#ThisWeekatSAW – 24th March 2023
Message from the Head of School:
I have had the pleasure of visiting lessons and talking to some students about their learning this week. Students continue to show incredible skill and confidence in their understanding of the curriculum and knowledge needed to progress.
The cast of the Addams Family production have been showcasing their talents in assemblies last week. It looks incredible and I can’t wait to see it in full. The performances run from Tuesday to Thursday of this week. Please come and support the students and the Academy by purchasing a ticket and watching the show. All profits made from ticket sales, refreshments and tombola draws will be donated to the Children’s Heart Surgery Fund, a charity very close to our hearts here at Sirius Academy West.
It has been exciting to have Reckitt’s presenting to students in Humanities lessons on WW11 epidemics to strengthen their knowledge in their GCSE courses. It’s always great to have experts in industry come into the academy to strengthen learning.
Last week, we invited some Year 11 parents into the academy to discuss their child’s progress as well as some parents of our Year 6 cohort who start with us in September. Thank you to those parents and carers who continue to support the academy and attend meetings when invited. We also invited Year 7 parents into the academy also, to discuss progress and next steps. Again, thank you to those who attended.
Another busy week for visits, trips, sporting events and personal development opportunities at the academy. Our Enterprise students have been out visiting businesses and gaining knowledge of how their courses are true to life for future careers and our sporting teams have been incredibly successful with both Year 8 and 7 rugby teams winning their fixtures. Please check the academy socials for up-to-date information and celebrations of all our personal development opportunities.
As the Easter break is imminent, there will be a full suite of subjects offering revision, intervention and enrichment sessions for KS3, KS4 and 5 students over the two weeks. Please encourage your child to attend those sessions they’re invited to. More details of what’s on offer have been sent home with further details.
Attendance remains a significant priority for the academy. Please continue to ensure your child is attending the Academy every day to ensure no learning is missed. There is a direct correlation between the grades achieved by students in Year 11 and their attendance throughout their five-year high school journey.
Thank you again for your continued support. I hope you all have a relaxing Easter break. Students return to the Academy on Monday 17 April 2023.
Kind regards,
Gemma Ransom (Head of School)
RESPECT for Community- General Academy news
End of Term arrangements
The arrangements for the end of term will see all students break off for Easter at 3:05pm on Thursday 30th April. Students will not be in the Academy apart from invited Year 11 intervention students on Friday 31st April.
We are inviting students to participate in a “Dress Good, Feel Good” day on this day. Students can wear clothes of their choice on their upper body however must still wear their usual black shoes with trousers or skirt.
Easter Competition- Attendance
Congratulations to the 1034 students that still qualify for the Easter Egg Hunt Competition.
Students that complete the final nine days of the term will have the chance of being rewarded with some Easter-themed prizes and £20 vouchers.
The vouchers range from ASOS, Nando’s, Amazon, JD and Cineworld.
Names will be selected at random on the final day!
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Personal Development – Pledges
Next week the assessment window will open for the second time to record students’ Pledges. Since September the students have had the opportunity to do lots!
Geography Field Trips to the Lake District, MFL visits to Barcelona, continued sporting fixtures and sporting success, the return of school productions with The Addams Family, Department Challenge winners’ trips to York and Rock City, Year 11 trips to Cambridge, Primary School leadership, Year 7 Restart a Heart Day, the launch of our first Animal Clubs and Warhammer Clubs … Lots!
It is important that students have the opportunity to reflect on the amount that they do.
We are keen to provide all of our students with the offer of a range of co-curricular opportunities.
These opportunities help our students to explore and express their character and build skills they need for resilience, empathy and employability.
Students will be required to record the completion of these pledges within their individual Pledge Passport. These can be found on pages 231-244 of their student planner.
It is their responsibility to provide a written account of how they have achieved each pledge and to get an appropriate member of staff to authorise completion by signing-off the relevant pledge.
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Those students that are able to complete all ten challenges will be entered into a competition. One student in each Year Group will be chosen, based on the quality of their Pledge Passport, to receive £100 worth of vouchers to use with their family at a local attraction.
We were delighted to do something similar last year and fund visits, including transport and admission, to the Natural History Museum, Theme Parks and Musicals in London for four deserving families.
Students will have the rest of the year to complete the Pledges. However, there will be some Pledges that they will be able to complete and provide evidence for now.
We would appreciate any support you can provide your child in completing the different challenges. As the Pledge Passport is in their individual planners, this is something that can be completed at any time.
Good luck!
Sports Successes
Our Year 7 Rugby boys produced a great performance when travelling to Wakefield to defeat Crofton High in the Yorkshire Plate 2nd Round. The score finished 22-10 to our boys.
Rugby Information
Thursday 30th March – Year 9 Boys Rugby Training after school with Hull FC Scholarship (Talent Transfer Programme)
Thursday 30th March – Year 10 Boys away at Shelley College, 1:30pm KO – all students to be across at the Sports Hall for 11:15am
RESPECT for Education – Lesson 1 Content
This week the students have completed the following tasks in their Lesson 1 lessons. Please discuss with them as we continue to develop the knowledge of our students:
Culture Task
This week the students looked at Lily Ledbetter as part of a focus on International Women’s Day. Ledbetter was a figure in fighting for equal pay for women in the US, and her fight brought about new legislation.
Votes for Schools Topic (Key Stage 3 students only)
This week the students discussed the topic of ‘Will life improve with more use of artificial intelligence?’
Character Education
Character Education is a time-tabled lesson within our Lesson 1 curriculum in which students focus on skills and traits which will allow them to be successful in not only their academic studies but also in other aspects of their life.
This week students have focused on:
Year 7 students have focused on dual-coding as a note-taking strategy. They explored what is it and why we use this technique.
Year 8, 9 and 10 students focused on creating a positive self to ensure systems are effectively used.
Year 11 students focused on how to create a positive environment to relieve feelings of stress and worry.
RESPECT for Education- Curriculum Area ‘Students of the Week’
Each Curriculum Area will nominate a student each week who has shown through their lessons that they have met the RESPECT values of the Academy. The reason for the selection is highlighted below:
|
Curriculum Area |
Student Name | Reason for Nomination |
| English | Kejsi M (Year 7) |
Really hard working, never distracted, very positive attitude. |
|
English |
Scarlet O (Year 9) |
Incredible work, every lesson exceeding expectations time and time again. |
| Retail Business | Vlad P (Year 10) |
Phenomenal improvement in his attitude to learning. |
|
Art |
Jordan S (Year 10) |
Excellent effort in lessons, producing really strong work. |
| Health and Social Care | Oliver M Madison L Ellie M Chidimma D (Year 11) |
For continuous improvement in both their exam results and coursework. |
|
Computer Science |
Charles T (Year 10) |
Charles is showing an amazing attitude to learning with his current coursework coming into as many support sessions this week to not just catch up, but improve pieces of work in his own time to try and get the best grade he can! So, impressed with this Charles! Keep up the good work. |
| Computer Science | Jenson J (Year 11) |
Jenson has come to the after-school sessions this week to catch up on his coursework, a great choice and demonstrating a positive change in his attitude to learning. Nearly polished his work up to his target grade too! Well done Jenson, Keep it up! |
|
Extra-Curricular |
Logan K (Year 9) |
An absolute champion in Wednesday Warhammer club, going above and beyond helping with the set up and clean up from the club. Miles beyond what others are contributing! |
| Extra-Curricular | Matthew D (Year 10) |
A Warhammer legend, (Won a recent competition in the Warhammer store in town for best painted models), an incredible font of knowledge and skill across the board. Matthew has been instrumental in the Warhammer club development helping other students with developing their knowledge of the lore and skillset with the brush. A great attitude and a perfect demonstration of the school’s principles and ethos! |
|
Lesson 1 |
Lucas P (Year 7) |
For always having a respectful and thoughtful view of every topic that we cover. He is always looking for ways to learn! |
| Lesson 1 | Issac L (Year 8) |
Fantastic student, and effectively my ‘Assistant tutor’ – so helpful. |
|
Lesson 1 |
Taylor J (Year 8) |
For contributing mature and sensible points to our discussion this week. |
| General | Tyler J (Year 7) |
What an amazing A2L Tyler has, not just in the classroom but around the school and extracurricular activities. With everything I have heard about how hard he is working in the Adams Family production, I had to buy a ticket to see. Sounds like it’s going to be an amazing evening. A great example of what every student in SAW should aspire to be, kind, helpful, respectful and most important of all, willing to try anything! |
KS3 Spellings- RESPECT for Education
Students in Years 7, 8 and 9 will be tested each week on a set of spellings. This is to improve their basic literacy skills. We encourage parents / carers to engage in this activity with your child to support their learning. This week’s spellings to be learnt are:
Year 7
- Affectionate
- Request
- Judgemental
- Achievement
- Nationality
- Renown
- Miniature
- Admiration
- Impressive
- Transformation
Year 8
- Impulsive
- Suspicious
- Indecisive
- Neurotic
- Melancholy
- Condescending
- Turbulent
- Adventurous
- Wretched
- Regicide
Year 9
- Exhaustion
- Dehumanisation
- Wretchedness
- Deprivation
- Laborious
- Emaciated
- Suffocation
- Unrecognisable
- Labyrinth
- Demoralised
Final thought
“If you’re tired, learn to rest, not quit”
The next parental bulletin will go live on Friday 21st April 2023; enjoy the Easter break!
Mr A Kay (Assistant Head Teacher- Pastoral and Attitudes to Learning)
