Last term 130 year 7 and 8 mathematicians sat the UKMT Junior Maths Challenge. The Junior Mathematical Challenge is a 60-minute, multiple-choice challenge sat by students across the country. It encourages mathematical reasoning, precision of thought, and fluency in using basic mathematical techniques to solve problems. It provides students with the opportunity to solve interesting problems and questions outside of their usual maths lessons.  

All students who sat the challenge did exceptionally well and it was evident that students were trying their hardest to work through the problems. Congratulations and well done to everyone who took part.  

Students who achieved certain scores were awarded certificates for their efforts and as a school we achieved 1 gold, 7 silver and 27 bronze certificates. This is an amazing achievement and all students who received a certificate should be very proud of themselves. A particular well done to Anna A in year 7 who achieved best in year and Macy R in year 8 who achieved best in school. 

At the start of this half-term 37 year 10 prefects went on their team building trip to Ackers Adventure. They were split up in to four groups and completed kayaking/canoeing, rock climbing and bush craft. All students conducted themselves fantastically well and showed great resilience and teamwork across the three activities. It was great to see them encouraging each other to succeed and push themselves, especially with the climbing which for some students was very much out of their comfort zone. The prefect team really came together to support and guide each other throughout the day. It is going to be great to see them apply the skills they have developed, at Ackers, to their roles within school and beyond. 

On Friday 19^th May students from York house held a bake sale to raise money for their house charity St Basils. Students baked and decorated cupcakes and cookies the evening before, with a variety of colours and styles. The amount raised was £38.70, which can go towards supporting the fantastic work St Basils do tackling youth homelessness in Birmingham and the West Midlands.

Matrix’s first ever cross-trust pupil awards event, held at Millennium Point on 20^th April, was a fantastic success.

Pupils were recognised for exemplifying our trust values of creativity, resilience, selflessness, enthusiasm and continuous improvement. There were also awards for exemplary members of our Cadet Forces.

With more than 7000 pupils across our trust schools, it was really difficult to choose the 46 award winners. Those who did receive the awards should feel deservedly proud of their achievement.

The awards-giving was punctuated with several fantastic performances, including DJs from Barr Beacon, a piano virtuoso from Year 4 of Bloxwich Academy and Etone’s ‘Mega Band’. Before the event, we had over an hour of performances from pupils across our trust schools, all of who had been selected to perform after a trust-wide talent competition, which had more than 100 entrants.

The evening started with a video relating the story of our trust up until the end of 2022. Our CEO Ms Draycott then spoke about the two newest schools, Smestow Academy and Wednesfield Academy, who joined the Matrix family this year.

 There was also a special video explaining ‘what a makes a Matrix pupil’, starring a teacher from each of our schools.

Here is what some of our parents and carers have said about the event:

“The awards ceremony was fantastic. It was great to see pupils getting their awards and the fantastic performances from across the Matrix Academy Trust schools.”

“It meant so much to see all the pupils being awarded for life skills rather than academic achievement. The head teachers giving a little speech about each pupil was a lovely touch and really personalised it.”

“Thank you for a wonderful evening.  It was very special to see everyone receiving their awards.”

“Thank you for a special evening celebrating the achievements of pupils.  We are especially proud of our daughter!”

“Tonight was simply amazing!” 

Ms Draycott and Director of School Improvement Mr Lowbridge-Ellis introduced each of the awards and our headteachers explained who they had chosen and why. Trustee Sir Mark Aspinall bestowed the awards on the worthy winners.

At DEC we have had a series of assemblies about mental health and stress awareness this week. Stress awareness month has been held every April since 1992 to raise awareness of the causes and cures for our modern-day stress epidemic. It is the time when we have an opportunity for an open conversation on the impact of stress and open up about our mental and emotional state with friends, families, colleagues, and professionals.

Pupils in 10A and 10S took part in the National Scientific Thinking Challenge on 26^th April 2023.

The challenge was a great way to test and encourage deep thinking skills in STEM related contexts.

Thanks to the team at University of Warwick for organising the event, we look forward to the results!

As their reward for excellent attendance for this school year, selected students had a reward trip to Drayton Manor Theme Park. The students had an amazing day, the weather held off all day and the park itself was very quiet with plenty of opportunities to go on rides, multiple times. The staff were nothing but complimentary of the students and spoke of how polite and well-mannered they were all day. Well done to all the students who were involved, well deserved!

Easter may be over, but the EGGcellent fun is not finished yet! On Wednesday 26^th April we will be doing a post-Easter raffle in which students can win a hamper full of Easter eggs. Students will be able to buy a strip of tickets for £1 during lunch times on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week. That gives them five opportunities to win this CRACKing prize. The draw will be made before the end of the day on Wednesday. Don’t get SCRAMBLED if you don’t win though, the money raised will go towards our four House charities: Help Harry Help Others, Wythall Animal Sanctuary, St Basils and the Trussel Trust. Students are invited to bring in some change at the start of next week for the chance to win. 

Dame Elizabeth Cadbury has been expanding its antibullying team this academic year. We are proud to have ambassadors from year 7 through to year 10. 

Why do we work alongside the Diana Award?

The Diana Award engages young people, parents and teachers to change the attitudes, behaviour and culture of bullying by building skills and confidence to address different situations, both online and offline. 

Our antibullying team:

How does a pupil become an Anti-bullying Ambassador?

The application process begins in September. Pupils have to write a cover letter stating why they want to become an Antibullying Ambassador; detailing the qualities that possess in order to make an effective anti-bullying ambassador. It is always fantastic to see the number of applicants we get and those that want to make a difference in our community.

It has been another busy term for the anti-bullying team. We have new year 7 pupils actively engaged in the programme and working alongside our more experienced Anti-bullying Ambassadors. The antibullying team meets at least once every three weeks and more often if there is a themed week in the calendar so that we can plan events as a team. The team are encouraged to speak to each other around school, when issues arise, and to share their ideas and initiatives. School council representatives will also liaise with Antibullying Ambassadors to raise any issues at their weekly meetings.  Anti-bullying ambassadors can be recognised by the purple badge that they wear on their blazers. Ambassadors will bring up issues raised then we will respond with a “You said “We did” attitude.

News from this term

The Anti-bullying team pulled together for world mental health week, which saw pupils take part in different activities centred around improving mental health and well-being. During this week, themed assemblies were delivered along with PSHE and other form time activities. 

Mental health drop in sessions were hosted at break time in order to facilitate well-being conversations between pupils and people in school who can support them such as student social workers and our ambassadors.  There were also poetry competitions in English as well as a poster competition where they were displayed on the TV screens around school to celebrate pupils’ efforts. 

All form groups have been actively involved in our DEC antibullying pledge; a personalised version of which has been developed by each form and can be seen displayed on form notice boards.

Ten of our Antibullying Ambassadors will also be attending a training day in May run by the Diana Award. This training will focus on LGBTQ+ and inclusion. Updates and impacts of this training will be updated in the next newsletter, on Twitter and also our website.

Working towards our DEC Diana Award Badges

Next term, we will continue our work towards the accredited Diana award badges. See the link below for guidance on how you can get involved and generate ideas from home. We encourage all pupils to have a get involved. 

https://diana-award.org.uk/our-programmes-and-initiatives/anti-bullying-post-training-support/earn-your-badge

Dame Elizabeth Cadbury have done extensive work towards their ‘Respect’ badge and will achieve this by the end of the summer term. We are also really proud to be working towards the ‘Big Award’ which recognises the work that is done in support of antibullying in schools. 

Some of the ‘Respect’ areas that we have worked towards include: 

• Whole school assemblies on diversity and inclusion 
• Anti-bullying training for LGBTQ+ ambassadors in inclusivity 
• Support group for pupils to work alongside with and voice any concerns they have surrounding inclusion 
• Speakers from our DEC house charities have been invited into assemblies to talk to pupils about what they do 
• Equal rights and inclusion display boards around school 
• One of our school values is respect, therefore pupils who show respect are recognised for this and rewarded  

Reminder 

If you are concerned about bullying from another child in school please make us aware of the problems so that we can deal with it effectively. Pupils can report to a Head of House, any staff member they feel comfortable talking to or using the anti-bullying referral forms that can be found next to the anti-bullying notice boards and pupils can place these in the red-letter box. We are a telling school, and if we know about situations, we will deal with them quickly and effectively. 

Finally! 

Below are some helpful links for parents and pupils who would like more advice on tackling or dealing with bullying. https://www.nspcc.org.uk/what-is-child-abuse/types-of-abuse/bullying-and-cyberbullying/ 

https://anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/tools-information/advice-and-support/if-youre-being-bullied/find-help-and-support

World Autism Acceptance Week is held during the week coinciding with Autism Acceptance Day. This year, it takes place from 27^th March – 2^nd April. Autism – Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), affects mental, behavioural, and social development. The degree to which autism impacts an individual is unique to them since each person’s circumstances are unique. Symptoms appear as early as the first 12 months of life and can last throughout life. Many people with autism can have their symptoms and quality of life improved over time due to strong support networks and coping mechanisms and routines that work for them. 

At Dame Elizabeth Cadbury School we endeavour to support all of our students who have an ASD diagnosis or are currently awaiting an assessment through a range of resources including outside agency support from our Communication and Autism Lead Link teacher, Anne Seymour, Pupil School Support Services and the Educational Psychology Service. We also offer ‘in house’ support ranging from RSPCA therapy, Social Interaction Groups, Mental Health support and Success counselling.  

World Autism Acceptance Week first started as Autism Awareness Week back in 2007. It happened in a time of great need for more awareness of autism and what it means. Before autism became as understood and recognised as it is today, many misconceptions surrounded it. 

This Week is a global chance to raise awareness of autism and, more importantly, the week is spent advocating for the acceptance of autism and those who fall into the spectrum.