DISCOVERY COLLEGE

DISCOVERY COLLEGE

NEWSLETTER SPRING 2019 Dear Discovery College,

Many thanks to Mrs Hayes and Ms Castle for putting this publication together. Usually Mrs Whelan creates the newsletter but as she is currently on maternity leave with her new daughter Dotty, Ms Castle has stepped in and has done admirably.

End of Year Exams

The end of the spring term is a period of transition for many students at Homewood with Year 11 and Sixth Form students already starting their terminal exams. The forthcoming summer term in Discovery College also has some key events taking place.

Year 7 and 8, will have their end of key stage assessments between the 18th and 27th June. These will be for core subjects only (English, Maths and Science) and will be completed in the Sports Hall for Year 8 but within normal lesson time for Year 7. Year 8 will also try out their GCSE Options during Year 6 induction week from Monday 1st to Friday 5th July, unless they are lucky enough to be on the China trip.

Year 7 Festival of Learning

Secondly, Year 7 have already started to prepare for their festival of learning, which is an opportunity for parents/carers to come into Homewood to celebrate and reflect on their child’s work in their first year in the form of a student led conference. There will be a letter about this next term, but the events are planned for both the 10th and 17th July, 3pm to 4pm.

Open Morning

We will also be asking for students to come in and help with Open Morning on Saturday 22nd June, to show Year 5 parents around the school and talk about their experience of Homewood. Students will receive a letter about this before the end of term.

Best wishes,

Mr Lawson DISCOVERY COLLEGE

Cancer Research UK

Our latest fund raising event was a cake sale organised by 7D9; 7D8 and 8D8 organised an Easter tombola and over 100 Discovery students took part in the Spring Sprint. DISCOVERY COLLEGE

Our total is now approaching £1500 DISCOVERY COLLEGE

Science project

On the 2nd of May students from 7N created their own miniature desert gardens using rocks, sand, gravel and compost. They had a range of cacti and succulent plants to choose from. They had to create a garden made with plants that are adapted for harsh dry conditions. The finishing touch was to use plasticine to model a suitable animal that was adapted to live in that habitat. The students made camels, snakes and scorpions.

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Exhibition of work in Discovery art lessons We are currently working alongside primary schools from the Schools Trust to produce art work celebrating Tenterden. Our school is specifically concentrating on the 70th birthday of Homewood and looking at Tenterden High Street as it was 70 years ago or how we imagine it to be like in 70 years time. The students are producing work in the style of Ben Heine and Ana Strumpf to tie in with the Photography project we have been doing in school.

In next term’s newsletter we shall let you know how successful this has been.

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Homewood Riding Club

Ms Stephen and the riding team have been involved in a few events since our last update:

Duckhurst Show Jumping

It was wonderful to have a new rider compete and do really well - Harry in Yr7 i-College took part in the first of the two days of competitions gaining two 5th placings and 3 clear rounds in total. A great start to his involvement in NSEA competitions.

On the second day of competition we also had some great results with our riders coming away with lots of rosettes for 2x1sts, 1x2nd, 2x3rds, 2x4ths . As always it was a real pleasure to be their team manager - such great riding and team working from all.

NSEA One Day Event Twelseldown

Sean had an excellent time at the first NSEA ODE (Dressage, Show Jumping and Cross Country) of the season. He was placed second on one of his horses having scored fantastically in his dressage and going clear in both show jumping and cross country. He finished on the same marks as the winner but was just a bit too fast at cross country to win as you have to complete within a set time. He is now off to the NSEA ODE Champs in September (the third championships he has qualified for since February!). He also went double clear on his other horse which was an amazing achievement given the horse had a broken leg at the end of last season!

We are off to Hickstead over the Bank Holiday for NSEA Arena Eventing national champs.

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Hygiene Bank

Congratulations to Camilia, Sienna, Belle and Laura who organised a cake and sweet sale to raise money to buy products for the Hygiene Bank. This was to support the fundraising effort of the local girl guides which Camilia’s sister is involved in. Once again Discovery students show how caring and thoughtful they are towards less fortunate individuals. The sale raised £84.24 thanks to the generosity of the students who bought the goodies.

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Principal Distinction Certificates

Mrs Sally Lees, Principal of Homewood School and Sixth Form Centre and Mr Adam Lawson, Head of Discovery met our Year 8 students whose work was exhibited and judged by our external judges Jane Mills and Susan Hatt from the Tenterden Historical Society and Tenterden Museum. All fifty of them received Principal Distinction certificates for showing sensitivity and maturity when they designed their Holocaust Memorial garden. Their work will be on show in the Tenterden museum shortly.

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Term 5 overview A new feature of the newsletter is a quick overview of what has been going on within each subject and what students will be learning next term as well as information about further support and exhibitions of work.

Subject Year 7 Year 8 Other Information

Maths Completing Algebra Completing Ratio, Students are welcome to come Finding the nth term proportion and rates of to Maths Club on a Tuesday or Geometry – lines and angles change Thursday Evening in C42 with which will incorporate Statistics looking at pie Mrs Lee. symmetry and rotational charts and ways of symmetry recording data. Statistics There will be some There will be some revision revision will be offered set either on Diagnostic on Diagnostic Questions Questions or Mathswatch in or Mathswatch in preparation for end of year preparation for end of tests. year tests.

English Studying Wonder by R.J. Non-fiction anthology be The English department offers a Palacio and be preparing for preparing for their end of homework club every their end of year exam. year exam. Wednesday. This takes place in L2 with Mrs Lee.

Students are welcome to take their lunch with them.

Science States of Matter Plants STEM Club - Runs every Elements, Mixtures and Revision Thursday after school with Mrs Compounds Yr 9 Transition Johnstone in L10 Forces

Humanities Development, with a focus on Significant People Year 8 Holocaust work is the growth of countries in throughout History currently on display at Tenterden other parts of the world with a Museum. focus on Nigeria. Rivers (Geography) Life of Muhammad

PE Striking and fielding games, including cricket and softball. Discovery College Sports Day is fast approaching. Discovery students can attend Athletics Club on Thursday after- school 3.30-4.30 to prepare for this event and chance of getting a medal.

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ICT Python coding taught during Revisiting Scratch and this term to produce and expanding their skills create simple games on BBC covered last year Micro:bits

Art Study the work of David Hockney and using a variety of Discovery College students' drawing and painting techniques. work that links to the illustrator and photographer Ben Heine is They will also explore technical drawing skills using on display in Tenterden High perspective techniques. Street.

Support for End of Key Stage Exams (Year 8) English Students will receive guidance on their end of year assessment in their English lessons next term. Further resources will also be available on the google classroom.

Maths There will be some revision offered on Diagnostic Questions or Mathswatch in preparation for end of year tests.

Please Note: All students must arrive to their Maths lessons and most importantly their tests with all of their equipment. (Pencils, pens, ruler, compass, protractor and a scientific calculator).

Science Year 8 need to log onto the google classroom for year 8 revision 2018/2019 Classroom Code: x5lzns. Here they will find a variety of resources to use to help them revise and prepare for their exam.

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The Chance to Compete cricket tournament at the Mote CC in Maidstone.

The girls came 3rd overall in the tournament winning three of their four games. They beat Maidstone Grammar, Colfes Independent School and Strood . They lost narrowly against Townley Grammar.

The photo shows our team Grace, Liliana, Freya, Daisy, Kate and Eleana.

A reminder that there is an Athletics Club on Thursday after-school 3.30-4.30 which will enable students to prepare for the Discovery Sports Day next term if they want to have a chance of gaining a medal.

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Year 8 Holocaust project

Our Year 8 students learnt about the Holocaust in this term’s ERS project. At the end of the topic they worked in small groups to complete their own plans of a memorial garden showing their knowledge and understanding of a deeply sensitive topic. Each teacher chose a plan from their class that was worthy of being included in an exhibition to be judged by Jane Mills from the Tenterden Historical Society and Susan Hatt from the Tenterden Museum. We are so grateful to both who listened to each groups explanation of their work and gave outstanding feedback to our students. Each student was presented with a certificate recognising the maturity and sensitivity they had demonstrated when completing their plan and Susan Hatt chose a selection to be exhibited in the museum.

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Our Year 8 students were privileged to experience a workshop delivered by Zoe, an Educator from the Holocaust Education Trust followed by a talk from Steven Frank, a Holocaust survivor. Steven shared his personal experiences from this period in his life. This was very moving and all our students showed maturity and sensitivity throughout the talk and found his outlook very inspiring. We are very fortunate to have close links with the Holocaust Education Trust which therefore enables our students to hear first hand testimonies of life throughout this time.

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‘I feel so privileged to have been able to have learnt first hand from a survivor of the Holocaust. I have so much respect for him after hearing all he went through and he is still willing to share his experiences.’

Jake

‘I think it was a great idea for a survivor of the Holocaust to come into school because it gave us a once in a lifetime opportunity to hear his experiences and appreciate why this must never happen again.’

Miles

‘I think having a visit from a Holocaust survivor has definitely enhanced my learning and I have respect for him after hearing his experiences. It also moved a lot of us and gave us an extra need to understand this part of History.’

Ronny

‘I found the talk from the Holocaust survivor very moving and hearing his experiences made me realise how it affected people. I have so much respect for the people who lived through this traumatic time. It was hugely beneficial hearing first hand of their experiences.’

Alice

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Moving On Up Year 8 students the next academic year will embark in their ‘GCSE journey’, there are probably any number of questions spinning around in the minds of parents/carers. Aside from the obvious one (which is “where has all the time gone? It only seems like yesterday they were at !”) you might well be wondering about the new style of GCSEs, how to encourage good study skills from the outset, and what you might be able to do to support your child in their studies.

In recent years, GCSEs have changed. In short, the new courses include much less coursework than before, with only some of the more practical subjects like Dance, Art and Drama containing this element of assessment. Most exams will now also be taken at the end of the course in Year 11. Also, in many subjects there has been some changes to the content that they study, and students will be required to answer more essay-style questions too. There is also a new 9 to 1 grading system.

It is tough starting a GCSE course, but students should remember starting something new is difficult, but will get easier. If they are a good geographer or historian, who has worked hard in class and at home, listened to advice from teachers, attended school regularly and tried their best, then they will be rewarded with the grade they deserve. GCSEs may well have been ‘reworked’ but they will still assess the same skills, knowledge and understanding that they have always done.

Homewood has a two-year Key Stage 3, which leaves three years for their GCSEs at Key Stage 4. For GCSE subjects students will have more lessons in that subject per week than ever before. This is because there is ‘space’ in their timetable as a result of them ‘dropping’ some subjects. For example, your child has had two lessons of History and two lessons of Geography per week in Key Stage 3. However, they may have chosen to do GCSE Geography and ‘dropped’ History – so they will now have three GCSE Geography lessons per week.

As soon as GCSE study starts it is useful to know what Examination Board and specification your child is studying for each of their subjects (get your child to ask their teacher). In short, there are several main government-approved Examination Boards that provide GCSE courses and exams for students. Each subject at your child’s school will have chosen one of these courses to follow. Make sure you know if your student follows the AQA History course or the Edexcel one, for example. It means that throughout your child’s time studying GCSEs, you can go onto the exam board website and download all sorts of free resources to help support your child’s learning, including specimen and past exam papers, mark schemes and example answers. DISCOVERY COLLEGE

Your child may feel really overwhelmed when they start their GCSEs, which is totally understandable. I think that parents can help take some of the sting out of the ‘stressing’ they will inevitably do. They will very probably get more homework. No teacher takes pleasure in a child doing homework badly (or not at all). The homework is given to enhance learning, so if your child is unsure, simply write a short note asking for the teacher to explain the homework again. Creating a study ‘space’ is a really positive thing to do – away from all distractions if at all possible. Then, make sure your child has everything they need – notebooks, revision books, pens, paper, post- it notes, index cards etc. Perhaps buy folders that allow them to divide and organise their work into sections, so their work is easy to access. Students will be tested at more regular intervals (one test every term is common) and a larger ‘exam hall exam’ at the end of the year. It is important that you try to keep these tests and exams in perspective. Until your child gets to the end of the course, in the Summer term of Year 11, these tests and exams are simply a way of the teacher seeing if what he or she has taught you has sunk in. They are as much a test of the teaching strategy used by the teacher as they are of the student themselves. They indicate to the teacher what they need to go through again with the student – as well as what the student needs to pay particular attention to themselves. When it comes to sitting down and doing some revision though, here are a few top tips you might like to share:

• Help your child create an overview of what they need to revise and break each subject down into manageable chunks. This is where knowledge of the Exam Board specification will help. • Set definite start and finish times for revision sessions and have a clear goal for each session. • Get your child to ask your teachers for practice questions or past papers. • Get them to practise making plans and answering questions under timed conditions. • During breaks do something completely different – listen to music, have a chocolate biscuit, make a cup of tea for example. • Ensure they make their revision active. Don’t just allow them to read notes – make flash cards, mind maps or use the post it notes you bought when setting up a study space.

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As well as knowing what exam board specification your child is studying for each subject, it might be worth investing in some of the approved resources that may well be used by the school. For example, if your child does History, there is every chance that the school History department will use one of the ‘Exam board approved’ textbooks. This might be a worthwhile purchase as it allows you to follow what they are doing in class – and even means you could set little recall tests for your child – nothing over-complicated – but a message that home is ‘on it’ as much as school!

It also might be worth thinking about your family’s “away day trips” a little more carefully. Trips to art galleries, river valleys, coastal zones, science museums and heritage experiences such as castles, battlefields and cathedrals might brighten up some of the topics in school. Finally (and I think this is perhaps one of the key elements of parental support) it’s important not to stress too much about the transition! In the same way that primary schools aim to form the bedrock of knowledge, skills and understanding that students will need as they progress to , Discovery College have been preparing your child for their ‘GCSE journey’ throughout KS3. Adapted from Oxford Education

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Sporting success

My name is Ava and I play netball, I play for a team in Ashford called Breakaways. I play in an adult league on a Monday or Tuesday night depending on my fixture. I have recently played for Kent and have taken trials again hoping I'll get a place again. I received the P.E award based on my recognition and commitment in netball. I play for the school Year 8,9 and 10 teams. I play the position of goal defence or centre but most of the time I play goal defence. I train every Saturday and play Saturday afternoons as well as playing in the adult league. I started playing netball in Year 3 at Primary School and instantly loved it and I continue to enjoy it just as much.

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Strictly Ballroom!

Hello, my name is Elodie, and I am 12 years old. I love to dance. I currently compete across the country in Latin and Ballroom, both with a partner and as part of a formation team. We compete in Blackpool twice a year at the National Dance Championships and Champions of Tomorrow. I also do Contemporary, Tap and Street dance. I practice three times a week.

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Exceptional rower

Hi I’m Amelia and I am a rower, I have been involved in rowing for just over a year and I have loved it it’s an amazing sport. I have competed a lot, such as at Dorney lake (the Olympic 2012 rowing lake) and I got picked to be in the JIRR which is the junior inter regional regatta which was representing the whole of the UK for rowing. Since I have started rowing I have won a few medals.