Tuesday 7^th February 2023

Safer Internet Day is held every February in over 170 different countries. The goal of Safer Internet Day is to call on people across the world to work together to make the internet a safer and better place for all, but especially for young people. In the UK, the UK Safer Internet Centre run a campaign especially for the day which aims to start a national conversation about using technology safely and positively. 

Last year over half of children and young people in the UK heard about the campaign, but it also involves and influences government, charities, police forces and tech companies including social media and gaming platforms. 

This Safer Internet Day asks everyone to make space for conversations about life online, especially with young people.  

That’s why this year, the theme for Safer Internet Day is: 

Want to talk about it? Making space for conversations about life online 

To help raise further awareness of the importance of keeping safe online, pupils in all year groups have written their own pledges about how they will keep safe online.    

So, this Safer Internet Day we are challenging everyone to talk about it. 

Talk to your friends. Talk to the adults you know and trust. 

Most importantly, tell them if something is worrying you. It’s never too late to share an online problem and get help and support that can make things better. 

Happy Safer Internet Day everyone!

On Thursday 2 February, pupils and staff came together for a Time to Talk event with pastries and hot chocolate in the canteen after school. Run by Mind and Rethink Mental Illness, Time to Talk Day is the nation’s biggest mental health conversation. Every year, one in 4 of us will experience a mental health problem. Talking helps to create supportive communities which can empower us to seek help when we need it. By opening up the conversation about mental health, we can support both ourselves and others. The event gave pupils and staff an opportunity to unwind and talk over mindful colouring sheets and chess. It was great to see Year 11 pupils sharing tips to support their wellbeing during the upcoming exam period. We are looking forward to celebrating more events next week for Children’s Mental Health Week. 

On Monday 23 January, Loudmouth delivered an engaging performance of Calling It Out to our Year 9, 10 and 11 pupils. The Calling It Out programme supports our work as a school to create a culture where sexual harassment and sexual abuse are not tolerated. The performance explored where these harmful sexual behaviours are coming from and alternative, positive behaviours. It raised awareness of the huge impact these everyday incidences of sexual harassment and assault can have on young people and how we all have a role in safely challenging and reporting these behaviours. The pupils asked some interesting and important questions between the performances and the actors were able to address any misconceptions and signpost pupils to the relevant support services. The actors were brilliant and extremely knowledgeable about the issues being addressed. Feedback from the staff and pupils was very positive and emphasised that pupils enjoy and benefit from visits from external organisations. A very positive addition to the PSHRSE curriculum! 

On Monday 16 January, Loudmouth delivered a brilliant performance of Working for Marcus to our Year 11 pupils. The programme teaches about a wide range of child exploitation issues including child sexual exploitation and exploitation into crime (county lines and knife crime). Pupils had the opportunity to ask questions between the performances and discuss the key themes and the actors signposted pupils to relevant support services, which was really valuable. The actors were excellent, not only in their performances, but in their ability to relate to the pupils. Overall, the performances were engaging and thought provoking and the feedback from the staff and pupils was very positive. 

On Friday 9^th December 2022 two full minibusses of students from year 8 set off together with Ms Thompson, Mr Canning England, and Miss Handley to explore the German Christmas Market in Birmingham City Centre. Once at the market, we split up into groups to complete a trail around the market. The task was to find out what the German signs on the stalls all over the market meant in English. Do you know what Bratkartoffeln, Zwiebeln or Kastanien are? So, we hunted down to find out by using our knowledge of German and English but also by speaking to the stallholders themselves. Whilst on their hunt around the Christmas market students tried many different types of food that were on offer – the Bratwurst was a firm favourite! Birmingham’s German Market is also called Frankfurt Christmas Market because it was originally brought to the city from Frankfurt/Main in 1997 as this is Birmingham’s twin city in Germany. It is the largest Christmas Market outside of Germany and Austria counting around 5.5 Million visitors every year.

Frohe Weihnachten = Merry Christmas!

Y8 Spanish visited the Spanish Restaurant in Moseley on the 12^th December as part of their KS3 languages development curriculum. The pupils all experienced a tasting menu of authentic Spanish food, which consisted of: Tortilla Española, patatas bravas, paella as well as others.  Students were very lucky and were even gifted with chocolates from the restaurant.

Student reviews:

“Today I visited a Spanish restaurant called ‘La Plancha’ and I would rate it 10/10. The staff were generous, the food was “muy rico”. I would be happy to go again because of the experience there. I have wanted to try a churro and this was my chance to do so. My favourite foods have got to be the churros and garlic dish. The team are doing a fantastic job with the place and they deserve a pat on the back” – Michael.

“Today I visited La Plancha and it was really delicious. I had paella, garlic bread, tortilla and patatas bravas. For dessert, I had churros, chocolate dip, and ice cream. The whole meal was amazing, especially the surprise chocolates at the end. It is really good service and I would like to go again.” – Olivia.

Dame Elizabeth Cadbury have been celebrating the achievements of a number of our staff. Whatever role they have to play in the smooth operation of the school all of our staff do a fantastic job to make the DEC vision a reality. From the amazing work of the site team, catering staff and admin department to the teachers in the classroom delivering  on that promise for high quality education. We really couldn’t do it without the diligence, support and determination from all of our team who work tirelessly, continuingly looking for ways to adapt and develop to ensure they deliver the very best in whatever job they do.

To mark this the Matrix Academy Trust have recognised the achievements of a number of our staff across the year. Whilst it would be true to say all of our team deserve awards of some description and we are immensely proud of all, these individuals have stood out particularly as helping to make DEC what it is today. DEC wouldn’t be DEC without each and every one of these members and the rest of the staff body. We thank you for all of your support as DEC stakeholders throughout this year and invite you to wish our staff a huge Well Done for an extremely successful 2022!

Dance students from across the Matrix Academy Trust came together on Monday 21^st November at Turves Green Boys School to perform in a collaborative project. Each school was assigned a section of ‘Celebrate’ by Pitbull to choreograph and perform, before all coming together as one to learn and perform the final section. The event saw over 100 students come together and share their passion for dance. Students thoroughly enjoyed the experience of performing in front of others and making new friends. The overall performance shows the motivation and commitment that these students have for the subject.

On a blustery autumn morning, over one hundred cadets and staff from four of our schools braved the high winds and cold to pay their respects to those who have given the most to our communities and country within the armed forces and emergency services. At this time, we also remembered those innocent civilians who lost their lives in the crossfire of conflict.

This year, our Armistice Day parade was held at Barr Beacon School in Walsall and was attended by the Headteachers from Barr Beacon School, Bloxwich Academy, Dame Elizabeth Cadbury School, Etone College and Turves Green Boys’ School. Major (Ret) Simon Cuthbert of the West Midlands Cadet Expansion Programme attended as the inspecting officer, and our CEO Ms Lynsey Draycott was also in attendance. It was a proud moment for all of the cadets. 

The parade was commanded by Flt Lt Muller. Ms Broome of Barr Beacon School (a Veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq) conducted The Act of Remembrance. All of the cadets and staff marked the two minutes silence before Maj Cuthbert addressed the parade about the importance of remembrance and how smart all of the cadets looked whilst on parade.

LEST WE FORGET.