SLT Update
Thank you to all our CRA families for their understanding and support during the 2 days CRA was closed this week. It was not the start of a new year we had anticipated or wanted, but our students coped really well and we had a really good uptake of online learning. On Wednesday we had our first whole school assembly of the year, where we talked about fresh starts and making the most of every opportunity. Our Year 9 students will be visiting ARU (Anglia Ruskin University) next Tuesday to spend the day thinking about career options and also looking at more vocational courses on offer there, which is an example of the great opportunities to broaden horizons our students have.
We look forward to slightly warmer weather in our first full week of the term next week.
Miss King, Head of School
CRA Character
This week Caeli 7 received a lovely letter from Barnardo's in Grantham thanking them for their donations of pre-loved board games which Mrs Miller-Brown collected for their Christmas Tree before the holidays. This is a super example of volunteering and community awareness, showing one of the may ways our students demonstrate respect.
Well done Caeli 7!
Why We Do What We Do
We use an acronym called THUD to help our students remember what a Revision ready book looks like.
We ask them to write a title, the date and underline them and aim to keep their handwriting as neat as possible.
We will ask students to write sub-headings to help them order their notes clearly and corrections are made in purple pen so they know that what they are revising is accurate. We ask students to rule under their last piece of work to make sure they are not wasting space.
Table Talk
Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status. Human rights include the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and education, and many more. Your human rights are balanced by your responsibility to consider other people’s human rights and to obey the law. In some cases, it is necessary to limit the human rights of some individuals to protect others in society. An example is security cameras, which many see as a violation of our right to privacy. Others say that this is a necessary limit on human rights to ensure that the public is protected from crime. Convicted criminals have limits on their human rights. Their freedom of movement may be reduced through curfews or prison sentences. Their communication with others may be read or listened to while they are under a sentence. This is to protect society at large. We all have human rights. To ensure that we can all enjoy them, we must be aware of our responsibility to protect the human rights of others. If we violate someone else’s human rights, we may face charges, fines, or prison.
It would be great if you could engage your child in a discussion around human rights and discuss the responsibility that comes with that. EG the right to free speech. The responsibility is what when and how we say things and that we listen to and respect the right of others free speech even if we do not agree.
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 beginning - 13 January 2025 - Times table is 9
Accelerated Reading
Week beginning - 13 January 2025 - Period 1
Attendance
If your child is absent from school, please ensure you contact school daily either by email/MCAS or by telephoning the attendance line 01476 550333 ext 502. It is vital we are notified everyday of any absence for safeguarding reasons, unless previously authorised. A reason for illness will always be requested, this is to observe attendance patterns and outbreaks of illness amongst students.
Please do not hesitate to contact myself kcoleman@charlesreadacademy.co.uk on 01476 550333 ext 515 or tsandison@charlesreadacademy.co.uk ext 502 to discuss ways to support your child's attendance.
CRA - Lets work together to make every day count!
Leave of absence request
A Principal can only authorise a leave of absence in exceptional circumstances. We will take into account the Government guidance when considering what the exceptional circumstances are- all applications are considered on a case-by-case basis. You may be able to take your child out of school in exceptional circumstances, providing an application is made in advance by the parent/carer, this request complies with Government guidance and the leave is deemed to be ‘exceptional’ by the Principal.
If you take a leave of absence without our permission or if your child fails to return by the agreed date if permission was granted, then this will be recorded as an unauthorised absence and noted in your child’s record. You might also be issued with a fixed penalty notice for this absence. If your child has not returned within 10 days of the expected date of return then, after consultation with the Local Authority, we may take your child off our school roll.
As examples, the following reasons are not considered to be exceptional circumstances:
- availability of cheap holidays
- periods overlapping with beginning or end of term
- visits to family
- renewing passports
Requests for leave of absence will only be considered if made in writing. Please ensure you use the leave of absence request form to do this.
To request a leave of absence, please use this form.
Mrs Coleman - Attendance Manager
House News.
CRA House New Year Cup – ‘Race Down Under’
We are excited to launch the 2025 CRA House New Year Cup today with a brand new challenge – https://tinyurl.com/bdhyyds4
This year house teams will go head to head in a virtual ‘Race Down Under’ from Brisbane to Perth in Australia. Our challenge as a CRA community is to complete 4,949km this term, the equivalent distance of Brisbane to Perth via Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. The house with the furthest distance (km) contribution will be crowned champions. Previous years have seen us complete both John O’Groats to Lands End and Route 66 challenges – can we go a step further and add Australia to our achievements.
The ‘Race Down Under’ will take place throughout this term with the deadline for entries on Friday 14th February. The competition is open to all students, staff and wider families (Parents, Siblings, Grandparents, Aunties, Uncles & Cousins) who can all play their part and support your house in reaching the goal.
Each entrant can send in a maximum of one entry per day but must be supported with a screenshot of your distance from an app such as ‘Strava’. All we need is the distance in KM. Please note that this is not your full days total and must be one exercise.
We are accepting all entries backdated to January 1st 2025 emailed to – housechampionship@charlesreadacademy.co.uk
There will be regular updates of our progress and house totals throughout term, as we reach different sights and attractions on our virtual tour of Australia.
House Table Tennis Competition
The first sporting house competition of the new year is Table Tennis. Taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday next week students will represent their house in a two day competition, consisting of KS3 and KS4 matches. Players will earn points for each individual match win with the winning house with the most accumulated points across the two days being crowned champions. Students who wish to take part must inform their tutor and head of house. The competition will be taking place during lunchtimes and students require their full CRA PE kit and appropriate indoor trainers.
Term 3 House Competitions
We have another action packed term of House competitions lined up this term with a further 2,000+ house points on offer. It has been a thrilling opening two terms to the 2024/25 House Championship with Terra out in front to Caeli in 2nd place. Aqua are currently in 3rd place however the race for the championship is far from over and there are plenty of opportunities to add much more house points to your teams totals. In addition to the New Year Cup and Table Tennis other upcoming house competitions include Darts, Basketball, Flags on the World and The Cube. More detailed information about each of the competitions will be shared in the lead up to each event.
Swimarathan
We are excited to be taking part in the annual Rotary Club Swimarathon again this year. We have been allocated 1 lane at Grantham Meres Leisure Centre on Sunday 9th February at 8.30am.
We currently have 6-8 places available for CRA students to participate
If your child is interested, please complete the online form to register their interest and to confirm your child can swim no later than Wednesday 15th January - https://forms.gle/Tx2j2rgH51pA4rxn6
Numerous businesses and organisations across the local area have been organising teams to participate in this event and have been fundraising to support local businesses in the area.
As a team students will complete a 50-minute continuous relay style swim of the pool (25m length). It is not a race.
Once you have registered your interest and availability on the day, we will provide you with further information.
Please note that your child must be able to swim 25m unaided to be able to participate. A declaration will have to be signed by the parents before participation.
Table Tennis
Some great news to start this Friday with, Ella Pashley has been selected to represent England Senior Women's team at the upcoming European Championships qualification stage in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina later this month.
Teenagers Tianer Yu and Ella Pashley called into England Euro squad - Table Tennis England
This is an amazing achievement and shows just how much impact the TTPC has had on Ella's progress over the past 14 months.
The Sporting Post.
PE kit reminder - 2024/2025
The standard PE kit is as follows:
- CRA House PE top (compulsory)
- CRA PE shorts or skorts (compulsory)
- CRA PE Hoodie (compulsory)
- Black socks. These can be purchased from any provider.
- PE track pants / leggings / skins - optional - must be plain navy or black. These can be worn under the CRA PE top, shorts or skorts. These items should have no logos/writing/labels. These can be purchased from any provider.
Sports trainers- These can be purchased from any provider. No fashion trainers.
Girls will take part in hockey and boys will take part in rugby during PE lessons. Gumshields and shinpads are recommended for their safety.
Shinpads will also be needed for girls' and boys' football.
Moulded football boots are also recommended as students can wear these on the 3G artificial surface and grass field.
Please can all students be collected from the BACK of the school when being picked up from after school clubs and fixtures.
Term Dates
Please see the latest term dates for 2024-25
A list of diary events can also be found on the CRA Website by clicking here
Credits:
Created with images by webbiz - "ノートと参考書 勉強イメージ" • STOATPHOTO - "human rights Concept. Chart with keywords and icons. The meeting at the white office table" • PX Media - "Help, support, advice, guidance signpost." • MrPreecha - "Swimming in the pool." • fotofabrika - "Table tennis, ping pong" • Naypong Studio - "Sports Equipment on white background" • tatomm - "close up of calendar on the yellow table background, planning for business meeting or travel planning concept"