KS3 Information Evening September 2014

Opening Prayer We Pray to God our Father for all the people who help make St. James' to be our special family. Father, may our school be a family which offers caring as well as learning which offers safety as well as knowledge; which shares Faith as well as instruction. We make this prayer in Jesus’ name. Amen

St James’ Catholic High School aims to promote a Christ-centred, caring environment, where individuals develop their full potential, and achievement is celebrated. Mission Statement

where individuals develop their full potential St James’ Catholic High School aims to promote a Christ-centred, caring environment, where individuals develop their full potential, and achievement is celebrated. Mission Statement

Reflection by the Head of Year 7 on the 1 st month at St James for the Class of 2019

1.To help you find out where to access information-KS3 Curriculum booklet/Newsletter 2.To explain the homework policy and ‘Show my homework’ and the Moodle platform 3.To find out about the Rewards system and the importance of attendance/ punctuality 4.To find out about extra curricular opportunities 5.To explain how we let you know how your child is progressing 6.To strengthen the home/school partnership What is this evening all about?

To help you find out where to access information- KS3 Curriculum booklet/Newsletter How to improve communication between home and school: mobile address website

How will pupils be rewarded? 1. SUBJECT AWARDS At the end of each term – subjects will nominate pupils in the four categories: Achievement – How well are pupils achieving? Attitude to Learning – Is effort the best it can be? Progress – Are a pupil’s levels getting better? Presentation of work – Is work always neat?

How will pupils be rewarded? 2. ATTITUDE TO LEARNING – THE 123 CLUB Every 10 weeks, your child’s teacher will give them a Level and an Attitude to Learning (ATL score) Scores range from ATL 1 (Outstanding) to ATL 6 (Poor) If pupils get all 1s, 2s and 3s they will be in the 1,2,3 Club There will be rewards each term for those in the 1,2 and 1 Clubs Departmental reward systems Achievement points – can still be recorded but will not be used as a whole school measure.

How will pupils be rewarded? 3. REWARDS FROM SUBJECTS THROUGH THE YEAR Subjects also have their own rewards systems…

How will pupils be rewarded? 4. THE READY TO LEARN (RTL) SYSTEM

WHAT IS ATL and RTL? ATTITUDE TO LEARNING – ATL The quality of behaviour, homework and class work. READY TO LEARN – RTL Preparedness for learning – uniform, equipment, punctuality, homework.

The RTL System Every pupil starts with 10 points. Pupils must have a point (or points) taken off by staff for not following any of these 4 criteria. These are: Arriving late to class – WITHOUT GOOD REASON Not having the correct equipment – eg. exercise book, planner, pen, pencil, ruler Incorrect uniform – not following the uniform policy No homework presented – if no homework is handed in on the day set.

Show My Homework All staff set homework on SMHW Pupils should use this every day and should record homework still in their planner Access either through the school website: Or

Show My Homework You can search for homework by filtering by class, subject, teacher, year group etc All Year 7s have been given personal and parental logins Keep an eye on your child’s homework – help them to get organised and work with us to improve the standard of homework

Moodle The school’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) The login and password are the same as the login and password to get on to the school system

Teaching and Learning at St. James We want all pupils to achieve their full potential Challenging activities over time for all Lessons that cater for different learning styles Constant work on checking progress and understanding

The ‘10 Over 5’ At St. James’, we will do our best to ensure that over the 5 years pupils will: 1.Take part in a residential experience 2.Have the opportunity to perform or present to an audience in or out of school/represent the school in an event 3.Have opportunities to participate in/experience active liturgy and acts of worship 4.Have the opportunity to meet a person/people that can widen our knowledge of the world we live in 5.Take part in an international experience

The ‘10 Over 5’ 6.Visit and engage with a national or local gallery, museum, heritage site, library or archive 7.Take part in a retreat experience 8.Experience and learn about the world of work 9.Be involved in a club, society or organisation in or out of school 10.Actively contribute to charity work or community-based projects in or out of school

Individual Pupil Targets Each student in year 7 will be set personalised targets in each subject area: The targets will be set using the following information: - Key Stage 2 performance - Initial baseline assessments within subject areas - Estimates of expected performance at Key Stage 3 Each student over the course of the next few weeks will receive an End of Year 7 target level in each subject. These targets that are personalised to students are used to monitor and maximise the progress of each individual student.

Curriculum At key stage 3 students will study the following subjects: (In some subjects students are placed in different sets to maximise the progress of the individual) Maths (set from year 7) English (set from year 7) Science (set from year 8) French (set from year 8) Geography Religious Studies PE History Art Music Technology ICT/Computing CPSHE

Attendance at St James’ Attendance last year = 96% Target this year = 96.5%

Absent half a day every week Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri AM PM AM PM AM PM AM PM AM PM Week 1 Week 2 Absent half a day every week

Year 7 ~ 90% Year 8 ~ 90% Year 9 ~ 90% Year 10 ~ 90% Year 11 ~ 90% September October November December January February March April May June July September October November December January February March April May June July September October November December January February March April May June July September October November December January September October November December January February March April May June July Scott will miss half a year at school if he continues attending for only 90%

Lunchtime/After school activities MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFriday Lunchtime Football (Girls) Badminton (Boys) Learning Resource Centre Computer Room 29 Learning Resource Centre Computer Room 29 Netball (Girls) Learning Resource Centre Computer Room 29 Badminton (Boys) Learning Resource Centre Computer Room 29 Badminton (Boys) Football (Boys) Learning Resource Centre Computer Room 29 After school Hockey (Girls) Homework Hub in the LRC Gymnastics (Girls) Netball (Girls) Art Club Homework Hub in the LRC Football (Girls) Football (Boys) Grease Rehearsal Homework Hub in the LRC Grease Rehearsal Homework Hub in the LRC Football (Boys) Homework Hub in the LRC

School phone number: School Form Tutors Head of Year (Mrs Linford/(Miss Cheshire-Mat leave)) Pastoral Support Managers ( Mrs Chadwick, Mrs Hutchings) Assistant Head, Pastoral (Mrs Mullen) Assistant Head, Progress (Mrs Livesey) Assistant Head, Dr Guscott Deputy Headteacher (Mr Brophy) Headteacher (Mr Beesley) Who can I talk to?

Dates to remember Open Evening: October 2nd (early close) Year 7 Welcome Mass: Oct 16th Year 7 Welcome Disco: Oct 23rd Year 7 Parent / Tutor evening: Dec 11th Year 7 Parents’ evening: Feb 12th

500 Club /Role of the PTA The 500 club is run by the PTA and funds the minibus and other projects that benefit your children. It is a lottery and you buy a number for £1 per week. You are allocated a number that you keep and pay £4.33 per month by standing order. Every month the PTA committee draws out 3 numbers each winning £250, £150 and £100 respectively. The remaining money is then used to pay for the upkeep of the minibus and major projects for the children. The 500 club is open to everyone and we currently have 215 active members. If you would like to join us and be in with the chance of winning a cash prize whilst supporting the school, application forms can be downloaded from the school website or collected from the school reception.

KS3 Curriculum Evening Thank you for attending.