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SCHOOL LIFE
Tracey retires after 28 years teaching in Beeston schools
Tracey Cunningham
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Tracey Cunningham, 56, has retired on Friday 23 July after 28 years working in Beeston, first at Greenwood Primary, then at New Bewerley Community School.
She says she has enjoyed every minute of it and met some amazing pupils, families and colleagues.
Tracey had always wanted to be a teacher from being 5 years old and went back to study at the age of 24. She spent her first year in Leeds 16, then got a job at Greenwood. She then worked at New Bewerley with the new headteacher, Patrick Wilkins, then the current headteacher, Gary German.
We asked Tracey about her career in Beeston:
“I have so many great memories – having my own class when I first started teaching in reception, I was so happy; getting a permanent job at Greenwood in year 1; then the joining of two schools (Greenwood and Hillside) to create New Bewerley; arranging school trips – to Filey, the Great Yorkshire Show and going with year 6 to see Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at West Yorkshire Playhouse.
“I have seen a lot of changes, the biggest being the diversity and different cultures we have now – which is amazing. It makes our school a great place to be, and encourages community harmony and understanding of each other.
“I would say my biggest achievements have been becoming Assistant Headteacher; surviving Ofsted inspections; and watching children develop and reach their academic potential. The challenges – apart from Ofsted – have been ensuring all children have equal opportunities; and this year dealing with Covid, lockdowns and shielding.
“Whilst I’m retiring as a teacher I’m not leaving education just yet. I have a new job in Bradford working in a school but as a support assistant. I can still help children learn but without all the paperwork a teacher must do. But before term starts again I will be catching up with family and friends after the lockdown, and a holiday to Ayr in August.”
We wish Tracey all the best for the future.
Summer schools
Cockburn John Charles Academy and Cockburn School staff are excited to welcome students moving from Year 6 into Year 7 in attending their heavily subscribed summer school events.
Cockburn John Charles Academy will work closely in partnership with staff from Skelton Grange Environment Centre to deliver outdoor educational activities alongside a planned curriculum of lessons designed to enable students to make accelerated progress in English and Maths, while also giving valuable opportunities to develop new friendships and build positive relationships with their new teachers. Government funding has allowed a wide range of academically focused activities to be planned around the theme of ‘sustainability’.
Cockburn School is running two themed weeks. The first will have an animal focus and conclude with a trip to the Yorkshire Wildlife Park. The second week will have a magical theme and conclude with a magical carnival on site at the school. Both weeks will blend classroom based and practical learning that will also focus on supporting the students with their English and Maths progression.
These follow on from transition events at all three Cockburn secondary schools, including the new Cockburn Laurence Calvert Academy. The schools have welcomed Year 6 pupils to transition events over the last few weeks. They have also welcomed parents and carers to evening presentations. Despite the difficulty caused by the pandemic, all of these events have been excellent and everyone involved is looking forward to welcoming the new Year 7 pupils to the next stage of their education in September.
Performing arts and sporting success at Cockburn schools
Performing on stage at Cockburn’s MADDFest
The reactivation of sporting activity at Cockburn John Charles Academy is in full swing with a wide range of extra-curricular activities on offer.
Numbers are now higher than ever with pupils from across all year groups attending after-school clubs that include football, table tennis, trampolining and access to the new school gym facilities.
In recent years sport has flourished at the school; winning the inter-competition ‘Cockburn MAT Cup’ in 2018 and 2019 with the year 11 football team winning both South Leeds and Central league and 7-a-side tournament in 2020. Despite a setback to extra-curricular activities over the Covid-19 pandemic, pupils have shown great resilience and commitment to help the sporting programme return better than ever.
Engaging in a wider range of extracurricular sports is likely to instil confidence and discipline within students as well as help with their physical and mental well-being. When pupils achieve success, they have a raise in self-esteem; creating a relaxed environment where learning new skills is fun and with some elements of competition.
Students from across all year groups recently competed in a rowing event with Row Leeds, where the team were successful in achieving one gold and two silver medals.
Cockburn School, in line with their Artsmark Platinum status in recognition of the school’s commitment to, and excellence in, arts education, staged their first MADDFest show since before the Covid-19 pandemic began.
MADDFest, which featured Music, Art, Drama and Dance, showcased work from students across Years 7 to 10. Year 8 drama students created their own piece based on the Black Lives Matter theme.
Live bands performed songs from a wide range of artists including Amy Winehouse and The White Stripes. There was also an excellent Cockburn John Charles Academy band performing.
One student in Year 7 said “It was amazing to perform on stage at Cockburn for the first time. Being with all of the older students was brilliant”.
Cockburn School has recently held auditions for their annual school production in December which will be Sister Act The Musical. Rehearsals will begin in September for what promises to be a show to remember!
Cottingley Primary students triumph in national awards
Students from Cottingley Primary Academy are today celebrating their triumph in the category of Music (cover song) at the Festival of Remarkable Lives ceremony run by Academies Enterprise Trust (AET).
AET is one of the largest academy trusts in the country, with 58 primary, secondary and special schools. 33,000 young people from across AET’s family of schools were eligible for the awards.
Students submitted ‘Lost Boy.’ Judges thought that the song was sung well and that the performance was original, which stood them apart from others.
The festival, recognising all aspects of what it means to be “remarkable”, is designed to celebrate the previous year’s achievements and is integral to the trust’s ethos of inspiring students to live a “remarkable life”. The competition winners were announced by Sam and Mark from CBBC on a live streamed show.
Kelly Bentley, Headteacher said:
“I am delighted that the girls Cottingley Primary Academy
were successful with their entry into the music competition. The passion, teamwork and bravery that went into creating and performing their piece really shone through.
“We are all incredibly proud of them and they absolutely loved seeing themselves on screen as part of the Festival!”
Rebecca Boomer-Clark, Chief Executive of AET, said:
“It is fantastic to see all of the talent and imagination we have in our schools across AET –huge congratulations to all of our winners today, including students from Cottingley Academy.
“The Remarkable Lives Festival is the culmination of the school year and gives us a brilliant opportunity to celebrate the diversity of talent we have in our schools.
“All children – and especially those from disadvantaged communities – deserve a rich education which is ambitious and sets them up for adult life. That belief is at the heart of the Remarkable Lives festival, and I am excited to see how we can carry this momentum into a new school year after the summer break.”
Politics for the pupils
Anew local scheme is taking off to give all school pupils in south Leeds dedicated classes on political awareness during their educational career.
In July the Year 5 students at Park View Primary Academy in Beeston Hill participated in a pilot session - with several other schools looking to take up the offer for the coming school year.
Beeston resident Ed Carlisle is coordinating the project, and looking to work with a range of other partners and volunteers from different political positions - to deliver it.
The participatory sessions will follow a template, and include the nature and structure of democracy, how elections work, different political parties, local and national politics, activism separate to electoral politics, and the crucial importance of positive disagreement and collaboration.
Ed commented: "Politics is clearly a major feature of our society, so it's mad that it's not taught consistently in our schools.
“We need to work together to build a good political culture in and for our communities and our city - so that all citizens know how it works, and how they can be part of it. With luck, we'll help inspire our leaders of the future."
Riccardo Paffetti, principal at Park View, added: "Our pupils are confident, articulate, and keen to make a difference; teaching them how to take part in our democracy is also investing in our future. Year 5 really enjoyed learning how politics and democracy can enable them to improve our community, and how this works in the real world."
The plan is to start rolling classes out in primary and secondary schools across LS10 and LS11, over the coming school year. To find out more, and to get involved (as a volunteer, or on behalf of a school), get in touch with Ed on 07738 921277. Future citizens: Year 5 pupils at Park View Primary Academy
Strengthening families course
Parents in South Leeds are being invited to join a course that will help them build on their parenting skills and build positive relationships with their children.
Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities (SFSC) is a free inclusive course to help parents and carers raise happy confident children from ages 3-18 years.
The popular programme welcomes parents and carers from all backgrounds and will also inform a study that will help shape family services in the future.
The course runs for 3 hours a week for 13 weeks, starting on Thursday 16 September. The group will end with a celebration and everyone will receive a certificate and a parent manual.
Participants will be asked to complete four questionnaires over the course of a year with the incentive of a £40 voucher for completing them all.
The course aims to help you: • build positive family relationships • manage anger and stress • implement effective discipline strategies • gain confidence and communication skills • understand your child’s development • recognise and value your family and cultural traditions
Parents and carers who have completed the course have commented:
“Children don’t come with a manual, this is the next best thing.”
“This research is long overdue! No matter how good a parent you think you are, you certainly can be a better one after this programme.”
“I found it very supportive being part of a group and sharing ideas with other parents.”
To find out more please contact Liz Shillito on 07711 489997.
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