This week, our school production of Aladdin lit up the stage with two fantastic evening performances on Tuesday and Wednesday. Students from across year groups came together to deliver a vibrant, energetic, and thoroughly entertaining show that showcased not only their musical talents, but also their dedication and teamwork. From the colourful costumes and creative staging to the confident acting and lively musical numbers, the production was a true celebration of the performing arts. Our cast brought the well-loved characters to life with humour and charm, while the ensemble numbers filled the stage with energy and excitement. A huge congratulations goes to all of the students involved—both on stage and behind the scenes—for their hard work and commitment over many weeks of rehearsals. Their efforts truly paid off, and they should be incredibly proud of what they achieved.  We would also like to thank staff and families for their continued support, as well as everyone who attended the performances. Your encouragement helped make the shows such a memorable success. Well done to everyone involved in making Aladdin such a magical experience!

Between the 6th and 8th of March, 24 Year 10 students took part in an exciting residential trip to PGL Bawdsey Manor in Suffolk. Over the three days, students challenged themselves with a wide range of adventurous activities including climbing, Jacob’s Ladder, the challenge course, archery, aeroball, the giant swing and zip lining. The trip provided plenty of opportunities for students to step outside their comfort zones, build confidence and support one another as they tackled each activity. One of the highlights of the weekend was the silent disco on the Saturday night, where students danced the night away and enjoyed a well-earned evening of fun after a busy day of activities. A special thank you goes to Mr Cook, who generously gave up time on his Friday and Sunday to help drop off and collect some of the students from Suffolk. Trips like this create memories that students will cherish for years to come. The residential was not only about physical activity and adventure, but also about building friendships, developing independence and creating shared experiences that make school life so special.  Miss Robbins

On the 11th of March, our year 7 rugby girls competed in the Essex 7s tournament, putting in fantastic performances throughout the day. Both the A and B teams showed great determination, teamwork and resilience against strong opposition from across the county. The highlight of the tournament was an outstanding performance from the A team, who went on to win the entire competition and secure the Essex 7s title. Their attacking play, defensive effort and teamwork were exceptional, making it a well-deserved victory and a proud moment for the school. The B team also performed brilliantly, showing great spirit and continuing to improve with every match. Their effort and commitment contributed to a very successful day for the whole squad. Special recognition goes to our “Women of Steel” — Cheriah, Khadijat, Lateefat, Anjola, Nathaya, Amelia and Kelsey — whose hard work, determination and positive attitude helped drive the teams forward throughout the tournament.  Overall, it was a fantastic day of rugby and a great achievement for everyone involved. Congratulations to all the players who represented the school so well and brought home the Essex title. Miss Robbins

As part of the Into Film Spring Film Festival we took a group of students from the KS5 CTEC Media Studies classes, KS3 Film Club and KS3 BBC Young Reports Club to see Goat at The Vue Cinema in Dagenham. Goat is an underdog story packed to the rim with the same vivid colours and graphics that you would find in Spider Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The story follows a billy goat named Will, a young goat who is a bit down on his luck, who follows his mum's wishes to 'dream big' to become a player in the much-loved basketball team 'The Thorns'. However, things are never that easy, and Will has to overcome prejudice from those who think they are better than him from other teams in the league and even his own team mates. However, through perseverance, friendship and team work, Will eventually proves to everyone why he is the true GOAT! Everyone had lots of fun experiencing everything that comes with going to the cinema, including a healthy dose of popcorn and combo deals! Thank you to Mrs Fox, Mr Roberts and Mr Carter for helping on the day. Mrs Crowther-Green and the Film and Media Department 

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On 11th March, two of our teams participated in the JP Morgan Final, presenting their prototypes and pitches to a panel of esteemed judges. Team Aquinity presented their Revolution Wave product – a device designed to be installed in rivers to help remove pollution from the water. Laura, Nainshi, Kacie, Lucy, David,, Ali, Aravind and Shayaan Team Green Lungs showcased Air Nova, an innovative concept designed to help filter CO₂ from the air on busy roads. Nichola, Amritpal, Samar, Maria, Zafir, Hamaad, Adam and Tomas Top Influencer Awards – Brightside Across all schools, Robert Clack achieved a clean sweep in the Brightside Top Influencer Awards for positive engagement: 🥉 Laura – Bronze Award 🥈 Adam – Silver Award 🥇 Hamaad – Gold Award We also held a celebration event where students were recognised for their achievements and received personalised report cards. Both of our teams worked incredibly well and scored highly among the teams present. One of the judges, who attended school in our area, commented on how great it was to see students representing Dagenham at such a prestigious event. Some Reflections from the students Amritpal After the final, I think it is the best thing I have joined because it has actually improved my public speaking a lot, and I get to learn different things that I never had before. Even though none of our ideas ever work together, we always make a final decision together. My favourite highlights of JPMorgan are that I get to meet everyone that I've seen around the school and meet everyone outside of school which made me inspire alot. Aravind After the final, I think JP Morgan has improved our community skills by letting us work together to makes something beneficial for our world. My most memorable moment is when we first built the product, and everyone I met had a powerful impact on my life. Shayaan After the final, I think it was still useful for me to join as it improved my teamwork, public speaking and speechwriting skills. We discussed ideas and put long thought into our product, which gave us a job - like experience which can be useful in the future and as part of our skillset. It was also a great experience as we got to visit workshops, the JP Morgan headquarters and Tottenham hotspur stadium, which for me are the highlights of our JP Morgan schools challenge journey. Kacie I think the JP Morgan program has been a great opportunity to be apart of as it’s helped people form new friendships and work on things they struggle with. Personally this experience has helped me with my confidence and my ability to solve problems. My favourite moments were designing our product in the studio and watching our product come together but also watching the team get so excited in the finals. Lucy JP Morgan has been one of my favourite experiences as it’s taught me how to be confident in what I talk about and has shown me how to work in a team with everyone who I may have not known at first but has grown to cherish as life long friends. The JP Morgan mentors have been such a help in growing our company into the best it could be and I’m forever grateful for this wonderful experience as every session has been so fun and I’ve enjoyed myself the whole time. Congratulations to all the students involved – a fantastic achievement! Mrs K McBride , Mr R McBride, Miss F Hibbit

It has been an incredible half-term for Year 2, filled with both literary wonder and scientific discovery. We kicked off our celebrations with World Book Day , where the children immersed themselves in the fantastic work of their favorite authors, sharing stories and exploring the magic of character and plot. The excitement continued with a spectacular visit from the Science Dome , which transported us from the classroom to the lunar surface. Inside the immersive dome, we learned all about the historic moon landing and its global significance, sparking a wave of curiosity about space travel and the bravery of the Apollo astronauts. From the pages of our favorite books to the craters of the moon, the pupils have shown a wonderful enthusiasm for learning that is clear to see in these photographs.

We have been very busy in Year 4 this term! We have been very busy learning all about rivers and the water cycle in our Geography lessons. This knowledge was put to good use in our English lessons where the children wrote some fantastic poems about rivers and the power of water. The children been able to take inspiration from the poems of Valerie Bloom and used metaphors and similes to describe rivers. At the end of last term, we had a visit from a team from Billingsgate Fish Market. The children had the opportunity to find out more about various types of fish from the experts. They particularly enjoyed the opportunity to handle the fish they even got the chance to try some of the fish themselves! On 5th March, we celebrated World Book Day and the children came into school dressed as their favourite book characters. It was wonderful to see the children in their different costumes, from Harry Potter and Maleficent to Dorothy and Where’s Wally! We even had some children taking inspiration from our History topics as they came dressed as Roman soldiers and Egyptian pharaohs. It was a joyful celebration of reading and we hope the children enjoyed it as much as we did! To celebrate reading even further and all of the wonderful women who look after us, we invited mums, sisters and other female relatives into school to read some of the children’s favourite books with them. The children really enjoyed listening to stories being read to them and they also had the chance to read to our special visitors! This term, the children have had the opportunity to take part in swimming lessons at Becontree Leisure Centre. I am so proud of how much progress the children have made with their swimming skills. Not only have they had fun learning to swim but they have also shown bravery, resilience, courage and growing confidence in the water. It has been wonderful to see their enthusiasm in the swimming pool each week. I hope the children are able to continue their swimming lessons in their free time!  Thank you for your continued support. We look forward to sharing more updates with you next term.

Huge congratulations to our Year 9 netball team! 🎉 They have been crowned both Borough Rally champions and Borough champions after an incredible, undefeated season against every Borough team they faced. This is the first time this has ever been achieved by this team, a fantastic reflection of their hard work, determination, and progress.  Well done to all the players, we are incredibly proud of you all!