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16/01/20

A few of the motte and bailey castles built by our very own historians. Huge amounts of effort have led to some great models! https://t.co/nfduwaKNt8

09/01/20

Hard work is rewarded! These students have earned 30 subject stickers for effort in class and are now enjoying a celebration breakfast with Mrs Larizadeh. Well done! https://t.co/9GxwJ8OWJ1

03/01/20

Happy New Year to all! A polite reminder that students will be expected in school on Tuesday at the normal time. Please make sure they have all their kit and equipment. Enrichment lessons will be taking place as per a normal Tuesday.

19/12/19

Incredible creativity, teamwork and community spirit on show - the Christmas Door competition will be a tricky one to judge this year... https://t.co/JSa91S5QAx

18/12/19

STEM Enrichment: The students created their own game of operation! https://t.co/xpbUR9NgZ0

17/12/19

Progress being made on the new build! We can start to see it taking shape... https://t.co/iYWOpU0Ieq

13/12/19

Thank you for informing us of the behaviour of some of our children. We will endeavour to ensure they understand and respect the values of our society.

13/12/19

The Year 7 Autumn Celebration was a huge success! Well done to all those who took part. A huge thank you to Mr Walsh and Miss Allen for organising the performances and to the WPA who provided delicious mince pies https://t.co/xUhU8wDoop

10/12/19

Year 8 are expanding their minds by examining the human body in all its wonder! https://t.co/yKhKKXGFqM

09/12/19

Retweetd From Richard Maurice

Well, what do you know... 😀 The wish wall at Body Worlds, Piccadilly https://t.co/CjppOc5pUj

09/12/19

Year 8 Biologists enjoying the awe-inspiring exhibits ⁦⁩ https://t.co/HgAKYKFjBC

09/12/19

Guided tour to learn about the Normans ⁦⁩ https://t.co/O6bOAAp5bT

09/12/19

Year 8 exploring the nervous system ⁦⁩ https://t.co/4291WxIAtS

09/12/19

Great view of the White Tower https://t.co/XmHSzqjDgv

09/12/19

Enjoying the displays in the White Tower https://t.co/1Fhn7lcfyd

09/12/19

Arrived safely for our tour of the Tower of London! https://t.co/AFDo7DEvWz

07/12/19

Year 8 engineers demonstrating their designing, constructing and programming prowess at the First LEGO League. https://t.co/sSaHlQS561

06/12/19

Great seats at the . Our Year 7s are anticipating a great performance! https://t.co/SR5VdX2pT2

27/11/19

The House Chess Competition is under way... the focus is intense! Chess clubs runs every Wednesday lunchtime, where beginners can learn how to play, or experienced players can learn advanced chess strategy. https://t.co/rN9LoVTmSv

25/11/19

Our History Detectives extracurricular club - currently researching Merton Priory as part of a National Archives initiative led by Miss Trapani. https://t.co/OubDeKFEQH

Harris Academies
All Academies in our Federation aim to transform the lives of the students they serve by bringing about rapid improvement in examination results, personal development and aspiration.

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Welcome from the Principal: Mrs J Larizadeh

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about Harris Academy Wimbledon. We are a brand-new co-educational secondary academy set up to provide an excellent, well-rounded education for local children in Wimbledon. We welcomed our first Year 7 students in 2018 and we will grow year on year, eventually serving children ages 11-18. Our academy is an outstanding place to learn, providing an innovative, inclusive and happy environment for our young people.
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Academy Life

17 January 2020Newsletter 17/01/20This week we have been focusing on our motto ‘Make a Difference’ and how we can make a difference to our own school experience by being organised and ready to learn.  Please ensure your son/daughter always has all of their equipment with them every day so they can make the most of their lessons and enjoy their learning.  In assembly, I spoke to the students about how important it is to drink plenty of water during the day and to do that they must always carry a reusable water bottle.  This can be the academy bottle or students are welcome to purchase one of their own choice.  There is plenty of research that shows us that a lack of water to the brain can cause problems with focus, memory and concentration.  There are lots of sports fixtures coming up in the next few weeks so please make sure you are using our new SOCS web based system to see if your son/daughter is taking part and all of the details about the fixture.  You can find all of the information about how to view it in previous editions of the newsletter on the website.  Congratulations to the Year 8 boys who won the Merton Borough Sportshall athletics competition! https://0e58658be539ee7325a0-220f04f871df648cf4a4d93a111e3366.ssl.cf3.rackcdn.com/harris_secondary_wimbledon/uploads/document/170120-Newsletter.pdf
10 January 2020Newsletter 10/01/20Happy New Year and welcome back to the Spring Term. It was great to see the students so keen to come back to school this week.  They have all settled back in and have set themselves a goal to achieve in school this term.  In assembly on Monday, we discussed the importance of reflecting on the previous year and looking ahead to the future.  Lord Harris came to visit us on Tuesday and was very impressed with the students enthusiasm and attitude to school and their work.  We have a lot to achieve this term; the students need to work hard in lessons and grasp all the opportunities that are open to them.  The teachers continue to provide a huge range of extra-curricular opportunities and please encourage your son/daughter to try something new this term.  After half term, Year 7 will have a visit to the Tate Modern as part of their Art curriculum and Year 8 will be going to the south coast for a Geography field trip.  We will send out more information closer to the time.  On 13th February, there is the much anticipated social event of the school disco.  Please continue to get in touch with us if you have any questions or concerns; we are always happy to help. https://0e58658be539ee7325a0-220f04f871df648cf4a4d93a111e3366.ssl.cf3.rackcdn.com/harris_secondary_wimbledon/uploads/document/100120-Newsletter.pdf
20 December 2019Principal's NewsletterAs the Autumn term draws to a close, I’d like to thank you for all your support.  It has been a fantastic term which has culminated in an array of special events.  The school choir visited Oaks Care Home where they entertained the residents with their own repertoire and some Christmas carols.  Christmas lunch was a great success and students exchanged presents supporting Secret Santa.  There has been fierce rivalry over the ‘decorate your door’ competition and the whole academy has had an atmosphere of festivity, warmth and happiness.  Holidays are a time to rest, a time to spend building relationships with friends and family and in terms of school, a time to tidy up books ensuring any outstanding work is completed before the new term begins.  It is also a time to read; to immerse yourself in a different world and discover new ideas and vocabulary.  I would like to wish you all a restful and enjoyable holiday and look forward to seeing the students on Tuesday 7th January at 8.25am. https://www.harriswimbledon.org.uk/709/newsletter
13 December 2019Principal's NewsletterI always enjoy the Autumn Celebration as it showcases the many talents of our students.  The young players narrated the excellent musical acts with confidence, humour and clarity.  The choir sang three of my favourite songs - Higher and Higher, Count On Me and Fix You with some wonderful solo performances from Carlan, Jenny, Wiktoria and Emerson.  HAWI Rocks! entertained the audience with Don't Stop and Johnny B. Goode. Ruben, Jaye, Kanay and Zion performed Seven Nation Army on the ukuleles and it was great to see the string group and folk group perform some Christmas carols and Drunken Sailor and the Blooming Heather respectively. United Dance Company shared their choreography to Tilted.  And the evening culminated with the Year 7 choir singing Happy, Ain't No Mountain High Enough and Hey Jude. They sang all three songs with great enthusiasm and received a well deserved round of applause at the end.  What made the concert so special for me was seeing all the Year 7 students perform with such confidence in their first term at Secondary school.  Well done to everyone involved and a special thank you to Miss Allen who coordinated the whole event. https://www.harriswimbledon.org.uk/709/newsletter
6 December 2019Principal's Newsletter7 Morris presented an outstanding assembly this week on ‘Following Your Dreams’. They reminded me of the words that Nadia Hussain said when she won the Great British Bake Off final:  ‘ I’m never gonna put boundaries on myself again. I am never gonna say I can’t do it. I am never gonna say ‘maybe’. I am never gonna say ‘I don’t think I can’. I can and I will’  These are the words we all should live by. We continue to encourage the students to follow their dreams and make a difference to their own lives and the lives of others around them. https://www.harriswimbledon.org.uk/709/newsletter
29 November 2019Principal's NewsletterWelcome to the first edition of our newsletter.  We are going to publish a newsletter every Friday afternoon during term time on the website.  For the first week, we are also sending a link via email but from next week, please go straight to the website.  I am pleased to announce that there is now an App for the website.  You can view the App by downloading the Harris Federation App to your phone. Simply search for ‘Harris Federation’ in your App Store, download the App and enter ‘Wimbledon’ when prompted. Then click ‘Add to My Schools’.   Our motto is ‘make a difference’ and centred around three key words: Independence, Integrity and Resilience.  Building and developing resilience in the cold December days is really important for success.  It is crucial that we encourage young people to embrace new situations and to experience the myriad of opportunities open to them.  I am delighted with all of the new skills year 7 and 8 students are developing in their enrichment lessons.  A Tuesday afternoon is busy with students taking photographs, completing Science experiments, learning about the London Stock Exchange, practising their Lamda speeches and debating about Politics.  In assembly this week, we discussed the upcoming Election and the importance of voting and democracy.  We are delighted to announce our own candidates for our mock election; you can read more about it in the newsletter below.  https://www.harriswimbledon.org.uk/710/newsletter
18 October 2019Principal's BlogI have been very impressed by the dedication and commitment that all students have shown during the first half term of the academic year.  Year 7 have settled in very well to their new academy and Year 8 have continued their hard work from last year. I am very proud of all of the effort stamps students have received for their hard work in lessons.  We have given out 6,799 effort stamps since September.  Effort stamps, along with attendance and participation in house competitions earn house points.  Please find below the house league table for the end of this half term.   Congratulations to Nelson who are currently in the lead. 1 Nelson 72 2 Wilberforce 68 3 Gibson 62 4 Butler 55 5 Rutherford 54 6 Dowding 49 6 Morris 49   There have been many notable successes this half term.  Two Year 8 students represented us at a climate change conference and they will be cascading the information to the rest of the students after half term.  The Year 7 boys’ football team beat Harris Sutton 4 – 3 and have progressed to the next round of the cup; the Year 7 girls’ football team won the Federation competition and the table tennis team came 2nd in the Borough competition.  We have many exciting opportunities for the students.  Year 7 have a visit to see ‘A Christmas Carol’ at the Old Vic on Friday 6th December and a trip to the Tower of London on either the 9th or 10th December.  Year 8 are going to the Human Body Exhibition on either the 9th or 10th December and there is an optional visit to see ‘The Woman in Black’ during the evening of 28th November at The Fortune Theatre. On the 21st November we have the Wimbledon Parents Association family quiz night.  This will be an important fund raising event for the academy as we try and achieve our goal of purchasing a new minibus for the academy.  Please save the date and the WPA will be in touch after half term about how you can secure your place for the night. On 11th and 12th December we have our Autumn celebration where both Year 7 and 8 students will have the opportunity to perform.  Year 7 parents will have received information about the PGL visit in June and Year 8 will have the opportunity to go camping this year.  We are delighted to announce the trip to Spain for Year 8 (into Year 9) in October 2020 and the students are looking forward to the ski trip in April 2020. The new building is progressing very well and is on track for us to move in for September 2020.  If you get the chance to pass it during half term, you will see that the frame is nearly complete.  I will be talking to all the students after half term about all of the facilities they will be able to enjoy. We have had a lot of positive feedback from the local community about how smart the students look and their polite conduct.  I wish everyone a restful and enjoyable half term break.       
16 September 2019Principal's BlogI am delighted with how the new Year 7 students have settled in to secondary school life.  They are a wonderful group of students who are kind and courteous; they have approached their first lessons with focus and are showing us that they are ready to learn.  It was lovely to welcome the Year 8s back to school and hear about how they spent their summer holidays; they are enjoying their new leadership roles and responsibilities, being the oldest year group in the academy.  Providing a strong academic curriculum is at the heart of Harris Academy Wimbledon and we welcome twelve new outstanding teachers to the academy in a range of different subjects.  We have developed both our extra-curricular and enrichment programme and these activities help foster a spirit of aspiration, resilience and joy in learning.  We have a number of professionals from both the arts and sport to lead some of these programmes including Rugby, Football, Tennis and Netball coaches and Music and Dance professionals.  There are many opportunities for the students this term.  Year 7s will be going to the Tower of London as part of their History curriculum and Year 8s will be going to Body World for their PE Curriculum.  Year 7s are going to see A Christmas Carol at the Old Vic to support the English curriculum and Year 8s will have the opportunity to go and see The Woman in Black.  I am really looking forward to the term ahead.  We have our Open Evening on Tuesday 24th September from 5pm – 8pm and various open mornings.  I would be delighted to welcome you to the academy so you can see what a wonderful place it is.   
19 July 2019Principal's BlogIt is the end of the first year at Harris Academy Wimbledon and what a fantastic year it has been. The students have just completed a very rewarding half term.  It started with year 7 exams and as students received their exam marks back, we talked to them about seeing their results as part of a learning journey.  We asked them to reflect on the process that led to the results, and start to ask themselves some questions.  Did they work hard during the whole year or were they cramming at the last minute?  How effective was their revision and what can they do to improve in the future?  The most important thing in Year 7 is to focus on the process rather than the results and to look at how they can develop their learning and revision in the years ahead. The exams were following by a residential trip to PGL.  This was a resounding success and if you haven’t seen all the photographs on Twitter, it is worth taking a look.  You will see students taking risks and having fun. We continue with our sporting opportunities.  The hockey team had the opportunity to represent Merton at the Hockey Youth Games and the tennis club had a competition with local schools.  Sport and fitness is an integral part of our school life and we try and give the students as many opportunities as possible. Dominique and Natalie both picked up Bronze medals at the Harris Federation sports day and many medals were won at our own sports day in the last week of term. The new year 7 created an excellent first impression on Induction day and we are very much looking forward to them joining us in September; the current Year 7s looked after them with great care and enthusiasm.  The student leadership team started their new responsibilities exceptionally well and Ellie and Patryk delivered their first speech as Head Girl and Head Boy. We welcome a number of new teachers in September as we more than double in size.  I am delighted with the appointments; all the staff are specialists in their subject and bring with them a range of experiences and interests.  Every department will have a new member of staff and the leadership team will also grow.  Mr Maurice joins us from the Harris Federation central team as Senior Assistant Principal with the responsibility for Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, Miss Pocock will be Assistant Principal with the responsibility for the pastoral care of Year 7 and 8 and Mr Arnold joins us as Assistant Principal with the responsibility for the co-curricular programme and partnerships.  Our motto is ‘Make a Difference’ and everyone has made a positive difference to their own lives and the lives of everyone around them during the course of the year.  The students are a veritable kaleidoscope of abilities, skills, talents and experiences and it has been a pleasure to work with them and celebrate their success this year. Next year we start a new chapter in our journey.  Thank you for all your support this year.
17 May 2019Principal's BlogThis morning we held the election hustings for Head Boy and Head Girl.  It was a fantastic event with all the candidates delivering inspiring speeches communicating how they would like to represent the students.  I am very proud of how the candidates presented themselves.  I am also very proud of all the other students who listened intently and then placed their vote for Head Boy and Head Girl.  We talked about democracy and the importance of equality, freedom and the right to vote.  Earlier in the week, we had a lot more to be proud of.  Eighteen students represented the Academy at the Merton Borough Sports Competition.  We have some very talented students and it was great to see 7 students achieve medals: Gold: 100m race – Mutasim. Shotput – Dominique. Silver: Boys’ Relay – Josh, Lawrence, Reece, Mutasim. Long Jump – Natalie & Ashlee. Bronze: Shot put – Natalie. Excitement is building for our school production of High School Musical which is being performed next week.  It is a story about two students in rival cliques who have to battle against other students, resist peer pressure and ‘not stick to the status quo’ to achieve their dreams.  If you haven’t got your tickets already, be sure not to miss out on an enjoyable evening at the theatre. We welcomed poet and rapper Breis to the academy a few weeks ago.  The workshops were truly inspirational and all the students wrote their own poem or rap during the day.  This Friday we have an open mic session in the library where students can come along and perform their own creative writing.  We plan to publish the best ones in our first Anthology of the Spoken Word at Harris Academy Wimbledon.  Alongside all of these events and activities, students continue to work hard in all their lessons and make excellent academic progress.  We have had a number of visitors to the academy in the last few weeks and they have all been very impressed with the resilience and hard work of everyone in the academy.  We continue to put ‘make a difference’ at the centre of everything we do, ensuring we make a difference to our own lives and the lives of everyone around us. 
5 April 2019Principal's BlogAs we reach the end of the Spring Term, it is hard to believe the Academy only opened in September. The students are very settled and they can confidently call it ‘their academy’. I am very proud of everything they have achieved. This term there have been many highlights, here are a few: The students have all taken part in a Computer Science workshop where they have had the opportunity to design and code computer games using Kodu Game Lab and the WHEN/DO coding language. The workshop gently introduces event-driven programming concepts, incorporating a mix of learning objectives and coding challenges which progressively became more advanced as topics were completed. There have been a number of sporting successes. The boys came 1st in a Harris indoor athletics competition, the girls came 2nd in the AFC Wimbledon Girls’ Futsal Tournament, all our teams won the Tri-cluster Table Tennis tournament beating Harris Sutton and Harris Morden and the girls’ netball team won the netball competition for our region. The girls’ netball team will now have the opportunity to play at The Copper Box stadium in the finals. We have set up a pen pal project with two schools in Spain and plan to organise a language visit to Spain next academic year. Our field day this term has been a visit to the Tate Modern where the students immersed themselves in a number of pieces of Art. Our links with Kings College Wimbledon have been very positive and the feedback on our students has been that they are very engaged in their learning and a pleasure to teach. I have also set up some collaboration with Wimbledon High School (GDST Girls’ school) for next year. We continue to have a drive for being healthy and it was great to see the students making smoothies and learning different strategies on how to have a healthy body and healthy mind. You will find details of all our highlights on twitter @HAWimbledon We have set up or parents’ association which will be known as the WPA (Wimbledon Parents’ Association). I would like to thank all of you who are part of the committee or have helped out in different ways; it is much appreciated. Congratulations to the committee for organising a splendid International Spectacular last night. It was great to see everyone trying different food and enjoying themselves. The aim of the WPA is to help raise money for the school and organise social events for families to come together. Please continue to contact the school directly for any questions or queries you may have. I have had a very busy term recruiting new teachers for next year and am pleased to announce that I have recruited eleven excellent teachers. We will have new teachers in every department who will add to our outstanding team. I am sure you will join me in thanking all the staff for their outstanding commitment, energy and enthusiasm they bring to the school. The new extra-curricular timetable is now on the website. The main changes are linked to sport as we move to the more traditional summer sports of athletics, cricket and tennis. Extra-curricular clubs will finish at 4.15pm but the library will remain open until 4.30pm for any students who want to stay in school to complete homework. All students need to sign up for at least one activity at the start of next term.
8 March 2019Principal's BlogYesterday, I spent the day with Gangsta Granny, James Herriot, Giselle the ballet fairy, Supergirl, Sherlock Holmes, Matilda, Thing 1, Thing 2, The Cat in the Hat and many more different book characters.   It was great to see the students enter into the spirit of World Book Day with amazing costumes, participating in ‘drop everything and read’ in the afternoon and by entering the book mark competition.  Students read every day as it supports them in developing a broader vocabulary, increases their general knowledge and gives them a deeper understanding of the world in which we live.  I am looking forward to awarding a kindle to the student who wins the word of the week competition in the last week of term. Mr Riches continues to be very busy running many different sporting fixtures.  During the last two weeks, our boys’ team came first and the girls’ team came third in a Harris indoor athletics competition, the Boys B football team beat Harris Morden 2 -1 and narrowly lost to Raynes Park.   Miss Turner supported our school reporters to enter the BBC School report competition; they did a fantastic job researching, writing and presenting the relevant news.  There are further opportunities for the students to enrich their curriculum this term.  All students will take part in a five hour computer coding course, Miss Kent is organising a trip to the Tate Modern and Miss Pocock is taking students to see The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at the Piccadilly Theatre.  We have a ‘Healthy Body, Healthy Mind’ drop down day and in the last week of term, the Wimbledon Parents’ Association are organising an International Evening where we get the opportunity to celebrate our culturally diverse school.  We hope the event will be supported by all of our families. Next week is National Science Week and students can get involved by going to a workshop to dissect a heart or by entering the National poster competition. Academic standards continue to be at the heart of what we do and I am delighted to announce that we have recruited all of our new teachers for September.  Outstanding teaching is crucial in ensuring outstanding outcomes for all the students and I am confident that the new teachers will make an excellent contribution to the academy. Individual students continue to ‘make a difference’ to our school community by being kind, considerate and supporting each other.  They are growing up to be well rounded individuals with a highly developed social conscience.
7 February 2019Principal's BlogI am delighted to announce that work has started on our new Academy in South Wimbledon.  We have a 15 month building programme and the new building will be ready for the summer of 2020.  I look forward to giving you regular updates during the coming months. Year 7 showed us their best dance moves at the Year 7 Disco last Friday. It was a fantastic evening and a pleasure to see Year 7 enjoying themselves.  They are already asking us when the next one will be! We continue to explore different cultures and traditions. Miss Bolt presented an excellent assembly on the Chinese New Year and all the students learnt how to say Happy New Year in Mandarin.  Every Monday lunch time, Miss Bolt leads a Mandarin club for those students interested in learning the language.  We currently offer Latin, Spanish and French and plan to offer a conversational Italian class next year. There have been many notable achievements since my last blog.  Our three table tennis teams won the tournament against Harris Academy Sutton and Harris Academy Morden.  It was great to see the students’ enthusiasm and talent as they outwitted their opponents.   The girls’ team came second in the AFC Futsal competition.  They always compete with superb professionalism and support for their opponents. Excitement is building for the auditions for High School Musical which will be performed in May.  We have many budding actors desperate to tread the boards. We have elected our officers for Wimbledon Parents’ Association (WPA).  The WPA are planning to hold their first social event for families on 4th April.  There will be more information to follow after the Extraordinary General Meeting on the 4th March.  Please contact Mrs Kirby at the Academy if you would like any further information about the WPA. I am very proud of how the students are doing in their lessons.  The work in their books is very impressive and they continue to show a love of learning and a resilience to do well.  If you don’t already, please follow us on twitter as we regularly tweet our news! @HAWimbledon
21 January 2019Principal's BlogThe Spring term has got off to a busy start with the students launching themselves into their lessons, enrichment and extra-curricular activities.  Our school council attended an Anti-Bullying Ambassadors’ training day and will begin to cascade all of the information and skills they gathered with all of the students during the coming weeks.  We have a zero tolerance to bullying and encourage all of the students to be kind to each other at all times. Ten girls have the opportunity to go to the All England Tennis Club in Wimbledon for some professional coaching.  They attended their first session last week and thoroughly enjoyed the experience of seeing Centre Court and participating in the training.  We are looking forward to seeing some budding tennis players flourish during the course of the year. We are launching the Times Tables Rock Star competition this week and have started working on the Count on Us Maths Challenge where the top team will get to participate in the National Competition and outwit their opponents.  Maths Club is very busy every Wednesday after school with our excellent mathematicians. I am delighted to announce we have appointed a Welfare Counsellor who will start with us on 25th February.  Mrs Jones is a trained counsellor and has significant experience of working with secondary age children and we are delighted that she has chosen to come and work with us.  The well-being of all of our children is central to our ethos and this appointment adds to our very strong programme of pastoral care.  As well as having timetabled sessions, Mrs Jones will offer drop in sessions at lunchtimes for any student who wishes to see her.  In addition, our school nurse offers drop in sessions every second Wednesday lunchtime. The social event of the year will be the Year 7 disco on Friday 1st February in the school hall.  DJ Dan will be ready to get everyone dancing.  We hope all Year 7s attend; it is free entry and tickets need to be collected in advance from Miss Machin.  There will be drinks and snacks available to purchase on the night.
7 January 2019Principal's blogHappy New Year! New Year has always been a time for looking back on the past year and importantly forward to the year ahead.  It is a time to reflect on the changes we want to make and also to resolve to achieve these changes.  Year 7 had a fantastic first term culminating in a busy final couple of weeks where they went to see ‘A Christmas Carol’ at the Old Vic theatre, created hampers for a local care home, participated in workshops on ‘Growing up in Modern Britain’, performed their own Autumn Celebration to family and friends, and had their own end of term party.  They left on the last day of term clutching their Autumn term reports which reflected the hard work and enthusiasm they had demonstrated in their academic studies.  It was a great first term and one the students should be very proud of. Year 7 will spend some time thinking about the goals that they would like to achieve this year.  The focus this half term is on their academic studies ensuring they build on their strengths and spend time improving their areas for development.  Alongside, they will continue to develop their independence and resilience through the diverse enrichment and extra-curricular programme.  All the details of these programmes can be found on the website under the Curriculum pages. We will be launching a number of literacy activities this term.  The House Reading Challenge will begin this week, a group of students are organising a Harry Potter competition, World Book Day is in March and students have the opportunity to win a kindle through the word of the week competition. I am sure the students will take advantage of all the opportunities open to them and continue to ‘make a difference’ to their own lives and the lives of others around them.
4 December 2018Principal's BlogIt has been a busy two weeks at the Academy.  On the 19th November, we celebrated Anti-Bullying week by following the national theme “Choose Respect”. The week gave all students the opportunity to shine a spotlight on the impact of bullying.  All students were asked to think about the word respect and understand how to take individual and collective action in order to create a safe and enriching environment in which to learn. During Human and Life skills lessons, they were also asked to nominate their peers who’d shown excellence in ‘Making a Difference’ to the lives of other and those within our school community.  This was celebrated through the creation of a mural led by our art club ‘Fluxus’ with help from Miss Kent. On Tuesday 20th November, students were also encouraged to wear odd socks for the day in order to symbolise the respect that we all have for the differences in all of us. Congratulations to all students who participated! Students have been working incredibly hard in their lessons where they have completed assessments in all subjects.  I am delighted with their perseverance and focus.  As they receive their assessments back, the teachers will be congratulating them on how well they have done, and supporting them in understanding how they can continue to make progress in their learning.  Parents will receive a report at the end of term with all of their assessment marks. We have been learning about the environment and will very soon have our own ECO representatives from each house group.  They will work with the whole school community on how we can continue to be environmentally friendly.  The students are using a re-usable water bottle every day and are now recycling any food waste from break and lunch in a separate bin.  On Friday 7Purple presented an excellent assembly on the environment for parents and students.  I was very impressed with their creativity and confidence in communicating their message to the audience. December is set to be a busy month. On 13th December we have our Autumn Celebration Evening where all of the students will be performing to their parents and invited guests and sharing their highlights of the term. The whole school are going to see A Christmas Carol at The Old Vic on 19th December which promises to be an excellent treat as it has had fantastic reviews. On 20th December, students can wear a Christmas Jumper to school and pay £1 to raise money for Save the Children.  In addition, the students can set up their own stall for a charity of their choice and sell biscuits, cakes, decorations or anything else they would like to make. On 20th December we will also be having our Stay Safe day where students will take part in a number of workshops about how to stay safe in Modern Britain.  Each house will also be creating hampers to deliver to local care homes.
18 November 2018Principal's BlogPlanning Permission Granted! I am delighted to announce that the plans for the new school in High Path were approved on Thursday evening!  We can now look forward to constructing this impressive new building which will be ready for September 2020.  I’d like to thank everyone who supported us, especially the parents and students who attended the planning meeting. We started the week with our Remembrance Assembly where as a school community we reflected on the centenary of World War I and thought about the sacrifices the armed forces made for us, not only in World War 1 and World War II but in subsequent and current wars since.  Special mention to Scott, Edward, Martyna, Reuben and Nadia who read poems to help us understand the emotions of the time. Parents’ Evening was a great success on Monday.  The students approached the evening with maturity setting themselves smart targets to achieve during the rest of the year.  In addition, they have been busy in lessons completing assessments so they have a clear understanding of how they can improve in every subject. The enrichment and extra-curricular programme continues to be at the heart of what we are doing.  The students have started selling their first Harris Academy School magazine, the STEM club are entering a national competition and Photography club are gaining excellent skills in Photoshop.  A group of students went to Wembley to see England win against USA.  They had an amazing time soaking up the atmosphere and joining in the songs to cheer on England.  Congratulations to 7Yellow who presented the whole school with an excellent assembly on celebrating difference. We continue to welcome visitors who are keen to come and see our new academy in action.  Everyone who comes comments on how focused, polite and engaging the students are in their approach to academy life.  I am very proud of how Year 7 have settled in; they are taking every opportunity that is presented to them and are growing in confidence along the way.  
12 November 2018Principal's BlogThe students have had a great first week back after a well-deserved rest over half term. Our theme for the week was ‘Festivals’ and we explored Bonfire Night, the Day of the Dead that is celebrated every year in Mexico and Diwali, the Hindu Festival of lights.  We discussed how festivals unite people towards a certain cause and involve celebration.  Festivals are an expressive way for us all to celebrate our heritage, culture and traditions. The visit to the Tower of London was a great success.  The students attended a session on 1097 and William I’s greatest fortress and palace, the White Tower.  They explored the nature of power and the challenges facing a new King after the Norman Conquest.  The guide at the Tower was incredibly impressed with the knowledge the students had gained during their History lessons and many members of the public commented on how smart the students looked in their uniform and how well they presented themselves. Our World Religion Day gave students the opportunity to explore five different religions.  They worked incredibly well together and could be seen tucking into bagels at break time and completing all of the puzzles and clues around the academy to help them find out information about Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism.  There were many thoughtful debates and the teachers were impressed with their determination to find out as much as possible.  The day culminated in a visit to the Mosque in Morden.  Year 7s have been busy collecting their reward points and commendation stickers so they can attend the Hot Chocolate morning and Principal’s breakfast.  I am delighted that the students are working hard in their lessons and gathering reward points for the effort they are putting into their work. On Friday, the girls’ football team narrowly lost to Harris Academy Crystal Palace by 2 goals to 1.  Shaakirah scored for the girls who all played with skill, enthusiasm and professionalism. Parents’ Evening is on Monday and on Thursday at 19.15, we have the planning committee for the new build at Merton Civic offices – I would be delighted if you could come along and show you support. Have a good week!
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