Newsletters

GHS Connect #13 Monday 6 December

From the Head

We’re now into the final push, and we usually notice that students have a bit of a lift this week, as the end is in sight for everyone!  The trick is for everyone to remain as positive as possible, and to keep routines going as much as we can.

We are currently working on the end of term arrangements, which are likely to be a little different to what was originally planned, as we don’t want to risk any transmission of Covid more than we need to - I will post details of what we will be doing in the next few days, via the VLE. 

In the same way, we are looking at how we will manage the return to school in January. If you were not aware, we have been asked to undertake lateral flow tests with all students before their return, and this will necessitate some kind of staggered start. Again, more details will follow this week, but in any case, please remember that we return on Wednesday 5th January 2022, rather than Tuesday 4th, as a result of the additional occasional day we have gained as a result of the Jubilee.

You may have noticed some additional posts being advertised, some for a December closing date and some for January. Please do take a look at the internal vacancies section of the VLE and / or speak to anyone who is currently working in the advertised area for more info. I have also spoken to a number of people this term who have had career based questions, and I continue to be more than happy to support anyone who would like to pop in for a chat.

Thank you for your support in reminding students about face coverings. Cases in the school remain stable at present, but that can change at any time, and I will of course update you if that situation arises.

Have a good week and hang in there,

Mia

Monday
Normal day.

Tuesday
Meeting: Department time 3.15pm - 4.30pm.

Wednesday 
No meeting.

Thursday
PSHCE P1: resources here.

Friday
Normal day.

Notes
KS4 mock exams.

Learning and Teaching

Spotted!

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

• Belen Sanchez Carrasco creating an amazing class feedback sheet for her year 10s following a writing exam.

• KS3 TLR Holders giving a special shout out to members of their team for going the extra mile:

Learning and Teaching: CPD

A huge thank you to everyone for taking part with such enthusiasm in the Teacher Research CPD last Wednesday.   The feedback has been really positive; staff again enjoying the opportunity to share ideas with colleagues from across the school. The Research Leads reported back that there are lots of really interesting projects going on and we look forward to seeing the progress of these in February. 

Kelly McCarthy

Inclusion and Pastoral

It feels like we are nearly there now… Hang on in there!

Following on from what I said in briefing last week, I thought it would be good to do a quick update on those students who are on part-time timetables at the moment:

Year 11
Mo Raja - in for 2 afternoons a week, Monday and Tuesday;
Harris Javed - in for 1 day a week on a Wednesday;
Jasmine Rehal - will be working at home for the rest of this term;
Katie Pitcher - in school but not attending lessons, so we are looking at an online provision for her;
Chardonnay George-Flavien - coming in each day but shortened hours.

There are also four Year 11 students who have been educated off-site all term for a variety of safeguarding reasons. This will continue to be the case in January.

Year 10
Gursharan Singh - was working at home, but will be coming back on a phased return from Wednesday this week.

Year 9
Rishti Sharda - working online on GC as her new placement is finalised;
Shakira Akbari - reduced timetable, different each week as it pivots around lessons she can cope with;
Group of Year 9 students - there are a small group of Year 9 students who are coming in slightly later and leaving at 2:50 due to ongoing issues within the year group. 

Year 8
Lily Green - coming in on Wednesdays and Fridays at the moment.

Obviously, each of these cases is very complicated and there are different reasons why these students have bespoke timetables - if you have any questions about any of them, just ask!

Lastly from me, just to let you know that no student should be going to BG10 unless they have a permission slip from either SLT or the Year Team and I will be giving out laptops to Year 10 pupil premium students this week so apologies in advance for the slight disruption to lessons. 

Remember to look after yourselves in the last few weeks! 

Lou 

Inclusion Heroes!

This week’s award goes to Oumayma Geagea and David Clare - their Year 8 lessons last thing on Friday were a pleasure to visit with games to include everyone and students very excited about learning languages!

Behaviour for Learning: Covid-19 measures best practice

As we head towards the long awaited (and well-deserved) Christmas break, we wanted to share a few top tips for managing students’ behaviour concerning Covid-19 measures.

Meet and Greet
When you’re meeting and greeting students, please continue to use this opportunity to welcome students and do an emotional check-in where you can. It also provides an opportunity for you to address any students who aren’t wearing masks (those who are exempt are listed here) as well as working with all your colleagues to monitor the corridors and mask-wearing there.

During lessons
As we write this, it’s barely above freezing and the forecast looks like low temperatures throughout the week. Please wrap-up warm and tell your tutees and classes to do the same as all windows and doors must remain open so that the classrooms, offices and workspaces are well ventilated. This is probably the most important thing we can do in terms of preventing Covid-19 transmission. All classrooms should have door-stops to prevent the door closing so if you don’t have one, please email facilities to let them know (facilities@greenford.ealing.sch.uk). 

End and Send
At the end of your lessons, please adopt the routine of only dismissing groups of students at a time when they have their mask on. Students shouldn’t leave classrooms without a mask unless they’re exempt.

Duty
We need to work together to remind students to put their masks on before entering the blocks. It’s also good practice to show students how to pinch the mask across the bridge of the nose or criss-cross the side fastening if the mask is loose. 

All of these measures apply to all staff and all students from Year 7 through to Post-16. Thank you for working together to keep the Greenford community safe.

We hope you have a good week.

Mark and Jo

GHS Careers: Creative Mentor Network

We had an excellent visit from the Creative Mentor Network charity who work to give students from state schools contacts in the creative industries. There was a great turn out from Year 12 and 13 (see pictures below) and several students have already applied for the scheme. You can find out more about the Creative Mentor Network here. 

If you are able to bring an organisation or individual in to talk about careers and opportunities in your subject area or specialism please contact me - hwestcott@greenford.ealing.sch.uk. 

Hebe Westcott
Careers and Destinations Lead