CRA Newsletter 20.09.2024 Half Term 1 - September 2024

SLT Update

The week started well with announcements regarding Head Boy and Girl in whole school assembly. Congratulations to Tudor and Phoebe who are Head Boy and Head Girl and Lewis and Kira who are Deputy Head Boy and Deputy Head Girl. These roles are so important. The students are role models for others further down the school and they play a very important role in giving us feedback about different areas of the school. Further leadership posts will be announced next week.

We started our House competitions with Limbo which is always a fun competition. The grass skirts and palm trees were out and students and staff showed us how flexible they could be.

Thank you for making sure your child has the correct uniform and that they are wearing it well; it really helps with the sense of belonging we are trying to create.

We hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Mrs Jones, Executive Principal

Important dates to remember

  • 25th September - Open evening for year 5
  • 16th October - Year 11 parents evening
  • 18th October - Break up for half term

Vaping

As an academy, we are committed to ensuring the health and wellbeing of all students. Unfortunately, across the country there has been a sharp rise in the number of students vaping. Investigations by Lincolnshire Trading Standards have seen students as young as 15 being able to purchase vapes, with shops illegally selling them to under 18-year-olds. The British Government, local authorities and NHS are all concerned about the long-term effects that vaping can have on people, something that at present is not fully understood, but some side-effects can include headaches, coughing, insomnia, worsening of asthma symptoms and throat irritation. As a result, vapes are not permitted on academy grounds or on CRA buses, and students caught with a vape will be sanctioned in accordance with the CRA behaviour policy. We would greatly appreciate all parents having this discussion with your children to support them.

  • Mr Thornton
  • Academy Behaviour Lead

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 - 23rd September 2024 - Times table is 9

Accelerated Reading

Week beginning - 23rd September 2024 - Period 4

Teen Support..

10 Top Tips for Parents and Educators

Why we do what we do

Every morning we have a roll call where students line up in front of their tutor. The Head of House gives a daily spotlight to support, motivate and give key information to the students. Roll call is an opportunity for staff to check uniform, check homework and ensure their tutees are ready for the day ahead. Students stand in silence, facing the front, with their homework folder displaying the previous night's homework. When the group is ready they lead into the school in single file and say 'Good morning' to the member of staff on the door.

Table Talk

At CRA we talk a lot about the 7Cs of resilience. Over the next 7 weeks we will write about each element. This week we are talking about competence

Week 2 Competence – knowing how to handle situations effectively.

Youth need to possess real skill sets to be able to navigate the world. Those include communication skills, self-advocacy skills, peer negotiation skills, and academic skills to name a few. Young people also need to be able to make wise decisions if they are going to make the kind of choices that will contribute to, versus undermine, their health and well-being.

Adults can teach and model effective competencies. We can listen to them as they work through solutions to problems. Support their ability to manage school and peers. Talk with them instead of at them. On the other hand, we undermine competence by telling our children what to do, or by talking to them in a way that shuts down their ability to come up with their own solutions. In other words, lectures backfire! Similarly, saying “Let me do that for you,” says, “I don’t think you are capable of doing it yourself

Thinking Ahead – My Future, My Choice

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 construction'

Mr Rees - Careers' Support

Attendance......

Attendance – Term 1, Week 3.

Year 7 have ended the week in first place for overall attendance, well done year 7. Year 9 finish in 5th place for the second week running.

The boys have had a great start to the year in 1st place beating the girls by 2.5% for the second week running.

Terra have finished first with the highest overall attendance this week, beating Caeli by 3.5%, well-done Terra! Special mention for Terra 8 who have achieved 98.7%, excellent effort.

Tuesday has seen our highest percentage of absence this week for the second week running, please let me know if you begin to see a pattern in your child’s attendance. Missing just one day can have an impact on students learning experiences and outcomes.

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

Holiday Warning Letter

House News.

2024/25 CRA House Championship

Caeli Crowned House Limbo Champions

CRA House Championship got underway this week with the annual house Limbo competition. Students across each year group represented their house on stage in the bid to be the last person standing and be crowned 2024 house Limbo champion. It was fantastic to see the support and atmosphere created by the students and staff in the hall who cheered on every one of the participants as they went under the Limbo pole. Following a number of exciting rounds it was Grace in Caeli 8 who came out on top seeing off competition in the final round from Yuan in Caeli 7 and Grace in Terra 7, who finished 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Caeli secured 75 points for the totaliser following victory. Terra picked up 40 points and Aqua earned 15 points.

Well done to everyone who took part.

House Netball – Monday 23rd to Wednesday 25th September

House Netball takes place next week, running from Monday to Wednesday during lunchtimes. This is the first sporting house competition of the year and great preparation for the DRET Winter Cup coming up later in the term – 250 House Points are on offer for this competition!

Students who have been selected to represent their house in this event must bring in their PE Kits and get changed at the beginning of lunch.

Please note the following dates each year group are competing:

  • Monday 23rd September – Year 7
  • Monday 23rd September – Year 8
  • Tuesday 24th September – Year 9
  • Tuesday 24th September – Year 10/11

Table Tennis

Please see the online article released about Abraham and Ella becoming England no.1

Ella Pashley and Abraham Sellado from the Charles Read Academy are top of the Table Tennis England rankings (lincsonline.co.uk)

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

Academic Term Dates 2024-25

A list of diary events can also be found on the CRA Website by clicking here