Power Days
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Social and Global Awareness Power Day
Social and Global Awareness Power Day
On Thursday, 1 February we launched our new Power Day around the theme of ‘Social and Global Awareness’, it was a fantastic day filled with an array of different activities allowing students to explore and raise awareness of social and global issues surrounding them in the wider world today.
Year 7 began the day with a ‘Road Safety’ session delivered by KCC which raised awareness of how to travel safely around the roads, this included avoiding distractions like mobile phones and groups of friends, students took part in this interactive session and it proved extremely informative and useful. Year 7 then moved on to working on researching different Spanish and French themes and finished the day with the amazing Eurovicta, which was a huge success, students showcased great talent and had an enjoyable afternoon.
Year 8 took part in several different activities, they researched global issues around the world, took part in creating a ‘Sustainable City’ where they addressed different environmental, social and economic aspects allowing them to explore different renewable energy, waste management, green spaces and social inclusivity. They took part in sessions with the business and economics departments exploring new subjects and how they linked to the need to be social and globally aware. Students also explored geography field based studies to give them a taster of how to conduct field studies within this subject.
Year 9 had an important and valuable day learning about the Holocaust. Students built on their Year 8 learning of the Holocaust. They considered ideas of blame and perpetration, looking at case studies and real experiences. They then sought to understood the role of resistance and the ways in which Jewish people were able to resist. The day culminated by listening to survivor testimony from Holocaust survivor, Ivan Shaw. Students listened and asked questions before returning to their rooms and reflecting on their experience of the day. The feedback from staff and students has been amazing, they were very moved by our guest speaker and they took a lot away from the day.
Year 10 had the exciting challenge of creating a music festival themed around the famous charity ‘War Child’. The objective was to raise awareness of global and social events, they were tasked with researching the charity ‘War Child’ looking into what the charity stands for and linking this to how they were hoping to raise awareness of global issues, and how they wanted to change societies views and actions. All students were engaged in the task and the displays and presentations they created alongside merchandise was amazing! A thought provoking challenge which enabled them to explore real life events that are affecting children of their age and younger.
Year 11 took part in a number of sessions, firstly we welcomed back Once Chance and DBA Project who spoke frankly to students around the issues associated with County Lines, following on from that we welcomed Zara back from Panda Anti Racism who led an interactive session exploring racism that exists around the world today. Students took part in a session researching and presenting their findings on an array of different global issues that surround the world. They were also introduced to Psychology where they took part in an activity called ‘The Baron’s Tale’ followed by a food and nutrition session where they took part in making healthy flapjacks, a session enjoyed by all!
Year 12 took part in a number of externally led sessions, we welcomed ‘Diversity Role Models’ to the school for the first time, a session which raised awareness of embedding ‘inclusion and empathy’ the workshop focused on hearing from an LGBTQ+ role model about their lived experiences to celebrate difference. Schools Consent Project returned to the school to lead small sessions surrounding consent and raising awareness of the issues surrounding consent. We also welcomed back the MSC midwives who again led brilliant small sessions, informing students about a variety of different aspects from contraception to pregnancy choices, students have met the midwives several times now, and it is lovely to see the rapport they are building within our school community, they are experienced, approachable and informative.
Year 13 students had a meaningful session about ‘suicide’ which consisted of a talk around the topic followed by breakout rooms, where students could talk about this difficult topic in smaller groups. Once Chance and DBA delivered a session to Year 13, the programme aims to dispel myths and present factual information about exploitation, allowing students to make more informed decision if needed, it support students in being able to identify if they are being groomed and where and how to seek support. We welcomed back ‘The Up Front Theatre’ group who delivered a session on ‘Sexual Harassment’ an extremely topical issue today and one that we thought was vital to explore with students before they embarked on either the world of work or a university life, this interactive session told different stories of sexual harassment and enabled students to gain a deeper understanding of the issues and how to seek support if it was ever needed. Year 13 also took part in the Panda Anti Racism workshop that concentrated on specific issues; impact vs intent, stereotypes, mental health, biases, resilience and assertiveness, this session had been tailored to this age group and allowed for interaction amongst the students and presenter.
RHSE Power Day
Relationships Sex, and Health Education (RSHE) Power Day was an extremely successful day, with sessions being specifically tailored to all year groups in the school. We welcomed several outside agencies to deliver workshops and assemblies to students.
Up Front Theatre company who are always a favourite with the students delivered workshops in the following areas, Puberty and Emotions, Drugs and Alcohol Sex and Relationships and The Serious Chat (Mental Health).
Daniel Spargo Foundation delivered sessions to Year 9 and 10 for the first time, these sessions were hard hitting and very factual but gave students an insight into the dangers of illegal drugs and vaping.
We also welcomed back Zara from the Panda Anti-Racism team, who delivered workshops to Year 7 and 8 around how to prevent and respond to racism.
Midwives from MSI Reproductive Choices delivered small sessions to Year 11 and 13 students on contraception, STIs, pregnancy and consent.
We also had a speaker from One Chance and DBA Project discussing County Lines with Years 7-10, educating them on the dangers of getting involved with the wrong people, what to do if they are asked to do something they know is wrong and where to turn to for help. Here are some other areas that were explored:
- Consent
- KCC Drivers course
- Vaping
- Cooking
- Relationships
- Just Dance
- Recognising and preventing bullying
- Transport and travel
- Financial choices
- Mental health – accessing support
Careers Power Day
Careers Power Day celebrates the wide array of careers our students can aspire towards. The activities of the day are designed to reflect this, challenging them to think differently about familiar challenges and tasks.
Year 7 - Business Enterprise Day
Year 7 worked in small groups to create a product linked to the theme of ‘Alice In Wonderland’ the winning team from each form class will produce their product and sell it on and around the time of the School Production of ‘Alice In Wonderland’. Students had to assign themselves different job roles and complete the designated tasks under the job role which they had chosen.
Students were given a design brief and had to complete the following: 
- A realistic product to market
- Be achievable to make in school/in a short space of time
- A product that required little investment
- Generate the most profit
The ideas were creative and original, and we are really excited to see Year 7 working on these projects over the next term.
Year 8 – The Wedding Planner
Year 8 were given a tender to complete whereby they had to plan a wedding for a ‘Celebrity Couple’, the aim of the task was to promote their enterprise skills, through taking on the role of a ‘wedding planner’ they gained experience in understanding the factors involved in calculating the prices of goods and services, the tender aims to highlight the importance of fixed costs, raw materials, and wages, and introduced other factors such as transport and profit.
The winning group was called ‘Boda’ (wedding in Spanish) and was made up by Caelyn, Abby, Ella, Priya, Amber, and Isabella from 8G.
Year 9 – STEM Day
Year 9 students were excited to be a part of a ‘STEM’ day. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics in an educational context. STEM related learning is important in schools, as it provides an opportunity for students to learn about topics and disciplines that will serve them well in later life. Students were able to see the benefits of studying STEM, such as understanding critical thinking, building creativity to lead to innovations and developing problem solving skills. The skills learned during STEM study have real world application and can be useful in any field of work. This year we were able to welcome a variety of different groups of people into the school, who delivered sessions on the following topics:
- Hanoi Towers
- Maths Challenge
- Women in STEM
- Glowsticks
- Human Nutrition
- Fossil Skulls
- Pharmacy
- STARR
- Engineering
Students really enjoyed the day, particularly the ‘Fossil Skulls’ session and the ‘Glowsticks’ (as they got to make glowsticks), we hope that it gave students a taster of some areas that they might like to explore further and possible career aspirations for the future.
Year 10 – Creative Industries
Year 10 embarked on a ‘Creative Industries’ session, this involved students working in groups of eight to complete the following three challenges:
- Design Challenge
- Sustainability Challenge
- Games App Challenge
The students worked incredibly hard throughout the day and the work they produced was outstanding. It was a brilliant day that allowed students to explore an array of skills, challenge themselves and see what it might be like to work in a number of creative industries, there were strong links made to careers in Business, Marketing, Media, Art, Fashion, Textiles, Computer Science and Geography.
Winning Teams:
10A – Eliza, Alice, Libby, Iris, Zuzanna, Maisie and Fiona
10S- Connie, Maddie, Lucy, Issy, Leah, Emma, Megan, Sam
Mrs Rivers sent this report:
Year 11 were quite surprised at the start of their recent Careers Power Day when Mrs Rivers told them they would be having a twenty-minute mock interview with a visiting employer during the day. We were extremely fortunate to secure the commitment of 32 guests from local and national employers who kindly agreed to give up their time to offer our students the opportunity of a practice interview. Visitors included representatives from BAE Systems, the local NHS Trust, BAM Construction, Bell Equine, On Wave, the Hazlitt Theatre and members of the Rotary Club to name but a few. A number of guests included former Invicta students which is always a joy for us seeing our students come back to school as successful employees. Once Year 11 recovered from their initial shock they spent time during period one preparing for interview including how to shake hands, maintain eye contact, consider body language and learnt how to make their skills shine using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) in their discussions with the employers. The feedback from both the employers and Year 11 was fantastic and all the students received written feedback on their experience to help them to develop their interview skills longer term. A highly successful day and we are very grateful to all our visiting employers for their time.
Year 12, meantime, were learning all about their Options 18+ as they start on the pathway of making plans to leave Invicta at the end of A level. Their day started with a session from Mrs Rivers, Careers Adviser, covering all their options, application procedures and deadlines. Students then attended a rotation of workshops delivered by visiting speakers from a range of organisations. Guests included representatives from ASK (Apprenticeship, Skills and Knowledge) where students learned more about higher level apprenticeships and interview skills. Higher level apprenticeships are fast becoming a very popular option for students. Our guest from Portsmouth University told students all about the higher education option and Raleigh International speakers introduced students to the idea of a gap year and travelling the world! Year 12 are now fully informed in order to start on researching and developing their own plans for the future and we look forward to supporting them with their personal journeys throughout.
Multicultural Power Day
On Friday, 30 June the whole of 
Invicta was off timetable for our final Power Day of the year, the Multicultural Festival. This event was a joyous celebration of the diversity of our school and involved over 300 students running various events. Students rotated through a variety of activities and events throughout the day, all of which had an opportunity to learn about different cultures.
There was a session of talks, where students watched video presentations from students about their culture and heritage, including on Brazil, Bulgaria, Ghana and Nigeria. We also had a video talk from one of the charities we have supported throughout the year, KRAN (Kent Refugee Action Network). Students also took part in some sports activities on the MUGA, including relay races and the hula hoop challenge.
Outside on the Izatt plaza student volunteers ran a number of stalls, these had flags and information about different countries and students bought in an array of delicious food samples for everyone to try.
In the Hall we had two performances, firstly the Dance Show. Students had choreographed and rehearsed routines in a variety of styles; Bollywood, Afrobeats, Nepali and KPop. The performances were phenomenal and a real credit to the effort that students had put into the show. Next up was the Fashion Show, in which two hundred students showed off the beautiful outfits that they had chosen to wear for the day. The crowd for both of these performances were really supportive of their peers, cheering and clapping throughout, which the participants really appreciated.
Overall, it was a wonderful day, many thanks to Miss Day and Mrs Uzochuckwu for all of their hard work in the planning and running of the day and a particular thanks to all of the students who contributed.
