SLT Update
On Thursday, CRA took 50 students to see the musical Blood Brothers in Peterborough. It was a fantastic performance enjoyed by 50 of our GCSE and KS3 drama students. On Monday we will be celebrating our student cohort with our termly rewards assembly. We have over 100 awards to distribute and we look forward to hearing about all the wonderful achievements of our students. Have a wonderful weekend.
Miss King, Head of School
Year 9 GCSE Options
'Year 9s are choosing their GCSE options this week and have now had their options interviews. This is a really important decision, and it has been wonderful to hear how thoughtfully students are approaching the choice. It was also impressive to hear how many students had clear and ambitious plans for their futures. Links to the options forms have been sent to students and the deadline is Wednesday 2nd of April.'
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
Art Department
Some year 11s were invited to take part in a visiting artist workshop, these students were selected for their 'Natural forms' animal subject in year 10. Our students got the pleasure to work with a local artist Hayley Sanderson, we taught them mark making exercises and introduced them to her beautifully, detailed animal sketches, as you can see from the outcomes , the year 11s created their own Otter artworks, each with an individual twist. The skills learnt and present ed in their mini sketchbooks will be included in their Fine art GCSE grades. Hayley built confidence in our students, by sharing her tips for success and how to create line in detail, they thoroughly enjoyed the morning workshop.
Year 11
We are now taking orders for Year 11 Leavers Hoodies. Please go to your My Child At School app to place the order and make payment. We will not be accepting cash payments . I will need all orders by 22nd April please.
PROM
PROM will be held on the 27th June 2025 - Further information to follow.
Maths Department
Each week, our students at CRA, complete maths questions for their homework on Sparx. Some students answer additional questions, further increasing their mathematical knowledge. We do this as there are online resources to help and guide students if they are struggling with a question. You might like to ask them to show you what they typically do on a weekly basis.
This weeks Sparx Stars are;
- Oliver K year 10
- Toby W year 7
- Harrison P Year 8
Why We Do What We Do
At CRA we ask all our staff to use something we refer to as Bosanquet’s scaffolding triangle to help them make support in the lesson bespoke for all students. Prior to the lesson staff spend a lot of time thinking about the steps to success (a series of steps to help the students navigate a task) and prepare written or visual scaffolds to help the students manage a task on their own. In the lesson we then use the ideas in this triangle to further individualise the work.
Table Talk
World down syndrome day was Friday 21 March. Down syndrome (or Trisomy 21) is a condition in which a person has an extra chromosome. Most people have 23 pairs of chromosomes – 46 in total. People with Down syndrome have an extra chromosome added onto the 21st pair – 47 in total. Chromosomes act like an instruction manual that defines how our bodies look and how they work. People who have Down syndrome usually have an intellectual disability. This is different in each person. Some health conditions are more common in people with Down syndrome. Around 1 in every 800 babies will be born with Down syndrome. Down syndrome occurs naturally – there is no known cause. People with Down syndrome have an inherent right to be accepted and included as valued and equal members of the community.
You may like to discuss with your child about acceptance of all people regardless of disability, race, gender culture or sexual orientation. Protected characteristics are one of many topics we cover in our assemblies and PSHCE lessons.
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 - 31 March 25 - Times table is 7
Accelerated Reading
Week beginning - 31 March 2025 - Period 1
Attendance.
Please may we remind you that absences for increment weather will not be authorised, unless the school is closed.
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.
House Bullseye Quiz
Next week at CRA students and staff will represent their house teams in a general knowledge quiz with a bullseye theme. Similar to recently returned TV quiz show, house teams will go head to head in a number of rounds with each correct question earning one throw at the inflatable dart board.
Each successful throw will return the number of house points each dart lands on. The competition requires one member from each tutor group and one member of staff per house team.
Bullseye will be taking place during lunchtime in the main hall on Wednesday 2nd April.
House Photography Competition – ‘House Elements’
We have received some excellent photos in recent weeks for the house photography competition. The competition is running throughout the Easter holidays this year, providing extra time for participants to get involved and take advantage of the nicer weather.
This year the challenge is to be creative and capture ‘house elements’ by including either water (Aqua), weather (Caeli) or landscape (Terra) within your photos.
The competition is open to all students, staff and parents with each person able to enter a maximum of 5 photos.
Entries must be emailed to housechampionship@charlesreadacademy.co.uk with a deadline of Tuesday 22nd April.
We look forward to receiving more entries.
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 Song_about_summer - "school education, many school subjects names written on colorful papers, learn mathematics history chemistry physics geography economics informatics" • Grispb - "Vape devices. Electronic cigarettes. Vaping gadgets. Vape pens in smoke. Bottles with oil for refilling vaping cig. Vape logo near gadgets for smokers. Vaping set. Alternative to smoking tobacco" • David/peopleimages.com - "Outdoor, people hands with smartphone for connection, networking and share information for location. Group, friends and solidarity with cellphone for mobile app, download or social media by low angle" • pressmaster - "Word art painted with white gouache on colorful palette with paintbrush near by" • Philip - "Class of 2025, word lettering script banner. Congrats Graduation lettering with academic cap. Template for design party high school or college, graduate invitations." • patpitchaya - "Mathematics" • CrazyCloud - "learning" • Nemanja - "Yellow and blue awareness ribbon isolated on a white background, symbolizing support, solidarity, and international awareness for Down syndrome and health campaigns" • 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"