Friday 24 October 2014 Year 11 Paris Trip Upcoming Events Monday 03 November Year 11 Triple Chemistry C2 Mock Exam Thursday 06 November Year 10 Graphics Trip to Kew Year 10 Subject Consultation Evening 4:15-6:15pm Friday 07 November Year 12 Psychology Conference 6th Form Evening Theatre visit Twenty eight students, three teachers and one city. The adventure began at 11:45am. Ten hours later we arrived in beautiful Paris. Surrounded by stunning views we ate a classic French breakfast at Au Cadet de Gascoigne. After, we were forced to climb 200 steps to Sacre Coeur, but it was worth the suffering to stroll through the picturesque streets. Our next stop was the Eiffel Tower where the bravest took the lift all the way to the top. For me, my favourite moment of the trip was seeing the whole of Paris from the highest point of the Tower. It was incredible to witness all the monuments from one place. Followed by lunch we took an amazing boat ride along the River Seine whilst the sun shone. The first day was jam packed with tourist sights but we were not done yet. Our final visit was to the Palace of Versailles. Which is memorable for it s Gold Gates and the impressive gardens. It was a great way to end the short but sweet weekend in Paris. C etaite fantastique! Amy Kenny Year 11 Follow us on Twitter @teddingtonschl Follow Teddington PTA @teddschpta
6th Form News This week has been a very busy time in the sixth form as we lead up to two big events coming up after half term. On Thursday 13 November (4.15-7.15pm) we will be hosting our first ever Y12 Subject Consultation Evening. This is an important opportunity for families and students of our current Year 12 to meet with subject teachers to discuss progress in their A level subjects. Please save this date for your diary. We are looking forward to meeting representatives from every family. Appointment slips will be given to students after half term. On Tuesday 18 November we are hosting our Sixth Form Open Evening in preparation for student entry in September 2015. This will take place between 6.30-9pm. On the night there will be the opportunity for Year 11 families and students to meet subject staff and our current Year 12 students to discuss the wide range of courses and enrichment activities we will have on offer next year. We have been delighted with how the first seven weeks of term have unfolded here since we opened our doors for business in September and we are looking forward to informing you of our plans for next year. Please keep this date reserved in your diary. Full details of this event and a letter of invite will be sent to families and students when we return to school after the half term break. However attached to this newsletter is a reminder for you to stick on your calendar. On Friday 24 October our sixth form students were in full scale charity mode to support awareness of and raise finance for the Breast Cancer Campaign. Following an assembly by Miss Reynolds on Wednesday, all our sixth formers wore it pink for the day on Friday. A photo is attached showing some of our students. They also baked, purchased and decorated a variety of cakes that were sold in the lower school at break time. We will update you after half term on how much money we were able to raise. Particular thanks to the icing squad (you know who you are) who spent a few hours after lessons on Thursday decorating the mountain of cakes we had. Also particular thanks to Miss Reynolds and Mrs Carroll (and her children) for their efforts with this campaign. Finally I would like to thank all our Year 12 students and staff for their efforts this half term in making the launch of the sixth form such a great success. Thank you also to those parents who have passed on such positive feedback about the sixth form. We said at the outset that we would open on time, be ready to successfully deliver A levels and that we would build a strong, vibrant sixth form community here at Teddington. Lots of hard work still lies ahead in the coming months but we delighted with how it has gone so far. Have a restful half term. Mr Victory Head of Sixth Form
Parent Forum We are pleased to announce that our first Parent Forum will take place on Wednesday 19 November 2014, from 7pm to 8.30pm. The Parent Forum is a new body to facilitate more joint working between families and the school. From discussions the school and families can share good ideas, find solutions to issues and work together to research and develop new ideas that will best help our students to succeed. The first part of each session will be to present information about a particular topic, issue or aspect of the school s work or an issue that is relevant to our young people. The second final minutes of the evening will be an opportunity for discussion of wider aspects of the school s work. It is hoped that parents will take this opportunity to share thoughts and ideas about the school s work. However, we would ask that parents do not use the forum to raise specific issues relating to their own child. We ask that such issues are always raised through the normal channels. The topic for this first session will be young people s use of social media and social networking. If you would like to attend, we ask that you let us know in advance, by e mailing parentforum@teddingtonschool.org. Please let us know your name, and your child s name and form, and how many people will be coming. Please note that this e-mail address is an automated no reply address, designed just receive this information. If you want to discuss the Parent Forum, please contact the school in the normal way. Mobile Phones and Other Personal Digital Devices Many students now bring their phones to school so that they can keep in touch with their families. However, we have also noticed a decrease in social interaction in the school as students focus on their own device. At the same time we have seen an increase in incidents where inappropriate use of devices for texting, photographing and social media access during the day has interfered with the smooth running of the school. As a result, from the start of next half term, mobile and electronic devices should be switched off and out of sight from the time students arrive on site in the morning. They must remain switched off and out of sight for the duration of the day, including at break time and lunch time, until 3.15. Devices may be switched on at 3.15 (provided the student is not still in a formal school activity, such as a revision class or after school club) in order to pick up messages from home etc. If students need to make calls at this time, they should do so outside of the building. If families need to make urgent contact during the day, this can be done as usual via the school office. Mobile devices can be very powerful learning tools, and there are times when using them in a lesson is beneficial, and teachers will make it clear when this is allowed. Students will need time to get used to this new expectation but, after the first week, we will temporarily confiscate the device if it is used during a lesson or around the school. For an isolated incident, we will return it at the end of the same day. For repeated incidents, we will ask parents to sign a copy of a letter sent home, and will return the device on receipt of that signed letter.
Year 7 Science Ms Banda's Bake Off! As part of their science lesson this Year 7 class designed these wonderful cakes based on specialised cells. Halloween Lunch It was that time of year again as Halloween came to Teddington for lunch on Thursday 23 October. South Africa Wine Tasting
Improving Literacy and Numeracy over Half-Term There are national programmes to raise levels of literacy and numeracy across the UK and we, of course, play our part in school. Literacy is part of every lesson and numeracy applies across all subjects too. It is not just English and Maths lessons. It is not just school where children can improve their literacy and numeracy skills either. There are plenty of opportunities at home too. Consequently, we will be including information in these newsletters to help families improve literacy and numeracy. To start things off, during this half-term holiday why not use the ideas below to help your child or children improve their literacy and numeracy? Improving literacy Encourage your child to read a short story/magazine - discuss the story/article or write a short review to share with Ms Bide after the holiday. Talk about events in the news this could be after watching the news on television or reading about an event in a newspaper or online. Look for opportunities to talk to new people why not get your child to talk to shop assistants, buy tickets, order a meal? This will help build their confidence when talking in front of others. Download apps associated with word games, for example cross word puzzles such as scrabble, or apps offering audio or downloadable stories. Look for opportunities for your child to do the writing this could be as simple as writing down a shopping list or a memo, or writing to a friend or relative. Play games for example a family game of scrabble, or visit http://www.wordgames.com/daily.html for daily online word games. Improving numeracy Talk about numbers in sport - how many points does your team need to avoid relegation? How many goals/ tries/conversions/points/runs has your team scored this season? Measure ingredients/set the timer together when you are cooking. Talk about fractions in cooking how many quarter cups make a cup? Talk about proportion when you make a cup of tea or squash how much milk? How much water? Talk about the shape and size of objects use the internet to find interesting size facts like tallest a shortest people, or biggest and smallest buildings etc. Talk about time - for example, what time should they leave the house to be at school on time? Look for maths on TV, newspapers, magazines etc, and talk about what it means. Use newspapers and talk to your child about percentages in special offers, the probability in the weather reports, the length of TV shows in the TV guide, and compare the salaries in the jobs section. Solve maths problems at home, e.g. We have 3 pizzas cut into quarters, if we eat 10 quarters, how many will be left? Talk about shape, size and quantity use the internet to find interesting size facts like most and least populated cities, highest mountains or deepest valleys etc. Miss Seymour Literacy Coordinator Mr Garland Numeracy Coordinator