The Boston Witham Academies Federation Uniform Please remember that all of the Federation’s official Academy uniforms are available from the Oldrid’s in Boston Market Place. Basketball Success The EWS team has contact with various outside agencies to It has been a highly successful end to the basketball season for the support parents/carers and is often able to signpost students to the Academy’s teams with no less than three championship trophies Attendance appropriate support to further resolve any issues that impedes good attendance. being won. The Boston Witham Academies Federation Parents and carers should be aware that the Government has The under 16 and 15 sides both won their respective South Lincs League titles and places great importance on the role of children introduced strict new regulations to ensure that pupils and students went on to represent the area in the overall County finals where again both teams receiving suitable, effective full time education do not take holidays during term time. Holidays can now only be through regular attendance at the Academies. authorised in exceptional circumstances and our Board of Directors finished the tournament as Champions. and Governors have been given a range of sanctions and fines to Irregular attendance at school seriously affects the academic progress consider imposing on those parents and carers who take students and social development of students, therefore the Federation has and pupils on holiday during term time. Consequently we ask, in s a robust system of measures in place to ensure your child attends order for parents and carers not to fall foul of these new regulations, regularly and punctually. These measures involve first day absence that holidays are not taken during term time. Below are the term telephone calls, text messages (in different languages), home visits, a dates for the next academic year, during which pupils and students range of attendance letters, late gate, attendance panels and referral are no longer allowed to take holiday leave unless the circumstances w to Lincolnshire County Council’s legal panel for persistent absences are exceptional (for example recuperation or medical treatment and persistent lateness. abroad). e Lower down the school, the year 7 team played their first competitive fixtures and complete evidence through the community and talent pathways. came out as the 3-on-3 Boston Area Champions and finished runners-up in the N This is where they can demonstrate their contribution to the school Haven Pathways and wider community. It also allows the many talented students in South Lincs stage. We are already 6 months into our first year of Haven terms of Academia, Sport, Music, Drama and the Arts to showcase their commitment and ability. It is evidence in these pathways as Pathway and I thought this was an opportune time to g update you on the progress being made. The success has well as being an expert learner that will give these students the been impressive with over 30% of students being awarded opportunities to become prefects and senior prefects in the future. an Expert Learner badge at some point in this academic n With your support year. Haven High and the dedication i ACADEMY of all of the staff The first group of students were awarded their badges in November working alongside Haven Pathways r 2014 with the second group of students gaining the award in January the children we are 2015. 21% of students in January gained a two star badge which continuing to strive shows they have maintained the Expert Learner status throughout for an improved p the whole of the autumn term in 2014. Senior education for all Leader of the students To become an expert learner the children have to show at Haven High Leader S continuous outstanding levels of: Academy. 1. Attendance Expert Learner Talent Pathway 2. Behaviour Mr Jay 3. Completion of homework and to a high standard Deputy Head Advanced Learner 4. Punctuality Teaching and 5. Having the correct equipment Learning Established Learner 6. Respect Community Pathway Developing Learner The students also completed a survey in December 2014 where 65% of them said that Haven Pathways had improved their attitude The Boston Witham Academies Federation The Boston Witham towards learning. As well as maintaining the above students can Academies Federation ATE PA G R Y K Carlton Road Haven High W Wygate Park ACADEMY SIXTH FORM ACADEMY Issue 6 Executive Headteacher: Adrian Reed Administration Centre: Marian Campus, Haven High Academy, Marian Road, Boston, Lincolnshire, PE21 9HB Spring 2015 T: 01205 311979 F: 01205 362850 E: [email protected] W: www.bwaf.net 12 • The Boston Witham Academies Federation - Winter News “Working in partnership to raise achievement for all”. Carlton Road ACADEMY Family Learning Parents from the Reception Classes were invited to attend ‘Family Learning’ classes focussing on Animal Topic interaction of story sacks and Phonics between parent and child delivered by Miss Hobart and Sara Martin. This term the Reception classes are learning about animals. They have been looking at On the first week they discussed sharing books with the children, how to deliver Phonics from the Letters and Sounds Program different animals - naming them, describing and looked at Story Sacks. Then the children and their parents played Phonics games together. them, discussing their habitats and what they eat. On the second week the parents observed their child’s class teacher deliver a Phonics Lesson and then looked at children engaging in Phonic activities inside. The learning is focussing on questioning and using the internet, computer software, asking experts and using non-fiction books The parents then went to look at our new outdoor to learn facts about different animals. provision and focussed how the children learnt literacy outdoors. The parents particularly liked First the pupils looked at our classroom pets: Elvis the African the Builder’s Yard Role-play and how the children Land Snail. The children woke up the African Land Snail from incorporated reading and writing into this and the hibernation he had buried himself in the soil and gone to sleep sandpit and water tray in the outdoor classroom and for the Winter. finding letter sound and words. They enjoyed the Story Area with the Storyteller’s Giant Chair and the They gave him a bath in warm water to wake him up and then toadstools to sit on. There is even an outdoor stage watched as the seal broke open and he slowly woke up and that the children practise their acting, singing and came out of his shell. dancing skills on. The children collected On the third week they focussed on sequencing soil from outside to clean stories and retelling them. The children shared a out his tank and then sequencing activity with their parent. The parents provided him with water at home then created a timeline of their child’s life to drink and different fruit by sequencing photographs from their birth to the and vegetables to eat. present day. Each day they On the fourth week we focussed on using ICT to learn Phonics. We looked at the fizz books that the children use in class and remembered to spray the showed the parents the Phonics Software we use in school. Then we looked on the I pads at age appropriate Phonics apps Snail with warm water and games on the internet that they could use with their child at home. On the final week the parents and children followed to keep him warm and instructions together to make a craft Santa’s sleigh and then melted marshmellows and butter and mixed them with rice crispies moist. We put different to make snowballs to go inside of Santa’s sleigh.Then we celebrated what they had learnt over the last few weeks. The parents fruit and veg in his bowl said they felt more confident in delivering Phonics and reading with their child at home and the parent and child received each day and filled in a certificates presented by Mrs Joyce. chart on the display wall of what food he likes and dislikes. Thank you to all the parents that attended the children and staff really enjoyed. rope tarpaulin and large tree branches. Children created a tepee, Frieston Trip using the natural equipment they would find around them to hold it down and keep them safe. Earlier this month, the Researchers in year 5 went on a trip to Winter and Melting Freiston Environmental Centre. As part of their topic ‘Frozen Children were instructed that they all needed to fit inside and it The children have been learning about the Seasons and looking at Kingdom’, the children have been looking at explorers and people was tested under watery conditions! The wind certainly proved the changes in weather and what happens in Winter. They looked at who have been on expeditions to the Polar Regions. At Freiston, as a challenge. Finally, children were shown to use trangias the children learnt some survival skills, imagining that they were to heat up their water to animals that hibernate and what signs to look out for that show us voyagers in the frozen lands. make hot chocolates. This it is Winter. certainly helped warm They had to orienteer, looking for clues and facts about the below us up after a blustery The class made ice balloons by filling balloons with water and putting letters and arctic zero regions. Also, the children had to use natural resources to team building activity. animals inside and different food colouring and then putting them in the freezer. The knot and create a fishing rod that they could use to catch fish All the children in the children looked the next day and saw that the water had turned into ice and also looked in the Antarctic.