Dear Parents/Carers,

As we approach the end of term, there is plenty to still look forward to, including the Dance show, our Christmas lunch on the 11th December, Shackleton Year 8 rewards trip to London (other College trips to take place in the new year), Christmas Jumper Day as well as a festive bake sale on the 13th December and a non-uniform day to celebrate the last day of term on Friday 20th.  The Christmas lunch for all KS3 and 4 students will be on Wednesday 11th December and will cost £2.70 including a pudding.  The Sixth form restaurant will be serving their Christmas lunch on the Thursday 12th December.  The non-uniform day on the final day of term will be raising money for our co-curricular offer here at the academy so all donations will be gratefully recieved.  £2 is the amount that will be added onto ScoPay accounts next week.  The end of term is always a very busy one but contains lots to look forward to! 

We have now completed our Year 11 and 13 mock exams. It's been fantastic to see the maturity and dedication our students have shown during this time. They've been putting in significant effort and demonstrating a strong work ethic which is going to serve them very well for their upcoming final exams in a few months time.  We feel holding the mocks slightly earlier in the academic year than previous years has meant that it leaves more time for students and staff to work together to identify gaps in knowledge in order to maximise their final outcomes and also ensures that they are able to rest and recoup over the Christmas break ready for January.  Mr Hatherill is going to be sending a MAS11 update to all Year 11 parents so please do look out for this also.  

Post 16 parents evening is taking place on Thursday 12th from 4-7 pm in 2012 Hall and we are very thankful to our parents of Year 12 and 13 students who have been our guinea pigs of using the new MCAS booking system for appointments.  This will be our new method of booking appointments for all parents evenings following feedback from parents last year regarding our previous system.  Parents evenings will still take place in person but the booking is carried out by parents online.

We are pleased to report that the academies' positive behaviour culture continues to flourish. Our current reward-to-negative ratio stands at an impressive 8:1, showcasing the positive attitudes and actions of our students and how staff are celebrating it when it is deserved.  Golden tickets are continuing to be shown as a fast pass in the lunch queue and the pride that our students show when they recieved one across all year groups is something that we are incredibly proud of.

We recently recieved the below feedback from a member of the public regarding our students behaviour on the train.

'I wanted to inform you how I had noticed a very positive change in the Mascalls students, particularly since half term.  In fact, the children's behaviour has been delightful since half term.  The students behaviour is remarkable, in that is unremarkable.  The students are in smaller groups, so no longer massing a crowd and making it uncomfortable for other commuters due to their numbers.  They are dressed well and wearing uniform that proudly connects to the school. And so they should be.  It seems to me that even the children may even enjoy it more as they can catch up properly with friends to/from school.  Change happens in lots of little things we do every day.  And the students are doing a great job!  Well done you, the staff and the students!'

As an academy we pride ourselves on the general behaviour of our students and how they travel to and from school using a variety of different types of transport.  Despite this positive praise, we need all of our community to support in ensuring that our young people behave appropriately when away from our immediate care and yours as parents.  As a school we do go above and beyond and are routinely present on Paddock Wood high street, in the shops and at the train station.  In addition to this we appreciate your understanding and support in your role as parents to address any behaviour issues that take place in the community and to educate our young people in what appropriate behaviour is.  Not congregating in large groups and being considerate to members of the public on the pavements and when alighting the train etc are important messages to be reiterated.  Thank you as always for your support with this and please share the positive feedback we have recieved particularly with those who travel in on the train.  We have done so in advisory, but it would be great for them to know it has been shared more widely.  

Many thanks as always for your support.

Best wishes,

Mrs Brooks

Holocaust Galleries, Imperial War Museum 

On Wednesday, 4th December 30 Year 9 students along with Dr Pollack, Mr Matthews, and Ms Morton embarked on a journey to the Imperial War Museum, London. The trip was based around a guided workshop at the Holocaust Gallery. During travel to and from our mainline station of Waterloo our students were exemplary - we were very pleasantly surprised by the number of members of the public approaching us and congratulating us on the excellent behaviour of our students! Throughout the day, staff members at the museum commented on how engaged and enthusiastic students were, which was also pleasing.

This module, students have focused on understanding how and why the Holocaust happened, and the exhibits of the Holocaust Galleries are organised to answer this precise set of questions, particularly through eyewitness testimony. The exhibit itself is ordered chronologically. Equipped with iPads that drew students' attention to specific objects or displays, students became immersed in the varied lives of Jews before the Holocaust. It was pleasing that students had recognised so many elements taught in our lessons, and this visit gave them the opportunity to connect the dots between the content of lessons and the stories of Jewish individuals and families affected by the events that ensued. 

Turning a corner, students saw the bold and aggressive posters of the Nazi propaganda machine, and felt instantly that those fragile lives they had been reading about in the previous room were in great danger. One excellent feature of the gallery is that photography is forbidden: the testimony of survivors and many personal objects are given to the Imperial War Museum on the understanding that these are private artefacts that cannot be reproduced. The result was that students' phones never came out: they were so engrossed in the exhibits and stories. As students turned more corners, Hitler came to power, the Nazis enacted antisemitic legislation, and promoted their ideology around a 'master race' of Aryans. Following violent attacks on Jews, students read about the families urgently seeking refuge in places that were often closed to them. Another turn, and students were brought to the critical juncture of the start of World War II: the occupation of Poland brought with it the enclosure of Jews in ghettos. With another room, students were suddenly brought to the ghostly forests of places like Ponary, where mass-killings by shooting began following the invasion of the USSR in 1941. Finally, students found out about the liberation of camps, the shockingly insignificant prosecution of those responsible for the Holocaust, and the testimony of survivors and their families.

One story that stood out and that our guides for the day Sarah and Anne dwelt on was the story of Anita Lasker. Born in Germany, she had learned from a young age to play the cello. Deported to Auschwitz at the age of 18, she was made a part of the women's orchestra there. Entitled to extra bread rations, Anita traded these for a red jumper, on display at the museum. Anita, who is still alive, describes this red jumper as the object that saved her life, and it was such a privilege to be able to see it and hear about her story.

It seems almost impossible for any words to do justice to the enormity of the suffering and the complexity of the experiences of the Holocaust, but we are proud of how our students engaged with the exhibit maturely and formed their own powerful memories. It is probably an understatement to say that all of us left with a few thoughts to put in order and contemplate, but we feel that this gave students an authentic historical experience that represents well how complicated the past can be. After the visit, students relished an opportunity for a little freedom to explore the rest of the museum (including providing the gift shop with considerable custom!) before we returned home. Thank you above all to the students for their outstanding attitude during this trip, and for the members of staff who helped make it happen!

If you are interested in visiting the Imperial War Museum's Holocaust Galleries, there is more information on this page. The Galleries themselves are recommended only for those in Year 9 or over 14 years of age.