Lodge Park Academy Weekly Newsletter - Spring Term 2, Week 4
Dear Families
Welcome to this week’s edition of the Lodge Park Academy newsletter! It's been another busy and eventful week here at the academy, with a variety of activities and achievements that showcase the dedication, talent, and teamwork of our students.
This week, our Heads of House have expertly delivered a series of inspiring morning assemblies focused on the theme of Character as a key value, encouraging students to reflect on the importance of integrity, resilience, and respect both inside and outside the classroom.
In sports, we have been incredibly proud of our U13 Girls' Hockey Team who represented the school at the David Ross Academies Trust Spring Cup on Wednesday, with our U15 team following suit on Friday. Their commitment and sportsmanship continue to inspire us all.
We also had the pleasure of welcoming some of our future Year 6 to 7 students for a special Friendship Afternoon on Wednesday, giving them a taste of life at Lodge Park Academy. The atmosphere was filled with excitement and camaraderie as they got to know their new peers and experience our school community first-hand.
The House competition Master Chef took place on Thursday, with teams of students showcasing their culinary skills in a fun and competitive environment. Our House spirit continues to shine, and we look forward to more House events in the future!
On Friday, 50 of our Year 11 Historians visited the stunning Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire, where they explored the site as part of their enrichment activities, enhancing their historical knowledge in preparation for their upcoming GCSE examinations.
Finally, we are thrilled to announce that our Year 7 Netball Team were crowned District Champions after a thrilling series of matches against strong opposition from Prince William (Oundle), Brooke Weston, CTS, and Weldon Village Academy. This fantastic victory means that our Year 7, 8, and 9 girls are all currently District Champions for 2025 – a truly remarkable achievement!
It's been another week of success, learning, and community spirit here at Lodge Park Academy. We are so proud of all our students and look forward to more exciting events in the weeks ahead
The Senior Leadership Team
Importance of school attendance and a lifetime of earnings
Students with a Year to Date attendance of 90% have missed 10% of school. This is the same as missing 19 days of school.
The Department for Education this month have published new research on the Impact of School Absence on Lifetime Earnings.
The research found that:
- For each additional day of absence, above 10%, between years 7-11, the typical student could miss out on £750 of future lifetime earning.
- Persistent absent students (average attendance of 90%) in Year 10 and 11 could earn £10,000 less on average at age 28, than their peers with above 95% attendance.
- Likelihood of being in receipt of benefits increases by 2.7 times for students who are classified as persistently absent (average attendance below 90%) and this rises to 4.2 times for those who are classified as severely absent (average attendance below 50%).
- The likelihood of being in sustained employment for 12 months decreases by approximately 60% for students who are classified as persistently absent (average attendance below 90%) and approximately 75% for those who are classified as severely absent (average attendance below 50%).
Many factors. Such as ill health, motivation, will influence a person’s employment outcomes. School absence is just one of these factors.
At Lodge Park Academy we recognise that there may be extenuating circumstances for a student’s absence and genuine illness. In all other cases of absence, the Attendance Team are on hand to offer support and work with other students, families, other departments within the school and outside agencies to support your child’s attendance to school.
Mrs Cooper - Vice Principal- Attendance
Year 11 Saturday School: Week Three
Saturday School Programme – A Week of Continued Success
Another week of success has passed for our Saturday School Programme at Lodge Park Academy! Over 60 dedicated students once again committed their Saturday morning to extend and deepen their studies in English, Maths, Science, and History.
The enthusiasm and commitment shown by both our students and staff are truly inspiring. These extra hours of learning are providing our students with the opportunity to reinforce their skills, engage with challenging material, and prepare for their upcoming exams with confidence.
We are incredibly proud of the hard work and determination displayed by everyone involved in the programme. The dedication of our staff to go above and beyond to support our students' learning is a testament to the strong sense of community here at Lodge Park Academy.
We look forward to continuing this fantastic initiative and celebrating even more success in the weeks to come!
Mr. McGeown
Vice Principal
To celebrate maths weekly achievements
Lodge Park Academy Bright Sparx
‘The only way to learn mathematics is to do mathematics.’
Each week, our students at LPA, complete maths questions for their homework on Sparx. Some students answer additional questions, further increasing their mathematical knowledge. The maths team would like to celebrate these students and recognise their dedicated work.
Why We Do What We Do
At Lodge Park Academy, respect is one of our values and we talk about respect starting with ourselves. In the first instance, this relates to our uniform . We believe it is really important that students tuck their shirt in, have their top button done up and wear their tie at an appropriate length. We ask that students come to school wearing their uniform correctly. We like to greet students on the gate in the morning and we also use this as an opportunity to ensure all students are smart in appearance. We explain to students that once they come through the gate ,if they are not following our uniform policy they will incur a break time detention.
Students from Goshawk Sixth Form organised a raffle with prizes donated by the Head of House and families to raise funds for The Autumn Centre.
The students presented the Centre with the cash raised to enable them to carry out the fantastic work they do for the community. Mrs Occleshaw said she was so proud of the way the Sixth Formers took it upon themselves to sell tickets, and how they represented themselves when we went to present the cash.
Student Voice...Lauren
On Wednesday, 5th February, Goshawk leaders: Head of House Mrs Occleshaw, House Captains Olivia and Megan, and Yr 9 representative Lauren, had the amazing opportunity to deliver the £160 we raised to the under-valued Autumn Centre.
We found out that one of the volunteers is completing their PhD through the University of Northampton and they want to make the Autumn Centre into a centre of excellence. The Autumn Centre is a place for people who have retired and are looking to find new friends and have some fun, and it is for people with special needs like down-syndrome. They have weekly activities such as singing and dancing, yoga and bingo. The manager, Lee, said ' her and her team will put the £160 towards new games and activities for their residents. The Autum Centre is an amazing place full of amazing people and is always in need of more volunteers, so if you have a few spare hours, look on the Autumn Centre's website for more information.
Pharmacy First – an NHS service being offered from pharmacies across England for children and adults
With absence and attendance being a high priority for all schools and nurseries, I am writing to let you know about an NHS service which pharmacies across England are offering for children (as well as adults) called Pharmacy First.
What is Pharmacy First?
This service enables children and adults to get quick access to healthcare advice as they can walk into a pharmacy and access the service. The person will then be offered a consultation with a pharmacist in a private consultation room. This service takes away the potential delay of having to wait for a GP appointment and may help ensure children get well and back to school as quickly as possible, potentially positively impacting attendance rates.
The service supports the following conditions:
- Earache (aged 1 to 17 years)
- Impetigo (aged 1 year and over)
- Infected insect bites (aged 1 year and over)
- Sore throats (aged 5 years and over)
- Shingles (aged 18 years and over)
- Sinusitis (aged 12 years and over)
- Urinary tract infections (UTIs) in women (aged 16 to 64 years)
The pharmacist will provide advice and, if clinically necessary, offer an NHS medicine to treat the condition (these medicines are supplied free of charge to children under 16 years, with the normal NHS prescription charge rules applying to people aged 16 or over). The pharmacy will then send an electronic message to the person’s GP surgery so their health record can be updated.
Should the pharmacist be unable to help, they will direct the person to their GP surgery or other health professional as appropriate.
A summary of the service and further information is available at nhs.uk/thinkpharmacyfirst
House Rocket League
We have an exciting week of House competition lined up next week as students pair up to participate in a House Rocket League competition. Students will partner up with another member of their house, in the same tutor group before going head to head against other tutor groups of different house teams across the academy. This years format is a straight knockout competition with qualification games taking place on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday lunchtime in W12. Teams will progress to the next round following a victory or face being knocked out of the competition following a loss. The finals will take place in the main hall on Friday 28th March, consisting of the final four remaining teams going head to head in a semi finals and final.
Keep an eye out in the ZONE for the draw and who your potential opponents are in your path to the finals. If you fail to attend your matches on time in W12 you will automatically forfeit your match and your opponent will progress to the next round of fixtures.
CCF ‘Tactical Recognition Patch’ House Competition
LPA Cadet Force (CCF) are looking for inspiration for a brand-new Tactical Recognition Patch (TRF) to add to their uniforms. TRF patch is worn on the left arm of the uniform to identify different contingents and LPA are looking for a unique design inspired by Corby town or LPA itself using a shield design.
This competition is open to all in the LPA community; students, staff and wider family members to submit their designs which we hope we can use to create a real TRF to be used on our cadet uniform.
Entries must be submitted by Friday 4th April.
House Boccia Results
Congratulations to Kestrel house who overcame Osprey in an extremely exciting final in the House Boccia last week. House teams went head to head in a round robin style competition, producing a number of closely competitive matches. Osprey almost secured the victory after taking a 1-0 lead in the first leg before Kestel won the remaining two legs 1-0 to secure a 2-1 win. Goshawk finished in 3rd place with a win over Red Kite in their final match. House points have been added to the overall totaliser.
Well done to everyone who represented their house teams.
‘Just Dance’ House Competition
Reminder that students wishing to represent their house in the ‘Just Dance’ competition need to send in their songs by Friday 28th March.
This year the competition will be taking place in the main hall, on the stage in front of a live audience.
Participants will need to perform a ‘just dance’ song either individually or as a group of up to 8 (participants DO NOT need to be in the same tutor or year group but must be in the same house).
Songs must be selected from YouTube and submitted on email to housechampionship@lodegparkacademy.co.uk
‘Signs of Spring’ House Photography Competition
This year’s Photography house competition (‘Signs of Spring’) is underway. Throughout the term we are looking for creative photos that captures and showcases spring – This is open to interpretation but could include plants, animals, landscapes, sunrise etc.
The competition will run across the term and the Easter holidays and is open to all students, staff and wider family members.
All photo entries must be sent to housechampionship@lodgeparkacademy.co.uk including your name, year group and house team.
On Friday 21st March we hosted our "Guess Who Staff Edition" in aid of Comic Relief. Students and staff were challenged to guess members of staff from younger photos of themselves. We raised £103.95 with quiz entries and selling red noses. Tutors will be revealing the answers to the tutees via a powerpoint of photos this week. Congratulations for the most correct quiz entries go to 1st place Shianne in 11LK and 2nd place Josh in 8PR. Also many thanks to Crina & Iustina from our Student Leadership and Kestrel Charity lead Sophia for preparing and overseeing the event.
SWI UNIFORM SUPPLIER
Academy closes on Friday 4th April 2025
Academy reopens on Tuesday 22nd April 2025
https://www.lodgeparkacademy.co.uk/docs/term_dates/Lodge_Park_Academy_Term_Dates_2024-2025.pdf
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Contact Us
Telephone: 01536 203817
Email: lpa-enquiries@lodgeparkacademy.co.uk
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