Principal's Update
We have had a good week in the academy. We began the week with an assembly on ‘Loneliness’ which was the focus of national Mental Health week. We work hard to support students and staff at CRA and have a range of interventions and strategies to encourage positive mental health. Please take some time to read our Mental health intent and policy which you can find on the website.
House rounders was run this week and it is a very tight competition. It is all down to the staff matches which will be played in the last week of this half term. It has been great to see the students' energy, excitement and sportsmanship, as well as seeing students supporting one another.
This is an important weekend for our year 11 as their exams start on Monday. They have been working hard and I know will have looked at the revision timetable on the website. This gives a lot of guidance about what should be revised in each week throughout the exam period. It is important that they have some time for relaxation but also that they feel fully prepared.
Thank you for supporting your sons and daughters through this period. We know some students will be feeling anxious. We have reminded students that we are always here to support them and if they are unsure of something, subject content, exam strategies or anything to do with the exam process they must come and ask for help. We wish them the very best for the exams.
I hope you have a great weekend.
Mrs Jones - Principal
CRA Values
This week in whole school assembly we talked about Mental Health Awareness Week 2022 and the theme for this year, which is loneliness. We talked about how loneliness can feel and discussed some quotes where people had described how they feel when they are lonely.
The one that resonated the most with our students was: "I feel alone, even in a room full of people." We talked about having the Courage to help yourself and went through 15 top tips to help disperse feelings of loneliness. We shared some great ideas and agreed that taking that first step to reach out to someone was the most important.
Homework
All Year 11 students will finish prep and KS4 additional homework on Friday 13th May. This is to allow time for revision with public examinations beginning on Tuesday 17th May.
All students in yr7-10 will finish prep and KS4 additional homework on Sunday 22nd May. This is to allow for two weeks of revision with Yr10 mock exams beginning 6th June and Yr7-9 end of year assessments beginning 13th June. These students will start prep and KS4 additional homework again on Monday 6th June.
Mrs Cooper - Whole School Teaching & Learning Lead
Thinking Ahead – My Future, My Choice
Attention Year 8 & Year 9!
- What are your future plans & career possibilities?
- What plans to do you have after you have completed your GCSEs?
- Do you plan to go on to further/higher education? If so what courses might you study?
- What career ideas do you have for the future at the moment?
In year 7, 8 and 9 you will be learning new skills and knowledge that will give you the confidence to help you plan your next steps. This process starts with your careers education in school which will encourage you to think about your strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes. You will also start to make some important decisions that could influence your future career path as you will be choosing your subjects to study for GCSE. This process will begin for all Year 9 students early next year.
Each week we will show you examples of the various careers linked to the subject you are studying. This week’s career idea is ‘Jobs related to Textiles'
Mr Rees - Careers' Support
SEND information evening
We would like to invite our existing and new CRA parents to our upcoming SEND information evening on Tuesday 24th May 2022 from 4:30pm – 5:30pm at the Academy.
We will be sharing an overview our package of provision, including how our whole school approach supports you child both in and out of the classroom.
We pride ourselves on being fully inclusive and all our students attend mainstream lessons with their peers, so as to ensure they gain the highest specialist subject knowledge from their teachers. Our whole school approach is designed to support our students to achieve their best and our whole school policies and procedures are implemented with SEND at the centre.
We are ambitious for every child, no matter what their background, prior attainment or needs. We have high expectations of our students and staff- and hold high aspirations and demonstrate complete belief in all our students and look forward to this opportunity to share this with you.
This will also be an opportunity to speak to members of the SEND team, including our incoming Year 7 form tutors, and to further your knowledge of our CRA community.
If you would like to confirm your attendance, please contact the school office via:
- email - enquiries@charlesreadacademy.co.uk
- telephone - 01476 550333
We look forward to seeing you.
Miss Canny - SEND Coordinator
Attendance
This week we have been celebrating some excellent attendance at the Academy.
Terra are leading the attendance percentage overall this week with a huge 95.5%, narrowly beating Caeli, well done Terra. Year 10 have had a good week, the highest year group attendance with an impressive 97.4%, followed by Year 9 with 93.3.%. Fantastic effort from Year 10 who had 100% attendance on Wednesday 11th May 2022.
Well done to all the tutor groups who have had 100% tutor group attendance this week, fantastic!
Look out for some attendance competitions and incentives, Mrs Coleman is keen to set targets and work with students who may struggle on certain days, this week Wednesday has been our highest % absence, let’s work together to recognise any patterns or avoidance to attend school.
Please do not hesitate to contact me on 01476 550333 ext 502 or kcoleman@charlesreadacademy.co.uk to discuss ways to support your child's attendance.
CRA - Lets work together to make every day count!
Mrs Coleman - Attendance Manager
House News
Aqua Lead House Rounders
Over 100 students at CRA represented their respective house teams in the house rounders competition this week. The competition got underway on Monday lunchtime with year 7 and year 10 teams going head to head in a number of competitive matches which saw Aqua take an early lead, winning 3 out of their 4 matches and drawing the other match. Day 2 saw another dominant Aqua performance as Aqua 8 won both of their matches and Aqua 9 picked up one victory in their game against Caeli.
The final day of the student matches saw the year 11s take each other on in some closely contested match ups. Terra managed to claim victory in the year 11 competition leaving it to the staff competition on Wednesday 25th May for the overall rounders competition to be decided.
Portrait Artist – Queens Platinum Jubilee
This terms subject house competition is Art (125 House Points) and we are excited to share the competition details with you.
As we lead up to the Queens Platinum Jubilee next month we are challenging students, staff and wider families to create a Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. You can be as creative as you like with the portrait however it must be a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II at some point during her reign.
Mr Parker has very kindly made the art room available during Art club during lunchtimes as a space for students to complete their portraits.
Term 5 Competitions
There are 125 house points available with the deadline for entries is 5pm on Friday 27th May - Results to follow over Half Term.
Competition details will be released in the lead up to the respective competitions. Ask your Heads of House, Tutor or Games Master for how to get involved.
Please keep an eye on our social media platforms (Twitter and Instagram) - for updates @CRA_HouseChamp
Mr Webb - Games Master
Humanities- Geography
Yr10 students have received a letter today informing them and families of the fieldwork to be completed on Tuesday 28th June in Hunstanton. The reply slips need to be returned to Mrs Fulcher in Reception.
Any questions or concerns please contact Mrs Cooper.
Mrs Cooper - Head of Humanities Faculty
Year 11 Focus
GCSE exams begin on Tuesday, the following five weeks will be a busy time for Y11 both inside and outside of school preparing for exams. Students have had bespoke timetables produced so that they have tailored revision sessions for subjects prior to their subject exams. For example on Tuesday they will sit their first Biology exam, on Monday afternoon all students will have a two hour revision session with a member of the Science department.
Please see below the timetable for next weeks exams to support you in preparing your children for their upcoming exams.
Mr Lovatt - Assistant Principal
Year 11 Work Experience Week
27th June until 30th June 2022
Finding a work experience placement can be challenging. Students were reminded before Easter to ask family and friends for ideas and advice. Making speculative enquiries in a professional manner to a business/organisation in person, or via social media, letter etc
It is important for students to have a clear idea (and confirmed by business/organisation) of where they intend to go for work experience very soon..
Mr Rees - Careers' Support
Caterlink Update
Welcome to the April edition of your marketing bulletin. we’re Caterlink, your school caterer. We want to let you know about the great offers, promotions, events and deals we have coming up this month - so, in April we have destination Jamaica, in season: carrot, world health day, and St George’s day! we have meal deals, loyalty cards and product promotions throughout the month.
New Menus
Please click on the link below to see the spring / summer menus for the new term from Caterlink.
What are Free School Meals (FSM) and how to apply
Please see the letter below explaining what FSM is and how to apply to see if you are eligible.
Online Safety
A Date with Dan - 18th May 6:30pm-7:30pm FREE Online Safety Question and Answer event
Online safety can be a bit of a minefield and many of us have lots of questions on how we can not only keep our children and young people safe but also let them enjoy the benefits the online world brings.
Join LCC's resident Online Safety Officer, Dan Hawbrook, on the 18th May 2022 for a special Question and Answer session for parents and carers which will cover whatever YOU want to know – whether it's game ratings, parental controls, bullying or strangers – we will let you ask us those burning questions.
Sign up will be required to access this session. A Date with Dan Tickets, Wed 18 May 2022 at 18:30 using the Eventbrite booking system below.
Keeping Safe Online LSCP/SLP Survey 2022
The annual survey of pupils aged 11-16 is now open. This is the third year the survey has run. The survey focuses on students’ online usage and experience of bullying with a focus on online bullying. The survey has helped to gain a greater understanding of the app’s students are using and experiencing issues on. This has in turn helped to focus on preventative education messages. The more students answering the survey across the county, the clearer picture can be gathered to help protect students while the enjoy the many benefits of using the internet. We would ask for your support in asking your child to complete this survey.
Word of the Week
Medi: midi: middle (Latin root word)
- Median – situated in the middle
- Meditate – focus one’s mind for a period of time, in silence or with the aid of chanting, for religious or spiritual purposes or as a method of relaxation.
- Medieval – resembling or likened to the Middle Ages, especially in being cruel, uncivilised, or primitive
Times Tables
At the end of all lessons students stand behind their chairs in silence to prepare for themselves for the next lesson. From September, on a weekly rota, Years 7 and 8 will be reciting their timetables to help embed them in their long term memory.
Week commencing 16th May - 6 times table
Accelerated Reader
Week commencing 16th May during period 5
The Sporting Post
After school clubs in term 5
Our after school activities have changed for this term...please see below for details.
If students wish to stay on a Wednesday or Thursday students must report to the PE department at 3.15pm and get changed into their kit. They must then be collected by parents/carers at 4.15pm.
Students also have the opportunity to take part in sport at lunchtimes.
Mr Addlesee - Sports Enrichment Officer
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