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CRA Newsletter 11.03.2022 Half Term 4 - 11th March 2022

Principal's Update

On Wednesday we took thirty students to perform in the Albert Hall in Nottingham for the DRET Music Festival. The venue was fantastic and the students were very excited. They performed a song from Oliver, 'Consider Yourself' and two other numbers, in very different styles, demonstrating their versatility.

They performed brilliantly and we are very proud of them. It was a great experience to listen to and play for the other secondary academies in DRET. Students were also entertained by the Berkley Ensemble, a group of professional musicians who are also passionate about undertaking outreach work with schools and budding musicians.

Six students also rehearsed again with the Lincolnshire Pop Choir this week and will be taking part in a concert later this month. We are also thrilled that we have 55 students who will be attending the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden on April 1st.

Our Table Tennis Scholars have had some great sporting success recently. Adam (year 11) represented England at the European Youth Championships in Croatia and at the World Table Tennis Contender event in Villa Real Portugal. This is an amazing achievement.

Joseph (year 10) performed brilliantly in the Table Tennis England National U15s event finishing 4th. Please see the article later on in the newsletter for the full details.

Our students are due to compete in the final of the National Schools Table Tennis Championships later this month and we wish them every success with that.

I hope you have an enjoyable weekend,

Mrs Jones - Principal

Canteen Update

Canteen Charges

MCAS messages have been sent out this week updating parents on the status of their child's canteen balance. I'm sure these were a surprise to some. 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

This week our Year 9 students have been considering in depth their option choices for GCSEs. This has involved individual meetings with staff to discuss their current thinking and future aspirations and an options evening on Wednesday where they had an opportunity to question key staff about the GCSE courses and their suitability.

Year 9s have shown real ASPIRATION and AMBITION during this week for their futures.

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 Music'

Mr Rees - Career's Support

Attendance

This week we have been celebrating some excellent attendance at the Academy, whole school overall achieving 92%, fantastic, hoping for an even bigger % next week!!

Terra are leading the attendance percentage overall this week with a fantastic 96%, well done Terra. Year 9 have had an exceptional week topping the year group attendance with 95.9%, Terra 9 achieving 98.9%.

Look out for some attendance competitions, Mrs Coleman and Mrs Miller Brown will be sending out invitations for a special end of term treat.

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

‘Signs of Spring’ Photography Competition

This year’s photography house competition is underway with a new theme; ‘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

Table Talk

In whole school assembly this week we were lucky enough to experience the rich culture of Mr Rajs and his journey through learning to play the violin. Here is a quote from Albert Einstein reflecting on his experience of learning to play an instrument.

Mr Rajs talked about the resilience and ambition he had to show as a child whilst learning to play - the time and the dedication he put in. We would love you to reflect and discuss a hobby you have - be that sport, knitting, music etc and the process you had to go through (or are still going through) to learn how to do it and how that lead to the sense of enjoyment you get from it now.

Year 11 Focus

The Mock exams have now come to an end, over the coming weeks staff will be marking work and providing feedback on particular areas of strengths and weakness. It is important to take advantage of this and plan for continued revision as we move towards the GCSE Exams.

With the Easter holidays approaching this is an excellent opportunity to spend some time revising, as mentioned in previous newsletters spaced retrieval and interleaving of knowledge are crucial for ensuring retention of information. Students have been developing bespoke revision timetables each week to support their organisation and to plan their time accordingly.

An example timetable can be found below. Staff will be providing students with a breakdown of revision topics which chunks information together allowing students to focus in on specific areas of study, These will be printed for the students, shared with them via email and be on the school website to access.

Students will continue to be set both Prep and Additional homework, Prep homework is a form of revision which supports knowledge retention and so is a valuable tool for students to continue to use.

Additional homework will remain at the discretion of the teacher to set but, as course content is complete this will also take the form of revision activities. Please can I ask again that you support your children be creating a space in which they can revise without distraction.

Mr Lovatt - Assistant Principal

Year 11 Homework Expectations

Yr11 students have now completed their mock exams and so Prep homework re-commences for these students. I am sure students having sat a full suite of exams for each of their subjects realise how much there is to know and therefore to revise for. Prep homework is designed to assist with their revision and knowledge retention.

Yr11 Prep homework will begin again today on Friday 11th March. This means students will show their form tutors 3 pieces of prep homework on Monday 14th March.

Yr11 is a crucial year in a child’s education and we wish to maximise learning time. To this end if a Yr11 student fails to complete 3 pieces of Prep homework in one week they will be escorted to homework club each lunchtime for a whole week, instead of attending IE for one day. Homework club is for 20mins and so students will still have time for a break and lunch before afternoon lessons.

Mrs Cooper - Whole School Teaching & Learning Lead

Year 10 Work Experience Day - March 25th

This is a great opportunity to taste the world of work, as well as give you an insight into a job/career you may be interested in following. When thinking about who to approach for work experience not only should you focus on your interests but aim to be practical, for instance what personal/family connections you can utilize to help find a suitable placement.

Work experience is also a time to impress potential employers with your enthusiasm, abilities and your responsible approach to work. Who knows where it may lead? Some students have previously found their work experience has translated into part-time work while at school, and even a future career.

Please do come and talk to the careers team for further information, or for instance you are finding difficulty in finding a placement.

Mr Rees - Careers' Support

Word of the Week

Bi: two (Latin root word)​

  • Binary relating to, composed of, or involving two things.​
  • Binoculars an optical instrument with a lens for each eye, used for viewing distant objects​
  • Bisexual sexually attracted not exclusively to people of one particular gender; attracted to both men and women.​

Teen Support

As a school, we are seeing an increasing number of issues and usage of TikTok as a social media platform.

Here are 2 articles produced by LCC Stay Safe Partnership to support parents with understanding this platform better and supporting their child to be safe online.

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 14th March - 6 times table

Accelerated Reader

Week commencing 14th March during period 3

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

National Junior Indoor Rowing Championships

It has been a busy couple of weeks for our rowers as they prepared themselves to compete in the Nation Junior Indoor Rowing Championships. Under normal circumstances this event would be held in London but it was held virtually this year.

Nichola (Year 9) and Madison (Year 7) both competed in the individual races. Nichola took part in the grueling 4 minute race. She was up against nearly 800 competitors. Nichola performed brilliantly and we are pleased to report that she finished in 4th place overall. She missed out on a medal by 2 metres. This is a fantastic result.

Madison took part in the 2 minute race. This was her first time competing in this event. Madison finished in 25th position after recording a new personal best 0f 480m. This result is impressive, especially considering she was up against 900 competitors.

We also entered a relay team into the event for the first time. Our Year 9 girls team made up of Nichola, Isobel, Jessica and Jasmine took on the 2000 metre race. They worked incredibly hard to make sure their change overs were as smooth as possible.

After having several attempts to get the best time possible they finished in 4th place overall. They were 2 seconds away from a medal. This was another fantastic performance by our students up against some large clubs and school. All of our competitors can be very proud of their achievements.

Charles Read Academy Table Tennis Success

This academic year really has been fantastic so far for our table tennis playing students. As I write this update, we’re on the brink of what we hope could be another national title for the academy at U16 boys’ level, which would follow on from our two previous national titles at U16 girls level.

Our English schools team campaign started in November, when we beat Priory Ruskin Academy, Grantham 8-0 in the County Final. This saw us progress through to the Zone Finals where we beat some very strong schools including former national champions Bedford Modern School:

  • Kings Cathedral Schools, Peterborough 8-0
  • Manor School, Leicester 6-2
  • Bedford Modern School 5-3

In February we continued our journey in the competition by playing in the Regional Finals. On this occasion we came up against Carlton le Willows of Nottingham defeating them 6-2 to progress through to the National finals, which will be played at Aldersley Leisure Village, Wolverhampton on April 3rd 2022. At this event the team will be up against St Marys College, Hull, Torquay Academy and Wallington County Grammar school, London. Our team for this campaign has been Adam, Joseph, Vel , Jack and Ben.

Alongside the team campaign we also have two students competing in the English school’s individual competition on the same weekend. Adam will play in the U16s, while Vel will take part in the U13s. Both boys have been selected to represent Charles Read Academy and Lincolnshire.

CRA brothers achieve National and International success

Following on from Adam's successful U15 England selection for the European Youth Championships in Croatia back in July 2021, he was once again selected by England to this time represent them at U17 level at the World Table Tennis Contender event in Villa Real Portugal. This was Adam’s first world level event and he put in a strong show making it through all the way to the round of 64 before losing to Koh Junhao from Singapore.

Closer to home, Adam’s younger brother Joseph was having success on home soil in the Table Tennis England National U15 Cup. This competition features the top 10 ranked players in the country at U15 level and is a strong match play event. Joseph was ranked 6th going into the event, but managed to finish 4th, which was a brilliant achievement.

The principal of Charles Read Academy (Mrs Jones) said “We’re very proud of our table tennis squad at Charles Read Academy and their continued success, they train many hours alongside working hard at their academics with us, and deserve the success and recognition they have gained this academic year”.

Everyone at Charles Read Academy and the David Ross Education Trust would like to wish our table tennis players the very best of luck on April 2nd and 3rd 2022

Afterschool Clubs

Our club timetable has changed. On Monday and Tuesday our students will be taking part in rugby, hockey and dance. On Wednesday and Thursday we have made some changes to the sports clubs we are offering.

On Wednesdays it is table tennis and rowing club. On Thursday it is football and netball. If students attend afterschool football or netball it will increase their chances of being selected to attend the DRET Winter Cup. If they 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" • Victoria_Borodinova - "café visualization interior design" • Tumisu - "ethics right wrong" • geralt - "bulletin board stickies post-it" • geralt - "stopwatch gears keyboard" • geralt - "apple fruit selection" • Pexels - "book college education" • geralt - "businesswoman business puzzle" • Angeleses - "png bike ornament" • jarmoluk - "hands friendship friends" • Wokandapix - "learn word scrabble" • anncapictures - "tartan track athletics track and field" • webandi - "calendar wall calendar days"