Royal Docks Academy Newsletter Dec 2018

Message from Mr Blaney Issue 2
Dec 2018
Executive Headteacher
behaviour and attitude of our fantastic pupils. This, I am
Dear Parents, Carers and Families sure will make you very proud.

Welcome to our special Christmas edition newsletter. The PMLD concert took place this week and it was great
We have had another very busy term with pupils and to see so many parents and carers there to join in with
staff taking advantage of numerous opportunities and the festive celebrations – the event is always well
challenges that have been provided and I hope you supported and a highlight of the year.
enjoy reading about some of them in this newsletter.
Year 11 pupils are working hard towards their GCSEs next
All year groups have participated in numerous year and it has been wonderful to see them studying
educational visits over the term including a Year 11 visit after school and on Saturday mornings. I would like to
to Walton-on-Naze as part of their Geography studies, thank staff for giving up their time to support these
Year 10 visited the Houses of Parliament and had the pupils to achieve to the best of their potential.
opportunity to listen to the Prime Minister deliver her
historic Brexit address, Year 9 visited Kings College, Year As you know, we have the highest expectations for our
8 visited the London Aquarium and Year 7 have had trips pupils and I continue to be impressed with how smart
to support their science, geography and PE studies. We they look. Please continue to support and the school to
know how important these trips and visits are and we maintain these high standards of dress and presentation.
look forward to the new term filled with many more in- The school uniform policy is on our website, but if you
cluding visits to Richard House Trust, a local charity for have any queries, please contact the school to seek
children with life limiting and life threatening medical clarification. Just one note on mobile phones. I know
conditions and in February Year 7 pupils will be parents and carers are keen for our pupils to have these
attending a residential trip to Aberdovey in Wales. as this allows you to contact them at the end of the day.
I do however need to remind you that these must be
In November, our high achieving ex-Year 11 pupils switched off throughout the school day. If a pupil is seen
returned to school to collect their awards presented to with a mobile phone this is confiscated immediately and
them by the Chair of Governors in the presence of their will not be available for collection from my office until
families. It was wonderful to celebrate with this group 3.20 p.m. as I am on duty at the school gates at the end
of pupils who achieved the best set of results in the of each day.
school’s history.
I look forward to welcoming back all of our pupils for the
Last week, Lord Ousely a British parliamentarian, who spring term which begins on Friday 4th January 2019 at
has run public authorities, including local councils, and is 8.30 a.m. This will be week A on the timetable.
an adviser and reviewer of public services organisations
visited the school and spoke with Year 9, 10 and 11 I will take this opportunity to thank you for your
pupils. We were very fortunate to have Bruce Daisley, continued support and I wish you all a very Merry
CEO of Twitter UK and Cllr. James Beckles visit the school Christmas and happy New Year.
and speak with Year 10 pupils this week. As always, all
our guests and visitors continue to be impressed by the Warmest wishes

John Blaney
Executive Head Teacher

FRONT PAGE: MESSAGE FROM Mr Blaney, Executive Headteacher
Pg4: English Department News
Pg 5: Mathematics News
Pg 6 - 7: MFL Trip to France
Pg 8 - 9: Geography, Learning Outside the Classroom
Pg 10 - 11 Geography Must Read Books
Pg 12 -13: PMLD Department News
Pg 14 -15: Year 9 & 10 Visit to Parliment
Pg 15: Visit from Lord Ouseley
Pg :16 - 17: Science News
Pg 18: Science Trip to ‘Centre of the Cell’ in London
Pg 19 - 23: Head of Year 7 - 11 News
Pg 24 - 26: Drama, Music & Dance News
Pg - 27: New Cross - Country Championships
Pg - 27: Year 8 football News & Year 7 - 8 Netball News
Pg 28- 29: Art & Photography News

- Every Picture Tells a Story & Photography Portrait Strategies
Pg 30 - 33: History Reading Club
Pg 34 - Nurture Year 7 Art group
And much more



English Department News

We are delighted to announce that Ms. Borland, our Head of Faculty, has been
appointed as Assistant Headteacher at Burnt Mill Academy, which is part of
BMAT. She will be missed by staff and pupils at RDA however we are delight-
ed that she has been afforded this fabulous opportunity, and we wish her
well in this new and exciting role.

Parents, and indeed our lovely pupils, as you are no doubt aware, the key to suc-
cess at school is building strong literacy skills. As we approach the festive

season, a traditional time to exchange gifts, we would like to encourage you
to consider adopting an Icelandic tradition called Jolabokaflod, or
“Christmas Book Flood”. This is where books are

exchanged on Christmas Eve and everyone spends the night reading a book that they have received. Whilst some of
us are more traditional and prefer paper books that we can later swap, others might favour e-books that are conven-
ient to pack and take on holiday. Whatever your choice, indulging in this pleasant pastime helps stimulate thought,

whilst transporting you into realms often beyond your imagination. You emerge from it wiser and with a richer vo-
cabulary. A perfect win-win situation for our future generation of leaders.

RDA pupils flex their creative muscles in Young Writers
poetry competition.

A number of talented writers from years 7 to 11 took part in the Young Writers’ Poetry
Escape Competition in the first half term, giving themselves a chance to have their

original compositions published (and to land an equally enticing £100 prize!). Tackling
subjects such as current affairs and the future, the poems submitted reflected the

wealth of writing talent at RDA and the standard of entries really impressed the Eng-
lish department. All entries brought achievement points for their writers, and the over-

all winners, who were presented with copies of the poetry collection Overheard in a
Tower Block by Joseph Cuelho, were as follows:

2nd place – Lara Marah and Aisha Creary (Year 10)
1st place – Mahek Rabbani (Year 10)
Well done to these budding poets.

Team English would like to wish you all
a wonderful festive season and a happy New Year.

4

Well done to all pupils on the positive attitude you Department
have been demonstrating in your lessons. Please
ensure that you continue to revise at home. Keep for those who are thinking of studying mathematics at
the A-level.
this up.
Up-coming Event: UK Intermediate Mathematical
Please remember to have your equipment ready Challenge
for your lessons.
Next term the Maths Department will be selecting pu-
These are calculator (CASIO), mathematics set, pils from all year groups to enter the UK Junior and
pens and pencils. Intermediate Mathematical Challenge.

Assessments are on-going for all year groups There are after school revision sessions for:
throughout the academic year so please continue Year 11 on Wednesday from 3:00 p.m to 4:00 p.m
to take these seriously as they will help us to see Year 10 on Thursdays from 3:00 p.m to 4:00 p.m

how much you are progressing. Happy holidays to you all.
Mrs Mittal, Head of Faculty,
Year 11

Pupils in year 11 remember to revise thoroughly
for your up-coming mock 2 in February 2019 using
Hegarty maths and past exam papers. All year 11
pupils should have received at least one set of Tar-
get books from their maths teacher. Please speak
to your teacher for guidance on the books needed.

Please note the following dates for your continued
class assessments:

16th & 30th January and February 13th 2019.

Master classes at New Vic College

The Maths and Science Faculties will again next
year (January and February 2019) be sending a
group of pupils to the Mathematics & Science mas-
ter classes at New Vic college. The pupils will be in
maths focusing on the grades 8 and 9 topics in or-
der to have a better understanding of these topics
at the GCSE level and to be introduced to the de-
mand and rigor of the topics which will be needed

Answer: Bear = 2, christmas
tree = 11, present = 7. Then 2 +
11 + 7 = 20

5

MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES:
RESIDENTIAL TRIP TO FRANCE

The Modern Foreign Languages department led a
two-day visit to northern France, for 43 pupils, on
Monday 3rd & Tuesday 4th December 2018.
We began the first day with chocolate fun at choco-
late workshop at P&J Chocolates in Calais. Congrat-
ulations to David who won the quiz. We then
moved on to the picturesque, historic town of Lille.
There were plenty of photo opportunities around
town, with shops decorated for Christmas and the
Christmas fair in full flight. We explored the varied
and colourful stalls of the Marché de Noël, the
Christmas market, full of decorations, gifts, souve-
nirs and lots of tasty goodies; especially popular
were the crêpes au chocolat. Our home for the
night was Château d’Ebblinghem, where we re-
ceived a warm welcome and enjoyed a three-
course evening meal. We also enjoyed (well, most
people!) some snail tasting and some evening en-
tertainment.

On the second day we visited Boulangerie Le
Fournil in Wierre-Effroy, where pupils were taught
us how to make croissants and bread, then tucked
into fresh pains au chocolat and croissants. Pupils
will never forget the ingredients to make a crois-
sant after this!
The afternoon was spent in Boulogne-sur-Mer, for
a hypermarket visit, lunch-stop and some enter-
tainment at Bec à Suc sweet factory.



Geography ly showing independent learning skills.
fieldwork in the
UK mostly com- Here is some of the fantastic and positive
prises of record- feedback I gathered
ing data in gale
force winds and ‘I didn’t really know what TNC stands for but
the driving rain, now I do (Trans National Corporation) then
trying to stop proceeded to write ‘THIS WAS THE BEST LES-
soaked worksheets from getting destroyed by the SON’.
elements. So I thought, why not provide this char-
acter building experience to some of the current ‘I like hunting questions.’
year 7s and 8s on a blustery November day? The
grounds of The Royal Docks Academy are ideal for ‘I didn’t quite understand what the United Na-
planning outdoor activities because they are spa- tions was but now I know what it means,’
cious and have a variety of land uses i.e. tarmac,
benches, grass, trees etc. Q: Was there anything you struggled with be-
fore this lesson that you understand now?
Pupils had to find a series of 6 locations dotted
around the school grounds. They had 6 figure grid A: ‘Reading colour coded areas. Learning map
references, for 6 locations and a map. Each point 6 figure grid reference’
had a different question connected to globalisa-
tion. Q: Would you like more geography lessons
outside?
All our pupils got involved. Some displayed real
leadership qualities while others worked excellent- A: ‘Yes because its fun and you can get to
learn new things and its so, so, so fun …….
BEST LESSON EVER.’

‘Its more engaging and it makes you learn
with an attitude saying this is fun’

8

The Winners!!

9

Many authors use the geographic perspective when crafting novels, stories, or
other works of fiction. The relationship between people and their natural and
constructed environments is often a key part of a story’s plot, theme, or setting.

Here are some works of fiction that make good use of the geographic perspective,
recommended by National Geographic staff.

Young Readers

1. The Arrival, by Shaun Tan. “Chronicles the alienation and strangeness of migration,
all through pictures. Absolutely gorgeous. A man leaves his wife and child in an impov-
erished town, seeking better prospects in an unknown country on the other side of a
vast ocean. He eventually finds himself in a bewildering city of foreign customs, peculi-
ar animals, curious floating objects, and indecipherable languages.”
—Mary Crooks, illustrator

2. The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, by Don Rosa. “Following a young Scrooge
McDuck through his harrowing adventures across the globe, this book uncovers his ex-
plorations in the incredible wilderness and frontiers in turn-of-
the-century Africa, Australia and America.”
—Zach Michel, contractor (oceans)

3. "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi", a story from The Jungle Book, by Rudyard Kipling. "An adventure
story about a courageous family pet . . . and colonialism. A wild Indian grassland and
all its indigenous creatures are colonized by fences, guns, and the English language.
Bonus: Every twitch of Rikki-Tikki's whiskers, every sophisticated allegory, translates
beautifully to Chuck Jones' 1975 animated feature."
—Caryl-Sue, senior writer/editor

Young Adult

1. Dust, by Joan Frances Turner. “A novel about the end of the world as it would look
like in northwest Indiana, told from the point of view of a teenage zombie. Are the shores of Lake Michigan
responsible for creating the walking dead?”
—Mary Schons, reporter

2. Call of the Wild, by Jack London. “Buck, a family pet, is stolen from his California home, transported to
Alaska, and forced to become a sled dog during the Klondike Gold Rush. Buck struggles to survive in the
primitive environment of the Canadian wilderness. An American classic.”
—Nancy Wynne, educator reviewer

3. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis. “A wicked queen casts a spell over
an entire land, sending it into a climactic ice age, forcing animals and plants to adapt or
die. Four British children—and a lion—save the day, returning the land to its balmy, happy
state. If only real-world climate problems were this simple!”
—Sean O’Connor, project manager (educational maps)

4. The Countess Below Stairs, by Eva Ibbotson. “Anna Grazinsky has spent an idyllic child-
hood as part of a loving family in St. Petersburg, having picnics on the banks of the Neva
River and skating there during the long winters. But revolution forces her family to flee,
making their way to England, where Anna becomes a maid at a lovely English country
home known as Mersham, located in Wiltshire. There she meets the young earl, home

from WWI, to assume his responsibilities as head of the estate even though he long dreamed of accompa-
nying one of his professors on far-flung archaeological expeditions.”
—Cathy Hunter, librarian

5. True Grit, by Charles Portis. "Fourteen-year-old Mattie Ross is a force to be reck-
oned with. When her father is murdered and the killer, Chaney, escapes into Indian
Territory, she negotiates the hire of retired U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn to bring the
scoundrel to justice. Together, the unlikely pair trail a gang of criminals across hills
and plains, often followed by Texas Ranger LaBoeuf, who has his own reasons to ar-
rest Chaney. From silver mines to rattlesnake dens, the geography of this particular
time and place alters the choices and fates of the characters as they seek their ambi-
tions."
—Alison Michel, associate producer (educational media)

6. The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho. “A young shepherd named Santiago ventures from
Spain to Egypt in search of hidden treasure at the pyramids. He experiences different
people and cultures as he passes through small villages, crosses a vast desert, and hunkers down in an oasis.
A novel that reads like a fable, it's a story about the journey, not the destination.”
—Jeannie Evers, copy editor

7. Maniac Magee, by Jerry Spinelli. “This book follows the story of Jeffrey ‘Maniac’
Magee, a young orphaned boy in an imaginary town in Pennsylvania called Two Mills.
Two Mills is divided along racial lines and ‘place’ plays a huge role in the story, as Ma-
niac navigates his way around town, making both friends and enemies in his search
for a family.”
—Samantha Zuhlke, contractor (oceans)

8. The Wanderer, by Sharon Creech. “Thirteen-year-old Sophie, her cousins, and her
uncles sail 2,600 miles across the Atlantic Ocean from Connecticut to England. They
travel up the North American coast from Long Island Sound to Martha’s Vineyard,
through Cape Cod and the Gulf of Maine to Nova Scotia, and along the Gulf Stream
and Labrador currents to Ireland, finally landing in Wales. There’s fun, adventure,
laughs, and danger all along the way as they explore so many places, from deserted islands to the bustling
city of London.”
—Kara West, copy editor

9. Ten Cents a Dance, by Christine Fletcher. “This is a historical novel of Chicago. The attempt of a teenage
worker to escape her drudgery in the packing-house assembly line leads her to a secret career in the dance

halls of the depression. The time and place are what drive the plot and the char-
acters' motivations. This story could not have happened anywhere else.”
—Mary Gilbert, librarian

10. Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson. “Obviously, it's geographic be-
cause its main plot centers around a map! The story infuses human, historical,
and economic geographic aspects!”
—Winn Brewer, researcher
11. The Winter King, by Bernard Cornwell. “A great King Arthur book! It takes
place all over the British Isles, from Wales to Scotland to Britain; has historical
basis for many of the battles; and descriptions of the landscape and how they
are living in it. It's exciting, good reading, and is in a series of three.”
—Valerie Ostenak, artist

11

PMLD DEPARTMENT

In literacy this term, pupils in the resourced provision have been working on various sto-
ries. Pupils had the opportunity to be part of the biggest film festival in the world , kind cour-
tesy of Into Film Festival. Pupils were very engaged with this film as it was interactive and
Autism friendly.

The Tempest

This term the resourced provision has been having Drama as part of their Creative Arts. All pu-
pils studied the Tempest from Shakespeare. They learnt about the main characters, Prospero,
Caliban, Miranda and Ferdinand. Pupils enjoyed the drama, learnt the plot and practiced the
lines, which are written in old English.
On Tuesday, 11th of December in the afternoon
pupils from the unit will run a workshop for their
Year 8 peers during their English lesson. On
Wednesday the 12th of December they will show
off their play as part of the unit’s Christmas con-
cert.

12

Pupils in NO8 continue to learn in a stimu-
lating way using personalised strategies to
engage them in stimulating lessons. Pupils
have had diverse opportunities to engage, ex-
plore, discover and take part in varied hands-
on activities to stimulate their senses and
learn by association. Learning in NO8 is al-
ways an interesting and exciting time where
pupils are always ea-
ger to discover and
feed their curiosity .

Citizenship Department News

Visit to Parliament

Year 9 & Year 10 Citizenship
classes took a trip to Parlia-
ment on Thursday 15th No-
vember. Pupils were given a
tour of the Palace of West-
minster at the start of the
day. Ludmila Falcas 9A was
impressed by the surround-
ings. “Parliament looked
beautiful there were so many
sculptures and statues of im-
portant people including Emmeline Pankhurst and Winston Churchill. You could feel the atmosphere every-
where in Parliament.”

This was a great day to visit Parliament as the Prime
Minister was delivering her BREXIT statement in the
House of Commons. Pupils were lucky enough to get in
to see the Prime Minister at the despatch box respond-
ing to questions from MPs.
Charlotte Marshall 9T said “We witnessed Theresa May
debating in the House of Commons. It was an inter-
esting trip and I didn’t know that anyone can watch the
House of Commons in action.” Irsha Amir 9W added
“My experience in Parliament was mesmerising. I saw a
live debate with Theresa May! It was really educational and hopefully I’ll be part of the House of Commons
in the future.”

During the visit pupils also took part in a Participating in Democracy workshop. This involved creating a
political party with two manifesto promises and what budget they would cut to pay for them or which
taxes they would raise.

Lujain Bahri 9A said “Our trip to Parliament
was very educational and interesting. I think
it is a very educational experience for the
people that have chosen Citizenship GCSE or
anyone going into public service in the fu-
ture because it helps us learn more about
Parliament in a fun way.”

On the way out of Parliament we got to see
the politicians being interviewed by the me-
dia who were constantly being drowned out by the attempts of the pro and anti BREXIT protestors to be
heard. It was an excellent opportunity for our pupils to see democracy in action.

Visit from Lord Ouseley

On Monday 3rd December, GCSE Citizenship pupils from Year 9, 10 and
11 had the pleasure of hearing Lord Ouseley speak about his life, his
public service and his time in the House of Lords.

Our pupils asked a number of interesting questions, including Lord
Ouseley’s thoughts on diversity in Parliament, reform of the Lords,
what his biggest accomplishment has been and the importance of
young people being active citizens.



Exciting News

Year 9 and 10 Business Pupils studying the new BTEC Level 2 Tech Award in En-
terprise started from September 2018

Year 9 and 10 Pupils will receive a practical introduction to life and work as an entrepreneur. They will de-
velop an aptitude for planning and researching an enterprise idea. They will develop skills and ways of
working that are important for enterprise. Pupils will complete three components over two years, two are
assignment based and one is an external exam.

Component 1 Component 2 Component 3

Exploring enterprises. Learners will Planning for and pitching an enter- Promotion and finance for enterprise.
examine different enterprises to devel- prise activity. Learners will select an Learners will explore different promo-
op knowledge and understanding of idea for a small enterprise activity to tional methods used by enterprises
the characteristics of enterprises and plan and pitch their own business plan and the factors that influence them.
the skills needed by entrepreneurs. to an audience. They will also explor financial docu-
ments and how to use them to moni-
tor and improve performance.

The course is assessed through assignments with the exception of the promotion and finance for enterprise
component which will be assessed by an exam lasting two hours and is worth 40% of the overall grade. The
assignments will include a variety of assessment methods including case studies, observations, presenta-
tions and time constrained assessments. Pupils will achieve pass, merit or distinction grades in their assign-
ments. They will then be awarded an overall Pass, Merit, Distinction or Distinction* for the whole course.

Pupils in year 7 went on a Science trip to
‘Centre of the cell’ in London during this
term. Centre of the cell is a Science educa-
tion centre based at Queen Mary, University
of London. It is the first education centre in the world to
be located within biomedical research la-
boratories.

The pupils had the opportunity to see scien-
tists working in Laboratories as well as gain-
ing the invaluable experience to learn about
the parts of a cell through various interac-
tive activities.

Pupil’s comments about the trip

I liked when we went to the hanging cell and when the
nucleus opened, we got to learn about cells and play
fun games. (Theo Burns, year7)

I enjoyed it as we saw real life body parts and what
they do. (Umar Shafique, year 7)

I liked seeing real cells inside your body
(Jethesen, year 7)

Pupils in year 8 went to the London aquarium where they multiple types of sea animals. We also saw penguins,
had a wonderful experience of observing some amazing sharks, jellyfish, sea stars and many other types of fish.
sea creatures and how they live in their habitats. (Ariana Mucenic, year 8).
Pupil’s comments about the trip

The London aquarium trip was very interesting. We saw

Year 7 News

Year 7 had a successful start in secondary school environment. Staff across the school have spoken highly of the pupils
ability in academics, behaviour and attitude to learning. Year 7 pupils have had an opportunity to be involved in the
Road Safety awareness drama presentation as well as get involved in the year 6 open evening.

There has been a total of 2,243 achievement points awarded across the year group and 1057 have
been for excellent effort. Well done to all!

Congratulations to the pupils below for 100% attendance Congratulations to the pupils below for 100% punctuality

Year 8 News

Year 8 are off to a fantastic start to the new academic year, with over 2000 Achievement points so far since September.
This term Year 8 have been busy with exciting science trips and some have even been lucky enough to go to France.
There will also be many more exciting opportunities for other trips this year such as Outward Bounds.

They have been taking part in Homework Club and many other extra- curricular activities at lunch time and after school.
Many of the year group are enthusiastic sportsmen and women, they have been training hard and playing matches with

other schools come rain or shine. Well done Year 8, keep working hard!
We have a number of pupils with 100% attendance.

We have a number of pupils with 100% attendance. Some pupils have an amazing amount of achieve-
ment points:

Here is how the attendance league table is looking so far:

20

Year 8 News

Having joined Royal Docks Academy in September 2018, I am every morning with their form tutors. Although, regular reading
delighted to be part of a rich, vibrant, wonderful and dynamic helps pupils in key areas such as vocabulary and concentration, it
community. As Head of Year 9 it is a pleasure to lead such an also fires their imagination and encourages them to think crea-
impressive year group. tively. Above all, we feel this, in addition to their studies and
extracurricular activities, will allow them the freedom to imagine
Beginning their GCSE programme in year 9, it is encouraging to a whole range of exciting possibilities for their future studies and
see the year group embrace their studies with such enthusi- careers.
asm and confidence. This year, the pupils are studying new
subjects such as business studies, sociology, philosophy, pho- The following pupils are to be applauded for their
tography, statistics, film studies and fine arts. This wide rang- excellent attendance this term. This is very pleas-
ing KS4 programme aims to develop interest, engagement and
exploration within all pupils. ing and bodes well for future attainment.
In the age of social media, it is refreshing to see year 9s reading

21

Year 10 News

Year 10 have had a very successful start to their GCSEs. Many members of staff have praised the Year 10 pupils for their ma-
turity, their dedication towards their studies, and for their enthusiasm for the work they are completing. Year 10 pupils have
been given the opportunity to visit Parliament, London City Airport, and the Excel Centre to name but a few, and each time

they have been exemplary representatives of the school.
I am very proud of the improvements many pupils have made in terms of their behaviour, as demonstrated by the reduction
of referrals, their punctuality and I am delighted by the number of achievement points they have been awarded! Together,

Year 10 have accrued four thousand and one-hundred achievement points since September – this is outstanding!
I’d like to wish you all a very merry Christmas, a safe and happy holiday and a wonderful new year.

22

Year 11 News

This has been a very busy term for year 11, they have showed an excellent level of commitment to both
revision and also dealing with the pressure of the most recent PPE’s. A very positive start to the year. Year
11 will now have their predicted grades and must do everything they can to ensure all colleague applica-

tions are completed and sent off before the start of January.
Organisation for attending College interviews

Firstly can I please ask that parents encourage pupils to try and book interviews, out of school time, to lim-
it the disruption to their learning in this vitally important final year. For pupils to be released from school

to attend an interview they will need the following:
Evidence of the appointment, (this may come in the form of an email, letter of text but must be print-

ed and a copy handed in.
A letter from parents giving permission for pupils to be released from school to attend the interview.
Pupils need to ensure they are aware of the Journey time and method beforehand, pupils will be dis-
missed with ample time to get to the interview, but will not be afforded time to go home etc. Pupils are

expected to attend interviews in full school uniform.
Congratulations to the following pupils for achieving 100% attendance for the first term,

this will look fantastic ion your school reference to college.

23

DRAMA, MUSIC & DANCE NEWS

The Lion King
On 13th Sept 2018, thirty Per-
forming Arts Pupils had the
pleasure of attending a trip to
see ‘The Lion King in London’s
West End. This was and exciting
trip which gave pupils the op-
portunity to watch talented per-
forming arts professionals at
work. All pupils thoroughly en-
joyed the production and left
feeling exhilarated and inspired.
Well done Year 7

Open Evening
Our Year 7 drama pupils are to be
commended. After only one week in
our school, they devised a Physical
Theatre play and acted it out several
times during the Year 6 open evening.
Visitors and staff were thoroughly im-
pressed by the professionalism and
performance skills that they displayed

Kojo Funds

On Wednesday 3rd October, per-
forming arts pupils had a very
special visit from the British rap-
per and Singer Kojo Funds. Many
of the pupils didn’t know that Kojo once attended
Royal Docks School in 2006.

He returned to our school to share his talent with
our pupils and inspire them to succeed in their own
lives. He was happy to take selfies with our pupils
and gave an inspirational one on one talk with as-
piring musicians. Our pupils were very excited to
have the opportunity to meet him – with one of our
Year 8s stating ‘That’s my life complete!’

Importantly, he spoke about using opportunities to
create freedom, especially to travel and see new
things. He advised them to see school life positively
and to take advantage of the support offered to
them.

24

Elderly Tea Party
On 5th October 2018, GCSE Music pupils had the op-
portunity to show off their talents by performing at
the Elderly Tea party. They sang songs as a choir
and three pupils delivered stunning solos. They rep-
resented the music department with pride. Well
done.

Road Safety Performance

Year 7 pupils had the opportunity to watch a live theatre perfor-
mance on 9th October 2018 which was designed to teach them
about the dangers of distraction when crossing roads. They thor-
oughly enjoyed the performance and actively engaged with the
workshop at the end of the show. They learned about the im-
portance of not being distracted whilst crossing the road.

Dance Trip to the Ballet

On the 10th October 2018, GCSE Dance pupils
went to the local theatre to watch a Ballet double
bill. The Black Ballet Theatre Company performed
two ballets. The first was a version of ‘A Midsum-
mers Night’s Dream’ and the second was an origi-
nal devised pieced performed. Our dance pupils
were mesmerised by the classical dance ballet
sequences and thoroughly enjoyed the show.
Kirsty said “miss I really want to be on the stage”.
This was an inspiring moment for our girls and we
look forward to their future choreography and
performances.

Lower KS4 Performances
GCSE Drama pupils in Year 9 and Year
10 devised a play which was designed
to teach younger pupils about a topic
of their choice. They tackled issues
such as dementia, Homophobia, Ac-
ceptance of the religion of others and
coping with stress. They performed
their plays live to Year 8 pupils. These
plays were sensitive and informative.
They are to be congratulated for the
information that they passed on to
their younger peers.

MORE DANCE…..

Lower KS4 Performances

GCSE Dance pupils in Year 9 devised a Contemporary routine based on elements from three different contemporary
choreographers and dancers to create their own routine. In their routines they looked at incorporating different an-

gled arm and leg combinations as well as expressing emotion, balances and even attempting lifts. They per-
formed these routines live to Year 8. Each pupil worked really
hard to create their routines and this effort was shown in
their wonderful performance pieces.

Year 7- Year 9 girls have been attending dance club weekly at lunch times and have
been learning different dance moves to take part in and complete different dance rou-
tines. Just recently before half-term, the girls completed a Street-dance routine to ‘Dua Lipa’s New
Rules’ which looked really great! And now with Laura and Sara (YR 9) taking the lead in teaching us the
Spanish dance ‘Salsa’. The girls each week bring an enthusiastic energy to the club and their dancing skills
have really developed into these fabulous routines! Keep up the great work!

26

Newham Cross-Country Championships PHYSICAL EDUCATION

During October Royal Docks Academy sent 32 pupils to participate in the Newham Schools Cross-Country Champi-
onships, on Wanstead Flats. The following pupils finished in the top ten:-

BOYS: Year 10: Noah Mawusa – 9th placed
GIRLS: Year 8 & 9: Laura Humienna – 3rd place Rebecca Hunt – 4th place
Year 10: Deborah Fofana – 7th place Gabriele Kripaityte – 8th place
Laura went on the represent Newham in the London School Cross-Country Championships at Parliament Hill.
Congratulations to all who took part.

The year 8 football team got back to winning ways with an excellent 2-0 victory over a strong Langdon team. An
excellent defensive display, marshalled by Reuben Nuauna kept the Langdon front line at bay, and when it was
breached, Amin Obe, produced a string of fine saves.

Tulio Carvalho Lopes was superb in midfield, showing great attitude and stamina. Docks clinched victory with goals from Jay-
den and Jerome Thomas. The team face a tough tie against Brampton in the Newham cup on Thursday and will hope to build on
this success.

Sqaud: Amin Obe (Capt), Jerome Thomas, Jaydan Gayle, Izhar Khamis, Nana Kouffour, Denis Catana, Ahmed Mohamed, Mi-
chael Texeira, Tulio Carvalho Lopes, Jesus Enahuro Ogbeide, Jao Mendes, T.J Niland, Ryan Dadpour, Frances Mendy

Royal Docks year 7 and 8 teams played their first game of Netball against Bobby Moore Academy in Stratford. It
was a tough first match, and we have learnt a lot to bring into our next games from this loss. The girls practice on
Tuesday’s after school, and have a full program of matches in the new year.

Team list against Bobby Moore Academy:

Year 7 team: 7A
7G
1 Sabina Memia 7A
2 Bianca Constantin 7E
3 Seffi Sillah Touray 7A
4 Courtney Duffy 7A
5 Mariah Hoque 7A
6 Maira Viana 7E
7 Megi Vaionis
8 Yuuki Hy 8E

Year 8 team: 8T

1 Giulia Martins Pian

2 Gracie Leigh Miller

3 Rejuanna Monrose 8S

4 Laura Hiraldo Ramiriz 8S 27
5 Melissa Miftari
6 Rosheen Naniwono 8V
7 Thea Callender 8T
8G
8 Laura Humennia 8S

Year 9 – GCSE Fine Art “Every RT
picture tells a story”
Sara Moral
Year 9 Fine Art have been exploring how to
construct a composition for the study of “every
picture tells a story” this Autumn term. They
have analysed the rule of thirds to help them
organise their composition and they have dis-
covered how metaphors in Art have symbolic
value that contextualises their story. What was
most powerful is that each pupil was able to
create their own story which proves the idea of
different “ways of seeing” (John Berger)

Libby- J Carter

Alexandra-Elena Hriscu

Victoria Rotaru

28

Year 10 Photography
Portrait strategies

Year 10 GCSE photography have been studying
portraiture this term and particularly focusing

on specific portrait strategies.
They have realised that we don’t “take a pho-

tograph rather that we make a photo-
graph!” (Bill Brandt)

The knowledge and understanding of portrait
strategies have transformed the way they now

view portrait photography.









Royal Docks Academy are excited to have launched a KS3 Nurture Group this year. The group has
been established to allow pupils to receive academic and emotional support within a much small-

er group. Pupils enjoy all aspects of the curriculum including more traditional subjects such as
Maths, English and Science but also subjects including Spanish, Art and Performance Studies. The
engagement, enjoyment and progress of pupils has been fantastic so far, but we are particularly
proud of their achievements within their Art lessons.

“My Nurture year 7 Art group are so eager to
learn. Their progress during our Art lessons has
been outstanding! I would like to thank Mr An-
dre Maize for his tireless hard work and enthu-
siasm with this nurture group as a wonderful
TA” Ms Kitouni

34

35

Any pupil having to take To All Pupils,
medication during school hours, Parents and
must hand it in to Medical, in its
original packaging with a Carers
completed Medication Agreement From
form which must be signed and The Royal
completed by their parent/carer, at Docks
the beginning of the day. Academy,
enjoy your
If the medication is prescribed by the GP a note Christmas break
should also be put in their planner stating what time
of day the pupil needs to go to medical in order to
take the medication.

No pupil is allowed to carry medication in their
pockets or in their bag except Inhalers or Auto
injectors (EpiPen/Emerade for Anaphylaxis).

The “only” over the counter medication authorised
by the school without a prescription is Paracetamol
which must be in its original packaging. All other
medication must be prescribed by a GP.