Another day and another party! This time it was the turn of Year 9 to head off to Old Trafford for some festive fun thanks to our colleagues at Manchester United Foundation.

Here are some of the comments from the students who were lucky enough to be selected to attend:

I enjoyed it so much and the food was amazing!

The event made me feel inspired and it was so much fun. The food was beautiful and the games were fun!

Dear Parents & Carers

I would like to start by thanking you for your continued support this term. As always our students have been a credit to us and have demonstrated their resilience through our outstanding Ways of Being.

We have sent home packs containing important information for you regarding the remainder of the academic year and these are also available as PDF downloads below. I have listened carefully to you as parents/carers and this pack is a response to requests for more information on assessment, how to help your child make progress at home, information on standards/uniform and our drive for high expectations for behaviour to learning. I have outlined below for you some details regarding the documents sent home to you:

Assessment
This is a list of all the main assessments your child will complete this academic year. These assessments underpin the learning outcomes taking place during learning throughout the curriculum. Your child will have a set of knowledge organisers that will help them revise for these assessments. The class teacher will inform all students of the exact date these will take place and students can use their notebooks and knowledge organisers to help them revise. As requested, we have included a list of useful revision websites that can be used to ensure learning is consolidated.

Exams 2022 information (Year 11 information only)
I have enclosed for you a summary sheet on the concessions that have been made for all Year 11 students in the Summer 2022 exams. Ofqual have in many cases reduced content and provided further resources in the exams such as formula sheets. At this point in time we have been told that exams will continue. However, should we have another lockdown, a plan B is in place for a similar system to last year to take place. We are planning for both outcomes to ensure our students are successful regardless of the process used to assess them. It is therefore important that students revise for assessments and the February mocks as these will be used as evidence if exams do not go exactly as planned. I will write to you in the new year with further information on the mocks.

Homework Timetable
The homework timetable is enclosed. You can identify from here the days that homework will be set and for which subjects. The homework will be added to the student planner. 

Acknowledging our Ways of Being
We are relaunching our rewards system in January aligned to our Ways of Being. Enclosed you will find a summary on what rewards students can earn. We will be communicating reward points to you via progress reports sent home. Please do ask your child if they have earned any rewards and ask them if they have received any golden tickets!

Behaviour Ways of Being
Enclosed are our behaviour Ways of Being. We expect high standards from all in the academy and want to continue to develop a culture of high respect and high responsibility that allows all students to make accelerated progress from the moment they step into the academy.

Ready to Learn
‘Ready to Learn’ is the whole school behaviour for learning system which covers all aspects of academy life. Your child will be familiar with the phrase ‘ready to learn’ as this is common language in and out of the classroom. We expect all students to arrive ready to learn and have outlined the standards and uniform that we expect from all students. If you require any further information on uniform, please contact your child’s year manager.

Behaviour for Learning 
Enclosed is a summary of the behaviour for learning policy. The document includes information on the standards gate and how we will ensure consistency on corrections and the completion of corrections. At the end of this document you will find a table that outlines the consequences for unacceptable behaviours. Although this list is not exhaustive, it will allow you to understand the respectful learning environment we are aiming for, that will allow our curriculum to provide the best education possible and will transform our students’ lives. 

Punctuality
Being on time to the academy is essential to ensure your child has a successful day. We recognise that parents/carers have a vital role to play in supporting their children to arrive in the academy by 8.25am so they can be outside their classroom ready to learn by 8.30am. We will support you and work with you at all times to achieve this. Enclosed you will find our punctuality/lates process.

Parental drop in session
I will be holding a parental drop in session. These have been really successful this academic year. You are welcome to discuss any of the contents of this pack or any other concerns you may have. I will be available during these sessions with my leadership team to speak to you. This will take place on Monday 20 December from 8am to 10am and 2pm to 4pm. If you cannot attend and have a question please feel free to contact the year team, subject teachers or me.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your family a very happy Christmas and New Year and we look forward to seeing all students in the new term.

Yours faithfully

Zarina Ali, Head of Academy

We are delighted to be able to hold another annual Christmas Jumper Day and this year the monies raised will be donated to mental health charity, Mind.

On Tuesday 21 December all students (and staff!) are invited to wear a festive jumper to school – this must be worn in addition to full school uniform and underneath their school blazer.

A donation of £1 will be collected from participating students for Mind.

If you’d like to find out more about Mind and the support they offer please visit the Mind website: https://www.mind.org.uk/

We are thrilled to share the story so far of our students who are currently undertaking their Duke of Edinburgh Award with Scorpio Community Development CIC.

A fantastic group set off on day one, unsure if they could complete the expedition. The same group successfully completed the expedition on day two with more confidence in their own ability, and definitely much more fatigued.

The team completed all elements of the expedition and successfully met the criteria of the expedition phase. Putting them with striking distance of the complete award.

As a team and as individuals I hope they draw on their experience as they move through life. Remember the day when you thought you couldn’t, but instead discovered you can.

Scorpio Community Development CIC will return with another group of participants as they undertake our unique DofE Launchpad system

Phil Bainbridge, Managing Director

You can find more about Scorpio Community Development CIC on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scorpioCD/

Well done everyone!

We are thrilled to congratulate Year 11 student Jayden Holland who has passed his induction period at Manchester United to become a regular ballboy at their home games in the Premier League and Champions League.

This is a really exciting opportunity for Jayden and we are proud of his hard work.

Our thanks also go to Manchester United Foundation Hub Officer, Mr Baksh-Jones for mentoring Jayden and providing many great opportunities for all our students.

Keep an eye out for him on TV when you are watching the “greatest football team in the world!” (Mr Fletcher’s words only!!!)

Christmas should be a time for joy and celebration – but for too many people it’s becoming increasingly difficult, with more people than ever accessing foodbanks.

We’d like to continue to support Salford Foodbank by inviting students, staff and members of our community to donate items for the foodbank from now up until Friday 17 December.

Perhaps you would like to consider a donation instead of sending your usual Christmas cards, encouraging family and friends to do the same. Or, you could ask colleagues to swap the office ‘Secret Santa’ for a different kind of gifting this year.

We are mindful that there may be families from our own academy community who need support. If you’d like more information about accessing help from Salford Foodbank please speak to a member of staff or follow this link: https://salford.foodbank.org.uk/get-help/how-to-get-help/

Thank you for your support.

Yours faithfully
Gemma Davies
Head’s PA & Co-operative Co-ordinator