Gateway Academy Westminster

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Enrichment

At Gateway Academy we believe that structured academic learning alongside enrichment activities provide our children with life-enhancing and life-changing choices and opportunities.

We have developed a very broad curriculum base because we know this helps broaden their horizons and drive ambition.

Learning an instrument

All children are taught Music as part of the curriculum. In addition, all children are given the opportunity to learn a range of instruments. A number of years ago we introduced a whole class violin programme in Year 4, which continues to flourish as part of the Year 5 curriculum.  All music lessons are free. Gifted musicians are targeted for inclusion in Music Hub events.

Themed curriculum days and enrichment weeks

These are seen as an opportunity to:

  • Apply skills taught in specific curricular areas
  • Cover an area of learning in more depth
  • Broaden learning experiences
  • Promote a higher level of thinking
  • Make meaningful cross curricular links
  • Make use of additional learning resources beyond the normal range

Examples include: Spelling Bee, Poetry Slam, Maths Slam, Skipathon, Science week, Gateway through time, Sustainability Week, STOP week, Growth Mind Sets.

Music Makes Me 

The children in the KS2 choir were lucky enough to be part of the Tri-Borough Music Hub's fantastic performance . The central core running through the whole Music Makes Me programme has been that music is way for us all to process our emotions – music can be our own unique soundtrack and playlist that only we can hear, which helps us to regulate, respond, reflect, and re-centre. The world of Music Makes Me spoke to many people in different ways.  Presenting Music Makes Me was a huge collaborative team effort, and included many schools and organisations across the three boroughs of Westminster, Hammersmith and Fulham and Kensington and Chelsea. We are also asking for your help to support the legacy of Music Makes Me

Click on this link: https://www.triboroughmusichub.org/school-services/music-makes-me/

Films, Photos, and Media

All the media is provided free, at no cost to anyone. This is part of our ongoing financial support to our families, schools, and community. Follow all links to explore the available media.

·         Full Performance: click HERE

·         Event Day Documentary: click HERE

·         All songs as separate music videos can be accessed: click HERE

·         Digital Programme: click HERE

·         PDF of the programme: click HERE

·         Photo Gallery: click HERE   

·         Behind the scenes photos: click HERE

Support the legacy (click HERE)

We are actively fundraising to support the legacy of Music Makes Me and to continue to develop, enhance, and amplify the work of the Tri-borough Music Hub for young musicians. There are three main ways we are asking for your help:

1.    Spread the word about our work – tell other people. Is there anyone who would be interested in supporting us in the future?

2.    You can donate either as a one-off or a regular giving pledge by visiting our website www.triboroughmusichub.org/support-us/

3.    You can donate by text via 70470:

a.    Text MMM20 to donate £20

b.    Text MMM10 to donate £10

c.     Text MMM5 to donate £5

Cultural capital

We have extensive links with a range of London galleries and museums. We work closely with a range of galleries developing resources to be used by other schools. We work closely with external providers to ensure our children’s’ experiences are truly inspirational. These include links with Cirque de Soleil, Rolls Royce, Courtauld Gallery, and the Serpentine Gallery. We are very proud of our links with the Royal Academy where we have developed an outreach project for our SEND children.

Extra-curricular opportunities  

These are varied and free for all children. Activities here include:  football and basketball classes, KS1 and 2 choir, Bollywood Dancing, Art Club. We are working with external partners to provide more clubs such as French and table tennis.

Road Stories by Gateway Academy

This film was created with the support of Westminster Council and all 90 children in year 5. They were involved in the writing, designing and performance of 4 different stories all about how we should behave when out and about near roads.

The children were grouped Writers, Designers and Actors. They all needed to use their imaginations to bring it to life.

Not only is it a fantastic film but it was also been nominated for the Mode Shift Award!

Year 6 History Project and Film: Regent's Park Mosque

Year 6 were invited to take part in a project with Historic England to look at the history of the John  construction company, the group responsible for the building of the Regent's Park Mosque.

The children interviewed people involved in the construction of the mosque and went to visit the site. Here is the film that resulted.

A Design & Engineering Project

A Design and Engineering project, which brings together Year 4 pupils, the world famous Cirque du Soleil and super-talented engineers from Rolls Royce, has started in spectacular fashion.

Year 4 classes have been to the Albert Hall to see a performance by the Cirque du Soleil.

 The visit to Cirque du Soleil is part of a borough wide project run in partnership with Rolls Royce. The project begins with a visit to Cirque du Soleil to watch the show and observe the set mechanisms. Then, over a number of weeks, the children work with Rolls Royce engineers to design their own sets that use pulleys, gears and levers to move in a similar fashion. At the end of the project all schools come together to share their creations.

As part of Year 4's Design and Technology curriculum, the children visited the Royal Albert Hall to see the latest Cirque Du Soleil show.

The children then learnt how to build their own stages with moving parts and gears. We were lucky enough to have two engineers from Rolls Royce come to Gateway to help us turn our designs into fully working prototypes.

 

Christmas Fun at Lord's

Children from Year 3 and 4 have taken part in a very exciting and energetic day of activities at the home of cricket, Lord's.

Lord's coaching staff treated children to a wide range of fun cricket activities that helped teach them how to bat, field and throw.  As well as playing in a variety of games, children took part in a 'quiz hunt' which took them on an odyssey around the beautiful ground and its wonderful buildings. Clues were found in the world famous museum, the brand new Warner Stand and even in the England changing room (where pupils and teachers had the chance to sit in the Captain's seat!)

Have a look at the photos below...

Howzat For a Day Out?

On Tuesday, 18 lucky children were chosen to be filmed at Lords Cricket Ground as part of the All Stars Cricket Program.

The footage taken will be shown across cricket grounds in England, on their website and possibly even television!

Children also had an opportunity to have
a Q&A session with England and Middlesex cricketers. The children were able to collect the autographs of a number of cricketers.

A big thank you must go to Middlesex Cricket for choosing Gateway Academy. Well done everyone involved!

Fabulous New Art in the Atrium!

Alicia Reyes McNamara & Gateway Academy, Tongue Ties, 2018

Throughout 2018, Alicia Reyes McNamara has collaborated with Gateway Academy and the Family Learning Involvement Project (FLIP). Tongue Ties is a collective celebration of knowledge, language and cultures.

Pupils took part in workshops which promoted a positive approach to the development of bilingualism. Every child in the school was invited to choose and share a word, which became their contribution to the artwork. Responding to the culture of the school, the project also draws on Alicia’s own lived experience growing up in a Mexican household in Chicago. Tongue Ties has been produced by The Showroom as part of their Communal Knowledge programme of collaborative projects.

 

 

 

 

 

Communal Knowledge invites artists and designers to work with community groups, organisations, schools and individuals from The Showroom’s neighbourhood towards collective, creative outcomes. Communal Knowledge is generously supported by John Lyon’s Charity.

Violin Performances

Our violin concerts are amazing. We are always very proud of the progress our children make on the violin over the course of a year. Children in year 5 and year 6, who have carried on learning, are now ready to sit graded exams. If their wonderful performances are anything to go by we are sure they will all perform very well indeed.