Senior Leadership Team Update
On Monday Mr Thornton spoke to all the students about Holocaust Memorial Day 27th January. As a History specialist, he spoke knowledgeably about the persecution of the Jews, linking it to similar events that have happened in the world. He then spoke about the difference between free speech and hate speech and that everyone has the freedom of expression, but that it is not the right to say whatever you want with no regard for others. In the UK, one of our British Values is Mutual Respect and its important that we all instil in our young people the understanding that being respectful and inclusive to those around us is what we should be in society, not using offensive and threatening remarks. We are proud of our school community and the CRA Respect they show, but its important to have regular reminders about the power of words and using them carefully.
Feeling ill at school
To support our students not missing their valuable learning time, we have introduced a new system for monitoring a student if they feel unwell. This does not include if they are injured at school and require first aid.
If a student informs a teacher that they are not feeling well, their teacher will monitor them for 10 minutes and check they have had some water, eaten etc. After 10 minutes, if they are still feeling poorly, they will be sent to reception where their symptoms and details will be logged in our comfort book. At this point they can take some paracetamol if they have some in school. They will then be issued with a monitoring card and sent back to lessons. They will give this to their teacher who will continue to monitor them and sign the card at the end of the lesson. The student will then go to their next lesson and give their monitoring card to their next teacher. They will continue to be monitored and if there is no improvement throughout the day after a break and an opportunity to get some food and some fresh air, they will go to reception to check back in and a decision will be made by key staff including the attendance team and SLT, as to whether they need to be sent home. This will hopefully reduce students going home if they are just feeling a little under the weather and build their resilience, one of our CRA values that is so important for life beyond CRA as well.
Uniform
We have seen a few students return from the holiday with nose piercings. Please see our uniform page on the CRA website which states:
- No more than one small stud in the lobe of an ear may be worn. No tragus piercings
- No ear stretchers are acceptable. Putting ‘spacers’ in or plasters over piercing is not acceptable. If you have a piercing – nose, eyebrow, lip etc. the stud must be removed.
- No more than two small finger rings are allowed. No bracelets or other jewellery should be visible
- No other jewellery or piercings anywhere on the face are permitted. Plastic wristbands should not be worn.
Year 11 Focus.
This week we held a Year 11 revision information evening for parents/carers and students to come along and hear about the benefits of revision, effective strategies to make use of, as well as how parents themselves can support students in their revision at home. Thank you to all who attended - hopefully there were some key takeaways that you can start to be discussing with your child and making use of. A copy of the presentation from the evening has been sent to each of you this week via MCAS to support your child in engaging with effective revision if you were unable to attend.
It is important that students are beginning to implement these strategies in their independent revision at home from now. This will ensure they are closing gaps in their own learning ahead of the upcoming February mock exams that run from 26th February - 13th March, and more importantly the formal GCSE exams in the Summer.
Maths Department
The UK Maths Challenge is coming to Charles Read Academy
CRA Maths Department is going to be having lots of Maths fun taking part in the UK Maths Challenge for the first time this year. This is a very exciting opportunity for our excellent and aspiring young mathematicians to join the CRA Maths Team and compete with other UK schools.
Please follow this link for full details.
Happy solving everyone!
If you have any queries or concerns please contact Mrs Sharp on csharp@charlesreadacademy.co.uk
CRA Character
It was wonderful to welcome some of our families to the SEN Coffee Morning on Tuesday. Our families met with the Assistant SENCO and also the LSAs who support in the classroom and are keyworkers for our SEN cohort, to talk through SEN related issues if needed and discuss progress. It was an opportunity to celebrate the students' success in and outside the classroom and how they are developing socially and well as academically. Our character education is something we are proud of at CRA and supporting all our students to be good citizens and know their place in society is something we believe we do very well.
Why we do what we do
At CRA the house system is the bedrock of our school. As you know we have a wide range of competitions that take place throughout the year. One of the competitions we're currently running is the route 66 challenge. This involves students walking running cycling or even swimming and logging the distance they cover. Running competitions like this helps us encourage a healthy lifestyle and healthy competition between our houses.
As an academy we have almost completed the Route 66 challenge, having covered 3,618km in just over 3 weeks. We only need to travel 300km to complete the challenge and reach our 3,940km target, completing the route 66 challenge from Chicago to LA.
We have received an amazing500+ entries so far, with the latest scores (as of 12pm today) added to the house totals and overall school distance.
See the information in the house section.
Word of the week
Theo: god, religion (Greek word root)
- Theology the study of the nature of God and religious belief.
- Pantheon a group of particularly respected, famous, or important people.
- Theocratic relating to or denoting a system of government in which priests rule in the name of God or a god.
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 29th January 2024 - 12
Accelerated Reading
Week commencing 29th January 2024 - Period 5
Table Talk
The Top 10 Red Flags in Teenage Behaviour: What Parents Should Look For
Over the next 10 weeks we will be sharing 10 of the most common signs that a young adult is struggling with a mental health challenge
9: Self-Isolating and Withdrawal
Excessive isolation is a red flag in teenage behaviour. If a teen is isolating or withdrawn, they could be dealing with depression, and possibly thoughts of suicide. Seeking professional help is critical in making sure that the teen is safe. Depression and suicidal ideation are serious mental health concerns that should be handled with treatment from a mental health professional.
Early help assessments
Many families and parents experience difficulties at some stage while our children are growing up. As a school we have a responsibility to try to support families and children as best we can. We have a thorough pastoral system and house system designed to provide the most comprehensive support we can as a school to you and your children. On occasions it is necessary to ask for additional support, and one way we may do this is through an early help assessment (EHA).
“These services are part of a “continuum of support” and provide help to families who do not, or no longer, meet the threshold for a statutory intervention.” (NSPCC) NSPCC go on to say that through there research “Providing timely support is vital. Identifying and addressing a child or family's needs early on can increase protective factors that positively influence a child’s wellbeing, and decrease risk factors that may be impacting a child’s life negatively.”
Research suggests that early help and intervention can:
- protect children from harm
- improve children's long-term outcomes
- improve children’s home and family life
- support children to develop strengths and skills to prepare them for adult life.
These interventions are designed to support parents who are fulfilling the parenting role and providing protective measures who need support while children push against the boundaries set.
When families require this support we would encourage them to take advantage of this service
More information can be found at the link below.
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!
Mrs Coleman - Attendance Manager
House News
Term 3 Competitions
House New Year Cup Progress – Route 66 Challenge
We have almost reached our target of 3,940km on our New Year Cup, Route 66 challenge. Another 1,000km has been added to the totals just under 1 week, an incredible effort by everyone involved. As an academy we are only 300km off completing our virtual tour of Route 66 – can we complete the route this weekend!
With over 500 entries submitted in just under 4 weeks the collective effort from students, staff and wider families has been amazing.
Once we reach our goal the competition will remain open to submit distances for house totals as 500 house points will be awarded on the last day of term to the house with the furthest distance.
There is still plenty of time to play your part by recording your daily walk, jog, or cycle. The deadline for entries if Friday February 9th.
The competition is open to all students, staff and family members who can send in a maximum of one entry per day but must be supported with a screenshot of your distance (KM) from an app such as ‘Strava’ or photo of the monitor from exercise machine. Daily totals do not count.
submit your entries to housechampionship@charlesreadacademy.co.uk
Term 3 Mystery House Competition
We are extremely excited to reveal this terms Mystery house competition. Next Thursday and Friday students will have the opportunity to represent their house teams in an Ultimate Frisbee competition, held of the 3G pitch during lunchtime. This is a 125 house point competition across separate KS3 and KS4 competitions.
The Sporting Post
After School Academy Masterclass
Venue : Colsterworth Village Hall, Old Post Lane, Colsterworth NG33 5PG
- Course 1: 21st February - 27th March - Weekly Wednesday
- Course 2: 17th April - 5th June - Weekly Wednesday
- Each course is 6 weeks long
Time:
- 17.00 - 18.00 for ages 6-12
- 18.15 - 19.15 for ages 13-18
Opro Mouth Guards provided | Trainers for indoor sessions
https://www.tuilagirugbyskills.com/lessons
Term Dates
Please see the latest term dates for 2022-23.
A list of diary events can also be found on the CRA Website by clicking here