Principal's Update
Today the academy feels very quiet as the majority of our year 10 students are out on a day’s work experience or a visit to Stamford College to look at courses in relation to Construction and Engineering.
Miss King delivered an assembly on kindness this week and acknowledged the kind behaviour displayed by a number of our students. It is often the little things that we do that support friends, peers and colleagues that really make a difference to someone’s day. This topic is part of our Table Talk focus this week.
The Bullseye Quiz was a great success with our current CRA students. We also ran a similar event with the year 6 students who came in for our Transition Friendship Afternoon. This annual activity helps students realise that making friends in a new environment will not be as hard as they might think. We had students from twenty different schools, and they were beautifully polite and a credit to their parents and primary schools; we are looking forward to seeing them in September.
I hope the good weather continues throughout Saturday and Sunday and you have a good weekend.
Mrs Jones - Principal
Canteen Update
FSM Entitlement
There has been some confusion recently about FSM allowances, so we would like to clear this up.
Students with FSM allowance are allowed the following:
- a main and two sides (e.g. sausage, mash and peas; or fish chips and peas; or a full roast dinner) plus a bottle of water or a dessert (cookie for example)
- a pre packed sandwich plus a bottle of water or a dessert.
When it comes to pizza or pasta pots, these are not part of the meal deals, so the value of it is over the meal deal any additional charges may apply.
If a student has a slice of pizza and then try and get a second, and a drink/dessert, they will be charged for the additional.
If they try and get a canned or bottled drink (other than water) then again this is a chargeable item.
In simple terms students are better off having the main meals rather than the snack items, and these will be more nutritious too.
If they also choose to have a dessert (rather than a water) and bring a water bottle they can fill it up in the canteen from the water cooler.
Canteen Charges
MCAS messages are sent out on a weekly basis updating parents on the status of their child's canteen balance. To avoid large debt being amassed, canteen staff have been advised to not let students go into a negative balance without permission from the academy reception team, who will make calls to parents if required.
If you need to set up a Parent pay account please contact the school, or click this link to find out how to retrieve your details if they have been forgotten (your username will be the email address your MCAS account is set up with).
Those students in receipt of Free School Meals should use their allowance for their main meal at lunch. If they use the allowance for snacks at break then they will have to pay for any food taken at lunch.
Menus
Please click on the link below to see the new menu that is now in place in the school canteen; themed menus are in rotated every third Friday.
Please see the latest bulletin update from Caterlink in the link below.
The Caterlink Team
CRA Values
During whole school assembly this week we celebrated so many of our students - from those who participated in the DRET Winter Cup, to those who sang in Pop Choir at Priory Ruskin, to those who wrote a story for the short story competition.
We specifically mentioned two students, Isobel and Stephanie, who supported a younger student recently in an incident that happened after school. These 2 girls showed huge amounts of kindness in giving up their own time to ensure this student was safe and to try to talk and support her through this difficult time.
We are hugely proud of our school community, and we see our 3 houses, 1 community coming together all the time in school. But it's important to recognise how the values we try to instil in our students are values for life. This incident goes a long way to showing Courage, Resilience, Respect being put into action.
Behaviour for Learning
Leadership Positions and behaviour expectations:
If a child is involved in a serious behaviour incident in school or on school transport, that may jeopardise their leadership position in school. Leaders in school such as Head boy/girl, House captains, year group leaders, media leaders, ambassadors, sport/team captains etc are role models for the rest of the student body.
We have high expectations of all student behaviour but especially leaders as they set the tone for the rest of the academy. If they are being removed from lessons, receiving fixed term exclusions and/or regularly failing to follow policy, then they may have their leadership position removed from them or not be permitted to attend upcoming events/trips. This is at the discretion of SLT.
The behaviour and ethos policy is on the website can be found on the website by clicking on the link below.
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 Photography'
Mr Rees - Careers' Support
Attendance
This week we have been celebrating some excellent attendance at the Academy.
Terra are leading the attendance percentage overall this week, narrowly beating Caeli by 0.7%, well done Terra.
Year 10 have had an exceptional week topping the year group attendance with 95.4%. Year 10 have topped the charts for the last three weeks, well done Year 10.
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 Tuesdays 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
Friendship Afternoon
On the 24th March, we invited all the new year 7 students to join us at the Academy for a friendship afternoon. This was intended to give them a taste of secondary school life and to give them the opportunity to make some new friends before they start in September.
They all had a lovely afternoon starting with a meet and greet with the year 7 tutors and refreshments, followed by a house competition activity with our Games Master. The students were then split into groups to do maths and drama activities. At the end of the afternoon they all received a certificate of attendance to take home, which included the names of two new friends they had made.
We look forward to welcoming them all into the Academy in September.
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.
House News
Caeli scoop Bully’s Mystery Prize
On Thursday 24th March Aqua, Caeli and Terra participated in the House version of the ITV hit quiz show, Bulls Eye. A student from every tutor group and a member of staff teamed up in each house to take on a number of general knowledge and subject specific quiz questions in return for darts and the opportunity to earn house points on the giant inflatable dart board.
Round 1 was a quick fire question round with each team attempting to correctly answer as many questions as they could within 1 minute. Each correct answer earned 1 dart with each dart successfully sticking to the dart board earning house points equivalent to the respective numbers. Points earned from the inflatable dart board were banked, however the house team with the fewest points after round 2 and again in Round 3 were eliminated, leaving the final house with the opportunity to win additional prizes from Bully’s prize board.
Following an exciting round of ‘Bully’s Category Wheel’ it was Terra who were eliminated with the lowest points total but managed to walk away with a healthy 142 points. The third round was a Head to Head ‘Buzzer’ round where students went head to head with the opposing student in the same year group. This was a tense round and after some tough questioning Caeli just prevailed with a total of 287 points, eliminating Aqua who walked away with 273 points to add to their totaliser.
Caeli made it to the final round, ‘Bully’s Prize Draw’ for the chance of winning 10 prizes in addition to the 287 house points they had already secured. Each player (6 players) had 1 throw each and a bulls eye would automatically win every prize. After the 6 darts were thrown Caeli had secured 4 prizes (Lunch priority for the house, Box of chocolates for each tutor group, bonus houseopoly cards for each tutor group + 25 bonus house points). The excitement was over just yet as Caeli were offered the opportunity to gamble all their prizes in return for Bully’s Mystery Prize.
To win this prize the team had to throw a total score of 51 or more (Trebles & Doubles did not count) with 1 dart each. After some careful consideration Caeli decided to gamble and it turned out to be an excellent decision as they comfortably passed the 51 point target in 5 darts, earning their whole house a 20 minute extended lunch one day next term – This was greatly received by everyone in Caeli house!
Aqua fundraiser for the British Red Cross ‘Ukraine Crisis Appeal’
This term Aqua have been raising money through their house charity fundraiser but we would love your support. Aqua’s chosen event is ‘Teacher Forfeits’ where members of staff in Aqua will carry out a forfeit each time a donation target has been reached. Targets range from £1 to £500 with all donations going to the Ukraine Crisis Appeal. So far Aqua have raised over £100 and are creeping closer to their £500 target which will see Mr Thornton have his head shaved – as added incentive if you donate £10 or more you will go in to a draw to be the person who gets to shave his head!
Deadline for donations is the end of the day on Friday 1st April. Your support will go a long way to support those suffering in the Ukraine/Russia conflict. Your donations can support in some many ways including helping those affected by food, water, first aid, medicines, warm clothes and shelter:
- £10 could provide a hygiene kit to a family of five, giving them supplies to stay healthy for a month
- £20 could provide five blankets to families taking shelter
- £30 could provide 3,600 chlorine tablets to ensure that families have access to clean, safe water
- £100 could provide sleeping mats for 66 people who have been forced from their homes
- £210 could provide a fully equipped first aid kit, including supplies, to a first aider treating those wounded
‘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
Library News
We were recently invited to take part in a Short Story Writing Competition by The Cedars Care Home in Bourne and had such a high quality of entries, with 2 students, Tiana and Riley, going on to win 1st and 3rd places.
They each won a book token for The Bourne Bookshop, and vital house points! Thank you to all students and staff who entered.
Tiana's story was commended for her uplifting and moving theme and her beautiful creation of setting.
Some of the residents visited CRA to award the prizes and commented on how much they had enjoyed the stories - we hope to develop further competitions with members of the community so watch this space!
Mrs Thurlby - LSA & Librarian
Table Talk
We would love you to discuss over the dinner table a time where you have done an act of kindness, no matter how small.
The idea of 'pay it forward' was most famously depicted in the film by that name in which a student, inspired by a school assignment, comes up with an idea that changes many lives.
He decides that instead of returning a favour, he will pay it forward by doing good deeds for three people and the idea takes off with 3 more people doing 3 good deeds for 3 others etc.
Year 11 Focus
Year 11 Mentoring has begun this week. Students have been selected for mentoring through looking at data produced from the recent mock exams. 20 students are being mentored by a member of the staff, they will meet on a weekly basis to check progress in lessons, revision schedules and habits and to check that deadlines are being met. We hope this process will support those students that need extra support as we move towards the exams.
Students will also receive a document next week which staff have created to support revisions across all subjects. This document has broken down sections of the course (possibly by using pages from the revision guide) into small chunks, this will allow students to easily select specific revision topics to focus on throughout the Easter holidays. Students will be provided with a Physical copy of this, it will also be in the parent section of the school website and will be emailed to them to have digital access.
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
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 28th March - 11 times table
Accelerated Reader
Week commencing 28th March during period 5
Tutor In A Box - Advertisement
Please see below the details of Tutor in a Box who can offer additional support to students with the Maths & English progress.
Furter details can be found on their website.
Charles Read Academy are not responsible for the relationship parents and students may take up with the provider. This is a paid for advertisement.
The Sporting Post
DRET Winter Cup
On 17th March, over 80 of our students attended the annual DRET Winter Cup. The event was held at Nottingham University in the David Ross Sports Village, which is an incredible facility.
At the event our students played football and netball against other academies part of the David Ross Education Trust. As always, the standard was incredibly high. Despite this, our students played fantastically and demonstrated great team spirit.
It was great to see our students supporting other year groups when they did not have a match. Our best result came from our Year 10 boys. They earned themselves a gold medal after winning half of their fixtures.
Encrichement and after school clubs in term 5
Our activities will be changing after Easter. Please continue to check the newsletter, MCAS messages and the academy website for details of the events available to the students.
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
Credits:
Created with images by mozlase__ - "school work write still life" • Victoria_Borodinova - "café visualization interior design" • Tumisu - "ethics right wrong" • InspiredImages - "figures games piece" • geralt - "bulletin board stickies post-it" • geralt - "stopwatch gears keyboard" • Rawpixel.com - "Children Kids Casual Offspring Adorable Youth Concept" • Wokandapix - "mental health wellness psychology" • Rawpixel.com - "Students friends at lockers room" • Hermann - "books stack literature" • truthseeker08 - "buddhist monk novice" • Pexels - "book college education" • StartupStockPhotos - "meeting brainstorming business" • milli_lu - "pregnant girl stomach" • jarmoluk - "hands friendship friends" • Wokandapix - "learn word scrabble" • anncapictures - "tartan track athletics track and field" • webandi - "calendar wall calendar days"