NEWSLETTER Friday 24th January Dear Parents and Carers, This has been another busy week, particularly for our sixth form, who are now receiving offers each day for their university applications. I am delighted to share with you that we have had prestigious offers for our students and that so far these include an offer for a student to study History and Politics at Merton College Oxford and Maths at King’s College Cambridge and also for Medicine. It is exciting for us all when our students hear such news about their potential next academic pathways.
Thank you to all parents who attended our year 8 parents’ evening and I do hope that you found the evening essential in letting you know how to support your child. We were delighted with the parent feedback questionnaire results taken from this evening. 127 parents took the time to carry out our survey and the results told us that parents feel extremely positive about the academy. 99% of parents said they would recommend Cowes Enterprise College and every answer has had a very high percentage of parents agree or strongly agree we are doing well. Highlights include that 98% of parents say their child does well here, 97% of parents say their child feels safe and 95% say their child is happy and that we have high expectations. The questions we ask at parents’ evening are for an internal questionnaire, but the questions mirror the Ofsted parentview questions. Parents are able to share their views of the academy at any time at https://parentview.ofsted.gov.uk and it is extremely helpful for us to have parents who are happy with the academy share their views directly with Ofsted. My parent surgeries continue this term on Tuesday afternoons. Please either email dharrison@cowesec.org or phone the school on 01983 203103 asking for Donna Harrison to book a pre-booked slot. With best wishes, Rachel Kitley Click the arrows or swipe to turn pages
UPCOMING EVENTS Thurs 30th Jan 5-8pm
Year 9 Parents’ Evening,
(Invitation emails sent on Wednesday 15th January)
Thurs 6th and Fri Noel Turner Science Festival (both days are full days for CEC students) 7th Feb Fri 14th Feb
Last Day of Half Term
YEAR 9 PARENTS’ EVENINGS THURSDAY 30TH JANUARY, 5-8PM
TERM DATES FOR CURRENT ACADEMIC YEAR Fri 14th February
Last Day of Half Term
17th February—21st Febru-
Half Term Holiday
Mon 24th February
Start of second half of Spring Term
Friday 3rd April
Last Day of Spring Term
6th April—17th April
Easter Holiday
Mon 20th April
Start of Summer Term
Fri 8th May
Early May bank holiday (VE day)
Fri 22nd May
Last Day of Half Term
25th May—29th May
Half Term Holiday
Invitation emails were sent on Wednesday 15th Mon 1st June January to parents and carers for the forthcoming Year 9 Parents’ Evening . Bookings Mon 15th June TBC are now live and will remain open until midday on Wednesday 30th January. Fri 17th July Please book appointments ASAP to avoid disappointment.
Sat 18th July
Start of second half of Spring Term Staff Development Day Last Day of Summer Term Summer Holidays Start
TERM DATES FOR 2020/2021 ACADEMIC If you are unable to attend please let us know by calling 01983 203103 or emailing 1st September 2020 Staff Development Day info@cowesec.org. Please be aware that sometimes these emails can go into your spam 2nd October 2020 Staff Development Day or junk inbox. If you have not received this email please contact us so we can investigate.
LETTERS Recent letters can be found on our website, under the ‘Communication’ heading and then selecting ‘letters and communication’. Click here to view recent letters.
ROAD CROSSING PATROL PARK ROAD Please be aware that there will be no road crossing patrol on Park Road until 3rd February.
26th October to 30th October 2020
Half Term Holiday
18th December 2020
Last Day of Autumn Term
21st December 2020 to 1st January 2021
Christmas Holiday
4th January 2021
Staff Development Day
5th January 2021
Start of Spring Term
15th February to 19th February 2021
Half Term Holiday
26th March 2021
Last Day of Spring Term
29th March to 9th April 2021
Easter Holiday
12th April 2021
Start of Summer Term
3rd May 2021
Bank Holiday
31st May 2021 to 4th June 2021
Half Term Holiday
14th June 2021 (to be confirmed)
Staff Development Day
16th July 2021
Last Day of Summer
CAR PARK SAFETY 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 do not use the Academy car park to drop off and collect students without prior agreement from the Academy for you to do so.
SEN PARENT SURGERIES SEN Parent Surgeries will be held on Thursdays 3pm—5pm. If you would like to book please email EDowner@cowesec.org
If a student is absent, parents and carers should telephone the academy on 01983 203103 and select Option 1 before 8.30am on each day of absence, informing of the reason of absence and when their child will be returning to the academy.
Phone calls need to be made every day of the student's absence. Parents are required to send a letter of explanation of absence when their child returns to school. This should be handed into reception. This letter should detail the duration and reason for absence.
UNIFORM REMINDERS Please could we remind all parents and carers of our uniform expectations. Please ensure that trousers are loose fitting and about the same width from knee to ankle, as stated in the Academy Uniform Requirements, available on the website. A reminder also that black jumpers should be completely black, V-neck with no visible logos. They should not be round necked sweatshirts. Skirts should not be rolled up and should be fitted to knee length or below. Jewellery and facial piercings of any description are NOT allowed. This includes nose piercings. The only jewellery allowed in school are one simple stud or sleeper in the lobe of each ear and a wristwatch. Any additional jewellery will be confiscated and securely stored to be collected by students at the end of the day. Make up must please be non-visible. This means that no students should be wearing false eyelashes. Any student wearing these will be asked to remove them, they will be confiscated and stored securely to be collected by students at the end of the day. Any student in need of sanitary products can see Mrs Harding, visit any of the Year Offices, The English Office or see Mr Carey in First Aid who will all be able to assist.
YEAR 9 IMMUNISATIONS Please be aware that Year 9 students were given consent packs on Wednesday 15th January for the forthcoming immunisations Please could these be completed and returned to Reception as soon as possible, even if consent is not given?
Parent Voice Thank you to all year 8 parents who took the time to complete the parent voice survey at this week’s parents’ evening. The results of the survey are below. There were 128 responses to the survey.
Well done Team CEC!
Students across Year 7 and Year 10 worked together over the Autumn term to complete in the First Lego League IOW and Portsmouth Tournament, hosted in Ryde that was held on Tuesday 21st January. We won the 'Best Robot Programme' trophy. This is the Trophy for the most efficient and effective approach to using the LEGO Mindstorms robot to complete as many missions as possible on the LEGO table. This is a head to head competition! Our students also completed a research project and spoke about their creative solution to traffic flow in Newport, IOW and their design for a barrage and lock gate across the medina, in line with some of the developments under proposal through the IOW Council. Councillor Paul Fuller visited the students to wish them well in anticipation of the tournament and was thrilled to see their teamwork approach to the LEGO Challenges. Councillor Fuller will now be taking the student's research project to the IOW Council's regeneration team. Our team are thrilled about Councillor Fuller's support and are keen to hear back on the regeneration team's thoughts.
BOAT BUILDING Our team of enthusiastic boat builders started today on assessing our wooden wayfarer restoration project, learning and understanding the role of tools and materials. Next week we start to remove some of the parts of the boat to then generate templates. As the team move forward they will provide a weekly update in the newsletter, so stay tuned for more of the progress made with our wayfarer. If you have a keen interest as a student at CEC in joining the team please do make contact with the Design Technology department. If you are a parent/carer or member of the community with a special interest or role in the maritime sector, please do not hesitate to make contact. Our email address for the maritime curriculum here at CEC is
YEAR 8 CHARTER We are excited to make you aware of the year 8 Cowes charter programme that your child will partake and benefit from within year 8. This enrichment opportunity is a guarantee that every Cowes Enterprise College student will build a portfolio of experiences throughout this year to develop both their academic and personal skills to be the best that they can be. The year 8 charter builds on the portfolio of experiences and skills that they developed last year through the Year 7 charter. In addition to providing opportunities to further develop their character and resilience, students will take part in enterprise activities and opportunities for them to explore experiences outside of their usual curriculum lessons. The Cowes carter consists of 5 key areas which all provide the opportunity for your child to develop their own individual skills and knowledge: 1. Perform for a variety of audiences 2. Take advantage of enrichment opportunities 3. Make a contribution to society 4. Show all round learning 5. Be involved in the wider life of the school Students will be expected to take responsibility and ownership for their own progress and completion of each area, with the support of their form tutor and being able to complete some of the tasks in their weekly E1M lessons. Their charter booklet will be kept in school, you will have the opportunity to review this and write a comment once it has been completed. We would expect all students to complete their charter by the end of year 8, where they will receive the recognition from
HAMPSHIRE SCHOOLS BADMINTON TOURNAMENT A 4.40am alarm call was how the day started for the U13 Girls Badminton team, who travelled to Winchester last Thursday, to compete in the Hampshire Schools Badminton tournament. Having won the IW tournament, we earned our opportunity to pitch skills against the best in the county. In very close games, the Cowes team lost the first match against a strong team from Mayville High and managed to beat a team from The Romsey School to finish 2nd in the group. We narrowly missing out on a place in the play-off. This was a great event and gave us the chance to experience advanced level opponents and gain valuable experience, in what was for many our first competition outside of CEC. Well done to all the players, we are all very proud of your achievements.
EPQ TRIP TO SOUTHAMPTON UNIVERSITY Sixth Form EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) students had an excellent trip to Southampton University on Tuesday which included a workshop on research skills in the university’s impressive new building, a superb facility full of technology that allowed us to search their vast database of academic articles. This was followed by a guided visit to the enormous university library and time to work alongside students to read and research for our projects. Everybody enjoyed the day and we were very grateful to the university for supporting our projects and research.
YEAR 7 NETBALL Huge congratulations to our Year 7 Netballers who came an amazing 3rd place in their first ever netball tournament! We are incredibly proud!
DUKE OF EDINBURGH The first Duke of Edinburgh bronze training walk took place last Sunday around Carisbrooke Castle. It was wet and a bit muddy but a useful walk to discover our navigational skills! The next Duke of Edinburgh walk is on 9th February at Ventnor Botanical Gardens. There is just one more week to go for Vinnie and his dog training. We have been working on ‘stop and wait’ when walking. All three girls have made great progress with their dog training skills …. Vinnie has been quite a willing participant too! Well done to Amelie, Rosie and Eadie.
There are lots of websites who offer self-help for young people, and we have included a list of some of these below. Click the information to be taken to the organisation’s website. Kooth - Free online support for young people Young Minds - The UK's leading charity committed to improving the emotional wellbeing and mental health of children and young people ChildLine - The UK's free helpline for children an young people, providing a confidential counselling service for any child or young person with a problem The Mix - Free, confidential telephone helpline finding young people the best help whatever the problem Samaritans—Volunteers who listen in confidence to anyone in any type of emotional distress without judgement or telling people what to do FRANK - Confidential information and advice for anyone concerned about their own or someone else's drug or solvent misuse
B-EAT Youth Helpline - online community information, help and support for anyone affected by eating disorders Kidscape - the first charity in the UK established specifically to prevent bullying and sexual abuse It Gets Better Project - created to inspire hope for young people facing harassment. Brook Advisory Service - The UK's heading provide of sexual health services and advice for young people under 25. Winston's Wish - The helpline offers support, information and guidance to all those caring for a bereaved child or young person
CHILDREN’S MENTAL HEALTH WEEK 1 in 8 children and young people have a diagnosable mental health condition. We’re supporting Place2Be’s #ChildrensMentalHealthWeek (3rd—9th February) - raising awareness of the importance of children and young people’s mental health. Learn more: childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk All staff are trained in Mental Health and Well-being of Young people and key front line staff are also trained to a higher level, certified in Mental Health First Aid and further qualifications to deliver bespoke interventions of support where needed – ELSA is one such example. This is to ensure that all of our young people are able to access appropriate emotional support alongside their academic studies with us. If any student feels like they would like some support they should speak to their Year Teams in the first instance. Details of our Year Teams can be found on our website under the ‘Our Academy’ tab or by CLICKING HERE. Students can also speak to Mrs Harding who is our Designated Mental Health Champion. In addition to having a personal tutor and heads of year/mentors, we can offer a range of interventions for our young people. These are often delivered by our Inclusion Intervention Lead – Ms Cooke. If you would like to know more about what we can offer for your child, please do contact the academy to find out more.
ACADEMY CLUBS Club Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Time
Location
Cowes Combined Cadet Force (ages 12-18)
5-7pm
Capstan House
Chess Club
Lunch
BT11
Homework Support
2.50—3.30pm
DE10
Oasis Board Games
2.50—3.30pm
Oasis
Ukulele Club
2.45—3.30pm
MU02
Film Club
2.45pm for duration of
CA13
BTEC Business Coursework Booster Sessions
2.45—4.30pm
BU11
Social Media and Communication Club
2.45—3.30pm
Reception
Homework Support
2.50—3.30pm
DE10
Oasis Board Games
2.50—3.30pm
Oasis
Science Club
2.45-3.30pm
Science IZ
Book and Biscuit Club
2.45-4pm
Oasis
Warhammer and Model Club
2.45—4.00pm
DE06
Drama Club
2.45—3.45pm
CA09
Chess Club
Lunch
BT11
BTEC Business Revision
2.45—3.30pm
BU11
Homework Support
2.50-3.30pm
DE10
Oasis Board Games
2.50-3.30pm
Oasis
Burnet News Club
2.45-3.45pm
ET13
CEC Glee Club
2.45—3.30pm
MU02
SPORTS CLUBS Club
Time
Meeting Point
Monday
CCF
5—7pm
Capstan House
Tuesday
Netball (Year 7 and South of England teams)
3-4pm
Sports Hall
Indoor Cricket (All Years)
3-4pm
Old Sports Hall
3-4pm
ED11 and SC14
Sports Hall Athletics (Years 7 and 8)
3-4pm
SC14
Girls Football (All Years)
3-4pm
Changing Rooms
Military Skills (Year 7)
3—3.30pm
ED11
Ski Fit
3-4pm
Sports Hall
Rugby
3-4pm
Field
Basketball
3-4pm
Sports Hall
Wednesday PE Intervention (GCSE and BTEC, Years 9—Sixth Form)
Sports Leavers (to start as advertised)
Thursday
Friday