Parklife - 5th May

It's good to be back in school for the summer term and there's a lot to share with you since our last edition of Parklife!

Just before the Easter break students from Year 7 and Year 10 were invited to take part in a couple of the UEA Outreach programmes - WonderFest (Yr10) and Future Stars (Yr7).

Year 10's got a taste of Uni life, with a tour of the campus and by attending seminars in Sciences and Humanities. They also came first in the end of event quiz - beating 3 other local schools! #GoTeamSPA

Whilst Year 7's tackled the climbing wall, listened to some Sports talks and also had a tour of the campus and student accommodations.

These events provide excellent opportunities for our students to experience what university has to offer and it's great that we get to partner with the UEA to build confidence and inspire the next generation to reach their full potential and achieve their goals. We are also proud of the brilliant feedback received from the UEA, on the students conduct, engagement and curiosity about going to university.

Closer to home, our Year 10 GCSE Performing Arts students were invited to take a backstage tour of the Sewell Barn Theatre, where Joint Artistic Director Clare Williamson showed them everything from sound and lighting to dressing rooms. She also talked about the challenges of directing and performing in the theatre itself, which is a particularly difficult shape! It gave our students a real insight into the hard work and organisation that goes into a professional production.

SPA PTFA are delighted to support links with Sewell Barn Theatre and we are very much looking forward to future tours with other year groups and being able to arrange tickets for some students to see the upcoming performance of 'Under Milk Wood'. Sewell Barn Theatre is open to the public so, if you are interested in this or any future productions, please visit their website for further details https://www.sewellbarn.org/

Last weekend our Duke of Edinburgh students took part in their Silver Award in Thetford Forest, it was a little chilly in the tents at night but overall a fantastic expedition!

And yesterday we were able to take a group of 80+ students, from Year's 8, 9 and 10, to Cinema City to watch the film 'Encanto' in Spanish, as part of their modern foreign language curriculum.

We look forward to many more exciting trips, activities and events that are coming up over the summer term and will keep you up to date with all of these.

But it's not all educational trips here at Sewell Park! Our Year 11's are now under two weeks away from their first GCSE exam and have been putting in hours and hours of extra revision and review to ensure they are ready. It's also good to hear that most Year 11's now have their post 16 choices decided, with applications made and offers received. We really do wish them all the best over the coming weeks of exams and beyond.

We know that exam time can be particularly stressful and we want to remind all our students, not just Year 11's, that we care about their mental health and wellbeing and are always here to offer support in school plus signpost to local and national specialist agencies. There are loads of great resources listed on our website, as well as the student portal. Most of the app's are quick and easy to access and offer free, confidential advice.

https://www.sewellparkacademy.co.uk/mentalhealthandwellbeing

For any questions about upcoming events please email Miss Eyre, for exam enquiries get in touch with Miss Morgan and for student wellbeing please contact the Year Leader or Safeguarding team.

Lastly, we'd like to express our thanks to all the students and parents that have provided feedback over the last two days during our Ofsted inspection. We'll share the results of the report with you in due course, when they are available.