Bushey Meads News Issue 65 22nd April 2016

Year 9 Students Demonstrating and

Developing Key Skills for Life

Mr Turner, Executive Principal

Dates for

the Diary

Tues 26 April

Y10 GCSE Dance Show

Y11 Additional Science

Collapsed Day

Wed 27 April

Y10 Weymouth Trip

Y11 Meningitis Vaccinations

Staff Development Afternoon

Full Governors Meeting

Reminder School finishes at 13:20 for students on Wednesday 27th April for staff training. School buses will be collecting the students at 13:20 ready to depart at 13:30.

Thurs 28 April

Y13 Trip Dr Faustus

Drama Exam Dress

Rehearsals

Y8 Junior Maths Challenge

7 May

It was really pleasing to visit a few Year 9 English classes last week and see the very good work that students were engaged with – effectively supported by their teachers.

Working on the all-important Speaking and Listening aspect of their curriculum, students were working in groups to develop a ‘Dragons Den’ style sales pitch – marketing a product of their own choosing to an audience.

Identifying key roles within the group, effective planning and confident delivery to the audience were all key aspects of the challenging activity.

The role of the audience was clearly to listen carefully and ask pertinent, relevant and sometimes quite challenging questions which the students had to respond to in real time.

I would like to thank and congratulate the students and staff for their real focus and achievement in this aspect of their learning at BMS.

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Student of the week for Key Stage 4 has been nominated by the Pastoral Manager, Miss Dhanecha. Abby has been nominated for excellent attendance and punctuality through last half term. Abby, you have made significant efforts in this respect, keep up the great work!

Student of the week for Key Stage 3 is Francesca - 7B, who has produced some amazing class work and home learning. She is a very hard working pupil and takes great pride in her work. Francesca has also accrued nearly 250 achievement points! Keep up the fantastic work and attitude!

Natalya 12Elm Our KS5 student of the week is Natalya who is in year 12. Natalya has been given this award for her outstanding leadership as Head Technician. Natalya leads sessions training younger students in how to use sound and lighting equipment and also organises support for whole school events. Natalya is currently studying art, graphic products, maths, physics and the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ).

Danielle Bowe Lead Practitioner for English and Whole school Literacy

Language is empowering

Our opening word of the week for the summer term has been ‘inference’. Students have been exploring

how important it is to be able to use inference and deduction skills when reading to interpret deeper

meanings in texts.

Maths Challenge

A Big Week for English at BMS

Mr Turner, Executive Principal

Last week we heard that, of the 29 GCSE students who have been attending English controlled assessment sessions after school on Mondays and Fridays this term with Miss Farook, 23 students (an incredible 80%) have significantly improved their marks and 50% have already reached their aspirational ‘FFT D’ target grade. All of them will be in a much stronger position as they now prepare to sit their written 2-hour English GCSE Examination in the next two months. One student’s grades went from an F to a C!

Without exception, all staff in the English Faculty this year are working incredibly hard to ensure that all our students are being extremely well prepared for their forthcoming examinations. The picture above shows our Year 11 students at the start of their Walking Talking Mock in the Gym (which this term is used as our Public Examination Hall) on Thursday morning last week.

The idea of a Walking Talking Mock is that it enables the students to experience what it really feels like to patiently wait outside the exam hall, enter the exam hall in complete silence, hand in their mobile phones, sit at a labelled exam desk in alphabetical order and listen carefully to the instructions from the Chief Invigilator……………..and then after all that, work for over two hours on a series of challenging GCSE questions.

It takes prior knowledge, careful preparation, skill and stamina.

The difference between the real GCSE and a Walking Talking Mock is that, in a Walking Talking Mock, you have a couple of top teachers to guide you every step of the way; reminding you of the things to look out for; the top exam tips and strategies to maximise your marks.

All the students I spoke to afterwards were extremely grateful for the opportunity provided. So many of them commented that it was a powerful ‘reality check’ and a really useful way of building up their confidence and reminding them of how best to answer the questions. Through the experience they were also able to identify questions that perhaps they needed to improve and practice a few more times over the coming weeks.

They all wanted to take away their papers to revise from, and their teachers will be facilitating this in lessons as they go through the papers in class and build on the success of last week.

The Powerful Experience of an English Walking Talking Mock

Top exam tips are displayed on the state of

the art screen at the front of the Examination Hall

Outstanding teachers guide the students through the GCSE paper a section at a time – reminding them of

strategies and tips to maximise their success.

Students use the right equipment to highlight the key words as they prepare to answer the questions

The real time experience in the Examination Hall shows them what

it will really be like on the day of

the real GCSE

Study Saturdays at BMS Mr Turner, Executive Principal

The first Study Saturday of the examinations season was a real success with students queuing outside the door when Mr Back, our dedicated and inspirational LRC Manager, arrived at 9.45 am. The Learning Resource Centre is really becoming a hub of the school for raising achievement at all levels and Mr Back is already having a significant impact in the school – working alongside many Year 11 and Sixth Form students and particularly those who need a little extra motivational push to achieve their true potential – all this alongside his work with literacy and reading lessons with our superb Year 7 cohort.

In opening the LRC on Saturdays between 10.00 am and 2.00 pm it means that in these crucial weeks of preparation before the GCSE and AS and A2 exams students can access all the high tech resources across the LRC and use the time to really focus on pushing their achievement and revision to the next level.

Students can wear their own clothes, bring in a bit of lunch and come and go as they please within the 4 hour session.

It was a relaxed but very purposeful atmosphere. A huge range of past papers were laid out for the students to work through if they wanted to and a few other staff also popped in to support individual students in their study.

For those students who want to set aside a specific time to complete a key revision task, or perhaps for those students who find it difficult to work at home, then the Study Saturday opportunity is certainly a powerful strategy to consider as you approach your final examinations in May and June. Well done to all

those who came in this Saturday and a big thank you to Mr Back. Over 55 students made use of the

opportunity!

High Expectations in Religious Studies Lessons at BMS Mr Turner, Executive Principal

It was excellent to see students in Miss Walters RS GCSE group professionally presenting their home learning in front of the class. Every student was expected to have completed some in-depth research about an international charity organisation and was then presenting their learning to the rest of the class; students were confident, professional and effectively engaged their audience.

An inspirational display board in Miss Walters’ classroom reminds students of the importance and value of

Religious Studies Education and Philosophy and Ethics. Some

very famous people are represented on the display as

having studied these subjects at top universities across the world – including our very own Prime

Minister, David Cameron; someone who presents to a

whole variety of audiences each and every day.

Vacancy

The school has an additional vacancy for a 'Site Assistant / Caretaker for BSJT'.

Details are available on the school website under the 'Vacancies' section.

Thank you to the vast majority of parents and carers who park sensibly to drop off their children in the mornings and to collect them in the afternoons. Can we please remind all parents and carers when dropping off/collecting students to ensure that you:

park sensibly and safely with due consideration to our neighbours

observe the yellow zigzags outside Bushey Meads and Meadow Wood schools (no pulling into the

entrances of the schools)

With the weather getting warmer and the days lighter, why not park further away from the school so the students walk part of the way?

FORM TUTOR SUBJECT TEACHER

PASTORAL TEAM Mr O’Kelly (KS5)

Ms Danecha (KS4) Mr Malik (Yrs 8 & 9) Ms Smart (Year 7)

HEAD OF FACULTY

SENIOR ASSISTANT HEADTEACHER KS3 – Mr Fisher

ASSITANT HEADTEACHER KS4 & KS5 – Mrs Ash

EXECUTIVE PRINCIPAL Mr Turner

HEAD OF DEPARTMENT

Channels of Communication In a large school it is important to know who to contact if you would like to raise a concern or provide us with information. If you have a concern you would like to share with the school regarding your son or daughter your first point of contact needs to be the subject teacher or the form tutor. They can be contacted via the school email: reception@busheymeads.org.uk , marking it for their attention, or by telephone: 020 8950 3000.

Tuesday 12/4 - Tuesday 19/4

There has been a fantastic turnout for rounders practice in the last 2 weeks with well over 50 students attending. Let’s hope this bodes well for the coming season.

Good luck to the senior girls in their tournament on Thursday.

Summer Sports

PE activities have changed for the Summer term - please check the noticeboards and learning gateway for more details regarding clubs and activities.

These activities are subject to change depending on fixtures and the weather.

Lunchtime After School

Monday Year 7 Cricket Practice Year 8 and Senior Girls Rounders

Long Jump/Triple Jump

Year 9 and 10 Girls Rounders Year 8 and Senior Girls Rounders

Trampolining (High Springers) SEN Boccia Club

Tuesday Year 8 Cricket Practice Year 7,8,9 and 10 Athletics Club

Girls Football with Arsenal Ladies (astro)

Year 8 Cricket Practice Watford Harriers Athletics Club

Tennis Club

Wednesday Year 9 Cricket Practice Year 7,9,10 and Senior Girls Rounders

Boys Track Athletics

Year 9 Cricket Practice Year 7 Girls Rounders Girls Track Athletics

Thursday Year 7,8,9 and 10 Athletics Club Year 10 Cricket Practice

Year 7 Cricket Practice Tennis Club

Year 7,8,9 and 10 Athletics Club SEN PE

Yoga

Friday Athletics Club - POLE VAULT (selected students only)

Athletics Club

Year 7 and 8 Boys Rounders Club

Basketball with Hertfordshire Warriors

Sports Clubs provided by external coaches

Sara Ash, Assistant Headteacher