Inside Victoria Park

Primar y Academy

15
Summer Edition 20

Read about our new

Changemaker Party THE ACHIEVERS!

Humphrey
the Camel
returns! Re
ad about o
ur
Smethwick
Spice Walk
!

Hot air balloon at

school! Around the
world in 80 days!

PLUS Life After SATs, all new interviews,

and we say a sad goodbye to Year 6!

Ar ound the

80

Wo rld in
Day s

VPAs 3 rd Bir th day

C elebra tion

We came back to school at the beginning of

June after our May half term holiday. It was a
normal school day, but our teachers came onto
the playground to meet us all dressed up. We
couldnt understand it, as we hadnt been told
that it was a special day! Mrs Peart was dressed
as a Native American Indian and Miss Fowler
was dressed as the Empire State Building (how
odd I thought to myself) Mr Atkinson was
wearing an American football outfit and Miss
Thompson was dressed as a cheerleader! All
the staff members were dressed up in different
types of fancy dress!
We went in for registration and we were
told that we were attending a special assembly
conducted by Mrs Dhesi. When we arrived in
the hall, we noticed that Mrs Dhesi was dressed
in a traditional Asian suit. She began to talk to
us about British Values when all of a sudden
a man burst through the back doors he was
shouting someones name. He informed us that
his name was Phileas Fogg and he was looking
for his companion and his suitcase as he had
so many things that he had acquired from all
around the world, but these had all mysteriously
gone missing.
When we went back to our classroom we
were informed that we would be travelling
around 7 continents of the world and later that
day we would be meeting Phileas Fogg and
speaking to him in more depth.
Each year group had been given a continent
to decorate their classroom in. We took part
in many different activities which were themed
in our various continents Year 6 had the
Americas to focus on now, it made sense why
our teachers were dressed up as they were!
We had lots of fun in our classrooms taking part
in the different activities that our teachers had
planned for us to do researching the countries
that made up the Americas, food tasting of

popular American food and drinks, puzzles

and designing our own totem poles. Later on
that day we went to meet Mr Fogg. We found
one of the missing objects which was a dream
catcher. We told Mr Fogg what we had found,
he told us more about himself and that he had
travelled around the world in a hot air balloon
in 80 days.
We were meant to have a ride in a real
life hot air balloon, but due to poor weather
conditions this had to be cancelled. We were
somewhat disappointed, but it didnt really
matter as there was so much to see and do!
The following day we got the opportunity to
visit all of the other classes to see how they had
decorated their classrooms in their continents.
Reception was Antarctica, Year 1 Europe
France, Year 2 was Asia, Year 3 transformed
into Africa, Year 4 emerged into The Amazon
and South America focusing on Brazil and Year
5 was Australia and New Zealand. We looked
at their displays, resources and information.
Some classes had prepared exciting activities
for us to take part in while other classes had
things for us to watch or listen to. We had to
pick up a lot of information on our journey
as we needed to fill in our special PASSPORT
covering our experiences.
Finally a week or so later, we got to actually
go up in a real life HOT AIR BALLOON. It was
situated on our school field. The sun was shining
and it was shocking to see how big the whole
thing was. Mrs Peart waited with us as we
edged closer to taking our turn. Sabrina, Nicole
and I went up with Mrs Peart. It was scary at
the start but it very soon turned into a fabulous
experience which was so much fun! You could
see over the tree tops and the houses.
This was the most wonderful experience
ever.
By Armaan Ashfaq Class 6F

Life After
Life After SATs - Cinema and Bowling Trip

On Wednesday 20th May, the whole of Year

6 went on a trip to the Cinema and Bowlplex
Arcade at Castlegate Dudley; this was to
congratulate us on our efforts towards our
recently completed SATs tests.
Firstly, we began our jazzy journey to get
to the cinema. If you are wondering why it was
jazzy, it is because the driver had played several
nineties songs as we made our way to where
we were going! Once some of us had arrived
at the cinema, we purchased our over-priced
refreshments, we took some selfies on the iPads
and made our way to the screen which was
showing our film. The film which had scored the
most votes from the year group was, Spongebob
Squarepants the Movie: Sponge Out Of Water;
I have to say, this actually surprised me as I
began to watch it! I had thought that the film was
going to be like the programme of Spongebob.
However, it was quite different. It was funny and
entertaining. It ended with an amazing rap from
the future dolphin, Bubbles.
Life After SATs - Islamic Exhibition
On the 10th June, Year 6 went to the Islamic
Exhibition Centre in Small Heath Birmingham. The
purpose was to learn all about Islam and Islamic
culture and faith. This was to help us to gain as
much information as possible to put together our
own Islamic exhibition to share with students at
our sister school Rowley Park Academy.
Once we reached the exhibition hall we sat
down and a lady showed us a video about the
exhibition and what sections we would be visiting.
There were 5 sections in total. First we went into
the family section where we learnt about Muslim
families and their values and principles. The
lady told us that they had a surprise for us. The
surprise was that we could dress up in traditional
Muslim dress. It was really cool!
Next we went into the Science of Islam section.
Here we were taught about great scientists who
were Muslims. Then, we went into the Prophets
section where we learnt about all of the different
Muslim prophets these were: Adam, Abraham,
Noah and Moses to name but a few.

After watching the film, we made our way

to the Bowlplex Arcade. Here, I was totally
astounded by an abundance of arcade machines
and games. I played lots of games, including:
car racing, claw machine, dance battle,
basketball toss. I gained 846 tickets which I
exchanged for items from the gift shop at the
end of the day.
Next, we went over to the bowling lanes.
None of my group won the bowling overall
because we didnt have enough time to finish
all of our rounds as Mrs Peart, Miss Fowler and
other people from our team ended up taking
each others goes, as a few of us needed to
exchange our tokens for prizes.
Sadly, before long, it was time to make our
way back to school. This time, the driver played
more recent music, much to my dismay!
All in all, I had a fantastic day with my friends
and teachers. It was well worth the wait!
Thank you, teachers!
By Nicole Eccles Class 6F

All in all, we had a fantastic day and learned

many new things about Islam that would help us
with presenting our exhibition. We put a lot of
work into researching information and preparing
the resources for our own Islamic Exhibition.
We used various artefacts, drawings, paintings,
models, leaflets and posters, Power Point
presentations, quizzes and goody bags!
The day of our visit to Rowley Park had arrived
and we travelled to Stafford ready to meet the
children and staff there. We set up our exhibitions
and spoke to different classes of children and
teachers. The pupils at Rowley were very friendly
and seemed very interested and responsive to
what we had to tell them and show them. We
had lunch and went to socialise with pupils in the
afternoon before we left.
It was good getting to know new people and
sharing all we had learnt about the Islamic faith!
Thank you Rowley Park Academy for making us
feel so welcome.

SATs!

By Sara Saeed Class 6F

VPAs Changemaker Achievers Par ty

In May our school elected their own Changemaker Party to represen
t the children when making
decisions about the school. The various parties put their manifes
tos together and during an assembly
pitched their policies to everyone. The whole school voted for the
party that they thought would best
represent the school
Q1) Why did you choose the name THE
ACHIEVERS?
A1) We chose the name because anything
we put our minds to do, we always make
sure we achieve it; so the idea just popped
in to one of our heads
Q2) What makes you think that you will be
the best party to represent our school?
A2) We are confident that we will be good
team players, we have had lots of practise
using our collaborating skills. We are ready
to listen to what the pupils want and we will
do what we can to get things done!

A4) Firstly we will start off with some of the

easier ideas like simple fundraising events
and non-school uniform days.
Q5) How did your meeting go with the
schools senior leadership team?
A5) We havent actually met with them yet,
we will need to arrange a meeting soon!

Members of The Achievers Party are:

Q3) How did you choose the ideas for your

manifesto?
A3) We thought about what ideas people
would be interested in voting for. We were
keen to attract as many voters as possible.
We needed to think tactically!

Lorenzo Cooper Freeman 5E

Danish Ali Aziz 5B
Amaan Khalid 5B
Mohamed Saif-Ulaah Farid 5B
Lecharn Shani Heath 5E
Remar Farrell 5E
Sonia Kaur Gill 5E
Lenka Lazakova 5E
Aaliyah Downie 5E
Mohammed Issa Khan 5E

Q4) What is the first project that The

Achievers will be working on?

Interview compiled and conducted by

Armaan Ashfaq Class 6F

BALLOT STREET
SPICE WALK
On Thursday 18th June, VPAs Spice
Ambassadors and certain members of
staff went on a trip around school and the
local area with Humphrey the Camel. The
aim was to draw peoples attention to a
camel walking around Smethwick, thus
encouraging them to enquire what was
happening?
Our aim was to promote our Ballot Street
Spice products: Mrs Mahals Masala, our
new tea spice blend and Ballot Street Spice
aprons and mugs. We wanted to speak
to members of the general public to see if
they used spices in their cooking, if they
had any family spice recipes that they could
share with us or if they had any interesting
spice stories that they wanted to let us know
about.
Just before Humphrey arrived, the Spice
Ambassadors met up in the meeting room
to have a briefing with Mr Clitheroe he
was dressed in a very funny red chili outfit;
in-keeping with our theme! We were issued

with iPads so that we could record our

interviews.
Eventually, Humphrey arrived! We met
Mr Morrish and Mrs Dhesi outside in our
Great Garden area. We took photographs
with the BBC News camera men and they
were interviewing Mrs Mahal and various
other people. Parents began to arrive and
sat on the benches listening to speeches
and interviews. We took more pictures and
then we began to make our way walking
the streets of Smethwick on our incredible
Spice journey!
We walked along to where ASDA is
situated; the BBC camera men were running
about looking for any opportunity to film
us. It was exceptionally exciting as who
wouldnt enjoy grabbing the medias
attention?
Once we arrived outside ASDA, many
members of the local community stopped
and stared; as they could barely believe

their eyes we had to admit, it was a

very peculiar sight having a spicy camel
standing right in-front of ASDA shopping
centre. We began asking members of
the public questions about their spicy
experiences.
Hours and hours flew by, however it
did not feel like it. We hadnt noticed that
the whole morning had flown by! We
were treated to lunch at ASDA. Once
we had finished eating, we made our
way to Charles Pearson Court, Sheltered
Housing Accommodation in Ballot Street.
We began asking the residents how they
were introduced to spice and they shared
many historical stories and events with us.
One of the residents shared a birthday
on the day we visited, so we all sang
Happy Birthday to her. She gave us
all hugs as we had sung beautifully! The
photographer then took photos of us with
the camel and the residents together.

We had posed for a special

photograph on the corner of Ballot Street
next to the road sign itself; Mrs Dhesi
(Headteacher) and Mr Wynne (Deputy
Headteacher) were both with us. We had
experienced an incredible day of fun and
communication. It was now time for us to
head back to school. The fun and work
was over (for now) and Humphrey had
to leave us. There was a lot of work still
left to do to promote all of Ballot Street
Spices work, but that would all be left
until another day!
You can see all the work the Spice
Ambassadors have been involved in on
our website, along with our merchandise
which can be purchased. There is a
special preview of our snazzy new song/
rap which was written and performed
entirely by the Spice Ambassadors - log
on to www.ballotstreet.co.uk
By Jaskirat Kaur Class 6A

Reception Visit
Telford Wonderland
Both Reception classes went to Telford
Wonderland at the beginning of June this
visit was part of their NICER Challenge about
making the forest magical. Kaleem and Zarah
from RH and Beatrice and Kiana from RM
shared their memories of the trip with us

Q1) What did you do at Telford

Wonderland?
A1) We went on really fun rides. We walked
around the wonderland and we went in a
maze. We also saw a giant- it was the biggest
giant in town and it could speak!
Q2) What different things did you see?
A2) We saw a giant! Lots of nursery rhyme
and story characters.
Q3) What was your favorite part?
A3) Our favorite parts were when we went on
the rides. It was so much fun! I liked it when
we went digging in the seven dwarfs mine.

Q4) Did you meet any characters?

A4) We met Little Red Riding Hood, The
Three Little Pigs, Humpty Dumpty and so
many more.
Q5) What fun rides did you go on?
A5) We went on the spinning rides and the
tea pot rides they were great fun!
Q6) Did you find anything
interesting on your trip?
A6) Yes, the giant. He was huge!
Taller than the highest building!
Interview compiled and conducted by
Rupinder Kaur and Jaskirat Kaur Class 6A

Reception Visit Bayton

Primary C of E School and
Ninevah Ridge Farm
Recently both Reception classes went to visit another Reception class
at Bayton Primary School in Kidderminster. The school is closely
situated to a childrens farm. Iqra Zaheer and Emre Umur from RH
told us all about their adventure

Q1. What animals did you see at the farm?

A1. Pony, pig, duck and horse.
Q2. What was your favourite animal at the
farm? Why?
A2. I liked the pony it seemed gentle Iqra
I liked the horse it was big - Emre
Q3. What did you do at the school?
A3. I took pictures and pointed at the places
where the pictures were taken - Iqra
I talked to the teachers and children
from the school - Emre

Q4. Describe your visit in one word.

A4. Amazing Iqra
Surprising - Emre

Q5. Did you learn anything on your trip? If so,

what?
A5. The horses had to stay in the stables
at night Iqra
Ducks swim in the pond - Emre
Q6. What was your favourite part of the day?
Why?
A6. My favourite part of the day was going to
the farm because there were ponies there Iqra
My favourite part was going to the school
because there was lots of things to do there
Emre
Interview compiled and conducted by Armaan
Ashfaq and Nicole Eccles Class 6F

Year 1 Visit to
Weston-super-Mare
Year 1 visited Weston-super-Mare as part of their NICER Challenge
Pack back in May. They had a great time and this is what Khyanna
Grey from 1H remembered from her visit

Q1. What was your best moment at the beach?

A1. Eating the ice-cream which we all had.
Q2. What did you do at the beach?
A2. We played games with our friends, went for a
ride on a donkey and made sandcastles.
Q3. Did you see any animals?
A3. Only donkeys and seagulls.
Q4. Can you describe how the beach looked?
A4. The sand was yellow and wet and the sea
was blue, the sun shone for a bit too.

Q5.How was your ride on the donkey? Did you

like it?
A5. Yes I really liked it because it was bumpy.
Q6. How could you describe your day?
A6. Amazing and nice.
Interview complied and conducted by Nicole
Eccles and Sara Saeed Class 6F

Year 1 Child Pedestrian Training

The children in Year 1 recently took part in Child Pedestrian Training
to help them to be more aware of traffic and hazards on the
streets around us This is what Awwal Adigun from 1H told me

Q1.What did you learn while you were

taking part in your pedestrian training?
A1. I learned what to do when I was out and
about on busy roads and how to cross the road
safely.
Q2.How do you cross the road safely?
A2.First, you look left and then right and then
left again. You need to look and listen all the
time you cross the road.
Q3.What was your favourite part of the
training? Why?
A3. My favourite bit was when we were learning
how to deal with cars that are in the way of us
seeing the road clearly, because it is important

to be able to cross safely in traffic.

Q4. What is the most important thing you
learned while crossing the road?
A4.Looking left and right at all times and being
safe.
Q5.Did you find it useful? Why?
A5.Yes, because it will help me in the future.
Q6.Do you feel confident in crossing the road?
A6.Sometimes, as it is so dangerous. I must make
sure I always cross with an adult.
Interview compiled and conducted by Sara
Saeed Class 6F

Year 3 Visit to
Twycross Zoo
Year 3 visited Twycross Zoo as the end of their
NICER Challenge Dinosaur Stomp comes to an
end. Tychique Otette and Shakayra Heath both
from Class 3F told us a bit about their visit

Q1. When you went to Twycross Zoo, what

animals did you see?
A1. Penguins, Monkeys, Meer Kats, Tortoises,
Zebras, Elephants, Giraffes and many more.
Q2. What was your favourite animal there? Why?
A2. The Monkeys because they were bouncing
around everywhere and the Meer Kats because
they were always following us around.
Q3. Did you learn anything at Twycross Zoo? If
so, what did you learn?
A3. That most of the animals have come from
other parts of the world.
Q4. Would you like to work at a zoo? If yes,
why? If no, why not?
A4. No because the zoo smells of the animals

business and some animals are vicious and

fierce.
Q5. Would you recommend that others attend this
zoo? Why?
A5. Yes because it is a good experience and you
will learn a lot of new things.
Q6. Did any of the animals that you saw do
anything funny? If so, what?
A6. The Monkeys were eating their fleas, the
Meer Kats were trying to get out of their cage and
one of the Giraffes passed wind and then did a
number two in front of everyone!
Interview compiled and conducted by
Armaan Ashfaq and Nicole Eccles Class 6F

Year 4 Birmingham
Think Tank Interview
Year 4 visited The Think Tank as part of their NICER
Challenge Pack Crazy Contraptions. Caroline Smith
and Esra Umar Class 4J told me about their day

Q1. What did you learn at the Think Tank museum?

A1. We learnt of an easy way to make slime. We also
learnt how to control robots and different moving
objects.
Q2. Would you recommend this venue to other
people?
A2. Yes. The reason being is that we were fascinated
by all of the inventions that we saw. We had lots of
fun and there were lots of things to see and do.
Q3. Would you like to work at a museum like this
when you grow up? What are the reasons for your
answer?
A3. Yes and no. Yes, because wed get the
opportunity to learn more and no, due to the fact
that some things seemed very complicated to
operate and to understand.

Q4. What was your favourite part of the trip? Why?

A4. Science activities, because we got to wear cool
clothes and everything we took part in was so much
fun!
Q5. If you could describe this trip in one word what
would it be?
A5. Fascinating!
Q6. What was the one thing that you learned while
you were there that sticks in your mind?
A6. We learned that there is a chemical called Barox
and what it is used for.
Interview compiled and conducted by Armaan
Ashfaq Class 6F

Year 5 Visit The National

Space Centre in Leicester
As part of their NICER Challenge Pack Year 5 travelled to
Leicester to visit the National Space Centre. Sonia Gill and
Lecharn Heath from Class 5E told us what they got up to

Q1) Why did you go to the National Space

Centre?
A1) We went to the Space Centre in Leicester as it
was part of our NICER Challenge Pack How can we
design an App about Space? We went to explore
and learn more about space.
Q2) What did you see there?
A2) There were so many things that we saw but
to name a few: we loved the moon rock, we saw a
colossal model of a rocket; with another rocket that
you could talk into a communicator and what you
said could be heard from inside the rocket - how
cool is that?!

be inside it. It was 3D and a first time experience

for us. You could look all around the cinema as
there were special screens everywhere. Wherever
you looked, there was a photograph - It was
amazing!
Q4) When you got there, what were your first
thoughts?
A4) At first, we thought it was going to be quite
boring. However, towards the end we had to admit
it was fantastic!
Q5) In one word describe your day and the
experience.
A5) Amazing!

Q3) What was your favorite part of the day? Why?

A3) There was a cinema inside the actual Space
Centre. That was our favorite part. It was great to

Interview compiled and conducted by Jaskirat Kaur

and Rupinder Kaur Class 6A

Teacher Interview

Mrs Dhesi - Life as

a Headteacher
Mrs Dhesi took over the headship of VPPA in September 2014.
Her first academic year in charge of our school has almost come
to an end - lets see how she has enjoyed her new role
Q1. How has your life changed since you became a
Headteacher?
A1. It has changed for me because I have to
manage the whole school now, not just a small
group of people.

Q5. What is your biggest

accomplishment as a Headteacher so far?
A5. Travelling to Sweden for a conference to talk
about VPPA as there were many different schools
there from all over Europe.

Q2. What has been your most embarrassing

moment as a Headteacher so far?
A2. I havent had one so far however, a long time
ago I was writing on the black board and then I
turned around. At this point all of the writing went
on the back of my top!

Q6. Do you enjoy being the Head of our school?

A6. I enjoy the fact that I get to see what the whole
school is up to. I also get to make decisions that will
have a positive effect on the children.

Q3. Do you prefer working in a classroom

environment or in your new Headteachers office?
A3. I like my office, but I love the classroom more;
as the children are always buzzing.
Q4. If you could change one thing about your job
as Headteacher what would it be? Why?
A4. I would change the frequency of my meetings
as there are so many and I seem to be having them
all of the time.

Q7. How do you think the school has changed since

you became our Headteacher?
A7. I think there is more focus on the spices now
than before.
Q8. If you could describe your life as Headteacher
in one word, what would it be?
A8. INCREDIBILE!
Interview compiled and conducted by
Armaan Ashfaq Class 6F

10

GOODBYE YEAR 6S!

Here is
To end this issue we say a sad goodbye to our brilliant Year 6s.
time at
their
from
s
moment
funniest
and
worst
a selections of their best,
VPA. Good luck in the future Year 6, we will miss you!
While at Victoria Park Academy I have had many memorable moments; my
worst memory was when I got into trouble in year 4 at dinnertime. I was
screaming and laughing at the dinner lady; I was then told to stand by the
wall for time out for the first time ever!
My best moment was when I found out that I had got Mrs Peart teaching us
in Year 6 and when I met Miss Fowler for the first time.
My funniest moment was when I was in Year 1 A girl named Polade (who
has sadly left now) chased everyone in the playground with her shoe in her
hand, this was for no reason at all!

For
ar two extra ar ticl
e
r
vpzin k and mor s,
extra.
e go t
wordp
o
ress.c
om

My best moments are wh

en I am able to play wit
h my friends
and have fun I have ma
de some fantastic friends
while Ive
been at VPA and I will nev
er forget my time here!
My funniest moment has
to be when I was in Rec
eption Class
and I had really convin
ced myself that I could
perform magic!
My worst moment was
when I broke my foot as
I was in a lot
of pain and I had to hav
e some time off school.
By Sara Saeed Cla
ss 6F

By Armaan Ashfaq Class 6F

My best moment at VPA was when I became a member
of VP Zine; as I had wanted to be a part of the team for a
long, long time! I had desperately wanted to be a member
of, what seemed, an amazing team. To be able to contribute
to the whole magazine by writing articles and illustrating
texts. Once Mrs Peart and Miss Akhtar had offered me a
place, I became so excited and I was not disappointed as I
have loved being a part of this fabulous team!
My worst moment is hard to think of as I have had a
splendid time at this school! I guess, thinking about it, Ive
been most sad when my best friend has become upset. On
the few occasions this has happened, Ive been upset too.
My funniest moment in this school would be when my
friend was competing against someone else in a number
bonds challenge. It was towards the end of the school
day and her opponent answered the question much more
quickly than shed anticipated. My friend just stood there in
shock and answered Uh, YEAH! and then quickly walked
to her seat in a very embarrassed state!
By Rupinder Kaur Class 6A

I remember when we had the Bogdans come crashing into our

school, when a witch came out of a blue door with a moon on it in the
playground. Its things like that which are all GREAT memories that I
will keep safe! Being with all these fantastic, hard-working teachers
throughout all my years of being here is definitely one of the best
moments ever. They are, quite honestly, the best teachers alive!
My worst moments have been when I go in to clumsy mode and
hit and trip over EVERYTHING! Ive had some real bad knocks - Ive
grazed my knees, hit my arm and so many other injuries! Im
grateful to the dinner staff and the first aiders for helping and
looking after me.
My funniest moment. Well, there have been so many one that sticks
in my mind is one that makes me really laugh and I know Ill look
back on it when Im older. Its the time when Jamie from 6A jumped
on my back and literally made me trip over and fall. To add insult to
injury it was on my birthday! It was so funny that I will never forget
it. I remember laughing hysterically after it had happened!
Im so happy that I came to this school and that Ive been able to
meet all these wonderful teachers and that Ive made some fantastic
friends throughout my primary school years.
By Jaskirat Kaur Class 6A

I dont really have a worst memory of school, but if I had to choose one it would have to be, when I had to stay off school for around 6 weeks
as I needed to have a life-saving operation. It was a scary time to say the least, it was also a time when I encountered a lot of pain. When I
eventually returned to school, surprisingly, I was actually glad to be back!
During my primary school life, I have had many funny memories. I cant really think of one off of the top of my head because there are often
times when we always say and do silly things that make us laugh for ages-sometimes making us cry with laughter!
Its hard to choose one best memory, as again, I have several best memories. I suppose, thinking about it, my best memory is that of my friends;
including all the hilarious times we have had together! My friends have played a vital part in my life so far. I am SURE I will NEVER forget them!
To all of my friends, I wish you all the best while you are at Secondary School and for all the years to come.
By Nicole Eccles Class 6F