A huge congratulations our staff who attended the annual Matrix Academy Trust long service celebration meal last Friday. They joined colleagues from across the trust at the wonderful BANK. Racking up over 700 years’ service collectively across the trust. Another huge thank you to you all for your continued dedication to our community.
The first International Women’s Day (IWD) was held in March 1911. The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is ‘Inspire Inclusion’. We will be recognising the achievement of women through departmental lesson starters. Each department has been tasked with creating a starter focused on raising the profile of and celebrating female role models linked to their subject areas. We will also be interviewing Ms Hart, PE, about her journey to the Dance World Cup with Team England.
On Friday 1 March, Mr Seager and Ms Shahmiri presented the thirty-eight new Year 10 Prefects with their ties following a celebratory breakfast. The pupils went through a rigorous selection process, and we feel confident that they will act as role models and routinely demonstrate our values of Respect, Aspire, Believe and Commit. They will be supporting parents and staff at the Year 9 Options Evening on Thursday 7 March before undertaking their safeguarding and team building training in the coming weeks.
National Careers Week (NCW) is a celebration aiming to help support young people develop awareness and excitement about their future pathways. Dame Elizabeth Cadbury school will be celebrating all of our amazing careers work which is embedded across our curriculum in our Spring 2 Newsletter. Ask your child about what they’d like to be….#NCW2024
Admissions 2024
It is National Offer Day. If you have been successful in your application for Admission into Year 7 2024, we will write to you shortly with a welcome letter and information about forthcoming key dates. If you have changed address since you applied, please contact us via email so that we can ensure we have the most up to date information for your child.
If you were not successful on your application, please follow the link for information about Appeals: https://decschool.co.uk/admissions/
If you have 100% attendance and arrive on time every day for the final two weeks of term (11-22 March), you will receive an Easter treat on Friday 22nd. You will also be entered into a raffle where, on Friday 22nd, the names of two lucky pupils from each year group will be drawn and the winners will receive an Easter surprise at lunch. There will also be the chance to win the grand prize of an Easter hamper for the whole family!
Our Theme of the Week this week is Kindness. To recognise Random Acts of Kindness Day, pupils and staff will be writing thank you cards to show their gratitude for each other and to help ‘make kindness the norm’. Our assemblies will focus on the importance of showing kindness to others and the impact of positive social connection on our mental wellbeing. Our form time activities will focus on the benefit of community participation and will remind pupils what they can do at school and in their communities to help others. We will also have a sweet sale on Friday 1 March to raise money for the Year 11 Prom Committee. Pupils and staff can buy a sweet bag to gift to a friend, teacher or family member. The events will be supported by our Anti-Bullying Ambassadors.
The theme for this year’s Children’s Mental Health Week is ‘My Voice Matters’. We will be celebrating it through assemblies, form time activities and lesson starters. Our assemblies will focus on what Children’s Mental Health Week is and why we celebrate it, and we will remind pupils of the DEC Top Tips for Mental Health and signpost support. Form time will cover the positive use of digital media to support mental health and wellbeing and give pupils the chance to discuss ‘what matters to them’. Finally, each department has been tasked with creating a starter focused on mental health and how it links to their subject area. For example, Science have linked theirs to nature and English have linked theirs to words we can use to express our mental health.
CALLING ALL DAME ELIZABETH CADBURY SCHOOL ALUMNI
If you’re a former student of Dame Elizabeth Cadbury School, we want to hear from you!
Your experiences since leaving could help to motivate and inspire our current students to feel more confident in making decisions about their future. We’d love you to join our Alumni Network and stay connected with the school.
We’ve partnered with the national education charity Future First, who specialise in helping schools like ours to stay connected with their former students.
You can choose how and when you help – perhaps you can act as a career and education role model, provide work experience or become a mentor in person or online.
To sign up, just follow this link and fill in the online form – we promise it will only take a couple of minutes
https://www.futurefirsthub.org.uk/register/dame-elizabeth-cadbury-school
We look forward to hearing from you.
On Tuesday 23rd of January, 50 pupils from the Matrix Academy Trust travelled from Gatwick Airport for a trip to Rome with the Turing Scheme. The Turing Scheme is a government initiative that fully funds a range of international opportunities for young people to go abroad and experience different cultures around the globe. Pupils who participate in this scheme are selected via criteria provided by the Department for Education.
After a smooth journey and arriving at our hostel, we made a swift departure to our first activity. Our group of 55 tackled the metro for the first time and walked our way to “Aroma Ostia” where our host school met us for an Italian cooking masterclass. During this class, our Chef taught us how to make pasta from scratch, along with the art of producing “carbonara” sauce, a dish that was born in Italy.
Throughout the week our mornings consisted of a rotation between groups, some taking themselves back to ancient Rome by visiting the Colosseum, some visited Castel Sant’Angelo which was commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum, and some visiting our Italian partner school learning about various aspects of their culture including music, literature, fashion and food. One group even took part in an inclusion workshop raising awareness of disabilities.
After lunch, our pupils came back together and started their week by being trained as true gladiators at the gladiator school. This included a fitness assault course, practicing and testing a variety of fighting techniques before our Empress (Ms Callanan) would decide their fate. Pupils also opened their mind into the “museum of dreamers” experiencing an adult-size ball pit, various illusions and not to mention beating their fears (literally). Our afternoon of imagination delved deeper into Vigamus where pupils were led on journey of time on the evolution of video games. Our sightseeing continued when strolling down the Spanish Steps to the renowned Trevi Fountain before dining in a local restaurant.
Our final few days were spent zipping through the trees of Rome at Eurpark High Ropes. It was incredible to see the number of pupils who overcame their fears and pushed through their limits to reach new heights before we caught the train to the shores of Ostia, where some pupils even dipped their toes in the sea! Mount Vesuvius was our next destination, with a 20 minute hike up to the viewpoint at the top of the volcano and a further 5 minutes to the crater. Pupils were in awe of the beauty of the bay of Naples, before seeing the steam being produced out of the dormant volcano. Having learnt about the history of Vesuvius, our next stop was the Herculaneum, a UNESCO heritage site which was covered in volcanic ash and rediscovered during excavations in the mid 18th century.
We couldn’t have left Rome before visiting the Stadio Olimpico, home to football clubs Roma and Lazio, and currently hosting the six nations! Following this, we took a trip abroad whilst abroad by visiting the Vatican City, the world’s smallest country! This tour included a visit to the Sistine Chapel, famous for papal ceremonies and used by the sacred college of cardinals.
Our week in Italy was spent experiencing various aspects of culture, encountering many new experiences and bringing more of our students together to create stronger connections.
Our pupils share their thoughts:
“The trip to italy was really great. I am very happy to have had the chance to go on a trip like this for free and have made so many friends in the process. I liked the rooms at the hostel, and how stress-free you guys made everything by everything being so organised and how there was a diverse range of things to do. The metro and bus rides were good, and got less busy due to good planning. Some things that we did that I thought I wouldn’t enjoy I turned out liking such as the school visit. The children there were lovely and despite the struggle communicating with some words, it was fun talking to them about what their life is like and comparing ours together. The museum of dreamers was my favourite because it was unlike anything I have ever done before. It was a unique experience which helped me with insight and keeping an open mind. I liked seeing the sights such as the colosseum, the Herculaneum and museums like the Vatican, gaming and the dream one. I liked the Vatican and the castle a lot because it was nice to see religious artefacts and art that I have always wanted to see. Thank you for the opportunity and choosing a great city like Rome.” – Alfie
“This trip to Italy was amazing, I’m so thankful I’ve had the opportunity to go to such a great place and it being free! Thanks to Ms Callanan, Mr Kendall, Mr Aspinall, Ms Thomson, and Ms Th
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