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Christmas Newsletter

Message from the Principal

Welcome to our end of term festive newsletter as once again we find ourselves preparing for the Christmas break with a degree of uncertainty over what the next few weeks will bring. The last few weeks have been challenging for all schools, including Redmoor, as we have coped with increasing levels of staff absence due to positive Covid 19 results. Thankfully, positive cases in students remain very low and students have been amazing as we have returned to face coverings in communal areas, removed Key Stage assemblies and encouraged greater hand sanitising and movement around the outside of the building.

As most teachers do, I measure years in terms of academic rather than calendar and it is worth remembering that although we are only at the end of the Autumn Term, we are nearly half way through the school year in the number of weeks. For Year 11 the significance is greater as they start their GCSE exams in May and for all other students it places increased emphasis on the progress they are making and the knowledge and skills they are acquiring which prepare them to become successful, confident young adults by the time they leave Redmoor at age 16. Year 7 have settled in brilliantly, despite a disrupted induction process and all students have done superbly to get back into school routines.

This term has seen our school make great strides in returning to normal after the disruption of the pandemic in the last two years but without ever fully escaping the shadow of Covid19. We have reintroduced sports teams, fixtures and clubs, music performances and trips and visits and it has been amazing to see our students take up these vital opportunities that help develop their wider self. Our much vaunted Redmoor Enrichment Course (REC week) is back for the first time in two years - albeit a UK based version - which is exciting and will once again provide our Key Stage 3 students with experiences and opportunities out of the classroom.

This term has also seen the return of Ofsted to Redmoor in September, where we had confirmed what we all knew - that we are a good school. We remain delighted that the improvements we have made, and therefore the education we provide, have been recognised as being of high quality. We remain committed to ensuring that this continues to develop and improve. We know our students can thrive at Redmoor, both academically and personally and we are incredibly proud of seeing this happen.

I hope that 2022 will continue to bring society as a whole closer to a more consistently normal level of living and for Redmoor, there are some important milestones to mark. Year 11 will sit the first set of exams at the school for two years and the new academic year will see the introduction of our new uniform and an exciting next step in our journey. We will provide more information on this in the coming months.

Finally, I wish all of our community a very Merry Christmas and a peaceful time with family and friends.

Matt Nicolle

Principal

January 2022 - Return to School & Covid testing

Unfortunately, the requirement to test all students before they return in January means that we will have staggered start to the new term.

Testing and Return to School Schedule

  • Tuesday 4th January: Years 10 & 11 Testing
  • Wednesday 5th January: Years 10 & 11 Return to School
  • Wednesday 5th January: Years 7 & 9 Testing
  • Thursday 6th January : Year 7&9 Return to School
  • Thursday 6th January : Year 8 Testing
  • Friday 7th January: Year 8 Return to School

Timings for the testing will be sent in a separate communication. Please ensure students continue to complete LFT tests twice weekly during the holidays.

Term Dates 2022-25

Our term dates for the next three academic years are now on our website for your information: https://www.redmooracademy.org/term-dates/

Student Voice

We are pleased to announce that following successful campaigns and a whole school election, Rachel Perkins 11 Willow, has been elected as our Student President with William Colkin 11 Beech, as our Deputy. A big well done also to Darcy Mason 11 Beech, Skye Tomkins 11 Beech and Josh Green 11 Oak who also ran for election and produced excellent campaigns.

Our presidents have already been involved in helping to organise our food collection for the Hinckley Food bank and we look forward to them representing our student voice and leading on school initiatives after Christmas .

Foodbank Collection

We have been touched by the generosity of students and their families who have donated a vast range of goods to the Hinckley Foodbank. From tins and packet essentials to toiletries and Christmas treats, it took half of Year 7 and some Year 9 students to organise everything for collection. Jim from the foodbank arrived with an empty van which was full to bursting when it drove away. At Redmoor we are working on being more philanthropic - giving more to those in need, whether this be products, money or simply our time and effort. The foodbank collection has been a great start!

Redmoor’s Brilliant Club

In the spring term Redmoor’s Brilliant Club will be launched for Year 8 students. Year 8 students will have the opportunity to apply for a position within ‘Redmoor’s Brilliant Club’. This club is partnered with The Brilliant Club, a charity whose aim is to increase the number of pupils from underrepresented backgrounds progressing to highly-selective universities. Through this partnership we run ‘The Scholars Programme’. This is an opportunity for students to gain the knowledge, skills and ambition needed to help them secure places at top universities.

Successful students work with a PhD tutor, someone studying for their third degree and who is a world class researcher. Students attend six university-style tutorials with their PhD tutor studying a ‘super-curricular’ topic related to the PhD tutor’s area of expertise. The Scholars Programme is designed to give students a university experience and includes two trips to highly selective universities.

Coram Shakespeare Schools Festival at Curve

In February Miss Brown is taking up to 30 students to perform their version of The Comedy of Errors at the Curve Theatre in Leicester. This will take place on Thursday 3rd February. This is an amazing opportunity to perform in a professional theatre, work with up to three other schools, have professional training and perform an amazing piece of Drama you will remember for the rest of your life! Students involved in this project previously have gone on to be more confident in English and other lessons, have a better understanding of Shakespeare and make new friends, here at Redmoor and outside!

If you are interested please see Miss Brown or ask your tutor to email your name to Miss Brown. Auditions will be in the Drama Studio at lunchtime Tuesday 14th December for Yr10 and Wednesday 15th December Y7-9, you do not need to prepare or bring anything with you, just bring you and Miss Brown will do the rest! Rehearsals will start on Wednesday 12th January.

House Cross Country

This term we held our first house event of the academic year. The whole school had the opportunity to take part in the cross country competition and earn points for their house.

Year 10 Sports Leaders helped plan the event, learning key skills for their course. Students showed Redmoor DNA and enjoyed the festive spirit.

The results were as follows.

  • 1st -Ash
  • 2nd equal on points - Elm and Maple
  • 4th - Beech
  • 5th - Oak
  • 6th - Pop

Well done to all students with particular students who performed well or showed high levels of resilience and hard work receiving house points.

And thank you to the year 10 Sports Leaders on your first successful event!

MVP

Our Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) programme continues to grow in strength, with our Year 10 mentors planning and leading more sessions with KS3 students. This term, MVP mentors have delivered sessions about how to handle issues online, how to recognise and deal with rumours and gossip, and how to spot the signs of controlling relationships amongst peers. Students have been encouraged to speak up when things are not right, rather than being a bystander and watching issues develop. In addition to these sessions, our mentors were lucky enough to enjoy a workshop with Graham Goulden, the man responsible for implementing MVP in the UK, when he visited Leicestershire at the start of November.

In recognition of Redmoor's successful development of the programme, Graham wanted to speak directly with our mentors in order to provide further advice and guidance. He visited with the Violence Reduction Network, which is associated with Leicestershire Police, and a reporter for Radio 5 Live, who interviewed our mentors for the radio. It was an enjoyable and interesting afternoon, during which our mentors showed their confidence and maturity, as well as their cheeky side!

Next term, we plan to build further on our achievements, with more sessions planned and with the recruitment of a new cohort of mentors. We are extremely proud of all of our MVP mentors this term!

Art and Design

In the new year, the Art and Design department will be running a number of after school creative workshops for our KS3 students. From soap carving to designing and making your own tote bag, each activity will run for two weeks and allow you to design and make exciting pieces to take home.

Are you interested? You will need to sign up with the teacher that is running the course and pay a small charge for your materials. More information on this will be given to you in the new year, so listen out for the bulletin and keep an eye on the Art and Design notice board in The Zone. We can’t wait to see your crafty creations!

Check out this Art, Design and Photography work from this term!

Year 10 Observational Studies

Year 8 Artist Studies - Memphis Design Course

KS4 Photography

KS4 Design

Christmas Door and Jumper Competition!

And finally, thank you to all of our students who wore their Christmas jumpers on Thursday and to the tutor groups that entered our Christmas door competition!

The winning tutor groups for the door competition were:

  1. 11 ASH
  2. 9 ELM
  3. 11 WIL

The winning students for the Christmas jumper competition were:

  1. Austin Bailey 10 POP
  2. Emme Shepherd 9 POP
  3. Armani Kabodi 7 OAK

From everyone at Redmoor, have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!