Principal's Update

We have had a really enjoyable week with seven visitors from the Trust discussing curriculum with our Heads of Department. Staff were questioned on how they have developed the curriculum and how they sequence the learning.

They were asked about the scope and rigour of their schemes of learning and entered into professional discussions about how they decide what is important and what needs to be included in their curriculum overviews.

Reflecting on why we teach what we do and how we teach it is something we do regularly at CRA. In continuing professional development sessions Heads of Department often focus in on an element of the curriculum and discuss misconceptions that students might have and discuss the best way to teach something with the staff in their department.

Students and staff alike enjoyed the house competition, ‘I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here’ and they are already looking forward to the Santa run which is taking place in the last week of term.

Due to the latest information from the government and recommendations from the Trust we have decided to cancel the Expressive Arts evening that was to take place on 15th December. In addition to this we will not be going to the local church for our Lessons and Carols service. The Christmas House party/competition will go ahead but in Key Stage bubbles, with students sitting in year groups.

We have been giving out masks every morning to students who have forgotten them, but please can you remind your son/daughter about making sure they have their mask, (unless they are exempt), so that they can wear it whilst on the bus or in a taxi and then once in school in corridors and social spaces.

We are continuing to open windows, ventilate rooms and ask students to use hand sanitiser when entering and exiting a classroom.

We had a very successful Careers' Fair on Thursday, many individual sessions from a range of professionals pertinent to the needs of the students. Many of the visitors to the school commented on how interested and polite our students were. They were a credit to CRA.

There are two weeks left of term with us finishing on December 17th.

I hope you all have a good weekend.

Mrs Jones - Principal

Catering

In out first half term we hope your children have enjoyed the range of new dishes on offer in the newly branded canteen. The menu remains in place for the next half term and then renewed after Christmas. A link to the menu can be found below.

If you have any questions or suggestions about the catering service at the Academy please dont hesitate to contact us so we can discuss with Caterlink.

Parent Pay

If you need a Parent Pay login so your child can add monies to the payment facility, please contact the office for a username, then follow the notes in the attachment below

Mr Linforth - Academy Operations Manager

Home Lateral Flow Testing

When you complete lateral flow tests at home on a Sunday and Wednesday evening, please report the results via these links to both the NHS and also CRA.

If you require further kits, students can collect these from reception.

Did you know that parents and support bubbles of school children, as well as anyone who has to leave home to go to work, can now get rapid Covid-19 tests twice a week. Order yours now here.

Further guidance from the Government and Department of Education in respect of home testing can be found below:

A copy of the risk assessment and privacy policy relating to Lateral Flow Testing can be found on the CRA website.

Mr Linforth - Academy Operations Manager

CRA Values

This week in whole school assembly we had a student input from Priya in Year 11, who spoke to us about her religion - Hinduism.

It was great to celebrate her community and practices and she articulated with real courage and confidence what her experiences and that of her family are. We took the opportunity to celebrate our British Values of tolerance and respect and we thank Priya for her contribution. Here is the first slide from her presentation.

Parent Governor Vacancies

Charles Read Academy are now looking for two parent governors.

The role of parent governor is an important one. School governors play an important role in supporting the school. They can influence the strategic vision and direction and hold the senior leadership team to account.

Why become a school governor?

Benefits include:

• Developing your professional skills and experience such as strategic planning, and team working, both of which are valued by employers and can assist your own career development
• Building relationships and networks in your locality
• Supporting children and young people in your community.

There is one meeting every half term. The meetings usually last approximately an hour and a half and can be accessed via Teams if coming into school is too difficult due to transport or child care issues.

We would love to hear from you if you are interested in this role by completing your declaration of interest in the Governor election procedure below:

Attendance

This week we have been celebrating some excellent attendance from some of our tutor groups. Year 11 Aqua have achieved 93.90% attendance this week with the whole of Year 8 achieving 91% attendance. Caeli once again are holding the lead for this weeks attendance so a big well done to all the Caeli students who have been present every day and maximising their learning and enrichment time. Remember our school target is 96%. Please ensure you have conversations at home about attendance.

This week we have seen an increase in the number of students off ill due to colds. We know during the winter months students are more likely to have a cold or a sniffle but please encourage your child to come to school so they are not missing out. They can always complete a lateral flow test within school and we can manage medications to support your child’s recovery.

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 at

CRA - Lets work together to make every day count!

Mrs Coleman - Attendance Manager

Table Talk

Here you have an image of what the 5 British Values are.

Over the dinner table we would love you to have a discussion around these British Values and what being British means to you. How do you show our British Values in your everyday life?

Vapes

We have unfortunately had a succession of students who have been found to have vapes on their person, having been using them at the bus stop and on the school transport.

Clearly it is illegal to purchase vapes or smoking paraphernalia under the age of 18, but aside from this, is it against our school rules. Anything connected to smoking is a banned item and students found with any paraphernalia will receive a fixed term exclusion.

We do this for the safety of all concerned. I hope you can support us in talking to your child about this matter.

Year 11 Focus

This week I would like to explore a revision concept which has proven to be extremely successful, it uses the idea of diagrams graph and images to support revisions notes and enable greater rates of knowledge retention, this process is known as dual coding.

WHAT IS DUAL CODING?

Dual coding is the process of blending both words and pictures while learning. Viewing those two formats gives us two different representations of the same piece of information. This works because visual and verbal information are processed differently, which when both viewed simultaneously improves learning - hence the term “dual coding”.

This helps form a stronger connection and gives the information a better chance of cementing into our long-term memory, as well as helping us to recall this information more easily when needed.

There are 4 key principles to using dual coding, these are:

• Cut - Reduce the amount of content, be selective and only use the most important information. It’s all too easy to just copy down everything about a topic, with a couple of added pictures, in an attempt to make an exhaustive resource. However, this just causes an overload if information which is difficult to read and remember.
• Chunk - Divide the content into groups of related information;
• Align - Make sure that words and pictures are neatly ordered, making them easier to read;
• Restrain - Avoid “overdoing” it. In other words, don’t go crazy with different colours and fonts.

Next week I will share with you 5 ways to use dual coding to support revision.

Mr Lovatt - Assistant Principal

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 6th December - 7 times table

Accelerated Reader

Week commencing 6th December during period 2

Updated Transport Policy

Transport provision for the academic year ahead is finalised in July.

Should a student move house that impacts on the transportation requirements (either to a DRET service from another DRET or LCC service) after the arrangements have been agreed between DRET and the transport providers; then places on a revised service will be subject to availability.

Should places not be available on the preferred service then either parents would make their own arrangements, or an alternative will be offered in the same town where possible, even though this may not offer the most convenient stops for the student.

At present we have a waiting list on one of the AC Williams Grantham services and are having to place students on the other Blands Grantham service

We appreciate this may cause some additional logistical issues for parents, but we cannot accommodate services that are not required at the time of the procurement of transport for the year ahead.

Mr Linforth - Academy Operations Manager

Dates for your diary

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