Year 9 Parental

Information Evening

2019-20

Year 9 Information Evening

• Year overview and class charts –Mr Cooper

• Attendance – Miss Camborne-Paynter

• Duke of Edinburgh’s award- Miss Sumner

• Photograph consent– Mrs Rowlands

• Mathematics– Mr Jones

• English – Miss Perraton

• Science –Mr Riley

• Study Skills and support – Mr Dance

Be prepared for GCSE and BTEC

• Challenge• Vision

Be prepared to get things wrong…

• Stretched• Resilient• Growth mind

set – practise makes better!

Be prepared to give some time…

• Homework• Study sessions (lesson 6)• Revision• Coursework• Catch up

Be prepared for lessons

• Standards• Uniform• Homework• Planner• Punctual

Be prepared to get involved…

• Peer mentors• Anti-bullying ambassadors• Sports clubs• Music• Drama• Art• Charity events• Form activities• Trips• Duke of Edinburgh• Work experience (Y10)

Key Dates Year 9 Event Date

Trip to Liverpool University 11th October

Year 9 exams Week commencing Monday

9th December

27th April to 7th May

Interim reports sent home Half term 3—Feb

Interim reports sent home Half term 6—July

Parents’ Evening Thursday April 2nd

Sports Award Evening Wednesday July 8th

Year 9 and 10 Awards

evening

Wednesday July 15th

Class Charts – Using technology to aid progress

Mobile application (app) which improves several key areas of school life for students, parents and carers

Key Benefits

It allows you instant access to the following key indicators

• Attendance

• Punctuality

• Behaviour – Positive and negative

• Homework – Task/date due/if completed

• Detentions

• Easy and direct communication between you and your child’s teacher

For Students

They too will also have access to their own version of the app

• Homework

• Detentions

• Reward Points

What will it look like?

When and How?

Launching after October half term

• You will receive a letter/email/text giving you instructions and how to download the app and your login details

• Feb half term feedback on the app -welcome your feedback

Attendance – Miss Camborne-Paynter

End Year 8 attendance was above the National Average – 95.5%

Year 9 current attendance 96.7%.

A great achievement! This is only possible

because of your support. Thank you.

Students should aim to have

96% or above

Attendance has a direct link to achievement!

Being absent addsto the pressure

• Work is missed

• Explanations of difficult concepts are missed

• Some topics are not covered again until revision.

• Catching up is VITAL- Be proactive, collect the work or stay after school to catch up.

What do we do…

Form time rewards for 100% attendance weekly

Weekly form rewards for 100% as a form group

Supportive attendance conversations with form tutors and APC.

Weekly attendance spread sheet sent to form tutors.

Persistent Absence (PA)

Please note that Persistent Absence

is classed as 90%

90% attendance for the year = 4 weeks

missed = 100 lessons missed!!

Punctuality

What are we doing to help improve punctuality…

Football on the astro every Friday morning from 8:30.

A morning activity aimed at those who do not enjoy sports will be coming in the next few weeks.

Punctuality is important

• Start the day calmly without rushing.

• Start the day with a positive mind set, ready to work hard.

• Hear all important messages in form

• Attend early morning revision

• Preparing for the world of work

• If a student is late twice, a letter is sent home and an after school detention will be issued.

camborne-paynters@heathschool.org.uk

If absences are unavoidable due to illness etc. Please email me to ensure your child receives the work they need to catch up on.

Duke of Edinburgh’s award-Miss Sumner

What is the DofE?

The DofE is…

Your DofE programme is a real adventure.

It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from.

You just need to be aged between 14 and 24.

You can do DofE programmes at three levels:

• Bronze Year 9 onwards

• Silver Year 10 onwards

• Gold (aged 16+)

…which lead to a Duke of Edinburgh's Award.

Bronze Award

Volunteering

Aim

• To inspire young people to

make a difference within

their communities or to an

individual’s life and develop

compassion by giving

service to others.

Benefits

• Learn about their community and feel a sense of

belonging and purpose.

• Learn to take responsibility for their communities

and their own actions.

• Build new relationships.

• Further understand their own strengths and

weaknesses.

• Develop teamwork and leaderships skills.

• Trust others and be trusted.

• Enjoy new adventures.

Volunteering categories

• Helping people

• Community action and raising awareness

• Coaching, teaching and leadership

• Working with the environment or animals

• Helping a charity or community organisation

Physical

Aim

• To inspire young people to

achieve greater physical

fitness and a healthy

lifestyle through participation

and improvement in

physical activity.

Benefits

• Enjoy keeping fit.

• Improve fitness.

• Discover new abilities.

• Raise self-esteem.

• Extend personal goals.

• Set and respond to a challenge.

• Experience a sense of achievement.

Physical categories

• Team sports

• Individual sports

• Water sports

• Racquet sports

• Dance

• Fitness

• Extreme sports

• Martial arts

Skills

Aim

• To inspire young people to

develop practical and social

skills and personal interests.

Benefits

• Develop a new talent.

• Improve self-esteem and confidence.

• Develop practical and social skills.

• Develop better organisational and time

management skills.

• Sharpen research skills.

• Learn how to set and rise to a challenge.

Skills categories

• Creative arts

• Performance arts

• Science and

technology

• Care of animals

• Music

• Life skills

• Learning and collecting

• Media and

communication

• Natural world

• Games and sports

Expedition

Aim

• To inspire young people to

develop initiative and a

sense of adventure and

discovery, by planning,

training for and completing

an adventurous journey as

part of a team.

Benefits

• Gain an appreciation of and respect for the outdoor environment.

• Learn the value of sharing responsibility for success.

• Learn the importance of attention to detail and organisational ability.

• Develop and demonstrate enterprise and imagination.

• Become more self-reliant.

• Become more able to overcome challenges.

• Recognise the needs and strengths of others.

• Improve decision-making skills and the ability to accept consequences.

• Gain skills to reflect on personal performance.

• Learn to manage risk.

• Learn through experience.

DofE with The Heath School• We are looking at running Bronze DofE in the Spring term

• You will need to commit to 2 weekends of your time

• You will need to be able to commit to doing your volunteering, skill & physical activities in your own time

To find out more info

• Keep an eye out for letters coming home before Christmas

• See Miss Sumner to discuss the award and starting activities

• Follow the Heath DofE Twitter account to see what goes on during expeditions

@HeathDofE

Photograph consent– Mrs Rowlands

Digital images

Official School Photographs - We arrange annually for a reputable photographer to take photographs of our students at the beginning of Years, 7, 9 and 11. These photographs are used by school on SIMS (the central management information system holding data relevant to your child). You also have the opportunity to purchase the photographs taken.

Digital imagesOther School Photographs - During your child’s learning

journey at The Heath School we may on occasion photograph/video their educational experiences. These images are taken to demonstrate and record a broad range of opportunities/activities examples of which include:

Achievements (both individual and group)Trips and VisitsSchool performancesSporting eventsStudent Progress/Development Work students are proud ofLearn for Life Days

Digital images

Images that may cause embarrassment or distress will not be used.

Under General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) we are required to seek your consent to take photographs/videos as outlined above.

Digital images

I give consent for school to take photographs/videos of my child

YES / NO

(I understand that where photographs/videos need to be taken to form part of curricular records or an element of assessment for examinations you do not require my consent to take such images)

Digital imagesUnder the new GDPR we are required to seek your

consent on how we use digital images of your child.

Please indicate your consent preferences for the statements below:

I give consent for digital images of my child to be used for internal school

displays in classrooms, on corridors etc. YES / NO

(I understand that where photographs/videos need to be used to form part of curricular records or an element of assessment for examinations you do not require my consent to use such images)

Digital images

I give consent for digital images of my child to be used in the school Newsletter,

School Website, School Prospectus and School controlled Social Media. YES / NO

Digital images

I give consent for digital images of my child to be used in Local Newspapers

and Press Releases.YES / NO

Digital images

I give consent for the school to authorise the use of digital images of my child,

within the Heath Family Trust and Local Authority publications. YES / NO

Digital images

If you change your mind at any time regarding the above preference please contact the Office Manager to update your consents.

Mathematics – Mr Jones

Mathematics

Head of Faculty – Mr Jones

Deputy Head of Faculty – Mr Silcock

Year 9

Students have embarked on the first of a 3 year GCSE course in Mathematics.

I really cannot emphasise enough how

different and how difficult the new GCSE

is.

Setting

Year 9 are taught at the same time for Mathematics.

The setting is based upon their achievements within Key Stage 3.

There is fluid movement between the sets, based upon the best set for each student to access the curriculum in mathematics.

Curriculum

Year 9 follow one of a 2 tier scheme for learning which best allows them to make at least the expected progress required.

Students will be assessed three times throughout the year and set changes can occur after each assessment.

All student’s progress and attainment is tracked and monitored

throughout the year, with appropriate intervention put in place

where applicable.

Homework

Students should be getting minimum of

two pieces of homework per week.

Can you ensure that they are engaging

with all homework set! What they do at

home makes all the difference.

Doing 9 hours of mathematics in lessons is not

enough!

Resources

The following resources can really help your child’s progress:

www.corbettmaths.com (Videos and questions)www.mathedup.co.uk (Videos and questions)hegartymaths.com

There will be an opportunity during the year to purchase revision guides and workbooks through the school.

PiXL Maths App

Things to know:

Access to the PiXL Maths App will be available shortly and will be shared with students by their class

teachers.

Just under 1/5 of all students who sat their Maths GCSE (2019) in England, Wales or Northern Ireland had used the Maths App to prepare for their exam.

With regular use it has been shown to raise attainment within a year by at least 1 grade.

THERAPYTESTING

DIAGNOSIS

PiXL Maths App

What does the app do?

Uses online questions to assess your son’s/daughter’s knowledge across more than 200 skills to raise

awareness of their strengths and areas to develop.

Provides video and PowerPoint support to enable learners to target areas of weakness.

Reproduces the same question but with different numbers so that learner’s can apply their knowledge.

PiXL Maths App

More than 200 skills. That is quite a lot!Where should my

son/daughter start?

Sometimes it is hard to know what to do with a blank canvas. Therefore we have structured graded challenges under “set tasks” to help students start

along a particular path.

PiXL Maths App

How does my son/daughter know how they are doing?

Their success lineQuestion selection menu is RAG’d

Class engagement scoreboard

Their teacher also sees an overview and will shape written reports,

conversations and their teaching to continuously target their needs.

PiXL Maths AppSo how can I help?

Encourage your son/daughter to use the app on top of any other

homework. They can use the search facility under “Take a test”to help target a specific skills or

the “Daily challenge”.If you are teaching your

son/daughter a particular skill, try and use the techniques shown in

the videos/PowerPoints.

Equipment

Students should all have access to:

Scientific calculator (Casio - £9.50 in Asda)

Compass

Protractor

Queries or concerns

If you have any queries or concerns at all, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

jonesp@heathschool.org.uk – Mr Jonessilcockk@heathschool.org.uk – Mr Silcock

English – Miss Perraton

English

Head of Faculty: Mrs SpenserYear 10 Coordinator of English: Miss RobertsYear 9 Coordinator of English: Miss PerratonHead of KS3: Mrs Monk

What our students are working towards

The skills developed in Year 9 will equip students with the knowledge and understanding they need to approach their

GCSE English Language and English Literature exams at the end of Year 11. This is part of a three year course.

Year 9 Autumn 1

Project

based unit as

an

introduction

to Language

Component

2 Writing

and Spoken

Language

Autumn 2

Literature

– Poetry

Anthology

Spring 1

Language

Component

1 Reading

and Creative

Prose

Writing

Spring 2

Language

Component 2

19th and 21st

C Reading

Summer 1

Mock exam

preparation

– Language

Component

2 skills and

revision

Summer 2

Literature

Paper 2

Modern

text -

‘Blood

Brothers’

Homework

Students are expected to complete two pieces of homework each week.

These will be tasks set by their class teacher based on topics or skills they are learning in class to consolidate and develop knowledge.

One may be from a ‘takeaway’ menu, in which students may choose which task they wish to complete each week.

Importance of reading

Although Year 9 students are not set weekly reading homework as they are in Year 7 and Year 8, we still emphasise the importance of reading to secure good progress. It is important students read a wide range of fiction and non-fiction texts in order to give them the exposure to different reading material which will develop confidence needed for the GCSE exams. Reading often will also make students better writers.

Mocks

Year 9 students will sit a full English Language Component 2 paper during the whole school exam week during half term

This will be a two hour exam which will assess students’ ability to select and retrieve information, analyse a writer’s use of language, evaluate, and compare two texts, one of which will be from the 19th C and the other from the 21st C. The second part of this exam will assess students’ abilities to create their own pieces of non-fiction. They will be required to write two of the following: formal letter, informal letter, review, report, article, speech or a leaflet.

Exam boards

English Language

English Literature

Revision guides

English Language English Literature

English Contacts

Head of Faculty: Mrs Spenser–spenserc@heathschool.org.uk

Year 10 Coordinator of English: Miss Roberts-robertsl@heathschool.org.uk

Year 9 Coordinator of English: Miss Perratonperratons@heathschool.org.uk

Head of KS3: Mrs Monk-monkg@heathschool.org.uk

Science– Mr Riley

Science Department

Head of Faculty

Dan Riley

Head of KS3

Michaila Fowler

Head of Chemistry

Karen Wynne

Science

• Separate science route – separate grades for chemistry, physics and Biology. 1hr 45 minutes examinations

6 x 1hr 45minute

• Combined Science route – Examinations in Physics, Chemistry and Biology contribute to a dual award grade e.g. 6/6 or 6/5

6 x 1hr 15 minute examinations

Paper 1 content

Biology

• Cell Biology

• Organisation

• Infection and response

• Bioenergetics (photosynthesis)

Chemistry

• Atomic structure

• Bonding

• Chemical change

• Energy changes

Physics

• Energy

• Electricity

• Particle model

• Atomic structure

Science teaching rotation

Students in sets 9sc2b -9sc3b are taught on a teaching rotation.

This means they will see a teacher for roughly 4 months working on either Physics, Chemistry or Biology before moving onto the next subject.

Foundation or Higher

Foundation route – grades 5-1

Higher route – grades 9-4

There are minor differences in content however the biggest difference is in the style of questioning. Higher papers feature more interpretation of information and application of knowledge.

A unique challenge in science

There is a significant amount of content to remember

AND there are skills to learn

AND practice is needed in applying knowledge

Starting early makes the challenge more manageable

Write down at least 5 steps that you must follow when you have a calculation question

Steps

• Every time you have calculations question follow these steps:

• Command word is Calculate. Highlight what you need to calculate.

• Highlight any values (numbers) you have in the question. Be wary if the question has several parts. The values you need may be at the start of the question on a different page. They may also be the answer to a previous question.

• Highlight the axes labels of any graph in the question. You may need to read a value from the graph.

• Highlight the headings in any tables.

• Recall which equation links the information you have AND what you are asked to calculate. E.g. You have been given the energy transferred and time and been asked to calculate power > P = E

t

• Write down the equation.

• Convert any units that are not in their regular forms. You can tell this if the unit has a prefix i.e. kJ, mA Also be wary of time given in minutes or hours. The only exception is mass which must be in kg not g

• Write the values you have underneath the equation.

• Rearrange the equation using the balance method.

• Input into calculator and give an answer with unit.

Don’t say “I can’t be bothered to do this now but I will in the exam” = FAIL

Calculators

New science paper requires the use of standard form and square root buttons on both higher and foundation

The format an answer is displayed is different for different makes.

Buttons can be in different places.

Get used to using your own calculator

Support and next steps – Mr Dance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-jMIAj9pK8

Careers support

- Peter Reay – Careers Advisor

- Shaping Futures – Careers Support advice, in School every Wednesday

Repayment Summary

SalaryAmount of salary from

which 9% will be deducted

Approx. monthly net

salary or earnings

Monthly

Repayment

£25,000 £0 £1,600 £0

£30,000 £5,000 £1,900 £37

£35,000 £10,000 £2,200 £75

£40,000 £15,000 £2,450 £112

£45,000 £20,000 £2,700 £150

£50,000 £25,000 £2,950 £187

£60,000 £35,000 £3,200 £262

• Only start repayments after you earn above £25,000

• Payments stop if your salary decreases

• Taken straight from your salary before you receive the money

• Does not affect your credit rating

Support on offer in School • ‘Stress Less’ – This is a 4 week course, held after school

(every Wednesday 3.15-4.15pm) – This course is designed to help students in offering them strategies to cope with stressful situations. Students will be introduced to techniques, such as mindfulness. This course is run by Wellbeing Enterprises, who will deliver this in the CSI room 1. The first groups will begin after October Half-Term. Any interested students can let their Form Tutor know and their name will be put on the list.

• Morning Meditation/Relaxation sessions – a 10 minute calming start to the day, delivered by Rachael Jenkins (School Counsellor) in the Activity Room every Mondayand Wednesday, between 8.45-9.00am. This will start after October Half-Term. Students should let their FT’s know if they would like to attend.

• Wellbeing Enterprises will see any young person on a 1:1 basis, outside of school hours, for an informal chat about ways they can improve their health and wellbeing. Wellbeing Enterprises run several free groups in the community, such as Creative Crafts, Mindfulness, Rugby and Yoga, which they can signpost young people to. Take a look at their website for more info (www.wellbeingenterprises.org.uk) or get a card after the Info session is over.

• Friday Lunchtime Drop-In – Students who would like a chat with our School Counsellor, can drop in to CSI Room 1, between 1.30-2.10pm every Friday (after they have eaten). Rachael can signpost them to further support if necessary.

National Online Safety Hub

https://lms.nationalonlinesafety.com/sch

ol/TheHeathschool

Study Skills

Students have to revise at home!

Levels of Processing Theory

• Shallow Processing

When you read the

work you have done.

• Is rubbish for revision!

• Deep processing

When you make the work you have done meaningful (SEMANTIC) to YOU!!!

The best revision is active and gets the students to do something with the material

1. Revision cue cards

2. Mind maps

3. Explaining the topic to someone else

4. Answering exam questions

5. Making lists of key terms and definitions

6. Creating mnemonics

7. Read-cover-recall-check

So how can they do it?

Subject Combined Science Trilogy

Course Provider AQA

Recommended revision materials https://www.cgpbooks.co.uk/seconda

ry-books/gcse/science/combined-

science/sahr45-grade-9-1-gcse-

combined-science-aqa-revi HIGHER

https://www.cgpbooks.co.uk/seconda

ry-books/gcse/science/combined-

science/safr45-grade-9-1-gcse-

combined-science-aqa-revi

FOUNDATION

Recommended revision websites https://www.freesciencelessons.co.uk

/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/exam

specs/z8r997h

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dahTSt8rO5w

1. What is the order of neurones in a reflex arc?

2. Give an example of an effector?

3. What is a synapse and what happens at one?

How can I make a difference?Parental support is eight times

more important in determining

a child’s academic success

You don’t have to be an expert

in any of the subjects your child

Studies

You just need to know how to help