Twelve high fliers from Year 11 sat their IGCSE mathematics examination this week – 6 months ahead of the majority of their peers. They have been working very hard since August so that they can get a head start on their A Levels. This will give them the opportunity to study for two A Levels in maths if they wish. We look forward to successful results, which will be published in January.
Saturday: leek soup, breaded hamour, roasted potatoes, sauteed vegetables
Sunday: cream of carrot soup, Salzberry steak, mashed potatoes, sauteed vegetables
Monday: red lentil soup, sweet and sour chicken, fried rice, sauteed vegetables
Tuesday: vegetable soup, cheese cannelloni, garlic bread, sauteed vegetables
Wednesday: sweet corn soup, steak with mustard, duchesse potatoes, sauteed vegetables
With the arrival of Mrs Sohail in school, following her maternity leave, we are now at full strength in Key Stage 2. I would like to take this opportunity to say a really big thank you to the children in classes 4 Red and 5 Red. They have waited patiently for their teachers to arrive and have shown excellent qualities in settling down so quickly and efficiently. Mrs Dayaji and Mrs Ogidan have kept systems running really well and Mrs Addis has proved to be amazingly adaptable as a classroom assistant one week and teacher the next. Thank you so much to all of these people.
In terms of Key Stage 2 it is great to report that things are going really well in all classes. Mr Odell has settled in incredibly quickly and it feels like he has been here for years already. Our Year 6 children have entered their classes with a really responsible and mature attitude. I am positive that they will develop into a really successful Year Group. The children in Year 3 have made the huge step from Key Stage 1 to 2, with very few difficulties. I know that Mrs Jones and Mr Sohail are pleased with their progress to date. Elsewhere, Mrs Bolton and Mrs Evans also report that their classes have settled really quickly and some excellent work is being produced already.
As teachers, we were all unbelievably impressed with the quality of work produced by the children during Virtual school. The attitude and commitment of the pupils in Key Stage 2 is truly amazing. Following Virtual School the children returned and settled back into classes swiftly as if there had been no break at all. This is a real reflection of the quality of the children in Key Stage 2.
On a final note, a big thank you to Mrs Wasson, who has taken on the role of Classroom Assistant in Year Four. She has settled into the job very quickly.
I am sure that the rest of the year will be as successful as the start. Thanks to all of you for your continued support as shown by the excellent attendance at the first Parent Teacher Conference in October.
Yours sincerely
David Bolton
Head of Key Stage 2
Key Stages 2, 3 & 4 held a fancy dress day on November 3rd to raise money for charity.
On Saturday 31 October, Key Stage 3 went to the BAe Beach for a team-building event. There is a gallery of photos here
Mrs Soane is busy preparing KS3 students for the SAIK Festival and DBGS School Choir
Students can download the sheet music and audio files for the choir songs can be downloaded from this website. Let her know if you have any problems downloading the files. The songs are rehearsed with the entire school choir and a small number of students will selected to perform in the festival.
Mrs Soane asks that students begin work on the songs so that they can be ready to sing together as soon as possible. She says
- Listen carefully to your part until you are familiar with it.
- Try humming your part and try following the notes on the sheet.
- Play short sections and pause and echo sing while the phrase is still fresh in your memory.
- When you are familiar with the melody, try singing the words.
- Pause the music and echo sing short sections until you are familiar with the rhythm of the words and how they fit in with the notes.
- Try to memorise the words as soon as possible.
Choir rehearsals will begin next term 2.35pm to 3.25pm Mondays. Students are welcome to see Mrs Soane in school if help is needed.
On Monday 19 th October, Year 2 Blue and 2 Red visited the Pizza Inn. The trip was an exciting part of Year 2’s work on pizzas in Design Technology and on food pyramid in science. The children saw a demonstration on pizza making and had the opportunity to taste the yummy pizza. There is a gallery of photos here.
You may remember that last term we asked as many parents as possible to respond to a survey that looked at curriculum provision here at DBGS. It was part of a wider survey looking at provision in ISG schools across the Kingdom.
We are pleased to be able to publish these results on our Website for you to look at and whether you took part in the survey or not, I am sure you will find them of interest.
The results of the survey together with parental comments will be used as part of a review of current provision and will contribute to a final decision to be made on Post 16 provision here on the campus.
Many thanks to all of you who took part (over 120 of you).
Regards
Ian Jones
Headteacher
I think I can safely say that the return to school of all our students is something that is welcomed by staff, students and parents alike. The enforced closure led to the premature transition into ‘Virtual School’, something that was only originally intended for this Monday, October 19th. Of course that will now be a normal school day as we look to get the school year back on track.
The last three weeks have proved to be a very steep learning curve for all concerned. It is hoped that through the surveys currently being circulated and through verbal feedback with students and parents at our Parent Teacher Conferences we can gain an accurate evaluation of the success of the Virtual School Programme. We appreciate there have been difficulties ranging from poor internet access to issues where families having two or more children have found computer use to be a balancing act in terms of time allocation. As a school we have tried to help in this process as much as we can as the weeks have proceeded, certainly the number of concerns raised through lines of communication reduced dramatically as everyone became more familiar with the whole process.
One of the positive outcomes to emerge from Virtual School is the use of NESA Blackboard as a communication tool, many parents have already commented on the positive interaction that took place between student and teacher whilst assignments were being completed. I know we feel that the whole communication aspect of this process is something we can build on as we move towards the second half of this term.
We have a number of events scheduled for the remainder of this term and details of these will be communicated to you through the usual channels. Please keep referring to the school Blog on the website for the latest information on a variety of school issues and photographs of school events. I look forward to chatting with you at some of these events.
Many thanks for your patience and cooperation through what has been a difficult time, we all look forward to a smooth remainder of the term.
Best regards
Ian Jones
Headteacher
Dear Parents,
Please take a few minutes to complete the 10 questions included in this survey regarding Virtual School. Please note that the survey will be active through midnight Monday evening, Oct. 19, 2009. Click here for your survey.
We are gathering data from students, parents, teachers, and administrators regarding the virtual school experience. The data will be used to help determine if any student days need to be made up because of the Royal Decree closure, and to help us improve what we do with regard to virtual education. Your input is valued.
Thank you for taking the time to complete the survey. We appreciate your help!
Respectfully,
Norma Hudson
ISG Superintendent
