Newsletters

GHS Connect #25 Monday 29 March

From the Head

I’d like to start this week by saying a really massive thank you to everybody for coming back and making the return to school so successful since the beginning of March. To say it has been another up and down year is somewhat of an understatement, but as ever, everyone has risen to the challenge. Nowhere has this been more evident than in a lovely, recent email I was sent by Ola, one of our Year 11 students, who wanted to ‘shout out’ some of her teachers. Here are Ola’s words (sadly without her smiley faces as they didn't copy across!) 

Thanks so much, Mr Dhindsa for your lovely support and you have always supported me if I needed any support! I really do appreciate it and thanks so much for having high expectation of me for English Literature and that I will improve, and I have always been happy to speak to you about anything that worries me

Thanks so much, Mrs Phull for always being there for me and I have always appreciated your advice to me! And I always get reminded by you Mrs Phull to not worry about exams and take a break as I usually don’t as I just do work and forget about myself, and I have always been happy to speak to you about anything

Thanks so much, Ms Westcott for your helpful advice and you have made me think about the positives and not look at the negatives! As I always took the rude comments from students to heart, but your great advice has helped me also; I really do appreciate your helpful advices and your time

Thanks so much, Ms John for always checking in with me if I was feeling well and I am happy to speak to you about anything that worries me and your advice has always been helpful to me! And I really do appreciate your support and help

Thanks so much, Ms El-Sockary for always telling me that I am amazing and no matter what I will be! I have always been happy to speak to you if I felt worried about anything also, you have always reminded me that there is nothing that I need to worry about

Thanks so much, Mr Ebzao for asking me if there is anything that is worrying me or if I was okay! I really do appreciate the time you have taken to speak to me and every time you have always made me think about the good side

Of course, Ola’s thank you reflects all of the amazing work that so many staff are doing to support our students all of the time, and while they might not all take the time to say thank you, I know that they do all really appreciate it.

On a different note, you may notice me walking around with some visitors this week. We have a number of potential candidates visiting the school before applying for the Deputy Headship. If you do happen to see us, please feel free to say hello.

Finally, this weekend, you may have read about a website that has been set up to allow (mainly) women and girls to relate their experiences of sexual harassment and assault. On this website, some West London schools, both independent and state, have been named, and it certainly makes for an uncomfortable read. Whilst I could not see GHS mentioned, it would be naive to think that we have never had problems with relationships between girls and boys and I think we all know that this is an issue for all young people, regardless of where they attend school. We intend to do a lot more work around this as part of PSHCE next year, however, if you would like to discuss anything around this issue with me further, please do not hesitate.

If I don’t see you in person before, I wish everyone a wonderful, restful break.

Mia

Learning and Teaching

Spotted!

A round up of some of the great learning and teaching strategies we’ve noticed being used around school recently…
 
> Tracey Cleave and David Alexander working together to deliver a remote lesson directly into the classroom!

 
> Sarah El-Sockary using a class practical to consolidate students' learning of theory. Her heart dissection allowed students to investigate for themselves first, before using the IPEVO to highlight key features of the heart + emphasise the language students should use to describe the organ.

> Shem Parry carrying out a neutralisation experiment with his class. Shem assessed the students’ understanding of recently taught knowledge by challenging them to apply their learning to the experiment.
 
> Tara Quigley using questioning to ask students to give examples for scientific phenomenon and concepts. This allowed her to identify misconceptions and knowledge gaps and address them quickly before moving on with her lesson.
 
> Ellie Navarro carrying out an A-Level practical with her class to practise skills, so they are more confident when they attempt their PAG (right).

Learning and Teaching: Probing student answers

We’re all including plenty of AfL in our teaching at the moment, but gaining a good understanding of how deep students’ knowledge and understanding goes is particularly important. As we try to identify and repair gaps,  we should strive for answers beyond just surface level. By probing students further, we see if they understand topics thoroughly. Below are some reminders of how we can use questioning to elicit this deep and broad thinking from our students. 

1. Get your students to clarify their thinking: Why do you say that? What do you already know about that? Could you explain that further?

2. Challenge your students' assumptions: Is this always the case? Do you agree/disagree with this?

3. Check if your students can back up their idea with evidence: Can you give me an example of that? Is there a reason to doubt the evidence for this? How do you know this? Can you support that statement with evidence?

Clare Secombe

Inclusion & Pastoral

Well, we made it - a huge thank you to everyone for your pastoral support over the last term, whether it was posting a weekly Virtual Tutor, running online registration sessions in lockdown, facilitating the extended session on our first days back at the start of this month and, as always, teaching the PSHCE lessons when they have come up on the timetable. 

I would also like to thank everyone in advance for RAD on Wednesday - this check in with your tutees will be invaluable and I know that there has been a lot of work behind the scenes in preparation for this. I hope that everyone is ready for their online sessions with their tutor groups, and feel that they have had enough material and preparation to frame those discussions. This week’s VT will be very similar to last week’s in getting the students to reflect on how they think they have done in the hope that you won’t be met with a stony silence on Wednesday...

I’m not sure if anyone managed to stick their head in on the BRAVE workshop last week, but it went really well and delivered some very powerful messages. The Year 8s who took part behaved brilliantly and responded in a very mature and considered way. We are hoping to get the team back to speak to as many more students as we can fit in. Another round of thank yous to everyone who helped out both in the run up to the day and in facilitating it!

Last thing from me - Jo and Tash have put together a flier (right) as a reminder of the services they offer for staff, just in case anybody needs to get in touch with them at any stage. You can read it here or find it on the VLE in the wellbeing section. 

Have a fab Easter break, everyone.

Lou Grimley

Character strengths at GHS

This week, we wanted to focus on Courage. 

Our students have demonstrated courage since returning to school - showing up and participating in lessons. Our year 11s have shown great courage as they sit their exams.

Did you know, Courage is a heart word. The root of the word courage is cor—the Latin word for “heart.” Courage originally meant “To speak one’s mind by telling all one’s heart.” 

Today that means*: 

> Talking about how we feel 
> Asking for what we need 
> Being ourselves 
> Being kind to others who are trying to be themselves 
> Learning how to be brave and afraid at the exact same time

*list taken from Brene Brown’s website  

As we approach the Easter holidays, celebrate the courage shown by students so that they continue to value the deliberate practice of this character strength.

Andrea and Noble