with the Ark Awards in
give children real life chances. She ended by recognition exceptional achievements across
reminding the hall that “it is this promise the Ark Schools. Most notably a lifetime service
that brings us here today.” award was presented to Delia Smith OBE for her
20 years of service as a school principle, including
A highlight was the insightful panel discussion 10 years as head of Ark Academy in Wembley.
with Julie Jackson discussing key issues in
education today, including changes to the We returned to Birmingham feeling energised,
exam systems and the importance of parental inspired and motivated.

11

Boulton Gallery

Year 8 Great Egg Drop Challenge World Vegetarian Day
1st Oct 2019 1st Oct 2019

Careers Day Libraries Week
1st Oct 2019 7-11 Oct 2019

Rehaan Ahmed fundraised £440.50 Envision
for Birmingham Children’s Hospital 13th Sept 2019

12 1st Oct 2019

Student Leadership
Reflection

18th Oct 2019

In October, Ark Boulton played host to the

annual Values Based Education conference.
Year 10 student, Yousuf Ibrahim helped
to welcome our guests and attended the
conference. He wrote us this report:

“Values based Education is an organisation
comprising of teachers, headteachers, and
other professionals who work with children.
It focuses on ensuring the happiness of
children at school, trying to create a happy,
safe and loving environment for both
teachers and students alike.

This year, Ark Boulton Academy hosted
the 3rd Annual Values Based Education
Conference on the 18th of October. It was an
honour for our school to be picked for such
a great opportunity and came after we were
awarded the Values based Education Quality
Mark, proving the dedication of our staff to
providing an education led by strong values
and promoting high levels of wellbeing.

It was a day of exciting events, including
speeches from both Mrs. Channa and the
founder of VbE, Dr. Neil Hawks, who spoke
about establishing what the virtues mean to
students, and how they can improve us in
school as well as the future.

Developing the virtues is one of the key
objectives in Ark Boulton; to help us become
better people in society and to learn the basis
of moral compass. Virtues are essential to
our lives, helping us become stronger and
better people. Ark Boulton is a family – the
virtues we implement, the activities we do,
we do together. The VbE conference was
a great reminder of the goals that can be
achieved if we work together.”

13

Virtues
Champions

The Virtues are central to our life at Ark Omaima Saeed - 10 Justice : Omaima always
Boulton. We are all striving to be the best we demonstrates honesty in class. She speaks up
can be, but certain individuals stand out as when she needs help and is not afraid to ask for
leaders setting the bar in a particular virtue. help to stay on the right track.
The students below have been nominated
by their teachers as this terms Virtues
Champions. Congratulations to them all
for their commitment and leadership.

Areeba Ashraf - 11 Compassion : Arreba always Sumayyah Qamar - 8 Honesty : Sumayyah is
gives her best, inside and outside lessons to always very generous with her time. She is
ensure she works to her highest standard. happy to help in anyway she can and always
with a smile.

Rahmo Musse Ali - 11 Humility : Rahmo has Laiba Zulfiqar - 9 Honesty : Laiba always
shown great courage by overcoming difficulty at the demonstrates compassion by practicing acts of
start to the year to get on track for a fantastic GCSE kindness. She is extremely helpful to both her
year. peers and teachers alike.

14

Aisha Tabassum - 9 Honesty : Aisha shows Mutahharah Yasir – 8 Courage : Mutahharah
gratitude by being an active listener during demonstrates humility by always listening
virtues. She is always thoughtful and to feedback and seeking out advice on how to
appreciative of others, and their opinions. improve her work.

Rizwan Islam - 8 Charity : Rizwan believes Zaakir Ali - 7 Discipline : Demonstrating self
that when injustice is done it is his right and - discipline in class. Zaakir is always willing
responsibility to speak up and so the right to learn new things and conveys a positive
thing. attitude in all aspects of school life.

We thank these students
for modelling virtue-led
behaviour...

Speak to your teacher if you would like to
be nominated for the next issue

Areeba Ahsan - 9 Justice : Arreeba is always
humble in her approach and her spirit. She
is always willing and eager to help and an
excellent role model for other students.

15

Values-Based Education

Conference
18th Oct 2019

Ark Boulton hosted the third annual ‘Values- people want something different, the want a
Based Education Conference’ with Values- life that is based on values.”

Based Education International (VbE), an The topic of ‘Values-driven Leadership’
organisation committed to academic excellence was addressed by our leader, our Principal,
in union with the enhancement of moral, Herminder Channa. She shared her experience
emotional and spiritual sensibilities. at Ark Boulton, and the importance she gives

At Ark Boulton the conference involved a to building relationships. “Technology means
range of speakers and workshops, including a that we can access infinite worlds just from a
keynote talk from Dr Neil Hawkes (Founder device, but it has actually deskilled us from
of VbE) and Jane Hawkes (Trustee and being able to understand the feelings that
come by developing
Consultant of the
International Values “The message of values-based relationships. It has
taNhaoTtbg“tEtohhThplnarehdeopoeeehplsdeuibpiuieloicyrpcasidns:nraawliHde‘tgtsVntofietmdareotlebroeahiwdntleouEoscdoveudfcvktrT:eeucteewvlcfmrahdmsssooeauotserncolirseeouhovsnlftvandndnu)eehoeart..ms.tacoluuThturehttireecohDnnhhneadoswedgee’trpl-,,,lpmebeavebteonghdcareuiaee,nuleuugtascwsh.ia.eba.nototittrgishuhwoledetneotmvmruhtaiahaarosCvsvalrsesueeEeetlsllisttiiOwvnnhtio’legesg,efls,V,loihofiabumuv-neunEtreeaBpmudocairrraIrnehneinntadgloa”tatebnlgeohnwetcreteiieenhntoarrt.ganaeyK.o.strtss,iwlnioho“onhivawtingoseapn?ihtadsa”ldtallo,nSrdhseortabtBtdaaeshihewmnbebeawmosieesioduceseplekneuriltinotl.iitltdheflygenortliSeiaaienecsonvaovtsedid,ngeboipertnwfniitorehottlotgsnihh’ulrtaastahdosaesybktotiiintresuieupbtwoohcwihsrioInlueaoiniatniifsnstttlenethyhdlshdlAihlaoitnttpfonhhhurvaoiotwsnkkeeoeesrrt,

16

benefit you in your lifetime, but will benefit those Farzana’s speech made on them. Cori Bateman,
25 and 50 years ahead.” an Executive Principal who delivered a workshop
on ‘Establishing a values-based organisation’
Professor Bart McGettrick a VbE Patron shared, “The words she said in her speech were
continued exploring the theme of relationships amazing... I felt so proud of her and I don’t even
commenting, “Values cannot be taught know her... It filled me with the desire to hear
didactically, they are carried in the relationships that power coming from the children.”
of life.” He added the three core values he believes
need to be emphasised in education: love, hope Simon Poote, a delegate who also delivered the
and justice. Expanding that these, unlike grades, ‘Valuing the unique child’ workshop shared his
degrees or materialistic
achievements, form the learning from the day,
basis of an ‘educated “I’ve been inspired by
person’. so many people, and
the idea that at the
Other inspirational core of what we are
doing is being [human]
practitioners took and teaching young
people to be human.”
the stage during the He added that with
the advancements in
ValuesMeet portion technology and changes
in industry, our
of the day as they humanity is the only
constant we can pass on
shared their best and nurture in future
generations.
practice, challenges
Steph Reddington from
and ideas for the future. Pupil Asset summed up the purpose of the day
and VbE, “Anyone can pick up a book and talk
Teachers discussed about history, but if you can’t go into the world
and build positive relationships, and know how
the importance of staff to behave and act, then you are not really going
to get very far.”
wellbeing and live
Ark Boulton is grateful to VbE for selecting
classroom feedback to our school to be the host of this prestigious
conference and hope that our partnership with
reduce marking and the organisation continues to grow.

enhance student-teacher relationships.

Our students liaised with the delegates
throughout the day, including a presentation on
the virtues curriculum by our year 11 student
Farzana. When asked if she attributes she
achievements to Ark Boulton she added, “Our
school allows us to express the virtues we have,
and it [helps us] because we know they exist, we
don’t just assume that they do.”

A number of delegates reflected on the impact

17

Macmillan In Other News

Bake Sale The Mind Trust
27th Sept 2019 17th Sept 2019

Staff cooked freshly The Mind Trust, an organisation based
in the USA who develop independent
based desserts, government funded schools (like
academies) sent representatives to visit
and sold them to Ark schools including Ark Boulton.
The visitors are all planning on creating
raise money for new schools and wanted to learn from
the experiences of the Ark family.
Macmillan Cancer We are grateful to them for taking an
interest in our school and students,
Support. Collectively especially our virtues curriculum.

the school raised:

£263.43

The event was
open to the entire
school community,
including parents
and visitors.

18

Press Pause Kurling & Boccia
21st Oct 2019
Ark Boulton run a mindfulness club for
students. During the sessions they focus on Our Key Stage 3 students travelled to
techniques to help reduce worries or anxiety Oueen’s Alexandra College to participate
- including difficulties adjusting to Boulton in the Inter-Schools KS3 games on Monday
or making friends. 21st October. This was the first match of
the year for the students and they were
The club promotes healthy and positive excited to participate.
relationships.

Help Your
Child Revise

24th Oct 2019

We hosted a successful session with year 11 parents covering
a number of techniques for revision. Ms Ahmed discussed
how to save concepts in long-term memory using flashcards
and the Cornell notes method.

We thank all of the parents who took the time to attend and
ask questions so that together we can support each student
to achieve their best.

Parents left with a revision pack for students containing a
notebook, flashcards, highlighters, pens and post-its.

Exam Success

Congratulations to all of our
students who completed their
mocks this term. We wish you every
success!

Merry Christmas

We would like to wish everyone a Merry
Christmas and a fantastic New Year.
Ark Boulton are celebrating with a grand
Christmas Tree and hope that everyone
gets a chance to have a wonderful holiday.

19

Novel Writing Month
Nov 2019

Our in-house novelist (and English teacher) I finished typing it up and uploading it
onto Amazon’s self publishing website on
Ms Andrews shared how the National Novel December 31st 2017 and then decided to
Writing Month inspired her to transform her start the sequel straight away - I actually
hobby into a second career... wrote the entire second novel (50,000 words)
in a week!
“It was the mention of National Novel
Writing Month in the staff bulletin two years Since then, I’ve published another seven
ago that inspired me to do something with novels - some for teenagers and some for
a manuscript I’d written over twenty years adults - and also had short stories accepted
previously. I’d already been asked by my for publication by a number of different
Year 10 class at the time (the Year 11s who organisations. National Novel Writing Month
left this summer) if they could buy any of the certainly inspired me to do something with
stories I’d written, so I decided to dust off my my talent rather than just hide it away.”
printed paper manuscript for a Young Adult
novel I wrote in 1996 and get it published.

Elements Setting Character Event
Needed to
Write an Add as much vivid Introduce important Each book needs a
Engaging detail as possible - characters early, but pivotal event that
both familiar and take time to reveal helps it stand out
Book unfamiliar places their backgrounds amongst the rest
Series

20

Writing Our writer in residence, Jane Andrews, has been running
Club
a weekly writing club for some of our most enthusiastic
young authors. This half term they have been working on
creating stories with just fifty words. It is a real skill to
be able to pack a whole story into so few words. We asked
Miss Andrews to choose her favorite so far, by Khadijah
Riaz (Year 7).

An unforgiving night, never to be forgotten

“It was a night of terror. My Mother screamed; walls crumbled. Panic arose as I lay eyes open,
mouth speechless. It was all a blur. The world I once loved, coming to an end. It was now only
loss and sorrow.”

Teacher analysis “I love how the use of short sentences builds a sense of tension and the
deliberate uncertainty leaves the reader guessing.”

Miss Andrews regularly inspires the group with examples of her own writing, including this
rather gruesome 42 word story:

“Grandma loved taxidermy. When Grandad died, hardly anyone noticed. She had arranged him
beautifully in his chair, looking for all the world as if he were still alive. No-one was impressed
when she did the same with the residents at her care-home.”

Conflict Continuity Title Share
Your
Stories
With Us

Choose a conflict that Pick themes and What name will tie all
is large enough to play concepts that you can the books togehter?
out across multiple revisit and echo in
plots and subplots each book 21

“Get to know me...”
Drwith Atkinson ?

Lead Practitioner: Maths / New Teacher Ark Boulton

Dr Atkinson is well known around school for
his amazing mathematical knowledge and his
impressive collection of bow ties. We sat down
with Dr Atkinson to find out some more.

Why did you choose to teach maths? Your title is Dr Atkinson. What did
you have to do to earn that prestigious
I have always found numbers and puzzles title?
interesting. I appreciate the ‘elegance’ of a
beautiful proof, and I have always been a I did a D.Phil at Oxford University. Anyone
teacher of one form or another. Teaching runs who has done that (or a Ph.D.) can choose to
in the family, and even whilst a pupil myself I be called ‘Dr’. I am a Dr of ‘hard sums’ rather
enjoyed helping others understand what was than broken legs and infections.
going on in lessons.
You are well known at school for
You were previously teaching at a your bow ties. How many do you have
private school. Why did you decide in your collection and which is your
to make the change to teach at Ark favourite?
Boutlon?
I believe it is 21+, but who is counting. My
I attended a comprehensive school quite like wife’s favourite is the one with stars and
Ark Boulton myself and so the chance to move planets that I made myself.
back into the state sector was very appealing.

What do you think makes our school If you had not become a mathematician
a great place to work and to study? what else would you have enjoyed
doing?
I have very supportive colleagues and feel that
we have a real impact on the local community Possibly a chemist. Ideally, I would have
and society at large here than I did in the done Joint honours degree in maths and
independent school sector. chemistry at University but it wasn’t possible.
Alternatively, I could have been a farmer; I
What would be your advice to anyone like growing things and I think we should all
considering studying Maths at college be aiming to grow some things for ourselves.
or university?
Thank you Dr Atkinson, we look
I would tell them to work hard, to learn to play forward to publishing one of your
games with numbers and look for creative use fiendish puzzles in the next edition of
of your mathematical skills. The Boulton.

22

Student Spotlight

Meet the new Head Boy, Ibrahim Hussain and Head Girl, Fazana Hussain

At Ark Boulton one of our key goals is to provide
our students with the skills, confidence and
knowledge to become the leaders of the future.
We intend to send our students out into the
world, fully equipped to be excellent role models
and to give back to their community.

This term we have appointed our head boy and
girl to represent and lead the whole student
body.

Ibrahim and Farzana will represent the represent every single one of you this year. If
school at key events: delivering speeches, you see something that needs to change, I am
greeting important guests and leading tours making it my job to tell the school about it.”
of the school. They will also lead the student
council to bring to the needs and ideas of Both Ibrahim and Farzana are excellent
students to the attention of Ms Channa and students who were chosen for this role due
the leadership team. to their maturity, their leadership potential
and for their daily embodiment of the
In his first speech to Year 11, Ibrahim set out Boulton virtues. We are sure they will do an
his intention as Head Boy, saying, “I want to outstanding job.

23

Anti-Bullying Week

11-15th November 2019

The 11th-15th of November was Antibullying week, with schools across the country shining a

spotlight on bullying and the devastating impact it can have on people’s lives.

This year’s theme was ‘Change starts with us, an important reminder that every single one of
us, students, teachers and parents can make a difference.

A week of special assemblies
underlined how everyday acts like
listening to each other, having a
conversation, thinking about the
impact of our words or stopping before
hitting ‘like’ on a hurtful social media
post, can all help to reduce bullying.

Students highlighted where they
thought change should start. There
was a clear focus on the growing
danger of cyberbullying with over
three quarters (76%) of those polled
saying that social media and gaming
platforms should do more to change
the way they address bullying. More
than four in ten (44%) of children said
that the media and influencers had
the power to reduce bullying.

24

Why Is Organ Donation
So Important?

One of our students, Habiba, was born with a rare liver disease. Throughout her life she has

had four liver transplants and fortunately the last one was an absolute success. Whilst it is rare
for one person to have so many organ transplants, it does highlight how much of a selfless and
compassionate act of service organ donation can be.

Reflecting on Habiba’s case, Alison Taylor, Chief Executive of the Children’s Liver Disease
Foundation (CLDF) said: “We have been inspired by Habiba’s bravery and also by her family’s
commitment to raising awareness and funds for CLDF to help other children in her situation.
We’re delighted that she is now back at school and wish her and her family the very best.”

At Ark Boulton, we are very proud of Habiba
for her bravery and strength in the face of
these challenges.

Change in the Organ Donation Law

Whilst we may all have different views about
organ donation, it is important to know that
next spring the law is going to change from an
‘opt-in’ system to an ‘opt-out’ system.

What does this mean?

At the moment, in order to donate an organ
after they die must sign up as a donor on the
NHS Organ Donor Register.

According to the NHS, there is an “urgent”
need for more donors to sign up, as about
three people in need of an organ die every day
in the UK.

If someone has died and is not registered as

an organ donor, nurses will speak to the person’s family to discuss whether or not they will allow
their relative’s organs to be used.

In 2020, the system will change to ‘opt out’ or ‘deemed consent’.

This means that every patient who dies is considered a potential organ donor if they are eligible.
Those who do not wish to donate their organs after they die must put their details on the NHS
Organ Donor Register to say they do not want to participate, or that they are in one of the
excluded groups. You can also nominate up to two people to help make the decision about what
happens to your organs after you die – for example a family member or a religious leader.

How do you feel about organ donation?

Does organ doantion remind you of any of Ark Boulton’s virtues?

25

Caring For
Your Mental Health

“Anxiety and depression Build yourself up - focus
are some the most on your strengths
common problems, with
around 1 in 10 people
affected at any one time.”

Everyone has mental health, just like

we have physical health. The term ‘mental
health’ includes our emotional, psychological
and social well-being. However, in the 21st
century we have collectively struggled to care
for these important parts of us.

There are many ways to recognise we need
help. We may struggle with feeling down,
stressed, or frightened. We may become
overwhelmed with family, school, or
friendships. We may find change difficult to
accept.

This is why governments have introduced
initiatives such as World Mental Health Day
(10th Oct 2019) and Stress Awareness Week
(4th - 10th Nov 2019). So what can we do to
help ourselves and those around us?

Some Top Tips

Talk - about your
feelings & keep in touch
with those who care most

Stay healthy - Eat well Care for yourself as you
and stay active care for others

26

Staying Safe

E-Safety Tips This Winter

1. Do not talk to strangers online. 1. Wear sturdy footwear, with a good grip.
2. Check the weather and wrap up warm.
2. Do not take part in cyber-bullying or spread 3. Avoid cold drinks.
mallicious messages. 4. Take it slowly and allow yourself extra time

3. Block people who are abusive towards you to get from A to B, so you don’t find yourself
or worrying. having to make a last minute dash to get to
the bus etc.
4. Remember to protect your passwords and 5. Keep an eye on what is underfoot. Some
change them frequently. places will remain icy for longer than others
(e.g. places that do not get the sun).
5. Take a screen shot of anything which 6. If you have neighbours who are elderly/
worries you and tell a responsible adult. disabled/new mums etc. offer to pop to the
shops for them.
6. Use the REPORT function on social media
apps if you are worried about what you see. Key Dates

Useful Contacts 20th Dec - Last Day of Term

1. NSPCC - if you are worried that a child 21st Dec - Christmas Holidays
might be at risk of harm 0800 800 500
6th Jan - Inset Day
2. Childline - if you are worried that a child
might be at risk of harm 0800 1111 7th Jan - Spring Term Begins

3. Forced Marriage Unit - 0800 800 500 or 17th - 21st Feb - Half Term Holidays
email [email protected]
6th April - Easter Holidays
4. Young Minds Mental Health Charity -
0207 089 5050 20th April - Inset Day

5. Young Carers Birmingham - 0121 227 7000 21st April - Summer Term Begins
or email [email protected]

6. FGM - Muslim Women’s Network 0121 236
9000 or email [email protected]

7. NHS Direct - for non-emergency health
issues 111

8. Hopeline UK - 0800 068 4141 or email
[email protected]

9. Brook Advisory Service - for concerns about
sexual health 0121 237 5700

27

Golden Hillock Road | Birmingham | B11 2QG
0121 773 8156 | [email protected]
@ArkBoulton

© 2019 Ark Boulton Academy. All Rights Reserved.


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