Teaching and Learning, what

have we been doing this month

at Key stage three?

Year 7 - Dance 1. Graffiti dances.

2. 5 actions in duets.

Drama 1.Body, Face, Voice and Space.

2.Drama Techniques

Music1. Keyboard skills.

2. Singing Performance.

Year 8 – Dance1. Martial arts set study.

2 . Contact work.

Drama1. Jekyll and Hyde.

2. Fairy tales.Music1. Keyboard development.

2. Minimalism.

Curriculum news: BTEC KS4

Year 10s start their BTEC in Performing Arts by exploring different genres. This is for Unit 3 or 4 (exploring Acting or Dance Skills)

This year they have been looking at Contemporary and street dance routines for unit 4, and the actors have been looking at Ancient Greek, Medieval Drama, Commedia Dell Arte and Pantomime for Unit 3.

Key dates: 10th DecemberYear 11 Showcase14th DecemberCinderella on Tour 15th DecemberChristmas Carol Extravaganza

Autumn term 2015

Performing Arts

See our detailed bi-monthly newsletter ‘Aldersley Arts Alert’

on the school webpage!

Extra Curricular ActivitiesAssessment information:

Year 11 – Unit 2

‘Preparation, Performance

and Production’

The final assessment for

this unit will come before

Christmas. The Showcase

on the 10th of December, in

addition to your

development notes, will

complete this core unit.

Unit 1 – ‘Individual

Showcase’

This will start before we

break up. The theme this

year is ‘Destiny’

ChoirTuesdays

TA4Rock BandTuesdays

TA5Boys DanceTuesdays

TA12Production

Wed / FriAmethystMusic Tech clubWednesdays

TA4Keyboard ClubThursday

TA4Flight Feet DancersThursday

TA12Ukulele GroupFriday

TA4Steel Pans

FridayTA5

Coming soon:

Year 8 Fairy Tales!Could your devised piece of Drama be good enough to visit a Primary School?

Student corner: Olivia Van: Year 10 GCSE Music

“I like the choice of pieces, I can choose a piece that stretches my ability, Miss really helps us make the best choice for us and the course.”

Autumn term 2015

Performing Arts

Teaching and Learning, what have

we been doing this month?

This month has seen the English

department trialing lots of different

teaching and learning ideas in their lessons

and continuing with fantastic additions to

their learning walls.

Our Y12 and 13 students have enjoyed

‘thought bombing’ in their lessons,

considering a range of frameworks and

ideas relating to poetry.

Year 11 have also enjoyed their work on

poetry; attending large group lectures this

half term, with many students coming up

with very perceptive points about the

anthology poems.

Year 10 lessons has seen students engaging

in both their Language and Literature

components of the course, with students

making excellent revision aids as part of

their weekly iHomework.

Year 9 have been enjoying their study of

Michael Morpurgo’s ‘Private Peaceful’, with

lots of staff trialing their

#poundlandpedagogy finds with them,

including ‘on the other hand’ hands and

punctuation sticks.

Year 8 are currently looking at freedom of

expression in their English lessons, engaging

with a number of texts including ‘1984’ by

George Orwell, ‘I am Malala’ and a wide of

range of interesting articles to really get our

students’ opinions flowing!

Finally, Year 7 are very much enjoying their

study of the fantasy genre and reading ‘The

Hunger Games’ in their lessons!

Trips and visits: Tuesday 1st December - Y12 and Y13 English Language Lecture at University of Wolverhampton.

Thursday 17th December – Y12 cinema trip to watch ‘Victor Frankenstein’.

Thursday 11th February - Jekyll and Hyde at The Crescent Theatre, Birmingham.

Wednesday 3rd February - GCSE Poetry Live! at The Birmingham Symphony Hall

Saturday 7th May – Y11 Standon Bowers

Autumn term 2015

English and Media studies

Well done to all of our students who have featured on the wall of fame so far! Keep up the hard work and maybe your work will be the next to be displayed!

Year 11 Update:

We are extremely proud of our Year 11 students who are working incredibly hard to achieve their target grades!

Breakfast and additional intervention sessions have started well, with many students regularly attending and enjoying the additional small group classes to support them in exam preparation.

We also have a number of P7 sessions running on a Thursday evening – well done to all of the students who have attended: keep up the hard work, it will all be worth it!

---------Have you scanned the QR codes to ensure that you read your key texts multiple times?

Revision tips:Year 10 – How are you trying to memorise your key quotations? Could you try making an acronym or set of song lyrics? Have you selected some key quotations that you could use for a number of exam questions?

Assessment information:

Are you prepared for your mock exams

this half term? Don’t forget to add the

following dates to your calendars!

Y13 ELLA 3 – Friday 11th December

Y12 Paper 1 – Monday 7th December

Y12 Paper 2 – Thursday 10th December

Y11 Unit 2 Language – Thursday 26th

November

Y11 Unit 1 Literature - Monday 7th

December

Y10 Language Paper 2 – Thursday 15th

December

KS3 students – are you prepared for your

reading and writing assessments? Ask

your teacher about how you can prepare

for these assessments and what date you

will be completing them.

How many of the language features can you define and provide examples of?

Concrete nounAbstract nounDynamic verbStative verbAsyndetic listSyndetic listAlliterationPlosive soundsAnaphoraSemantic fieldImperativesEuphonyCacophonyHyperboleMetaphor SimilePersonification

Don’t forget:

Lots of the English team are on Twitter; don’t forget to follow them for updates on your learning and progress!

---------Have you purchased any of our revision guides at a reduced price of £1.50? Get yours today

from main reception!

Student corner:‘I am really enjoying developing my creative and intellectual mindset, and am so pleased that I selected A Level English Language and Literature’ Reece Guy – Y12.

“I think English is awesome because of things we have been studying such as: The Hunger Games, Nelson Mandela and poetry. Not only do my teachers make all lessons fun, but they make everyone look forward to having English as their next lesson. I know I do!” Elysia Cork – Y7

Autumn term 2015

English and media studies

Teaching and Learning: what have we

been doing this month?

Our KS4 students have experienced a

wide variety of topics this term. The BTEC

groups are focusing on Customer Service

and Personal Selling. There are lots of

great salesmen and women in the

classes!The Year 11 GCSE group are making

fantastic progress and are already 3/5 of

the way through their final unit of

theory. They have studied Marketing,

Customer Needs and Financial

Management and are now moving on to

Managing People. Meanwhile, the Year

10 GCSE class are busy learning about

Enterprise skills.

Moving on to our KS5 classes, the A Level

group are busy developing their exam

technique whilst they learn about

managing a workforce and how to

become a successful entrepreneur

(future stars of The Apprentice!). Year 13

BTEC students have learnt how to

manage a business event, planning and

delivering the IAG day for Year 9.

Meanwhile, Year 12 are busy

investigating the economy whilst also

planning and delivering their own

interview and assessment centre.

Business Studies news:

Key dates: Year 11 GCSE Mocks:Unit 3 1st DecemberUnit 1 3rd December Year 12 A Level Mock:7th December

Autumn term 2015

Vocational - Business

Year 11 GCSE Business students have now been allocated a date for their small group Period 7 sessions. Attendance is compulsory to fully complete the Controlled Assessment within the time limit.

Year 11, 12 and 13 classes all have progress trackers on display in a Vocational classroom. Be sure to keep them updated!

Coming soon:

Student corner:

Autumn term 2015

Vocational - Business

Frog pages are in development for GCSE and A Level revision help. Watch this space!

Year 11

Year 12

Year 13

“I have enjoyed learning about

recruitment as the lessons have

been very practical. I have carried

out interviews and applied for

other people’s jobs which will help

me later in life. It is my favourite

lesson.” Shelby Sangha, Year 12.

“I look forward to Business

lessons; they are always creative

and different.” Jason Bargota, Year

11.

“Running the Year 9 IAG day was a

challenge because we had to make

it interesting for the pupils. There

were lots of factors I’d never

thought about, like health and

safety in the learning zone.”

Callum Awale, Year 13.

Teaching and Learning: what have we

been doing this month?

Year 11 are busy preparing for their

external examination in January which

counts towards their final grade. They

have developed a vast knowledge of

the human lifespan, as well as the

factors which impact physical,

intellectual, emotional and social

development.

Our new Year 9 and 10 BTEC Health

and Social Care classes have settled

brilliantly and have made a fantastic

start on their first coursework units.

Year 9 are studying nutrition and the

impact on our health and wellbeing.

Meanwhile, Year 10 are learning the

importance of communication in a

range of health and social care

settings.

The sixth form classes continue to

experience a huge variety of topics.

Year 12 are studying units in sociology,

communication and caring for

additional needs, whilst Year 13 are

learning to conduct research projects.

Year 11 Exam Key Words

GrowthDevelopmentGross motor skillsFine motor skillsCognitiveSelf imageSelf esteemSelf conceptEgo centricBondingAttachmentSolitary, parallel and social playAbstract thinkingPubertyMenopauseMid life crisisEmpty nest syndromeAdverse genetic conditions

Key dates:

Year 11 Unit 1 Mock Exam:Monday 30th November.

Year 11 Unit 1 External Examination: Friday 8th January at 9am.

Autumn term 2015

Vocational – health and social care

Coming soon:

Student comments:

Autumn term 2015

Vocational: health and social care

Romana Rai, Year 13: “I am enjoying my research project about how alcohol affects young girl and causes vulnerability. I’ve found out so many things I didn’t know about!”

Vincenza Montana, Year 12: “Health and Social has given me a career path. I’m certain now that I want to be a Social Worker.”

Chloe Brown, Year 12: “Health and Social is giving me a really good insight into how society works thanks to Miss Butler’s Sociology unit lessons.”

Holly Troll, Year 9. “I really like Health and Social Care because Mrs Broad answers all my questions and I learn more. I enjoy the case studies as they are interesting and I can spot the problems people are having with their health because of their nutrition.”

Year 13 Diploma students will be conducting their research projects amongst KS4 students. Participation is voluntary!

Teaching and Learning: what have we been doing this month?

Year 9 enjoyed a taster of the legal process as part of their IAG day, taking part in mock trials and workshops about democracy in the UK. Thank you to Mrs Hamps, Mrs Khela and the Year 13 students for organising a great day!

Year 12 have made an excellent start to their Law studies and are developing their knowledge of the workings of the UK legal system, involving dispute resolution in all forms.

Year 13 are enjoying investigating homicide (including voluntary and involuntary manslaughter) and police powers. Two Police Constables came to speak about arrest, detention and search powers.

Key dates:

All Year 12 and 13 units MUST be completed and handed in to Mrs Hamps by Christmas.

Autumn term 2015

Vocational: law

Recent Trips:

Year 12 visited

Wolverhampton Crown

Court to watch real life

cases in action and to

observe the roles of

those working within

the courts.

Coming soon:

Autumn term 2015

Vocational: Law

Trip to Dana Prison, Shrewsbury 25th November.

“The visit to the court was very enjoyable and educational as we

saw what it was really like in court and got to sit in on cases.

There was one man charged with possessing firearms.”

Chloe Pile, Year 12

“I’ve learnt so much that I didn’t know before. I didn’t realise

there were so many people who worked in courts in different

roles.” Gagandeep Jandu, Year 12.

“The visit from the police was really interesting and they had

great personalities. I learnt how they arrest people, use warrants

and also how to physically arrest someone.” Besmellah Azimi,

Year 13.

Student Voice

Teaching and Learning: what have we been

doing this month?

Students have started their first projects in

their rotations this year:

Year 7 STEM – Students have been cooking a

wide range of exciting dishes including stir-

fries, deli salads, scones, burgers and

pasties.

Year 8 STEM – This year students have been

building on the excellent progress made in

Y7 with a new range of dishes and with Mr

Grimshaw students have been designing

emergency shelters for Disaster affected

areas, and constructing water filters using

plastics bottles, charcoal and grass!

Autumn term 2015

STEM Department

STEM Club

The STEM club is currently working on a Crest award project: they are investigating the difference between male and female reaction times at different ages. To do this they have written software to test both visual and auditory reaction times. This data when completed will allow them to analyse the results and to answer a question that been asked for many years: who is faster - men or women? They will be testing students during break and lunch time so if you see them, take part!

STUDENT VOICE

-’My favourite dish in food has been stir-fry’

‘I really enjoyed making motors in Mr Webb’s lesson’

‘The project I am most looking forward to is architecture because I want to build my own house one day’

STEM Food LessonsMake sure you remember to bring in your food containers and ingredients for cooking! .

Teaching and Learning: what have we been doing this

month?

Engineering – Year 9 and 10 students have started the new course

in Engineering, a very exciting time indeed! They have started by

prototyping their put-put boats, then building them from timber,

all the time evaluating their work and making adjustments. In the

next few weeks the brand new machinery will be installed in CT5,

greatly enhancing the range of products that the students can

produce!

Food Preparation – The Year 9 students have produced some

fantastic cheesecakes, learning about the process of gelatinisation

and have carried out a yeast experiment when making naan

breads.

Hospitality and Catering - Year 10 students have started working

on their Afternoon Tea controlled assessments, producing a variety

of sweet and savoury baked treats. The Year 11 students have

been continuing their International cuisine task, researching a

country of their choice in preparation for their practical exam.

STEPS to SUCCESS:

Autumn term 2015

STEM Department

Use the websites of the exam boards and BBC Bitesize to help with your revision for the ROP exams – search for WJEC Hospitality and Catering and AQA Engineering.

Hospitality and Catering Exam Date

Hospitality & Catering Unit 2 – Monday 13th June 2016

REMINDER:Period 7 sessions for Engineering take place every Wednesday and Thursday in CT5.

Dates for your diary:Year 10 Parent event 19th November 2016

Year 11 Parent Event 8th December 2016.

More details to follow.

Teaching and Learning, what have we

been doing this month?

KS3Year 7: Our year 7 pupils have been

enthusiastically rocking out to Timestable

Rockstars- a 20 week course with the aim

of improving timestable recall speed.

Pupils have also been learning properties

of number, fractions decimals and

percentages, and statistics.

Year 8: Set1 have been looking at powers

and roots, sequences and quadratics. Sets

2, 3 and 4 have been looking at data and

transformations. Sets 5, 6 and 7 have been

investigating number calculations,

sequences, statistics, fractions, decimals

and percentages.

KS4Year 9: Year 9 have been revising basic

number, factors and multiples. They have

also looked at angles and scale drawings.

Pupils have also learnt about the y=mx+c

equation!Year 10: Year 10 have been learning about

the data collection cycle, and how to

effectively represent data in order to

analyse it. Pupils have also been

introduced to linear and quadratic

sequences.Year 11: Each year 11 class has been

working hard to address exam

weaknesses.

Keep up the hard work!

Maths in the news:

Key dates:UK Maths Challenge Intermediate (Years 9, 10 and 11): Thursday 4th FebruaryJunior (Years 7 and 8): Thursday 28th April Where Would the World be Without Maths Competition:Deadline Thursday 14th January 2016

Autumn term 2015

Mathematics Department

The closing of 42nd street, a very busy crosstown road in New York City, during Earth Day in April 1990, was expected to cause a traffic nightmare. Instead, as reported in The New York Times on December 25, 1990, the flow of traffic actually improved. Likewise, planners have called for the closing of parts of Main street in Boston and parts of the road connecting the Borough and the Farringdon underground stations, in London.

Stories like these abound and as you might suspect, some mathematics is lurking behind them all. Indeed, in 1968, the mathematician Dietrich Braess proved that "an extension of a road network by an additional road can cause a redistribution of the flow in such a way that the travel time increases." In his work Braess assumed that the drivers will act selfishly, each of them choosing a route based on their own perceived benefit, with no regard for the benefit of other drivers. It's an assumption that reflects the harsh conditions of rush hour traffic rather well!

Revision tips:

Log on to www.aldersleymaths.co.uk and go to our revision section. Check out lots of topic revision videos, questions and answers!

Summer Results:

We had some brilliant results over the

summer and we are delighted for our

former year 11 and 13 students.

65.4% of our students achieve at least a

Grade C in GCSE Maths – 2.1% above the

National Average in 2015.

33.6% of our students make more than

expected progress in maths – 6% above the

2014 National Average.

43 of our Year 11 students achieved an A*,

A or B in GCSE Maths.

93.3% of our Year 13 A-Level students

achieved a Grade C or above – another

record for our students!

80.3% of our students entered for GCSE

Statistics achieved a Grade C

or above.

UK Maths Senior Challenge Results:

Gold Certificate: Timothy Whitehead,

Hannah Black

Silver Certificate: Daniel Corbett

Key Terms to Learn:

- Bisect- Congruent- Cumulative- Equation- Frequency- Hypotensuse

Maths puzzle:

Student corner:“I enjoy learning new methods and being given big challenges. I also like the way you learn from your mistakes” Bradley Cayford“I like maths because it is always fun and challenging. I am looking forward to learning more about transformation” Mackenzie Brazier“My favourite topic is reflection and algebra as it’s a hard thing that I am proud to understand. I enjoy maths because I learn new methods everyday that I can use in later life” Olivia McLaren

Autumn term 2015

Mathematics Department