Spice Academy

Launches!
Inside Victoria Park
Primary Academy
End of Year Edition 2014
Year 5
H
it A
rchery!
PLU
S Sports D
ay,
Life A
fter SA
Ts and
m
ore!
4. Put three fngers below the arrow; pull
back aggressively to your cheek.
5. Release and let the swift fying arrow
hit the target. The target is then hit by
the arrow. When you are aiming; you
are trying to hit the target in the middle
this is where the yellow colour is. You
need to draw the arrow back using quite
a lot of strength; at the same time being
buoyant do not lack concentration
even if it hurts.
6. Then, when you have fnished your
frst go, place another arrow into
the slot. Fire it again repeating the
procedure.
7. Eventually, once youve used all of
your arrows, collect them; making sure
that you collect yours and not your
partners and that you remain safe at ALL
times!
YOU WILL NO DOUBT HAVE A FUN
TIME AT ARCHERY!!!
WARNING: When using a real bow and
arrows you MUST NOT point them at
people due to safety procedures.
By Jaskirat Kaur - 5E
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HOW TO USE A BOW AND ARROW
Are you a novice at archery? Well...not
for long. After reading these instructions
you will be able to participate in the
feld of archery in no time! You could
show off your skills and even become
famous just like Robin Hood!
Equipment list:
Bow and arrow
Targets
Boards
Arrow holders (cones or quivers)
Safety line
Waiting area
Safety net
Instructions
1. Firstly, you must be patient; wait in the
secure waiting area. The waiting area is
positioned behind the frst safety line.
2. Once your name is called, sensibly
walk up to the frst safety line.
3. Immediately pick up the bow and an
arrow. Slot the arrow into the bow string
and place it fexibly on the handle.
W
elcom
e back to another
exciting edition of V
P Zine!
The summer holidays are nearly here, but before you go weve got one
more exciting, jam packed edition of VP Zine for you! Read about sports
day, life after SATs, the Spice Academy launch, and not forgetting the
memories of our Year 6 VP Ziners who will soon be leaving us! Enjoy!
2
YEAR 5 HIT ARCHERY!
To conclude Year 5s NICER Challenge CASTLE ATTACK we were treated to
a real life archery session, where we were taught how to use a bow and arrow
correctly and safely by a professional. By reading this, hopefully, it will help you to
understand how to use a bow and arrow correctly when fghting YOUR enemies!
HOW TO SUCCEED IN ARCHERY!
Have you ever taken part in archery
before? Here are some simple rules and
procedures to help you to understand
how to prepare for archery and how to
remain safe.
You will need:
. A bow (at least 3 arrows)
. A target
. Rope line
. Safety net (optional)
Firstly, approach the safety area and
stand behind the rope line.
Pick up the bow and make sure its
facing towards the ground. Place the frst
arrow (holding it carefully) into the slot
It was such a fun day learning how to
participate in archery and be an archer
for the day. I would love to be involved
in the experience again. I would
thoroughly recommend this to my family
and friends.
By Armaan Ashfaq 5B
1. Correct stance & posture
2. Nock
3. Set - hook string & place bow hand
4. Set-up
5. Draw/load
6. Anchor
7. Load & transfer then hold
8. Aim & expand
9. Release
10. Follow Through
(Then repeat for any other arrows that
you may have)
on the bow. Make sure the boss is facing
upwards.
Place your 3 fngers (index, middle
and ring fngers) under the bow. Make
sure you pull back to your cheek with a
strong pull.
Make sure your arm is straight; close
one eye to help you to aim accurately at
the target and FIRE!
Collect your arrow. If you miss, try again
aiming more accurately next time.
WARNING: IF YOU ARE UNDER 13
YEARS OLD MAKE SURE YOU HAVE
AN ADULT WITH YOU!
By Rabia Akhtar 5E
LIFE AFTER
SATS
LIFE AFTER
SATS
3
After months of hard work and thorough
determination, I had got the news that
I had longed to hear; SATs were over!
PHEW I let out a huge sigh of relief! If I
had to look at another SATs paper of any
kind, I would have ripped my own hair out
(not really). I was just so excited; I couldnt
wait to experience my journey of Life after
SATs.
On May 20th, the whole of Year 6 visited
the Odeon Cinema to watch a brilliant
f lm entitled Rio 2. Following on from the
cinema, we went bowling and visited the
arcade. We ate our lunch while we waited
for the bowling lanes to be set up, we had
previously ordered what we wanted to eat
and drink; so it was no time at all before
our food was ready we were all hungry
by this time! All in all it was a great day
out; everyone enjoyed themselves and
would have loved to go again!
Nowadays, it is far more relaxed in Year 6
(compared to pre SATs) although we are
still working, we can now take part in more
of the fun activities like P.E, Art and R.E.
In our recent Art lessons we have been
producing artwork to help us to create
our very own VPA Spiderwick Chronicles.
It also includes some of our written work
from our literacy portfolios. The highlight
of the past few weeks has been the re-
hearsing of our Year 6 Leavers Production
of The Lion King. Learning our lines and
our acting parts was hard work; oh and
not to mention the singing and dancing.
But, if you came to see the show, Im sure
youll agree that it was all worthwhile?
By Iqra Naseem 6M
I was so relieved when the SATs tests were
over! Now, at last, I could chill! It was now
time for us to do more of the fun-based
learning like P.E, Art, Music and looking
forward to going on our Year 6 trips.
Our main concern after taking the SATs tests
was, what would our results be like? That
is something we wouldnt know for quite a
while yet. However, something which we
were all looking forward to, was our cinema
and bowling trip. Our treat for working so
hard was to go to the Odeon Cinema to
watch a f lm entitled Rio 2. It was a brilliant
f lm with lots of humour in it. After watching
the f lm we made our way to the Bowlplex
arcade where we played on some games
while waiting for our lunch. We were all
very hungry by the time lunch arrived as we
had used up so much energy in the arcade.
We had our lunch while we waited for our
bowling lanes to be set up, the teachers
helped us to do this as it was a little confus-
ing! We had a great time of bowling where
we tried hard to beat our friends and the
people on our team. We all had great fun!
Recently we have been working on a
project, creating our own VPA Spiderwick
book. Each Year 6 class has made their own
4
LIFE AFTER
SATS
LIFE AFTER
SATS
Finally, SATs are now well and truly over!
Could this be the moment where we can
just relax and chillax? From December
right up until May we HAD to work from
morning right through until the end of the
afternoon. The SATs were harder than I
expected; but we had put a lot of work in
and hopefully this will help us to reap the
rewards. We have to wait to get our results
and this seems a long way off!
While we have been waiting, we have
been involved in some exciting projects.
Firstly, we went to the cinema where we
watched Rio 2. Some children had been
rewarded for trying hard and for their
behaviour throughout the year and at the
time of the exams. These people had a
VIP pass at the cinema and had popcorn,
sweets and a drink brought for them. The
f lm was brilliant; everyone thoroughly
enjoyed it (even the teachers!) We then
made our way to the arcade where we
played games while we waited for our
lunch. We had a selection of burgers,
chicken nuggets and drinks before we
made our way to the bowling alley. We
had a fun time trying to beat our friends
and seeing who could get the most spares
and strikes and of course, who could get
the highest score!
We visited the Islamic exhibition in Small
Heath where we learned all about the
Islamic culture and religion. We learned
many new and interesting facts; this helped
us when we worked on producing our
own Islamic Experience presentations.
We worked hard to put together a mini
exhibition to show case our work for the
Year 2 children.
Since then we have been working hard
on our Year 6 leavers production of the
Lion King. We have been learning our
lines, researching the characters main
characteristics and learning the songs from
the original theatre production. We are
all very excited about performing this in
front of the whole school, our families and
visitors.
This proves there truly is life after SATs!
By Naseem Mahmadi 6A
book which includes lots of our artwork and
written work too. The books are going to be
displayed at the library in Birmingham.
I am really looking forward to our trip to
Drayton Manor Theme Park, this will be our
last trip together as a whole year group
we will def nitely have to make the most of
it. My hope is that everyone has lots of fun
during their last few weeks at this fantastic
primary school and that everyone in Year 6
gets the SATs levels that they are hoping for.
By Usman Hussain 6W
MATHS FLIP!
5
5
MATHS FLIP!
A few weeks ago, some visitors came
to VPA to visit Year 5 from Shireland
Collegiate Academy. We were informed
about a new project which Year 5 would
be taking part in called MATHS FLIP.
A fun way to help us to understand
the new project was to be shown a
slideshow. The slide show had videos
on it as well as lots of diagrams and
messages. It was an introduction about
the site we were going to use, supported
by this amazing project. We were also
given laptops that will be used for us to
complete our fipped learning.
The laptop which weve been given is a
touch screen device; the site which we
need to access from home is called RM
UNIFY. We were also given a goody-
bag which included: a book about
maths (my book is called MURDEROUS
MATHS), a highlighter labelled with
MATHS FLIP, a pair of headphones, a
pen and a calculator which has a ruler
as well as a protractor and magnifying
glass attached to it. We enjoyed the
short introduction of maths fip and
enjoyed meeting some new people. We
are also looking forward to using this
new technology and getting stuck into
our Maths Flip!
By Armaan Ashfaq - 5B
Recently, two visitors from Shireland
Collegiate Academy came to speak to
the children in Year 5, to introduce a
new project for them to participate in.
The project is called Maths Flip we
already know it as Flip Learning.
We were given a new laptop to take
home to enable us to research work on
the internet which our teachers have
given us to do and then to bring it in
completed at a later date.
This particular project is for our maths
work and we are using a particular
website called RM Unify. We were given
special touch screen Toshiba devices to
enable us to carry out fip learning at
home. We watched a slideshow which
included videos giving us more of an
idea about Flip Learning (Maths Flip).
At the end of the presentation we were
given red or purple bags (we got to
choose our own colour), in the bag was
a four colour highlighter, a calculator
which had a ruler and magnifying glass
attached to it, a pen, a book and a set
of headphones. Im looking forward to
beginning my new Maths Flip journey.
By Sabrina Junejo - 5B
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Did you come to our sports day at
VPA? Well if you didnt, youll need to
read on cause you need to read about
what a fascinating day that you missed
out on! On the morning of Friday 13th
June, Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 gathered
together on the sports feld for our
annual sports day events. Mr Blackwood
(Year 5 teacher and P.E co-ordinator)
had planned different sports games
and events for us to take part in. We all
competed with our classmates, I took
part in the bean bag throwing race. It
was GREAT fun!
Everyone sat on the grass cheering their
own house colour on; I am in blue house
so I cheered for everyone taking part
in that house. Along with the teachers
and pupils, it was great to see so many
parents cheering on the children. This
made everyone feel far more supported
and encouraged, especially when they
were running the distance races. There
was an egg and spoon race, a bean
bag throwing event, 2 different distance
races, the team relay race and many
more besides.
In the afternoon Reception and Years
1 and 2 took part in their sports day
activities. The events which they took
part in were similar to those of Key
Stage 2; but they had to dress up in
some of their races. 5B were lucky as
they got to stay outside and cheer on
the house teams for Reception and Key
Stage 1. The judges (Mrs Kanda and
Mrs Smith) kept score for the whole day
thank you.
The different colour houses represented
were: Blue, Green, Yellow and Red. It
will be interesting to see which team won
on the day! A BIG thank you goes to Mr
Blackwood who organised the whole
day and to everyone who supported the
participants.
By Armaan Ashfaq - 5B
On Friday 13th June there was an
exciting event at our school which was
our annual sports day! Key Stage 2 took
part in the morning and Key Stage 1
held their sports events in the afternoon.
All of the children had to get ready
into their PE kits and then they made
their way, class by class, onto the feld.
This years events were different to last
year we took part in the long jump,
60m sprint, relay race, speed bounce,
obstacle relay, bean bag toss, egg
and spoon race, sack race and the
three legged race. Everybody enjoyed
sports day very much and although
not everyone took part in every event,
everybody did get to take part in
something.
I had fun watching other people and
cheering for my friends and my house
team. When it was my turn I was really
glad; I participated in the 60m relay
and showed great enthusiasm and
determination. I feel that I contributed to
my teams efforts really well.
It was great to see so many parents
cheering on their children and we were
pleased that the sun was shining too!
Rupinder Kaur - 5E
7
On Wednesday 30th April 2014 we
took part in a special assembly; it was
all linked to the launch of the Spice
Academy. Each class had a different
kind of spice which they had to identify.
Each class teacher sent their children
into assembly with an unidentif ed spice
inside a plastic bag. We all had a smell
of our own bag of spice. As the bag
was passed around; we tried to work
out what it could be, by the aroma
coming from the particular spice. After
a short while and a few guesses, we
were handed a piece of paper telling
us what particular spice we had in our
bags. Some people had managed to
accurately guess the name of their spice;
others had a surprise when the name of
their spice was revealed. The spice in my
bag was coriander seeds.
After that, Year 6 children were asked
to have a look to see who had a sticker
on the back of their spice paper. It was
Daijon Brown... He was called to the
front of the hall where Mr Morrish and
Mrs Thompson (VPAs Head Chef) were
waiting. Daijon and Mr Morrish both
dressed up as chefs, Mr Morrish added
the different spices into a pestle. The
pestle and mortar had been brought into
school by Mrs Dhesi; these items had
been proudly given to her by her father
she shared a story with us concerning
how she had obtained the items. Mr
Morrish and Daijon began to grind all
of the spices in the mortar. After that,
more children were called to the front
with their spice; they added their spices
one by one into the mortar and using the
pestle began to grind them altogether.
This procedure was repeated until all
of the spices were added. After all of
the spices had been put together they
were made into a special combination
of spices called Garam Masala. Two
visitors spoke to us in the assembly and
told us about working as a team and
having a vision of where we wanted to
take the Spice Academy. Three tips were
left with us: never give up, work as a
team and always use each others ideas.
The following day, Mr Tewely came
round to our classes with all of the
spices so that we could all have a go
at grinding up Victoria Parks Garam
Masala. I was allowed to put all of the
spices in the mortar then my class mates
had a turn with the pestle to grind the
spices together.
After this, we were all given a letter to
take home to tell our families about the
new Spice Academy. Attached to the
letter was a sample of VPAs Garam
Masala mix that we all had a hand in
making.
For anyone who doesnt know, our Spice
club runs every Thursday after school in
the dining hall from 3:15pm - 4:30pm.
We have lots of fun sharing our spice
stories and we often have yummy spicy
foods and drink to taste everyone is
welcome!
By Sabrina Junejo 5B
8
On April 30th 2014 there was a Spice
Academy launch it was very exciting.
The Spice Academy is about making
and promoting different things which
can be made out of spices we will be
looking at selling the products in the
very near future. When I entered the hall
there seemed to be a lot of excitement, I
noticed Mrs Thompson (our school chef)
and two other men: Jamie Dunn and Mr
Clitheroe sitting at the front of the hall.
Mr Clitheroe once owned a restaurant
and had come to help us look at how
we could market and sell our products.
Jamie is a young entrepreneur; he
explained that he gets to travel all over
the world promoting his business. He
encouraged us by saying that you need
to work as a team and NEVER give up!
Mr Morrish explained that each class
had been given a different spice and
we were all asked to smell the spice
in our bag to try to identify it. It was
revealed that the spice we had in 5B
was coriander; it smelt incredibly strong.
At the front of the hall was placed a
huge pestle and a mortar. This had been
brought into school by Mrs Dhesi. The
items had travelled all the way from
India; there was a story behind their
arrival at the Dhesi house and Mrs Dhesi
shared it with us.
After that, Mr Morrish showed us lots of
different spices, he revealed that some
children had got a coloured sticker on
their paper which described their spice.
Those children were called out to the
front to help blend their spices together;
Mrs Thompson helped them to add their
spices to the mortar. Using the large
pestle they ground the spices down this
produced a special kind of spice called
garam masala. The children got to taste
some spicy pakoras and chicken.
Throughout the rest of the week children
had the chance to grind up different
kinds of spices using the special pestle
and mortar. We were all given a sample
of garam masala to take home; this was
to introduce us to the launch of the Spice
Academy Spice Club which takes place
in school every Thursday afternoon from
3.15pm until 4.30pm.
It was a great experience and I am
looking forward to learning more about
spices.
By Sara Saeed 5B
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VP ZINE GALLERY
VP ZINE GALLERY
Spice Academy
by Sara Saeed - 5B
Spices!
by Kashif Mohammed - 6W
Spice Academy by Armaan Ashfaq- 5B
Mr Blackwood
by Sara Saeed - 5B
Life After SATs
by Iqra Naseem - 6M
10
Interview with Mr Tewley
Business Development Manager &
Spice Academy Co-ordinator
1. What gave you the idea of making the
spice known as garam masala?
Using garam masala meant that a number of different
spices could be used to help demonstrate how to
blend spices together in our spice assembly.
2. How did you find the recipe
for the garam masala?
Mr Clitheroe found the recipe; which was
made up of 12 different spices.
3. How many spices did you collect?
In total we probably had 20 different spices;
however, only 12 were used for the garam masala.
4. What spices are in garam masala?
Red pepper corns, ginger, green pepper corns,
cumin, white pepper corn, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon,
bay leaves, cardamom and coriander seeds.
5. Where did you get all of the ingredients from?
We got a lot of them from local stores. Some of
them were a little bit harder to get hold of.
6. What is your favourite spice?
Well, my favourite spice is cinnamon because it
smells great and can be used in many different ways.
7. Who contributed to the Spice Academy assembly?
The assembly was led by Mr. Morrish with
special guests Jamie Dunn and Mr. Clitheroe;
however, all members of VPPA contributed
towards the assembly in some way.
8. Where did you get the idea for Spice Academy?
The idea came from Mr. Morrish, Miss
Fowler, Mrs Worgan and the team at
RIO(where Mr Clitheroe works).
By Kashif Mohammed and Coy
Hetherington-Ricketts - 6W
Naeem Mahmadi 6A
Best Memory: I have really
enjoyed taking part in plays,
performances and productions: In Year 3 I was
an animal in Little Red Riding Hood, in Year 5
I played Papa Bear in our Goldilocks (innocent
or Guilty) performance and I have been
fortunate to play a hyena in our Year 6 Leavers
Production of The Lion King.
Worst Memory: In Year 6 I was incredibly
disappointed as I auditioned for the part of
Timon in The Lion King and Hassan got it
instead.
Funniest Memory: I have laughed so much at
Usman when he laughs like Edd the Hyena in
our Year 6 Leavers Production of The Lion King.
It is so funny that we all end up laughing at him!
Kashif Mohammed 6W
One of my best memories at VPA is when I
took part in a Year 4 production about the
Egyptians and I got chosen to play the part
that I wanted.
One of my worst memories was when I got
really upset when I got in trouble for nothing
I felt as though I was a victim of a crime that I
didnt commit!
My funniest memory was when I was in
reception class, I made a mistake
and I called Mrs. Rose mom.
Everyone called me a momma`s
boyafter that - I was incredibly
embarrassed!
Hassan Ali 6A
One of the best moments
in my school life was
while I was in Year 6;
I went bag packing in
Asda due to being a
representative of the
School Council. We were raising money
for charity and people were very generous.
One of my worst memories was when I had
chicken-pox in 2010. It was really bad, I was so
bored in the end, that I couldnt wait to get back
to school!
When I was in year 1 something funny happened;
I was crying so much due to me being scared that
my teacher let me sit in the teachers seat. It
was like being a king for a day!
Iqra Naseem 6M
One of my best memories from my time at VPA
was when we went to Broadway Plaza to watch
a f lm, go bowling and play in the arcade. It
was a great day, I had lots of fun and its a day
that I will remember for some time to come!
My worst memory was when me and my friend
fell out, however when the day ended, we
became best buddies again.
My funniest memory was when in Year 1: we
were at Dudley Zoo, in the lemur enclosure,
when suddenly a lemur jumped
on Mrs Greenaways head. She
started screaming- everyone else
started laughing!
Daijon Brown 6W
My best memory at VPA was
when I watched the medieval f ght
in the marquee, when it was the
academies f rst birthday party.
One of my worst memories was
when I was in Year 4, when I couldnt go on a
trip to the Wyre Forest due to not having my
inhaler in school it was a priority to have it,
but very disappointing not to be able to go!
One of the funniest moments of my school life
was when I went to the West Midlands Safari
Park in Year 4. I went on the log f ume ride and
got completely soaked I could hear the water
squelching in my trainers!
Coy Hetherington-Ricketts 6W
One of my favourite memories at VPA was
playing for the football team. I scored a goal for
my team right from the opposite goal mouth. I fell
on the f oor in astonishment and all of my team
mates jumped on top of me. Just at this point my
team mates realised that the other teams goal-
keeper was crying so, we all went to him and
acknowledged how unlucky he was and we told
him that no other keeper would have been able
to save it!
My worst memory was when my team mate
Ebenezer scored an own goal which cost us the
game; we lost that game 3-2 and it was a terrible
moment for the club because just before we
conceded the goal, our star player Keyon was
taken off.
One of the funniest football memories I have is
when my friend Keyon scored a goal and did
the Sturridge celebration. He made the whole
football team do it with him. It was a funny
moment for the club, to add to this great moment
we ended up winning the game 6-0 against
Shireland Hall!
A selection of Year 6s
best, worst and funniest
memories at VPPA:
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