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March 2017

Cambridge More Able & Talented Trip (Years 5 to 8)

On Wednesday 8th March, 25 students, set out for an ‘enlightening and inspiring’ visit to Cambridge! The day started with groups of students setting sail on the River Cam on board barges guided by their Skipper Peter from “Camboats” boat tours. Students received a little history and some quirky facts related to Cambridge and its famous standing as a University City. This was a very relaxed and very comfortable way to see and learn about the city and we also got to feed some ducks along the way!

The second part of the day featured a little 45 minute stroll right into the historical centre of the city to see the famous Round Church, St John’s, Trinity and King's Colleges. All were at least entertained but hopefully also very informed by Mr Coakley’s random ‘Fact or Fiction’ quiz along the way! Finally, we went along to the world famous Fitzwilliam Museum and their collection of hundreds of priceless artworks and artefacts. All students were challenged to write news articles and take

photos on behalf of the BBC (yes, THE famous BBC!) Everyone wore their BBC Press Passes and carried clipboards and BBC Pens with great pride and were a real credit to the School throughout the whole day. The aim now is to edit the articles to a professional standard for publishing live to the BBC News School Report website on March 16th. Look out for more details and a website link related to this very soon! Congratulations to all involved!

Beauty and The Beast

Rehearsals for Beauty and the Beast continue EVERY Monday 3pm-5pm and Thursday 3pm- 4pm. All students taking part in the performance MUST attend every week. Our performances are now Thursday 13th July and Friday 14th July. Tickets will go on sale after Easter. Please see Mrs Upton for further information.

Easter Holiday Wednesday 5th April to Tuesday 18th April

Students return on Wednesday 19th April 2017

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Challenger Trust Charity Reception

Carly Thompson, Oliver Kirkup, Amy Pickering and Alex Breeze who had gone on the recent CMAT ski trip to Andorra were invited to attend a Charity Reception at Millbank Towers, London, to promote the Challenger ethos and vision to a number of high profile guests from the world of finance and business. The Challenger Trust is a registered charity for nearly 20 years. Working with over 100,000 young people. The Trust aims to raise aspirations of young people in, promoting the installation of character development programmes that develop vital character attributes which engage young people in education system and improve academic attainment. It is driven by Education Sub-Committee, which supports DfE policy and drives forward access to character development programmes as a means for social mobility for many children.

Congratulations to all those who represented KCA so professionally. Well done to Amy who presented to the gathering so confidently!

It is Science week commencing 10th March and the year 9’s are taking part in a scrapheap

challenger and other year groups will be carrying out a series of activities next week all to do with the theme Change.

Year 9 Football Success!

Great play by the year 9 football team, finishing with a 4-1 win over Bedford Free School!

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UK Expedition, 4 Day Challenge Adventure We are proposing to take a group of students on an exciting adventure to Oaklands Manor, located in the beautiful Peak District. Students will be encouraged to step outside their comfort zones and take on new challenges. By challenging themselves they not only learn how to overcome adversity but also cultivate a sense of self-reliance, resilience and independence. The performance and safety of students will be carefully facilitated by experienced leaders, review sessions will re-enforce the transferable life skills learnt and developed on this expedition. We will travel by coach where the students will be supervised by staff at all times. The visit will depart on Tuesday 20th June and return on Friday 23rd June 2017. The cost of the expedition is £200 per person, plus a small travel cost which will be decided as soon as we have the confirmed numbers for the trip. Based on 30 pupils, the travel cost will be £43.20. The deposit of £50 is required as soon as possible, we have extended the previous deadline of 3rd of March. The £200 covers the cost of: Adventure activity & evening

entertainment programme Qualified and experienced expedition

instructors Full board camping accommodation Transport 1:10 free teacher places All specialist kit and equipment If you would like your son/daughter to attend this trip, please contact abigail@contourschools.co.uk.

Kinetic Energy Challenge

We were visited by Phil and Devon from Engineering Development Trust, a trust whose aim is to inspire the next generation of engineers. And no doubt they saw plenty of potential in our Year 9 students! With energy being a limited resource in a world of increasing technology, we were challenged to build the most efficient low-energy vehicles we could - powered only by a rubber band. We're so proud of some of the students who designed a car to travel a full 8 metres. Tomorrow's engineers for sure!

Frankie Jumps Higher and Higher! Well done Frankie Johnson on becoming English u17 pole vault champion with 4m50. He made his winning jump on 25th February at the National Championships.

Year 11 Prom Friday 23rd June 2017 Harpur Suite, Bedford Tickets now available!

See Mr Fordham/Miss Carr for more details

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Year 5 and 6 English and Maths Subject Evening – booking system open!

Year 5 and 6 English and Maths Subject Evening is scheduled for Thursday 23rd March 2017. Online booking system now open – please contact Mrs Reed if you are experiencing any issues in confirming an appointment.

World Book day in Pictures!

Lunchtime club

Lunchtime club supports our students who sometimes are struggling to manage their feelings and need some time to share with their peers and staff any worries. We have completed a variety of activities over the weeks with a lot of fun and laughter. Great fun with the stacking cups and designing selfie pics at well-being club we played emoji bingo as well.

Reading -Top tips for parents and carers 1. Talk together Older children continue to need opportunities to talk with you about what they are reading or their reading interests. They may also be interested in what you are reading. Talking gives you both a chance to share and recommend. 2. Read together There is never an age when this is not an enjoyable and useful way to spend 10 minutes a day – even your 11 year old will still enjoy the sharing opportunity if it’s on offer. It’s a great idea to get your older children to read with younger brothers and sisters too. 3. Revisiting favourites It’s important for children to know that it’s OK to revisit old favourites and memories – even if this may seem like ‘easy reading’ – there’s no mad rush to keep moving on, and we all like the comfort of a favourite book sometimes. Comparing and sharing memories of real life and books will help your child to develop empathy. 4. Sing together Why not? Rhythm, rhyme, raps, advertising jingles or the latest top-rated downloadable track can all help the older reader to appreciate and use the patterns of language they hear in both their speech and writing. 5. Making choices It’s important to still visit book shops, libraries and places where your child can browse and chat with you about their interests. They’ll start to prefer certain authors or series, or types of reading such as comics, magazines or websites, and with your encouragement, they can learn to make choices for themselves too.

PRIMARY FOCUS