Manchester Creat ive & Media Academy - Hal f Term Newslet ter

MCMA N e w s

Feb

ruar

y 20

17

Dear Parents/Carers,

I do hope that you enjoy reading the newsletter and the different pieces which highlight the range of activities that our pupils continue to take part in. During this half term we have welcomed the Lord Mayor to the academy following a request to visit the academy having seen the pupils' community based work and fundraising on twitter. The pupils were able to speak to him about the range of student led work that they are involved in and it was a real privilege to hear them speak about how their voice has led to real change both within the academy and beyond.

The student voice was also noted in a recent DFE visit, the very positive outcome of which I wrote to you about a few weeks ago. During this visit and in the pupils voice this term, students have spoken positively about their experiences here at MCMA and are proud to be a part of this community.

During the half term, our pupils have been learning more about equity, equality and diversity through a range of form time activities. The Year 10 forms have been presenting their understanding of the different cooperative values and how they link with our own values and the way in which we should act. We were delighted to be able to demonstrate our belief in these values by having the opportunity to share our 'fairtrade journey' with the other cooperative academies at a conference which was held at Angel Square and to inspire the other academies to work to becoming a 'fairtrade school'.

Finally, I am sure that you will have seen our Year 7 football team and our pupils Keaton and Samuel being featured in the new #unitedandme series. Once again, the values that we instil in our pupils were evident through not only their words, but also their actions. We are very proud of this team and what they stand for.

I do hope that you have both a happy and restful half term holiday. I know that the Year 11 pupils in particular have been engaging in additional studies and that they will continue with this after half term. Their commitment is the key to their success and we thank parents/carers in advance for their support.

Happy reading! Mrs Smith

“Inspirational students” says Lord Mayor  

W e were thrilled to welcome The Lord Mayor to the academy on

Tuesday 7th February. The Lord Mayor had contacted the academy having seen the fundrais-ing work that had been done for The George House Trust and was interested in finding out more about the initiatives that the pupils are involved in. Pupils in Year 10 and 11 took the Lord Mayor on a tour of the academy where he visited a range of lessons whilst discussing with the pupils what they enjoy about attending MCMA and their career aspirations. Following the tour, The Lord Mayor was introduced to pupils from our student council who explained the various roles and responsibilities that they have within the MCMA Community. The Lord Mayor discussed with them a range of top-ics from our anti-bullying initiatives through to fund raising. The visit concluded with our GCSE citizenship pupils interviewing the Lord Mayor on his opinions on a wide variety of issues. They were also privileged to hear about his own journey to becoming the Lord Mayor and his

strong association with Manchester, the city and its people. The Lord Mayor later tweeted out, 'Loved this morning's meeting to MCMA. The pupils are so engaged with today's issues in society - I found it truly inspirational!'

W e were invited to our Trust Headquarters ,1 Angel Square, in

Manchester, on 31st January to discuss all things “Fairtrade”. Our students were fantastic ambassadors for our academy sharing ideas and working with other academies from within the trust. We are so proud of our students and our academy values relating to “Fairtrade” and our “Fairtrade Achiever Award”. One of our fellow trust academies tweeted, “Wow, what an amazing bunch of Year 10’s from MCMA . We came away feeling inspired by your fairtrade journey, keep up the good work!”

“Fairtrade” Ambassadors ...

I t was a pleasure to welcome “Freedom Personal Safety” into MCMA during January who are a social enterprise which helps

women, children and young people keep safe physically and emotionally. FPS were working with our Year 9 students launching the strong, safe, resilient course which involved awareness projects on many issues including grooming. Students worked creatively designing posters and banners, writing a song and poetry. We were so pleased to be involved in this project which will raise awareness across the school and beyond.

Y ears 7 and 8 were visited by the BAE Systems Science

Roadshow on 24th January 2017. They were treated to dancing robots, flying drones playing the James Bond theme, a lesson on how to calculate binary numbers using some enthusiastic volunteers, and even a magic trick to show how computers can spot pixel errors! Both year groups gave some fantastic answers to questions, and a group of Year 7’s even gave up their break time so they could talk to Mia the robot.

Our Year 7’s “talk” to Mia the Robot!

T he 8th February 2017 saw our very own final of the “MCMA X Factor.” All of the

students were spectacular with some great performances from Steel Pans and the Soul Band. Well done to our KS3 winner Princess Smith, KS4 winner Eden Devaney, and the overall winner Katie O'Brien. What a showcase for the incredible talent we have at our academy!

Visit from Mayor of Hwaseong City

W e were extremely proud to show the Mayor of Hwaseong City and other visitors around our academy

on 18th January and discuss the Co-operative Academies Trust whilst sharing own co-operative values. During the visit we shared with our visitors the huge number of achievements our students gain at MCMA.

F ollowing our Year 7 student Sam’s inspirational speech when he was

asked to switch on the MUFC Christ-mas lights, he was invited back on 18th January 2017 to speak with and meet the first team players including David De Gea and Zlatin Ibrahimovic. Samuel and his Year 7 football team feature in a video recording Sam’s story and his meeting of these legend-ary players where he not only met the players, but was given a pair of gloves from the Manchester United goalkeep-er himself! Both Sam and his fellow students demonstrated our academy values superbly and their commitment to each other has been noted by all. A huge United fan, Samuel’s message to others is: ‘Never, never, never give up.’

I’m in a wheelchair and I never give up. Just try. Try your hardest.” Samuel is true inspiration to each and everyone of us. United’s goalkeeper David De Gea later tweeted, “Today I met Sam, this great young goalkeeper. I hope that my gloves help him to save everything!” Please view the inspirational video about Sam and his meeting with the first team players at http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/zlatan-ibrahimovic-paul-pogba-david-9795174

T rainee teachers from Manchester Metropolitan University taught python skills to our Year 9 Computer

Science students on 19th January 2017. Students were in groups and had to produce different programmable products to pitch to the executives. A great experience for the trainees and our students.

We welcome Trainee Teachers!

 

 

O ur Year 10 girls attended the MUFC ‘Inspiring Young Women’

event on 26th January 2017 which included a film premiere!

Raising Aspirations

Contact Details

I f your contact details have changed, you must let us know

immediately. It is a potential safeguarding issue if we do not have your up to date details.

O ur Principal was delighted to receive a letter on 20th January 2017 to inform us

that one of our ex-students has been offered a place to study at Cambridge University.

MCMA Events!

O ur Year 11 students visited Old Trafford Cricket Club on

2nd February to attend a conference to help them think about possible University courses in the future. Whilst there, they were given advice about which university to choose, details of student loans and independent learning. It also provided students with ideas on how to start a portfolio of evidence and how to build on it, which can then be presented at interviews. A worthwhile and insightful event.

7 th February 2017 saw some of our Year 10 cohort visit

PZ Cussons to participate in a number of Work Experience workshops exploring the workplace and their own high aspirations. A fantastic event for our students.  

A s part of “Time to Talk” Day here at MCMA we created spaces around the academy for

individuals to ”take time to talk” on 2nd February. Our students interviewed pupils, staff, the Chair of Governors and the Director of the Trust and considered how our values relate to “Time to Talk”.

G reat to hear our eco club representatives’ ideas being shared at our Senior Leadership Team

Meeting on 16th January 2017. Student Voice in action at MCMA!

MCMA SPORTS NEWS!

O ne of our Year 8 students,

Laure Kidukula, took part in her first ever North of England Championships on 5th February and came away with a bronze medal in the 800m! What an achievement – we are proud of you Laure! A future star in the making!

Star in the making !

I t was fantastic to be asked to be the ball crew at the

Under 14’s tennis finals on 20th January 2017 – what an honour!

W e’re hugely proud of Codie and Keaton who came 2nd in the

breaststroke and 3rd in the front crawl in the Manchester Inclusion swimming gala on 23rd January 2017!

Y et more success this half term from our

Year 7 and 8 netball teams. Amongst their wins they were victorious against the Manchester Academy winning their respective games 3-0 and 5-0! What an achievement! 

W e were extremely proud of our Year 9

football team who made it to the last 16 of the ESFA National Schools Cup this half term. Unfortunately the boys were not victorious in the game against SFX in Liverpool but for us the 'treble' is still on!!  

A group of our Year 9’s were given the opportunity of a lifetime on the 8th February 2017 when they

trained with Manchester United first team players at Carrington training ground. What an amazing experience for our students!

Training with Manchester United First Team!

Bright Amoateng, who was privileged enough to attend this session said, “It was a once in a lifetime experience to meet with and train with such talented players. Not everyone gets an opportunity like this to gain new skills and techniques which will help me to improve my game.”

Athletics Success!

W ell done to Angelo Majkel and Amelsiah Gregory who both

came away with bronze medals in January at the Year 7 Athletics final held at Sport City. Amelsiah (photographed below) won her bronze in the high jump event and Angelo for

A mongst the various other sporting activities and

achievements some of our pupils have been mastering the art of Jiu Jistu!