Principal's Update

We have recently had a visit from the Deputy CEO of DRET and the Regional Director. They were very impressed with the calm and purposeful environment in the classrooms and around the school. The students and their attitude to learning were a credit to the academy and their attitude to learning and engagement was praised. Our visitors were also impressed with the emphasis we are putting on personal and character development and how it permeates all we do at CRA. We had a recent focus on mental health and this week have been discussing leadership qualities.

I am pleased that the Houses have been collecting for the foodbank again this year as our harvest focus. Due to the effects of the pandemic we have not been able to go to the church or hold any harvest celebrations which is a shame, but a sign of the unusual times we find ourselves in .

We are looking forward to opening our doors to potential students and parents next week on the 30th September, when the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and the Transition Lead, Mrs. Dexter will be touring families round the school. If you have a younger child who is looking at potential secondary schools, please view our virtual open evening and contact the school to book your tour. We will be asking visitors to wear a face mask and rather than having CRA students to showcase the subject, members of staff will be available to explain their curriculum and answer any questions.

The students coped well with social distancing this week in relation to our wet weather arrangements and we are continuing remind them about the importance of keeping everyone safe.

Thank you for supporting us, working together we can achieve much more.

I wish you and your family a lovely weekend.

Kind regards, Mrs Jones

Curriculum Update

This week in science we have seen the launch of Tassomai. Tassomai is an online learning and revision platform that uses quizzing to test and teach.

The program’s smart algorithm:

• Organises and spreads out your learning
• Personalises your content
• Builds knowledge

We have elected to have all students complete four daily goals a week, this will be monitored on a Friday morning and will from part of the science departments homework. Some students who used this program during home learning are excited to see it return as they enjoyed the way you are expected to work for concentrated short bursts, while regularly testing yourself on a range of different science topics. Students have found this type of learning is brilliant for knowledge recall, it also allows for us to identify areas that the child may need a little bit more support with in lesson.

We have students of all different year groups who are already proving to be Tassomai superstars. This week I would like to say congratulations to Megan Morfett who has spent an incredible 1 hour and 53 minuets on Tassomai already this week and congratulations and keep up the good work to Aerienne, Adam. D, Jake. K, Toby. N, Ryan. P, Scott. P and Thomas. S who have done a fabulous 6 out of 7 possible daily goals.

We would like as always to see as many parents as possible involved in this process and are able to have weekly repots sent home about how your child is making use of Tassomai, we will be in touch next week to allow you to opt in to this.

As with the launch of anything new a few students are struggling to remember log in details, they have had the opportunity to create an account during lesson time. They should be able to sign in using their school email address and the password they selected. Please feel free to send me a message via Bromcom student portal if you are struggling with this.

Miss Robinson - Science Teacher

Attendance Update

Contacting school to report an absence

Tutor Group 100% attendance celebration

On 21st September, the whole of Aqua KS3 had 100% attendance as well as the whole of Y8 having 100% attendance. Fantastic attendance KS3 Aqua and Y8!!

Caeli7 have had 100% attendance all this week - well done Caeli7!!

Public Health England updates

Please see the attached letter sent by Public Health England in regard to Covid 19 symptoms and the updated Test & Trace procedures.

In addition we have received the simple chart below that might be of use from LCC

Miss Butcher - Attendance Manager

Staff Spot

Over the coming weeks we will introduce you to the newest members of the team here at CRA. This week its the turn of Miss Brealey our new Head of English.

Hello! My name is Miss Brealey and I’ve just started as the Head of English here at the Charles Read Academy.

I’ve been teaching for seven years now and I first decided to become a teacher because I loved reading and books and wanted to share that love with other people.

I studied English and American Literature at the University of Kent and completed my teacher training at Cambridge University. During that time, I was lucky enough to spend a year studying at a university in America as part of an exchange programme.

In my spare time I like to read and my favourite genres are horror, science fiction and fantasy. I’ve taken part in a lot of sports over the years including kayaking, cheerleading and kickboxing.

I look forward to getting to know everyone at Charles Read better over the coming years.

Department Updates

CRA Library

I am very pleased and proud to be writing to you as your new librarian. I am passionate about books and reading, and I have coveted the job of school librarian for a while now! This year I will be combining the role with that of English TA, so I won’t always be in the library – but I won’t be far away (and as the older students know, I can usually be diverted by a conversation about books).

The first thing I want to say is that the CRA library is open for business! Please come and change your books at break or lunchtime (but please be aware that we need to keep students from different year groups separate).

Some students have been worried about returning books that they took out before lockdown because they are now very overdue – please don’t worry about how long you have had them! I don’t bite, I do understand, and I will welcome books back whether you have had them for a couple of weeks or a couple of years. If you have older brothers and sisters that still have CRA library books in their bedrooms, please tell them that I would love to see those ones returned, too!

All returned books are being quarantined along with the current guidelines for books, and then re-covered so that we can keep them in good condition for longer.

My first task has been to get more books onto the shelves. We have had some new acquisitions, and these are now available to borrow.

I am excited to have the opportunity to purchase some more books, and I will be focusing on requests from students (the Harry Potter and other popular series fly off the shelves). I would also welcome recommendations from parents and staff for the books that they loved as teenagers.

If you are going to be having a clear out and making space on your bookshelves at home, I would be very grateful for any donations of suitable books.

Finally, I would like to thank Oliver and the other lunchtime librarians who have been supporting whilst we all get used to new routines and ways of working.

Mrs Spilberg - English TA & CRA Librarian

Word of the Week

Cracy: type of government, rule (Greek word root)

Democracy system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.

Theocracy a system of government in which priests rule in the name of God or a god.

Autocracy a system of government by one person with absolute power.

Year 11 Focus

It has been a busy week for year 11, who have settled in to their studies well. They will start to receive feedback from their Touchstone assessments this week. Now is the time to make sure you have revision guides, available from Reception at a cost of approximately £5 per guide, for all their subjects, and highlight the topics which need to be revisited. This will enable students and staff to start working on the gaps, and be able to see the impact of their hard work and resilience once addressed.

Year 11 Mocks start on the week beginning the 2nd November.

Please ensure students have produced a revision timetable and approached these mock exams with a serious mindset. We do not know whether these results will be used as evidence of attainment in Summer 2021, if exams have to be cancelled once again, and we have to provide centre assessed grades.

Year 11 artists your subject needs you!

Mr. Parker will be in the art room every lunchtime to support you with developing your portfolios and catching up on work not completed whilst in lockdown. This is valuable time that will make a huge difference to your overall grade. Please speak with Mr. Parker and arrange at least two lunchtimes per week that you will spend with him in the Art room.

The Sporting Post

Table Tennis Performance Center

This week we received some more footage of our scholars training at Grantham College. One of their focusses has been topspin. In a video we saw Adam complete an impressive 70 topspin shots in a row. To see this video head over to our Twitter page (CRA_TTPC). On Monday, the shadow squad started training with our scholars. The shadow squad is made up of students who play the sport outside of school and are keen to develop their skills. They are thoroughly enjoying this experience.

Sports Enrichment

This week our Year 7 students started the DRET Year 7 Rowing Challenge. This is a virtual, trust-wide competition. All Year 7 students from across the trust complete a 2-minute row. The results will be collected from each academy and an overall winner will be announced.

This week over 40 students have taken part and there is plenty of healthy competition between them and their and form groups. So far, Ben from 7 Caeli is in the lead with 429m. We are looking forward to seeing our students challenge this score as they gain more experience.

For regular updates from the PE department, follow our Twitter and Instagram Pages (@sportatcra).