1

Coura

geous

Hound

Volume. 5 Issue. 15

Friday 12th May

Dear Parents / Carers and Friends of Bolingbroke,

The sun was shining and the grounds were a hive of

activity. Thank you to the enormous number of

volunteers who enabled our 4th Spring Fair to be

our best yet. Thank you to Patti Gnoato and her

team for raising a significant sum for our children’s

resources and mini bus funding.

As we approach our first written GCSE

examinations on Monday I would like to say well

done and all the best to all our Year 11 pupils who

are studying extremely hard for the examination

period. Our Year 11 deserves so much success. We

are so proud of them and how they will excel this

summer.

Examinations are only one part of every child's

education and as you can see from another bumper

issue, so are all the opportunities your child can

enjoy and experience; from Duke of Edinburgh

activities, spelling bee competitions, our first Year 7

& 8 production ‘Blood Brothers’ to university

preparation, work experience and athletics

champ ionsh ip s w i th a spec i a l

congratulations to Amir Sultan-Edwards

– fastest in the country!

I feel exhausted thinking about it all, but

it is all possible because of our amazing

staff at Bolingbroke Academy.

I wish you all a wonderful weekend,

Ms Edis

Principal

ALL OF BOLINGBROKE ACADEMY

WOULD LIKE TO WISH OUR YEAR 11S

ALL THE VERY

BEST OF LUCK IN

THE GCSE EXAMS,

WHICH BEGIN

MOND AY.

GCSE EXAMS

COUNTDOWN

3 DAYS

2

Coura

geous

Hound SPRING FAIR - 6 MAY 2017

Dear All,

A huge thank you to everyone who made the fourth Bolingbroke

Academy Spring Fair such a great success. Funds raised including

Sponsorship from Rochford Stokes totalled £9,537.50 (expenses

to be deducted) - a fantastic result!

Our main sponsors Rochford Stokes were ever supportive both

financially and by their physical presence (with lots of red

balloons!) http://www.rochfordstokes.com

From the Friday night through to the start of the Fair the

Academy was a whirl of action with Parents, Carers, Staff

and Pupils helping to set up and get involved on the day. It

was particularly nice to see the staff presence whether it was

selling 3D art, making (very) gory and realistic wounds, or

manning some of the sports related activities.

A big thank you to Mr. Constantine who one minute was

setting up the karaoke, the next finding more tables and then

fixing a leak - all with a smile on his face!

The food on offer gets better and better every year with many countries represented and showing the rich diversity

of our school community: Ecuadorian, Lebanese, Italian and Indian food as well as Cakes, Hotdogs, Popcorn, Healthy

Juices and Candyfloss all making an appearance.

Well done to all the Competition Winners:

Nia Dale created a wonderful picture that won the Poster

competition and graced the Rochford Stokes Boards.

Winner of the Cake Competition was Eva Burnett (Year 10) who

made the most amazing Rainbow Cake I have ever seen. Apparently,

it tasted yummy too!

The defending Champions from 2016 won the Table Tennis

Competition – Freddy Birkett and Kapinga Bellamy.

The Raffle was tremendously well supported; a big thank you to all our sponsors (who are far too many to mention as

we had over 50 prizes but were listed on the map.) First prize went to Keith Martin, second to Ben Burnett and

third prize to Anita Grant.

3

Coura

geous

Hound SPRING FAIR - 6 MAY 2017

A few specific people to thank:

Oddono's Icecreams are unwavering in their support of school events.

Honeywell and Belleville Schools for helping us out with various pieces

of equipment.

Open Air Fit - Thank you to Melvyn Capleton for giving up his time and

doing a sterling job at Penalty Shoot-out.

The Finance Team at the Academy

Facilities at the Academy

Martin Smith for keeping the tunes going all afternoon.

A special thank you to the energetic Patrizia Gnoato for her unswerving

dedication and hard work in organising the Fair and ensuring it was yet

again a success and to Dawn Evans and her team for organising the

finance and staying up late counting all the proceeds.

I would like to thank all members of the Parent's Association including

those Committee Members not yet mentioned (Katy Kinch, Sandra

Janssens and Stanislas Faure) as well as the wider parent/carer pool for all their hard work and for making it such a

memorable day. I have had many comments from parents and local residents saying what a great event it was and

remarking on the lovely atmosphere. It was truly wonderful to see a mix of people from parents through to local MPs

and neighbours/residents turning up on the day.

Thank you again and see you all next year at the Fifth Bolingbroke

Academy Spring Fair!

Justine Aspey

Parent Governor/Chair of the Parent's Association

4

Coura

geous

Hound

7 BELL RECEIVE A FLYING VISIT FROM

BRITISH AIRWAYS PILOT

7 Bell were joined by assembly guest speaker, British Airways First

Officer James van der Hoorn. It was an exciting lesson for 7 Bell, as

their regular Friday Geography lesson was suspended, and they were

instead invited to a Q&A with a record breaking pilot! Year 7 had

the opportunity to ask James any question they may have ever had

about travel and flying planes, and they certainly made the most of it.

They listened intently as James answered their questions for an hour,

and topics ranged from the recent United Airlines scandal, to

questions about how Captain Sully managed to land his aircraft on

the Hudson River. First Officer James was incredibly impressed at

the variety of inquisitive questions, such as “What was the

worst flight you have ever had?” to “Is it true that the

captain and the first officer cannot eat the same food?”

Bella Grimsey discovered that this rule used to be true,

but with excellent food hygiene now it is not the case

anymore. James was particularly impressed with Freddy

Birkett’s question regarding the risk of radiation from

flying, which put some of Ms Austin’s questions to shame!

DUKE OF EDINBURGH—ROWING Ms Orchin

Each Friday, a group of Year 8 students venture to Barn Elms Boat Club on the River Thames to learn

to row. They receive excellent coaching from London Youth Rowing every week and are improving

rapidly. Recent weeks have seen Florence rowing in a single scull (without falling in!) and the others

making it all the way from Putney to Hammersmith Bridge and back.

There is so much enthusiasm, resilience and

determination in this group - they're a credit to

themselves and to the school when

representing us on the river. Well done

rowers!

5

Coura

geous

Hound

NOTICES

BOLINGBROKE SPELLING BEE Ms Green

Last Friday was the Grand Final of the Bolingbroke Spelling Bee

2017. All pupils across the school participated in a spelling bee in

their civitas group in round 1, completing both a written and

verbal test to find their civitas representative for their house

assembly. In round 2, each civitas representative was entered in

to a sudden death round where one wrong spelling meant they were eliminated from the competition.

Intellect counted more than age with Year 7s Mabel Shepherd and Scarlett Coote-Sandling

demonstrating excellent spelling skills as the youngest competitors, with Scarlett becoming the Erskine

Key Stage champion and going on to represent her house in the whole school assembly. In the final,

Erskine were represented by Salma Awale and Scarlett Coote-Sandling, Smyth were represented

by Charlie Colson and Destinee Sinclair, Klein were represented by Alexa Scutt-Thomson and

Nia Dale, and Verbiest were represented by Glen Trevis and Hettie Shepherd. Nia Dale was the

last Key Stage 3 pupil to survive before leaving the final two - Charlie and Alexa - to battle it out for

the title. Alexa was crowned winner after successfully spelling 'quarantine', which Charlie had faltered

upon. She was the happy recipient of a pair of Beats headphones donated by a previous assembly

speaker, Paul Crisp, regional sales director for EE. All the competitors lived up to their Be Bold values

by showing such bravery and determination in competing in such a nerve wracking situation in front of

the entire school. Well done to all our competitors!

YEAR 8 GIRLS

IMMUNISATIONS

The second HPV immunisations will be

taking place on Tuesday 16th May. If you

are concerned about your child missing out,

a catch-up session may be held at a later

date.

YEAR 11 BREAKFAST

Breakfast will be available to all Year 11

Pupils during the GCSE exam period.

It will be served in the Dining Hall from 8-

8.20am.

ACADEMY PHOTO

POSTPONED

Unfortunately due to the weather conditions

this morning the whole Academy photo has had to be postponed until a later date. New

rearranged date TBC.

PARENT VOLUNTEERS

REQUIRED!

The Humanities department are taking 85

Year 7 pupils to Rochester on Thursday

25th May and we need some volunteers to

help on the trip.

If you are a Year 7 parent and you would

like to volunteer, please contact Ms Oliver

e.oliver@arkbolingbrokeacademy.org by

Tuesday 16th May 2017.

We will be leaving school at 7.45am on

Thursday and returning at approximately

5pm.

6

Coura

geous

Hound PROMOTING POTENTIAL PROGRAMME AT LSE

The programme aims to stimulate interest in the social sciences as well as encourage excitement and

debate, support formal and informal learning and reach new audiences not normally engaged with higher

education.

Pupils have the opportunity to work closely with LSE’s African Caribbean Society, meet LSE academics and

gain an insight into studying at university. The programme consists of:

social sciences workshops and taster sessions

motivational workshops

opportunities to interact with LSE’s African-Caribbean undergraduates

an off-site workplace visit.

We were lucky to have 3 applications accepted this year and below 2 of the boys tell us their thoughts.

LSE is a university located in London. I went on a trip there for three days in the Easter break. Around 50 boys from

state schools with Caribbean origins took part. We learnt about how Sociologists think, the history of hip hop, how to

manage money and how minorities and different genders are treated. The lessons were fun (some more than

others). At the end, there was a very motivational talk, which was as entertaining as it was inspiring. Overall, it was a

very nice experience as I got to learn about life in university.

Jamaine Scarlett. Year 8 Erskine 2.

The university students and other children on the promoting potential programme were very welcoming and made

the university a surprisingly exciting but laid back place for me to visit. My two other friends from Bolingbroke,

Michael and Jamaine also went to the programme with me but Michael was put into a different classroom to

Jamaine and I, so he probably had a very different experience. All three of us travelled to the university together with

Jamaine’s mother. The journey was around 40-50 minutes long on the bus but when we travelled back on the

overground it was a whole different story!

Inside the actual university itself is very big; bigger than any other buildings I have spent time in. The university isn’t

just one building, in fact it is multiple buildings! I’ve actually heard that loads of universities have a multitude of

buildings and that LSE is actually really small compared to other universities.

The university has a multitude of different layers with a big red ball sculpture in the middle of the new building. This

is where Jamaine and I had to split with Michael; the group I was in had very funny and active people compared to

the other groups which were very quiet. We learned about interesting subjects like law and sociology and my group

were highly praised by the visitors that came and taught us. I can’t say enough how much I loved the programme.

Damari Hanson Year 8. Smyth 6.

Feedback from the Widening Participation coordinator at LSE

“We were delighted to welcome Damari Hanson, Jamaine Scarlett and Michael Adomako to LSE’s

Promoting Potential programme on Monday 3 – Wednesday 5 April. It was a really successful three days

and we received a lot of positive feedback from our students.”

7

Coura

geous

Hound

MUSIC AND DRAMA

8

Coura

geous

Hound UNIVERSITY AND CAREERS SUCCESS: WORK EXPERIENCE

What is Work Experience?

Work Experience is an opportunity for Year 11 pupils to spend one or two weeks with an employer in

the workplace. It gives them an opportunity to gain experience within a business environment, learn new

skills, gain confidence in their abilities, relate their learning to the workplace and help them make decisions

about their future.

What are the Aims and Objectives?

Work Experience placements offer our pupils many benefits and learning opportunities:

Employability and key skills: insights into skills and attitudes required by particular sectors and

employers; and an opportunity to develop, practise and demonstrate key skills in a working setting,

in particular, in working with others, communication and improving own learning and performance.

Careers education and guidance: better understanding of changes in the world of work and the

implications these have for their own careers.

Personal and social development: development of increased maturity, with improvements in aspects

such as motivation, self-confidence and interpersonal skills.

What does it involve?

The School delivers a full programme of preparation during Civitas from January. This includes:

Guidance in contacting to employers to find placements.

Explanation of the School Work Experience procedures.

Working through a preparation programme, which includes information on interview skills and

Health and Safety.

Completing a diary while on placement.

Half day to attend interview with employer.

Civitas tutors will visit the pupil while on placement to monitor their progress and speak to the employer.

In addition a half day reflection workshop is held when they come back from placement during which

pupils evaluate their experiences.

Finding a placement

Pupils are encouraged to find their own placement, or as parents you may be able to source

a suitable placement for your son/daughter.

Work experience placements will be checked by BEST the Wandsworth Education and Business

Partnership for their suitability in terms of Health and Safety. Pupils will receive contracts directly from

BEST which should be signed and returned to school as soon as possible.

These BEST inspections include checks on Insurance (all employers must have Employer’s Liability

Insurance without exception) and the Health, Safety and Welfare of the pupil. It is important that when

organising an own placement you are satisfied the company has the correct insurance status and are aware

of welfare issues for students under 16 years of age. i.e. Not being left alone with a single adult or

travelling alone with a single adult.

9

Coura

geous

Hound UNIVERSITY AND CAREERS SUCCESS: WORK EXPERIENCE

Finding a placement cont’d

Pupils wishing to place themselves must ensure that details are handed to Ms Robinson at the earliest

opportunity so that any checks can be made. The deadline for pupils finding their own placement and

informing Ms Robinson is Friday 23rd March. The form attached to this information is required to be

complete and can be sent by email on request from Ms Robinson.

When the ‘own placement’ form is returned to the school, we will confirm the placement with the

employer via a letter explaining the expectations we have of the pupil and the placement and giving details

of the date arranged for a preliminary visit and interview

The pupil will still be expected to attend an interview on the day designated by the school or employer

and complete a Job Description form.

How you can help

Help your child find a replacement

Sign and return the placement form promptly.

Ensure that both the school and employer are notified if the pupil is unable to attend on the

designated days.

Inform us if any difficulties are experienced during the placement.

Encourage the pupil to have a positive approach to the placement, even if it isn’t quite what they

expected.

Ensure that they complete their diary while on placement.

Ensure that they are wearing appropriate clothes for their placement.

Look at this website for ideas: https://successatschool.org/jobscourses/1

Key dates:

In order to ensure that the work experience for your child is of the highest standard we have employed

the support of BEST the Wandsworth Education and Business Partnership at a cost of £55 per pupil. BEST

will complete all Health and Safety checks along with sourcing placements for pupils who do not find their

own.

We hope you have found this information useful. If you require any further information please contact:

Karen Robinson k.robinson@arkbolingbrokeacademy.org

Friday 23rd March Deadline for the return of ‘own placement’ form

July 2016 Induction and interviews take place at the employer

Friday 25th August Check in meeting with Ms Robinson if doing optional

week. In person or by telephone

Tuesday 39th August to Friday 1st Sept Optional week of work experience

Friday 1st September Check in meeting with Ms Robinson in person or by

telephone

Mon 4th Sept to Friday 8th Sept Compulsory week of work experience

10

Coura

geous

Hound

PE & SPORT

WANDSWORTH SCHOOLS ATHLETICS

CHAMPIONSHIPS

YEAR 9 & 10

Wednesday 3rd May saw the Year 9 & 10 Athletics Squad take on the rest of the borough in the annual

Wandsworth Athletics Championships at Battersea Millennium Arena. Pupils were not only looking to compete

and fight for medals, but also book places in the upcoming London Youth Games and the London School

Athletics finals which lead on to the National Athletics Championships.

The weather wasn’t conducive for fast times or big distances, but the pupils competed to the best of their ability

and in a respectful, well behaved manner.

There were excellent performances all round, and the following pupils walked away with medals and places in the

London Youth Games Finals:

Bronze Medallists:

Nneka Ozor –High Jump, Intermediate girls

Indra Traore –Discuss, Intermediate girls

Silver Medallists:

Oghale Erikigo – Long Jump and Discus, junior girls

Joel Rooney –1500m, junior boys – just missed out to the No.1 1500m

runner in the country!

Gold Medallists:

Millie Dakin – 800m, junior girls.

Amir Sultan-Edwards, 200m, junior boys – ran a year group up and won

in an impressive 23.78 seconds.

11

Coura

geous

Hound

WANDSWORTH SCHOOLS ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

YEAR 7 & 8

Wednesday 10th May saw the Year 7 & 8s compete against all the other schools in the borough. The weather was

sunny with warm temperatures…perfect conditions for athletics! The pupils represented the school and

themselves in a glowing light and were superb all day.

The medal winners:

Bronze Medallists:

Day-jon Bartley - Y7 Boys Javelin

Sophie Howarth – Y8 Girls Javelin

Haja Sam – Y7 Girls Long Jump

Desiree Nicole – Y7 Girls 100m

Naarah Bonti-Asamoah – Y8 Girls

100m

Louis Faure – Y8 Boys 300m

Y7 Boys 4x100m relay team – Jack

Hedges, Paul Kerambrun, Nathan

Bonti-Asamoah, Yvan Digbeu

Gold Medallists:

Jack Hedges - Y7 Boys 1500m. Outstanding performance.

Michael Poku – Y8 Boys 100m. Super run!

Frankie Hutcheon – Y7 Boys 200m

Amir Sultan-Edwards – Y8 Boys 200m (23.48 a new PB)

Y8 Boys 4x100m relay team – Amir Sultan-Edwards, Michael Adomako,

Michael Poku, Louis Faure

PE & SPORT

12

PARENT ASSOCIATION

Do you shop on the internet?

Do you use Amazon, Argos, Sports Direct, Apple, John Lewis, (the list of retailers is endless...)

Have you signed up for EASYFUNDRASING?

Then why not?

It's a brilliant way of making money for our children at no extra cost

to you. So far we have made £560 with just 75 members. We want

more parents/carers/family and friends to sign up. Our target is 100

members by the end of term. Go NOW to Bolingbroke Academy

Parent Council - Wandsworth Fundraising Ideas and book you

holiday flights, ferry, train, campsite etc. THANK YOU

*CHANGE OF DATE*

PARENT

ASSOCIATION

MEETING:

Thursday 15th

June

7.30pm @

Bolingbroke

SAVE THE DATE

Thursday June 15 Parent Association Meeting (7:30 - 8:30pm)

Friday June 16 Parent Association Coffee Morning

Friday June 30 Beer & Food Event

Thursday July 6 Summer Music Concert – St Michaels (6:00 - 8:00pm)

JUST GIVING PAGES P.E. AND MUSIC

P.E.

Many pupils enjoy table tennis whether it's in core/GCSE PE lessons, socially at lunch/break times, or during

enrichment. With the growing number of pupils at the Academy our current equipment needs replacing/

upgrading to sustain this offering.

We had 11 tables, we currently only have 5 working tables and our aim is to raise funds to provide for 12

tables. Please help us support the pupils and PE Department with providing much needed table tennis ta-

bles."

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Ark-Schools-Appeal-Bolingbroke-PE-Department-2017

MUSIC

"There are lots of pupils who we would love to give the opportunity to learn new (and rarer) instruments

which would help to widen the variety of instruments in our school band. Please help us support the pupils

and Music Department to raise money to buy these amazing instruments."

Double bass Cello Viola Timpani Bassoon

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Ark-Schools-Appeal-Music-2017

13

Coura

geous

Hound

FAMILY DINING

Week Beginning 22nd May

MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

Mains Red Pesto Pasta

Beef Meatballs in

aromatic Italian

tomato sauce

Roasted Vegetable

Gnocchi with

mozzarella and

tomato sauce

Pork Stir fry with

pak choi

Grilled Chicken

Baguette with

pesto mayo and

spinach

Meat Free As Above

Veggie Balls in

aromatic Italian

tomato sauce

(Vegan and

Vegetarian)

As Above Vegetable stir fry

with pak choi

Grilled Vegetable

baguette with

hummus and

spinach (Vegan )

Grilled Vegetable

baguette with

pesto mayo and

spinach

(vegetarian)

Sides Garlic Bread Penne Pasta & Side

Salad Side Salad

Egg noodles

Rice noodles

(Vegan)

Side salad

Leafy Greens

Puddings Fresh Fruit Sponge Cake with

Orange glaze Fruity flapjack Jelly Yoghurt

Week Beginning 15th May

MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

Mains BBQ Chicken Jacket Potatoes Classic Spaghetti

Bolognese

Grilled Chicken

Kebabs in lemon

and herb sauce

Battered Haddock

Fillet with

homemade tartar

sauce

Meat Free Roast Pumpkin

with BBQ sauce Jacket Potatoes Quorn Bolognese

Vegetable

Kebabs in lemon

herb sauce

Veggie Fingers

Sides Veggie Fried Rice

Beans

Cheese

Tuna

Fresh baked

Baguette slice

Pita Bread

Tzatziki Chips

Puddings Fruit Salad Gooey Chocolate

Brownie Blueberry Yoghurt Eaton Mess Strawberry Jelly

14

Dates may change but we will give you advanced warning for these and any cancellations.

KEY DATES 2016-2017

Date Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11

Monday 15th May—Friday

19th May

Geography

Fieldwork Trip

Monday 15th May GCSE Exams

Begin

Wednesday 24th May Mock Results

Friday 26th May Summer Term 1 Ends

Monday 5th June Summer Term 2 Begins

Wednesday 7th—Friday

9th June

Blood Brother Performances

7pm

Thursday 15th June Parent Association Meeting

7.30pm

Monday 19th-Thursday

22nd June Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Practice Expeditions to Epping Forest

Thursday 22nd June Enrichments Cycle 2 End

Friday 23rd June Final Friday Duke of Edinburgh Session

Monday 26th June Final GCSE

Exam

Thursday 29th June Year 11 Prom

Friday 30th June ARK Gala at the Barbican

Friday 30th June Parent Association Beer and Food Festival

Monday 3rd-Wednesday

6th July

Duke of Edinburgh Silver Assesment Expedition

South Downs

Thursday 6th & Friday 7th

July

INSET Days

School Closed to Pupils