NEWSLETTER www.cowesec.org info@cowesec.org
Friday 21st December
Dear parents and carers, It has been great to see so many of you supporting our school play, Arabian Nights. Year 6s joined us for the dress rehearsal and we were thrilled to have so many feeder students enjoying the production. I would like to congratulate all our students for putting on such high quality entertainment and providing such a joyous end to the term and I would also like to thank all the teachers and supporters involved in the production for their commitment and expertise. Today we have held our end of term celebration assemblies with our year groups – and what a lot we have to celebrate. The students have worked hard this term and there have been many achievements, both at personal and school level. We are very proud of our students! We have been really getting underway with the Christmas spirit this week and have been spoilt with two Christmas jumper days; thank you for your support – donations go to charity and are split between the Isle of Wight Toy Appeal and Save the Children. We also enjoyed our Carol Concert on Monday – many thanks to all teachers involved in this key event - and Christmas lunch on Wednesday; students ate lunch complete with Christmas music, table cloths and crackers and it felt very positive to sit together as a school community in this way. My parent surgeries will continue next term on Tuesday afternoons from 1pm – 2.30pm and from 3.30pm – 5.30pm. Attendance is by pre-booked appointments only. Please either email dharrison@cowesec.org or phone the school on 01983 203103 asking for Donna Harrison to book in a slot in advance of each Tuesday. I should like to thank you all for your support this term and to wish you all a fantastic holiday. We look forward to seeing the students back on Tuesday 8th January. With best Christmas wishes, Rachel Kitley
Please click here to view our wishes to you
We would like to wish everyone a wonderful Christmas break. Students will return at 8.25am on Tuesday 8th January 2019 as Monday 7th January is a Staff Development Day. Please be aware that Reception will be closed over the Christmas break and will re-open on Monday 7th January.
In 8KLW this week we have been completing our ‘Random Acts of Kindness’ challenge. This week the tutor group has completed 73 random acts of kindness, including making dinner, doing household chores, helping to wrap presents and cleaning up messes that they didn’t make.
Well done 8KLW!
Don’t forget that you can view recent letters on our website!
Click here to view. Click here to read our Sixth Form prospectus!
Carol Service 2018 On Monday 17th December the College Carol Service took place at St Mary’s Church Northwood. The choir led an evening of music, carols and readings celebrating Christmas in the present but also with a nod back to the Christmases of World War 1, which ended 100 years ago this year. Also celebrating a centenary was the model of the carol service upon which ours was based: The format of “Nine Lessons and Carols” created by Kings College Cambridge was introduced in 1918. Although our service uses poems and seasonal readings, as well as the portion of St Luke’s Gospel detailing the birth of Christ, the general format is the same and allows the choir to explore a variety of styles. It is a huge undertaking to learn nine pieces of Christmas music as these are in addition to the more well-known Christmas Carols that we regularly sing and have heard in the shops seemingly since August! To this end we are grateful for a small body of volunteer singers who assisted with the lower parts of the Music. This group included current staff members, members of the CMC collaboration group, and some former Cowes High School students. They gave up their time, not just on the day itself but in the weeks leading up to the service purely for the joy of singing with our students and helping to create a terrific carol service. The music choices included Ledger’s Sussex Carol, and Darke’s In the Bleak Midwinter, Rutter’s Gaelic Blessing and Head’s The Road to Bethlehem, all of which were sung confidently and sensitively by the large choir of 32 singers.
Tara Bush sang the opening solo of In the Bleak Midwinter and was the only student to join in with the adult singers for this piece. Millie Cumpsty had her solo in People Look East. Charlotte Brooke sang a solo in Gabriel’s Message and Jessica Drew opened the service with a nerve wracking Once in royal David’s city. uCeclele ended a successful year by combining with the ukulele training band and Jessica Claridge-Law’s recorder playing in the Fairytale of New York / Away in a Manger arrangement and the Jazz Band made their debut accompanying Have Yourself a Merry little Christmas. Festive readings were interspersed with each year group represented. Gethin Hepworth’s story about post office workers raised the biggest chuckle, but all readings were very sensitively handled. My thanks go out to all who were involved, and to Miss Gibson for arranging the refreshments afterwards. The retiring collection raised over £100 for Isle of Wight Street and School Pastors who help keep people safe in the night time economy and in the daytime at schools across the island.
Next Date for the Musical Diary is March 21st for the School Concert.
Library books We have a large number of books which have been on loan since before the summer holidays. Please take time, over the holidays, to look for any books at home which belong to the college, and encourage your children to return them at the beginning of next term Thank you
Following the huge success of our academy production ‘Arabian Nights’, we are delight to offer the opportunity to purchase professional digital photographs depicting key scenes from the show. Please follow the link below: https://stephaniemackrillphotography.pixieset.com/g/ arabiannightscowesenterprise/ Congratulations to all staff and students involved in producing such an entertaining and innovative piece of theatre.
REMINDERS & INFORMATION ATTENDANCE Attending is the first part of succeeding! Even in or last week of term, is it important to remember that our attendance and punctuality expectations remain as high as ever. Students should be in the building by 8.25am for a 8.30am prompt start in their tutor class. Any student arriving after 8.30am will be considered as being late. A reminder that the procedure to report a student absence is to call the main Academy number (01983 203103), select Option 1 and leave a message on the Student Absence Line before 8.30am. There is no direct number for the absence line. Phone calls need to be made every day of the student's absence. Please do not call any other number to report a student absence. This term’s review of attendance has shown that many students are taking several ‘odd days off’. These odd days off seem to be for minor ailments and appointments, these absences are having a negative impact on your child’s progress. Missing just one day is not just one day, it’s five hours of learning content missed. Following one day off means your child may not fully understand the content of the next lessons. It can be likened to ripping a chapter out of a book.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING UNIFORM Thank you to all our parents for working so hard to ensure that uniform is correct for your children. We often receive positive comments from members of the community telling how smart our students look when they are travelling to and from the academy. A reminder that we will be expecting students to arrive in their correct uniform when we return on Tuesday 8th January 2019. Click here for further information on uniform.
If a student arrives to College in incorrect uniform or missing uniform we will provide the student with the correct uniform to wear for the day, with the expectation that the uniform will be worn correctly the following day. If a student lives locally and are old enough, they will be asked to go home and rectify their incorrect uniform. Parents will be contacted regarding this.
FACEBOOK AND COMMUNICATION We have been contacted by numerous parents to ask if we can moderate the comments on the Unofficial CEC Parent and Guardian Facebook page. For clarification, this site is completely independent of the Academy and we have no control over the posts of monitoring of this. We are arranging a meeting with the administrators of the site to discuss concerns raised. We understand that parents are finding this independent site useful for the sale of uniform and we are looking into our own facilities to enable parents to safely share this in an official way.
REMINDERS & INFORMATION Drop off , collection and car park safety Please be aware that our local community police have been monitoring cars outside the academy that are stopping illegally on the zigzag line. The reason we continually ask parents not to stop here is for the safety of all students and those arriving for our on-site nursery. A letter has been emailed to all parents from our community police to inform parents that to ensure the safety of all our community, if there are cars stopping on the lines outside, they will be issuing fines as this is against the law. Many thanks for your continued support. Please do not use the Academy car park to drop off and collect students withour prior agreement from the Academy for you to do so. Drop off and collections should be made on Crossfield Avenue remembering that that no parking is permitted on the white ZigZag lines surrounding the pedestrian crossing outside the Academy. Please could we also remind parents that the disabled bay spaces are for holders of valid Blue Badges only.
Term Dates
Upcoming Academy Monday 7th January
Staff Development Day
Tuesday 8th January
All students return to the Academy
Tuesday 8th January
Year 11 CIDA Exam
Thursday 18th January
Year 11 Parents’ Evening
Tuesday 22nd January
Year 11 BTEC Sport Exam
Dates
HPV Vaccinations for Year 8 Girls HPV Vaccination Session for 2nd dose:
Year 11 - BTEC Online Sport Exam On Tuesday 22nd January 2019 all of Year 11 will be sitting the BTEC on-line Sport Exam which is the external exam element of the course. There will be three sittings throughout the day at 9.00am, 10.30am and 12.30am. The exam is 60 minutes long. Unlike the CIDA exam on Tuesday 8th January students do not need to be kept isolated under exam conditions so they will be able to attend lessons when they are not in their test. There will be seating plans on the Examination board in the MIZ on morning of the exam. Year 11 form tutors and the year team will also have lists of student’s exam rooms.
Year 11 CIDA IT Exam For the CIDA exam on Tuesday 8th January students in the second groups will now attend tutor time and lessons 1&2. Straight after break they need to go to EN05 and EN06 where they will be supervised under exam conditions until the first groups have finished their exam. Students in the first groups will go straight to lessons when they have finished which hopefully should be around 11:30 and be in normal lessons for the rest of the day. Students from the second groups should be back in lessons from 14:15.
21st December 2018 22nd December 2018 to 7th January 2019 7th January 2019 8th January 2019
Last Day of Autumn Term (early closure) Christmas Holiday Staff Development Day Start of Spring Term
16th February to 24th February 2019 25th February 2019
Half Term Holiday Return following Half Term Holiday
6th April to 23rd April 2019 22nd April 2019 23rd April 2019
Easter Holiday Bank Holiday Start of Summer Term
6th May 2019 25th May to 2nd June 2019 3rd June 2019
Bank Holiday Half Term Holiday Return following Half Term Holiday
Monday following the IW Festival – TBC
Staff Development Day
19th July 2019 20th July 2019
Last Day of Summer Term (early closure) Summer Holidays Start
Find term dates for next year on our website: https://www.cowesec.org/partners-and-new-starters/term-dates
ACADEMY CLUBS Club Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Time
Location
Cowes Combined Cadet Force (ages 12-18)
5-7pm
Capstan House
uCECLele Training Band
Lunch
MU02
Chess Club
Lunch
BT11
GCSE Art Catch Up Session
3-4pm
CA12
Year 7 Military Skills
3-3.30pm
CCF Office
Oasis Homework Support
2.45—3.30pm
Oasis
STOMP (jazz percussion group)
2.45—3.45pm
MU02
Jazz Band
2.45—3.45pm
MU02
Science Club
2.45—3.30pm
SRC
BTEC Business Revision
2.45—3.30pm
BU11
GCSE Art Catch Up Session
3-4pm
CA12
Communication Club
2.45—3.30pm
Reception
Oasis Homework Support
2.45—3.30pm
Oasis
CPLD/HSC Support—Years 12 and 13
2.45— 4.00pm
BT12
uCEClele (auditions required)
Lunch
MU02
Chess Club
Lunch
BT11
Badminton Club
2.45pm—4.00pm
Winder Centre
Props, Costume & Scenery Club
3-4pm
CA15
Oasis Homework Support
2.45—3.30pm
Oasis
Choir
Lunch 3-4pm
MU02
Basketball Club
Winder Centre