#ThisWeekatSAW – 25th November 2022

[25 Nov 2022]

Message from the Head of School:

Hello,

Our Year 11s continue to impress us this week, not only with their resilience and efforts in their second week of mock examinations but also in their sporting efforts. The Year 11 boys beat Temple Moor from Leeds 30-4 in their first of three Yorkshire Cup games. The Year 10 boys also showed tremendous attitude when beating Carleton High from Pontefract, 16-0 this week in what were described as truly horrendous weather conditions. I’m looking forward to watching our Year 7 boys rugby next week, hopefully they can follow in the footsteps of the Year 10 and 11 teams.

We have had some Year 5 students in the Academy this week engaging in a Business and Enterprise competition, well done to all those students to attended or supported the event, we can’t wait to welcome you back into the Academy as Sirius Students when you’ll begin your high school journey.

It has been a pleasure to continue to visit some lessons this week and to see our students engaged in their learning. Please continue to encourage your child to complete their homework and attend all revision, tutoring and intervention sessions they’re invited to. On average, students who attend three or more additional sessions each half term increase their outcome for that subject by one whole grade.

Please check our Facebook and Twitter socials for an up to date view of all Academy events and visits.

It is important your child attends the academy every day to limit lost learning. Please continue to support the academy by ensuring your child attends on time, every day.

Kind regards,

Gemma Ransom (Head of School)

 

RESPECT for Community- General Academy news

Parents and carers- RESPECT

As we continually speak with our students about our Academy RESPECT values, it is important that as adults we are displaying these too. When parents / carers are engaging with Academy staff, it is expected that this is done in an appropriate manner, any form of poor language or abuse will not be tolerated.

We have fantastic relationships within our community and it is vital that these continue as when home and school work together in the best interests of the student, we find the progress socially, emotionally and academically is maximised.

 

Enterprise students- White Ribbon Day

Monday 21^st November saw the launch of the White Ribbon Awareness week in true Sirius style! Year 10 Enterprise Leadership students led the way with their first of many stalls selling a variety of homemade products!

A tasty bake sale launched the activities on Monday supporting the aim to raise awareness and money for the White Ribbon charity. Tuesday saw the launch of the leadership group’s fantastic homemade range of sweet scented candles that have been specially wrapped and labelled which are already in demand!

Year 9 students have supported the cause by demonstrating their crocheting flair with their creation of white flowers and Friday will see several stalls selling a range of products.

Attendance – 12 Days of Christmas

To celebrate the arrival of December and the final few weeks of the term we will be launching our 12 Days of Christmas competition from next week. Wednesday 30 November.
For each of the final 12 days at the academy this year there will be 100 festive prizes to be won by the students. That’s 1200 presents!
All students need to do is be here.

(Click image to enlarge)

The Attendance Office in 133 will be turned into our very own Santa’s Grotto where students can come and pick up their prize.
Names will be drawn randomly each day and it will be the responsibility of the student to come and collect their gift during either Lesson One or break.
Rewards that are not claimed each day, due to student absence, will go into rollover hampers for lucky students on the final day. Thursday 16th December.

 

Maths Week – Daily Challenges

Thank you to all the students, parents and carers, staff and Primary School pupils that engaged in our daily Maths Week challenges last week.

Over 500 different entries.

Rokeby Park Primary School taking the honours and winning the Primary School prize.

Mrs Forsyth winning the staff competition.

..and the winner of the family competition goes to Amanda K in Year 9.

Well done! We will be in touch about your reward.

 

Personal Development – Term 1 Challenges

A reminder that the deadline for entries into our Department Challenges is next week. Free trips out of the academy for those students that demonstrate interest and commitment.

These include Christmas tours to York and trips to Rock City. All we need is evidence of your involvement.

The challenges below are specific to each Year Group.

Year 7 – Create a Castle or Volcano *Deadline Monday 28 November*​

Year 8 – Design a Bridge *Deadline Wednesday 30 November*

Year 9 – Participate in an Outdoor Adventurous Activity *Deadline Wednesday 30 November*

We’ve had some incredible examples already. Well done!

MFL Movie Night

The Languages Department is offering KS3 students the opportunity to watch a film in French or Spanish with English subtitles. Students will be treated to themed food and refreshments during the films.

The French film is to be shown on Tuesday 6 December 2022 at 3:30pm:

Santa et Compagnie (1 hour, 36 minutes)

Nothing is going well on Christmas Eve: the 92,000 elves responsible for making the children’s presents all fall ill at the same time! It is a hard blow for Santa Claus, he has no choice: he must return urgently to Earth with his reindeer to find a cure. On his arrival, he must find allies to help save the magic of Christmas.

The Spanish film is to be shown on Wednesday 7 December at 3:30pm:

Encanto (1 hour 38 minutes)

Encanto follows a multigenerational Colombian family, the Madrigals, led by a matriarch (Botero) whose children and grandchildren receive magical gifts from a miracle that helps them serve the people in their rural community called the Encanto.

Parents and carers can signal their child’s interest and confirm their attendance by completing the link below:

https://forms.office.com/r/Up5tBF9y4r

 

Rugby information for next week

Tuesday 29^th November- Year 7 Boys at home v Castleford Academy in a Yorkshire Cup Match, 2pm KO – boys to leave lessons at 1pm.

Wednesday 30^th November- Year 11 Boys away v Lightcliffe Academy (Halifax), 2:30pm KO – boys to leave lessons at 12:20pm.

Wednesday 30^th November- Year 7 Girls rugby training after school.

 

Sporting successes this week

Our Year 10 Rugby boys travelled to Pontefract to take on Carleton High in the Yorkshire Cup. They came away with a 16-0 win in what were described as some of the worst weather conditions seen by the staff from both schools during a school game.

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 Jack Leslie. This task tied in with the start of the Football World Cup. Leslie is now recognised as the first black person to be selected for the England Football team however he sadly never played in the game after his heritage was explored and the selection committee withdrew his selection. He was awarded with a posthumous cap in October 2022 to recognise this ‘historical wrong’.

Votes for Schools Topic (Key Stage 3 students only)

This week the students discussed the topic of ‘Should the 2022 Football World Cup have gone to Qatar?’

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 begun their module on communication. They continued to explore the ‘conversation map’ and how it can be used to speak and ask questions of staff. Please discuss with students.

Year 8, 9 and 10 students have begun their module on ‘creative thinking’. Their lesson this week was focused on finalising their idea for solving their identified problem and discussing the logistics of how they implement this.

Year 11 students have this week focused on the ‘laws of repetition and rest / nutrition’. These laws are focused on helping students revise effectively.

RESPECT for Education- Curriculum Area ‘Students of the Week’

 

Final thought

“If you try to do your best then there is no failure”

The next parental bulletin will go live on Friday 2^nd December 2022; enjoy the week ahead!

Mr A Kay (Assistant Head Teacher- Pastoral and Attitudes to Learning)