Bulletin - 23.2.15

1. Dates for diaries
Mon 23rd Feb: Year 8 PSHE Day
Tues 24th Feb: Year 9-13 Art trip
Wed 25th Feb: Double Dept meeting: GCSE coursework standardisation
Thur 26th-Fri 27th Feb: BTEC Drama Performing Arts Exam
Mon 2nd March: Year 8 PSHE Day
Mon 2nd-Tues 3rd March: Year 13 Museum of Natural History trip
Wed 4th March, P2+P3: GP Taylor workshop (Year 8 + Year 9)
Thur 5th March: World Book Day

2. Reports/APs
AP3: Due Fri 27th Feb (see email from Felicity Sears for more information)

3. Standardisation: Wed 25th Feb
Please make sure you have completed the AQA standardisation work that Maud put together in time for our meeting on Wednesday. This double meeting was scheduled for report moderation but, since we don't have any reports to moderate, we should be able to complete the standardisation work reasonably quickly and finish ahead of time. Please come to my room directly from staff briefing.

Bulletin - 9.2.15

1. Dates for diaries
Mon 9th - Fri 13th Feb: Inter-college sport (Y7-11)
Tues 10th Feb, 2pm: Visit of Sir Gordon Duff
Tues 10th - Wed 11th Feb: BTEC Drama Controlled Assessment
Wed 11th Feb, 1:00-3:30: Year 11 Careers and Gap Year FairWed 11th Feb, 2:30-3:30: Optional standardisation / Progress Day preparation
Thur 12th Feb: Progress Day
Fri 13th Feb: INSET Day - Dialogic Teaching
Mon 16th - Tues 17th Feb: Half-Term Creative Writing workshop

2. Reports/APs
The data team has been working with a consultant from Serco to get our reporting system back up and running. Details and a new timetable for reports/APs will follow shortly. Watch this space.

3. Progress Day
If there are any students in your KS3 classes that you are concerned about, please make a Pastoral comment on their Serco so that tutors can discuss this with them and their parents on Progress Day. eg. All students that have been issued with a Skills Passport need to have this logged in this way.

4. INSET Day
Please see Staff News for the full INSET Day timetable.

5. Year 11 interventions
Targeted Year 11 students are being invited to a series of intervention sessions in the coming months:

• Progress Day exam skills (CSW, LMA, PWA)
• Half-Term Creative Writing workshop (JKY, LMA, MHL, HBR)
• Tutor time exam skills (CSW)

If you teach any students on the list (see Student News), please encourage them to attend.

Bulletin - 2.2.15

1. Dates for diaries
Mon 2nd - Tues 3rd Feb: BTEC Drama Assessment
Tues 3rd Feb, P3-P5: D&T Trip to Modern Art Oxford
Wed 4th Feb: 2:30-3:30: College meeting (Progress Day); 3:30-4:30 Dept meeting
Thurs 5th Feb, P3-P5: Y7 & Y8 Animating Ancient Gods Day
Mon 9th - Fri 13th Feb: Inter-college sport (Y7-11)
Tues 10th Feb, 2pm: Visit of Sir Gordon Duf
Tues 10th - Wed 11th Feb: BTEC Drama Controlled Assessment
Wed 11th Feb, 2:30-3:30: College meeting (Progress Day training)
Thur 12th Feb: Progress Day
Fri 13th Feb: INSET Day



2. Reports/APs
There is some confusion between what is on the Outlook calendar for reports/APs and what Serco is saying. I have emailed the data team and will let you know what's going on as soon as I do. Thank you for your patience.

3. Ofsted

I wasn't there for the Ofsted debrief on Friday but I understand it all seemed pretty positive and that people were hopeful that we'd get what we were aiming for. I'm sure there will a fair amount of good counsel in the full report when it comes but I am equally sure that it will reflect all that is good about this school and this department.

From my point of view, one of the most satisfying things about the whole inspection was walking around the department and feeling that, whilst everyone was clearly 'on their game', there was nothing happening in anyone's classroom that I wouldn't expect to see on any other day.

This has always felt to me like a department that doesn't need to put on a show for anyone, and I'm glad to say that we didn't have to for Ofsted.

Needless to say, you can all just watch DVDs from now until July...

4. Sixth Form Creative Writing Group

Pete Nicol-Harper, former parent governor and all-round nice guy, has been running the Sixth Form Creative Writing Group for four or five years now but at the end of this year is retiring to the Hampshire coast. Is anyone interested in taking over? It currently runs on a Wednesday afternoon but this could easily be changed to make it more convenient. Please let me know.