Saint Benedict
A Catholic Voluntary Academy
Year 7 Parents Information Evening
Learning to Learn
Saint Benedict Rewards System
Rewards are stickers that carry points which can be spent when you log onto the mystickers site and could even earn you an instant prize!
They are awarded by many adults on the school staff, not just teachers, and are for work, effort, behaviour, extra-curricular involvement and Headteacher awards.
There are many different designs to collect in your planner!
Once you’ve reached the website:
- Your username is the SAME as your school login e.g. s14vround (for Y7)
- Your password is set to: stickers. PLEASE CHANGE IT AS SOON AS YOU LOGIN.
3. Click LOGIN
In some circumstances your username may not be valid e.g. there may be two vround’s in school. If that is the case please see Mr Round in Romero office (South Block) and he will give you a unique username.
What are the prizes?
National Prizes are awarded by random draw each few months (see homepage for details)
School prizes are drawn each half term with bigger prizes on offer at Christmas, Easter and Summer draws.
Instant prizes are also available on some lucky ‘Golden’ stickers – log them all to see if you and the staff member who awarded it to you are instant winners!
Parent View
Parents can log in to see how many merits their child has logged and can send messages of praise and encouragement and link in rewards at home with number of merits logged – a great incentive to do well!
For further information please contact Mr Round.
FRENCH: Learning & memorising activities to try at homeLook, copy, cover, write, check. / Make puzzles using Puzzlemaker (online)
Write the word in the air when learning/recalling spellings. / Get your child to make a set of puzzles designed to test the vocabulary.
Word list – cover the French/ English side and see if you can remember the French/English meaning. Can you say all of these out loud? / Traditional spelling test. For languages, call out the English meaning for your child to write the French.
Ask your child to teach the new language to you. Very effective and lots of fun to do together. / Play Hangman with the words/phrases to re-enforce spellings. Try removing the vowels or the consonants.
Encourage your child to record the newly learned language on their ‘phone, listen back, note what went well and what could be improved. Re-record and hear the difference! / Read ReadRead!
Ask your child to read aloud to you, including some of the following:
- the list of French words/phrases they have to learn.
- The piece of writing they have just completed –this will help them to review their work and spot opportunities to improve upon it.
- A paragraph from the paper/book/magazine.
Extend and deepen their learning by asking questions like “do you know any other words that …have that sound in it? …that rhyme with that one? …are opposite to that? …have a similar meaning to that one?”
Explore links on Boodle pages. Use recommended online resources to consolidate and extend learning. / Little and often.
The more your child re-visits the learning, the greater the chance that they will remember it in the medium-/long-term.
/ This is an excellent site – you can type any text with French accents in here and then copy/paste to Word. Very easy to use!! Lots of other languages available too.
/ Great for practising and checking French pronunciation (and a host of other languages). A simple set of instructions can be found on Boodle. Lots of fun to be had with this one!
/ Lots of language learning activities for Spanish, French, German & Italian. Highly recommended.
/ The BBC website has a lot – it has a course called French Steps for beginners, as well as some slang and holiday phrases to learn.
/ Free after 4pm daily. Lots of interactive games and activities in French, Spanish, German,
& Welsh.
/ Click on French (there are lots of other languages too) and follow the links to different activities.
/ Create range of puzzles to practise key words and phrases. Very quick and easy to use! Use French Typeitfor paste in accents or paste from wordlist on Boodle.
Websites to support language learning:
Our new reading programme that joins books with eBooks
Bug Club is an independent online reading project to be undertaken by all year 7 and 8 students. The project’s aim is to develop the literacy skills of all students and nurture a love of reading that will continue to reward them far beyond their life in school.
Each student has been allocated a range of books to choose from that are uniquely tailored to their reading sub-level. As they progress through their chosen novels they will undertake a range of tasks designed to assess the depth of their engagement with the text. Teachers are able to view each child’s progress and produce reports that provide a National Curriculum reading level based on how successfully they’ve responded to the tasks.
It is the school’s expectation that students read at least one book per term – that’s three over an academic year.
Students should read their Bug Club book each week, as it will satisfy the literacy element of each subject’s ILA; during the week of their English ILA it will be their sole focus.
The importance of reading in the development of literacy skills, communication and an appreciation of language cannot be understated, and at Saint Benedict Catholic Voluntary Academy we are incredibly excited to be able to allow students to engage with literature in such an interactive and engaging way.
* In order to log on students will need to use the school ID, their username and password. All students should have made a note of these details in their planners.
SEN and Inclusion Department
Dr Rob Rodgers -
The school has a well-established department and we offer support for;
- Pupils who have literacy and/or numeracy difficulties
- Pupils who have English as an Additional language
- Pupils have difficulty with social and emotional aspects of school
- Pupils who have a particular behaviour difficulty
- Pupils who have a visual or physical impairment
If your child has any issues or you want help in any of those please contact us.
The department can help you in a variety of ways
- Rapid Plus
These books can be accessed at home and can be used to improve reading skills. The e book allows your child to be read to. If you’re interested send an e mail to inclusion.
- Homework Club - This happens in the library Tuesdays and Thursdays after school and gives an opportunity to go through homework with supervision. The session finishes at 4.30 so children can catch the late bus.
- Independent Learning Assignments
There are adapted versions of the English ILAs for pupils who struggle with the general version. We are translating the ILAs into Polish and Russian this year as a trial to explore options for future developments. Please contact inclusion if you want to find out more
- Texthelp
For pupils having literacy difficulties we have some very useful software in school called Texthelp. Texthelp is a literacy support programme that is used nationally. We will be trying to make it accessible from home. A short demonstration of what it does will be part of the presentation.
If you need any support about particular concerns about your child do ask your child’s house administrator or the inclusion e mail.
Dr Rob Rodgers
How to Help if Your Child is Being Bullied
STEP 1
- Believe and listen to them
- Praise them for doing the right thing and speaking to you
- Remain calm and focused
Don't take on the problem yourself
Work with your child and the school. The chances are your child has been worrying about this for some time and possibly been reluctant to speak out. Their biggest fear may be that if they speak out the problem will get ten times worse. Don't let them feel that way. Instead of taking over the problem work with them to help them feel like they still have some power and control over what is happening. This will help them develop their problem solving skills and confidence. Tell them 'Let's see what we can do about this'.
Work with the school. Our immediate thoughts can be that the school has failed to keep our child safe and we want something done NOW. Remember to give the school a chance to act on your concerns. Try to avoid heading straight to the school - they are busy places and you may not be able to get an appointment. Ring up and ask to speak to someone and stress your concern. Don't let your own experience of school get in the way of your child's experience. Try not to take your child out of school or keep them off. This can often make it harder to get them back to school and doesn't give the school the chance to sort out the problem.
Other parents. While you may be tempted to speak to the parents of the bully, this is never the most helpful plan of action. Try and let the school deal with the situation.
If you know the parent certainly don't contact them on social media!! (Facebook, Twitter etc.)
Speaking to your child
Don't respond with: 'Stop telling tales', 'Ignore it' AND don't think of it as a normal part of growing up. We have the right to feel safe all the time and bullying should not be a barrier to our learning, happiness or success.
Definition of bullying: Discuss your child's perception of what bullying is. The school's Anti-Bullying Policy is online. Make sure it is really bullying and not just a one-off.
Get all the facts. Who, when, why? Make some notes. This will be useful when deciding on further action.
Safe places. Make sure your child understands the importance of reporting the bullying and who to report to. To help them think about who can help, draw round their hand and write the names of 5 people on the 5 fingers that they can go to if they have a worry, concern or problem. Make three of them individuals at school and 2 outside of school. Help them realise that there are so many people in life that love, care and support them - from parents, friends and teachers. Highlight these different roles and the part they can play in your child's life.
Monitor the situation
'How was school today?' - granted this will often result in 'OK' or, if you have a teenager, maybe even a grunt but delve further and remain positive. Ask questions such as 'What was the best part of today? and 'What would have made it even better?'
At Saint Benedict the Form tutor should be your first point of call - A good relationship with Form Tutors will help you keep on top of any fears or worries.
'Forget about it'
Once you have investigated and decide on a plan of action try not to continue to worry. Compliment your child on their strengths and successes. Go swimming, do a jigsaw, take them out and take their mind off the situation. Remind them that they succeed in lots of things in life and help them realise they have a lot to be proud of.
Advice for you and your child
First occasion: Encourage them to be assertive, through body language and facial expressions. Practice with them to say 'I'd like you to stop doing that' with eye contact. Urge them not to retaliate verbally or physically as this will likely result in them being punished. Mention the incident to an adult.
Second occasion: Tell your child to remove themselves from the situation, find an adult and report it. Discuss who they sit with or who they hang around with. Does the school need to look at lesson seating plans or staff on duty at lunch time? If you contact school please have as much information written down as possible. E.G. times, names and any witnesses. This helps us investigate much quicker.
Problems on social networks:
Save the evidence, report, delete and block. With social networks, it's best to nip the problem in the bud, blocking the individual will stop any further abuse. Official guidelines states schools can and should deal with the issue of cyber-bullying between two pupils so don't be afraid to request this or if it is serious to report it to the police. Help your child look at their Friends list. If you feel this is serious abuse or harassment take it to the police as it is against the law.
Being called a name at school: Discuss the differences between bullying and unkindness. It's important that your child is resilient and able to deal with one-off incidents of name calling. Talk to them about reporting this behaviour as inappropriate rather than bullying. Help them develop a clear idea that bullying is continuous, deliberate and more than someone having a bad day and not thinking twice. It's important we don't label everything in life as bullying.
Feeling left out: Discuss the support networks available to your child. If your child is feeling lonely or left out, speak to them about what clubs at lunch times they could attend and highlight safe areas in the school and find out which adults they trust and could go to.
Physical bullying: Find out exactly when and where this bullying is happening. Remain calm - your child has the right to feel safe and you can now demand that the school investigates this and responds to you ASAP. If you don't feel it is resolved, escalate it, take it higher and contact your child’s Head of House.
Mrs L Rose, 2013