Senior Leadership Team Update
We have 2 and a half weeks left of this term and so much to fit in! Next week is the very exciting and popular house competition; I'm a teacher get me out of here, which this year features a student challenge! On Tuesday we have our first drop down day with year 7 and 8 taking part in a carousel of different sessions run by LCC Stay Safe Partnership including; road safety, ASB, healthy relationships. Year 9 to 11 have a unique programme of career and aspiration sessions and guest speakers which will give them a sense of direction and support their future decisions. On the 11th December, Year 7 are off to Boston to take part in the DRET Christmas Concert and the last week of term is jam packed with rewards assembly 18th, CRA Christmas carol concert 19th and Santa Run and Christmas house party 20th. So much to look forward to and we will all need a break after all that excitement! As the weather becomes colder, please ensure your child has a coat with them and where possible hat, scarf, gloves to keep them warm before school, break and lunch as well as on the way home.
Parking
If you drop your child off/collect your child at the end of the day, this must be done at the rear of school. Parents should not enter the school bus park, but park along the road outside. Students can use the pedestrian entrance at the rear of school. Parents are not permitted to drop off/collect at the start or end of the day from the front. If you are collecting your child outside of normal drop off/pick up for an appointment, this should be from the front, where your child can sign out correctly.
Christmas Party Tickets
We are now selling Christmas party tickets at the school office. It is £5 a ticket which includes a lunch, prize draw, bingo ticket and Christmas party games. If your child is free school meals or would like to attend but not have the lunch then the cost is £2. Please find below details of the menu choices which they will need to decide when purchasing the ticket. In addition, students may wear a Christmas jumper that day over their uniform.
Deadline to pay is Wednesday 13th December
Please note that if your child is not attending the party or does not wish to have Christmas lunch there will be a selection of sandwiches available. The canteen will be closed at BREAK TIME therefore we advise students to bring their own snack/drink in on this day.
Medication
Please can we ask that if your child may require medication such as paracetamol, ibuprofen, calpol or anti-histamine, that you send it to school with them and ask them to hand it to the office for safekeeping and future use if the need arises. Unfortunately, we do not have a supply to give to students.
Year 11 Focus.
Students have this week been taking part in their Rotary Mock interviews, this involved them having to produce a CV, attend a formal mock interview to discuss their attributes/qualities, and receiving feedback on their performance. It is a valuable experience to give students a real insight into what employers look for in a candidate and an understanding of interview skills. The feedback from the interviewers has been overwhelmingly positive! It has been amazing to see Year 11 pupils approach these interviews with the professionalism and manner they have done.
After students receive their mock exam results on Tuesday 5th December, teachers will begin to be making use of the exams during lesson time to analyse them further, allowing students to see question-by-question where their areas of strength are, as well as areas they need further support in.
PE Kit
The PE department has a graduated response to enforce PE kit and engagement in lessons. It is essential that your child brings their PE kit to every lesson to ensure they are making required progress in the subject.
The expectations for PE kit are:
- PE kit to be brought to and worn during all lessons. Students are expected to participate in the lesson. Their roles will be adapted to their individual needs based on any injury / illness.
- Navy/Black shorts, leggings, or tracksuit bottoms (plain with no logos).
- All hair longer than chin length will need to be tied back for each lesson.
- No jewellery to be worn at all. This includes necklaces, bracelets, rings, and earrings.
- Charles Read PE t-shirt (house colour)
- Charles Read navy hoodie (optional)
- Trainers
As of Monday 4th December, if any students fails to bring their PE kit for 3 consecutive lessons, they will be removed from the lesson and complete 5 periods in IE. Students will continue to be set a pastoral detention for any PE lesson they fail to have their correct kit for.
CRA Character
This week, Year 11 have taken part in their Rotary interviews. Rotary Grantham have been very generous with their time by spending all week at CRA, interviewing every Year 11 individually. The students prepared their C.Vs in advance and took the process seriously, adorning smart business wear to create a good impression. It was lovely to hear the feedback from Rotary about how our year 11s exhibited our CRA values of Confidence, Respect and Aspiration in their responses. Well done Year 11.
Why we do what we do?"
Throughout the year, students in year 11 take part in intervention sessions for 20 minutes every day as well as hour slots on a Monday and on a Tuesday. These tailored sessions enable teaching staff to close gaps that they have identified through their formative assessment. Students have an opportunity to revisit areas they found challenging, further develop their skills and hone their exam practise.
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 4th December 2023 - 5
Accelerated Reading
Week commencing 4th December 2023 - Period 3
Teen Support.
Ask Dan Anything Online Safety Q and A for Secondary School Parents 13th December 6-7:30pm sign up required:
In the Keeping Safe Online Survey of 2023 Lincolnshire Children who reported having less parental supervision online were more likely to report being bullied online, effective parental/guardian supervision of a child’s online activity reduced the risk of children being bullied online by up to 39%. The online space can feel overwhelming with new apps and trends, it can be hard to keep up! We want to give you the information and tools to help you feel confident enough to protect your children and young people from online harm. Dan Hawbrook our resident Online Guru will chat you through different apps, online trends, parental controls and any other burning questions you may have! Sign up is required.
https://www.tickettailor.com/events/lincolnshirecountycouncil/1053896#
Ask Dan Anything Online Safety Q and A for Primary School Parents 6th December 6-7:30pm sign up required
In the Keeping Safe Online Survey of 2023 Lincolnshire Children who reported having less parental supervision online were more likely to report being bullied online, effective parental/guardian supervision of a child’s online activity reduced the risk of children being bullied online by up to 39%. The online space can feel overwhelming with new apps and trends, it can be hard to keep up! We want to give you the information and tools to help you feel confident enough to protect your children and young people from online harm. Dan Hawbrook our resident Online Guru will chat you through different apps, online trends, parental controls and any other burning questions you may have! Sign up is required via the link.
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.
3: Lack of Interest in Activities They Used to Enjoy
One of the warning signs that something is wrong is if a teen no longer shows interest in things they used to take pleasure from. Those might be spending time with friends, playing an instrument or making art, or doing physical activities like hiking or sports. An overall lack of joy and engagement with life is a red flag that parents should pay attention to. It could be a sign of depression, lack of motivation, or avoidance behaviours.
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.
Attendance – Term 2, Week 5
Year 11 have achieved 1st place with a top attendance score beating all the other year groups, well done Year 11, great effort.
The boys have pipped the girls with their attendance this week beating the girls to 1st place by a tiny 0.8%.
Terra have finished first with the highest overall attendance this week, just beating Caeli and Aqua, well-done Terra! Special mention for Terra 8 who have achieved 96%, Aqua 11 95.4% and Caeli 7 94.4%.
Wednesday has seen our highest percentage of absence this week, 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!
Attendance Showcase
Head Boy & Head Girl Ryan King & Tansy Taylor – well done on showing great resilience with your attendance always!
Quote from Tansy Taylor:
“even though some days are challenging I know I need to attend to get where I want in life”
“I have not failed, I just found 10,000 ways that won’t work”
Mrs Coleman - Attendance Manager
House News
I’m a Teacher Get Me Out of Here…
We are extremely excited to be including students in this year’s I’m a Teacher Get Me Out of Here House Competition. This will be the first time ever students have had the opportunity to take part in their very own trials in return for house points,
More details of what the trials will involve will be revealed in assembly on Monday.
House Dodgeball Next Week
Dodgeball December gets underway at CRA next week as house teams go head-to-head in house Dodgeball. Each year group till take part in the competition throughout the week.
A minimum of 6 players in each tutor group is required to field a team. If you are interested in taking part in this competition, make sure you inform either your house captain, head of house and tutor.
Staff will also be taking part in this event during the following week
Christmas Party Tickets on Sale Now!
Tickets for this year’s House Christmas Party are currently on sale from the school office.
Tickets are available to purchase for £5 (£2 if you are FSM) which will include a full Christmas dinner, dessert and drink plus a variety of Christmas themed party games and prizes.
The deadline to purchase tickets is Friday 15th December.
Term 2 House Competitions
The Sporting Post
DRET Rowing Cup 2023
Well done to the students who competed in the DRET Rowing Cup yesterday at Grantham Meres Leisure Centre. The team competed against the other ten DRET Secondary Schools in individual races and relay races. Due to the efforts of all students, we were awarded the Sporting Progress Award, due to the progress the academy made from last year's competition. Overall, we finished seventh which is a fantastic achievement, well done to all of the students involved.
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