Dear Parents/Carers,
I hope this update finds you and your families well. This term has seen a staggering 12952 positive reward points, over 600 Golden tickets and a number of colours ties and badges awarded to our students. Our attendance also remains significantly above national averages. The combination of those factors reveals an academy who have grown in strength over this term and in fact consistently so since the pandemic. It is really quite simple – our students are thriving. That success is down to the strong relationships between staff and students, the impeccable behaviour and focus in lessons and of course your support at home. It has been a fantastic term and a well earned rest is around the corner for everyone, a huge well done to you all.
The Queen’s Jubilee Celebration
All of our students and staff enjoyed a wonderful afternoon of celebrations on Wednesday as we celebrated the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The students were treated to a range of activities, from tug of war and archery to more traditional games such as Splat the Rat and ‘Guess the Baby’ featuring Mascalls’ staff. The whole school was involved, with every department delivering lessons in the run up to the event. It was also a chance to showcase the wonderful talent we have amongst our student body, with catering students making delicious treats, live music from our year 10 band, and drama students performing as members of the royal family, to name a few. Our students demonstrated impeccable behaviour and it was so wonderful to see their enthusiasm and enjoyment, even when it started to rain! We hope that we will be able to run more events like this in the future.
Ready to Learn
After the Summer half term break, students will notice a big difference to how they enter the Academy site each morning. They will no longer be able to walk across the school field and enter alongside A block, there will be two entrances for students at the start of the school day. We want to ensure that advisory sessions can be fully focussed on advisors building positive relationships with students, delivering the PSHE and Current Affairs curriculum and not checking on equipment within this 30 minute slot. If students feel that they are ready to learn and are fully prepared for each lesson, they will be warmly welcomed by our pastoral teams and enter alongside the A block English classrooms and through the main gates. If they have forgotten an item or would like to check in with a member of the pastoral team then they should enter through the ‘Ready to learn’ gate which will be situated at the entrance to the drama classroom at the right hand side of reception. Students may be directed to the ‘Ready to learn’ gate by pastoral staff on duty at the entrance, if a student’s uniform is not being worn correctly. They can then check in with their College team and ensure they are wearing the correct uniform before they start their school day.
At the ‘Ready to learn’ gate students will be able to rectify any forgotten equipment issues or voice any concerns they may have about the upcoming day with a member of their College team. If students enter through the main school entrance and are then without equipment or missing items of uniform then they will receive a standards detention as normal. The purpose of the Ready to learn gate is to support students by placing the responsibility with them to ensure they are prepared for the day of learning ahead of them. We will be tracking persistent users of the gate for forgotten items and will provide items where possible. Contact will be made home for those who regularly forget items or arrive at school without a charged Chromebook, and sanctions will be implemented alongside this to ensure that our students are learning how to be organised and self motivated for school each day. We really hope that this will help to support our students to develop into independent and resilient young people in dealing with issues they may encounter, but also ensure that at the start of every lesson they are prepared to learn and maximise the opportunities that present themselves within that hour.
Lunch and Break Time
Also, after half term as the year 11 and 13 go deeper into examinations we will have up to three hundred less students on the academy site. We will be using this time to return to one whole academy break and one lunchtime. This will double the capacity of staff supervision at these critical times whereas before we have had two hours of break and lunchtime to staff we will now have just one over the course of the day. This also brings the opportunity to increase our lunchtime co-curricular activities offer as lessons will not be continuing while the academy is on lunchtime. Our astroturf will reopen for football and clubs will begin to run in the new lunchtime space. The academy day does not alter other than the pattern of two lessons then break, two lessons then lunch and one lesson in the afternoon, just as it was pre COVID.
Tunnock Tea Cakes
This week our Year 10 Food and Nutrition students worked on their presentation skills by using only three ingredients (a Tunnock Teacake had to be the focus point).
We have seen some fantastic work from all students but also wanted to share some exceptional work with parents and carers.
East Peckham Bus Shelter
Our KS3 Art Club have been approached by East Peckham Parish council to help with the renovation of a local bus stop. This week, Parish Clerk Emily Ellis and Parish Councillor Hermione McGovern stopped by to visit the students and deliver a brief to the Art Club, outlining the deliverables, budget and potential challenges, as well as hearing some of the fantastic ideas our creatives have already begun to develop.
This is a brilliant opportunity for our students to experience service in action; developing ideas for real-life scenarios and the transferable skills that are involved. We are really excited for the opportunity for our learners to further develop the culture of service in the wider community. We will keep you updated with photos on our art Instagram (@MascallsAcademyART) of the Art Club’s transformation of this local landmark.
Finally, from me, a huge thank you to the parents and carers for your support this term. Our Year 11 and 13 are in the midst of their final examinations which means for everyone else it is one year closer beginning with end of year examinations next term. They have all worked incredibly hard and with consistency over a long period of time, it is exactly that consistency, with your support, over time that will make success for everyone else inevitable.
Have a wonderful half term break.
Yours sincerely,
Mr W Monk
Principal
