June2011Issue - Westminster Academy

Principal Smita Bora with students
MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL
I hope you are enjoying your
holiday and I am looking forward
to welcoming Year 11 back on
Monday 6th June for their maths GCSE
exam and the rest of the Academy back
on Tuesday 7th June.
I enjoyed meeting so many parents at
the coffee morning on Friday. Parents
have asked me to do a whole school
assembly on Thursday 9th June to clarify
homework expectations to all students.
VOLUME 52 JUNE 2011
Westminster Academy students help launch Money
and Morals programme at the House of Lords
Westminster Academy Sixth
Form students helped to
launch the Money and Morals
Education programme and
website at the House of Lords
on 24 May 2011. They attended
along with a group of
influential educators and listened
to a speech by Lord
Lingfield, Brunel University
Pro-Chancellor.
The Money and Morals programme
advocates for the
teaching of ethics as part of
the curriculum in schools.
They provide educational materials
to secondary school to
help with the teaching of honesty,
integrity and social responsibility.
Westminster
Academy Sixth Formers enjoyed
a Money and Morals
workshop last year where students
explored real life dilemmas
that arise in businesses
everyday and debated the
best way that young people
could respond to these.
A recent survey of 10,000 13-
15 year olds in England and
Wales conducted by Warwick
University found that 25% of
teenagers condone cheating in
exams and fare-dodging while
10% felt it was acceptable to
shoplift. The survey also found
that 90% of teenagers believe
a good work ethic is important.
Principal Smita Bora with Lorik Sekiraqa, Sam
Collins and Carlos El– Hajj at the House of Lords
82% are keen to “reach the top” in
their careers and nearly three quarters
believe that having a job provides
a “sense of purpose”. WA student
Carlos El– Hajj said, “ Money
and Morals makes students aware of
important issues and how to tackle
these professionally.“
As well as completing any homework set
by teachers, students should be practising
questions and revising at least 6
pages from their CGP Revision books
(KS3 in Years 7/8 , and GCSE) even
when they do not have exams - please
do not give your children any treats
unless you are sure they have memorised
this amount of work per evening.
Students should also be reading at
least one book per week and a reading
list is attached to this newsletter. I
thank parents for this feedback and
wish you luck in trying out this new
homework regime!

Westminster Academy Newsletter Page 2
Year 10 Gardening Internship creates WA garden and
transforms gardens on local estates
Albehar Zogaj and Mohammed Ahmed with Mr Giles and one of
the planters they have transformed on the Lydford Estate.
A group of Year 10 students have been spending
every Friday working on a gardening internship. They
have created the WA garden at the side of the school
and also improved planters on the Warwick and Lydford
estates. Below they reflect on their experience:
Albehar Zogaj
This internship is OK, it is really nice to spend the
day working outside. For the WA garden we put the
railway sleepers in, in order to create the raised beds
and then we had to improve the soil by mixing in
compost. We planted onions and garlic from bulbs
and planted potatoes in the tyres and well as lots of
donated plants. We have learned that plants have to
be planted at the right depth and which ones need to
be planted deep and which ones planted in a shallow
hole. We also learned which plants were best
planted in the autumn (such as bulbs) and which
best planted in the spring. When we improved the
planters on the estates we used bark to cover the
soil in order to keep the moisture and give nutrients
We also used fish and bone fertilizers to feed the
plants.
Mamoun Elbashir
During this internship we have learned how to dig
Left: Ms Junker,
Abdulla Mohammed,
Mr Giles
and Faris Ibrahim
working on
planters on the
Lydford Estate
Mamoun Elbashir and Gary Manning with Katie from Vital
Regeneration creating planted containers.
effectively. When we put the sleepers in we
had to dig a trench half way, then place the
sleepers and after fill with soil. We spent a lot
of time removing weeds from the WA garden.
The work we did on the Warwick and Lydford
estates made the place look a lot better.
Gary Manning
I’m glad I was able to work with Katie from
Groundwork, she is a really nice person and
really knows her stuff. I learned all about
plants and how to care for them. Ms Junker is
a really good leader and teacher.
Mohammed Ahmed
We have made a big effort with the WA Garden
and have successfully made this place very
nice. It gives the people in the neighbourhood
an improved environment to enjoy and makes
Alfred Road look much better.
Elizabeth Martindale, chairman of the Lydford
Estate Tenants and Residents Association
said, “ We really appreciate the Year 10 students
who have been coming to the Lydford
Estate once a month to improve the planting
on our estate. The students have done a great
job and the planters now look great”
Ms Charlotte Junker said, “Both the students
and the garden have come a long way since
the autumn. They should be really proud of
their hard work and what they achieved. We
will continue to work on the WA garden
throughout Term 6“.

Westminster Academy Newsletter Page 3
Student leaders attend leadership training at QK
By Yasmin Addouz and Dina Hamade
On Monday morning, we were standing in the foyer of
Quintin Kynaston School, and there was a palpable buzz
of excitement. We were there with a group of Year 9s
and Mr Farmbrough, on a project to see how we could
improve student leadership at WA.
We were asked to sit on a row of chairs in the middle of
the school library, and then Miss Shuter, the Head
Teacher of QK entered the room. She started by thanking
us for coming and then proceeded to tell us what we
were going to do next.
She split us into four groups. The first activity was to create
a list of what we wanted to change in our school. We
had plenty of ideas but we weren’t sure how to achieve
them! Fortunately, each group was assigned two students
from QK. These students were all part of QK’s Student
Voice, and they helped us to plan ways to make our
changes happen.
After we were finished with this we had to go and present
our ideas to the rest of the room. QK’s Head of Student
Leadership came and wrote the top four ideas on a
flip chart and evaluated possible solutions for them. This
helped us a lot because it addressed many unanswered
questions that we all had in our minds.
The second activity was a carousel of four activities to
test our teamwork and leadership skills. The first involved
walking round an obstacle while blindfolded, the
second was a discussion activity, the third was a activity
based on using our imagination to imitate a famous
landmark using everyday objects, and then the final activity
involved coming up with ideas all together about
ways to improve our school leadership program. These
activities all helped us understand the way we all think,
Zainab Yahya, Mohamed El-Guerbouzi, Ehab Khettari and
Tyef Rahman at the QK training day
and how to listen carefully to each other’s
ideas.
Finally we were introduced to the idea of
prefects. This is the current school leadership
system in QK, which seems to be
working very well. The idea involves nominated
students being assigned to help
keep an eye on behaviour in school and
being responsible for dealing with it. The
key to making this idea work it is that
everything is set up and dealt with by students,
which enables students to feel
more comfortable about speaking up
about how the feel.
After the prefect idea was introduced we
had our lunch and headed back to
school. We spent an hour putting together
an overall plan for creating more
student leadership at WA, and we hope to
introduce these ideas to the school soon!
Year 7 Trip to the Imperial War Museum
By Yousra Mansour
My Year 7 topic class went on this
amazing trip to the Imperial War
Museum .The trip was very amusing
and interesting and we got to
learn many new facts. It was very
useful and reflected back what
we were learning about in our
Topic class. The best part of the
trip was the TRENCHES ! We
could experience a WW1 trench
and go inside it. We could really
experience how scary it was for
the soldiers and the deeper we
went into it, the more creepy and
scary it became.
Another fun , enjoyable and entertaining
experience was the
BLITZ ! It was so realistic even
though it was very unsettling as
we lay there trembling and panicking
with fear. The Museum
has very old and mysterious
things from the wars. I loved
going to the Imperial War Museum.
Everyone in my class
enjoyed it too, who wouldn’t
enjoy this fascinating trip. No
one should never miss the
great chance to visit The Imperial
War Museum. YOU'LL
LOVE IT TO BITS!

Westminster Academy Newsletter Page 4
Trip to Amnesty International headquarters
By Adrian Dardha
Amnesty International is an organisation that tries to help
protect the human rights of many innocent people who
currently have their human rights abused, broken and
ignored . It tries to protect people’s dignity in some cases
and also tries to inform humanity of the bias in the real
world. Amnesty is a united group of people which can easily
point out the wrongs that happen in a certain country or
place, embarrassing the people who have severely broken
the laws of human rights.
Amnesty International has listed several places and countries
where people’s human rights are not protected.
These are a few of the places on their list: Guantanamo
Bay, China, Nigeria, Libya and Palestine. For example, let’s
talk about a serious incident that occurred in China. Liu
Xiaobo, a fifty-four year old scholar and author who won a
prize for his outstanding contribution to human rights, is
currently serving an eleven year sentence on charges of
“inciting subversion of state power” imposed after an unfair
trial. Liu is a prominent government critic who has repeatedly
called for human rights protection, political accountability
and democratisation in China. This short sum-
The WA Amnesty International Club at their Human
Rights Headquarters near Liverpool St.
mary gives us an understanding that
brave people like Liu Xiaobo can stand up
against the mercilessness of a very harsh
communist government which the whole
country must abide. These brave people
and people like you, united together, can
create a world where human rights are
respected and where we can all thrive
together.

Westminster Academy Newsletter Page 5
Academy Attendance
Regular school attendance is an important part of giving your child the best possible start in life.
Talk to your child and their tutor to solve any difficulties you have in getting your child to go to
school - and there are other forms of support available if you still have problems.
Regular school attendance - why it's so important
• Going to school regularly is important to your child’s future. For example, children who miss
school frequently can fall behind with their work and do less well in exams. Children with the best
GCSE results and the highest levels usually have attendance over 97%.
• Good attendance shows potential employers that your child is reliable.
Research suggests that children who attend school regularly could also be at less risk of getting
involved in antisocial behavior or crime.
Preventing your child from missing school - what you can do
You can help prevent your child skipping school by:
• Making sure they understand the importance of good attendance and punctuality
• Taking an interest in their education - ask about school work and encourage them to get
involved in school activities.
• Discussing any problems they may have at school - inform their Tutor, Head of House or
the Principal about anything serious.
• Not letting them take time off school for minor ailments - particularly those which would not
prevent you from going to work.
Arrange medical appointments and outings after school hours, at weekends or during school holidays.
This will help to prevent disruption to your child’s education and to the school. Under normal
circumstances, you should not expect the school to agree to your child going on holiday during
term time.
This year we have been instructed by School Inspectors (Ofsted) to increase our attendance levels
FROM 92% TO AT LEAST 97%.
Please help us to achieve this.
The last day of school before the Spring Half Term is 27 May and the students
return on Tuesday 7th June
Next Year we finish school on the 22 nd July 2011 for the Summer Holidays, and return on
Wednesday 7 th September 2011.
PLEASE DO NOT BOOK ANY FLIGHTS BEFORE THIS TIME, AS THEY WILL
NOT BE AUTHORISED.

Westminster Academy Newsletter Page 6
Mosaic Stars attend World of Work session
at Conran & Partners
The three Mosaic Stars students
from Westminster Academy,
Kaled Said, Mariam Al Kayssi
and Ismail Tajzai, spent the afternoon
at the prestigious design
and architecture firm Conran &
Partners.
The students were received by
Azhar, Director of Architecture,
who spoke to the students about
the history, ethos and work of
Conran & Partners. Azhar also
inspired the students with his
professional journey in the world
of the creative industries. The
students were in awe of the collaborative
efforts the industry
represented. Azhar spoke to the
students about the importance of
hard work and pursuing their
dreams. He paid particular attention
to the importance of developing
skills such as communication,
interpersonal and presentation.
Azhar gave the students a
guided tour through the office,
giving them an exclusive view of
working life at Conran & Partners.
The fun didn’t stop there with the
students being given an ecodesign
workshop at the Design
Museum, where they designed
and evaluated the eco credentials
of new products. The students
also had a tour of the
2011 Design Award gallery and
marvelled at the winning design.
Azhar; Director of Architecture at
Conran & Partners
Year 8 students enjoy ‘Puzzle Day’ lesson
The Happy Puzzle Company spent a day at the
Academy recently and several Year 8 maths
classes enjoyed a lesson working in teams trying
out their puzzles. Here is some of the feedback
that Ms Claudia Fayers class gave:
Rahwa Zeinu
I thought it was really interesting and I enjoyed it
very much. It helped our self-confidence and developed
our brain skills whilst working as a team.
We did lots of puzzles and tried to solve mystery
things. I especially enjoyed the illusion puzzle, it
was very creative. The most important lesson of
the day was team work- how well we worked together.
Safwaan El-Madkouri
Puzzle Day was the best day ever. The puzzle I
liked best was when my team had to join up all
odd pieces together to form an endless road. I
also liked the black and white circle illusion- it
freaked me out when I saw the lines on my
friend’s face. Another good one was when we
had to hang all the nails on top each other without
any nails falling.
Ali Fatahipoor
In my opinion I found it really exciting and a fun
experience. It made me visualise the challenge
of creating the puzzles and solving them. It also
was clear to me how mathematics was linked to
puzzles and how we could use maths and our
brains to find the best solutions to the puzzles.
There was a splendid atmosphere in the class as
every group tried to be the first to solve the puzzle.
My favourite challenge was when we had to
balance the penguins on the ice without dropping
them. This puzzle showed us how our
group work skills and team-work were needed
to complete the puzzle. The entire lesson was
really great.

Westminster Academy Newsletter Page 7
Gifted and Talented Clubs
Year
Group
G&T Club Description Room
International Book and
film Club
Chess/scrabble club
UCS Activity Group
Students study a range of international texts to widen their
repertoire and develop their literacy skills.
Students have the opportunity to compete against their
peers with these games, stretching their lateral thinking
and literacy skills.
Students undertake a variety of project work with volunteers
from UCS, our partner school.
Room 125. Friday
1.45-2.45
122. Friday 1.45-
2.45
126. Friday 1.45-
2.45
Key Stage
3
(Years 7
& 8)
School Newspaper and
BBC News report
Debating
Students prepare and write articles reporting on local and
current events. They will produce one school newspaper
per term.
Students learn how to prepare and take part in a debate,
using and developing communication skills. Students will
debate over various matters including current affairs. There
will also be chance to take part in the Rotary ‘Youth
Speaks’ competition.
Students have the opportunity to stretch their languages
skills by using online resources. They will also have the opportunity
to complete reading and listening exercises with
the aid of a computer
127. Thursday
3.45-4.45
122. Friday lunchtime.
104. Monday
lunchtime.
Languages computer
club
Chinese club
Learn about Chinese language and culture. You will also
have the opportunity to take the ‘asset languages’ qualification,
which can give you UCAS points for when you apply
to University
G15. Wednesday
3.45-4.45
English – Public speaking
club
Students develop their speech writing and public speaking
skills, in preparation for competing in the Rotary Club’s
Youth Speaks competition
122. Thursday
3.45-4.45
Kay
Stage 4
(years 9,
10 and
11)
All years
Citizenship/ English –
Debating club
Citizenship/English –
Interact club
KEY STAGE 4 AND 3
SAM learning
Students learn about current affairs and develop their debating
skills, in preparation for participating in a debate
with students from other schools they will be mentored by
students from Oxbridge and London Universities. Students
will also prepare an entry to the BBC’s Student Question
Time competition
Students form a charity fundraising committee, and decide
on ways in which to raise money for two charities.
KS3 students use SAM learning to study GCSE modules.
KS4 students use SAM learning to study AS modules
122. Thursday
3.45-4.45
Wednesday 3.45-
4.45. Room 125
Library computers

Westminster Academy Newsletter Page 8
Students work with professional poet and
song writer in Word of Mouth workshops
Westminster Academy has been very lucky to be able
to work with Paddington Arts on the Word of Mouth
project both this term and last. In Term 4 Ms Catherine
Fox’s Year 8 Topic Class learned debating skills
and this term Mr Russell Harris’s Year 8 Topic class
was able to work with a professional poet.
The students worked with Aina Westlye, a song writer
and poet from the Defcon Workshop, to create poems:
Gum
Gum; so tasty and sweet,
A thing you can chew, but can’t eat.
Not allowed in school,
But when teachers chew, the kids drool.
It makes your breath brand new.
These are the many reasons I like to chew.
-Taulant Sylejmani
Love
Love is like a shadow
It follows you
Never leaves you alone
But in the darkest places
You cannot see it
You cannot find it
And even if you search for it
It won’t be found
But you can wait for it to come back
Just like the girl you’re waiting for
-Haitam Ajban
Aina Westlye of Defcon Workshop working with students
from Mr Russell Harris’s Year 8 Topic class
There once was a rude little boy
There once was a rude little boy,
He loved going around saying “oi!”,
He was locked in a cell,
It was just like hell,
‘Cause he played with a gun like a toy.
-Samir Hamady
Homework
Why does it exist?
So evil, always hiding in the mist
And when it strikes, its wrath unleashed
The only saviour is the pen of good deed
-Hamza Elamrani
There’s not much of me left to take
There’s not much of me left to take
You’ve taken it all away
But I still feel the pain
Of you stepping into this game
Either you go away
Or I will
Cause you pain
Because you will always be the same
-Adam Asad
Life is a blessing
Life is a blessing
Do not take it for granted
Death is closing in
God looks down on you
His eyes piercing through your skin
No one can help you
You cannot escape
By then it will be too late
-Mhd Afsan Uddin

Westminster Academy Newsletter Page 9
Arta selected to help launch the
Get Set Olympic Student Ticket Scheme
Left: Arta with
Boris Johnson
and Lord Coe
and students
from five other
schools at the
Launch.
Right: Arta and
Ms Williams
with Olympic
mascots
Wenlock and
Mandeville
By Ms. Candice Williams
On 16 May I was lucky to have the opportunity to
attend the Olympic Get Set Student Ticket Launch
for London schools with Year 9 student and
sports star Arta Pacuku. The launch was to celebrate
that thousands of tickets to the 2012 Olympic
and Paralympic Games have been set aside for
school students.
Westminster Academy is one of the first Westminster
Schools to be accepted into the scheme to apply
for free tickets, and we are hosting an event on
Spend your Learning miles by
8 July 2011
Ms Rahimi reminds students that the last day for
taking orders for Learning Miles prizes will be
Friday 8 July. Your orders must be received by that
date in order to be filled before the end of the
school year.
Students are still trying to order prizes with insufficient
Learning Miles for that prize. Ms Rahimi asks
that student carefully check their Learning Miles on
their ME page before they apply for prizes. If they
do not have sufficient Learning Miles, the order will
not be accepted.
Students should plan now how they hope to spend
their Learning Miles, as ones earned this year will
not be carried over to September.
24 June to help others schools become eligible
for the Olympic Get Set Network.
Arta and I were very lucky to meet Seb Coe
and Mayor of London Boris Johnson at the
launch. Arta, along with five students from
other schools, was selected to have her photo
taken with both the Mayor and the Olympic
mascots Wenlock and Mandeville. Arta presented
herself really well and was a credit to
Westminster Academy. Her eagerness and
cheerful attitude is to be commended.
WA Bike Maintenance Club
secures a grant from the
Primary Care Trust
The WA Bike Maintenance Club, run by Ms Sandra
Taylor secured £600 from the Primary Care
Trust which will be used for spare parts, pool
bikes for training, and tools.
The Club, which meets on Thursdays after
school, teaches students bike repairs and also
takes students on fun rides.
WA Bike Maintenance Club on a ride to Hyde Park

Westminster Academy Newsletter Page 10
WA Year 8 Boys Football Team are the undefeated
Westminster Champions
By Mr Diwele Lubi
The WA Year 8 boys football team have had the
first defeat-free season for a Westminster team
since the Westminster league started. The figures
of WA boys’ achievement speak for themselves:
Won 7, Drew 1, Lost 0. The boys’ determination
to win paid off and the scores throughout
the competition say it all, 8- 1, 9- 0, 7- 0, etc.
all in favour of our boys. Ricky Gillard Chase,
QPR coach, was suitably gracious: "I feel privileged
to be able to share a moment in the life of
WA boys football team with you”
Marcelo Morais (Captain) was equally proud of
his team, saying that the success was “truly
monumental and fantastic”. Mr Lubi (Manager)
said, “These boys represent what Westminster
Academy stands for, demonstrating the HEART
values with their professional teamwork”
The player of the season chosen by his team
mates and also top goal scorer, is Jadell Brown-
Bleu. He insisted on team work, saying, “It is more
about the team than an individual player. Obviously
I’m proud to have scored 22 goals but it is
because I’m surrounded by very talented players.”
The team’s success is doubly impressive given the
ultra-competitive nature of modern football.
According to Mr Compton, Curriculum Co-ordinator
for PE, the team made history by becoming the
first boys football team to win the Year 8 league
since the Academy started in 2006.
Rugby Seven Training Day brings students together
with international players
By Ms Candice Williams
Last week, Alan Gothard and I had the pleasure
of taking a group Year 9 –10 boys away to a
Rugby Seven’s training day. During the day we
were very lucky to meet the English, Welsh,
Spanish, Portuguese and Russian Rugby
Seven’s international teams. During the day,
the students had the chance to warm up with a
couple of players from the Welsh team and for
most of the morning, the students played
proper games against three other school
teams. While playing these games, the Spanish
and Portuguese teams walked around and met
our students and answered lots of their questions.
At lunch time, the English side arrived and gave
a short talk about how they all became a part of
the team, and all the schools got a chance to
get pictures and have a chat to them. For the
remainder of the day, our students played very
well against the other schools, scoring a very
good try and showed remarkable improvement.
During these games, the English team watched
and gave some feedback to our students.
Ms Williams, Mr Gothard and WA students with the England Rugby
Seven Team
The students that attended on the Academy’s behalf
were extremely well behaved and represented
the Academy in a positive light! We have many
comments from the other school’s PE teachers that
WA was the most improved team and that our students
had great attitudes on and off the field. Our
students were even giving encouragement to the
other teams when they scored tries.
The students that took part were Dinuka Hettiarachchi,
Khalil Kennou, Labinot Krasniqi, Mohammed
Abdul Jalil, Omar Selman, Rio Spencer-Kamli,
Vladimir Issac Okusanya, Yahya Bira, Zachariah
Griffiths-Williamson and Kaimid Mahmoud. I have
awarded every boy with learning miles, and myself
and Mr Gothard are so proud of them!!!