Each year, we celebrate Be The Best You Can Be Week, as part of Cumbria Education Trust’s endeavour to create a stimulating environment in which our students can thrive.
The purpose of this week is to give students and pupils in all schools across CET the opportunity to push, challenge and express themselves in as many different ways as possible – academically, physically, mentally and socially – while encompassing our CET core values of Respect, Responsibility and Resilience.
Everyone focused on the following areas:
Be the best you can be by helping others
Be the best you can be by helping the environment
Be the best you can be by challenging yourself
Be the best you can be in your own learning (Curriculum challenges)
Be the best you can be physically by completing the CET Mile.
This year, our pupils took the lead on the planning and organising of events for this week and went above and beyond to be the best they could be with lots of creative initiatives; nurturing their environment, bolstering their community, becoming more active and other exciting projects.
There was a huge focus on pupils looking after their local environment, including litter picks, planting wildflowers to encourage and save the bees – and one school even saved a toad! Well done to Northside Primary School for returning the lost toad to his resident wetlands area.
Petteril Bank held a community clean-up day and Yewdale Primary School even created posters for the local area to encourage others to plant trees and plants to encourage more oxygen production. Tebay Primary School planted their own vegetables in an attempt to become more sustainable and William Howard School held a Big Summer Book Swap to encourage the sharing of books and reducing waste.
The kindness shown to our communities this week was heartwarming to witness. Workington Academy held a community afternoon tea for locals to attend and Longtown Primary School ventured out to lots of different businesses to deliver positive affirmation cards, which encouraged lots of smiles in an aim to boost hardworking locals’ self-esteem.
Newtown Primary School choir performed in the ‘Around the World in 80 Minutes’ concert at Harraby Theatre, much to the delight of the audience. Caldew Lea Primary School children visited a local care home to sit and chat with the residents and Hensingham Primary School held a Friendship Bench competition, with children designing a friendship bench to encourage positive relationships – the winning design will be created into a real bench!
All of our schools succeeding in the CET Mile challenge – designed to get our children and staff active! Castle Carrock Primary School even hiked up Talkin Fell, completing challenges along the way. Yanwath Primary School children all completed six laps of the school field! The Whitehaven Academy held lots of energising activities, including a whole-school Sports Day and a dance workshop.
Nic Tweddle, CET Assistant Headteacher and Student Events Lead said, “Students across CET have fully embraced our Be The Best You Can Be Week this year. We are incredibly proud of our CET student leaders who have planned and organised a range of events, many of which have involved their local communities. The collaboration of students across CET to make this such a success has been inspiring”.
We are so delighted to see all of our staff and pupils come together to celebrate an important week to be the best they can be!
Caldew Lea Primary School
Make and Sell event – pupils made things to sell and the money raised will benefit the school.
Danceathon – with danceathon tuck shop.
Year 2 did litter picking in Bitts Park.
Year 4 and 5 took part in a conservation project.
Year 6 visited a local care home to chat with the residents.
Castle Carrock Primary School
CET Mile – travelled in whichever way the children chose to travel – walking, running, 3-legged, skipping, leapfrog, forward rolling and lots of other inventive ways!
Walked around Castle Carrock Reservoir collecting litter on the way.
Big Family Picnic – hosted families of the students. Children had prepared and served food and refreshments, alongside a BBQ.
STEM challenges completed in groups.
KS2 hiked up Talkin Fell, completing challenges along the way.
Hensingham Primary School
Sports Day and CET Mile.
Friendship bench competition – designed a friendship bench with the winning design being made into the real thing. Winner to be announced.
Green Day – everyone paid £1 to dress in green. Money raised to buy wildflower seeds to help the bees.
Wrote letters and made poster with kindness messages on and distributed in the community.
Longtown Primary School
Year 2 attended Forest School and made toasted waffles on the fire.
Year 5 and 6 performed ‘Peter Pan’ to whole school and parents.
Litter pick in local community.
Positive affirmations cards delivered in local community to encourage smiles and boost self-esteem.
Visit from Paralympian Simon Lawson.
Hosted an amazing summer fayre to raise funds for the school.
Newtown Primary School
Sports Day.
Year 6 leavers had a fun day out with a meal.
The choir performed in the “Around the world in 80 minutes” concert at Harraby Theatre.
Trips to Silloth and Allonby.
Northside Primary School
Early Years graduation ceremony.
Class 1 ‘around the world’ topic ended with Indian food tasting session.
Class 3 trip to Tullie House – looking at WW2 artifacts.
Year 5 robotics competition at The Whitehaven Academy – 2 children won £25 gift vouchers.
KS2 Summer Performance at Workington Academy.
Found a toad in the playground and carefully released him in a wetlands area.
Made kindness cards to send out to the local community to make people smile.
Buddy reading.
‘Robin Hood’ performance at Workington Academy.
Joined in Workington Academy’s Greek Day.
Visited care homes and the children read to them, listened to their stories and sang to them.
School disco raised money for charity.
Petteril Bank School
Paired Reading.
Pupil Leadership Launch and playground planning.
Community clean up day.
French café.
Community kindness act.
Sports Day.
House Captain votes.
Not In Our School campaign.
CET Mile – Talkin Tarn.
Press pause baking, dance and paired craft.
Tebay Primary School
Completed CET Mile in PE.
Buddy reading.
Book swap.
New tricycles.
Visit from Cumbria Fire & Rescue to deliver a water safety assembly and outdoor activities.
Mental Health (ELSA) – children had a chance to explore different aspects of mental health and discuss ways to help each other.
Grow your own veg garden – the garden is almost ready to harvest so children can try their own produce.
Year 6 leavers wrote down their favourite school memories and the other year groups wrote their favourite memories of the Year 6 leavers.
Designed a new outdoor area.
One minute challenges – how many laps in a minute, how many push-ups, how many jumping jacks etc.
Yanwath Primary School
Awards assembly – parents were invited. Children helped serve tea, coffee and cake to the parents.
CET Mile – 6 laps of the school field.
Litter pick – sent posters out into the community to encourage others to pick up litter in their local areas.
Yewdale Primary School
Donaldson Class discovered fruits from around the world.
Simmonds Class made kindness cards to distribute in the local community to make people smile.
Peake Class had a trip to Silloth and learnt about the scientist Louis Pasteur. They also carried out a germ investigation.
Holmes Class developed their football skills.
All children read a book about saving the planet then made posters about helping the environment.
CET Mile completed.
Made kindness cards and sent them to local care homes.
Planted some plants and trees to help the environment and make more oxygen. Encouraged the community to do the same using posters.
The Whitehaven Academy
Whole school sports day.
Pet encounters visit.
Islamic artist visit.
James Cousins dance workshop.
CET Mile – onesies, superhero mile.
Litter pick.
Katie Hale visit – dystopian author.
St Bees field trip.
Mock interviews with Inspira.
Felting workshop.
Visit from Peter from Nate Poetry Focus.
Duke of Edinburgh expedition.
Medieval banquet for Hensingham Primary School.
Creative Media sessions.
Art with Razwan sessions.
Taste sensation sessions.
William Howard School
CET Mile – encouraged students and staff to join in to all PE lessons.
Big Summer Book Swap.
Learner of the lesson.
Spain trip.
Ullswater Way and challenge for Eden Valley Hospice.
Workington Academy
Community afternoon tea.
CET Mile.
Greek Day.
Sports Day.
Performing Arts KS3 took part in an escape room – well done Team 3 who managed to escape.
Year 7 celebration – rewarded for working hard every day and demonstrating our school values. Also had an environmental morning – litter pick, designing bug hotels – collected 9 big bags of rubbish!
Year 8 have been working exceptionally well, demonstrating school values.
Year 9 alternative Sports Day and trip to Lakes college for the festival of work.
Year 10 English students have been exploring how to engage and interest readers.
Curious citizens programme.
