Welcome
Dear Families,
Attendance is a key area of focus for us as a school and this week we have seen our Year 7 students excelling in this area with an overall attendance of nearly 96% on Tuesday. This is what we are aiming to achieve across all years within the school, but we still have much work to do. Of particular focus is Year 11. It is key over the coming weeks and months that all students in Year 11 attend school to ensure that they get the support that they need to reach their potential. We are happy to report on Thursday this week our whole school attendance was 91.4 % which is a step in the right direction.
This coming week we welcome our Year 11 parents into school to discuss academic progress. Central to these discussions is what students need to be revising and how parents can support students to be successful in their forthcoming KPI (Mock) Examinations. It is an important evening and we hope that parents all can attend.
We are looking forward to visiting St Columba Church for the Harvest Festival with our Year 7 students and tutors. The choir will be performing and the students have all been taught some harvest songs so we can all come together as a community.
Each morning this week we have held our House Event of ‘Deal or No Deal’ with each house attempting to earn a ‘boost’ in their house points. The events have been hosted by our Gamesmaker who has generated an enormous degree of excitement. Our afternoon assemblies have focused on metacognition, the importance of ‘Self-Questioning’ and the significance of the ‘Think, Plan, Do and Review’ approach to learning.
As we enter the final week of the term we ask that you continue to support us and your child in maintaining the highest standards of behaviour, attitude and attendance before we enjoy a well earned break.
Warm Regards
Senior Leadership Team
Year 11 Parental Engagement Evening – Tuesday 15th October 3.30 pm - 6.30 pm
We are looking forward to welcoming our Year 11 parents into school on Tuesday 15th October 2024 to discuss the progress of students and their preparations for the forthcoming KPI (Mock) Examination Series in Early November.
Please do all that you can to attend this important evening. Your support in guiding, advising, supporting and encouraging our Year 11 students will play a huge role in their success this year.
Working together, we can achieve great things.
Mr McGeown – Vice Principal
Meet the Science Department at LPA
My name is Mrs McCormick, this is my third year at LPA, and I am an Associate Assistant Principal leading Science and Technologies. My favourite part about teaching science is when our students have the lightbulb moment and their curiosity about everyday life is peaked, I am very passionate about human biology and the importance of understanding how our bodies work. Outside of school, I enjoy gardening and experimenting cooking different cuisines.
Hello, my name is Richard Baafi, and I am excited to introduce myself as your child's science teacher this year at LPA. This is my first year of working at LPA and my goal is to make physics and science in general engaging and accessible through hands-on experiments and real world examples. My goal is to create a supportive environment where students feel confident to ask questions and explore new ideas. I like watching football at my leisure time.
Mr. Simon Amoh is my name. This is my first year with LPA as a science teacher. I am always passionate about the application of science especially physics in medicine, and I love sharing my passion with my students. As a medical physicist, I encourage my students to not only learn the material but also to explore its real-world applications. Outside of work, I enjoy watching football.
I have worked for Lodge Park for nearly 25 years and love my job here. It's made all the easier because I work with some of the most amazing students, no day is the same, no lesson is the same as I get such interesting inquisitive questions from them. I truly appreciate how hard they want to work which makes me want to work hard for them.
My name is Mrs Tilley, I started at Easter 2017 and am second in the department. I love delivering science and getting pupils to understand new concepts. I love the challenge of being able to get pupils to understand the science and thinking of different ways to deliver it. I believe science is life and life is science so everyone needs it! I am a civilian instructor with Corby Air Cadets and a qualified referee for Corby Swimming club. In my spare time I always make time for reading and crochet.
My name is Mrs Wells and I joined LPA back in Easter, I am a Teacher of Science along with being Head of Kestrel House. My passion is in animal science, which lead me into the field of animal nutrition, focussing on horses before becoming a science teacher. I absolutely love to inspire students and expand their horizons to the animals that inhabit this world. Outside of school, I look forward to walking my dogs along with riding and snowboarding.
Hi, I am Mr Peach a Chemistry specialist, with 20+ years experience and I love teaching students about physics. I am very happy to bring my range of skills to LPA since joining at Easter and improve the outcomes of my students. I also really enjoy travelling.
I have worked at LPA for 23 years now, where for the past 8 years I have worked as a Science Technician. I really enjoy working with a great team in the Science department, and I love to see the students participating in class practical’s. Outside of work I love to spend time with my family.
Uniform – Winter Coats and Hooded Tops
As the winter weather draws in, please can we ask that you do all you can to support the school in ensuring that we maintain the highest of standards with regard to uniform.
We are currently seeing an increase in the amount of students that are arriving to school in hooded tops or sporting jumpers which students then expect to be permitted to wear inside the school building. Hoodies are not permitted in school and coats are not to be worn in the building.
Please be aware that we expect all students to be in our designated LPA Uniform at all times; outdoor jackets are not permitted inside the school building. This is no different to the expectations in many schools up and down the country.
Where students are finding the weather to be cold, please be advised that we have an LPA jumper that can be worn above the shirt and tie and beneath the blazer. However, no other jumper will be permitted. Students may wear a plain white t-shirt under their school shirt as an extra layer if they feel the cold.
Thank you for your support with this.
The Senior Leadership Team.
GCSE Revision Information Webinar
Ahead of the Year 10 KPI1 assessments and the Year 11 mock exams that are soon approaching, we will be holding a revision information evening that will be held virtually through Microsoft Teams.
This will help to inform both parents and students of effective revision strategies to be implementing from home, resources to support with this, as well tips on managing the time spent on revision efficiently to support knowledge recall. There will also be opportunity for any questions you may have regarding revision to be answered.
KS4 revision information evening - Wednesday 16th October - 5:30pm
The link to access the webinar will be sent out on the day prior. We look forward to seeing as many of you joining as possible.
Jack Cronin - Assistant Principal
Step Up Programme at New College, Oxford
On Thursday 10th October 2024, Shelby from the Step Up Programme at New College, Oxford, visited Lodge Park Academy to engage with our Year 11 and Year 12 students. This marks the third year that our Academy has partnered with this initiative, which aims to support state-school students throughout Years 11, 12, and 13. The programme is dedicated to helping students recognise that attending Oxford is a realistic and achievable goal for their future. We are proud to be one of only 41 schools across the country involved in the Step Up Programme.
During the visit, our Year 11 cohort participated in Step 1, a two-hour session designed to introduce them to the programme. Students learned about the history of New College, the benefits of pursuing higher education, and what sets Oxford apart from other universities. The session was well-received, and students are eagerly anticipating their upcoming visit to New College in January.
Meanwhile, our Year 12 students engaged in Step 3 of their journey, focusing on the university application process and strategies for becoming successful candidates. The insights gained from these sessions were invaluable, and students are looking forward to completing Step 4 later this academic year, which will cover personal statement writing.
As our Year 13 students enter their final year in the programme, they will benefit from an interview workshop to prepare them for their university applications.
We are excited about the opportunities the Step Up Programme provides and look forward to continuing our partnership with New College, Oxford.
Attendance
As many of you will be aware from publicity in the press, and letters we have sent out previously, the government have significantly toughened the law in relation to school attendance and have now published revised guidance which has become mandatory from September 2024.
From September 2024, schools have to consider a penalty notice if a pupil misses 10 sessions of unauthorised absence in a rolling period of 10 school weeks. Half of a day (am or pm) is considered as a ‘session’. The threshold of 10 sessions can be met with any combination of unauthorised absence, for example, eight sessions of unauthorised holidays in term time and two sessions for other unauthorised reasons would trigger a penalty notice.
The ten school week period may span different terms or school years, for example: 2 sessions of unauthorised absence in the summer term and a further 8 in the autumn term.
National Framework for Attendance Penalty Notices (fines)
The new penalty notice regulations are:
- Each parent will be issued a separate penalty notice, for each child who is absent. For example, 2 parents and 3 children, each parent will receive 3 penalty notices for £160 each, with a family total of £960 in fines.
- The fine amount will be £160 per parent, per child paid within 28 days, reduced to £80 per parent, per child if paid within 21 days.
- The first penalty notice will be considered your first offence.
- The next time an offence occurs, within 3 years of the date the first penalty notice is issued, the fine amount will be £160 per parent, per child paid within 28 days, with no reduction.
- The third time an offence occurs this will be presented to Magistrate’s court for prosecution.
Where a child is absent, and it is believed they are absent without valid reason, we will carry out a home visit and see the child on or before the third school day of absence. If the absence meets the thresholds explained above, you will be issued fixed penalty notices as detailed above.
Please review any holiday plans you have for term time this year to ensure you are not issued with a penalty fine or prosecuted in the Magistrates’ court.
The above rules also apply to punctuality as registers must close at the end of our tutor period. Arriving to school after this time will result in an unauthorised absence. To enable our morning registration (AM) to begin promptly, we require all students to be on site for 8.30 a.m. This is the time your child must be in school, ready to be marked into registers. Therefore, we ask that you ensure your child arrives at 8.30 a.m. and they are with their tutor by 8.40 a.m. at the latest.
Your child must register with their tutor and attend P1 to ensure their ‘present’ marks are captured within the AM registration period. Your child must attend afternoon registration and P5 to ensure their ‘present’ marks are captured within the PM registration period. Even if your child is on site they will not be registered unless they are in their tutor room and classrooms and an unauthorised mark will be given. Ten unauthorised sessions in a ten school week period will result in a fixed penalty notice.
Pupils who attend school regularly will achieve higher grades than those pupils who don’t. In the summer of 2024 pupils at Lodge Park who had above 90% attendance achieved half a grade higher than those who below this.
If you require any support or advice please get in touch via email us on attendance@lodgeparkacademy.co.uk
Students' Leave of Absence
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
House News
House Deal or No Deal
Deal or No Deal has been the theme of the week at LPA this week as Heads of House have taken to the stage in the bid to secure their respective house teams points for the overall totaliser.
As seen on TV gameshow, Heads of House have played during their respective house assemblies this week. Red Kite were up first with Mrs Gates coming away with 60 house points for her house. Kestrel were up next the following day and secured slightly more points, adding 100 house points to their total despite making the final round and being offered 175 points with the jackpot 250 house points still in play. It was a similar story for Osprey House and Mr Hull who also made the final round, with the 250 house point jackpot still remaining in one of the two boxes. This time however Mr Hull took the bankers offer of 170 house points. A great deal for Osprey at the time, but it turned out that Mr Hulls original box (number 7) contained the jackpot 250 house points.
The Final round took place on Friday morning with Mrs Occleshaw representing Goshawk house. It was a tense game, which went right the way to the final round where a deal was accepted for 110 house points. It was a great decision in the end as the original box selected at the start of the game, contained 80 house points.
Well done to each of the Heads of Houses and students who have played fantastically well in each of the games. Thank you to Mr King who was a guest host for the Kestrel House Deal or No Deal.
Goshawk are playing on Friday morning during their house assembly with an update on their points won to follow.
Kestrel Top House Football
It was another action packed week of sport at LPA last week as house teams went head to head in the popular House Football competition. Across the week students in years 7 to 10 represented their houses in a number of competitive matches, accumulating points to go towards the overall totals for the competition. As it stands it is Kestrel House who are top of the competitions leader board, with results from the final round of matches (Year 7 to 10 girls) to be added.
Results for each year groups completed rounds are as follows:
Well done to the Year 7 to 10 Girls - 1st - Kestrel / 2nd Red Kite / 3rd Goshawk / 4th Osprey
Well done to everyone who took part and represented their house. Thank you to the PE department for hosting this competition.
FINAL CALL – Harvest Festival Collection
This is the final call for the LPA Harvest Festival collection, in support of the Corby Foodbank. The deadline for donations is Thursday 17th October where our year 7 students will be visiting St. Columba Church for a Harvest Festival service and will donate our collection.
Thank you in advance to everyone who has contributed so far.
LPA House Fantasy Premier League
Daniel withstood late pressure to maintain his position at the top of the LPA Fantasy Premier League over the International break.
The competition resumes next week with players contemplating whether to activate any of their chips.
Managers will be making the difficult decision of whether to use or keep hold of their wildcard. Well done to players who have worked their way into the latest LPA ‘Top 10’.
Combined Cadet Force - LPA
September started superbly for two Cadets within our Academy's CCF contingent, with promotions for Sofia and Jamie who were promoted to Lance Corporal and Corporal respectively.
Both Cadets are extremely proud of their accomplishments and have taken to their new ranks with remarkable confidence and professionalism.
The contingent is now working to prepare for a busy few months ahead rehearsing their Drill & Turnout for Armistice Day and gaining qualification for up coming camps and excursions.
Last weekend Corby Amateur Swimming club held their shortcourse open meet. There were lots of swimmers from a variety of clubs present.
It was a fantastic weekend for one of our own pupils, Beth as this photo shows from the Saturday, she was on a roll and actually came away at the end of Sunday with a horde of medals, 3 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze. Only just missing out on a couple of the other races she swam in.
Fantastic effort, Beth!
Parking Outside Lodge Park Academy
We would politely ask all parents/carers to park sensibly when dropping children off at school and avoid parking on double yellow lines and double parking.
What can you do to help keep everyone safe around the school gates?
Please don’t:
• Block the road - emergency vehicles and other traffic may need access
• Park on yellow lines, zig-zags or block the school entrance
• Park on the pavement, across dropped kerbs or residents’ driveways
• Park where you will cause inconvenience to other road users
• Stop in the middle of the road to drop your child off, even for a few second
We all have a responsibility to ensure that children can access school safely and your co-operation in this matter would be appreciated.
Dates to Remember and Useful Information
SWI Uniform Supplier
Academy closes to students on Friday 18th October 2024
Academy opens to staff and students on Monday 4th November 2024
Contact Us
Telephone: 01536 203817
Email: lpa-enquiries@lodgeparkacademy.co.uk
Please be aware this mailbox is monitored by a number of individuals, please do not disclose any confidential information.
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