Caludon Update Autumn 2019

Caludon Update He adte achers’ address Clubs Trips and events Mental wellbeing He ad’s Te a Part y Children in Need Black Histor y Month Phoenix Ne ws Cyber safe t y Staff celebration Sporting events

Autumn 2019

The Headteachers’ address

Dear Parents/Carers

Once again we have arrived at that time of year when the excitement of Christmas is upon us. As usual, time has simply flown by since September, when the new Year 7s were excitedly and anxiously taking their first steps in to Caludon. It is wonderful to see how confident they have become and to see and hear of the way they have overwhelmingly applied themselves to their new learning. They are a group who really like to make their mark, which is why well over a hundred of them volunteered to take part in the Year 7 Christmas show.

Throughout this term, our staff have worked tirelessly to ensure that all students are learning in the

best way they can and that they are fully prepared for the range of mock exams and progress checks that have taken place. A comprehensive range of after school sessions has been available since September to support Year 11 and others to fully access all of their learning. We have also ensured that we have been able to meet with you through our information and parents evenings for every year group.

As this term draws to a close, these are the arrangements for the last day:

School will close at 1.20pm on Friday 20 December and will reopen, as usual on Monday 06 January 2020.

Could we please ask that you support us in upholding our very high standards of uniform and presentation, by ensuring that correct uniform is worn from the outset in January? This entails the removal of acrylic nails and extra piercings that students will have, quite rightly, enjoyed wearing over the break.

Finally, we would like to thank all of the staff at Caludon for providing so many fabulous opportunities for our learners here at Caludon, and you, as parents and carers, for appreciating and supporting in the ways that you do.

We hope you all enjoy a happy, safe and restful festive break.

Mrs M Marr Headteacher

Ms A Dudgeon

Associate headteacher

Clubs at Caludon Castle

There are so many clubs available at Caludon Castle; there is something for everyone!

A big thank-you to all the sta that run a club as they are enjoyed by all. If there is something you’d like to do then get in touch with your teachers or Mr Holland.

Trips and events Year 8 Geography trip to the London Olympic Park Trip.

Year 8 went to the London Olympic Park with Geography. They got to see the Olympic venues and assess how good the olympics have been for the UK. They used that information to compare with Brazil and then create their own more sustainable Olympic Park.

We were very lucky with the weather as sun was shining rather than the rain that was forecast. This meant students could enjoy the activities such as trying to recreate Greg Rutherford’s Olympic gold long jump. They also got to see the cyclists in action at the velodrome. We really enjoyed the day and year 8 were a credit to the school.

Miss Mallett - Teacher of Geography

Year 11 Geography field trip to Cardingmill Valley Year 11 completed their final geography field trip. For their GCSE fieldwork they had to get into the river and measure the depth, width and speed. This helped them gain a better understanding of the river for their exams.

However, their highlight was walking up to the waterfall and taking a selfie!

Thanks to all the students and staff for a great day.

Mrs Irving - Leader of Geography

Pasta Challenge Year 11 Hospitality students met the challenge to create their own uniquely flavoured ravioli dishes in October. They are busy trialling dishes for their food practical exam.

There were some amazing flavours - well done year 11.

Ms Ruddy

Halloween Head’s Tea Party

Year 9 and 10 food students prepared a special Halloween themed tea party for year 10 and 11 students who were being rewarded for their hard work and great attitude this half term.

The menu contained seasonally appropriate items such as mini toad in the hole, Halloween muffins, spider cakes and Devil’s chocolate biscuits. The food looked and tasted amazing so well done to all involved.

Ms Ruddy.

Year 10 and 12 Art trip to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

Year 10 and 12 students went to the Yorkshire sculpture park. Students ventured there to develop their understanding and perception as to what Art can look like. They explored the sculpture grounds looking at and analysing the diverse range of sculptures by masters and contemporary, such as Henry Moore, Ai WeiWei, Damien Hirst and Barbara Hepworth. From this Year 10 will begin to develop their ‘mechanical vs organic’ project and year 12 will use this as a starting point to their personal project.

Ebony said, “I found it fun and interesting because I got to see the different sculptures and what different people think art and sculpture can be”.

Grace said, “I enjoyed sketching the sculptures and understanding them more”.

As always it was an absolute pleasure to accompany such passionate artists for the day and support them in their artistic development.

Mr Owen - Leader of Art.

Art in Action - 6th form trip to Warwick University

A mixture of year 12 and 13, Art and Photography students made their way to Warwick University to hear from visiting speakers of the arts. Students were treated into the insight of prestigious artists and photographers such as David Montgomery, who has photographed people such as Queen Elizabeth, The Rolling Stones, Twiggy and Jimi Hendrix. Students learnt about the processes artists must go through in order to create a sustainable business in the arts, as well as making a name for yourself. As always, it was a pleasure to accompany our students and be part of their learning experience.

Mr Owen - Leader of Art.

Speak Out Challenge!

Thirty students from year 10 took part in a ‘Speak Out Challenge’ workshop run by the Speakers Trust on the final Thursday of half term. The exciting workshop, developed to give young people a voice, involved a number of activities. Sienna, the lead from the Speakers Trust, was incredibly impressed with the talent showcased from our students. Three students came out on top in the final speaking competition and will go through to the assembly final at the end of the year. This lucky winner will then go onto compete in the regional final in March 2020. This was a great day which was thoroughly enjoyed by all involved. Best of luck to our three winners for the next stage.

Miss Ivin - Leader of oracy

Creative Writing Club

Creative Writing Club have spent the last term writing engaging and amazing poems based on a variety of stimuli and working towards entering the Young Writers competition later on in the year. Every Tuesday evening this term, they have been writing creative short stories, which they are hoping to share with the rest of the school before Christmas to put everyone in high spirits.

Miss McDonagh

Film Club Members from Film Club have been exploring the Jacobean and Elizabethan eras so far this term and watching Shakespearean films to help learn about how society was different back then. They explored what life may have been like for them if they were from that time. Mr Campbell and Ms Ivin will be helping transport our students to the Victorian era and beyond next term.

Ms Ivin

Computing events Vodafone’s Digital Creators’ Challenge

A group of 5 students in year 9 have been developing a new app which will improve the lives of the local community as part of Vodafone’s Digital Creators’ Challenge. This challenge is aimed at boosting their digital skills and introducing them to their future careers in the exciting digital world of technology.

BAFTA Young Game Designers Award 2020

BAFTA YGD celebrates new games talent and inspires the UK’s future game makers by giving young people the chance to design and make their own game. A current Year 12 student, who has been a top 3 finalist for the past 3 years, is mentoring a year 9 student in game concept design for entry in March 2020.

Student leader, Theo, lead part of a lesson on illustration. Well done!

Ms Richmond

World Languages Week Great International Bake off annual competition.

To celebrate World Languages Week, the MFL department put on the annual French breakfast and Great International Bake O. It was a wonderful morning which was enjoyed by many students and sta. We had so many entries, including some traditional French macaroons, a taco cake and a cactus cake. Congratulations to Minnie Simplay-Wells in 7.2 for creating the overall winner. Well done to all who participated - we are so excited to see what next year brings.

Mr Ricketts

Our language focus for World Languages Week was Korean. To celebrate this, and to learn about language and culture outside the classroom, some year 8 students had a Taekwon-do session led by Zoe from TST UK. The students loved learning this Korean martial art and were so engaged in the impressive moves and language. It was an excellent experience and we hope to provide more cultural activities in the future.

Mr Ricketts

Taekwon-do session as part of the Korean focus for languages Week.

Mental wellbeing

Mental wellbeing is extremely important for both students and sta at Caludon. This year there is a designated team who are focused on creating the right environment for good mental health. We have started the year by highlighting that we all need to keep the mind just as healthy as the body.

If sta have good mental health, then students will pick up on this and this will have a positive impact on their progress and their own mental health.

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Black History Month On Friday the 8th November, the Black History celebration event was launched in the drama studio for everyone. The event was all about Black culture, heritage and appreciating influential Black role models in history. This was a fantastic opportunity to learn about African and Caribbean culture and the remarkable history. Students and sta were welcomed to taste Afro-Caribbean food such as fried rice and plantain crisps. This was supported by the canteen who served Jollof rice, plantain and jerk chicken; this was very popular amongst students.

The atmosphere was mesmerising. It was lovely to see students from year 7 to 13 participate and enjoy the lively display that showcased Black culture. This day has truly been a success and we look forward to celebrate it even better next year.

Thank-you to everyone who supported and to those who wore red to symbolise standing up against racism. A massive thank-you Ms Degroot for supporting us while we organised the event.

Esther Ogunbameru - Head Girl

The Head’s Tea Party

Congratulations to the students who successfully reached the Head’s tea party this term. There were so many students nominated and it was these students who stood out from the crowd with their great attitude to learning and wonderful classroom presence.

Thank you to all the staff who nominated and attended the party.

It means a great deal to the students and is a lovely opportunity to showcase the brilliance within Caludon Castle School.

Phoenix News

Inclusion/SEND Exam success!

We are very proud that Caludon is an inclusive school and that all our students have the same access to opportunities and support to help them achieve to the best of their potential.

This summer our Year 11 SEND students did just that, achieving a fantastic set of results – gold in terms of progress against their target grades! From all of the Inclusion Team, a massive well done and good luck in your new courses you have chosen this Autumn.

Meet the Phoenix Team:

The Inclusion Team at Caludon Castle, comprises a large number of wonderful staff. As well as all of the teachers and year leaders, who work hard to support SEND students, there are our amazing SSMs and also some staff based in Phoenix. In each edition of the Caludon Update this year, we will introduce you to some of the staff working in the Inclusion Faculty. In this edition it’s the turn of the staff based in Phoenix:

Mrs Dhillon – PA to Inclusion

Mr Earle – Assistant Leader of Inclusion

Miss Graham – Assistant Headteacher, Leader of Inclusion/SEND, SENCo

Mrs Hope – Pastoral Manager for Inclusion, Assistant SENCo

Mrs Lakin – Director of Student Welfare and Safety

Ms McDonald – Education and Welfare Officer

Mrs Ruddy – Assistant Leader of Inclusion, Assistant SENCo (KS3)

In Phoenix, we work with students from all 3 key stages, with a wide range of needs. A lot of the students we work with are SEND students – we have over 150 students with varying levels of SEND needs at Caludon Castle.

Student reflection:

“I enjoy Phoenix because it’s a nice relaxing place to go if you’re feeling stressed. If you want somewhere to go with your friends, there’s kind, caring staff that will welcome you in.”

Jacob.

Staff Celebration The Royal British Legion award “I was honoured to receive an award from The Royal British Legion presented by the Deputy Lord Mayor of Coventry, Ann Lucas OBE, and Margaret Batten MBE.

I proudly stood in front of my Kneeling Solider Sculpture made from over 750 individual poppies.�

Ms Fell.

Maths in Action Students from year 10, after a very soggy start, had the opportunity to visit Warwick University and have multiple interactive lectures about maths in the real world. Our students did us proud by not only engaging in answering questions, but Jiya also went up on stage, with no shoes on, to help demonstrate probability. The students enjoyed the day and being able to experience what university is like and they came away with some great revision tips and techniques. They also got the opportunity to meet a celebrity...Bob Seagull!

Warwick University lectures about maths in the real world.

Ms Lloyd

The Female Lead Society Webinar

The Female Lead is a charity that is aimed at promoting amazing women leaders from around the world. Their motto is “you can’t be what you can’t see”. The webinar had 23 girls from year 9 and 10 to hear influential woman speak about their careers and the journey it had taken them to get to where they are. The women work at Price Waterhouse Coopers, one of the top accountancies in the world, and they gave the girls great advice which can apply to all career options, not just accountancy. The most important advice from these inspirational woman is that you should believe in yourself.

Ms Lloyd

Sporting Events Football County Cup Games

The year 7, Year 10 and Year 11 student football teams have won all of their matches this year.

They have all reached quarter finals in two competitions; the Coventry Cup and the County Cup. The Year 8 football team are into the quarter finals of the Coventry Cup and we are waiting the for Year 9s to reach there too!

Mr Goodison

Basketball Competition A massive well done to the KS3 basketball team who advance to the final of the Coventry East basketball final against Cardinal Wiseman in January. In their qualifier they beat Grace Academy, Stoke Park and Bablake, with brilliant performances all round.

Mr Goodison

Badminton Competition

KS3 and 4 badminton players played excellently, KS4 narrowly missing out on winning their game against Lyng Hall.

KS3 players did fantastically and won both of their games and now go on to represent Coventry East at the Level 3 competition in February.

Mr Murley and Mr Goodison