Weekly Update - 28th January 2022
Thankfully, our heating issues have now been resolved, and it has been business as usual in the academy this week. I would like to thank our fantastic Site Team who worked tirelessly to get us back up and running for Monday.
On Wednesday, students enjoyed a careers talk from an external visitor from the Armed Forces. This was very informative and well-received. We are always grateful for the time given by external experts to support the work of the school and provide new ideas and inspiration to our students.
Our key stage 3 Elite scholars were recently given the task of preparing a presentation around the topic “The freedom of speech”, and delivered their presentations on Friday morning. The standard of these was extraordinary, and all of the students involved should be extremely proud. The topics and styles of the presentations varied widely, from discussion and debate around LGBQT+ issues, the creation of posters and resources drawing attention to racism and equal rights, to the creation of an entire song, which was then delivered by the group. I have included some photographs of the students’ work below.
Today, our Environmental Group will be participating in the National Garden Bird Watch, run by the RSPB. We look forward to seeing their findings, and hope to be able to share these with you next week.
Starting next week, we will be launching our new reading challenge; “Blind date with a Book”. Students will be invited to select a “mystery” book, based just on the general theme and a short description. They will be encouraged to read the book and then submit a short review “Rate your date”. All entries will be entered into a weekly draw with a chance to win some Amazon vouchers. We hope that this new initiative will encourage students to try a range of different books to expand their reading.
I would like to remind you of the new behaviour systems which will be introduced from Monday 31st January. A letter in this respect was sent out yesterday, and can also be found on our website under “Letters Home”. A late bus will be provided every day, including Friday, for any students required to remain for detention. The aim of the new system is to ensure fairness and consistency for all, and to enable all students to be able to work effectively in a positive learning environment. I thank you for your support in this respect.
As always, I wish you all an enjoyable and refreshing weekend, and look forward to updating you again next week.
