Published October 14, 2022
It’s crazy to think that we’ve only got three days left of this half term and that a sixth of the school has already been completed!
This week, again, saw a great variety of activities happening at school; assemblies on the science of learning, a morning of maths enrichment for year 10, an evening for Year 11 pupils and parents focusing on mock results and the plan for the year ahead, a successful Cross Country event and an Open morning for prospective families.
Assemblies
This week pupils were treated to assemblies looking at the Science of Learning with a specific focus on the learning environment and attention, and the link between working and long-term memory. This all links into The St Joseph’s Way that we shared with you a few weeks ago. We shared why we as teachers do the things we do at the start of lessons to ensure all attention is focused in the right areas, and also why we begin lessons with retrieval activities.
We demonstrated how most people’s brains can only cope with 3-5 pieces of new information at any one time in their working memory, and therefore why we have recap tasks at the beginning of lessons to aid the connection and links between long-term memory (information stored in our memories) and working memory (the new information we are presented with). Year 10 will be having this assembly on Monday next week.
Maths Enrichment
We welcomed a number of Year 10 pupils from Godolphin, South Wilts Grammar School and Avon Valley College to school on Thursday to take part in a maths enrichment morning with our Year 10 HA maths pupils. The session was led by Advanced Mathematics Support Programme and involved lots of information about careers with maths and lots of challenges for the pupils to tackle. It was an excellent morning and the first time we’ve run the event since 2019!
Year 11 Mock Results Session
Last night, many Year 11 parents and pupils attended a mock exam results session. This is the first time we have held such a session and it was a very worthwhile event. As well as receiving their mock results, our plans for support and intervention were shared. The evening led to many productive conversations and we’re confident that it will lead to a renewed focus to ensure that we secure the best possible outcomes for our current Year 11. We’ll definitely be repeating this process for future Year 11 pupils.
Cross Country
A team of 9 cross country runners from Year 8-10 represented the school on Wednesday in a local competition. Tom in Year 10 came first and showed once more what a talented runner he is!
Open Morning
We held our second and final Open Morning of the autumn term on Thursday. 22 pupils expertly toured numerous prospective families around the school. It’s excellent to see our pupils take pride in our school and receive such glowing reviews from the families they have taken around!
Coming Up Next Week
Careers Fair
On Monday, we’re being joined by local colleges, sixth forms, and employers for a Careers Fair! The event is for all pupils in Year 9, 10, and 11, and parents/carers are also welcome to come along from 3:35pm. Please see the attached for a list of exhibitors attending.
Half Term
Half term break begins at 3:35pm on Wednesday 19th October!
Achievement Points Race:
There’s a change at the top!!! Well done to Vincent House for knocking Margaret off top spot!
- 1st Place: Vincent House with 9,340 points
- 2nd Place: Margaret House with 9,224 points
- 3rd Place: Teresa House with 7,949 points
- 4th Place: Francis House with 7,454 points
Have a lovely weekend!
Mr Rooney