Newsletter February 2017

ISSUE 9 | February | 2017 Robert NEWS HEADLINES…….. Peter Pan Bloomfield rehearsals start Gymnasts achieve Academy success at Regional Com- petition New RBA Alumni Site News from Mr Axford Launched Dear Parents and Pupils, We have enjoyed an extremely busy first half of term and I hope you are all getting a flavour of everything that is happening through our Facebook news updates on the YR5 are reading new website. As you will have seen, our new website is a more streamlined version Charlie and The Chocolate and acts as the landing page for a lot more in depth information for the established Factory school community in Firefly. It has been a pleasure to welcome so many parents to our first two subject evenings, the evenings really do help staff and pupils maintain the effort and focus on key learn- YR6 Pupils do well in ing areas at this half way stage in the year. One of the common themes which runs Mocks SATS through many of the meetings is the need to keep all our children engaged with their reading. We build in as many opportunities as possible in school for reading, but do please continue to encourage your child in any way you can, particularly in guided Parents Evenings are reading, exploring their understanding of the texts they have read. open for bookings Thank you to so many Year 6 parents who attended the SATs evening recently; their mock tests have showed how hard they have been working and their results are en- YR7 have been finding out couraging, well done to all the pupils. As we await the return of the ski trip back to school, Mrs Marshall and Miss Earl have about Earthquakes been busy starting rehearsals for Peter Pan and we look forward to seeing another great production take shape. Well done to those who put themselves forward for audi- tions. Opening the paper this week it was also superb to see our successes at both YR8 have had a visit from the Regional Gymnastics and County Indoor Athletics (3 team golds, 1 team silver), I the Army Cadet Force know there will be further details later in this bulletin. I hope you all have a restful half term break, Julian Axford COMING UP…… Ski Trip Returns World Book Day Spring Sports CONTACT DETAILS Email: [email protected] Tel: 01462 628800 Fax: 01462 628801 Website: www.robertbloomfield.beds.sch.uk

YEAR 5 NEWS Charlie and the Chocolate Factory It has been a busy and exciting term so far in Year 5, and the children are now fully settled and confident in their new surroundings. The last few weeks have seen the children inspired by our very tasty English topic, ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’. Year 5 have enjoyed designing fan- tastic Golden Tickets, presenting (and eating!) amazing ideas for their own edible inventions and written wonderful descriptions of gruesome sixth Golden Ticket winners. Other news Year 5 have also recently taken part in a House Hockey tournament, and have been excitedly auditioning for parts in this year’s school production of ‘Peter Pan’. We are delighted that we have so many talented pupils in the year group, with many selected for roles in the chorus, backstage or cos- tume crew, and Lily Parsons (5R) cast in the lead role of Peter Pan. Well done Year 5, we are very proud of all of you! Still to come... With more excitement to come, Year 5 can look forward to their PSCHE trip to Hazard Alley, an interactive Rainforest Day including a range of fun activities and more brilliant House competitions to take part in. What a YEAR 5 LEADERSHIP TEAM busy term so far! Head of Learning - Rebecca Woolston Assistant Head of Year - Vicki Collin YEAR 6 YEAR 6 NEWS Year 6 are to be commended on their ex- cellent effort and positive attitude in the Practice SATs this week. Through much coughing, sneezing (and sniffing!) they really have managed to do their best. This can only bode well for May—they now know exactly what to expect and can con- centrate on really showing just how much progress they are making. Reminder that SATs in May are the week commencing Monday 8th. There will also be changes to the timetable and homework timetable which will start after half term. All details are posted on Firefly together with useful information about revision skills and websites. Important Dates 8th May 2017 SATs Week Year 6 Science YEAR 6 LEADERSHIP TEAM The pupils have been investigating the size of shadows in Science. The pupils have been setting up investigations making Head of Learning - Lorraine Young Assistant Head of Year - Kath Lee predictions and recording their results.

YEAR 7 NEWS Year 7 Engineering The current engineering rotation of Year 7's in product design have just com- pleted their USB designs and have done a great job of learning the basics of Solidworks and 2D design. The creativity has been clear to see and they will be taking home their 3D printed custom designs. Year 7 Geography Year 7 have been making models of tectonic boundaries in their Geography lessons using Play Dough, Air Dough and Plasticine. They have created some very imaginative models whilst not forgetting the physical processes at the boundaries. Notable examples include images of Donald Trump and Theresa May on either side of a conservative plate boundary (found in the USA!). Well done all! Still to come….. After half term, we have lots to look forward to in Year 7. The pupils will be ex- cited about many more house competitions, including Dance & Spring Sports. We also have charity events in the shape of a cake sale and a Basketball Free Throw Challenge. Miss Simpson is organising an Art workshop trip for the Art option pupils and we have a guest speaker from Bedfordshire Police coming in to talk to the pupils about Hate Crime. YEAR 7 LEADERSHIP TEAM Head of Learning - Colin Marshall Assistant Head of Year - Harri Kinnear YEAR 8 NEWS On Friday 27th January RBA ex pupil Sergeant Alex Smith came to speak to Year 8 over 200 Year 8 pupils during their assembly about the Army Cadets. Sergeant Smith gave a presentation informing pupils of the opportunities available to ca- dets which includes adventurous training, expeditions, learning First Aid and the Pupils enjoyed Internet Safety Duke of Edinburgh Award. Day on Tuesday 7th Febru- The pupils were engaged throughout the presentation and asked a lot of inter- ary. The pupils participated in esting questions about the life of a cadet and all of the activities that are in- different activities and in- volved. ‘It was an exceptional experience and I was extremely impressed with the way creased their knowledge and understanding of all things the Year 8’s conducted themselves throughout.’ Sergeant Alex Smith internet related. On Wednesday 22nd Febru- ary we have PC Richard Dent from Bedfordshire Police coming into RBA as part of a county wide initiative making children aware of the law and their responsibilities regarding Social Hate Crime. YEAR 8 LEADERSHIP TEAM Head of Learning - Paul Edwards Assistant Head of Year - Neil Mills

MUSIC NEWS Spring Term Music Concerts Pupils are currently working hard in preparation for this term’s solo and ensem- ble music concerts. The solo music concert gives pupils the opportunity to demonstrate the progress they are making with their individual instrumental and vocal skills. The ensemble music concert is an opportunity to showcase the progress being made by the instrumental and vocal ensembles that rehearse each week at RBA. Good luck to participants in both concerts in March. KS3 Battle of the Bands Good luck to Ted Day (7R) on drum kit, Robert Harrison (7C) on vocals, Jake Hornsby (7R) on lead guitar and Lyra Smith (7R) on bass guitar who, as “Wild Fire”, will be representing RBA at the KS3 Battle of the Bands competition on 1st March at Redborne Upper School. The band will be performing “Back in Black” by AC/DC. This event will be judged by experienced local popular music performers and all pupils who participate will receive a certificate and positive feedback about their performance. The winning band will have the opportunity to record a track in a professional recording studio and there will be rock and pop prizes to take away for the winning school and band. We look forward to cele- brating the band’s participation in this event in the next newsletter. Bedfordshire Music Festival Good luck to Lily Rodell (6T) and Ellie Mullan (5R) both of whom are hoping to perform a piano solo at the Bedfordshire Music Festival in early March - Lily in the grade 2 class playing “On the Ball” and Ellie in the grade 3 class playing “The Clowns”. Ellie and Lily are also hoping to perform a duet together in the Year 7 and under duet category playing “I Know Him So Well”. Good luck to both pupils and we look forward to celebrating your participation in this event in the next newsletter and to hearing the pieces performed at our solo music con- cert on 16th March. Instrumental and Vocal Examinations Good luck to those pupils taking their instrumental, vocal or theory of music ex- aminations later this term. One early result to celebrate is Suzannah Roper (6Y) achieving a mark of 117 (3 points from a merit) at grade 2 flute. Well done, Su- zannah. MUSIC LESSONS at RBA Over 250 pupils take part in additional music lessons, if you are interested in your child joining them please contact Mr Powell via the front office. MUSIC LEADERSHIP TEAM Head of Music - Mark Powell

PERFORMING ARTS NEWS School Production—Peter Pan A huge thank you to all those who auditioned for this years’ school pro- duction of Peter Pan. We were thrilled with the high standard at the audi- tions. Congratulations to all those selected to be involved, especially the YR5’s, including Lily Parsons who will be playing Peter Pan—what an achievement! Year 6 Drama Our Year 6’s have been busy in their drama lessons learning about differ- ent types of staging, hot-seating and thought-tracking. They have used some of these techniques to create group mimed performances using masks. Gymnastics Congratulations to Holly Duggan, Hollie Leutchford, Megan Butt, Krystal Alleyne, Jack Lee, Olivia Fox and Aisha Bartlett for competing in the Re- gional Sports Acrobatic Competition on Sunday 5th February. The team were amazing and did RBA proud. Well done to Jack for bringing home a bronze medal, Megan a silver and Olivia for winning gold. Megan and UPCOMING EVENTS Olivia will now go through to the National finals in Stoke representing the school and our Region. What an achievement! 22 February 17 BEST Production Dance Our dance options groups have been working really hard on their group Night at the Musicals choreography and the Year 8’s have been asked to perform their Ghost at Samuel Whitbread Dance choreography at Samuel Whitbread in the summer as part of their GCSE dance showcase. We also look forward to welcoming Mrs Major Academy from Samuel Whitbread to lead another GCSE dance workshop, she was thrilled at the high standards of our dancers last term and I know she will 30 March 17 be again. GCSE Dance Showcase with RBA Dancers at Samuel Whitbread Academy 21/22/23 June 17 Robert Bloomfield Academy School Production— Peter Pan PA LEADERSHIP TEAM Head of PA– Angie Marshall

SPORTS NEWS YEAR 5 DISTRICT LEAGUE FOOTBALL Well done to the Year 5 boys football team who won the District League this month. Wins over Henlow, Etonbury, Holywell, Alameda, Marston Vale, Woodlands and Parkfields, and one draw against Arnold meant the boys finished the season unbeaten and won the league by 2 points, with a goal difference of 28. The boys played some stunning football throughout the season, and will now go on to represent our district in the county finals later in the term. BEDFORD & DISTRICT CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS Robert Bloomfield saw some of their best competitive cross country running yet when they compet- ed at the District Championships this term. Conditions were far from ideal with the cold weather and hard ground making the course a tough one to attack. The RBA girls and boys did not let this hold them back and showcased some superb running. We saw a great number of top 3 individual finish- SPORTING HEADLINES ers. In the Year 8 girls race, Jas Curry and Imogen Thompson remained strong throughout, finish- ing an outstanding 1st and 3rd position respectively. Luke Revels put up a fantastic performance in the Year 8 boys event, finishing in 2nd place. In the Year 7 girls race, Libby Holmes also continued Y7/8 Girls Rugby are play- to excel with a strong 2nd place finish. Well done to everyone for contributing towards these bril- ing in the Partnership Tourna- liant results! ment 23/02/17 and the County Overall Results: RBA 2nd, Girls 1st, Boys 2nd Year Results: Year 5 and 6 Girls 4th, Year 5 and 6 Boys 3rd, Year 7 Girls 1st, Year 5 Boys 6th, Tournament on 03/03/17 Year 8 Girls 1st, Year 8 Boys 2nd. Y7/8 Girls Football knocked Basketball After winning all four district titles our Year 7 Boys, Year 7 Girls, Year 8 Boys & Year 8 Girls repre- out in last 16 of the ESFA Na- sented our district at the county finals in January. Our Year 7 Boys unfortunately missed out on a semi final place due to points difference, and only lost to the eventual winners Lealands. The Year 7 tional Cup. The girls have a girls played in a league system and were perfect in winning all 6 of their games including a fantastic lot to be proud of equaling win in a tough game against Lincroft, and were crowned County Champions. The Year 8 Girls quali- RBAs best ever result in the fied for the semi finals with ease before going on to win the final in an enthralling match against Lealands. Our Year 8 boys also played in a league system, and despite losing one game managed competition and being labelled to also take the county championship crown virtue of points difference of 108, compared to 2nd as one of the best 16 girls placed Cardinal Newman who finished with a points difference of 41. All in all a VERY successful football teams in the county basketball season. INDOOR ATHLETICS Y6 Boys Basketball team Following considerable district success, the Year 7 Boys, Year 8 Boys, Year 8 Girls and Year 5&6 Boys and Girls indoor athletics teams attended the County finals with plenty of optimism. In a won their first competitive strong competition the pupils performed excellently with our Year 8 Boys, Year 8 Girls and Year game against Henlow with an 5&6 teams being crowned County Champions, whilst our Year 7 Boys team missed out narrowly by impressive score of 33-8 2 points, and finished with silver medals. Y5 Netball team remain un- defeated. Well done girls, keep up the good work! Y7&8 Girls Badminton team have won the District finals. The boys team came 2nd. Excellent effort by everyone involved Y7&8 Boys and Girls Swim- ming team begin their Dis- trict Comptetion on 22/02/17. Good luck to everyone. PE LEADERSHIP TEAM Head of PE - Sarah Robson AH of PE - Colin Marshall AH of PE - Natasha Cooper

CURRICULUM NEWS The pictures below were taking from Mr Axford’s ward round on Friday 3rd February. A ward round is used by school leaders to gauge the engagement and application of the pupils. It also allows school leaders to observe the fantastic learning opportunities that are on offer to the pupils. During his ward round Mr Axford visited, Geog- raphy, Engineering, Computing, Food technolo- gy, Maths, and RE. He was extremely pleased with the level of engagement and behavior from the pupils. He was also overwhelmed with the fantastic learning opportunities that the teach- ers had prepared for the pupils. Mr Axford said, “It was great to see the pupils demonstrate a real love for learning”. The pictures above show Y7 pupils working in clay on their ‘Mexican Day of the Dead’ themed skulls. The picture opposite shows Y5 pupils and their shoes rubbings. Both are examples of the excellent work that is produced in the Art dept by Mrs Palmer and her team. CONTACT DETAILS Email: [email protected] Tel: 01462 628800 Fax: 01462 628801 Website: www.robertbloomfield.beds.sch.uk

CHARITY NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS World Vision Year 5 have held their first charity cake sale this term, raising a very respectable total of £83.28 for World Vision. This money will hugely benefit Samantha, the child we sponsor in Zambia, and ensure that she has clean water, healthy food and the opportunity to go to school. Well done Year 5, a super effort! Teenage Cancer Trust Well done to Year 8 for raising an impressive £427.31 for the Teenage Cancer Trust dur- ing the Autumn Term. Pupils and teachers have taken part in events such as ‘Soak the Teacher’ and ‘Football Volley Challenge’. They have also sold many cups of hot choco- late and cakes. The cheque was presented to Ms Anderson from the Trust during as- sembly on Friday 13/01/17. NSPCC Fiona Westwood from the NSPCC will be speaking to all Year 6 about the work they do and to launch our fundraising. Year 6 have already started raising money for the NSPCC and Childline and the next event—a sponsored Multiples Marathon—is sure to really add to that. Pupils will be bringing home further details and sponsor forms before half term. We hope that parents, friends and relatives will support them in this—it is a very worth- while cause which we have been supporting for many years, raising in excess of £30,000 and being nominated as their school of the Year for 2016 Help for Heroes 7G held a cake sale on Wednesday 8th February to raise funds for the Help for Heroes charity. The pupils and staff provided a huge variety of cakes and biscuits which were readily snapped up by the rest of the school. We raised just over £90! Robert Bloomfield Academy Alumni We now have a new Robert Bloomfield Academy Alumni page on Facebook. This page has been designed to enable former pupils to keep in touch with what is happening at the school. This will include news reports, job/career opportunities, work experience opportu- nities as well as offering our former pupils the chance to see what their old teachers are doing now. https://www.facebook.com/RBAlumni/ Reading Lists The schools’ reading lists are now available online. Please use the link below or use the links on the ‘Recommended Reads’ section of the LRC pages on Firefly. Just register as a parent and create your own account. https://www.lovereading4schools.co.uk/viewschool/9310/favourite All books are available to buy at a 25% discount. You can also download a free opening extract of each book to find out what your child will most enjoy before you buy. For every £100 spent by parents we are given a £5 book voucher to purchase more books for our school library. Happy reading and please let us know what you think of the new service. CONTACT DETAILS Email: [email protected] Tel: 01462 628800 Fax: 01462 628801 Website: www.robertbloomfield.beds.sch.uk

COMING UP NEXT HALF TERM 20/02/17—04/04/17 20th February Pupils back to school YR5 Rainforest Day Interform Boccia Subject Parents' Consulta#on Evening - 22nd February 5.30pm Achievement S#cker & A-endance Non- 24th February Uniform Day W/C 27th Feb Fairtrade Fortnight - 27th Feb - 10th March Book Week 2nd March World Book Day W/C 6th March Bikeability Subject Parents' Consulta#on Evening 8th March 5.30pm 13th March YR5 Hazard Alley 14th March YR5 Hazard Alley 15th March YR7 Big Bang Trip 16th March YR5 Hazard Alley Solo Music Concert 17th March YR5 Hazard Alley 22nd March Ensemble Music Concert 24th March Comic Relief 31st March Sports Photos 3rd April Spring Sports Hazard Model Exhibi#on (LRC) 4th April Spring Sports Hazard Model Exhibi#on (LRC) Last Day of Term 8th April YR7&8 Rugby Trip CONTACT DETAILS Email: [email protected] Tel: 01462 628800 Fax: 01462 628801 Website: www.robertbloomfield.beds.sch.uk