Principal's Update

Thank you for your support this week. Students and staff have dealt well with the news that we had one student and three members of staff, all teaching assistants who have tested positive for COVID.

All staff and students who have met any of the thresholds identified by the government guidelines have been asked to self-isolate. Fortunately, all the symptoms experienced by those with a positive test result have been mild and we are pleased that all are on the road to recovery.

Staff have been busy planning for three levels of lock down in the event Boris Johnson decides to extend half-term or lock down certain year groups as Wales have. Booklets have been produced so even families with poor internet access will have work available for their children. (We know in some of the remote Lincolnshire villages internet connectivity is poor).

We have designed a tiered approach with the ideal being that students receive ‘live lessons’ via teams or a recorded session, they use online platforms such as Tassomai, Hegarty maths and Music First, and they have a booklet to accompany and consolidate the work. All students will be given an exercise book to complete their work in.

It is very important that if we do go into another full or partial lockdown that students are conscientious about completing their work so that we don’t fall behind with the curriculum.

I am looking forward to the Pumpkin carving competition and hope to see some excellent entries from students, parents and staff. The Games Master will be tweeting out some great examples to inspire you all!

I hope you have a relaxing half-term and that you and your families stay safe.

Kind regards, Mrs Jones

Curriculum Update

We need your help! In order to make sure our students achieve their potential and consolidate learning from the classroom we need to improve the rate of homework submission. We are concerned about the volume of missed home in Years 7 – 11.

The bar chart below shows the total number of missed homeworks logged by staff between Friday 9th October and Thursday 15th October. As you can see, the volume of missed homework in year 11 is worrying, particularly when compared to our Year 7 students who are new to the academy.

Please can you continue to support you child with their homework. We kindly ask that you :

• Check Student Portal on a regular basis with their child.
• Engage with your child about their homework, take an interest and offer support, where possible.
• Support your child by testing memory recall and supporting information retrieval.
• Wherever possible ensure that they have a suitable and quiet place to complete the homework.
• Raise concerns with their form tutor or subject teacher if you are worried about your child’s homework.
• Speak to the academy if there is an issue with IT or Student Portal.
• Request that your son/daughter be assigned to an ‘Academic Prep’ in the event that they need further support.

Homework is important at all stages in your child’s education and when used properly, it extends the challenge open to them and ensures that teaching time is used to maximise effect. It also makes a significant contribution to the development of independent learning.

Having the responsibility of needing to meet deadlines promotes self-discipline, an attribute which will impact on school work and beyond.

Mr Drumm - Assistant Principal

Attendance Update

Permissions

Please ensure you have checked and updated your parental consents on My Child at School. There have been some recent updates including the permission to allow us to teach your children remotely via Teams if we are forced to close a bubble of students due to Coronavirus.

We celebrate attendance at Charles Read Academy:

• By awarding 100% attendance through our attendance raffle for a free lunch for KS3 and KS4 each week.
• Students with 100% attendance receive 10 reward points weekly.
• By sending a MCAS message home every week to all 100% attendance students.
• By awarding individual certificates to individual children who have 100% for each term.
• By awarding academy certificates to individual children who get 100% attendance for the whole academic year (September to July).
• Celebrating and rewarding the success of those who have gained the most improved attendance throughout the academic year.

Coronavirus Symptoms

If you are uncertain about what actions to take when it comes to Covid symptoms and whether you should send your child to school, please review the attached letter from Public Health England, and posters below.

Miss Butcher - Attendance Manager

Maths Department Review - Term 1

Students have made an excellent start to the year. We have been really excited to welcome our new Year 7 cohort to the department who, over this term, have been investigating among other things the history of number systems, exploring different bases such as binary and hexadecimal.

Year 8 been reviewing how prime numbers are the building blocks of all numbers and how they are used for cyber security.

Year 9 have been focusing amongst other topics standard form and how these are used to make working with extremely large.

A highlight of this term has how our year 10 and 11 students have settled back into their mathematical studies and how hard they are working to fill any gaps that have arisen after lock down.

Mr Allen - Head of Maths

Word of the Week

Hemi, semi: half (Greek word root)

Hemisphere a half of a sphere.

Semiconscious only partially conscious.

Semi-annual occurring twice a year.

Week commencing 9th November

Year 11 Focus

Term 1 Update

It has been a busy term for year 11, coming back to school after a long and difficult period of remote learning. With mock exams in the week they return from half term it is important for them to use this time not only to revise targeted key areas, but also to relax, get some exercise, spend time with families and to do things that they enjoy. Although using this time to revise key areas and to be prepared for the mocks is important, having time to recharge and to come back refreshed mentally and physically is vitally important for all students.

This term students in year 11 have achieved a 5987 achievement points, averaging 116 achievement points per students. Caeli are the highest scoring house, with 144 points per student, followed by Aqua with 128 points per student and finally Terra with 104 points per student.

The top 3 students are Adryhial with 204 achievement points, Ava with 207 achievement points and in first place is Beth with a massive 212 achievement points.

Students will have mock exams in the first week back, with all precautions taken to make sure that the rooms and procedures allow for social distancing. Students will all have their own seats for all the exams, with most students in the hall and students with extra provision in S4 and S5. During exam week all year 11s will register in the hall so we can make sure that they are settled and prepared for their exams. We cannot have readers for the exams, so we have ordered reading pens for students who need them to use in the exams socially distanced. It is important that all students who have extra time or other provisions use them to the best of their ability so it is their normal practice and so they will be able to use them in the Summer exams.

The exam timetable can be found on their student portal, or the whole year 11 exam timetable can be found here. The most important thing for students to remember about these exams is to have a good night’s sleep, a good breakfast and arrive hydrated. Having a water bottle (clear bottle without a label for exams) is important to help them stay focused during the exams.

It has been difficult for many of our students to get back into the routines of completing homework, and we would ask for parents help with encouraging students to complete the homework. Students with ATL’s of 1, often have this mark due to their lack of homework and it is important that students keep up with this work and ask for help. All homework will be on student portal, with Science (and English Literature after half term) on Tassomai and Maths work on Hegarty.

Finally, I would like to just repeat my congratulations to all of year 11 for their hard work this term for what has been a uniquely difficult time for them, with pressures that other year 11 cohorts have never had to face. Their maturity in handling these challenges and overcoming their anxieties has been highly impressive and they should feel very proud. I would also like to thank all the parents of year 11 students who have had to deal with their worries and concerns and have supported them and the school to overcome them.

Please make sure that students have the opportunity to relax in the holidays, it is important to remember that a little bit of revision every day mixed with fresh air, social activity (and helping around the house) will help their physical, mental and academic well being a lot more than stress and cramming for the entire week.

Mr Young - Raising Standards Lead

Dates for your diary

Please click on the parent calendar to see the full list of upcoming events and activities at CRA

Highlights at the start of next term include:

• Term starts - 2nd November
• Year 11 mock exams - 2nd - 9th November
• Careers Week - 23rd November