Meet Modern Languages Department

Transcription

1 Meet Modern Languages Department The languages team makes up a large and thriving department where French and German and Spanish are taught to A Level: Mr Pete Alborough, Teacher of French - Head of Modern Languages Ms Sophie Coudert, Teacher of French and Spanish Ms Emma Collins, Teacher of German and French - Head of German Mrs Sophie Thompson, Teacher of French Mr Jamie Davies, Teacher of French Also Head of Year Mr Mario De Souza, Learning director with responsibility for school-wide teaching and learning and lunch time supervisors. Teacher of French Mrs Lynne Goodhew, Teacher of French and German PGCE mentor Mrs Marina Stevenson, Teacher of French and Spanish also Head of Spanish Mrs Sara Barns-Graham Teacher of French Miss Katie Wall, Teacher of German and French Miss Monica Rojak, Teacher of French and Spanish Mrs. Katrin Meinert Teacher of German 1

2 The syllabus Key stage 3 At KS3 pupils study French from Year 7 to Year 9 and German is studied as a second language by approximately 90 top set students in Year 9. Course Books French Year 7 Expo 1 (7lessons a fortnight) Students come to the school with varying degrees of knowledge and are taught in mixed ability sets. Year 8 Expo 2 (8 lessons a fortnight) Students remain in mixed ability sets. Year 9 Expo 3 (7 lessons for non German 4 for those studying German) Students are put into sets according to their ability. German Year 9 Klasse (5 lessons a fortnight) Pupils are introduced to the past, present and future tenses and they become competent in the various ways of expressing opinions using conjunctions. Key Stage 4 Languages (AQA) There are usually two relatively small classes who study German for GCSE whilst 6 study French GCSE. We also also offer a two year Spanish GCSE for dual linguists. There are 12 modules in total which are taught from the foundation and higher AQA textbook. Topics include the Media, Holidays, School, Family, Health, Jobs, the Environment and Free time. Students must be proficient in all tenses and be able to give detailed and developed opinions using conjunctions. Language GCSEs are taught for six lessons a fortnight. 2

3 Key Stage 5 Languages (AQA) Languages remain popular at A Level at Gillingham School and we get good uptake for German, Spanish and French. Courses are now linear and we use the AQA textbook as well as Kerboodle to support their study. Trips Students studying German are given the opportunity to take part in the school s well-established exchange. For more than thirty years, Gillingham School has done an exchange with the Geschwister Scholl Gymnasium in Röthenbach, Bavaria. This successful exchange runs in the Summer Term in July. Mrs Lynne Goodhew is responsible for the organisation of the trip with recruitment starting in the autumn term. Students are carefully matched with their partners and begin correspondence in the spring. The German students visit first for around nine days and the reciprocal visit leaves in the last two weeks of term. Excursions are organised throughout the time in Germany and England. Equally we offer a taster trip to Normandy for 160 students in Year 7 every year and students studying French have the opportunity to take part in the exchange to Laval every Year. Jamie and Mario organise the exchange. Classroom Expectations Gillingham School is our School; we all work here and we should all want to be the best we can be. As well as our Code, it s fair that everyone knows exactly what is expected in the classroom so that we can all work successfully, safely and happily. Start of Lessons Expectations of students Students should line up quietly before each lesson Students should enter rooms sensibly and quietly and go straight to their workplace. Be in uniform do not get dressed in class! This involves having their blazers on and their ties and top buttons done up. Shirts must be tucked in. Students should take out books, pens and equipment quickly and put bags away. Diaries should always be open on desks. Students should remain silent during Register except when their name is called! 3

4 During Lessons Students must have pen, pencil, ruler, diary and any books they need. It is unfair to disrupt the lesson to ask for normal equipment. When the teacher talks the expectation is that the whole class remain silent and concentrate. Students should raise their hand if they want to ask a question or volunteer an answer, unless the teacher says otherwise. If you arrive late without a good reason you must expect to lose that time to make up the work. If you have a reason, try to have a note. Food should never be consumed in lessons. Students can however, drink from a bottle of water. All homework must be recorder in diaries with a due date. Phones and expensive electronic equipment should never be out in a lesson. Give a detention but generally avoid confiscating these items. End of Lessons The bell is a signal for the teacher not the class. Pack away when you are asked to, not before. Put chairs tidy and pick up any litter. Finally and most important, we all want to get on with our jobs learning or teaching. There is no excuse for time-wasting, rudeness or disrespect. Any reasonable request by a teacher should be carried out as soon as you can and without argument. If you need to discuss it or want an explanation of why try to see the teacher afterwards. Let s Work Hard and Enjoy Being Here Our School is a No Put Down Zone (Also see the Gillingham School Bullying Policy 2008) Almost all students, all the teachers and parents want our School to be a happy, safe, enjoyable place to be. That s why we decided together to be a No Put Down Zone. This means that every one of us accepts that we don t name call, or make fun of others because it hurts, it s wrong and it says more about the person 4

5 who does it than the one receiving it. (What sort of person likes to upset other people? Do you want to be seen like that?) We just need to remind ourselves that we are going to make it work. In the end it makes our School a more enjoyable place to be in for all of us. Don t spoil it for yourself and the rest of us. It s easy to do: So many of us agree about it, that everyone can feel confident enough to freeze out the name callers - just look blankly at them and walk off - or refuse to accept the comment. It s like catching a ball you can choose to catch it or drop it. In the same way, nasty comments only work if you choose to accept them or believe them. All bullies know that that s how they pick their victims. You get picked on if you notice it or respond to it not because of anything you wear, do or say. Bullies don t bother if they get ignored. Don t call names, don t embarrass others and don t play fight. If someone else breaks the agreement, refuse to react, treat name calling as something not worth bothering about that way we all feel better!! And we won t believe you if you say it was just fun who is it fun for? Departmental policy on rewards General principles We believe that pupils respond well to praise and that we as teachers should use praise as often as possible in our classrooms. Of course verbal praise is very important and it can also be used to encourage good pair work in languages. We operate systems where verbal praise can lead to the more concrete rewards of credits and bronze awards as outlined below. Credits: Pupils in Year 7 and 8 receive credits from all teachers which they record in their diaries and which they get the teacher to sign, usually at the end of the lesson. Credits are given for good work, effort or participation in a lesson, homework or a positive attitude. When a pupil receives 100 credits, they are rewarded through their Year Team. Bronze Awards: Students in Year 9, 10 and 11 collect Bronze Awards for sustained good work, effort or participation. They may also receive a Bronze 5

6 Award for an excellent extended piece of homework or assessment. It is usual for a pupil to receive one Bronze Award every half term from their teacher. In the languages department, students collect 20 stars which add up to a Bronze Award. These stars are like credits and can be given every lesson. Good note in diary: This can be given to a pupil at the end of an exceptional lesson. The languages department have stamps which are quick to use at the end of a lesson. Good News Postcards: Departments and pastoral teams have postcards that can be sent to parents to inform them of the success and achievement of pupils. Eight different designs are available. The postcard would be a step-up from the note in the diary, rather like the step-up from a credit to a bronze. Parents would have something to display and celebrate success. They can be sent home at the end of each term for: A sustained effort A significant improvement in effort or behaviour over 4-5 weeks A success in an exam Excellent standard or effort in coursework Work put on the school website Once you have filled in the pupil s name and why they are getting the card, sign it and then pass it to the designated faculty technician, currently Jess Lo, who will address and send it. Gold Slips: These are given to the sixth form and are similar to postcards. They can be found above the pigeonholes in the staff room. They should be given for outstanding pieces of work and are placed in Jo Stirk s pigeon hole who is the sixth form faculty technician. Sanctions Unfortunately, students do sometimes misbehave in lessons. It makes everyone s lives easier if we all follow the same basic principles in dealing with misbehaviour. In the first instance 6

7 Most behaviour can be rectified with a non-verbal signal or a brief reprimand. However, if this does not work then there are systems in place to deal with poor behaviour. Note in diary: A note in the pupil s diary can be an effective way of documenting a problem and informing both the tutor and parent. This could be after sustained disruption or poor behaviour or attitude in a lesson when a pupil has been given the chance to correct their behaviour. It could also be for missed deadlines or forgotten equipment, especially exercise books. Tutors and parents monitor notes in diaries on a daily basis and most Year teams operate a system where a certain amount of bad notes will lead to a detention and continued bad notes will see a pupil placed on the rainbow log system. Department detention system: If, after a note in the diary, things don t improve, a pupil can be put into a department detention. Inform the pupil and add to detention via SIMs. Language detentions take place on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The HoD will chase missed detentions but class teachers should also check on attendance. The aim of this system is to help avoid several teachers giving up their lunch break on any given day and it also allows the HoD to monitor persistent offenders. People who miss three detentions are placed in a school detention for two days. Only a HoD or a HoY can refer pupils to this detention room. Referral to Head of Department/Departmental logs: In cases of repeat offences the HoD may decide, in conjunction with the class teacher, to place someone on departmental log. The parents of the pupil will be informed and the pupil will have to see the HoD with their log after every lesson. Homework Policy KS3 & KS4 A KS3 pupil can expect homework to be set and recorded, in his or her diary, as follows: On a set day each week (30 minutes each) Fortnightly in a specified week (30 minutes each) 7

8 Maths English Science French / German Art History Music Design Geography PSRE A KS4 pupil can expect homework to be set and recorded, in his or her diary, as follows: On a set day each week (see homework timetable) Maths English Science French / German ICT Music Design Fortnightly in a specified week History week 1 PE week 1 Geography week 2 PSRE week 2 Art week 2 Shorter or more flexible setting of homework but at least once a week Drama Leisure and Tourism It may be appropriate for a subject to set a one off and brief piece of homework (10 15 minutes) in response to, for example, a news event on top of their normal fortnightly piece. French and German may, on occasions, set two pieces of homework, instead of one longer piece. 8

9 Normally pupils will be given a minimum of 48 hours, and often longer, to complete work set. It is the pupil s responsibility to record any homework set in their homework diary and the deadline for each particular piece. As a general rule we will not set homework during the holidays, but students may wish to leave particular pieces of work to complete during holiday periods. Homework deadline is missed message in diary to inform tutor and parent. The pupil is until the next lesson to complete the task. Still no HW next lesson - message in diary and a departmental detention. Repeat offences message in diary and involvement of Head of Department, tutor and/or Head of Year. Parents may be asked to meet with School staff to discuss strategies to ensure homework is completed. 9