Parklife - 22nd May

With the recent Bank Holidays and 4 day weeks, Summer 1 term seems to have passed by in a hurry. It's a shame the weather hasn't wholly been reflective of the word 'Summer', hopefully we'll start to see some improvement by the start of Summer 2. Until then, students should continue to wear their blazers during the school day, this will only be relaxed after the half term break and be confirmed before we break up on Friday.

Here's a quick round up of some of the key things we've been doing...

• At the end of last term we were delighted to host a self-expression photography exhibition, to showcase the fantastic pictures taken and edited by some of our students. Please do take a minute to look through their work in this presentation created by local photographer Becky, who we would like to thank for mentoring this programme.

• Our Year 11s are now in the second week of their final GCSE's and we wish them lots of luck for the next 5 weeks of last minute revision and sitting the exams. We look forward to marking the end of this stressful time and celebrating all their efforts with a leavers celebration assembly on 21st June, Thorpe Park on 23rd June and Prom on 30th June. Any questions relating to exams or Year 11 events should be directed to the Year 11 team.

• Year 8s have started their options selection process this term and will making their intitial preferences this week during form time. You can find out more about the option subjects available and process timeline on our options webpage or by emailing the Year 8 team.

• A fantastic day out at City Sports, UEA on Thursday with a 1st place for Dovydas in the Year 10 High Jump plus 2nd place medals for Lilianna, Charlie and Year 9 girls relay team. Well done to all the students that attended, an enjoyable day was had by all.

• Our Duke of Edinburgh group went off on their practice expedition earlier this month, they were blessed with some sunshine and had a good trip in preparation for their Bronze assessed expedition this weekend. We wish them well and you can follow their adventures on Twitter @DofE_SPA

Upcoming events, you can also check the school calendar for these and more...

• Tuesday 20th June - Year 6 Transition Welcome Evening

• Friday 23rd June - PTFA Quiz and Chips summer fundraiser

• Tuesday 9th July - Year 9 Parents Evening, invite to follow

• Wednesday 12th & Thursday 13th July - Year 6 Transition to High School Experience

• Wednesday 19th July - Summerfest (during the school day)

• Thursday 20th & Friday 21st July - SMSC Activity Days (please check the parent portal for details of your child's activity and payment schedule)

• Friday 21st July - Last day of term

Attendance

At Sewell Park Academy we value good attendance and punctuality. A high attendance (95%+) is shown to every year to be a huge contributing factor into young people achieving their potential. The link between good attendance and better progress is clear. The table below breaks down the various attendance percentages into lessons missed, it makes it very clear how important a good attendance is.

We understand that 100% attendance can be difficult so our rewards to students includes improved attendance as well as very high attendance. There are weekly chocolate orange rewards for randomly selected students plus Amazon vouchers each half term and chocolate prizes for the best attending forms. We also run a form group league table, which is shared via video from Mr Moore each week. Again this is rewarded with chocolates and the extra special treat (that students eagerly await) Mr Moore's excellent jokes to finish - his own views not that of the school!

If you have any concerns around the attendance of your child, please do not hesitate to contact Mr Moore or Miss Attew. You can also visit the website for more details on absence and attendance, including the legal intervention letters and tiers. https://www.sewellparkacademy.co.uk/absenceandattendance

Parent Survey

We are pleased to share feedback from our last parent survey as below. Our next survey is now open and we would be really grateful if you could take a minute or two to share your views with us. The survey will close on Friday 9th June.