9th September 2019 - Second Week In!

Communication Focuses

READING	WRITING	ORACY
Reading widely Reading for pleasure	Spelling of subject-specific vocabulary Use of WAGOLLs to model/scaffold (visualisers, mini-whiteboards)	Purposeful and structured communication with others

 

Teaching and Learning Priorities

Climate for learning – students will be enthused by their learning and will be focused, absorbed and attentive (DMC).

Vocabulary – the words that we use and expect the students to be able to use in context, to succeed in their lives beyond Walton le Dale High School (ACH).

Purposeful Interactions by all – if students are communicating, it must be purposeful allow their needs to be met.  Interactions should enhance the learning of ALL students at ALL times (CRO).

 

This Week:

• The thought for the week this week is ‘against all odds’ and assemblies will be led by DCA (R3).
• Set the standard – use the classroom routines in every lesson (idea: test students – see how many of our ‘Basics’ they can remember at the start of a lesson).
• Brilliant Teaching and Learning – produce thoughtfully planned lessons by referring to our updated ‘Brilliant Teaching and Learning Toolkit’ when planning.
• NQTs – Meetings will commence this week: JMO – Tuesday period 3; RHU – Tuesday period 4; both in RLO’s office.
• NQT Subject Meeting – Thursday after school for 30 minutes in RLO’s office (LCH and RSW).
• New Staff - Friday lunch in B7 –– if you are available, why not meet for lunch to share your thoughts of your first two weeks.  RLO will be there at the start…
• RQT meetings this week – CJE: Weds 1; JSH: Fri 3.

Reflect on Your Practice:

Last week, I sent you all a ‘nudge’ to look at the mini-whiteboards How2.  Some of you added your comments, which was helpful and insightful.  This week, I am ‘nudging’ you to look at a resource on Guided Questioning.  This is something that could be completed verbally or using mini-whiteboards and – of course – could be facilitated using think-pair-share or another structure.

The image at the top of the page is taken from the HOW2.  Follow the link below to read further:

https://app.teachinghow2s.com/guiding-questions#infographic

Comments welcomed, through How2s.

 

Top Tip Schedule

Subject Heads, please ensure that someone from your department is ready to share a ‘Top Tip’ on the designated date. 

AUTUMN 1
	W/C	DAY	LEAD/DEPT
	2/09/19	FRI	JHA	Ofsted’s new EIF
	9/09/19	MON WEDS	Maths PHO
	16/09/19	WEDS FRI	PHO Computing
	23/09/19	FRI	Art
	30/09/19	WEDS	Pastries and Progress Open Door Week
	7/10/19	MON	Music
	14/10/19	WEDS	Pastoral

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CPD Cascade

Study Groups

You should have received an email last week about the organisation of Study Groups for this year.  Please make sure that you read it as it has implications for your performance management targets.

TeachingHow2s

Towards the end of the summer term and again later last week, you were emailed account logins for the TeachingHow2s resource.  It is a testament to the student-centred ethos of our school that many of you have accessed resources and even commented on them.  Please continue to experiment with the resources in their library.  They are all dual-coded and are very easy to read.  I will be using them for this Digest over the coming term.

If you have chance over the course of this week, familiarise yourself with the app, using the following activity sheet:

https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/how2-lc-assets/files/Say-Hello-to-HOW2s.pdf

 

They will be discussed in more detail at SIG on Tuesday, as they are a valuable resource for Middle Leaders to use as part of their CPD offering to staff within their departments.

In the meantime, any comments/feedback are welcomed by RLO.

Here is some background for the How2s, taken from the website:

‘HOW2s are not rigid templates designed for unthinking execution. Rather, they are models that may need a degree of adaptation to fit different classroom situations. The HOW2 Process guides teachers through this series of decisions and actions.

Applying Evidence-based Teaching to Classrooms

While access to evidence has been welcomed, its adoption has not been without problems. Simply knowing which are the most effective techniques is not enough. Teachers need to know why they are using particular HOW2s and how to adapt them to fit the individual contexts of their classrooms.