Congratulations to the SPA XLP team who travelled to Bulgaria in July 2016. The 12 Year 11 students (now missed school leavers- yes I admitted it!) worked with the Roman community (travellers from India) who have been disadvantaged by the Bulgarian society. This included work in a Kindergarten called Hope, an orphanage, and with older students in a local park. We can also been seen winning a prestigious football game against the Roman adults. Please watch the video below or alternatively the YouTubeblog at:
It has been a week since the Miles and rest of the team returned from Bulgaria. We just want to take this opportunity to say a Big Thank You to Ian, Hannah, Danielle, Helen and Mr Davis making this trip happen. The planning and travelling to another country with this number of young up-coming adults is no easy task. This has has been an amazing experience for Miles and that will stay with him for life and not to mention the life skills gained.
I am so happy that I had the chance to meet you all. It was a great pleasure spending the whole week with you. I will never forget it. Take care and hope to see you soon in Bulgaria.
Again as a parents we can not thank you enough for guiding our son Alastair and the rest if the kids thank you so much Mr Davies, Ian,Danille and Hannah Have a blessed trip back home guys. See you all soon! God bless you all always
Teaching can be a hard profession but it’s the moment we share as teachers with students that make it rewarding. I write to parents/guardians to convey that I have shared the week with inspirational young adults. I have witness them rise to challenges, be positive role models to school children and aspire to young adults that I am proud to know. Your children are the reason I teach and it has been a privilege to spend time outside the classroom with them. You are all inspirational individuals and I am honoured to have taught you. I will convey to the school how you have been ambassadors in Bulgaria. Keep in contact.
Mr Davis
I would also like to thank Ian, Danielle and Hannah for truly inspirational leadership and making the trip a success. Timeless memories I will cherish.
Great work and great team. I’m really proud of you all. Beautiful photos having fun in teaching and learning. Eric I can see your smile and I’m happy about that. Well done guys, arms are wide open to welcome you all back. Definitely the children will always remember your work and for sure they are happy. Thanks to St. Pauls Academy. Xxxxxx
Well done to you all. You guys are doing a great work. It takes a giving spirit and a lovely heart to reach out to the needy and helping the children to learn is so wonderful and they are happy, what a beautiful memory. St. Pauls, this is amazing. God guidance and protection will be yours always.
Looks like you are all having an amazing time, proud of you all, keep up the good work. PS you better not of got paint on your new trainers Maroulla xxx love mum, dad and siblings
Wow!!! Love all your photos,hard working kids of St Pauls! Keep up the good work and to share the love and care for the beautiful children of Bulgaria. Take care always and looking forward for more updates. Alastair we miss you our house is so empty without you! Love you much Tatay,Alvinne,Nanay
Nightline Hike with
Wide Horizons #What will you do today in Geography?
I am writing to inform you of an incredible
achievement by some of our Year 9 and 10 Geography students.
They entered a competition called Nightline
by Wide Horizons, which involved the students walking 30 miles overnight to
raise funds for disadvantaged children to attend outreach programs with the
charity. It would mean children who are economically deprived could attend
trips like our competition win to Wales.
Year 9 team (from the left Emmanuel, Wojciech, Shanelle,
Finlay, Sammy, Lilly, Phoebe, Nosa and Faith).
The
Year 10 team (from the left Amy, Eljay, Taniesha, Joshua, Lateef, Folarin,
Keoin, Kevin, Steve, Mateusz and Hugo).
Walking
from Eltham through Avery Hill Park.
At the weekend we witnessed great team
performances; England football team beating Wales 2-1 and the Rugby team
winning their first ever series in Australia. The weekend was also commendable
by the St Paul’s students in Year 9 and 10 showing the same values of teamwork,
leadership and perseverance to achieve an incredible sporting feat.
Hugo,
Kevin and Nicolae leading from the front at approximately 9pm.
After a brief introduction from the Wide Horizon team, the
students embarked from the start at Eltham and walked at a blistering pace of
3.5 mph. The students travelled through Chislehurst, Sidcup, the volunteering
sites along Foots Cray Meadows (seen above) and to their first stop at Bexley
Cricket Club.
Dusk
along the River Cray.
Resting for approximately 20 minutes to refuel with the
array of different snacks and drinks provided by Wide Horizons we ploughed on
through Bexley Village. The journey suddenly became real for the students when
the light diminished and we entered Hoxton which was the rural fringe to
Dartford. As we approached the halfway mark the students were in excellent
spirits. I was particularly impressed with the front runners (Keion, Lateef and
Eljay) who led the way and maintained our speed of over 3 miles an hour.
Similarly, the students worked hard to support themselves by carrying bags and
providing supporting comments. I was particularly impressed by Finlay, Taniesha
and Emmanuel – to name a few – that had never walked further than 3 miles and
yet we found ourselves enjoying a hot beverage at 1am at the half way mark.
What an achievement!
Having
a break and having a kit kat at the halfway point.
Fields
of poppies at midnight in Eynsford.
At the mid-way point we refuelled on a balanced
diet of Lucozade tablets, sugary hot beverages and chocolate. Although there
were now tired legs the students were determined to tackle the next phase of
our adventure; the hilly North Downs. What made this part of the Nightline hike
such a challenge was the lack of lit and designated pathways, the undulating
terrain and obstacles such as thick mud and rivers to navigate through. Our
pace slowed and we made our way to the 21 mile marker. I must admit that at this
point some of the staff were huffing and puffing.
Farningham
at sun rise at 4.36am in the morning. A well-deserved rest before we reached
the next Wide Horizon's pit stop.
It is without a doubt, a tremendous accolade to
achieve a challenge of this magnitude without training. 20 students reached the
21 mile marker navigating through undulating terrain, rivers and often limited
light, except for the glow sticks directing our route. Amy shows you how learning does not have to be based in the classroom:
At this point the
students had walked from Eltham to Shoreham village Hall. This distance is
portrayed by the selection of the route below. If you would like a full
description of the route please click on the links:
A
selection of the route until the 21 mile base in Shoreham village.
A further 10
students walked with Mr Davis, Mr Eldridge and Ms. Gregory to tackle the hilly
final 9 miles of the route. This included two hills over 200 metres above sea
level and certainly proved a challenge when legs were tired and we were
entering our 10th hour of walking. Nonetheless, the students worked
cohesively and showed the staff why we have some many amazing young people in
our school. The students achieved the unthinkable from the beginning of the
evening the night before and recorded a time of 11.5 hours with rest breaks to
reach 30 miles (50km).
The
end which included a steep hill at Wrotham Hill Park.
40km
out of 50km (24 miles).
Our
position at 8am on Sunday morning.
Joshua
and Amy at 48km.
Congratulations
to all students for their tremendous achievement and I hope they thoroughly
enjoy the Nightline Hike. What is especially commendable is the fact that these
students have raised over £600 (including gift aid) for the charity and proved
yet again that Geography students are a credit to the school and assets to our
department. The students raised this to support disadvantaged students
being able to attend outdoor learning experiences at Wide Horizon Centres.
These students are marginalised from these spaces due to socio-economic status. If you
would like to donate to our students please follow the link below:
My thanks
to Miss Gregory, Mr Elderidge and PC Verrall for their dedication to this event
outside of curriculum time. Similarly, well done to the Wide Horizons team for
a fantastic and well-organised event. See you next year!
The SPA Geography department embark on their
first National Controlled Assessment trip to Swanage
Where does Geography take you at St
Paul’s Academy? After a successful year of a Shanty Town project at Downe,
winning the illustrious trip to Wales, and experiencing the high-quality
lectures from Citizens UK and Peabody, for Year 10 Geography it concluded in Swanage!
Have a look at what the students got up to on their coursework excursion. SPA Geog #Making
Geography a reality!
'We got the chance to explore nature and
Geography fully, which we do not get to do often' (Fay C).
Please see the blog for all upcoming
trips this term from Year 7-11.
Geography is about embracing the outdoors, visualizing the theory from the classroom and to witness new landscapes. It is also the opportunity to gained independence from parents/carers and to seek new experiences. This is the ethos behind the Geography department's decision to take 74 students away in Year 10. It was also to be able to collect data for Controlled Assessment worth 25% of the overall course. The main mantra behind our planning is summarized below:
On June 24th-27th
2016 74 Year 10 students with the aid of the Geography department ventured on
their first National Trip to
Swanage. The students were visiting Studland Bay, Old Harry’s Rock and Swanage
bay to test their controlled assessment hypothesis:
‘The management strategies
implemented along the Jurassic coastline have been equally effective at
minimising the impact of coastal erosion.’
Year 10 SPA Geography- a fantastic testament to the academy.
This
excursion involved collecting data to prove or disprove this hypothesis. The
students saw an array of different Geography landforms that we had studied in
class: including Swanage bay; Studland Bay Nature Reserve; and the famous
landform Old Harry’s Rock.
Landforms along the Jurassic coastline that the students visited.
After a exhausting 5 hour journey the students conducted their first piece of data collection in the picturesque landscape of Studland Bay. Known for its outstanding beauty and being a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) it is owned by the National Trust and is also well known for being used as a filming site for the James Bond Movie 'Spectre'. From the photos you can understand why it has the label of 'outstanding beauty' as the views were stunning and even the weather was sunny!
Wide Horizons leading Mr Davis' group through the historical background of Studland Bay.
The groups split into three classes and each were assigned a different task to complete; one class collected beach transect data; the other footpath erosion and the final one a field sketch of the local area. What made this trip so unique is working together to complete data collection techniques in the field, being able to experience 'sand between our toes' as one student stated, and for some seeing landforms such as sand dunes and a beach for the first time.
Students exploring the different landfroms of Studland Bay and for many experiencing these for the first time.
Laurette emphasizes below the attractiveness of travelling to different environments to experience Geography. Whilst Benga seemed to have other ideas whilst work was being carried out! Who could blame him with the picturesque views?!
Benga chilling on a sand dune.
All of the work completed through the day was consolidated in the evening in the classroom. The students collated the data in various graphs and analysed the trends to whether it supported the hypothesis.
Students studying in the classroom after a day in the field.
Although hard work was needed and completed by the students there was always time to relax and have fun (as illustrated below):
Day 2:
After a hearty breakfast served by the Wide Horizon staff we walked to the headland of Peveril Point to look out over Swanage Bay and the Durlston Country Park. Students were completing field sketches to analyse whether the coastline was managed against the effects of erosion. The weather was not the greatest with intermittent spells of rain, however the Geography team worked exceeding well and collect invaluable date towards their hypothesis.
SPA Geog students completing a field sketch of Swanage Bay.
The view from Peveril Point Headland
The students continued their collection of data with exploring Swanage Bay and the surrounding area to test whether the management structures implemented along this stretch of the coastline stopped or reduced erosion effectively. Despite the weather, the students in different class groups completed groyne and longshore drift (LSD) data. Lateef had the right idea when it started to downpour!
Groynes not only collecting sand but Lawals aswell!
The aim of groyne data was to assess whether the management structures were effective at trapping sand, thus creating a beach that absorbs the power of the waves. Data suggested that the groynes worked effectively and was supported additionally by the measuring of LSD through apples being thrown into the ocean. Some groups were unfortunate in the LSD data as seagulls ate the apples! What about this for effecting your validity of data collection?!
Proof of the groynes effectively minimising erosion in Swanage Bay.
Emmanuel and Yves-Michel collecting geographical data for their coursework.
Please do not assume that this trip was all about work. Yes the students worked extremely hard and were a testament to the Geography department and the academy, however there was always time for exploration and high jinx!
Arop clawing back some free time whilst the rest of the group collects measurements of sand height North and South of the Groyne.
Anesu perfects his Karate Kid impression at the end of the groyne- I must admit I was hoping for a SPLASH! :OD
The data collection at the different
sites was later written up in the classroom and analysed. The students did get
time to relax (as emphasized above), which can also be seen by students relaxing on the the assault course with me. There
was also time on Sunday for mass at the local Church in Swanage much to the
delight of the Priest and the congregation who gave SPA a standing ovation at
the end of the service. We were also fortunate to visit the famous landmark of
Old Harry’s Rock on our last day at Swanage and we were able to witness some of
the wonders that the Jurassic coastline has to offer.
Mass with a Swanage Church on Sunday.
The famous Jurassic coastline landform Old Harry's Rock.
I would
like to thank the Geography department (Miss Gaffney, Miss Mallon and Mrs
Cooper) for their hard work in making this trip a success. Also the staff
members, who without them the trip would not have run or been as easy to enjoy
(Mrs Gregory and Mr Pinkerton).
I
would like to extend my gratitude to the Wide Horizon staff who supported the
students and staff with a high standard of professionalism and excellence. We
would be sure to recommend this trip to other schools and future students. The article cannot be complete without a personal appreciation of the exceptional work of the students who have made the trip for the teachers. The Year 10 SPA Geog team are an amazing collection of students who will be very successful in their GCSE and beyond. Please see selfies from Mrs Cooper and my class below!
'An unforgettable experience that will stay with me
for eternity' (Amy K).
I hope this article
has portrayed the future experiences you can expect from the
Geography team. Please ask them about new trips or see Mr Davis for
further details. Finally the last words to say have to be from Marcell....
