Summary
Primary School Principals’ Newsletter Date: November 2017
Principal’s comment Dear Colleague,
Principal’s comment
Year 8
AQE Dates
Transfers
Digital School House
Pupil Coaching
International
At this time of year we often get together for a light lunch and an opportunity to hear from some of my staff about the things we do at Ballyclare High School through which we might offer you support and share good practice. My Senior Staff and I decided that this year we would instead at this stage furnish you with that information in this newsletter; none of us can believe how quickly we have arrived at half term! I do believe, despite the pace of life, it is important to carve out time to meet face to face to converse over mutual concerns. We are all feeling the squeeze of financial cuts, the transition of EA, union action and parental expectations and to know we are not alone is often reassuring so I will postpone that lunch until January (26th TBC).
Numeracy
Until then please feel free to contact any of my lead staff if you are interested in working in partnership with us on anything referenced here. Also, don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any queries re transfer or admissions. Our AQE familiarisation day ran very smoothly so fingers crossed the three test days will be just the same... soon it will be all over for your wee P7s, bar the waiting!
Literacy Co-ordinator
I hope you all have a restful Halloween holiday and look forward to seeing you soon.
Digital Leaders
Health & Wellbeing
Sports Outreach
Dimension
Principal
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Year 8 to date We are pleased once again at this stage in the year that the majority of our Year 8 pupils have settled in well and they are beginning to get used to their new daily routine in big school! There have been a number of events organised to help them settle in. Firstly, in June we held our Induction Night for our new P7 pupils and parents. It gave the boys and girls an opportunity to meet their form tutor and find out who else was in their class. This was an energetic evening during which they got to play some getting to know you games along with receiving their stationery for the year and getting a tour of the school. While the pupils met with their form class Dr Rainey, Mrs McKay, Mr Lenaghan and Mrs Montgomery addressed the adults to welcome them as new parents, allay their worries about new school and took the chance to provide them with information about the school and the support available for their family.
Year 8 pupils then came in on the 30th August for their first (half) day. This gave them another chance to find their way around the school as the only year group in attendance. Again, they had an opportunity to meet with their form tutor and form class and form tutors embarked upon work to develop new friendships and answer any queries pupils had. During their first five weeks at school we traditionally run an induction program during Learning for Life and Work classes. During this time, we consider commonly observed routines. These will follow on from the many standards they are used to in Primary School but it gives us an opportunity to further develop these in the context of their new school and routine. At the end of September each class also had the opportunity to go to Woodhall for a day. Two classes went each day, and took part in a range of activities, including the ‘leap of faith’! During the day, we also had the opportunity to chat to the pupils in small groups about the importance of friendships and being respectful of each other. A great day was had by all!
Finally, in November there will be an opportunity for parents to meet with their child’s form tutor. During this pastoral consultation the form tutor gets to chat with parents about how their child has settled into school and raise any concerns. Parents also have the opportunity to pass on valuable information to the form tutor that can further help us in addressing any issues there may be. During their early months with us we prepare pupils for assessments and develop their study skills in preparation explicitly for the marked assessment tasks, winter and summer examinations. In November each of the form classes will complete a ‘run into revision’ programme and during this time form tutors and 6th form buddies assigned to each class for the key stage mentor pupils to develop good revision techniques and help them to look at what approaches suits their learning style best. Subject teachers at this time will also develop teacher-led study skills and identify through class work if any additional help is needed. Many subjects offer after school support groups which are run by teachers and older pupils in the school. There is no doubt these new pupils have a lot to get their head around as they start their journey with us but we look at putting in many steps as we can to help them on this new journey in becoming one of the family at Ballyclare High School! Mrs J Montgomery (Head of Year 8)
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AQE Common Entrance Assessment 2017/18: Key Dates applications open: 2nd May 2017 applications close: 8th September 2017 closing date for return of access arrangement forms: 8th September 2017 familiarisation day (dry run): Saturday 21st October 2017 test dates: 11th , 25th Nov + 2nd Dec 2017 results: 27th January 2018 re-mark application: 12th February 2018 re-mark results: 2 weeks after results Other important dates: BHS P7 results support evening: 29th January 2018 BHS P6 Information evening for parents: 31st May 2018 Transfers The entrance criteria remain unchanged for entry in September 2018. In 2017 all the pupils who applied for admission were successful. The lower than usual number of applications largely reflected the lower scores obtained by candidates taking the test in our centre. We suspect that some potential applicants, who could have been successful if they had applied, were discouraged from doing so by their score. We would actively encourage the parents of P7 pupils to consider listing us as one of their higher choices irrespective of the AQE score obtained. We would also advise parents to list as many schools, in order of preference, as they wish. There is no limit to the number of preferences that can be listed regardless of the number of lines provided on the transfer form. Please feel free to email/phone with any queries regarding the selection process: Email: amillar658@c2kni.net; Tel: 02893 322244
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An overview of our Digital School House Program Our Digital Schoolhouse program uses play-based learning to engage the next generation of pupils and teachers with the new Computing curriculum. Workshops are hosted by Digital Schoolhouses (Ballyclare High School) and taught by their appointed Digital Schoolhouse (DSH) Lead Teacher, Mrs V Walker. Our vision is to bridge the gap between industry and education, to prepare the next generation for a digital age. Workshops are taught to visiting primary schools and use play-based learning (learning through play!) to engage pupils, whilst upskilling and inspiring visiting teachers to deliver the new computing curriculum. Our workshops
Workshops are based on one theme and split into three lessons. In 2017-2018 we offer Wednesday mornings from 9:20-10:20 and also Friday mornings 9:20-10:20am
DSH Lead Teachers use workshops specifically developed by Digital Schoolhouse
Workshops use playful-computing activities which have been specifically developed by Digital Schoolhouse to complement workshop themes
Computing concepts are taught without the use of computers and related to pupils existing ‘real world’ understanding
DSH Lead Teachers encourage visiting teachers to take an active role in the workshop at the start of the day
Visiting teachers can select the direction of learning
Meeting curriculum needs All aspects of DSH have been developed based on research into the curriculum challenges facing both primary and secondary schools: Lessons have been carefully mapped onto the curriculum programmes of study
Lesson objectives for each workshop reflect the programmes of study for the additional subjects
Lesson materials are mapped onto the CAS Progression Pathways and the Computational Thinking Framework
Who's invited? Workshops are targeted at all P6 and P7 classes at local primary schools. Different year groups will be considered, with sufficient notice to the local Digital Schoolhouse, to allow time for the adaption of workshop materials, according to the class’s needs. DSH is passionate about presenting all students an opportunity to gain the digital skills they need for their future. What are the benefits for pupils:
Pupils learn about additional subjects; lessons are cross-curricular
Pupils (KS2) learn secondary (KS3 & KS4) school concepts
Pupils develop their reflective and critical thinking skills together, by addressing issues such as safety, security, privacy, equity of access and licensing
Pupils acknowledge the Philosophy of Computing by reflecting on how technology works, its uses for themselves and for others as a tool for learning, and for life!
For visiting teachers:
Teachers can use workshop resources freely
Teachers are provided with continued professional development opportunities
Teachers gain confidence through team teaching
Teachers can combine workshops with their own creative curriculum topic e.g. using Macbeth or The Boy in Striped Pyjamas to develop an interactive storybook or Scratch game
Teachers feel more confident about delivering similar lessons in their own school
Teachers can opt to use their next DSH booking to experience a different workshop theme
For more information, please feel free to contact gshaw563@c2kni.net, or alternatively via the school office. Mr G Shaw ICT Strategy Leader
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Pupil Coaching When pupils underachieve, teachers tend to act as mentors. Mentoring is where a high degree of expert knowledge and experience is imparted for guidance and development. We tell pupils what we think they should do. This is a short-term solution as the pupil relies on the teacher to continually provide solutions or they don’t engage with learning as effectively as they might, rather continue to depend on the teacher. Coaching conversations provide an alternative, long term solution. Coaching is about helping people to solve their own problems through a process of questioning and self-discovery and we believe, serves to develop independent learners and release the potential for improvement through a self confidence in learning. Some pupils who continually underachieve may be in a negative belief cycle:
Coaching is a way of breaking this cycle via: 1.
The coach raising awareness that the coachee is constantly making choices (whether they realise it or not);
2.
The coachee can start to make better choices;
3.
They will choose to take responsibility & do something different.
As a pilot we trained staff on the active listening and reflective questioning skills which allow them to have coaching conversations with a number of underachieving pupils on 4-6 occasions over Year 11 and 12. The results were:
82% of these pupils improved their year ranking from Year 11 to Year 12;
In Year 11, 9% of these pupils achieved enough points to enter Year 13, while this figure increased to 55% by the end of Year 12;
With the current GCSE cohort, 86% of pupils involved in the ?? program increased their Year 11 ranking from Jan to June.
82% of these increased their grade point average from Year 11 to Year 12. (The remaining 18% maintained their grade point average);
If you would like to find out more about pupil coaching, please contact Nikki Craig (ncraig624@c2kni.net)
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Update on International Dimension Work on the International Dimension is continuing throughout the current academic year. Ballyclare High remains committed to ensuring that our pupils develop as responsible citizens who are proud of our international links and opportunities. This year sees the school applying for the reaccreditation of the British Council International School Award. We have created a range of activities and links with partner schools in order to seamlessly include international aspects within our curricula. If successful, this will be our seventh consecutive title. Advice on necessary planning and application for this award is available from our International Coordinator. We continue to offer our in-house Language Leaders Award Scheme, in which pupils develop the essential skills to deliver basic MFL lessons. Our current Year 14 cohort will be available to attend local primary schools on a weekly basis after Christmas to help with Modern Languages lessons and afterschool clubs. Our Year 13 cohort are attending workshops on a range of aspects such as body language, lesson planning and resource creation, and have already had an invaluable insight into the teaching of MFL during our annual European Day of Languages celebrations.
Our MFL Twitter page continues to grow from strength to strength and we now benefit from having just under 1,500 followers worldwide. This is used as an excellent communication tool, not only between teaching staff and pupils, but also with parents, experts in the field of MFL teaching & learning and the local Ballyclare community. Why not follow us - @ballyclarelangs
For more details on the wide range of international activities taking place this year at Ballyclare High, or for more information on anything mentioned above, please do not hesitate to contact our International Coordinator. Details are listed below. Intl Coordinator: Mr Jonny Nelson
email: jnelson010@c2kni.net
Twitter: @ballyclarelangs
Numeracy Work on enhancing numeracy skills at the transition stage for our KS2/KS3 pupils continues this year in partnership with Fairview Primary. Targets for 17-18 include; (i) Sharing resources via Fronter: KS2 and KS3 teachers to upload and share worksheets, lesson plans and active learning resources, focusing particularly on an agreed choice of ‘bridging’ topics and classroom approaches; (ii) Sharing samples of pupil work: to provide KS2 and KS3 teachers with greater insight into the methods used and how work is set out at the alternate key stage; (iii) Continuity of approach: teaching videos and ‘show me’ clips to be shared on Fronter for an agreed choice of topics. If you would like any more information please contact jfarquhar622@c2kni.net J M Farquhar
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Literacy Co-ordinator Brief Overview I returned to school in April after a two-year secondment with the Education Authority as an Advisory Teacher for Literacy where I specialised in Transition from KS2-KS3 on the CPD Project. I designed and ran training days all over Northern Ireland with Literacy Co-ordinators from primary schools and Heads of English from post primary schools. I also provided bespoke ALC training days and sessions for Larne and Bangor schools and assisted the East Belfast Learning Community with developing their transition strategy. In addition I designed and populated the current CPD project Fronter room with resources. I founded, wrote and designed the structure of ‘The Bridge’ Newsletter which captures the outcomes of schools working on transition together cross-phase. I can offer training sessions on the following: 1. Growth Mindset – staff, pupils and parents. (Carol Dweck)
2. Differentiation from baselining to strategies on content, process and outcome. 3. Teacher Peer Observation (based on research I carried out on the impact of sustained TPO in Louisiana, US on improved pupil outcomes.) Bristol University is currently completing their own research in this area. Option to use video footage from English schools to assess WWW/EBI. 4. Picture Books – all abilities, initiating inference and analysis in the classroom. 5. Resilience in Girls (Based on research involving Wimbledon High Girls’ Day School’s Wow Week.) 6. Raising Attainment in Boys (Based on teacher Amy Forrester’s NATE research and additional research.) 7. Thinking Skills – making thinking visible in the classroom. 8. Visual Literacy in the classroom using film. (Drawing on resources from Into Film, the Literacy Shed and other shorts suitable for the KS2 classroom.) Colette Thompson
Digital Leaders At Ballyclare High School we offer pupils the chance to become Childnet Digital Leaders. Pupils complete a series of online safety modules over 6 weeks, through which they learn how to keep themselves and their peers safe online, how to respond to incidents, and effective strategies for delivering online safety messages to others. On completion of their training, they take an active role in the delivery of our online safety programme. Our Digital Leaders have delivered educational sessions to parents and their peer groups, and it is hoped that they could now reach out into our local primary schools to speak to younger children about how to stay safe online. For more information, please feel free to contact me at mhill594@c2kni.net, or via the school office. Mrs Mhairi Hill Online Safety Coordinator, DDT Child Protection
Health & Wellbeing The NI Wellbeing Academy, set up in partnership between Ballyclare High School and Mark Solomon's from Developing Potential, saw engagement with 17 other primary and post primary schools last year. Workshops were delivered on measuring wellbeing, coaching for wellbeing, resilience, leadership competencies, building energy, coping strategies, managing workload and change management. Many of our partners have now set off confidently on the first steps of a journey to invest in a culture of wellbeing in their school through the shared good practice and use of associated resources. Plans for 2017-18 are not yet finalised by Mark but we continue to commit to Health and Wellbeing for our staff and be available for advice. We eagerly await to hear if we have been reaccredited by Investors In People with their HWB Good Practice Award after assessment this week! If you would like to find out more about Health and Wellbeing, please contact Nikki Craig (ncraig624@c2kni.net)
Sports Outreach As you know the programme on offer changes annually on the basis of demand. In the past placement students and school staff delivered sessions primarily for rugby, hockey and athletics to those feeder primaries who could be accommodated logistically. More recently we have afforded 6th form pupils’ time to help a few of you to provide additional sporting opportunities for your pupils. We envisage that we may be ready to offer something this year, after January exams, so please contact us in advance if you would like us to consider committing some coaching hours in one of the main school sports. For more information, please feel free to contact Mrs V McKinty, vmckinty970@c2kni.net, or alternatively via the school office.
Ballyclare High School 31 Rashee Road, Ballyclare, County Antrim BT39 9HJ Tel: 028 9332 2244 Fax: 028 9332 4118 info@ballyclarehigh.ballyclare.ni.sch.uk www.ballyclarehigh.co.uk