PRIMARy NEWS - Kettering Science Academy

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14 COMMUNICATIONS Pupils Host French and german Students Through Comenius Project KSA pupils who are taking part in the international Comenius project hosted French and German students for a week…and what a busy and productive week it was. KSA invited over 46 students from Le Portalet School in France and Gymnasium Balingen in Germany. They stayed with KSA pupils who were nominated by staff to take part in the British Council scheme. During their week here, students paid a visit to the historic Holdenby House, took part in team-building activities at the Frontier Centre in Irchester as part of the leadership through sports objective, and spent time with their host families on Saturday when many were taken to London. On Sunday they competed in the KSA Fun Run and on Monday, they sat in on a number of classes. The group was also given filming and media editing training in preparation for the final documentary they are producing. French teacher Aine McAllister, who is leading the Comenius programme, said: “It’s lovely to see the students all getting along because that’s what the Comenius group Talk Rolled Out to Improve Language Skills A methodology which encourages pupils to engage in spontaneous conversation in foreign languages has been rolled out this term. Group talk encourages pupils to speak as themselves in a real-life way, rather than relying on role play and imaginary situations. It was launched last term and now every module in each language class has a group talk element with a strong literacy focus. French teacher Aine McAllister said: “Pupils learn to use the language of opinion and they become more engaged as they learn to express themselves. “We record them so they can hear themselves and learn together – we also use it to look at ways to improve group talk.” programme is all about. “Our pupils were surprised at how easily friendships could be made and they gained confidence in their own language skills. Our host families were so welcoming and they went out of their way to give the exchange students a good experience. I’m very excited about going to France in June – our pupils have a new confidence about going as a result of hosting students themselves.” Thomas Wilkins had two German students and one French student staying with him. He said: “It was crazy at our house: we’ve been teaching each other different languages and just having fun. You learn a lot from the experience, like having the confidence to speak to anyone. We will definitely stay in touch.” Charlie Massie added: “It’s been a really good experience and we’re going to miss them.” Charlie said she enjoyed the week so much that she and other host pupils are hoping to visit their German friends during February half term. Helping Pupils Make the grade The English department has been running after-school group sessions to support pupils’ literacy and exam skills. The sessions started for Year 11s but have been rolled out for years 8 and 9 too. It gives pupils the opportunity for small group work to help them reach their targets and will focus on areas such as planning and structuring writing. The sessions are organised vertically with a focus on the skills required for each level rather than on year group. After Christmas years 7 and 10 will also be targeted. Activiscope and Vocab Express Pupils are able to use www.activiscope.com to learn and revise French and German vocabulary at home and in school. Activiscope allows pupils to practise vocabulary using a series of motivating games. Username: ketteri1 Password: kettering Target language Pupils will have noticed a difference in French and German lessons recently as teachers have moved to using a lot more French and German for instructions and praise. To encourage the pupils’ use of French or German spontaneously we have produced laminated target language mats including questions the pupils can ask In January we will be launching Vocab Express which allows pupils to master vocabulary they will need. The pupils and teachers will be able to track progress. Vocab Express will focus on particular words that pupils find difficult and help them concentrate on these. the teacher, vocabulary they need for playing learning games and also words to praise their partners’ work. Callum Massie is an early star in this respect! Stephen Reid – Head of Modern Foreign Languages New friends Issue Thirteen • Under the Microscope
MATHS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOgy The Four Nations Tournament, Maths Style Students from years 7 to 10 put their mathematical skills to the test as they competed in the online Four Nations Maths Challenge, run by Mathletics. Over 300 students answered questions from the curriculum and competed directly against other students across the UK over two days. Senior Maths Team On Thursday 29th November, the Senior Maths Team travelled to Wendover to compete in the 2012 Senior Maths Challenge Team competition. The team were Christian Dobson, Euan Lindley, Extra provision is now available to provide an alternative to the mainstream curriculum. KSA already works with a number of outside agencies and organisations to offer pupils extra support where needed. A new addition is the Cave project at Maplefields, where two of our pupils are working towards a City and Guilds level 1 certificate in construction. In this state-of-theart facility, they work in small groups and are given a space which they can plaster, brick-lay and practise basic plumbing. One hundred and 10 students achieved a bronze certificate for earning over 1000 points. In particular, Adam Doughty in Year 8 amassed a staggering 8638 points by answering over 2000 questions correctly. Five students, Bernard Dec (Year 6), Thomas Jawad, Ezri Mannion, Chloe Roberts and Jenna Willis (all Year 7) each achieved over 3000 points. Every student who took part was extremely enthused and engaged by the tasks and clearly enjoyed taking part. Well done to all these students for making this a huge success! Stephen Ready – Second in Maths Department Jamie Hills and Evie Underwood. They competed in 3 rounds including a mathematical relay race and a crossnumber. The team had a particularly good second round, scoring 50/56 in the Senior Maths Challenge Four Sixth Formers did particularly well in the Senior Maths Challenge in which they had to answer 25 online multiple choice questions. Christian Dobson and Todd Panton (pictured) were in the top 20% so picked up silver certificates and Jamie Hills and Fabien Sutton were awarded bronze. Well done to all those who competed. ALTERNATIVE PROVISION The other new project is Torch Learning in Irchester (pictured), which specialises in hair, beauty and child care, as well as personal development. Students even have access to a fully working salon. KSA is also expanding its work experience offer to provide more pupils with the skills required for the world of work. This already includes work placements within the <strong>Academy</strong>. crossnumber and were pleased to improve their overall position compared to last year. Sophia Parkinson – Maths Teacher Under the Microscope • Issue Thirteen 15
Page 1 and 2: m under the croscope Term 2 Newslet
Page 3 and 4: KSA TERM dATES Term 2 Friday 21st D
Page 5 and 6: HOUSE NEWS House Captains Ready to
Page 7 and 8: CHARITy COMMITTEE’S EFFORTS RAISE
Page 9 and 10: Introduction to French Years 1 to 6
Page 11 and 12: yEAR 1 Celebrations Year 1 started
Page 13: Art Here are some fantastic example
Page 17 and 18: The debate on the pros and cons of
Page 19 and 20: Revision Sessions KSA recently orga
Page 21 and 22: Recommended Christmas Reads Here ar
Page 23 and 24: Horse-Riding Star Eleanor Broadley

PRIMARy NEWS - Kettering Science Academy

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