february 2015 newsletter

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The Co-operative Academy of ManchesterPlant Hill Road, Higher Blackley, Manchester M9 0WQ

Geography trip to Manchester

UniversitySee page 5

Award winning Police Cadets See page 14

Kath Fry Memorial Challenge 2014See page 9

Acad

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LifeIssue 3 February 2015

The newsletter of The co-operative academy of Manchester

@camdotcoopcamdotcoop

A good school with many outstanding features

November 2014

A note from the Principal

Dear Parents and Carers

We have had a fantastic start to the new year, with a tremendous variety of activities and events taking place across the academy. Following on from last term’s great Ofsted judgement, work has continued apace to further develop the high quality teaching and learning that takes place every day. Teaching staff have been focussing on developing students’ questioning skills to enable them to deepen their understanding in lessons. We have also introduced ‘Lead Learners’ across all year groups. These students can regularly be seen wearing their distinctive red lanyards as they take responsibility for parts of their lessons, helping other students and even delivering starter activities.

I am pleased to report that the academy has rapidly grown to become the school of choice for more and more families. We will be oversubscribed for next years’ Year 7 intake and this is also attributable to the great work that our Community Team do to keep the academy outward facing and a true community resource. The academy is also gaining recognition for the outstanding work we do around safeguarding and behaviour, with other academy chains arranging to visit to learn from us. Ofsted have also asked the

academy to deliver training on the outstanding work that our English department do to secure some of the best results in the country.

We held a very successful Parents’ Forum meeting this term and my thanks go to the parents who gave up their time to help shape future developments around reports and independent learning tasks. I look forward to another parents’ forum meeting next term. If you are interested in attending the next meeting, please call 0161 795 3005 and leave your details with the Community Team.

I am also very excited that our full scale musical production of Little Shop of Horrors takes place on 26th and 27th February. It promises to be a superb evening and I look forward to welcoming you to the academy at one of the performances or one of the many community events that take place throughout the year.

Our values are:

• Fair and seen to be fair to everyone

• Ambition, to raise aspirations and inspire all of us to achieve

• Respect shown to ourselves, each other and our community

Contact me:[email protected] 795 3005

The co-operative academy of Manchester2

Ofsted may have been and gone this year, but you can give your views to them at any time of the year. Parent View is an online questionnaire from Ofsted.

It’s easy. It’s quick. It’s time to log on http://parentview.ofsted.gov.uk

Parents - what’s your view of the academy?

News in brief

Visit us online: www.cam.coop 3

Independent learning - great examplesYear 7 built their own castles for their History lessons. These were independent learning tasks that the students completed outside of their lessons. Well done!

Don’t forget – we have uploaded Independent Learning Grids to our websites. These help students plan and manage their workload and can help parents and carers to support their children.

For further information visit: www.cam.coop/parents/independent-learning-tasks

News in brief


What our students are readingDear Dylan by Siobhan Curham

The blurb…A first crush. An unexpected friendship. A dream come true. The perfect book for teens and fans of Cathy Cassidy, Sarah Dessen or Karen McCombie.

The review…By Hiba Modaffar Idrissi, Year 9

I chose to read this book because I wanted to try something new and unusual to every single book I have read before, and because I found the blurb so interesting that I picked it straight away.

I really enjoyed reading this book because the story is full of drama, romance and a lot more. Did you know that Siobhan Curham is the ghost writer of the popular book ‘Girl Online’ by Zoe Sugg (AKA Zoella)?

Rating H H H H H

Electrix2 Year 7 students and 1 Year 8 student (Felix Tse, Robert Winstanley, Camerton Norton) went to take part in the Electrix event at the Museum of Science and Industry – inspiring them to become electrical engineers by making their own solar powered cars!

News in brief


Geography trip to Manchester UniversityOn Monday 1 December 2014, 8 of us went to Manchester University for a lecture on the Haiti earthquakes which would help us with our mocks the next day. The lecture was aimed at A level students

but we still managed to keep up. We got plenty of notes to use as a case study for our exams.

By Shaun Robinson, Year 11

What our staff are readingFavourite Book – Miss Highfield, Maths Teacher

What is your favourite book and why?

Me before you – Jo Jo MoyesI never really have time to read but with this book, I just couldn’t put it down.

Why did you choose this book to read?

My mum recommended the book to me after my friend was in an accident.

What makes the book so special and memorable?

The book is about a very wealthy man, who lives the high life, until he is in a motorbike accident and as a result becomes a paraplegic. The accident took away his desire to live, but a young carer with an infectious personality helps him to see life differently again. The book has a sad yet happy ending. I was crying and laughing all the way through!

Who is your favourite character, and why? Could you relate with him/her?

My favourite character is Will, his personality and sense of humour start to show as he gets closer to Lou.

Would/have you recommend it?

Definitely!

Tech clubSome of our Able and Talented students attend a Technology Club after school – here are some things they created in December.

Career Zone


What is LMI?

LMI is good quality information about what is happening nationally, regionally and locally in the job market. This can include:

• national, regional and local trends within occupational sectors • geographical availability of opportunities • the skills that employers are looking for • progression routes and career paths • job and Apprenticeship vacancies, and courses and training programmes.

LMI is usually expressed in terms of what is happening in a particular occupational sector or geographical area, or both.

Labour market intelligence is when LMI is interpreted and analysed to make it meaningful and relevant.

Why is it important?

All young people will enter the labour market at some point. So, it’s important that they have: up to date, accurate and unbiased information about the occupational sectors they are interested in, and the skills to be able to interpret the information to help them make choices.

Having knowledge of national policies that relate to LMI can help you to understand its importance to young people and how it’s central to their decision making process. LMI is vital for government planning, especially when there are shortages in certain careers or sectors. However, our dynamic economy and the effects of the recession make it difficult to predict long term.

Local authorities and learning communities also rely on LMI when planning education and training provision for young people aged between 14 and 19 years old.

The job market in Manchester

The New Economy within the Greater Manchester area is responsible for LMI and has committed to support schools with the necessary resources and information for students and staff. Below are some jobs on the increase within Greater Manchester:

• Financial and professional services• Hospitality (Hotel, restaurant work)• Logistics (warehousing, HGV driving)• ICT/Media

It also predicts that most of the jobs available for the future workforce will be students with a Level 4 qualification (Higher Degree level or Higher Apprenticeship).

For more information go to www.careerpoint-gm.co.uk

Did you know?

• The average income for women under 30 is now higher than that for men in the same age group

• Between 2013 and 2023, an estimated 55,000 additional jobs are forecast to be created in the Financial & Professional Services sector across Greater Manchester

• Forecasters tell us, in the not too distant future we will need Digital Detox Therapists – counsellors who specialise in separating technology stressed individuals from their devices, creating unique analogue immersion zone

Mrs Godfrey, Information, Advice & Guidance Officer

Labour Market Information (LMI)

Career Zone


Options online

In February, Year 8 have been asked to think about their futures and choose some options for subjects they will study through to Key Stage 4 and their GCSE exams.

After the February half term, we will start this process for Year 9 too. This year, we have launched our Options online process. We are providing students and their families with information on each subject – including video clips from real lessons – to help families make the right decisions together. Furthermore, once

students log in, those in Year 8 / 9 are able to see personalised information including their most recent reports and predictions of how well they are likely to do in different GCSE subjects.

Please have a look on our Virtual Learning Environment https://vle.cam.coop to see how we are helping families understand the choices available. As this is the first year we have gone online in terms of sharing options information, we would love feedback. Please email any feedback to [email protected].


Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday FridayTable tennis

3.00 – 4.00pm

Year 7 Girls football 3.00 – 4.00pm

Year 7-10 rugby 3.00 – 4.00pm

Table tennis 3.00 – 4.00pm

Year 7, 8 & 9 Girls’ netball 2.45 – 3.45pm

Year 7 football 2.45 – 3.45pm

Year 9 & 10 boys’ football 2.40 – 3.45pm

Year 10 & 11 basketball 3.00 – 4.00pm

Table tennis 3.00 – 4.00pm

Basketball 3.00 – 4.00pm

Art drop in after school

Debate Mate 3.00 – 4.00pm

Little Shop of Horrors rehearsals

3.00 – 5.00pm


Read em’ and rate em’

2.30 – 3.30pm


Reading club 2:30 – 3:30pm

Little Shop of Horrors rehearsals

2.30 – 4.30pm

Art drop in after school Art drop in after school

Journalism club 2.30 – 3.30pm

Minecraft club 2.30 – 3.30pm

Gardening club 2.30 – 3.30pm

Hairdressing club 2.30 – 3.30pm

Science club 2.40 – 3.20pm

Dance club 3.00 – 4.00pm

Community Cohesion Taskforce 2.30 – 3.00pm

Minecraft club 2.30 – 3.30pm

G&T tech club 2.30 – 3.30pm

Magic club 2.30 – 3.30pm

Tech future girls coding club

2.30 – 3.30pm

English GCSE booster 2.30 – 3.00pm

ICT Coursework club 3.00 – 4.00pm

Homework club 3.00 – 3.30pm

Year 10 Spanish booster

3.00 – 3.30pm

Maths GCSE booster 2.30 – 3.00pm

Humanities drop in clinic 2.30 – 4.00pm

French GCSE booster 2.30 – 3.00pm

ICT Coursework club 2.30 – 4.00pm


Year 11 ICT booster 2.30 – 3.00pm

Year 11 Catering booster 2.30 – 3.00pm

Year 11 booster Art 2.30 – 3.00pm

GCSE PE booster 2.30 – 3.00pm


Year 11 Science booster

2.30 – 3.00pm

Year 9 & 10 GCSE PE booster

2.30 – 3.00pm

ICT Coursework club

3.00 – 4.00pm

Enrichment

Cross Country NewsOur Year 7 cross-country team put in a sterling effort in January, in poor weather conditions at Wythenshawe Park.

The girls team ran well finishing in 8th overall. The boys were superb, with Taylor Ridley and Callum Daniels both getting a top 10 finish and qualifying to run for Manchester. Overall the team scored 80 points, finishing just 3 points behind the winners.

So, our Year 7 Boys team are runners-up in the Championships (they were also runners-up in last term’s league). This is a great show of consistency and hard work.

Congratulations to all 10 who ran – Sandra Lakatosova, Callum Daniels, Diogo Ramos, Paul Sholabi, Taylor Ridley, Feiras Alraghebi, Abdiqadir Osman, Hulan Erdenetsogt, Keiler Walters & Charlie Moore.

Mr Clarke, PE Teacher

Match Report – Girls’ footballI took a group of Year 7 girls to their first ever football match, which was a cup game against The East Manchester Academy.

The girls managed to gain a win with the final score being 2-1. All the girls played really well. Special mention to Fatoumatah who played amazing in goal, Ella for leading the team giving instructions and organising structure to

the field, Hulan for playing strong in defence and Phoebe and Sharea for scoring the goals. They are now through to the next stage of the cup against Trinity High School.

Ms Wilkinson, PE Teacher

Kath Fry Memorial Challenge 2014At the end of November, Mr Clarke and Ms Wrigley gave up a weekend to take ten intrepid Year 10 students to the Lake District to take part in the Kath Fry Memorial Challenge 2014.

Mr Clarke has taken groups to take part in this outdoor activities competition for a number of years, but with this cohort he says the students have really set a new standard. The weather was amazing, leading to a number of weather phenomena being seen from the top of the Old Man of Coniston, including a Brocken spectre (the apparently enormous and magnified shadow of an observer, cast upon the upper surfaces of clouds opposite the sun).

The challenge involves a number of schools from Manchester competing against each other. At the time of going to print the results were not yet in, but Mr Clarke says “I am confident that no other team will score higher than us on co-operation or resilience”.

At least one student in the group admitted that it was his first time mountain climbing – but he will “definitely” be doing it again.


Sports News

Our Talented Students


Runway on the RunwayWe are very lucky to have been re-invited to Runway on the Runway and to open the event for the second time. This high-profile fashion event is held to raise money for a charity called Teenage Cancer Trust.

The actual event will be held at Manchester Airport in a fantastic venue with the models walking a specially built catwalk under the Concorde aeroplane. Our team includes Sixth Form students, with some Year 11 students involved as models.

To help raise money for the charity we have planned a variety of events including: a pamper evening for the staff, a Christmas fair, card sale, ‘guess the teddy bear’s name’, ‘how many sweets are in the jar?’ and a raffle to win £100 worth of haircare products. To raise more money we have a number of events coming up including: a pamper evening for the community, bag packing, school sleepover for the Sixth Form students, grow a tenner and much more.

The whole academy can get involved with the event; there is a competition for Year 11 students to design a prom dress. The winning student will have the chance to work with a real designer to make their dress a reality and then it will later be worn on the catwalk. The rest of the academy can support fundraising by organising cake sales and ‘raid your wardrobe’ to raise money for the Runway on the Runway charity.

The students in the salon have been asked to do the hair and make-up for the models who are involved in the fashion show catwalk. They have also been asked to help with the fund raising and think of as many ideas as possible to raise money for Teenage Cancer Trust.

If you have any great fund raising ideas please let us know as we want the whole school to get involved as much as we can!

The Runway Team of Sixth Formers

Where are they now?We asked the class of 2014 what they’re doing now, and what messages they have for our students in Year 11 and Post-16 who will be preparing for the exam season soon.

Zviko Makudza completed Year 11 last year, and is now studying at Hopwood Hall College. He says “make sure you’re in a position to pass your exams and most importantly, enjoy it!”.

Sophie Hill completed Year 11 last year, and is now studying at Connell Sixth Form College. She says “work as hard as you can in Year 11”.

Jodie Whipday completed Year 11 last year, and is now studying at Pendleton College. She says “stay calm throughout exams and think wisely about your college courses”.

Callum Hosey completed Year 11 last year, and is now studying at The Co-operative Academy of Manchester’s Sixth Form. He says “try your best in Year 11. Revise as early as possible”.

Vaidotas Petraitis left our Sixth Form in 2014 and is now studying at Manchester Metropolitan University. He wishes our current Year 11 and Post-16 students “good luck and have fun”.

Looking Back at Christmas


Resilience showcase eventWe had a fantastic turn out for our resilience showcase event in December. Parents and carers – especially those of our new Year 7 students – were invited to watch student performances including a preview of our upcoming Little Shop of Horrors production as well as a dance performance, musical performances and more. As well as good food and good entertainment, our teachers shared their top tips for helping children learn at home.

The Co-operative Academy of Manchester’s Big Band performed at a number of events over the Christmas period.

Look at this photo from the Heaton Park Winter Festival, which involved them playing on a heritage tram.

Love booksCAM staff and students love reading

During the festive period, staff and students were asked to write their favourite books on a paper bauble to hang on the tree in the library. We had a fantastic response showing just how much we all love reading. By far the most popular book at the moment is The Fault in Our Stars (John Green) which was recently made into a movie. This is followed closely in popularity by books by Jacqueline Wilson and the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series of books by Jeff Kinney. Included in the list of favourites were classic stories for young children such as Stick Man (Julia Donaldson) and The Very

Hungry Caterpillar (Eric Carle). Enid Blyton was also mentioned several times – proving that some authors are timeless.

To view the full list of favourite books take a look at our website www.cam.coop/students/library

Mrs Brice, Library Manager

Our brilliant band

Senior Citizens Christmas PartyOur students waited on 100 senior citizens in December, who enjoyed a wonderful meal, excellent entertainment and the company of our students. One visitor wrote, “The pupils were all very helpful and looked after us very well” and “a very big thank you to everyone for the lovely party”.

Sixth Formers Go Ice SkatingOur Sixth Formers had a reward trip to Spinningfields in the city centre and took to the ice at the winter ice rink.

The Uninvited Visitorby James Neild, Year 8

I had an uninvited visitor on Christmas day, 2014 and I was sure it wasn’t Santa Claus in my house in Manchester, Blackley.

The day started like any other Christmas, unwrapping presents, laughing, and smiles seen and heard throughout the house. Christmas dinner was served early and everyone departed by 5.00pm, except for my sister and brother who lived with me. They were sleeping in a bedroom at the end of the hall with the door open.

I went to bed with my cat Licky, and shut the door securely. I was just about to fall asleep when I heard the latch on my bedroom door open. I waited several seconds for my brother or sister to ask me whatever they had come to say, but there was no other sound. It was almost 10 o’clock so my room was pitch black. I had left the lights on in the kitchen and bathroom and the Christmas lights on in the hall. I would be able to see whoever was at my door, just by lifting my head.

I pushed my blankets down and lifted my head off my pillow, but just as I

would have been able to see who was in the doorway, an extremely bright light hit me right in my eyes. I shielded my eyes and yelled

“Turn out that light. You’re blinding me!”

The light immediately disappeared and I heard the bedroom door latch close. My bedside light is a touch lamp, so I tapped it on and looked around the bedroom. There was no one in the bedroom except me and Licky. My cat jumped off of the bed and went to the door, scratching it. I stood up and decided to go let him outside and see what my sister or brother needed. When I went into the hallway, I could see both of them still in bed. I took my cat to the door to let him out and there was nobody there either.

So who opened my door and turned a spotlight on in my face?

Our Talented Students


Christmas X Factor short story competitionCongratulations to James Neild in Year 8, who was the winner of our Christmas short story competition. James wins 1,000 Vivos. There will be more competitions run throughout the year – join in and you could be in with chance of winning yourself lots of Vivos too.

We are collecting Sainsbury’s Active Kids vouchers. Please pass any vouchers to the collection box in the library.


Rewarding Student Achievement

Date Name Year GroupOutstanding Piece of Work exceeding

student’s target level

A piece of work which reflects

outstanding effort and improvement

Demonstrates real willingness to be a great learner

02/02/15 Ella Bennett 7 Green 2 ü ü02/02/15 Kaitlyn McGavigan 7 Yellow 1 ü ü02/02/15 Salsabil Nazzal 8 Green 1 ü ü02/02/15 Mia Bennett 9 Red 2 ü ü ü02/02/15 Maryam Shah 10 Green 1 ü02/02/15 Al Amin Abiru 10 Yellow 1 ü ü

Praise PodThe 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• A piece of work which reflects outstanding effort & improvement• 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. • 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. • 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.

Recently the Computing and ICT department nominated students to Praise Pod - well done to the following students:

Vivo updateFrom Monday 23 February 2015 students may notice that they are receiving even more Vivo rewards.

Students will now be rewarded in multiples of 5 Vivos1. Some of the new rewards are:

Using the Power Word of the week – now 5V!

Independent Learning Super Challenge – now 20V!

Principal’s award – now 200V!

Students are

nominated for

Praise Pod by

staff and given an

appointment with

the Principal

Part of the community


Working with our Primary SchoolsWe want the academy and its amazing facilities to help the whole community, and we regularly invite primary school pupils to learn new things.

In the last few weeks, we really enjoyed having pupils from Blackley E-ACT Academy learn about chemical reactions in our science labs with Mr Haseler and Ms Hull.

We were also joined by a group of pupils from Moston Lane Primary School, who impressed Mrs Wedderburn with their flair for hair styling and nail art.

Healthy eating is one aspect of students’ SMSC development

To tie in with National Obesity awareness week (12 – 18 January), students in Year 7 learned about different ways they can keep their bodies healthy.

As a part of Flexible Learning Morning in December, students took part in a variety of workshops investigating smoking, hygiene to fitness.

Our students were then challenged to come together to produce an informative poster, encouraging our academy to become more healthy.

The winners of the competition were : • Jade Brown• Abdullaq Ali• Johnathan Claussnitzer• Sandra Lakatosova• Mollie Ives

Mrs Wright, Art Teacher with responsibilty for whole academy SMSC

Each issue we’re going to look at an aspect of SMSC in depth

This issue – what is moral education?

It’s the ability to:

• Use your understanding of what is right and wrong• Know that actions have consequences• Investigate and express your views about important moral issues

Award winning Police Cadets The Blackley Volunteer Police Cadets have been busy collecting awards lately. These young people, many of whom are students at the academy, train with the police and assist them with crime-fighting initiatives.

They won the prestigious Young Achievers trophy at the Manchester BE PROUD awards which took place at Manchester Town Hall. They were also recognised at the Policing Gala Awards at Lancashire Cricket Club.

PC Jones and PC Broughton

SMSC

Part of the community


Hire our facilities for your club, group or event

Family Fun Bingo Evenings All are welcome at our Family Fun Bingo Evenings. Great prizes and refreshments available.

Wednesday 1 April, 5-7pmWednesday 3 June, 5-7pm

Our facilities available for hire include:• Brand new 3G football pitch: 5-7-9

aside and full-sized pitch available • LED-lit sports hall• Dance studio• IT suites• Meeting rooms, auditorium and more

Competitive rates and reductions for block bookings.

To discuss your requirements contact Mr Allen Moth, Facilities Manager on 0161 300 5893 or email:[email protected]

Visit us online:www.cam.coop

The Co-operative Academy of ManchesterPlant Hill Road, Higher Blackley, Manchester M9 0WQ @camdotcoopcamdotcoop

“The academy has been transformed. It has raised aspiration for the local community and improved the lives of students. There is very strong capacity to continue this improvement.”

- Ofsted, 2014

february 2015 newsletter

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