A highlight of last week was our Creative Careers Day, which featured a wide range of external visitors to get students thinking about their futures. In this newsletter, we also bring you updates from drama, history, mathematics, and Fitness Club. Best Orator!Following the launch of our Positive Behaviour Focus, it's been wonderful to enthuse students over saying "Good morning" and "Good afternoon" in the friendliest possible way for the past two weeks. There has been fantastic competition to earn Warmest Greeting! every lesson, and it's created a lovely buzz around the Academy. The new fortnight's focus is for students to earn Best Orator by using full sentences and well-chosen vocabulary in their speech. We aspire for our students to speak fluently and confidently, using subject-specific terminology. A study by the Sutton Trust showed that 94% of employers believe life skills such as confidence, resilience and communication are as or more important than academic qualifications. 
We are mindful that some students have speech, language, and communication needs, and we're committed to supporting them to access the full curriculum and meet the challenges of classroom oracy. Fabulous Creative Careers DayLast Wednesday, we were delighted to hold a Creative Careers Day. We started the day off virtually with Channel 4, and then welcomed our alumni stars. We were particularly fortunate in securing a visit from the BBC as part of their centenary celebrations. The BBC 100 Share Your Story project is an initiative that aims to build students' resilience and confidence in storytelling, whilst introducing students to exciting careers within the BBC that they may previously have never considered, or even heard of. 
Students were especially amazed that one of the BBC staff was Trudianne Bedward, who had previously attended Q3 Academy Great Barr (as Dartmouth High). Throughout the day there were some really magical moments and we hope the students were truly inspired by the activities. – Mrs Meredith 
Former Students Sprinkle StardustAs part of our Creative Careers Day, two of our alumni returned to share their career stories. Aimee Hall, current DV Director for BBC's 'Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two', and West End performer Jabari Braham, answered student questions and spoke about their journey from Q3 Academy Grear Barr to now working within the Performing Arts industry with well known personalities such as Simon Cowell and Tom Cruise. 
Both Aimee and Jabari studied drama at Q3 Academy Great Barr and as a department we are so proud of all their achievements. Jabari's next project is a three-month run in Toronto of 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat', whilst Aimee is travelling to South Africa to work on the next season of Love Island. – Mrs Karim 
College Practitioners Inspire StudentsStudents had a special treat in their drama lessons when Musical Theatre practitioners from Halesowen College came in to run workshops with a selection of classes. Students learnt routines from The Greatest Showman and Chicago. 
Key Stage 4 and Post-16 students also had the opportunity to discuss training avenues for professional theatre and musical theatre. The workshops were a fantastic opportunity for students to try something new, develop performance skills, and be collaboratively creative. – Mrs Karim 
Bringing History to Life in the ClassroomOur students have continued to impress us this term in their history lessons. Across the key stages, students have been engaged and hardworking as they tackle a wide range of interesting topics. 
In Year 7, some of our students have enjoyed recreating the shocking death of Thomas Becket as they studied the power of medieval kings. They used role play to explore the power dynamics between the Church and the Crown. 
We have been delighted to see our youngest students laying such good foundations for their future studies. 
In Year 12, our newest A-Level History students have made a flying start, taking to their post-16 studies with the passion and enthusiasm that secured them success at GCSE. The students have enjoyed a range of tasks, including their recent presentations on the reign of Henry VII. We look forward to seeing their hard work pay off at the end of Year 13. – Mr Mills 
Mathematicians Hard at WorkIn the buildup to the first assessment of the year, our Key Stage 3 students have been working hard to ensure they have a deep understanding of the topics they have learnt. Our Scheme for Learning has a particular emphasis on reasoning and problem solving questions. Here you can see students working hard with our Key Stage 3 Maths Lead, Mr Crawford. – Mr Machin 
Key Stage 4 Fitness ClubAttending Fitness Club is a fun way for us to work out and learn new skills. 
We continuously improve our technique when performing a range of different exercises. 
We are taught different ways in which we can train. 
If you have a question, Mr Richardson will happily show you and explain what to do to help you improve and gain more knowledge. – Levi Blackwood, Year 11 
Preloved Business DressYou will have seen our community appeal for Preloved Business Dress & Sports Kit, and we really appreciate the support this has received. If your child has grown out of any items and you would like to donate them, please send them with your child to hand in to their Personal Tutor. – Mr Kulyna PantomimeWe encourage our whole community to come together and watch the Academy production of Dick Whittington and His Cat in the Performance Theatre next week. Shows are on 6-8 December at 7pm, and tickets are available for £2 on ParentPay. All profits are going to the charity RoadPeace, who provide a support network for those affected by the death or injury of road traffic accident victims. – Mr Davis Upcoming Events
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