Cecil Jones Academy, Eastern Avenue, Southend on Sea. Essex SS2 4BU Tel:01702 440000 www.ceciljonesacademy.net
Week ending:
29th January 2021
Welcome to the latest edition of our weekly newsletter.
Firstly, this week I would like to encourage everyone to pick up a new book. The screen time we find ourselves living with is difficult to avoid, but a good book can break it up. In this newsletter you will find information about our library’s click and collect system so a book
is only one message away. There is also information to help you in supporting reading at home.
Secondly, mental health is still very important in these unusual times, but there is a lot of support for those who wish to use it. Below is a flyer for a stress management, wellbeing and resilience course aimed at teachers and parents. This interactive talk is free
and takes place Monday 1st February. The link below will provide you with more information and enable you to sign up.
https://etoncomms.org.uk/40DU-18N3B-7F297A6EC7F060F0705RO35A24B6EA47F0E95D/cr.aspx
Thirdly, please see the link below to the NHS website page dedicated to healthy, low cost meal ideas to try something new during lock-down.
https://www.nhs.uk/change4life/recipes/lunch/cheap-lockdown-lunch-ideas
Next, Wednesday the 27th January was Holocaust Memorial Day. This week, we should all take some time to reflect on the horrors of that time, and consider the six million people who were sent to their deaths.
Finally, please continue to follow government guidelines to keep everyone safe. I hope you enjoy the work produced and displayed in this week’s newsletter.
Stay safe, Mr Micek
LOCKDOWN WITH
THE JONESES
The Importance of Reading
While students are spending hours each day remote learning, it is vital that afterwards they give their eyes a rest and do something different.
Why not encourage them to read more.
Below are some tips about how you can support reading at home.
Cecil Jones library is also still open for business. On the Year group pages in Google Classroom and on our school website you can find the library’s reading list. A short message to Miss Lunn and you can collect your book at front reception the
next day, or if before 11am, on the same day. Don’t let lockdown prevent you from reading.
Please see below examples of excellent English work from 8C
The Dangerous Beast
The fire is as hot as a dragon breathing on your neck. The colour of the fire is blending in with an orangey tangy colour and a light pink pastel colour. There are a variety of shapes like circles, triangles and it is shaped like a wonderful, magical Cinderella dress. The fire was shouting out to grab souls vigorously. The soft yet burning fire stingy. This was a dangerous beast, making people's hands lose sensation. The crackling fire rose higher and higher giving a sight of fear. Sizzle, sizzle! This
could destroy you in the most unpleasant way possible, hunting.
This week, an English task was to write a piece of figurative writing inspired by this image of a fire. Reproduced below is Thomas New-man Hooper’s piece entitled ‘Warmth in the Night’ and Arta Qarri’s’ “The Dangerous Beast”
Students had to imagine they were travelling through a very cold and remote part of a country and came across the dead body of a man. The corpse was sitting down in the snow, frozen stiff, and dressed in suitable thick clothing, including mittens. There were burn marks across the heels of the hands. The corpse had it’s eyes shut, and there was a slight but definite smile frozen onto its face. There were animal tracks – probably a dog's – in the snow around the man, and these tracks led off into the dis-tance. The direction of the animal's prints is away from the dead man. Other than the burn marks, there were no signs of vio-lence on the corpse.
Using the grid provide, students had to work out the possible causes of the man's death. Here is Lucas Wakefield’s explanation. Clue Possible explanation
Very cold and
snowy Possibly hypothermia, lack of blood moving due to the coldness. Remote place Nobody else is there so it couldn’t be a murder.
Corpse frozen in
sitting position Trying to catch his breath and rest. Dressed suitably He might’ve been travelling.
Burn marks Tried to heat himself up but instead, burnt himself.
Animal tracks He was running from animals and hid in the snow.
Definite smile fro-zen on face of corpse
Maybe he knew he was going to die, right there.
Cause of death: I believe he was running from an animal and tried hiding, but he was too scared to get out so he stayed there, ending up freezing to death.
Dance work by Lacey Venn Year 10
Here is a fantastic sec-tion of the TikTok dance routine Reneilwe Mahlangu, in Year 7, has put together.
Year 9 Art students have been studying Sonia Delaunay. Here is some research by Isabelle Plappert.
Sonia Delaunay was a ground breaking female artist who made some amazing, abstract paintings known for their rhythm and colour.
She was a Jewish French artist who, with her husband Robert Delaunay and others, co funded the Orphism art movement. Her work extends to painting, textile design and stage set design.
She was the first living female artist to have a retrospective exhibition at the Louvre Museum in 1964.
Jack Corry
Year 10, Megan Burton explains the rationale behind her outstanding entry into Cecil's baking competition
My theme / story behind my cakes was ‘my family’
The two cakes above represent two different things, as will be shown when cut open. The main cake represents all four of us being here for each other and using each other’s support to keep standing.
The main cake had 3 tiers, each of 3 different gradients of colour and varied sizes . The bottom tier being the darkest, doing the most supporting of the others (with icing and fondant). The middle tier getting lighter and the top being the lightest ,as it has the most support. With heart shaped fondant and white chocolate for a sweet taste.
The cupcakes represent the little things in a family that make it complete e.g. the problems, the arguments and the achievements.
The two mini cakes are 2 different colours and have 2 different chocolate bars on top. In my house, I’m considered a ‘daddy’s girl’ and my brother considered a ‘mummy’s boy’, so I showed this through the colours and the things we like. The green representing my dad or brother; pink representing me or my mum. The Twix bar again representing either me or my brother and the Aero bar representing my mum or my dad. This links with the main cake as we’re all different but we all come together to make one amazing thing.
Geography
Students were given these photos of Brazil as inspiration to find out more about the location of the country, it’s topography and the environment.
This is what Arta Qarri discovered: -
Brazil is mostly a flat surface on the west side. There are mountains, hills and narrow costal lines on the north west side of Brazil. There is low land in the north western side. Brazil is the eastern side of south America and is below the equator, most of it is hot. The cities and towns are located near each other on the eastern side across Brazil, mostly around Brazil not in the middle. They are spread apart evenly and are around Brazil. They are placed on the lowlands because it is a flat surface on the eastern side ,than the high surfaces that have mountains and hills.
Copacabana beach shows the sun shining and gleaming, people sunbathing. A glimpse of the nature makes the view perfect. I think many people will use this place because it has perfect scenery like the nature and the world we live in, for example build-ings. The sea is magnificent to look at. There is loads to see, not just buildings but nature in the distance, to give that peaceful vibe.
The Amazon rainforest is in North West Brazil. It must be cold yet wonderful to look at nature. Birds tweeting. Wild animals! The people will use this for walking for a stroll in the park or taking their dog for a walk. These photos might tell us that Brazil has many choices for being in nature.
Uaua is in North East Brazil. It might be very dirty and smelly but friendly for the animals. People might use this environment for taking their children to see a zoo. This photo tells us that animals have lots of land.
Alguhas Negras peak is in the Brazilian highlands It might be very peaceful with the nature; the scene and the atmosphere will be a chilled place to relax. People may use this for dogs taking a walk or children run in the countryside having a picnic. This photo tells us that it is child friendly and a safe environment.
Lexi-Anne Murcell had these facts and questions about Brazil: - 5 facts:
1= it is home to the biggest rainforest 2= It is a country not a continent 3= It is a country of South America
4= It is home to a place called Rio de Janeiro 5= In Rio de Janeiro there is a huge statue of Jesus. 6= It was once called the land of parrots.
5 things I would like to know about Brazil: 1= Is it home to any endangered species? 2= Do they celebrate any different holidays? 3= When was Brazil discovered?
4= When did the first official tourist arrive? 5= How many bird species are there?
Here is an extract from Thomas Newman Hooper’s thoughts on Brazil: -
Picture 1-Sunny One on the Beach: This shows a beach which is bustling with people. You can also see that there is a city behind the beach. People use the beach to make the most of their summer, so that tells us that Brazil has a hot climate.
Picture 2-The Amazon with the Trees: This shows part of the Amazon (not the website) Rainforest and its true beauty comes with it. Some people may come here as tourists to see the deep rainforest, showing that people are clearly interested in visiting the location and discovering all the features of the Amazon Rainforest.
Picture 3- Rock Extravaganza: This shows a plain field of rock with trees in the background. In places like this, people might use it to get exotic fruits, animals etc that aren’t anywhere else in Brazil, showing that even if Uaua is dry, that it can still be used for certain people to profit from.
Picture 4-The Untouched Fields: This shows a natural piece of land with lush green grass, untouched trees and a tall, beautiful hill. The only use for this piece of untouched land to humans is to explore the place, showing that it is mainly used for tourism.
How I survived a plane crash – Year 8 creative writing task by Sadie Corney
As I looked out the window of the plane, there were armies of hills crowding the landscape, however I wasn't very keen on sitting on a flying machine for 2 hours.
I had my earphones in listening to my favourite music - in the song there were calming animals making soothing noises. Listening to those sounds makes me calm.
All of a sudden, the plane shook. It was like someone had grabbed it and…... I can't really explain it but it made my heart pound out of my chest. I knew something wasn't right so I got up to go to the bathroom.
As I was gripping onto the leather seats in front of me, I felt a cold hand touch my exposed shoulder. I immediately thrusted my arm to the safety of my stomach." Erm, excuse me”, a soft voice came from behind me "Ma'am, we are having some trouble with the engine of the plane, please head back to your seat”, I felt sick.
Right at that moment it felt like someone punched my throat. I had a feeling that everyone gets when something is about to go wrong - badly wrong. My stomach gurgled with fear as I sat down in the leather chair. I was starting to sweat, the plane kept trick-ing me: first downwards then side to side - I didn't feel safe. I was lytrick-ing in the chair like I just got shot. It must have been about 30 minutes since I've moved a single part of my body.
I must have fainted because next thing I knew we were speeding down towards the forest. My life flashed before my shaking arms. I could barely hold on because everything was blurry and dark. And with that the plane was resting on a cliff edge people were bleeding, laying there with no sign of life left in their eyes. And me, I was terrified.
NOTHING, can compare to how mortified I was in that exact moment. I was lucky that I made it out with just a few bumps and bruises.
A poem written in English by Daisy-Boo Warner-Jules When I’m an adult I shall have ice cream for dinner every day
And have a pet horse that says neigh. I'll wear whatever I want, whenever I want And I shall spend my money on anything I please.
I will not care of what other people think of me As I’ll be as happy as can be.
You can wear ugly clothes and unique shoes
And you won’t need to worry about what people think of you. You can have as many meals as you wish
You don't need to have just one single dish You'll live your life day by day
You don't need to pay.
But now we must show them what to be like in the future We need to do our work
And not be so needy
We need to live our lives and be less greedy Or our world will fall apart
But maybe I should start to practice now
Spanish
This week, the year 7 students have been studying the words for different items in a school bag, with some choosing to draw the contents of their school bag. Below are some excellent examples by Sydney Atkin, Lily Saunders and Emily Sexton-Toft.
In Year 11, students have been studying the topic of the environment, answering exam-style questions. The work below from Millie Madden shows evidence of a wide range of complex structures and excellent, well-developed ideas.
Reilly Venn
Ellie Ransley
Casson Green Year 12 English this this week:
Students have been studying the poem “Ode on a Grayson Perry Urn” by “Tim Turnbull”, which compares Perry's depiction of society in his artwork with Ancient Grecian Urns. Students were then asked to decorate their own urns with how they saw society in 2021 . Below are some of the results.
Post 16 update
This week on Wednesday 27th January (12:00 - 18:00), we invited students and parents to attend The UK University & Apprenticeship Search Virtual Fair.
With over 95 exhibitors attending, a full range of universities, colleges and apprenticeship providers, it was an amazing op-portunity for students to explore all the opportunities available to them. All of the exhibitors had admissions teams, aca-demics and students available from 12:00 - 18:00 to talk to, so students and parents left the fair feeling really informed about next steps.
