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As we move to the final day of our 8 week term, I am sure you, like myself, have felt a pang of envy as our family, friends and colleagues who have had their half term break this week, enjoyed the good weather that parts of this country offered, or sent you photos of blue skies and seas, from further afield.

It has been a very busy term and I would like to thank you all for your continued support of your children, as you work with us to help us work with them and with the child in the middle, our moral purpose as parents, carers and teachers bears fruit as we see them learn and progress in their studies.

This term we held our Parents’ Evenings, for all but our Year 7s. These evening meetings where parents, carers, teachers and students can talk honestly about the learning journey, so far and staff share the key strategies to support further progression in learning, are so very well received by all those who attended. I thank you for making the time to meet with our staff and for your numerous positive comments about the knowledge our staff have of your children, their pride in their work with your children and the enthusiasm and passion they have for their subject and wanting your child to succeed. We all know that positive partnerships between school and home is the key to the success of a child. We urge you to keep making contact with our staff, whatever the issue, for positive and constructive feedback can only help the academy improve its work and help us to reflect on how to work creatively to increase progress.

Term 1

Ms Hilary MorawskaPrincipal

Newsletter

This term we hosted our annual Open Evening, which was again very well attended by many keen Year 6’s who have been made aware of the excellent quality of education, care and support which is provided by the academy. The academy sparkled on the night and, as always, our science department kept all our visitors enthralled with fire making bubbles which didn’t burn your hands, visual sound waves, inflatable sheep hearts (real ones, which made me feel a little faint) and our resident skeleton who directed everyone into the laboratories.

Our Year 10 drama students, presented an abridged and very humorous shortened version of Romeo and Juliet, which sadly, always concluded with the demise of the two star-crossed lovers. I am hoping that their next performance will have found the ending a little more uplifting. It was, however, lovely to observe the Year 6’s watching the production in awe of the young actors. Our students who supported on this evening, were a credit to our academy and to you, as parents and carers. They sung from the rooftops about their reasons for wanting to join our academy and what keeps them here, in terms of their learning, progress, career opportunities, rewards, trips and the care provided, for every child is known.

Now that the half term break is soon to be upon us, your children may be wanting to stay up late because they have no school the following day. Well, we would prefer they do not and that they keep to the same sleep patterns and if anything get as much sleep as they can during sleeping hours, for sleep is so important for success.

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The majority of teenagers (and probably most of the adults, I know, myself included) find it hard to get up in the morning. Research has shown that a lack of sleep causes both cognitive and physical issues. Sleep is very much linked to memory and learning and a little more sleep can give a boost to your child’s overall motivation (hopefully for learning), reduce their stress and generally make your child happier. Who could ask for more! So..when you see the blue light of the electronic device on in the late and early hours, encourage sleep instead.

I wish you a very restful half term break and we look forward to welcoming your child back into the academy, invigorated and much slept.

Ms MorawskaPrincipal

Children and Young People’s Trust (CYPT) Partnership Event: Focus on youth voice

We are very proud to announce that Tom Bruges, Year 11, will be representing the academy at this event. The main focus of the annual Children and Young People’s Trust (CYPT) Partnership working event is Youth Voice. Tom will be leading workshops and showcase sessions for the participants from local authorities, NHS, schools and colleges, Sussex Police and voluntary organisations delivering services for children and young people.Well done Tom we will follow up on this story in our next edition.

The Hastings Storytelling Festival

On Friday 11th October, as part of The Hastings Storytelling Festival, we had the storyteller Xanthe Gresham visit the academy to deliver exciting sessions with Year 7 students. The students were able to see stories come to life and had the opportunity to participate in the storytelling themselves. She told an interactive story endorsed by Quinten Blake called ‘The Man of the Golden River.’ The students found it thoroughly enjoyable.

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PARENT VIEW

As recipients of our provision, we would ask you to take part in a confidential online survey to check how you feel we are meeting the needs of your child at The Hastings Academy.

We are constantly striving to improve and would really welcome your participation in this important exercise. Parent View asks for your opinion on 12 things about the academy, which is designed to help us improve your child’s overall experience with us. Log onto: www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk or follow our link www.thehastingsacademy.org.uk/parents/linksThank you

Hilary Morawaska

Free Food, FREE ‘Magic Breakfast’ for ALL Children!We are very happy to invite your child to our fantastic free breakfast provision! A delicious, healthy breakfast is available every day, offering every child great fuel for learning from 8am.

Research has shown that children who have a healthy breakfast achieve more at school – make sure your child doesn’t miss out!

It is open to all children, and it’s totally free!You don’t need to register your child, they can just turn up on the day. Do encourage your child to participate in this great opportunity to help fuel their day.

Hilary Morawska

PARENTPAY - Trips and Food

ParentPay has been a great success and we are now using it more and more! Not only do we use it for payment of trips but also for free trips, after school activities, leavers’ hoodies, dance hoodies, surveys, prom tickets and school dinners.

If you have still not logged in to your account, it is a really simple process. Please email j.ryder@hasla.org.uk for your log in details.

You do not need to add your bank details if this is a concern to you. If you have an item to pay for, you can contact me on the above email address and I will issue you with a PayPoint bar code that you can use in local shops that display the PayPoint sign.

Can I remind parents that you will not receive confirmation of a free trip. This is only available on payable items where you will receive a receipt of payment.

If you have any queries regarding your child’s lunch account please contact j.comer@hasla.org.uk

Julie Ryder

We would like to welcome you to our Parent Forum Meetings. These are held once a term from 6pm until 7pm.

This is an informal meeting, over a cup of tea and biscuit, for parents to hear what is happening in the school and also a chance to bring their thoughts and ideas to the Forum.

If you would like to attend please email a.bourne@hasla.org.uk.

Thank you. Phil Snelling

Parent forum meetings

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Music

Rising Stars at The Hastings AcademyWe are lucky to have many brilliant instrumentalists in our music department at The Hastings Academy and many of these, on top of their normal studies, take music grades. Both Hatti and Tom have shown great determination and resilience towards their recent grades and have passed with amazing results. Tom who aspires to be a famous classical guitarist passed his Trinity College London Grade 8 in Classical Guitar with a Distinction, this is an incredible achievement. Hatti hopes when her studies are over to join the New York Symphony Orchestra, after passing her Grade 7 in violin. There is nothing that can stop her chasing her dream! We are incredibly proud of them both and wish them all the best for their future in music. In addition, we would like to thank Tom for his continued support of the academy at our events, where he entertains our audiences with his wonderful music.

Women in Science for Hastings Storytelling FestivalOur Hastings Academy musicians were given a wonderful opportunity by ‘Hastings Thrives’ to take part in the annual Hastings Storytelling Festival. Through song writing we explored some iconic women in science and composed songs inspired by them. We were lucky enough to be joined by local musician/songwriter Anna Page who helped us put melody to our words and create some beautifully unique songs.

Once these songs were fine-tuned we had a trip to YiaYia’s studio where we had an amazing experience of recording the work. It was a hectic morning with only three hours to record the four songs but our students as always were professional and well-rehearsed, ensuring they kept to the tight schedule. This brilliant work was to then be showcased at The Hastings Storytelling Festival Audio Installation in Hastings town centre. Visitors to the audio installation were able to step into a specially built booth where they could listen to our students songs inspired by women in science. We couldn’t wait to visit the installation ourselves!

The whole project was a wonderful experience for our students, looking at the journey from the first line of lyrics, right up to the production and distribution of the song, they were involved in the whole process giving them a real authentic insight into the music industry.

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in Yia Yia’s Studio

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Music

Our students celebrating women in Science. The women who inspired their musical collaboration.

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Music

We have another year of brilliant gigs lined up for The Brass Monkey’s Hastings Live Event.

Two of our Hastings Academy bands took to the stage Thursday 17th October with two sets of original music, they did an awesome job and we are looking forward to their next performance!

Lots of our bands are preparing music for this event and we can’t wait to see who is next to showcase their work. Make sure you pencil in 12th December for our own Hastings Academy Takeover at The Brass Monkey, it will be a festive celebration of all the talented musicians we have at the academy. See you there!

Miss East

Breakfast ClubWe are pleased to announce we have started up our Breakfast Club. This is open to all students and is free. Come along and enjoy some cereal or porridge and a cup of tea. Open from 7:45am until 8:30am in the PRIDE Centre.

Breakfast and the free bagels are still available from the canteen from 8:00am.

We are also in need of your help, if you have any bowls/plates/cutlery or cups you no longer need we would welcome these for our Breakfast Club. Contact Pete Avery. Thank you.

Term 2 November 04.11.19 Start of Term 2

13.11.19 18:00 – 19:00 Parent Forum Meeting

14.11.19 16:00-17:00 Year 7 Parent Consultation Evening

19.11.19 18:00-19:00 Year 11 Revision Evening

27.11.19 TBC Awards Evening for Year 11 (Leavers 2019)

December 20.12.19 End of Term 12 Noon

Important Dates

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Science TripNew Scientist Live Trip

On 10th October we took some of our Year 9 students to the London Excel Centre to experience New Scientist Live. Upon arrival the students watched a demonstration of a real life rocket man, Sam Rogers, in the rocket suit he designed for Gravity Industries. They were impressed and amazed as he soared across the car park.

Within the exhibition hall it was easy to be overwhelmed by the number of stands with interactive activities for the students to immerse themselves in from; exploring space, the moon and understanding what goes into a space suit, to walking through the technologies of an operating theatre and sitting in the driver’s seat of a technologically advanced tractor.

During the day students were able to hear from a range of scientists including the rocket man Sam Rogers explaining how the suit was built; Tim Peak, the British astronaut, who was sharing plans to have man living on the moon in the near future. All in all, it was a great day

out giving the students a new outlook towards careers in science and STEM building on their continued enthusiasm for the subject.

Mr Rose

Performance in Education

On 8th October our Year 7 students watched a fantastic pedestrian safety theatre presentation called ‘Streetwise’. This engaging theatre presentation focused on the potential consequences of lapses in concentration and risk-taking behaviour around roads. These included using phones and listening to music, as well as 'messing about' with friends and the importance of paying full attention on the roads.

The project was a live theatre and multimedia style show representing four Year 7 students on a Geography field trip. During the show the Year 7’s saw all the characters being distracted from road safety by using mobile phones, messing about with their friends and listening to music.

Surveys carried out by the Year 7’s suggest that students attitudes towards staying safe around roads has improved and therefore will hopefully contribute towards changing unsafe behaviours.

Mrs Treloar

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Paris Trip

On a chilly morning just past midnight we assembled our Paris 2019 tour group in front of The Hastings Academy, ready for our jam-packed, whirl-wind 3 day visit; 28 students accompanied by Miss Macmillan, Mr Money, Mrs Pepper and Vincent the coach driver.

Travelling through the night by coach and (very empty) ferry, we arrived around 9:30am at the French national stadium, ‘Le Stade de France’ and were given a full tour of the stadium which was in preparation for a music concert at the weekend. We were shown the player’s changing rooms, bathrooms, pre-match training room, player’s tunnel and the police cells for any non-law abiding spectators!

Time for a spot of lunch at McDo where we played real life french bingo as our French orders numbers were called, when ready (thank goodness that our number skills were up to scratch; we all got the right orders)!

Next stop was the Sacré-Cœur and Montmartre area, where we made the ascent to the top of the hill and enjoyed a snack in the artists’ quarter. Some of our inquisitive students themselves took advantage of the street portrait artists skills or a ride on the Carousel.

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Paris TripDay 2 started out with a self-guided tour of Musée d'Orsay – an old train station that became too small for the trains and so was converted into an art gallery. It houses many famous paintings and sculptures and a particularly large collection of impressionist art works. Lunch was then bought from a nearby ‘Monoprix’, which we enjoyed leisurely on the River Seine during our hour boat trip departing from the Eiffel Tower taking in the fabulous architecture alongside the river down as far as Notre Dame in its process of renovation, and back again. After a photo moment, it was now time to make the climb to the top of one of the most iconic towers in the world; le

Tour Eiffel. It was built to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the French revolution and now celebrates its 130th year. It was busy but many brave souls ventured to the top and took in the fabulous, wide-stretching views of Paris.

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Paris Trip

Day 3 started peacefully with a stroll around the Père Lachaise Cemetery which provided some great photo opportunities for our photographers. Père Lachaise was the first garden cemetery, as well as the first municipal cemetery in Paris. It is a very popular place of burial and believe it or not, there is a huge waiting list! It is the final resting place of many famous people; Eugène Delacroix, Molière, Edith Piaf, Chopin, Marcel Proust, Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde are among the cemetery’s notable names. The list of famous individuals who are buried here include 40 singers, 40 composers and 75 painters.

From here we travelled out of the centre of Paris towards the town of Versailles, for our scheduled visit to the exuberant Chateau de Versailles; a true monument of breath-taking decadence! The Palace of Versailles has been listed as a World Heritage Site for 30 years and is one of the greatest achievements in French 17th century art. Louis XIII's old hunting pavilion was transformed and extended by his son, Louis XIV, when he installed the court and government there in 1682. A succession of kings continued to embellish the Palace up until the French Revolution.

After basking in utter decadence it was time to refuel ourselves, which we did at the market place and were now ready for the journey back home. We made good time and were soon back in Hastings ready for our beds after a busy few days!

Mrs Pepper

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Open Evening and Open Mornings

Our Open Evening was held on 10th October; it was a very successful evening with many prospective students for September 2020 meeting with our staff and students. We also held four very busy open mornings the following week, again all very successful and our prospective parents and students enjoyed visiting lessons and talking to the children about their learning. Our senior students lead the tours and were an absolute credit to the school, talking to parents and answering their questions.

This is what some of the parents said about their experience at The Hastings Academy:

“Of all the schools we have visited we felt the most welcome at your academy”“Mr Snelling showed us round with a delightful team of children”“They took their time, answered all questions openly and honestly and showed us any areas we asked to see”“What really came across was that the Mr Snelling and the children were proud to show us their school”“what a lovely building the school is and it has a very calm feel”“I wanted to not like the school but I did!”

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Open Evening and Open MorningsOur Year 7s welcoming our audience Our Year 10 drama students

Our Head Boy and Head Girl talking about their aspirations

Our academy information centre Flying high!

A juggling staff member

Some of our dance students practisingBuilding earthquake proof buidings out of marshmellows and cocktail sticks

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Eggtooth Project

Book Review Competition Prizes of up to £15 Voucher Reviews to Mrs Bowers by 15th November

Don’t forget to include in your review:• Book’s title and author• A brief summary of the plot that doesn’t give away too much• Comments on the book’s strengths and weaknesses• The reviewer’s personal response to the book with specific examples to support praise or

criticism• Does the book fit into a genre, like mystery or romance, and why?• When and where does the action in the book take place? Does the author do a good job

of making you feel like you are there? and How?• Are the main characters believeable? do you know anyone like them? Does the author

adequately describe them?• What do you like or dislike about the author’s writing style? That is, do you like the way

the author uses words?• Use concrete examples to back up your points, such as describing a scene that really

moved you or using a couple of short quotes from the book.

Dont forget to include your opinion of the book, whether you like or disliked it.

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Term 2

Please see the changes for students entering and exiting the school from Monday 4th November

Student Entrance

From Monday 4th November the student entrance will be via the PRIDE Centre.

Student Exit

The student exit will be via the PRIDE Centre, East Hill and the sports gate.

A reminder about uniform:

Any student not following our expectations will be picked up and addressed before they come into the main building.

Students must wear:

Students are not permitted to wear the following:• Boots (nothing covering the ankle)• Leggings, jeans, skinny jeans, jeggings, skinny/drainpipe trousers or sweatshirts/hoodies• Nail varnish, long nails or false long nails (Health and Safety)• Heavy make-up including eyeliner flicks, heavy eyebrows/eye shadow/foundation• Facial piercings or multi ear piercings• Hooped earrings (Health and Safety)• Dyed hair colouring• Extreme haircuts - shaved heads ‘zero cuts’• Rings• Bracelets• Necklaces• Badges - other than official school badges

• Turquoise polo shirt with academy logo• White shirt with academy logo• Academy blazer• Plain black straight-legged school trousers or black-pleated knee length uniform skirt• Black shoes or black trainers - no logos or white trims• Girls wear plain black or white knee high socks (these stop below the knee not on or over the

knee) or plain/neutral/black coloured tights• Boys wear plain black or dark coloured socks - no stripes/patterns• Hair adornments should be minimal and plain (not brightly coloured or patterned• Optional: One pair of small stud earrings only in the ear lobe