FBA Update

We are very proud of our Personal Development programme at FBA. Ofsted was also very impressed and rated us Outstanding in this area. We have spent a great deal of time planning and refining our provision using feedback from students and drawing upon the creativity and hard work of our staff.

We also invest a lot of our funding in this area as we believe it brings so much to our students.

Last Wednesday was the second Personal Development Day of the year. The activities for the year groups centre on different aspects of the KRACERS Values and contribute to the wider social and cultural development of the students.

Year 7 focused on the Tropical Rainforest and conservation whilst the Year 8 discovered why our uniform is green and purple as they retraced the steps of the Suffragettes. Year 9 and the 6th form talked about relationships and sex education with amazing speakers from Everyone's Invited and It happens education. Year 10 had a packed day focused on getting future ready which included psychometric tests, interview techniques and CV writing.

As part of the preparation for the GCSE English Literature examinations, the Year 11 students took part in a day which focused on three of the set texts, Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Dickens's A Christmas Carol and Priestly’s An Inspector Calls. The students watched live performances of Macbeth and Christmas Carol and were able to quiz the actors about the texts.

We want to express our gratitude for all our hard work of our staff and commend the behaviour of our students who were delightful as always!

Friday 14th February - Year 7 Streetwise Performance

Year 7 Spelling Bee School Final

End of Spring half term 1

Sunday 16th February- Ski trip departs

Monday 24th February - Year 11 mock examinations start

Wednesday 26th February - Year 9 Parents' Evening

Monday 3rd March - International Women's Week (International Women's Day 8th March)

Thursday 6th March - World Book Day

Wednesday 12th March & Thursday 13th March - Matilda, The Musical

Safer Internet Day is held every February in over 170 different countries. The goal of Safer Internet Day is to call on people across the world to work together to make the internet safer and a better place for all, especially for young people. This Year's theme is ‘Too good to be true? Protecting yourself and others from scams online‘

Students will have assemblies on the theme and we will remind them on to protect their accounts and on how to report any concerns.

She is Studious, is our 6 weeks Form Time Programme. During that time, students are learning different study techniques. This week:

Year 11 are exploring Self Reflection and Exam Mindset.

Year 9 are learning about Chunking and Effective Reading

And Year 7 about Memory Palace, revision techniques around memory such as 'look, cover, check', the use of acronyms, and also understanding how memory actually works to become a highly effective learner.

Bromcom: As we will be moving to a different Management Information System called Bromcom, the SIMS app will be no longer in use after April 1st. Instead, we will be using an app and website called MyChildatSchool. Please find below the link to a YouTube video which shows an overview of the app

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLEd4Cdtzsw

A reminder about the changes to the end of the school day for some year groups which will take effect after February half term.

As published on the school website, from Monday 24th February, the end times of the school day will be as follows:

Year 7 & 8 15:10

Year 9 & 10 15:00

Year 11,12,& 13 15:05

There are no other changes to the school day. It remains that all students are expected in school by 8:30am

We work with a charity called Zarach.

Sadly, beds have become a luxury item for hundreds of thousands of families, who face the devastating decision to pay for food and fuel, or to buy their child a bed.

Bed poverty exists when a family does not have the sleeping arrangements they need for their children due to a lack of financial resources. For children in this situation, it has a significant impact on their education.

Zarach’s mission is to ensure that every child in England has a bed of their own which gives them a greater chance to learn and succeed at school. If you need a bed, please email the school info@fbaok.co.uk and we will complete a referral on your behalf.

The Year 10 Child Development students are being given the opportunity to 'egg-perience' a week of parenthood! They will adopt their babies in lessons on Wednesday 12th February and will have a diary to complete of their experiences over the half term week.

They are to bring their babies to the nursery in G26 no later than 8.20am on Thursday and Friday morning and they will be asked to collect them no later than 3.15pm Wednesday - Friday. After this they will be solely responsible for the week.

It would be really great if you could talk to them about their time as parents and this 'egg-xperiment'.

Our Inspirational Woman of the Week is Doreen Delceita Lawrence, Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon, as nominated by Alisha Masimbi.

Lawrence is a British civil rights campaigner and the mother of Stephen Lawrence, a Black teenager murdered in a racist attack in 1993. She fought tirelessly for justice, exposing institutional racism in the police and leading to the Macpherson Report, which transformed UK policing. She founded the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust to support young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Made a life peer in 2013, she continues to advocate for racial equality and social justice. Her resilience and leadership inspire young women to stand up against injustice and break barriers. She is a role model for perseverance, activism, and creating meaningful change in society.

This week’s health and fitness tip comes from Scarlet Lala Gul, who is the leader of the Resilient Health and Wellbeing Committee.

One way to stay healthy is by find strategies to manage stress. It is inevitable that some aspects of life will cause stress; however, whether it is at school, home, or clubs outside of school, we need to acknowledge ways to manage stress.

For example, it may be a major test in a certain subject that you feel anxious about. Will I perform well enough? The words might play in your head repeatedly; however, there are ways to put a halt to the nervousness you are feeling on a daily basis, such as:

● Getting enough sleep (Minimum 8 hours)

● Eat well (Prioritise a balanced diet)

● Talk to someone (A trusted adult, a good friend etc.)

Health and Fitness Challenge of the Week:

• Pre-set an alarm on your device (maybe a phone/computer/tablet) for the next week ahead to ensure you have 8 hours of sleep daily.
• Go to bed earlier and you will feel much more refreshed the next day.
• This will definitely have a positive impact on your health and stress management.

Congratulations to Valerie Muturi who has been chosen to be an Ambassador for the Children's Commissioner for England.

The Ambassadors programme is an exciting opportunity which gives young people the chance to represent the views of their peers and children and young people across the country to Government and decision- makers. Valerie has started her new role and has already met the Children's' Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza last week.

Design a Sculpture for Trafalgar Square!

The competition is now open for students across London to design a sculpture they would like to see displayed in Trafalgar Square.

This is your chance to get creative—whether you prefer to draw, paint, collage, create digitally, or even make a sculpture (on a smaller scale), we want to see your idea!

Think outside the box! Your sculpture can be made from anything—plastics, card, clay, or even something unexpected like marshmallows. The sky’s the limit when it comes to materials and imagination!

Important: Your design must be original—no copies!

How to Enter:

• Deadline: Submit your entry by 25th February 2025 (After half term).
• How to Submit: Hand your design to Ms Lines.
• Include: Your name, age, the title of your artwork, and a description explaining your idea.

Prizes and Ceremony:
Winners will be informed and invited to a special awards ceremony to receive their prize!

Let your imagination run wild—this is your chance to shine!

The first heart-shaped box of chocolates was introduced in 1861.

It was created by Richard Cadbury, son of Cadbury founder John Cadbury, who started packaging chocolates in fancy boxes to increase sales. He introduced the first heart-shaped box of chocolates for V-Day in 1861, and today, more than 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolates are sold each year.