Loading

CRA Newsletter 01.04.2022 Half Term 4 - 1st April 2022

Principal's Update

We started the week with a drop-down day which featured sessions from LCC on Staying Safe, a virtual tour of the Houses of Parliament and an interview with our local MP, Gareth Davies, an English walking-talking mock and intervention sessions for year 11. On Monday afternoon and evening we hosted Corby Glen Primary school who joined with some of our students to perform in a Dance show. It was a lovely event and one that we hope to repeat annually. We also had the House Rocket League competition on Thursday, which was a first for us and although we had a few technical issues the students thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Today we are taking 72 students to the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden to see La Traviata. This will be a new experience for most of the students and one to be ticked off the bucket list for one of our staff members.

Throughout the week students and staff have continued to work hard and year 11 have been very focused, knowing that they now need to step up their revision to secure the target grades they are capable of. It is important that during the break they have some relaxation, as well as balancing that with some revision, so that they feel prepared for their exams which start in 23 school days.

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter break.

Mrs Jones - Principal

CRA Values

On Tuesday we had our termly rewards assembly. The assembly was opened by two performances from our GCSE dance students who showed real COURAGE and CONFIDENCE in their performances.

The afternoon was a wonderful celebration with over 150 students being rewarded for their attitude to learning, behaviour, attendance and subject awards.

We also rewarded our Term 4 Principal's RESILIENCE award which was given to Mark in Year 10 for Character.

Mark this term as demonstrated real character in his interactions with staff and students as well as his approach to his studies through some challenging times.

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 Physics'

Mr Rees - Careers' Support

Attendance

This week we have been celebrating some excellent attendance at the Academy.

Terra are once again leading the attendance percentage overall this week, narrowly beating Caeli, well done Terra. Year 10 have had an exceptional week, the highest year group attendance with 93%. Year 10 have topped the charts for the last four weeks, well done.

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, currently Fridays are 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

Homework

As Spring Term 2 ends I wanted to inform families that students are expected to complete their prep homework on Friday 1st April, Saturday 2nd April and Sunday 3rd April. Students will show these completed days of Prep to their tutors during roll call on Tuesday 19th April.

Students in Yr8-11 will start Summer Term 1 homework on Tuesday 19th April and students in Yr7 will start Summer Term 1 homework on Wednesday 20th April.

Mrs Cooper - Whole School Teaching & Learning Lead

Parents we need your thoughts............

We are very lucky to be working with the Charlie Waller Trust; a trust that wishes to improve young people’s understanding of their mental health and wellbeing and to equip them with the knowledge, skills and confidence to look out for themselves, their friends and those around them. As an Academy we are keen to know if you would like to access any family guidance on various areas of mental health. Please complete the survey below.

Mental Health

Mental health is about the way we think and feel and our ability to cope with life's ups and downs. This is something we talk a lot about at CRA.

Our value of resilience helps us focus on getting through challenging times, talk about picking ourselves up and bouncing back when things don't quite go to plan.

Below is a short informative leaflet about things to do to help focus on positive mental health. Please share and discuss it with your children.

School Lockers

If a Year 7 student would like to have a school locker, they need to bring a padlock with a code into school, making sure they make a note of the code it is set to, and come to see Miss King who will assign a locker to them.

House News

‘Signs of Spring’ Photography Competition

This year’s photography house competition is well underway. This years theme is ‘Signs of Spring’. Step outside and capture the beauty of spring, the season of fragrance, fresh leaves, buzzing bees and colourful flowers.

This competition is open to all students, staff and wider families with a maximum of 3 submissions per person. To enter all you need to do is email your submissions to housechampionship@charlesreadacademy.co.uk with your name, tutor group and house.

250 house points are available for this competition with the top 3 in each category awarded points. The deadline for entries is 8.00pm on Tuesday 19th April.

Please keep an eye on our social media platforms (Twitter and Instagram) - for updates @CRA_HouseChamp

Mr Webb - Games Master

British Values - Drop Down Day

On Monday we had our second enrichment drop down day where our students had an exciting day of activities to support their PSHCE curriculum and explore British Values. Years 7 and 8 had a carousel of stay safe sessions delivered by LCC representatives from the Police, Fire Service and other agencies.

Sessions included ASB, online safety, fire safety, healthy relationships and alcohol/drugs. The sessions were immersive and engaging and our students took a lot of key messages from the day. Our Year 9 and 10 students had a day of student voice and British Values, with live interactive sessions from the Houses of Parliament, including a student voice question and answer session with our local MP, Gareth Davies live from the Houses of Parliament.

Again, this day engaged our students in discussion around what it means to be British and the values that are important in society and how these align with our CRA values. It was wonderful to see our students having the experience of seeing where Government sit and decisions are made and have a deeper understanding of how our country is run.

Miss King - Assistant Principal

Careers in Science

With thanks to the wizardry of modern technology, this week the Charles Read Academy invited two guest speakers to discuss Careers in Science with Year 9 and 10 pupils!

Kevin Rose a Civil Engineer at Pick Everard gave an exciting presentation to Year 9 pupils called “Life’s most important puzzle: water engineering”. Kevin discussed his journey into engineering from his GCSEs to his undergraduate degree at the University of Birmingham. Kevin spoke about water purification, the importance of subject knowledge and so much more! It was great to hear how exciting a career in water engineering can be!

Our Year 9 pupils asked Mr Rose many questions from subject specific questions to even salary expectations and the qualifications required as a Civil Engineer.

Fiona Bernard a Safety and Environmental Engineer gave an inspiration presentation to Year 10 pupils. Fiona has worked for the Ministry of Defence for 18 years! Fiona spoke about her journey from growing up in the Welsh Valleys to her experience engineering for the Air Force and her continued education (completing a teaching degree and masters!)

When asked what her one piece of advice is for our CRA pupils, Fiona answered “Never give up on your dreams”. We were very proud when Year 10 pupil Charlie-Jo Smith said that that is aligned with our CRA value of ‘resilience’!

A huge thanks to Charles Read Academy's Expert Science Teacher, Ms Burrell, for organising these Career's Talks!

Miss Pabla - Head of Science Faculty

Humanities Update

We are delighted to be taking our Yr7 students to Lincoln on Tuesday 19th April. The coach will be leaving at 9am and we endeavor to return by 4pm so that all students can access their normal forms of transport to and from school.

Students will need to:

  • Wear full school uniform
  • Bring a packed lunch and drink. Those in receipt of free school meals will receive their packed lunch provided by school.
  • Wear appropriate shoes and coats. The geography session is outside.
  • Bring their CRA6.
  • Leave any valuables at home. Any that they do bring with them is at their own risk.
  • Bring any medication that is required and authorised.

We are looking forward to kicking off Summer Term 1 with this enjoyable day out.

Mrs Cooper - Head of Humanities Faculty

Table Talk

Part of our enrichment drop down day was to look at the British value of Mutual Respect, Individual Liberty, The Rule of Law, Democracy and Tolerance. This quote from Maya Angelou looks at Mutual Respect for our diverse communities in the world.

We would love you to discuss around the dinner table why Mutual Respect is so important and what that looks like in your family and community.

Year 11 Focus

Mock results have now been shared with students and parents, this gives us the clearest indication of GCSE outcomes so far, it does not however tell us what the end result will be. There is time now to focus on the key areas for development. Students will have seen what they need to improve upon through the feedback teachers have provided during following the mocks.

This information needs to be used effectively to plan revision to close the gaps in specific areas. To support with this staff have broken their courses down into manageable revision chunks which students can select to focus on during their revision. Students have a paper copy of this revision aid but I have linked it here so you have an online copy which can be used, it is also available in the homework section on the school website. Easter is an excellent opportunity to really begin to focus revision and spend time on the areas that need the most attention, use the tips below to support your revision.

  1. Plan early – Create a revision schedule in advance or at the beginning of the holidays and stick to it. Remember to leave yourself some time for Easter chocolate if you celebrate!
  2. Don’t leave your revision until the last minute – It may sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people still leave everything until the last minute, particularly when it comes to exams. Cramming last minute will not help you to remember information needed for your exams. On the contrary, it’ll stress you out, make you even more anxious and make it more difficult for your brain to absorb, and most importantly, understand, the information you need for your exams. The best revision strategy is to start as early as possible!
  3. Practice, practice, practice! – Practice really does make perfect. Memorising material is not enough to ace your exam, you need to practice what you’ll be tested on. So, if your exams are essay-based, practice exam-style timed essay writing using past essay questions/papers. If your exams are multiple-choice and/or answer based, whip out some practice questions and papers to familiarise yourself with the style of questions you’ll be asked and the content of the exams you’ll be sitting. As The Guardian’s ‘Five Secrets to Revising That Can Improve Your Grades‘ wisely states: ‘writing exam answers is a skill, just like playing an online game is a skill. You wouldn’t try and improve at a game by trying to memorise moves, you’d practice making them’.
  4. Read, memorise and test yourself – This is one of the most fool-proof revision techniques to help you absorb and retain information for exams. According to the BBC’s ‘Revision Techniques – the Good, the OK and the Useless‘, you should ‘start by reading the text book then make flash cards of the critical concepts and test yourself’. I can vouch for this technique myself, it helped me revise for my history exams throughout my degree.
  5. Minimise procrastination by keeping away from distractions – Procrastination is one of the biggest hinderances to your revision. Flipping between social media and revision for instance, is one of the worst ways to revise as your attention is constantly divided. Dividing your attention between distractions that allow you to procrastinate and your revision will result in not absorbing and learning what you revise properly. This makes revision much more tedious than it has to be. If you’re working from your computer, I would recommend using browser plug-ins that block social media (and other websites of your choice) for a period of time while you revise.
  6. Take breaks – Forcing yourself to revise for long hours without any breaks will exhaust you. It may also cause you to lose concentration while you revise, which is never a good thing. Break your revision up into 1-2 hour slots (or even less than this), followed by a break where you can get something to eat (Easter chocolate, anyone?), have a change in scenery, go for a walk and declutter your mind.
  7. Seek help if you need it – If you’re struggling with a subject, topic or question you feel a bit unsure about, seek help. There’s nothing wrong with having someone explain the problem to you or looking online for answers and explanatory tutorials.

Mr Lovatt - Assistant Principal

Year 11 Work Experience Week

27th June until 30th June 2022

This week Year 11 were reminded of the need to organise (find and arrange) their work experience placement which comes very soon after they finish their GCSE exams. Some of the benefits of work experience outlined in assembly were: increasing understanding of the work place, helping decide upon future career, developing transferable skills such as teamworking, building confidence interacting with adults, impressing potential employers … a foot in the door for employment, apprenticeship, holiday job. Work experience is also very valuable evidence to present to add to your CV for employers, Colleges etc.

Finding a work experience placement can be challenging. Students were reminded 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 shortly after the Easter Holidays.

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.

Word of the Week

Ject: cast, throw (Latin word root) ​

Interject say (something) abruptly, especially as an aside or interruption

Trajectory the path followed by a projectile flying or an object moving under the action of given forces

Deject make sad or dispirited; depress.

Teen Support

Roblox Parental Controls - We have lots of students who go on Roblox. Do you know how to keep them safe whilst they use this? See the parental controls support sheet.

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.

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 18th April - 8 times table

Accelerated Reader

Week commencing 18th April during period 1

The Sporting Post

After school clubs in term 5

Our after school activities will be changing after Easter, 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

Dates for your diary

Please click on the parent calendar to see the full list of upcoming events and activities at CRA

Credits:

Created with images by mozlase__ - "school work write still life" • Tumisu - "ethics right wrong" • geralt - "bulletin board stickies post-it" • geralt - "stopwatch gears keyboard" • goodluz - "Man helping daughter with homework" • Wokandapix - "mental health wellness psychology" • Rawpixel.com - "Students friends at lockers room" • Melanie Kocheva - "London cityscape panorama with River Thames Tower Bridge and London Cityscape" • Cultura Allies - "Two scientists working in lab" • LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS - "top view of vintage camera, notepad with fountain pen, radio and painting on map background" • Buecherwurm_65 - "limb males meet meeting" • Pexels - "book college education" • StartupStockPhotos - "meeting brainstorming business" • ercan senkaya - "full lunch service station" • KeithJJ - "baseball pitcher pitching" • jarmoluk - "hands friendship friends" • Wokandapix - "learn word scrabble" • anncapictures - "tartan track athletics track and field" • webandi - "calendar wall calendar days"