Welcome
Dear families
It seems impossible that we only have one further week remaining of the Autumn Term. Much has been achieved this term and students have worked hard both individually as students but collectively as part of the LPA family.
This week our Year 11 students received their mock examination results during an afternoon Results Assembly with Mr Cronin. He presented students with their envelopes containing their results in much the same way that this will happen in the summer. Students faced a mixture of emotions as they took in the results they would have achieved if this was the real exam series. The emotions ranged from the highs of success to some regrets around the lack of preparation which hindered some successes. It was a useful ‘dry run’ for the students and we hope they now understand the importance of being prepared and making sure they carry out that all important revision. We all know good grades don't just happen without the hard work and revision programme. We also reminded students of the importance of the mocks for staff. It lets them know which areas they need to revisit or reteach and also helps staff with what to write in references for college and sixth form places.
On Monday we also held our first ‘Females in Computer Science - I belong’ event where Year 9 girls were selected to participate in a ‘panic room’ activity with a computing element to challenge their skills. We also saw Year 7 and Year 8 engage in our inter-house ‘Dodgeball’ championship this week which was great fun and supported our approach to a healthy lifestyle.
As we enter the final week of term we have a very much ‘business as usual’ approach and continue to expect the very highest standards with regards to attendance, punctuality, uniform and attitudes to learning across the whole week. We very much expect and hope that our parents will support these expectations.
On Monday and Thursday we will be hosting a variety of Christmas parties, one for local OAPs, a Key Stage 3 and a Key stage 4 and 5 House party. We also have Reward assemblies this week for each year group and look forward to being able to celebrate the many talents of our student.
We thank you for all your support.
Warm regards
The Senior Leadership Team
Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge.
What is the UK Bebras Challenge? The Bebras Challenge introduces computational thinking to students worldwide.
In the UK, the challenge is open to all young people aged 6 to 19. Each participant has 45 minutes to tackle a series of interactive tasks, designed to encourage logical thinking and problem-solving skills appropriate for their age group. The challenge is conducted online, and tasks are marked automatically by our competition system.
The tasks are designed to allow every student the opportunity to showcase their potential, whether they excel in maths or computing, or not. The UK Bebras Challenge is organised by the Raspberry Pi Foundation and delivered in partnership with the University of Oxford.
From Lodge Park Academy KS3/KS4/KS5 students were entered and we are proud to announce four of our students were in the top 10% of the highest achievers nationally
Our Year 7's scored above average nationally and score above average in Northamptonshire
Our Year 8's and Year 9's scored above average in the country
Our Year 10's and Year 11's scored above average in the country
Well Done Everyone!
Mrs Gryspeerdt - Computer Science Teacher and Quality Nominee and Vocational Lead
Hello from Inspiring the Future Programme / GCHQ
We are thrilled to be writing to you today to inform you that Lodge Park learners have been learning about our organisation, GCHQ, as part of their school studies. We’ve teamed up with education charity Education and Employers via their Inspiring the Future programme to develop resources that demonstrate the skills used and career possibilities within the world of national security.
GCHQ is the UK’s intelligence, security and cyber agency. We work alongside MI5 and SIS (also known as MI6) to identify, analyse and disrupt threats to the UK in our collective mission to keep the country safe. That mission ranges from counterterrorism, tackling serious crime and threats from hostile states, through to protecting the armed forces and safeguarding institutions like the NHS from cybercrime.
Students have been exploring our rich history, such as learning about our war-time home of Bletchley Park where work to break the Enigma code helped lay the foundation for the computer age. They have been introduced to the careers within GCHQ. From analysts and data scientists to mathematicians and linguists, it takes a huge mix of minds to keep the country safe. The skills students are developing today in subjects like computer science, mathematics, and languages are all directly relevant and indeed vital to many roles at GCHQ.
Alongside these topics, the activities have required problem solving abilities, critical thinking, and effective teamwork. These are all key qualities for aspiring professionals. It’s our hope these activities provide students with valuable insight into how the skills they are developing in school today are used in the modern world of work and can translate into exciting future career possibilities within the technology sector and beyond.
If you or your child would like to learn more about GCHQ and our mission, you can find further information on our website: www.gchq.gov.uk
And if you have a career story to share that might also inspire students and young people, we encourage you to join the Inspiring the Future programme: www.inspiringthefuture.org
Mock Interview Sessions with LPA Year 11 Students
On Thursday 12th December 2024, Lodge Park Academy hosted a mock interview event for our Year 11 students, in collaboration with Northamptonshire Police, the Army, Starting Off, and the University of Northampton.
This valuable initiative provided students with the opportunity to practice their interview skills and receive feedback from industry professionals.
In the lead-up to the event, students participated in a preparation session, where they were given a list of potential interview questions to help them get ready. This ensured they felt confident and well-prepared for the day.
On the day of the interviews, students attended the Sixth Form Centre, where they took part in one-on-one mock interviews. Each student gave their best effort in responding to questions, while also receiving constructive feedback on their performance.
The employers were impressed with the students' professionalism and engagement. One representative said, "It was a pleasure to help," while another remarked, "The students were engaging and eager to learn." A third commented, "All students participated fully, demonstrating excellent politeness and good manners."
This event proved to be an invaluable experience, helping our students build confidence and develop essential skills for their future career paths.
Why do we do what we do?
Toilet Call Out
Over the last fortnight, we have set up a 'call out' system for learners that need to go to the toilet mid-lesson. This was for a few reasons:
1) Feedback from parents and learners were toilets were crowded and uncomfortable for learners at break and lunchtime.
2) Too many learners were missing too much learning time being out of lesson on repeated toilet visits.
3) When out of lesson, learners were not being accounted for and therefore too many learners were being marked as 'not present' in lesson. If we don't know where a learner is, we can't uphold our safeguarding obligations.
4) Toilets were being vandalised by learners when the facilities were not being monitored by staff. Since the policy has been brought in, vandalism in toilets has been brought down significantly.
Attendance – We need your help!
As we approach the end of another busy half term we are again made aware of the important impact that great attendance can have on supporting outcomes. We encourage all our students to use their winter break to recharge and re-energize before we begin the Spring Term, but, would ask that on return that our Lodge Park families encourage the following:
Outstanding attendance to school
Please support us in expecting your child to attend school every day. Where your child is poorly encourage a resilient approach to attendance please.
Appointments
Please do all you can to make any appointments outside of school hours. This will ensure that your child does not miss out on their vital learning hours.
Punctuality
Please support the school in ensuring that your child arrives to school in (more than) good time in the morning. The school site is open from 8.10am with Line Up beginning at 8.33am. The entrance gate will close from 8.35am and we expect all youngsters on site well in advance of this time.
In school communication
Please allow the school to lead on communicating with you when a child is poorly in school. We have a full time first aider on site who will assess all students who raise concerns. We will contact you if necessary.
We are aiming to significantly improve our attendance in the Spring Term but need your help to do this.
Mr McGeown – Vice Principal.
LPA House Christmas Party – Next Week
House Christmas activities take place next week on Thursday 19th December.
In addition to the House Christmas party we are also holding a whole school Christmas Jumper Day. We would love to see as many students and staff as possible wearing their festive jumpers to bring the Christmas spirit to LPA. Heads of House and SLT will be selecting the best Christmas jumpers that either tie into their House colours or bring the most Christmas spirit for the chance of winning some house points.
Please note that this is not a non-uniform day and Christmas jumpers must be worn in addition to a full school uniform.
Christmas jumpers must be worn over normal white school shirts and ties, with school blazers over the top.
The deadline for entry for the House Christmas party has passed and all students who are attending will receive an E-Ticket (do not need to print) sent to their school emails. This will also be sent home to parents on MCAS to confirm attendance.
House Dodgeball – Results
House Dodgeball took place this week at Lodge Park with students in Years 7 to 10 going head to head.
The competition got underway on Tuesday with the Year 7 round of matches serving up some closely contested games. In the end it was Goshawk who prevailed in the Year 7 competition to clinch 1st place from Red Kite in 2nd, Kestrel in 3rd and Osprey in 4th.
The Year 8 competition continued in similar style with a number of exciting matches but this time it was Osprey and Kestrel who came out on top. Red Kite and Goshawk finished in joint 3rd position leaving the Year 9 and Year 10 matches evenly poised.
Year 9 and Year 10 results to be confirmed as still in process of completing.
LPA House Championship Totaliser
As we head into the final week of term there is nothing to split Kestrel and Goshawk who are joint top in the race for the 2024 House Championship. House Dodgeball concluded today meaning points will be added to next week’s House totaliser.
The House event of term is the Christmas Party with points being awarded for the best tutor group Christmas trees, best Christmas jumpers and games.
We are looking forward to revealing who is top of the house championship at Christmas – stay tuned!
LPA6 – Christmas Stocking Fillers
As we approach the festive season we very much hope that where relatives are looking for ideas around small gifts to present to our students they do not forget the impact that providing the right equipment can have on a students' progress.
Please encourage relatives to consider giving pens, pencils, rulers, rubber, calculators and colouring equipment to our youngsters to ensure they have what they need when they return to us in January. This could have an incredible impact.
Mr McGeown – Vice Principal
Uniform – Winter Coats and Hooded Tops
As per last week's newsletter and our assemblies and notices to learners, we have explained extensively now our reasons for not having coats indoors, and for hoodies being banned on site. On the grounds of safety and equality, all learners must be without coats in the school building and hoodies are banned from site.
Going forward, we do not expect any learner to be wearing a coat inside the school building. Learners will receive an immediate lunchtime detention if a coat is on, and hoodies will be confiscated until the day's end.
If there are any concerns in this regard, please contact Mr Kirby (jkirby@lodgeparkacademy.co.uk)
The Senior Leadership Team.
SWI UNIFORM SUPPLIER
Academy closes to students on Friday 20th December 2024
Academy Re-opens to students on Monday 6th January 2025 (Academy open to staff Friday 3rd January 2025)
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Contact Us
Telephone: 01536 203817
Email: lpa-enquiries@lodgeparkacademy.co.uk
Please be aware this mailbox is monitored by a number of individuals, please do not disclose any confidential information.
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Credits:
Created with images by fotogestoeber - "hand is flipping one of many cubes with questionmarks to find an idea symbol" • Nirusmee - "Businessman touching on rocket launch with up arrow, investment growth, planning and starting corporate business start up aiming objective value development leadership and customer target group." • MohamadFaizal - "Glasses,clock,pen and clipboard with paper written Interview Questions on wooden background." • Uladzislau - "Text sign showing Attendance. Conceptual photo Going regularly Being present at place or event Number of people" • DenisNata - "Red christmas sock on fireplace mantle. Beautifully decorated living room on occasion of New Year and Christmas holidays." • PANDA - "Different Christmas gift boxes on white background" • magele-picture - "Things you should know / Papier mit Symbole"