Welcome to the Year 7 Parents and Daughters Information Evening - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Welcome to the Year 7 Parents‟ and Daughters‟ Information Evening

Please note: we are going to be near capacity this evening. Please use all available seating.

Thursday 29th September 2016

Mr Tamplin Head of Year 7 Associate Assistant Headteacher (Standards & Culture – Yr 7 & 8) atamplin@didcotgirls.oxon.sch.uk

GCSE Success

Headlines

2014 2015 2016 % 5+ A*-C including GCSE English & Maths 75 73

77

% A*-C English & Maths 75 75

80

% 5+ A*-G (inc E&M) 98 96

97

% English GCSE A*-C 84 91

91

% Maths GCSE A*-C 81 77

82

Headlines

• Outstanding Ofsted (Nov.2015)
• Highest performing outstanding school in Oxfordshire
• Superb results: 80% A*-C inc. English & Maths
• Ranked in the top 20% for achievement for the fourth year

running

• 63% of students achieved at least one A*/A grade
• Twenty eight students achieved 7 or more A or A* grades

Why were we so successful?

• The hard work from staff and students
• Exam practice and opportunities
• Revision school
• Record attendance
• Detailed analysis of the progress of each and every

student to ensure that everyone is following the curriculum which best suits them

• High expectations and standards

Standards

The bedrock for success …

Behaviour Values Attitude Uniform Respect Responsibility Ambition Attendance

• Weekly tracking by tutors.
• Phone call in to school if they are

unwell.

• Letter/email to let us know of

appointments.

• Holiday requests must be

submitted in advance and on a holiday request form – available from Pupil Services. Year 7 Target – 97.5%

Attendance

Attendance during one school year Equals days absent Which is about x weeks absence Which means this is the number of lessons you miss 95% 9 2 48 90% 19 4 96 85% 29 6 144 80% 38 8 192 75% 48 10 240 70% 57 11.5 276

Every DGS student …

“Every DGS Student Aspires to be Outstanding”

• a desire to do well
• a growth mindset

There are two significant traits that successful students share:

Mr Tamplin Head of Year 7

The Year 7 Team

• 7AEK – Miss A Kyriakides

akyriakides@didcotgirls.oxon.sch.uk

• 7SXD – Mr S Dingley

sdingley@didcotgirls.oxon.sch.uk

• 7LJC – Miss LJ Carter

ljcarter@didcotgirls.oxon.sch.uk

• 7LGK – Miss L Klinpikuln

lklinpikuln@didcotgirls.oxon.sch.uk

• 7FLM – Miss F Maiden

fmaiden@didcotgirls.oxon.sch.uk

• 7JMS – Miss J Street/Miss S Willis

jstreet@ / swillis@didcotgirls.oxon.sch.uk

• 7CRS – Miss C Saunders

csaunders@didcotgirls.oxon.sch.uk

• 7SXM – Miss S Malta

smalta@didcotgirls.oxon.sch.uk

• 7NSG – Miss N George

ngeorge@didcotgirls.oxon.sch.uk Student Manager – Sarah Jane Smith – sjsmith@didcotgirls.oxon.sch.uk

Role of the Head of Year

• Lead and manage the Year 7 Pastoral Team
• Oversee academic progress & snapshot

reviews

• Develop opportunities for students
• Responsible for discipline & behaviour
• Present an ethos to the year group based on

positive referral and success

The Role of the Form Tutor

• Your daughter‟s advocate and first point of contact
• Ensuring happiness, progress and well-being
• Monitoring progress across the curriculum
• Helping students make good choices
• Supporting self-evaluation
• Action planning with students via one-to-ones
• Monitoring Attendance
• Monitoring of Diaries

First port of call for parents

Aims of Year 7

• A smooth, successful and happy transition
• To ensure there is impeccable behaviour and that

students maintain our high standards & expectations

• To develop students‟ “growth mindset” so that they

feel comfortable taking on leadership challenges

• To promote a well-rounded development of all our

students

• To celebrate student achievement
• To encourage students to be independent, resilient

learners who take on leadership challenges

Rewards & Opportunities

• Merits, postcards, telephone calls
• Celebration Breakfasts
• £10 vouchers
• Non-school uniform days
• Lower School Awards
• Ulysses Group & Athena Group
• Vast array of clubs

Maths in Year 7

Ms Willis Second in Maths

Equipment

• Every child can “do” maths – we have a growth mindset
• We have high expectations of class work
• We set bespoke weekly homework to meet

the needs of the students

• We provide lots of support including

lunchtime clubs on Tuesday and Wednesday

• We have a really engaging and positive curriculum....

coming up are some of the highlights!

Year 7 Maths: Ethos and Expectations

Year 7 Maths: Parental support

Look out for an email each term with the maths revision checklist for that term.

Year 7 English at Didcot Girls‟ School

Ms Howard-Saunders English KS3 Co-ordinator

What will my daughter be studying in English?

• Oracy
• Fairy-tale parodies
• Introduction to Media Studies
• A poetry anthology
• A novel: Private Peaceful
• Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

What will this help them achieve?

• Confidence

– In speaking aloud in different situations – In writing with impact and purpose – In their ability to understand and analyse

• Precision

– In spelling, punctuation and grammar – In vocabulary choice and tone

• Their potential!

What opportunities are there?

• Reading for Pleasure: a library lesson per fortnight
• Creative writing club: lunchtime to be confirmed
• Paired reading, with year 11 students
• External writing competitions throughout the year
• Opportunity to be the school‟s Poet Laureate
• Christmas theatre trip to see Treasure Island in

Term 2

How can I support my daughter‟s learning in English?

• Listen to her read
• Talk about books and the wider world
• Encourage her to read regularly on her own
• Take her to a local library
• Help her to learn the weekly spellings and key words

Key Stage 3 SCIENCE at DGS

Miss Painting

KS3 Science Coordinator

In year 7 students are taught in form groups until Christmas. They will be set after Christmas using: Homework assessments End of term assessment Teacher assessment

At KS3 students are taught using the Activate scheme of work written by OUP. “Activate is an exciting new KS3 Science course designed to spark curiosity in science and support you on your journey through KS3 to KS4 success.”

During year 7 students will cover topics within all 3

• f the sciences:

SCIENCE TOPIC Biology Cells Body systems Reproduction Chemistry Particles Elements, atoms & compounds Reactions Acids & alkalis Physics Forces Sound Light Space

At the end of each term students will complete an assessment. In order to revise for these students can use:  Their exercise book  Checklists for the relevant topic  BBC Bitesize  CGP Revision guide (£2.50 from science)  CGP workbook to accompany the revision guide (£5 from science)

Exercise books:  Lesson activities such as worksheets, practical write ups, quick quizzes  Homework tasks  Students may have brief notes on some topics Lessons:  Mixture of oral & written tasks  Independent & group work  Learning through interest, engagement & an enjoyment of the subject

Projects: In year 7 students will have the opportunity to undertake up to 3 projects during the year. There will be a biology, chemistry & physics project. The purpose of the project:

• extended piece of work
• work as a team & collaborate
• draw on knowledge from different chapters

Fun in science: Students can follow us on twitter: @dgs_science Lower school Science Club takes place in C21 on Tuesdays 3.15-4.30!

Students can “use their creativity & practical skills in experiments & challenges”

A new and exciting

• pportunity…

“Environment Club”

 Enhance different skills  Make new friends  Leadership opportunities  Make a difference to the school!

Starting after October half term – More information to be revealed…

Student Leadership House System

• Dr. Khan

Head of Ethos

gkhan@didcotgirls.oxon.sch.uk

Why Leadership Matters

• To be independent, responsible and

critical thinkers

• To strive hard and aim high
• To Lean In and develop a greater

sense of self worth

The House System at DGS

• We have seven houses at Didcot Girls‟ School. They

are all named after inspirational women who have been incredibly successful in their own fields. They have worked tirelessly to overcome hurdles, accept challenges and show resilience to become the best they could. We admire them and feel inspired by them, and we would like us all at school to talk about and be motivated by them more than we have before.

Why the House System Matters

• Healthy friendly competition
• Strong way of developing positive relationships

across the school

• Brings upper and lower school together
• Identity
• School life – extracurricular activities
• Develop a greater sense of responsibility
• School pride

House System

• Opening Ceremony -

Tuesday 4th October

• House parade &
• bstacle race
• Dress in house colours

Inter-House competitions

Please do get involved in any clubs and competitions you can! This term you can look out for:

• A Table Tennis Competition by the PD Dept.
• Competitions during Space Week from 4-10

October by the Science Dept.

• A logo designing competition for the English Dept.
• Darts Competition by the Maths Dept.
• View Art Competition by the Art Dept.

School Charities

House Adie Bussell Ennis

Greenfield

Kennedy MacArthur Wilson Charity Helen and Douglas House Yellow Submarine The Gatehouse Sobell House MIND Emmaus RSPCA

Leadership Ladder

• At the end of last school year, over 1000

students had completed leadership awards

• Bronze, Silver, Gold Awards
• Platinum community leadership award
• Assemblies, Thought for the Term, Celebration

breakfasts, letters home, blazer badges, non uniform days and rewards trip

At Home

• Check your daughter‟s Leadership

page.

• Share success with us.
• Talk about the BIGGER PICTURE of

Leadership

Being a Growth Mindset School

Mr A Tamplin Head of Year 7

• All students in years 7 – 11 have had lessons explaining

the benefits of having a growth mindset.

• Practical strategies they can use, including the “brain,

book, buddy, boss, bounce” system.

110 students arrived with a level 4 (100 in KS2 SATs this year) in Maths in Year 7. If they had made “expected progress”, they would all have achieved a C grade in GCSE maths.

A* A B C D E F G U 4 14 32 37 20 2 1

What actually happened?

We just don‟t know… However, our GCSE predictions were spot on

Two scenarios

Your daughter is feeling worried because the work in some subjects is getting hard. She doesn‟t think she will be able to do it.

• Remind her that school work is

supposed to be hard sometimes

• Remind her that she will need to

practise to improve her skills

• Ask her to find out if there is any extra

work she can do – for example can she practice online at home?

Your daughter is panicking because she has a test coming up in a week and she says “I‟m going to fail!!”

• Use more neutral language to calm the

situation down. Talk about making progress rather than passing or failing.

• Remind her that this is the beginning of the

journey – she may not be achieving the grade she wants just yet.

• Ask her to reflect on how her work ethic, is she

panicking because she hasn‟t been working hard enough? Maybe it is time to do some revision!

Teaching and Learning

Mr Goodenough Deputy Head

tgoodenough@didcotgirls.oxon.sch.uk

Teaching and Learning Priorities

• 1. Oracy

‘You can’t find your voice if you don’t use it.’

• 2. Homework

Timely and effective homework tasks to support student learning

Oracy: To speak fluently, with accurate grammar and with impact.

Fluent Accurate Confident Effective

• 1. No opt-out
• 2. A clear, audible

classroom voice, using Standard English

• 3. Detailed verbal

responses

Homework

• Departmental policies have been designed

which outline expectations in each subject.

• Tasks designed to maximise student

understanding and inform classroom study.

• Students will still have regular homework,

updated on Show My Homework.

• Clear strengths and

development points given regularly

• Use of Personalised

Learning Checklists to outline a unit‟s content and skills and support student reflection.

The „DGS Way‟ (continued)

Action taken highlighted in pink?

DIRT & The Pink Pen

• Lesson time regularly given to student

reflection and acting on targets.

• Dedicated Independent Refection Time

(DIRT) used to help students to act on feedback.

• Students flag up improved work using

the PINK PEN of progress

Assessment and Reporting Changes

How we assess and report your child‟s progress in Year 7

A New System - Background

• First year of new KS2 SATs
• No direct correlation between SATs results and

GCSE grades for the first time

• KS3 levels no longer exist
• Progress will be judged at the end of Year 11,

based on how well students have done compared to all other year 11 pupils in the country

BEP Explained

• All pupils are given a target grade for the end of

Y11

• Calculated using figures we have on % of students

nationally achieving particular grades

• We call them „BEPs‟ (Better than Expected

Progress targets)

• Achieving them will likely place students in top

25%+ nationally

Snapshots - What we Report

• GCSE BEP (target grade)
• Learning in class
• Learning out of class
• A progress letter: B, E or W

B – On course for the BEP target (Better than Expected) E – On course for Expected Progress (one grade below BEP and what most students with that student‟s KS2 score will get) W – Working towards Expected Progress

Some good bits of advice...

Mr Tamplin

What can parents do to help?

A quiet space Dialogue – talk about her learning Share the experience Keep lines of communication open Help with resources Communicate with teachers Support the school in terms of standards Emotional support Realistic expectations and achievable goals

A few logistics…

Planners

• Do need to be signed by parents each week
• Tutors check planners on a Monday morning
• Our policy states if it is unsigned, without a

legitimate reason, then the student attends a 20 minute lunchtime detention

• This is different to other year groups

Lockers

• Are now available!
• Please ask your daughter to collect a form

from Pupil Services

• Deposit of £5 for the full five years

Data Collection Sheets

• Will be coming your way in the next 10 days
• Very important document that definitely

needs to be returned

• Contact details
• SIMs in-touch, reports, bulletins, attendance

text messages etc

• Snapshot reports will be delivered through

SIMs in-touch

Evolving friendships

• Please can I ask for your support in

encouraging your daughter‟s to make the right choice about evolving friendships

• Please advise about how they can approach

these conversations in a positive manner

Clubs & Activities (over 40)

Science Club Creative Writing Public Speaking Choir Zumba Orchestra Maths Club Book Club Fencing French, German, Spanish, Chinese Sports Drama Photography Dance Astronomy KS3 Study Club We also have trips to several countries – French Chateau Trip being the main one towards the end of the year

KS3 Study Club

DGS Website

DGS Website

Key Dates

• Snapshot Report 1 - Friday 21st October 2016
• Snapshot Report 2 - Friday 24th February 2017
• Snapshot Report 3 - Friday 30th June 2017
• History Visit to Chepstow Castle

Wednesday 28th June 2017

• French Chateau Trip

Friday 14th July – Monday 17th July

Key Dates

• Parent & Tutor Welcome Evening

Tuesday 1st November 2016; 4 – 6pm – Cockcroft Hall

• Parents Consultation Evening 1

Wednesday 15th March 2017; 4.30 – 7.30pm

• Parents Consultation Evening 2

Wednesday 30th March; 4.30 – 7.30pm

Thank you for your time and attention.

Thursday 29th September 2016