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Happy New Year from all at Trinity Academy Leeds! Against the backdrop of national lockdown and a considerable amount of snow, the build continues. There is definitely light at the end of the tunnel as we hurtle towards opening our brand-new school and welcoming our founding cohort of students in September of this year. Welcome to the latest edition of my Principal’s Blog, wishing all our families a safe and happy new year.
Christmas activity
We’d just like to say a HUGE congratulations to Jasmine for completing all five TAL Christmas activities and winning the prize. We loved seeing all of your entries! Your £15 Amazon voucher is on its way to you.
The site!
Come wind, rain and lots of snow, our builders have been working hard and keeping to a very strict timeline! As the build is moving along at great speed, it’s given me time to focus on some of the interior design details of our NEW school. Check out the classroom chair colours that I chose earlier this week! They’re sure to give each room a much needed pop of TAL colour.
Team TAL
Last week we held an virtual recruitment event which attracted nearly 400 teachers who are interested in working with your children. It was great to hear such positivity, drive and passion. Only the very best will join our team and will be ready in their brand-new classrooms to deliver high quality lessons in September. We look forward to introducing more of our new staff to you over the coming months!
The Build: Year 7
Each one of our new Year 7 students will take part in ‘The Build’, Level 1, in their first year at the academy. To complete the level, students will be given 40 challenges which will make them stronger in body and mind! Watch out for colourful ‘The Build’ booklets that will be given to your child during induction, they will need to be kept safe and brought to school every day. We cannot wait to see our new students tackle the challenges! From representing the school in sports to growing something from a seed, the list is wide and varied! All students will be rewarded at a special ceremony once they have completed Level 1 which, of course, unlocks Level 2!
New Year Challenge
I have really enjoyed receiving your challenge entries and visiting local primary schools to drop off some fantastic prizes. Thank you to everyone who has joined in, each entry makes me smile. As we get ever closer to finding out the names of our founding cohort (all families will be contacted officially in March) we are launching another of our TAL Challenges! Everyone who enters will receive a special prize!
Let’s get creative and show off our artistic talents. The challenge is to create a self portrait. All you need to do is create a portrait on A4 paper and take a photograph of yourself holding your artwork. Feel free to use paint, felt tips, crayons, craft materials or digital art packages to create your portrait!
Everyone who enters will receive a special prize!
Leaders are readers!
At TAL we believe in the power of words and the strength of stories. All our students will be fully inducted into our Library, where they will choose an exciting and challenging book to read as part of their daily home learning. All students will also get the opportunity to listen to their Form Tutors read from a range of exciting stories in our daily Drop Everything And Read session. As we start to stock up our Library, it would be great to hear about books, genres and authors that you are interested in, so that we can add them to our list. Email us with your favourites!
contactus@leeds.trinitymat.org
Spotlight on…
As we start recruiting our Dream Team of teachers and support staff to TAL, I will be asking each of them to introduce themselves and to tell you a little bit about their background and interests. Only the most dedicated, hardworking, and talented individuals will be hired at our school. Very soon they will be familiar faces to you around our brand-new building.
Our latest Spotlight features our new Curriculum Leader of Science, Mr. Trail, who I have had the pleasure of working with at another school within our MAT. He will bring passion, knowledge and experience to the role and enthuse your children with a love for Science!
Mr. William Trail | Curriculum Leader of Science
I am thrilled to be joining Trinity Academy Leeds in September as Curriculum Leader for Science. I currently work for Trinity Academy Cathedral in Wakefield, another school that is part of the Trinity MAT family. The opportunity to help bring Trinity MAT to Leeds is extremely exciting. I have seen first-hand the transformational ability of the MAT and cannot wait to get started supporting the students of Leeds.
During my teaching career I have worked at three secondary schools as a teacher of Science, deputy leader of Science and Curriculum Leader. Leading the teaching of Science has been a privilege. During my time running a Science department, student aspirations and outcomes have reached historic highs.
I am passionate that every student has the absolute best Science education. Science is the tool we use to understand the universe around us. From the smallest subatomic particles to the very fabric of space and time, using rigorous and challenging schemes of learning students will be supported to reach higher than ever before. A first-class extra curriculum program will develop students understanding of Science outside of normal academia, Science at Trinity Academy Leeds will guide students to see further into their futures and potential careers by showing them the doors Science can open. My aim is to ignite the spark of curiosity in all our young adults. Fuelled with a mastery of Science, this spark will grow letting our students shine brighter.
My other passions in life are the great outdoors and classical history. Whether camping in the wilds of the Scottish Highlands or strolling through the streets of Pompeii. Surrounding yourself in nature or history always promotes feelings of amazement and awe.
Thank you for taking the time to read my sixth blog.
Kat Cafferky
