Newsletters

GHS Connect #4 Monday 2 October

Mia's notes

Welcome back to another week!

This week we have open evening and INSET day on Friday, and I’m just going to re-share some of the details around this in my section today, as a reminder.

On Thursday 5th October, students will leave early, going to their form rooms after lunch. Tutors should take the register and then Year Leaders will dismiss tutor groups from 1:30pm. If you are normally on duty after school, please go to your usual duty spots at 1:30pm.

Regarding open evening itself, departments can set up from 1:30pm - 3:30pm, and schedule in a break from 3:30pm - 4:30pm. Please note that departments need to be ready by 4:45pm. A bell will sound at 7:55pm which will let parents know that they have 5 min left before they need to leave. Departments can start to pack up at 8:00pm and leave at 8:15pm.

On Friday 6th October (INSET day), we will be providing tea, coffee and some breakfast pastries from 8:30am - 9am in the F block Foyer. There will be a staff meeting (for all staff) in the hall from 9am - 9:35am. Staff should use the rest of the day to complete the appraisal cycle from last year, set targets for 2023-24 and catch up with marking and planning.

Information on target setting, including whole school appraisal targets, will be provided in the meeting on Friday 6th October.

Have a great week everyone,

Mia

The week ahead

Monday
Normal Day

Tuesday
No meeting after school

Wednesday
Briefing - 8.15 am in the library

Thursday
Students leave school at 1.30pm. 
Department Preparation time 1.30pm - 3.30pm
Open Evening for Prospective Parents - 5pm - 8pm

Friday
Inset Day - School Closed for students
Staff meeting 9am - 9:35am.
Target setting.

Notes
Year 11 Assessment Week

Google Classroom - Tips and Thank Yous!

Firstly, I want to say a huge thank you for spending time and putting in the effort to set up Google classrooms for all your students. By ensuring our students have easy access to resources outside our lessons, we are allowing them to have “high-quality models”, we are giving them opportunities to “increase the quality and quantity of practice outside the classroom”, we are “engaging and motivating” students, and improving “assessment and feedback”. The Educational Endowment Foundation has some recommendations on using technology in the classroom. There are already some great examples of using Google Classroom collaboratively to help with departmental workload and streamline resources for exam classes. For example:

If you are new to Google Classroom, a top tip to help with organisation and manage your workload, is to use the schedule function. You can also schedule assignments for multiple classes at the same time but give different due dates. See this quick video

Please let me know if you need any further support with Google Classroom.

Jess 

Learning and teaching: Embedding Excellence

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

Trish and Rav completed a learning walk of the first PSHCE lesson of the year and were really impressed by what they saw. Particular shout-outs to the following members of staff: 

In other lessons, members of Team English were seen Bridging the gap to independence by using the visualiser to scaffold and model high quality exam answers in Year 11 classes.

Inclusion Updates

SEN

We are working hard to provide teachers with strategies for key students. Please continue to look on SIMS and check emails for information about key students.

October is anxiety and selective mutism awareness month. Please see this poster for some strategies that could be used to support students in your classes who have these needs.

Mental Health  

A Reminder to complete the staff wellbeing survey.

During your form tutor conversations please look closely for signs of students attendance and anxiety and speak to Ms Adhami to gain further support for your tutees. 

Crisis Café 

A new crisis support cafe, 'Circle' has launched in Ealing to help children and young people who are experiencing or nearing a mental health crisis. The new service, delivered by Hammersmith, Fulham, Ealing and Hounslow Mind (HFEH Mind) in partnership with the North West London CAMHS Provider Collaborative led by West London NHS Trust, is the first of its kind in the UK. It provides drop-in and appointment-based specialist mental health support 365 days a year, with the aim of relieving pressure on local A&E departments. 

Circle has its own dedicated space at 46 South Ealing Road, in Ealing, London which has been specially designed to create a welcoming, calm, and safe space with café facilities for local children and young people. The service is staffed with both clinical and non-clinical highly specialised Crisis Support Navigators from HFEH Mind who have a background in CAMHS and crisis care. Young people can self-refer or be referred to the Circle by school, social care, A&E, or CAMHS crisis services between 3pm-11pm on weekdays and 12-8pm on weekends. 

Children Looked After 

• LAC has changed to Children Looked After.  
• We are in the process of creating CLA Pupil passports which will be available on SIMS.  The aim is to share information and strategies that will support the children in school. 
• A huge thank you to Angela for putting this together and sharing information with staff. 

Gurvinder