Trentham remembers former student

On Friday 16th February we held a non-uniform day to raise money for Glenfield Hospital in Leicester in memory of Melissa Whiteley, a former Trentham Academy student who tragically passed away in January. Students were encouraged to wear something yellow, Melissa’s favourite colour. The day commemorated a happy, inspiring student who will be greatly missed.

The Academy raised £677 during the non-uniform day; thank you all for your contributions and support.

If you would like to support this please use the link below:

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/melissa-whiteley?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Yimbyprojectpage&utm_content=melissa-whiteley&utm_camp

Tweedale Academy of Dancing

26TH FEBRUARY 2018

TRENTHAM TALKSNEWSLETTER

Alicia Johnson attends the Tweedale Academy of Dancing and has taken exams in various styles of dance and over the last few weeks has achieved;

Grade 4 Tap Dance- MeritGrade 2 Ballet- Distinction (Highest Mark in her class) Street Dance 3rd Gold BarHighly Commended Musical Theatre SilverHighly Commended FreestyleHighly Commended Star 1

We are extremely proud of your achievements, well done.

Yr8 History Trip to the Commandery in Worcester

Worcester witnessed the opening and closing battles of the Civil War, ending in a final clash between Royalists and Parliamentarians in the Battle of Worcester in 1651. The Commandery served as battle headquarters for the Royalist army and their defeat is a defining moment in the evolution of modern day democracy; and we had the pleasure of visiting on the last day of half term. We learnt about the grizzly world of medical procedures and amputations without anaesthetic, and the diet and dress wear of the average citizen. Time was given to reflect upon the debates within Parliament and Cromwell’s rule over England after overthrowing Charles I. Students also had the opportunity of dressing up in outfits worn on both sides and consider the purpose of their designs in causing the most damage and how to defend in battle.

The handling of the weaponry used allowed us to go part way to imagining the scenarios the soldiers would have found themselves in. The 15ft pikes were impressive and extremely heavy and posed a challenge to hold during formation training! A healthy time trial competition in the complexity of cannon duty concluded our day and learning about a deadly and dangerous period of England’s history.

Trentham Academy students feature in the ASCL conference

Specially invited Trentham Academy students went to Haywood to take part in a video about the City Learning Trust. The video, featuring students from all the CLT schools, will be shown at the National Association of School and College Leaders Conference in March.

Year 7- Rahyla Hussain, Indiana Archer, Joe Davies and Alfie Grinnall

Year 9- Fletcher Cotton, Tehniyat Shahid, Tom Price and Jess Minshull

Year 10- Rebekah Marsh, Blake Hine, Owen Brindley and Cameron Turner.

All represented the Academy impeccably; well done.

Mathematics at Keele University

Can you solve the problem?

Four year 8 students have now completed the Master at Mathematics course at Keele University, which took place over four Saturday mornings.  Below are statements from each student about the weeks.  All four students thoroughly enjoyed the lessons and the challenges.

Sophie - Mae Osborne - Week 1.  On our first week we did sequences.  We were given two problems and we had to work out what the pattern was.  We did things like Fibonacci sequence.  We also did work with Smarties and working out the probability of getting various colours.

Jonathan Hookey - Week 2. I enjoyed the maths of juggling tricks because one of the tricks involved time travel.

Sam Hawkes - Week 3.  In our first session we had a problem where we had to get around different places as effectively as we could. (Photos attached) It was challenging because there was not an effective formula or way of doing it.  So we used trial and error. Session two we had a problem where we had a fox, chicken, worm and cabbage.  The fox would eat the chicken if left alone, the chicken would eat the worm, the worm the cabbage and we had to get them across a river.

Sam Reeves - Week 4. We did some fun maths tricks using Fibonacci, and how to cube root 2 digit numbers such as 175,616; it is 563.  Also on week 4 we did about different base numbers. It was a good experience that I would recommend.

Mr Hall’s Revision Tips for all Year Groups for more effective learning

In the previous two newsletters, we have introduced the principles of Spaced Practice and Retrieval Practice. Spaced Practice is the revisiting of content and skills, frequently in short bursts, rather than in long single sessions of revision. Retrieval Practice is the crucial element of recall and retrieval of content and skills, rather than simply re-reading topics studied. These are the first two of six ideas, extensively confirmed by research, that students should be using at home as well as in school. We are working in school on using the same language to introduce and reinforce more effective home study strategies to support students to greater achievement.

Proven to work revision tip 3: Dual Coding.

If retrieval practice is strengthening the recall of memories, dual coding helps strengthen the storage. In the simplest models of memory, we have a working memory helping recall shopping lists, remember phone numbers (in the short term) and interpret and solve exam problems. We also have a long-term memory where ingredients for family recipes, phone numbers (for when we had to remember them!) and subject content required for exam problems are stored. Our working memory is the gateway to storing memories but also using them. It is limited and, like desk space, can only hold so much before becoming cluttered and un-useable.

Importantly we have two channels for working memory, one for words/audio and one for images. Dual coding takes advantage of this in order to maximise our working memory capacity by combining images and words/audio. It also helps highlight the kinds of additional stimuli (we call these distractions!) that could conflict with working memory, leaving precious time spent revising rendered ineffective.

Students:

Combining words and images in notes or flash cards to help increase the working memory capacity (or students’ mental ‘desk space’) to think with.

Use visual organisers like mindmaps, timelines, cartoon strips to help link images to standard notes.

Compare related google images and diagrams to notes to see how they link to content. Use images to explain processes before checking for accuracy with text.

Do not combine extensive text with audio as it conflicts with working memory. Turn off the music, radio, TV and mobile and get shorter effective bursts of revision rather than wasted hours.

Use GCSE Pod videos as they combine words and audio. With earphones, distractions are

limited and having to make notes on the videos automatically uses retrieval practice, as memory must be used.

Teachers:

Images are normally combined with visual and audio in lessons to highlight ideas and support understanding.

Teachers will normally give quiet time to read, rather than talking over texts whilst students study them. Reading with a class as they work through a text however, would not be detrimental and is important in some cases to help decode complex texts.

Parents:

Help manage distractions and agree with your child to keep mobiles, television and music off.

If distractions around the home can be limited for agreed periods, your child will benefit enormously and will see the importance of using that time effectively (even if they don’t always acknowledge it!).

Stars of the Week

Centaur (Optimism) Sophie Lees as she is now a millionaire in her accelerated reader.

Dragon (Optimism) Star Spooner she has continued to show a positive A2L since the start of the year. Well done!

Griffin (Optimism) Esme Cheung she is reliable, hardworking, mature and polite, always helps in form with an excellent A2L.

Phoenix (Optimism) Chloe Armstrong-Simcock has been an inspiration with her fantastic work ethic and determination to do well in her exams. Her report showed a brilliant work ethic and was an excellent achievement with all subjects being in green! Keep up the fantastic work!

Salamander (Collaboration) Ruby Riley for much improved behaviour and making new friends.

 

Good Eggs

Congratulations to the following students who have been recognised by their teachers as being especially helpful in class.

Amelia Chadwick Dragon 3

Benjamin Almond Dragon 1

Anteneh Ayele Phoenix 1

Jenson Ayres Salamander 1

Gabriella Chapple Salamander 1

Elliot Coops Phoenix 1

Ruby Davies Salamander 1

Lucy Dennis Salamander 1

Jasmin Dhillon Centaur 1

Isaac Galloway Salamander 1

Taylor Gibson Centaur 1

Saul Greensmith Salamander 1

Emily Guest Centaur 1

Benjamin Haywood Griffin 1

Myles Hubbard Griffin 1

Rahyla Hussain Griffin 1

Tillie James Centaur 1

Marcus Jennings Centaur 1

Thomas Levey Griffin 1

Logan Longson Dragon 1

Caitlin Tudor Centaur 1

Ethan Wright Phoenix 1

Merits

Congratulations to Aimee for being the top performer for Merits this week with an amazing 9 achieved. All students with 4 or more are listed below:

Aimee Parkes-Harding Phoenix 9

Jaide Lewis Dragon 7

Harry Oliver-Elson Centaur 7

Courtney Roberts Phoenix 7

Karamdeep Sohal Phoenix 7

Annabelle Deacy Salamander 6

Jake Wright Centaur 6

Brooke Ayre Phoenix 5

Eden Bailey Dragon 5

Jude Fraser Phoenix 5

Courtney Hackett Griffin 5

Anise McCausland Salamander 5

Laynee Tunnicliffe Salamander 5

Kayleigh Walker Griffin 5

Joshua Wilson Phoenix 5

Indiana Archer Dragon 4

Tom Bill Dragon 4

Oliver Cope Griffin 4

Palveen Dhillon Centaur 4

Kayla Elks Dragon 4

Lauren Fullwood Salamander 4

Michael Grindey Centaur 4

Connie Halket Griffin 4

Ibaad Hanif Phoenix 4

Poppy Harding Centaur 4

George Hughes Griffin 4

Amy Lees Centaur 4

Josh Mood Centaur 4

Sophie-Mae Osborne Phoenix 4

Nieve Ryan Centaur 4

Rea Sohal Griffin 4

Adele Marie Stewart Phoenix 4

Daniel Toft Salamander 4

Harriette Tooth Dragon 4

Isabelle Wood Centaur 4

Max Wooliscroft Centaur 4

Maria Xanthopoulou Phoenix 4

Headteacher’s Notices

Polite request: If you are picking your child up from Trentham Academy after the school day, can you be mindful of residents and ensure you do not double park. We have had a number of complaints regarding parking and potential accidents. Please do not park directly outside the Academy on the yellow road markings, as this puts our students at risk. Please also ensure that you park where other cars can clearly get by and down the road from the Academy entrance. Your support with this is very much appreciated.

We would like to raise funds for Trentham Academy, and have attached the link to our ‘Goraise’ page: https://www.goraise.co.uk/talent/ . We would like you to register on this and, when you do your online shopping, do it through this page. This will create income for the Academy, very much in the way that store loyalty cards work. It costs shoppers no extra, but will be extremely valuable for the Academy. Please also share with friends and relatives. You can also access this from the Academy website. Your support and encouragement with this is warmly welcomed.

Date for your diary: 27th April, Coffee Afternoon for parents to drop in and have a chat at 2pm. Please contact reception if you would like to book a place.

Businesses who are currently supporting us with Staff and Parents discounts:

Your opportunity to invest in stylish, innovative and highly durable tableware made by Steelite International, the UK's leading manufacturer for the global hospitality market. Whatever your style of dining, Steelite Home, our newly opened store located at Trentham Gardens, offers an exclusive choice of aspirational ranges from rustic best-selling Craft to award winning contemporary designs such as Willow. If you're focused on the grey palette you will adore our on trend Scape range in cool greys, whites and complimentary smoked glass with quirky curved plates and abstract bowls for a truly modern take on dining. Add inspiration to your home and invest in prestigious British tableware that you will enjoy using for years to come. Simply state CLT2018 (in store only) and enjoy 10% off any of our current Steelite ranges of tableware, cutlery and glassware. You can browse our website 24/7 at www.steelitehome.com.”

M&M Vehicle Repairs are part of the M&M Group of Companies. M&M Vehicle Repairs and M&M Signs & Graphics will offer a 10% discount for any labour provided for these services. The following code must be provided at first point of contact “CLT2018” and the cost must in excess of £100.00.

Summit Hospitality is a dedicated boutique meeting venue with seven unique meeting rooms, perfect for conferences, training and events. We also provide in-house and outside catering; our talented on-site team of chefs are eager to create mouth-watering dishes with an emphasis on using the freshest and most natural ingredients. For more information, please visit www.summit-hospitality.com.  Use the code CLT2018 for 20% off room hire.

Myers & Co have a strong team of lawyers, all specialists in their fields, able to offer a full range of legal services to you in Staffordshire and beyond.

We will guide you through every step and provide you with clear, relevant and practical advice.

At Myers and Co Solicitors, we are committed to providing a service that represents good value for money and are offering a 10% discount on wills and the sale and/or purchase of your home when you quote code CLT2018.

Best wishes

Mike Whittingham

Headteacher