Headlines By James Saunders 11th January 2019
Our proposed school day for the academic year 2019-2020 will look like this: Welcome back
It has been great to welcome learners back this week after what I hope was a restful and enjoyable Christmas break. I have found that learners have arrived focused and ready to tackle their learning head on. I particularly enjoyed taking part in the lead learner interview on Tuesday. Learners had to give a five minute presentation followed by a formal interview to a panel of three interviewers. I was so impressed and can honestly say that the quality of the presentations and interviews was on a par with many of the interviews I have conducted with teachers. Mock Exam results day Today our cohort eleven learners will be picking up the results form their mock exams. This day is designed to simulate the experience they will have in the summer, but with one exception - the results will not be final. Some learners will be delighted that they are ahead of where they would like to be, some will be disappointed. What is important is that no one gets complacent and that everyone realise that the end of the story is yet to be written. This next term is crucial for our year elevens. When they return in the spring their exams will begin. My message to learners and their families is to use today as a reflection point and create a focused and decisive action plan - Aspirations and goals are only ever achieved through hard work.
Timetable and school day - curriculum We have been working behind the scenes to plan our curriculum for 2019 and will soon be sharing that with families in readiness for the C8 guided choices process; we will be introducing some additional courses at GCSE for learners to choose from. As part of our curriculum across the school we are looking to change the structure of the school day from three 100 minute lessons to four 75 minute lessons per day. We will be consulting with families regarding this over this term and will be providing more detailed plans. Our proposals will not affect the start and end of the day; we will still begin at 8.45am and end at 3.20pm.
08:45 08:50 10:05 10:20 11:35
AM Reg LS1 Break LS2 Movement
11:40 12:55 13:35 14:50 15:20
LS3 Lunch LS4 LG/Assembly End
We are also looking to change the timing of Wednesdays so that they are in line with the other days of the week. In addition to consulting with families we shall also talk to our bus providers regarding this proposal. I shall be writing to families over the next few weeks to provide more detail Seneca online learning platform All students and teachers now have free access to Seneca - a revision and homework platform making studying more fun. Seneca is an interactive way to learn official course content. Their web app covers 150+ exam board specific courses condensing what students need to know for their exams. The software is able to identify gaps in learning. For instance, when you get a question wrong, the platform will repeat the topic in different formats and their smart algorithm has proven to make students remember topics 2x faster. Seneca is totally free for students, teacher and parents. You can sign up via senecalearning.com Congratulations To: Hannah Byrne, Caitlyn Ellis, Katie Gurbutt, Fraser Mclauchlan, Roxie Orrow and Kate Southgate who were successfully appointed as lead learners and Faris Bilbeisi, Alice Forster, Holly King, Harry Ratcliffe, Maya Robson and Jess Rudling who were all successfully appointed as deputy lead learners. Well
Dates for the diary
Well done and thanks to: Elliott Nash Olivia Rawlinson Alfie Spurgeon For supporting visits for our English interviews
Sunday 13th January
Feel Good Fayre
Monday 14th January
C11 MADE training revisited
W/c 21st January
C11 Mock MFL Speaking
W/c 28th January
C11 Mock MFL Speaking C11 Learning Group photos in LS3
Saturday 2nd February
German Exchange depart
Sunday 10th February
Feel Good Fayre
Thursday 7th February
C7 Disco
Wednesday 13th February
C10 MADE training School Production Night 1 — Bugsy Malone!
Thursday 14th February
School Production Night 2 — Bugsy Malone!
Monday 18th February to Friday 22nd February
Half term break
Thursday 28th February
C11 Whole cohort photo
Tuesday 5th March
C9 DTP and Meningitis vaccinations
Thursday 7th March
World Book Day and Dress Down Day
Wednesday 13th March
C8 Guided Choices evening 6:00pm
IS Club runs on the following days in CS2: Monday & Tuesday 3:20—4:30pm Wednesday 3:00pm—4:00pm C11 have been given a revision timetable for sessions available through the week
Don’t forget! Feel Good Fayre this Sunday 13th January 11am—3pm
Thankyou to our Cohort 8 Duty Receptionists
Jack Davis Joe Ferguson Cherokee Hodges Joseph Chappell Freya Edwards Luke Holland Millie Greenaway
Parents’ Time Members of the Leadership Team will be available to see parents without appointment:
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Monday
7:15am—8:00am
Wednesday
3.00pm—3.45pm
Friday
7.15am—8.00am
Tours for current and prospective parents are available on Wednesdays , 9:15am—10:15am.