Altos de la Ciudad City Heights Academy Friday 17th October 2014. Issue No. 6 Autumn Term Noticias del Director Overall, the message is that, while there are no grounds for complacency, if we take note of their advice we should be in a strong position for Ofsted when they arrive later this year. Dear Families and Carers, External Review We were pleased to welcome two very experienced Ofsted inspectors into the academy last week in order for them to give us a pre-Ofsted check-up. They saw lessons, met with staff, students and some parents and they looked at a lot of our performance data. I was very pleased by many of the comments they made on the teaching and learning here. They talked about the secure and well-planned lessons they saw and spoke highly of books which showed the good feedback and marking from teachers and the ways that students responded to this. They told us that the interviews with students and families gave evidence that children are happy, safe, well taught and well-supported here. The 32 responses on Parent View also strongly support that view and we are still keen on more contributions (see right). They recognised that we are a very young school and growing fast and gave good suggestions as to how we can develop our systems to ensure that we can sustain our early successes as we get bigger. Meet the Tutors I hope by now that you are all aware of our Meet the Tutors event next Thursday. Details are on the right. We hope to see as many of you as possible. There will also be an opportunity to complete the Parent View survey on one of our computers while you are here. INSET Day Friday 24th October Next Friday is an INSET day so there will be no school for students. It also means that this is the last newsletter before the half-term break. I would like to thank you for all your support this term and for the cheerfulness and hard-work of your sons and daughters here. We look forward to carrying on the good work in term 2. Mr Jim Henderson, Principal YEAR 7 ENTRY for SEPTEMBER 2015 Open Mornings Friday 17th October 9 - 10.30 am DATES TO REMEMBER Please remember: If your child is absent for any reason please leave a message on each day of absence by dialling 020 3691 4600 and selecting option 1. END OF TERM: School closes at 3.40 pm THURSDAY 23RD OCTOBER (INSET DAY FRIDAY 24TH OCTOBER) School re-opens on Monday 3rd November HAVE YOU COMPLETED THE OFSTED PARENT VIEW SURVEY ? Please remember to complete the OFSTED Parent View survey. There are 12 questions to select a response to. This will only take a few minutes. Please visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk Enter: City Heights E-ACT Academy and our postcode: SW2 3PW Meet the Tutors A reminder that we are holding an early evening event on Thursday 23rd October for all of you to come with your children to hear from me, to meet their tutor for a quick chat and get a tour of our building. Year 7 families should arrive for a presentation from me at 5.00pm and Year 8 families at 5.20pm. The evening will end at 6.30pm. I hope that many of you will be able to come. Mr. Henderson, Principal ¡Novedades del mundo... ! Retraso en el crecimiento puede ser revertida In 2008 there was a food crisis in Peru. The price of rice doubled in three months and many poor families struggled to feed their children adequately. Six years later thousands of Peruvian children are much smaller than they should be. And this physical stunting is coupled with poor cognitive skills development. Researchers have recognised the vital importance of the first 1000 days in causing this damage and had believed that this effect was irreversible, with lives permanently blighted. However, a major research study in Peru and elsewhere now suggests that this is not inevitable. Peru invested heavily in school feeding programmes and regular health checks. For example, a programme called “Vaso de Leche” (Glass of Milk) has allowed all children from 0 to 6 years old to receive free milk to provide the necessary nutritional diet. Early evidence indicates that, with a determined approach, affected children can catch up on the early delays in brain development. This gives hope that early malnutrition does not have to ruin the development of young children around the world. Mr Henderson, Principal ART AND DESIGN UNIFORM ORDERS As you know, uniform is now available to purchase at Wear Abouts, 358 Norwood Road, SE27. This has proved to be a very popular choice with families and we are no longer offering the online ordering option for this reason. If you have previously ordered any items online, please note that delivery of these items will fall between 17th October and 14th November. If you have asked for the items to be delivered to the school, we will notify you of their arrival. Spanish Lessons The lessons are for beginners and are totally free every Wednesday between 4.30 and 5.30pm. We are operating a first come first served policy. There are a few places available. Please contact the office if you would like to register for a place. Hasta pronto Year 7 were asked to submit an Art homework which told me something about 'Who I am.' The idea behind this was for me to be able to get to know our new students a little better! I have learnt a lot about our new students but wanted to highlight these individuals in particular, as having handed in homework of an exceptionally high standard: by Mason –7ADE Louise JTO; Mason 7ADE; Hannah 7ADE; Mollie 7CTA Ashanti 7CTA; Sharnaye 7ASH; Tia 7ALI; Amy 7ALI; Lorenzo 7ALI; Daniel 7LSM Very well done! Mrs Baker, Subject Leader for Art & Design Señor Toledo, Teacher of Spanish Please remember... ATTENDANCE It is very important that students arrive in school on time each day. They must be in their tutor rooms by 8.45 a.m. The gates on Christchurch Road close shortly after 8.40 a.m. Any latecomers must register at Reception by 8.45 a.m.