Dear Parents/Carers,

It’s time for the Easter break and I want to wish all of our students well for the coming two weeks – we can only hope for some good weather and quality time with our friends and families.

The start of the Easter break also marks the beginning of Ramadan for our Muslim students. Ramadan Mubarak to all of the Muslim families in our community beginning their observance during this holy month!

Remote learning

I want to thank all the parents and carers of Year 7 and 9 pupils for your patience and understanding, in light of the partial closures to those year groups this half term. Staff absence had reached a critical limit a number of times and although having to ask those year groups to switch to remote learning was the last thing any of us wanted, it was certainly necessary. As always, students have coped admirably and we’ve been so impressed by our their attitude to learning, despite being stuck at home. 

We all remain cautiously optimistic that things will settle down after the Easter break and in particular, that our Year 11’s do not continue to be adversely affected in the run up to their GCSE’s. Our Year 11’s have had a tough couple of years for sure and it’s fair to say that the whole community is behind them, wishing them all the very best for the next few months.

Parent Governor elections

A reminder that we are seeking to appoint a parent governor to our Academy Governing Council (AGC).

Governors have an important and influential role to play in the life of our academy.  They work with academy leaders to make sure that the academy is doing its very best to keep pupils safe and help them achieve their potential. If you would like to learn more about the role and responsibilities of a governor, please have a look at the Trust’s website here: https://www.coopacademies.co.uk/about-us/governance/governance-in-our-academies-and-colleges/

Parent governors are elected by the parents and carers of pupils at the academy to serve a four year term of office.  You may, if you wish, put yourself forward for election, using the nomination form here. You may also nominate another parent, but you must seek their approval before submitting the nomination. The timeline is as follows:

1. Nomination forms to be completed by 12.00 noon on Tuesday 19th April 2022
2. Ballot papers to be sent to all parents on Friday 22nd April 2022. Voting will only take place if there are more nominations than vacancies
3. Ballot forms to be returned to me by 12.00 noon on Friday 6th May 2022
4. Following the counting of votes, the result will be announced during the week beginning 9th May 2022

If any parents/carers have any queries about this, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Farewell to colleagues

The end of a term is often the point at which some colleagues leave for pastures new. This Easter, we say goodbye to 4 colleagues who have been committed to Walkden for a number of years:

Mrs Croft – Assistant Principal (SEND and Safeguarding)

Mr Mangas – Assistant Principal – Personal Development

Mrs Hall – Teacher of Media/English

Mr Paulden – Data Manager

On behalf of the whole school community, I want to thank them all for their service and to wish them all well for the future in their new roles.

After Easter, two colleagues will be joining the senior leadership team:

Mrs S King – Assistant Principal (SEND and Inclusion)

Miss K Peet – Senior Pastoral Leader (Safeguarding and Behaviour)

We have also appointed a new Assistant Principal for Personal Development, who I will introduce later in the year, when they join us officially.

As part of our interview processes, we have created student panels, with representatives from every year group. This is an important part of the process,  not least so that students have an opportunity to influence who we appoint to work here, but also because I know what a great learning experience it is for them. I always ask students to reflect on what they have gained from the process at the end of an interview day and without fail they share what an enjoyable experience it is and how much they have learned about the importance of confidence, communication and body language. This is key knowledge and skills that will undoubtedly help prepare them for their futures.

Charity events

We ended this half term with 2 really positive charity events, ably led by some of our wonderful students. You may have seen the campaign to support Ukraine, led by Year 9 student, Mia-Lea. Her impassioned speech to all year groups and the social media post she created, resulted in bags and bags of goods which will soon be on their way to the people suffering in Ukraine. Thank you to Mia-Lea and all the students, parents and staff who contributed in some way to this – an incredible way to really ‘Show you care’.

Also, on the last day of term, some of our Year 11’s hosted a cake sale and charity ‘head shave’, to support the Amyloidosis Foundation. Amyloidosis is a rare condition, currently affecting one of our colleagues here at Co-op Academy Walkden. The condition interrupts the function of various organs in the body and is typically treated with chemotherapy. By the end of Friday, Year 11’s had collected £1163, with still more donations coming in. All funds will go to the Amyloidosis Foundation who provide research, education and awareness raising into the condition. The unity and community spirit among the whole year group was something special, and made all of us in the academy very proud of them all.  

I want to wish you all a great break and we look forward to welcoming all students back on Tuesday 19th April.

Matt Hacker

Principal

Year 9 Progress Leader Message

It’s that time of year again when year 9 students are busy making decisions about their future. It’s Options time at Coop Academy Walkden!

For the past three weeks, year 9 students at the Academy have been watching assemblies and presentations from each Head of Department. They have been presented with all the information that they need in order to make the best decisions about their Options. These subjects range from Construction to Separate Sciences and Drama to Spanish…

It has been lovely to see the enthusiasm that the year 9’s are showing in making these decisions about their future. The level of maturity and responsibility they are showing makes me proud to be their progress leader, and I know that they will show me and Mrs Simpson just what they are capable of as they begin their GCSE courses in September.

A big thank you to all the parents, carers, grandparents and older siblings who I know have been a big support to our year 9’s as they make these decisions. Your support is invaluable and your children do appreciate it.

British Science Week

During British Science Week, we held some really fun and exciting assemblies for our students.

We wanted to show the students how science is used in other ways than just a lab! From making Ice cream from liquid Nitrogen, to how the colourful flames on Harry Potter are made!

It is safe to say all the students and staff loved seeing all the crazy and wonderful experiments that were done throughout the week.

World Book Day!

This term saw the return of World Book Day! The staff went head to head in a best dressed competition to see which department would take the win!

We had everything from The Wizard of Oz, to Harry Potter. All the students and the staff loved seeing the creativity and thought that went into each costume.

Tuition Session Raffle

Who doesn’t love a competition right? We gave our students the chance to win a brand new iPad! All they had to do is attend tuition lessons and they would receive a raffle ticket for each session they attended

The lucky winner was Joe!

For those who didn’t win this time, do not worry, there will be plenty more chances to win other prizes!

Red Nose Day

In support of Comic Relief, we held a Red Nose Day here at the Academy.

By donating on Red Nose Day, you helped people live free from poverty, violence and discrimination. This includes funding organisations that are supporting people right now in Ukraine, and those attempting to cross the border.

We want to say a huge thankyou to all of our volunteers from the student council who rallied together to go into forms and sell either the noses or badges.

Computer Science

We raised £220 for Comic Relief!

Competition- Win a bike!

We have 5 bikes up for grabs in our latest competition. We will pick one winner from each year group.

The best part of it is that all you have to do is purchase a meal deal at lunch! It is as easy as that, and every meal deal you do buy, counts as one entry.

Ready…Steady…Snack!

Good Luck!

Winners will be selected at random and be notified when we come back in April!

Cadets

On Saturday 12th March, cadets went on our second nav walk, using maps and compasses to navigate around the area. We walked through fields and woodland, and through mud to experience map reading on the ground. We also learnt many things such as that not everything shows on a map, and not everything is accessible. We ended up walking in a loop around a few footpaths. To add to the experience Capt. Murphy’s group somehow managed to get lost in the town after a failed attempt to scare the other groups. 

Capt Murphy says “If you don’t care where you are, then you’re not lost!”.

Maths Puzzle

Here is this issue’s maths puzzle:

To make a chocolate nest you need 150g of chocolate and 75 g of Rice Krispies.

I have 1kg of both

How many can I make?

Email your answer neelam.akhtar.meah@coopacademies.co.uk

English Competition Winners

In our previous issue, we opened a competition for students to design their own bookmark. This could of been either on paper or digital, as long as it was creative. The second part was to submit a book review.

We had some truly amazing entries for both parts of this competition.

The winners of the competition would have their bookmark designed and then given out to anyone who submits a book review alongside a selection of books!

It was a close call, but ours winners were Jessica, Isla and Hannah!

Well done to all those who entered!

New books in the Library!

We have a selection of new additions to the library. We love encouraging our students to dive deep into the world of books and take themselves out of the realities of social media and the internet! We love to feature our new books as often as we can for students to have a wide selection. See the list below:

October, October by Katya Balen. 

October and her dad live in the woods.  They are wild, and live a self-sufficient life.  Then everything changes…

The Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley. 

Young Native American woman Daunis is drafted into a covert FBI surveillance operation in this gripping debut thriller.  Soon to become a major Netflix series. 

The Lighthouse Witches by C.J. Cooke.

An enthralling Gothic thriller full of chills, twists and family drama.  Centuries after a witch hunt, people are beginning to mysteriously disappear on a remote Scottish island.

The Red Gloves and Other Stories by Catherine Fisher.

Nine spooky stories of myth, magic and folklore.

Sky Hawk by Gill Lewis.

A story of how protecting a rare bird forges a deep and special friendship between two children.

One for Sorrow – the Magpie Society by Amy McCulloch and Zoe Sugg.

A gripping murder mystery set in a boarding school. 

The Supreme Lie by Geraldine McCaughrean.

A tyrannical and deceitful leader flees controversy and disaster, leaving her maid to take her place.

Pony by R.J. Palacio.

From the bestselling author of ‘Wonder’ this is the story of a young boy who sets out to find his kidnapped father.

The Wanderer by Josie Williams.

A moving, compelling and spooky YA romance.

Success

Has your child done something amazing inside or outside the Academy?

Why not get in touch and let us know about it?

We want to feature our students’ successes in the newsletter and let our community celebrate with you.

Email success stories and feedback to walkden.info@coopacademies.co.uk.

Got feedback about the newsletter? Let us know at the same address!

We always appreciate your feedback.

Have an amazing Easter!