Newsletters

GHS Connect #8 Monday 31 October

Mia's notes

Welcome back after what I hope was a lovely half term break.

I managed to spend a few days away with family in Suffolk - a few outdoor walks was all I needed for a bit of a refresher. I hope that whatever you did and wherever you managed to travel to, you enjoyed a pleasant break and that you are feeling refreshed.

This half term is always quite a challenging one, as it becomes increasingly dark, wet and tiring, so it is really important to pace yourself. If you start to find things difficult at this time of year, you certainly won’t be the first, and it is important to consider what the priorities are, and what you might be able to scale back on a little. 

Regardless of the darkness, we have lots to look forward to with plenty of trips and visits that have been arranged, and some exciting sounding events, such as the winter concert, and of course, the staff pantomime!  Thank you to everyone who is taking students out on a trip and organising events in school - I know there will be plenty of other things being planned as well.

And don’t forget, we have our annual occasional day on 25th November to look forward to!

Have a lovely week everyone,

Mia

The week ahead

Monday
Normal day.

Tuesday
NEU union lunchtime drop in - details here.
No meetings due to Year 13 Parents' Evening.

Wednesday 
PSHCE drop-in (optional).

Thursday
Year 13 Parents' Evening 4pm - 6.30pm. School Cloud login link here.

Friday
Normal day. 

Notes
Year 7 A2L Interim data collection
Year 8 & 9 Interim 1 data collection
Year 11 Mock 1 English/Maths/Science

Learning and teaching: Spotted

A round up of some of the great learning and teaching strategies we’ve noticed being used around school recently... 

Team PE sharing successful starters and plenaries in their department meeting. Phoebe was really impressed with everyone’s contributions and commitment to developing L&T (below).

Learning and teaching: ACCESS

At the beginning of a new half term, I just wanted to remind everyone of our key L&T priority this academic year: ACCESS.  This means ensuring that we are making it easier for students to access high quality, challenging learning even if their starting point is different from other students in the class. 

In the September INSET we focussed on how to support students with any reading they may come across in your subject. Please remember to utilise the following strategies that we looked at to ensure we level the playing field for all cohorts when they are dealing with text in your lesson. 

• Activate wider/prior knowledge
• Read aloud to model fluency
• Use dual coding to support understanding of text/task/concept/question
• Explicitly teach tier 2 and 3 vocabulary

Kelly

Bright Spots

Kristal McKay
Kristal has been nominated by Richard Lewis for her wonderful stewardship of the Post 16 LRA. In Richard’s words: “She balances charm and charisma with clear and direct instructions to ensure that there is a focussed learning environment for all Post 16 students. Working from 9am until 5pm with such a large group of students (rarely dropping below 100) is truly impressive.” Thank you Kristal!

Maya Popovic
Maya has been nominated by Jo Cole for leading staff choir every week. Come rain or shine, Maya is there with a big smile and encourages us to relax, unwind and find some joy in song. She spends a lot of her own time choosing pieces of music that will work for us and thinking carefully about how to arrange them. Jo says: “I am so grateful to Maya for giving up her time to offer something that keeps me sane and for her kindness looking after us all.”

Behaviour: key messages and reminders

WHAT SHOULD I DO WHEN I’M ON DUTY?

• Be on time and be active.
• Make sure you are in the right position but move if asked.
• If you have a radio, make sure it is turned on and near enough to your ears to hear it. Be mindful that students will also hear!

Please double check the rota if you are on duty at the end of the day. Some people now have supervision of the stairwells prior to clearing the playground.

WHAT SHOULD I DO WHEN I’M ON DUTY?

• At break and lunchtime, when the signal for sending students into the building is given, actively sweep students into the buildings, by standing behind them, walking behind them, and positively encouraging them to move on.
• If you are positioned in a block on the first or second floor at the end of break /lunch, go there when requested, start in the stairwells, and then follow students into the corridors. By this point, all teachers should be in a position ready to meet/greet.

Avoid conversations with students at the end of break / lunch unless important - focus on just getting them into lessons.

WHAT SHOULD I DO IF THERE’S A CROWD OF STUDENTS IN THE PLAYGROUND?

• Do not run towards the crowd.  Walk quickly and purposefully but calmly.

Use the language ‘move away’ to direct students away from the area. Continue to repeat this phrase and do not engage in conversation about anything else.

ADDITIONAL REMINDERS

• Do not give your lanyard to a student, ever!
• Ensure you wear your high-viz jacket when on duty, so that you are visible. 
• Please keep classroom doors open when teaching, unless you are watching a video or involved in a class discussion, for example. 
• Please ensure classroom doors are closed at the end of the lesson. 
• Please ensure disabled toilets are closed. 
• Consider the lighting in your room, especially in the colder months of the year. Some classrooms appear very dark and dismal at times!
• Keep windows open, where possible.  

Thank you,

Mark and Jo

Bullying: Tips to support students

Anti-Bullying Week is in two weeks - Monday 14th - Friday 18th November.

In preparation for this, we have a series of links and videos for you to share and discuss with your tutees.

Video Clip 1: Bystander effect 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy6eUTLzcU4
Please watch this video with your tutees and ask for their experiences where they may have been a bystander and what they would do differently now having watched the video.

Video Clip 2: Lady Gaga on bullying
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz_FTV3EZRM
Think about the damaging effects bullying can have on someone, how do they think Lady Gaga may have felt, how it may have changed her life and the importance of being kind.

It is important we teach the students acts of kindness so here are some other tips to minimise bullying in school:

• It takes a great deal of courage for a child who is being bullied to approach a member of staff, please reassure our students that they have done the right thing, it is not their fault, and the school will investigate and deal with this.
• Listen non judgementally without interrupting, it is important to just listen to our students and understand from their perspective how they are feeling, asking pupils when the bullying began, who is committing it, what is being said or done.  This will create a better understanding of the bigger picture and the level of intervention and support needed.
• Look for warning signs amongst our pupils, are they behaving out of character? Are they withdrawing from lessons?  Are there changes in friendship groups?
• Seek opportunities in your lessons and or form time to promote inclusion, respect, and kindness, giving students different scenarios, perspectives and allowing students reflection time to consider their views.

Thanks very much,

Richard, Andrea & Gurvinder

Inclusion Heroes!

This week’s Inclusion Hero is Scott McCreeth – in the week before half-term, when everyone’s patience levels are traditionally low, he was brilliant with two Year 8 students on two separate occasions, listening to what each had to say and giving both of them the chance to shine in his classroom. And, I also spotted him playing table tennis with some Year 7s during breaktime… Thank you, Scott!

Lou