The newsletter of The co-operative academy of Manchester Academy Life Best attendance in Manchester! See page 3 Issue 4 April 2014 Primary schools take part in our Junior University Challenge Meet the new Principal See page 11 See page 5 The Co-operative Academy of Manchester Plant Hill Road, Higher Blackley, Manchester M9 0WQ www.cam.coop now you can see it in 64 languages camdotcoop @camdotcoop Visit us online: www.cam.coop A note from the Principal Dear Parents and Carers This is my final newsletter as Principal of The Co-operative Academy of Manchester as I retire on the 4 April 2014. This, therefore, is an opportune time to reflect over the last 5 years of the journey from 2009 when the plans for the new build were drawn up to where we are now. It has been a period of rapid but very necessary change to ensure that the young people of Blackley who attend the academy receive the education and opportunities to achieve and gain qualifications that allow them to make a success of their lives. More importantly, that all that come to the academy have the self-belief that they can contribute to their own success and the Blackley community they live within. Be the first to receive our newsletters This ‘Academy Life’ newsletter is also available online at www.cam.coop/about/ newsletters You can subscribe to the electronic version of the newsletter by email by signing up on this page. New salad bar in the servery Our kitchen staff are always striving to improve the quality and choice of food on offer, and from March 2014 students and staff will be able to enjoy a new salad bar at lunchtimes. -Ms Stannard and the kitchen staff 2 Standards of attainment have steadily risen in the academy since opening. Last year, our academy was the most improved school in Manchester with a 16% increase on 2012 GCSE results. In August we are on track to achieve 62% 5 A* - C including English and Math, a further increase of 5% placing our academy above the national average. Our attendance, currently at 97%, is the highest attendance of high schools in the Manchester Authority. From a starting point of the predecessor school having the highest truancy rate in the country 5 years ago this is a wonderful success story that could only have been achieved with the support of our parents and carers. Our parental surveys and feedback from the Ofsted report (Feb 213) tells us that our students feel safe and happy in the academy and their child is making good progress. A high percentage of our lessons are graded as good or outstanding and students want to achieve and aspire to do well. Over 90% of our students progress on to further education, many taking Level 3 courses and A Levels leading on to university or apprenticeships. A successful school is not just about examination results. What we offer at the academy are opportunities to develop our talents and contribute to the local community. Our students take up the opportunities on offer and enjoy the challenge. This ranges from working with the BBC News Report to The co-operative academy of Manchester be published on 27 March, the garden club being invited to exhibit at the Tatton Flower Show between 23 – 27 July, this summer. Our academy has also gained national recognition for the first Police Cadet Scheme to be offered in the North West and one of the only schools in Manchester to have become a directly licensed centre for the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme. The future is very bright for The Co-operative Academy of Manchester (CAM). The £650,000 allweather pitch will be completed in May and will be open for community use. This will be followed by the opening in September of The CAM Vocational and Community Hub Centre in the building that previously housed the Adult Education Centre on Plant Hill Road, within close proximity to the academy. The centre will be used to promote employment, training and apprenticeships for the Blackley area. I personally have been on an exciting journey but it now the time to pass ‘the baton’ on to the new Principal, Steve Brice, who will continue the ‘journey’ of improvement for the academy. Thank you for your support as none of this would have been possible unless you as parents and carers did not want something better for your child(ren). None of this also would have been possible without the commitment given by the sponsor The Cooperative Group, my leadership team and staff but most importantly the commitment given by the students to do their best and not give up whatever the circumstances. Mrs K M Leaver Principal News in brief Highest attendance of Manchester schools The Co-operative Academy of Manchester has come top out of 170 schools across the city for attendance. In a report from Manchester City Council’s Attendance Board, The Co-operative Academy of Manchester was found to have the lowest absence rates at the end of term 2 for the academic year 2013/14. This is a terrific achievement for the academy and its students. Our high standards can only be attained because of the commitment and support from our parents/carers, academy staff and of course the students themselves. Being in school every day is the best way for students to succeed in their exams and beyond. The academy will continue to follow the government and Local Authority polices to ensure that we maintain the high standards we have achieved for our students. -Mrs Robey and the attendance team Song writing workshop For World Book Day we had song writer Gareth Owen visit the academy to work with 3 separate groups of Year 9 students to do a lyric writing workshop. The workshops gave the students the opportunity to focus on writing creatively, team working and having fun! The students involved were encouraged to join in and had a chance to contribute their ideas to the rest of the class. Gareth discussed potential themes of interest that the students wanted to write about e.g. Justin Bieber. The students then had to think of as many words as possible about the chosen theme. By the end of each session a song was written by the whole group and performed by Gareth. Overall the day was a success and was enjoyed by students and staff. What a fabulous way to celebrate World Book Day! -Miss Robey Visit us online: www.cam.coop 3 News in brief Mrs Leaver retires Mrs Leaver was appointed as Principal in April 2009, before construction of The Co-operative Academy of Manchester began. The academy has been on an exciting journey since then; here are a few highlights. CAM: The journey so far... 2010 – 2011 • • The brand new £24 million building opens The academy’s official opening takes place. As well as a fun community day with music, acrobatics and sports events, Sir Peter Marks (then Chief Executive of The Co-operative Group) officially opened the academy. “Good” Leadership Behaviour “Good” Teaching 4 • • • The academy bee colony was installed The academy hair salon was opened Students went on exciting trips, including to Alton Towers, Wimbledon and Paris 2012 – 2013 Ofsted 2013 “Good” 2011 – 2012 • • Ofsted visit and recognise our Quality of Teaching, the Behaviour & Safety of Pupils and our Leadership & Management all as “Good” School leavers achieve a fantastic set of GCSE results and make us ‘The most improved school in Manchester’ The co-operative academy of Manchester 2013 – 2014 • Our gardening club’s efforts are recognised by an ‘Outstanding’ award at the It’s Your Neighbourhood ceremony and also a ‘5 Star Gardening School’ award • Manchester City Council confirmed we have the lowest absence rates of Manchester schools • Our Sixth Formers apply to and are accepted at universities straight from our Sixth Form News in brief Meet Mr Brice – our new Principal Academy students were invited to put questions to Mr Brice, our new Principal. Are you looking forward to being the Principal of our academy? Yes - I have now been in to the academy three times and with each visit, I am looking forward to taking up post more. In the short space of time I have already spent in the academy, I have been impressed with the positive working atmosphere and the way that students approach their learning. What inspires you? Great things happen when great people put great effort into achieving something. I am inspired by great things – and these can range from a piece of music or a film to stunning architecture. I am also inspired by people and their great ideas or achievements. The potential for every student at the academy is enormous and that’s what I find inspirational about my job. Who knows what some of you will go on to achieve? Some of you will go on to inspire other people, and that in itself inspires me. What made you want to work at The Co-operative Academy of Manchester? There were a few factors that made me want to come and work at the academy. The first was the people that I met while I was ‘on interview’. I was impressed enormously with the students that I met on the day. My tour guides were fantastic and the students that interviewed me were really impressive. I was also impressed by the teaching and learning that I saw taking place throughout the day. I was also impressed by the journey that the academy has been on since it opened and the improvements that it has made. I am keen to be part of this and to work with you all to improve the academy even further. The other factor that attracted me to the academy were the core values that underpin academy life and are so important in life within the academy and beyond. What do you like to do in your spare time? My two young children keep me very busy when I’m not working, as does our slightly mad dog and the newest addition to our household – a kitten! On the rare occasions that I do find myself with time on my hands, I am a keen musician and enjoy composing, sequencing and playing. I am also a bit of a ‘gadget-head’ and enjoy tinkering with all things Apple, and pretty much anything with a plug on it. What is your favourite subject? When I was at school (a long time ago), my favourite subjects were Science and Technology. As I grew older however, I became really interested in the theatre and stage lighting. I ended up specialising in Drama and Music although I have also taught ICT along the way. My favourite subjects still remain Drama and Music although I also have a keen interest in computer programming. One of the pleasures of being a school leader is that you get to see all sorts of lessons across all subject areas – and I enjoy them all. Are you going to change the academy in any way? And how are you going to do this? / What prospects do you have for the academy? It is inevitable that things at the academy will change as we move forward. This would have been true even if Mrs Leaver were staying. I firmly believe that if you don’t move forward, and continue to develop, improve and grow, you end up being left behind. It would be wrong of me to guess what those changes would be before I take up post however because I don’t know you all well enough yet. I will make sure that students, staff and parents/carers are involved as I work with you and the governing body to move the academy forward. As for my prospects and hopes for the academy … I want the academy’s results to continue to improve and for it to grow in popularity even further so that we are an academy with an outstanding reputation in all that we do. Are you going to change the uniform? I have no plans currently to change the very smart uniform that you have. Students who take pride in their appearance and learn the value of self-respect are much more likely to go on to succeed beyond the academy. Your uniform gives you a great foundation for understanding what it is like to be ‘dressed for business’ and this will stand you in really good stead when you begin to compete for jobs and enter the world of employment. The way that you wear your uniform says a lot about the respect you have for yourselves and for the academy - and I want you to be smart and to wear your uniforms with pride. Visit us online: www.cam.coop 5 News in Brief News from ICT and Business: Trip to see ICT in a real business Our Year 10 ICT/Business studies students took part in a visit to the Co-operative Group Head Office on Tuesday 4 March to gain a better understanding of how different forms of ICT are used in business and an explanation of the different job roles available within IT. Employees from the IT section, apprentices and graduates gave a presentation to the students about their varying roles and the different career paths they took to work at The Co-operative Group. They also had a tour around the very impressive new head office 1 Angel Square. Mrs Kendal News from Drama: Putting on a play in a day Our Year 9 drama pupils were visited by Act On a company specialising in drama productions. They created a short play on the theme of “respect” based on their own messages and ideas, from scratch. They performed this to local primary pupils from E-ACT Blackley Academy, who they then joined for a drama workshop. The pupils were exemplary in their behaviour and attitude. Mr Townsend 6 The co-operative academy of Manchester News from PE: links with sports clubs Our PE department have been working with local sports clubs to give our students a range of exciting opportunities. Rochdale AFC offers girls-only football coaching after school on Thursdays, whilst Bury FC offer all our students Futsal sessions after school on Fridays. News from Music: Samba parade Year 7 have been learning about the culture of Brazil and in particular, the Samba Parade which happens each year in Rio de Janeiro. In Ms Gaskell’s music lessons, students have been listening to and creating samba music. News in Brief News from Humanities: Students listen to a Holocaust survivor’s story Miss Harrison took a group of her GCSE History students to Edge Hill University to meet Mayer Hersch. Mayer, a Polish Jew, was only 13 when war broke out in 1939. Here’s what one student had to say about it: “Last week on Friday we went on a trip to meet a man who survived the Holocaust. The Holocaust was a time when Hitler did not like Jewish people or communist people. He didn’t like black people either. He basically wanted to get rid of all these people and the way he did it, he made camps and he put these people into camps and gassed them. We went on Friday and we met one of the people who survived. The man told about us his story and what happened in his life and how sad it was. We were actually really all shocked – we didn’t expect such an eventful thing to have happened to him. I was just amazed that he could actually stand there and talk to us. After that we did workshops and they asked us about how we can prevent this happening again or how we can go and tell other people. And one of the main suggestions was that we should go and tell other students and start from an early age to teach them more about it. Students should go and tell other students because they might have a closer relationship than if it were a teacher where they might just think it’s another lesson. But it was a really exciting day and it was really good.” Jose Bazomba (Year 10 student). News from Technology: Junior Masterchef News from the LRC: Kindles at the academy The Kindles that we have at the academy have been issued to several students who speak English as a second language. The Kindle is helping the selected students to learn to read more effectively and gain a more thorough understanding of the English language. The Kindle can help meet the individual needs of students with adjustable fonts, line spacing and a built-in reference and dictionary. - Miss Robey Students reach the final of the Manchester College’s Junior Masterchef competition Two students, Kamil Armacki and Megan Balmer, have succeeded in reaching the final of The Manchester College’s Junior Masterchef competition. On March 27 they will be competing against other schools with their menu: stuffed chicken with sweet potatoes followed by caramel and brownie pie surprise. Ms Longmore will be supporting them and cheering them on at the final. Visit us online: www.cam.coop 7 News in Brief News from Science: Takeaway homework menu Our science teachers have developed a really creative approach to homework. Instead of telling students what to do each week, they have developed a menu of homeworks (like a Takeaway restaurant menu) and students can choose what homework they’d like to tackle. Each task on the menu has a ‘chilli’ rating, and over the course of the half term the students have to complete tasks that ensure they have got enough chillis. This makes sure they are stretching themselves and not just choosing the easy options. Year 7 students were very good at choosing homeworks they could really sink their teeth into. One of Cameron Norton’s homeworks was a board game that was so well designed the teachers had a great time playing it (see the video at www.youtube.com/CamDotCoop). Takeaway homework has been so successful with Year 7 students that a menu has now been designed for Year 8 students. News from English: BBC School Report News from Maths: Fundopoly BBC School Report is an initiative run by BBC News, in which schools all around the country report the news. Following the success of the Puzzle Company working with students in Maths in December, we have Fundopoly coming to work with students in May. Ms Peavoy has entered her Year 8 class into the scheme, and tasked them with writing news stories which uncover examples of resilience. Some of Year 8 have even published their news stories online for all to read at www.cam.coop/students/bbc-school-report. In other English news, GCSE English was brought alive with a performance of An Inspector Calls by a professional group of actors. This will be invaluable for students studying the play. 8 The co-operative academy of Manchester Fundopoly is a trading game in which students work in teams to make as much money as they can in this stock market simulation, which tests students maths skills as much as their decision making skills. Ms Torkington also shares a Numeracy Fact of the Week - here’s one from March: 29% of 30 - how do I do it? 30 divided by 100 = 0.3. This is 1% of 30. Therefore 29% = 0.3 x 29 = 8.7 News in Brief News from MFL: Mother tongue exams and countdown to Paris Yet again record numbers of students are sitting GCSEs in their mother tongue including: Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Urdu, Turkish and Persian. Currently students are preparing for speaking exams using trained examiners from One Education. For the first time 3 students will be sitting AS and even A2 exams in Portuguese and Chinese. Good luck to all these students! Preparations are also well underway for the trip to the PGL resort in Paris. Students will be going in the summer on July 21, and it promises to be a fantastic trip! - Ms Roberts News from Hair and Beauty: Congratulations to our apprentices Earlier this year our first 4 apprentices completed their Level 2 course (including functional skills). 2 of the students, Melissa Salvi and Courtney Aitchison have been students at the academy and its predecessor school all the way from Year 7. Our current apprentices are also looking forward to their trip to the Hair and Beauty Show at Blackpool Winter Gardens. - Mrs Wedderburn News from Art: student showcase See some of the fantastic work our talented young artists in Years 10 and 11 have been creating recently. Visit us online: www.cam.coop 9 Part of the Community Charlestown Pupils learn in our salon Pupils from Charlestown Community Primary School have been having a great time in our salon, learning some hairdressing techniques. Half term holiday clubs The academy runs a programme of activities in half terms and holidays for 7-13 year olds. By the time Academy Life goes to print, the Easter break will be upon us and we’ll be starting to plan a May programme, where we will be running activities on Tuesday 27 and Wednesday 28 May. What’s on at Easter? • • • Monday 7 April: A Spanish celebration, 3D sculpture design, All ability football and Create a code: computer game animation Tuesday 8 April: 3D sculpture design, All ability football, Are you a budding chef (Parent and child), Hairstyling in the academy’s own salon Wednesday 9 April: All ability football, Create a code: computer game animation, Hairstyling in the academy’s own salon, Easter J-STAR’s superstars Keep up to date with what’s on and book your children on to activities at www.cam.coop/halfterm or contact Mrs Kendal on 0161 300 5894. Volunteer Police Cadets The academy hosts the local branch of the Volunteer Police Cadet scheme for young people aged 13-18. The scheme is led by police officers, PCSOs, Specials, trainers and volunteers from Greater Manchester Police, and provides young people with an opportunity to develop key life skills, learn about the policing family and volunteer their time. Many of the cadets are academy students but the programme is open to all local young people. If you are interested in joining our Cadets please contact PC Jones who is based at the academy, via the main academy phone number 0161 795 3005 or by emailing [email protected]. Police Cadets in the community: the cadets have been working with Pike Fold Primary School to mentor pupils on a range of issues including 999 calls and road safety. 10 The co-operative academy of Manchester Part of the Community Post Pals for severely ill children Post 16 students created and sent their own ‘Post Pals’ to severely ill children as part of their GiveGetGo! Volunteering project with Quina Chapman from the Greater Manchester Youth Network. Ryan Cain received a letter from the recipient of his Post Pal, thanking him for the gift. Charity fundraising - supporting local people with cystic fibrosis Academy students and staff are part of a ‘family’ - blue, green, purple, red or yellow. Each family supports a charity and raises money for that charity. The Red Family charity is the Cystic Fibrosis Trust; is it a charity very close to one of our student’s hearts, due to his sister suffering from this condition. Ms Berry (who is part of the Red family) made a chocolate box to be raffled. The runner up was Ms Killey (Finance Officer) and the winner was Denis Jurgo in Year 7. Denis intended to share the chocolates with his friend’s sister who has cystic fibrosis. Thanks to all students and staff who donated. - Ms McClean Junior University Challenge In January and February 2014, we held our first ever Junior University Challenge for local primary schools. 4 schools sent teams of 6 Year 5 pupils, who answered quiz questions set by our student ambassadors on topics including English, Maths and Science. In each heat, two teams competed against one another and the winner of each heat took part in the final. The pupils loved competing against other schools and the winning team - Crosslee - received a trophy which they will be asked to defend in the future. Well done to all the schools who took part: • E-ACT Blackley Academy • Oasis Harpur Mount Academy • Charlestown Community Primary School (runners-up) • Crosslee Community Primary School (champions) Visit us online: www.cam.coop 11 Student and Staff Success Year 8 rewards trip 14 Year 8 students went on a rewards trip on Friday 7 March to The Co-operative Group headquarters at 1 Angel Square. The students chosen have made a contribution to academy life, have excellent attendance and always display a positive attitude. As well as visiting the impressive new building, the students were given the VIP treatment. They shook hands with Frank Norris, Director of The Co-operative Academies Education Trust, before enjoying a special lunch. - Mrs Kendal Congratulations to Ms Jamieson and Tristan Jones The Inclusion Department would like to congratulate Teaching Assistant Ms R Jamieson on achieving a qualification in TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language / Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. This will be of great benefit to the academy and our students who speak English as an additional language. The academy already has a number of staff qualified to support these students. Congratulations also to Tristan Jones (Year 11); he has achieved ‘match of the month’ with his mentor Mark from the Factory Youth Zone. This award is for the mentor and mentee who have made the most progress or worked the hardest that month. Tristan met with his mentor Mark for one hour a week for a year; he set targets that he wanted to achieve during his time on the programme. Mark and Tristan have been on a trip to the Fusiliers museum in Bury as a reward. - Ms Philpott 12 The co-operative academy of Manchester Update on our Olympic hopeful In December, Academy Life featured a story about Year 7 student Jack Evison who has a hectic training schedule at Manchester Aquatics Centre before and after academy hours. Jack has been keeping up with school work and with his swimming practice. Just before Christmas he managed to qualify for 3 events in the Manchester Snowpen, a highly competitive event. He went in for the 50m backstroke, 400 freestyle and the 1500m freestyle. He was one of only two 11 year olds to make the required times. On top of that, he took a full 30 seconds off his 1500m time. In January Jack entered 14 races in the Manchester and District gala, which secured him a place in the Lancashire County Championships to swim in 6 events. Jack’s parents and academy staff are very proud at the great leaps he has made in the last year. His training sessions alone in this last year would have taken him from Lands End to John O’Groats! Praise Pod are Students for d nominate by d o P Praise given an d n a f f a t s ent with appointm cipal the Prin Opportunity for achievement The Praise Pod provides an opportunity for students to have an appointment with the Principal and receive praise and a certificate, which recognises their achievements in the classroom. Each student will be read their individual achievements. Students will be nominated by staff and will be given an appointment to see the Principal on a Monday. Criteria for the Praise Pod: • An outstanding piece of work exceeding the student’s target level. To achieve this, the student will need to work independently and will no doubt have revisited their work a number of times to ensure its quality. • Reasoning- thinks and reviews, analyses patterns, deals well with conflicting ideas. • Responsible - motivated to pursue goals, acts on feedback, proactive partner in learning, skilled at working collaboratively, shows leadership skills. • A piece of work which reflects outstanding effort & improvement. • Reflective - learns from experience, can improve on own learning, learns from research, helps to create the big picture, makes own connections in learning, reflects and acts on feedback. • Demonstrates a real willingness to develop skills to become a great learner. The student will have needed to ensure they are developing the 5 R’s below: • Resilient-persists, overcomes difficulty, takes risks. • Resourceful- shows initiative, demonstrates research skills, creative, works well interdependently. Date Name Year Group 3/3/14 Katlyn Davies 10 Red 4 3/3/14 Lewis Ablett 10 Blue 2 3/3/14 Maggie Zarnegar 11 Purple 3 3/3/14 Lourelle Davidson 10 Red 2 3/3/14 Lewis Ray 11 Purple 4 3/3/14 Luke Moran 11 Purple 4 In March it was the Mathematics teachers’ turn to nominate students for Praise Pod. Well done to the following students. Outstanding Piece of Work exceeding target grade ü ü ü A piece of work which reflects outstanding effort and improvement Demonstrates real willingness to be a great learner ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü Parent View is an online questionnaire for you to give your views about your child’s school. This is a service from Ofsted. It’s easy. It’s quick. It’s time to log on http://parentview.ofsted.gov.uk Visit us online: www.cam.coop 13 Skills for the Future Post 16 work experience Soraia and Sheila were two of the students who recently completed a 2 week placement at The Co-operative. They say “we found something we were capable of doing. We feel like we belonged there.” They also mentioned that the adults they worked with were “very welcoming” and they offered advice for other students: “work hard. The more you do, the more you’ll learn.” National Apprentiships week 2014 Former CAM student Hayley Affleck is now an apprentice at The Cooperative Group. They’re so proud of her that they’ve featured her in their newsletter - http://www.co-operative.coop/membership/share/ Get-Inspired/iyp-employment/ She says “In my last year at the academy, the apprenticeship programme came up and my tutors helped me fill out the application form. Going from school to work is a massive change but it’s made me a better person. I can speak to anybody now, whereas I couldn’t before – I’ve definitely gained more confidence.” A World Away Event 20 Year 9 students were selected to attend a session at the Factory Youth Zone where they got the opportunity to take part in ‘speed networking’ with professionals from different industries. Students were put into groups with students from other North Manchester schools to ask professional experts about the world of work – asking questions on career paths, qualifications needed, and finding out what advice they would give a young person just starting out. At the end of the session, the students got involved within a team building exercise to make a tall pyramid made up of just using sticks and elastic bands. The feedback from students was very positive, and they enjoyed talking to employers, finding out about their jobs and making new friends with students from other schools. - Mrs Godfrey 14 The co-operative academy of Manchester The academy as a community venue Construction update: Our new 3G pitch Our new, floodlit er pitch all weath by ready 2014 mid May Work is well underway on our new state-of-the-art sports pitch. The new pitch will be a full sized, fully floodlit 3G football pitch (which can also be split into three 5-7 aside individual floodlit pitches). As well as benefitting our current and future students, the new all-weather pitch will also be available for community groups to hire at evenings and at weekends. It will complement our existing sports facilities which are already available for hire. Hire Our Facilities Would you like to hire our facilities for a club, group or event? • Sports hall • Dance studio • Meeting rooms If you’re interested in hiring our facilities for a private class, for your local sports club matches or a one-off event, please contact Mr Allen Moth, Facilities Manager. Our facilities are available evenings and weekends (with wider opening times during school holidays), and at very reasonable rates. Tel: 0161 795 3005 or email [email protected] Visit us online: www.cam.coop 15 Quality of teaching “Good” Leadership & management “Good” “Students take on additional responsibilities enthusiastically” Behaviour & safety of pupils “Good” “Teachers build good relationships with their students and consistently show concern for them as individuals” “The co-operative values that underpin the academy are apparent in relationships between adults and students” Most improved school in Manchester (2013 GCSE results - 16% increase on 2012 results) BREAKING NEWS We have the highest attendance rates of Manchester schools The Co-operative Academy of Manchester Plant Hill Road, Higher Blackley, Manchester M9 0WQ camdotcoop @camdotcoop Visit us online: www.cam.coop We are committed to putting on bus services to help families in the Charlestown and Crumpsall areas.
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