Charity

Our most recent Drop-Down Day for our Charity Service Area focused on ‘Charity Sports.’ We had a number of great activities for our Year 9 students, including a full afternoon of dance, dodgeball, and flag-making (some changes were made due to the rain).

We continue to support some great charities, and this time we chose Age UK. Many thanks for the support so far; the ‘Just Giving’ page is still open if you would like to make a donation. https://www.justgiving.com/page/acleacademy-nonstopsports-nonuniformday

Each group rotated through the activities. The dance group learned how to construct a dance routine with a focus on the theme of Norfolk. The groups then worked hard in the gym to dodge the ball in the team game of dodgeball. With the build-up to the football match, the groups designed and made England flags.

The event ended with an ice cream sale, with the proceeds going toward our charity of the month, Age UK. A big thanks to all the pupils and staff for supporting these activities in the Charity Service Area.

Community

For the final Drop-Down Day of the year, Year 7 participated in a series of activities themed around supporting the community, engaging in inter-house activities with the upcoming sports day, and improving the environment of Acle Academy.

Three groups in Year 7 took part in a range of arts and crafts activities, which included creating gifts of appreciation, making sports day paraphernalia, and painting community murals.

Additionally, a small number of students were selected to form two specialised groups. The first group assisted in the renovations of the Acle bungalow and its surrounding grounds. The second group of students helped to paint benches and assisted the site team in improving the appearance of various areas within the school.

DICE (Diversity, Inclusion, Campaigns and Equality)

For the DICE service area drop down day, our Year 7 students did some work on online radicalisation. They considered the meaning of radicalisation, the reasons why people choose to radicalise others and how to spot the signs of it in themselves and others. The students also had the opportunity to discuss their experiences and worries with their teachers and peers. In their second session they made an identity board where they considered what made them and created their own identity boards to celebrate their individuality. 

Enrichment

Years 9 and 10 took part in a carousel of exciting activities including ‘Ghost Audio’, where creepy musical scores were composed to accompany imagery from the film ‘The Woman in Black’; learning some British Sign Language and competing against the clock to spell words; creating and testing paper aeroplanes with a consideration of physics and control factors; working in groups to construct the tallest straw towers where their group and leadership skills were put to the test; and, due to the poor weather, a sports quiz in lieu of football penalties.

Students gained points for their houses as part of these competitions, the results of which will be shared soon!

Study support

Once again the Study Support Service Area welcomed professionals from our community to share their academic and career progression with our students - reminding them what they can go on to accomplish with a commitment to their studies here at Acle Academy. 

Dr. James Fisher from Acle Medical Practice introduced students to the variety of careers within the NHS and demonstrated how to use some of the medical kit he uses to take care of the people in our community. Dr. Anna Rodriguez spoke passionately about careers in animal care and Norfolk Police introduced pupils to the equipment they use to keep our communities safe - demonstrating how to use their handcuffs and TASER gun. Budding chefs enjoyed a knife skills workshop with our very own kitchen supremo, Mr. Kennedy - producing some expertly chopped vegetables that were turned into a tasty soup. 

Thank you to all the professionals who’ve worked alongside Study Support this year to inspire and motivate our young people to consider the plethora of careers their studies could lead them to. 

Wellbeng

The wellbeing service area day was great fun with a focus on both self-care and thinking of others. Students spent the day doing karaoke, playing board games, dancing and making gratitude cards. It was lovely to see everyone having such a good time whilst working as teams and considering those who have helped them this year.

To see more photos, please follow this link to our gallery.