News
We are at the end of another busy week and over the half way point of the Autumn 1 Term.
Attendance Matters
Thank you again for another strong week of school attendance. We understand that sometimes your child may not be well enough for school, when they are getting better, we can make some adjustments in school and support with administration of pain relief so that they do not miss out on too much learning. The NHS has compiled a resource about school attendance and sickness, which parents may find helpful to refer to: Is my child too ill for school? - NHS
C.A.P Count
We’re excited to be holding our CAP count during Form Time on Friday 10th October! C.A.Ps (Citizenship, Achievement, Participation) are our way of recognising and rewarding students who consistently live out our school values.
Please encourage your child to show you their CAP page and celebrate their progress. Every sticker represents a moment of excellence- let’s keep collecting and celebrating together!
Homework
Thank you for your continued support in helping our students complete their homework. We’re pleased to share that 78% of students completed their Sparx Maths homework on time last week. This is a fantastic achievement!
Research from the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) shows that high-quality homework can lead to five months of additional progress, particularly for secondary school students.
We have seen the impact here at MEA Central with Year 11 students who regularly use GCSE Pod and Sparx gaining higher grades in their GCSEs. Some of our alumni have also returned to excitedly tell us that they are a step ahead of their peers as their college is teaching the same revision strategies that they learnt at Central.
We’ve also seen brilliant examples of retrieval practice in red homework books and homework recorded in planners. Below is a photo of a Year 8 scholars' retrieval practice homework.
How we support homework completion
We understand that some students may face barriers to completing homework outside of class. Here’s how we help:
Thank you again for your partnership in supporting our students’ learning.
Performing Arts Curriculum Showcase
Thursday 16th October, 5.00–6.00pm in the Theatre.
We are pleased to invite you to the Performing Arts Curriculum Showcase on Thursday 16th October, 5.00–6.00pm in the Theatre.
The evening will feature a selection of work from across our Music and Drama curriculum this half term. Students will present pieces they have been developing in lessons and rehearsals, giving families and the wider school community the chance to see the progress and talent on display.
This is a great opportunity to celebrate the hard work of our students and staff in Performing Arts, and to recognise the creativity and dedication that they bring to their learning every day.
Letters to all students who have shown interest or been asked to perform will go out next week. If your child would like to be involved in this performance, please ask them to speak to a member of the Performing Arts staff.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Careers
Year 11 - College Applications
It is advisable to begin to look on college websites for updates on college open evenings and applications; some of these are already open! We advise students to apply for at least 5 post-16 providers, and we ask students to give evidence of this to their tutors so we can gain an understanding on where everyone is up to.
Year 11 students have started working on their personal statements in CAP lessons, ask them to share updates with you and support where you can.
All our staff are more than happy to support you and your child at this time, but if you would require further support, we offer the following events:
Coffee Morning- 9th October 9am - 10am
or
Live TEAMs Event 13th November 5:15pm - 5:45pm (link : College Application Support | Meeting-Join | Microsoft Teams )
Confirm attendance here: https://forms.office.com/e/u8veqVMu3t
Year 10 - Work Experience
Work experience has now launched. Students should have brought home 2 letters with QR codes, 1 is for the employer and 1 for you as the parent/carer to give consent. Support your child by:
Supporting events
Live TEAMs Event 15th October 5pm - 5:30pm (link :Work Experience Session | Meeting-Join | Microsoft Teams )
Confirm attendance here: https://forms.office.com/e/YLBqrymMpp
As always, if you have any questions or require further support regarding careers, work experience or post-16 options, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Online Safety
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Artificial Intelligence (A.I) information for Parents AI is when a computer/machine can learn and perform tasks like a human. Its popularity continues to grow, and examples include:
Opportunities AI can be an effective tool when used correctly, for instance:
Risks and concerns
How can I protect my child? To help keep your child safe online, it is important to:
Further information Should you worry if your child has an AI friend? https://parentzone.org.uk/article/should-you-worry-if-your-child-has-ai-friend
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Roblox: Grow a Garden Roblox is a platform consisting of a collection of games. Grow a Garden is one of the latest games available on Roblox and is extremely popular.
The game is labelled as ‘minimal’ for content maturity, which Roblox define as “may contain occasional mild violence, light unrealistic blood, and/or occasional mild fear.”
Roblox believe that the game play is suitable for everyone. However, as the game is on Roblox, it is important to be aware of the following:
A lot of the content on Roblox is user generated, which may mean not all games will be suitable for your child to view/play. If your child is playing Roblox, it is important to monitor what your child is accessing, ensure they know how to use any reporting tools and set up appropriate parental controls. Further information https://en.help.roblox.com/hc/en-us/articles/30428310121620-Parental-Controls-Overview
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Grooming online
Grooming is when somebody seeks to build a relationship with a child to exploit them or cause harm.
It is important that we teach our children how to recognise red flags. Childline have lots of useful information on their website, including where to get further support from:
https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/bullying-abuse-safety/online-mobile-safety/online-grooming/
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More Online Safety advice: More online Safety advice can be found on our dedicated web pages: click here |
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Head of Year Messages
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Year 7 – Ms. S Bryan We are now over halfway through the first half term, and it has been wonderful to see how well Year 7 have settled into school life. They continue to approach each day with energy, positivity, and a genuine enthusiasm for their learning. This week during form time, our co-curriculum focus has been on:
A reminder that our homework platforms are there to support your child’s learning. We strongly encourage students to make full use of them to consolidate their knowledge. However, please note that no consequences are given for incomplete homework in Year 7. The focus is on building confidence and independence in managing their studies. Year 7 continue to embody our school values of Citizenship, Achievement, and Participation in all that they do. We are also very proud to celebrate our Top CAP winners this week: Manish, Eesha, Samiha, Muhammad Ayaan, Aleezay and Zion. A huge well done to them for consistently demonstrating our values and being excellent role models for their peers! Thank you for your continued support as we guide Year 7 through their first term |
Ms Bryan |
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Year 8 – Ms. C Gates
Year 8 have had another brilliant week at MEA Central. Our scholars have shown real pride in their appearance during line-ups, and uniform continues to look excellent across the year group. Thank you for your continued support in helping us maintain these high standards.
One way to keep standards high is by regularly checking your child’s planner. Scholars should be recording their homework and, most importantly, their CAPs—please keep asking them how many CAPs they have, especially as we approach the CAP Count next week. Planners should be signed weekly to help us stay connected and celebrate your child’s achievements.
This week, we’ve had a big focus on the value of citizenship, including how to have restorative conversations when needed. It’s been wonderful to see students using kind and respectful language across the school, helping to build a positive and inclusive environment.
Ms Gates
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Ms Gates |
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Year 9 – Mx Umpierrez What an excellent first week of Big Tests for all our Year 9 students! Walking around their tests and seeing them all 100% focused on showing everything they’ve learned in their lessons has been truly inspiring.
We are aware that many students have been feeling unwell and making a huge effort to come into school throughout the week. We would like to thank you for supporting your child building and showing the so-needed resilience to go through exam season while struggling with seasonal illnesses.
This week we have placed our focus not only on Big Tests, but also on our school value of Citizenship, my personal favourite. Since I met our cohort, there are numerous occasions where I have been fascinated with how kind they all are. Today we wanted to praise the top 10 students in Year 9 who have the most CAPs for showing Citizenship since they joined us 2 years ago; a huge well done, and a thank you, to:
It really does make a difference to come to school every day and see your interactions with all staff and students around the school. I am very proud of you!
Lastly, moving onto uniform, a gentle reminder to all parents that eyelash extensions, branded trainers and make-up are not allowed in our school as per the uniform policy. We have discussed this in multiple occasions during assemblies and form sessions but wanted to also ask parents and carers to support us by ensuring neither of these are being worn when coming into school.
If you have any questions or concerns about these, please do let us know.
Have a wonderful weekend. Mx D Umpierrez |
Mx. Umpierrez |
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Year 10 – Mr C Blackburn Year 10 have had an amazing week. Students have shown real focus and determination as they continue to build strong scholarly habits. These habits have now been assessed, and each student will receive a Scholarly Habits grade alongside their GCSE predicted grades at our upcoming Parents Evening. It is vital that you attend this evening on Tuesday 7 October, as it will be an important opportunity to receive and discuss this key information. Students should be working towards a Scholarly Habits grade of 1, which reflects consistent excellence in areas such as participation, quality of work, independent learning, attendance and behaviour. It is important to remember that target grades are not a limit. We want every student show ambition and achieve beyond their targets. The sky is the limit, and with strong habits and support, every student can reach their full potential for a fantastic future. We look forward to welcoming you to celebrate the progress and achievements of our students. Books and work will be available to view, giving you a chance to see the effort and pride your child is putting into their learning. Thank you, as always, for your continued support. We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday 7th October. |
Mr C Blackburn |
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Year 11 – Mr J Roper
Year 11 have had a busy week both in and out of school. Both Ms Renshaw and I have been able to observe some fantastic work being completed this week in practical option subjects, such as Textiles, Photography, Sports Studies and Engineering - where the standard of work and application of the students has been exceptional. The pupils have continued taking real 'ownership and independence' of their studies by continuing to attend Period 6 Science lessons and completing work on SPARX and GCSE Pod. The culmination of the week saw over 100 pupils in the year group attend Formby beach to complete their Y11 Geography field trip - a worthwhile trip for all the students and a way to make learning come alive in a real physical setting.
We continue to build up and prepare the students for their upcoming 'Progress Exams'. These exams will start on Monday 3rd November and the first exam will be English Language (Paper 2). Following on from this exam the students will then complete a series of exams (Timetables to be distributed over the coming weeks) and all revision materials are accessible through Central Online.
Have a great weekend.
Mr Roper & Ms Renshaw |
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