Welcome to Wonderful Week 2016! Wonderful Week is an annual event at St Mary’s during which our students get the opportunity to take part in their choice of enriching and exciting activities: planned, operated, and supervised by St Mary’s teaching and support staff. We believe that enrichment of this kind provides opportunities beyond those that the usual classroom curriculum provides, and that this is an essential part of school life which students will remember for years to come. This year the week ran from Monday 4th July to Friday 8th July, and we were delighted as always to be able to offer a very wide range of activities!

Monday 4th - 8th July 2016

St Marys Catholic AcademyPart of the Blessed Edward Bamber Catholic Multi Academy Trust

Football coaching by Fleetwood Town’s professional coaching staff; Golf coaching on local courses; Grow Wild gardening in the school and the local community; Science Extravaganza including in-school experiments and out-of-school visits; Theme Parks, with engineering activities and visits; Hunger Games themed activities and team-building; St Mary’s Make Off, the ultimate creating and making week; Sport & Leisure, an opportunity to try some unusual sporting activities; Prop Making, developing the skills required to make movie props; I Love Blackpool, providing an opportunity to get to know and love our home town; Face Your Fears activities to test your nerve and daring;

as well as fantastic educational residential visits to London and Paris.Year 7 took part in the inaugural St Mary’s Year 7 camp to Waddecar, Year 10 took part in a week-long look into the world of work in their Work Experience placements, and Year 12 visited universities in preparation for the next steps in their education.

The feedback from students was that Wonderful Week was an excellent and exciting week, jam-packed with activity and learning. Thanks to all of our students for making this such a good experience, and to parents for supporting the week.

Mr Simon Cox, Director of Mathematics and Numeracy (Wonderful Week coordinator)

CATHOLIC CARING COMMUNITY CHALLENGE

WONDERFUL WEEK 2016!

St Marys Catholic AcademyPart of the Blessed Edward Bamber Catholic Multi Academy Trust

FACE YOUR FEARS

The first two days were spent in Whitby and York, where we explored Whitby Abbey, Bram Stoker’s inspiration for the setting of the famous Gothic novel ‘Dracula’, enjoyed some traditional Whitby Fish & Chips, and a spooky guided tour of York, learning about the plague, the famous highwayman Dick Turpin, executions and also about the deathly disease, Typhus. In the York Dungeons, the screams from our scared students could be heard across the city! Mr McLaughlin was tortured, Mrs Lavis was locked in a cage, Miss Bamber was accused of witchcraft and burnt at the stake and Miss Webb got away without any humiliation or torture!

Back at school, students engaged in a horror writing workshop, a visit from The Creepy Crawly Roadshow and we were lucky enough to learn all about corn snakes, tarantulas, stick insects and other critters, as well as getting some hands on experience, and our very own ‘I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here’ in which students had to search for stars amongst gunge and goo. But the icing on the cake was the ‘Bush Tucker Challenge’, with Ox Tongue and muscles causing students to pull some of the ugliest faces we had ever seen!

We finished the week at Regent Park Studios in Morecambe, where students learnt how to tumble, jump, trampoline and also how to take the ‘Leap Of Faith’ (a 20ft high platform from which students had to leap to reach a trapeze suspended in front of them - whilst harnessed of course!).

SPORT & LEISURE

This was a week full of opportunity to develop problem solving, team building and confidence. The week got off to a great start with a variety of challenging and new experiences at ‘Rock and River’. Subsequent days included a tour round Manchester United football stadium including an educational session on the history of the club and an opportunity to try on kits worn by past players; taking to the slopes at the Chill Factor including an introductory ski lesson; a ten pin bowling competitions and the Stanley Park High ropes experience in the afternoon; and developing their ice skating expertise at Blackpool Ice Arena and swimming at the Sandcastle Water Park. All students engaged fully with the challenges—In particular Simona Aleknaite, Katie Derby, Macy Smith, Elise Silva and Jaine Mendiola were a delight and gave everything 100% effort.

Sixth Form

The Sixth Form started their Wonderful Week with a trip to Edge Hill University where they were given a guided tour of the campus and a talk about 2014/15 Times University of the Year. Students were able to compare the attractions of a campus university with those of a city university when they headed up to the North East on Wednesday. with talks and guided tours around both Newcastle and Northumbria universities before enjoying some free time to explore the delights of the City of Newcastle. Back in the Academy, students attended workshops focusing on apprenticeships and writing both personal statements and CVs, finishing the week with a well–earned barbecue in the sunshine.

I LOVE BLACKPOOL

Blackpool is the UK’s top seaside holiday destination and we found out why it is so popular with a week exploring and researching our home town. Five days were spent out of school visiting local places of interest including Central Library, Town Hall, Blackpool Tower, Tower Circus, Grundy Art Gallery, the Winter Gardens and The Pleasure Beach, with talks from local experts.

Monday 4th - 8th July 2016

CATHOLIC CARING COMMUNITY CHALLENGE

St Marys Catholic Academy St Marys Catholic AcademyPart of the Blessed Edward Bamber Catholic Multi Academy Trust

YEAR 7 WADDECAR CAMP

Year 7 had a fun filled week with pupils spending 2 nights under canvas at Waddecar Scout Camp, visiting the Zoo and taking part in activities around the academy. During camp the pupils took part in walk through the countryside to the 4000 year old Bleasdale Stone Circle. They worked in large groups to complete challenges and develop their problem solving skills and took part in archery, slackline and bushcraft.

The highlight for many was the chance to spend time with friends and play football or just chat and relax. Fortunately the weather allowed us at least some dry spells to do this. The final night saw the Mr Heyes’ Camp Fire Spectacular with all pupils engaged in games and talent contests. The supply of marshmallows toasted on the campfire by the Year 10 helpers also went down a treat. The staff would like to thank all the pupils for their behaviour and positive attitude throughout the days at camp and we hope that all enjoyed their time there.

THE HUNGER GAMES

The Hunger Games activity was a roaring success. Students became Katniss and learnt skills such as archery, fire-building and climbing. They also bonded as Districts and supported each other through team-building activities and tasks. Students were resilient, brave and supportive, in particular Katie Keelan who won Tribute of the Week! The odds were definitely in

our favour with such an amazing group!

ST MARY’S MAKE OFF

This was the ultimate “making” battle where passionate, creative students competed to be crowned St Mary’s Amateur Maker. Over the course of the week we experienced Food, Textiles, and Product Design. Each day, we explored a range of making skills such as a cake decorating challenge, and a product design task. We also had the opportunity to visit The Sewing Sanctuary in Thornton to experience a Textiles workshop run by a professional.

Year 10 Work Experience

Year 10 students spent the week on work experience. They worked at a wide variety of placements, including such places as Blackpool Victoria Hospital, Local Primary schools and they also worked in lots of local businesses who willingly agreed to place students for the week. The students worked incredibly hard and gained a lot from the week with some even securing part time jobs for the summer.

Monday 4th - 8th July 2016

For more information see our summer newsletter! Online at: http://www.st-mary.blackpool.sch.uk/

CATHOLIC CARING COMMUNITY CHALLENGE

St Marys Catholic AcademyPart of the Blessed Edward Bamber Catholic Multi Academy Trust

PARISThree nights were spent exploring the French capital whilst practising our French language skills. We visited world-famous sights such as the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame cathedral, Montmartre, cruised down the Seine river and enjoyed the “je ne sais quoi” and “joie de vivre” for which Parisians are famous. The visit ended with a fantastic day at Disneyland Paris.

LONDONPerforming Arts and History students enjoyed a fantastic 4 day visit to our fabulous capital city. During the days we visited some of the excellent historical attractions which London has to offer such as the Houses ofParliament, Westminster Abbey, The Natural History Museum, the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery.We also saw three West End performances: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (where we were lucky enough to go backstage!), Stomp, and the timeless classic Les Miserables.

SCIENCE EXTRAVAGANZA

A full week of thrilling science activities included a day visit to the famous Jodrell Bank telescope and observatory to discover the endless wonders of the universe, Back in school, we designed a habitat on Mars, building a life-like scale model, making and filming an enticing advert for the habitat.

We also enjoyed a day visit to the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester and discovered the wonderful world of Science through interactive exhibitions, talks, and workshops.

PROP MAKING

We spent the week learning about the methods and developing the skills involved in making movie props. We looked into the actual methods used by prop makers to make your own versions of well-known props. Our skills, including problem solving, scaling and use of materials were put into practice to make a range of movie and TV related props.

THEME PARKS

Students took part in a variety of teambuilding and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths (STEM) activities, including the “cereal box challenge”, building a bridge from spaghetti and marshmallows to support the weight of a toy car, building and launching a rocket (once of which nearly ended up of the school roof!), and building a balloon-powered car.

GROW WILD

This activity was an exciting chance to engage with and explore nature. A variety of activities and hands on experiences kept us all busy and the sunshine and fresh air did us good! Learning experiences included tending to our school garden, collecting seeds and planting crops, tasting and sampling a range of our school grown produce, teaching Year 3 children from Christ the King, learning hardscaping and building walls, working with local community allotments, Highfield Park, and learning about composting at the Solaris Centre. Overall a great week working with great people!

FOOTBALL & GOLF

As in previous year, coaches were at St Mary’s all week from Fleetwood Town working with our students on improving their footballing skills, whilst golfers received expert coaching at local courses.

Monday 4th - 8th July 2016

Staff and Students pose infront of the Eiffel TowerPARIS Trip 2016

Students Pose infront on Tyne BridgeNewcastle Trip 2016

CATHOLIC CARING COMMUNITY CHALLENGE