Newsletter - Week Ending 18Th October 2013

Newsletter - Week ending 18th October 2013

w/b 21st October is a week 2

Dear Parents/Carers

The newsletter is designed to give you information on events that are coming up and to celebrate student and staff achievements. It is also written in line with the school improvement plan. The blue headings are the objectives the school is working towards this year.

A summary of the news this week:

• Opportunity to take part in BBC School Report project
• Student County rugby success
• Science revision guide return please
• Extra-curricular (attachment)
• Senior school geography news
• Y10 geography trip to Dorset
• Y11 geography revision guides
• Y8 Geography home learning project
• Business studies/media/ICT coursework catch up sessions
• Report on our inset day
• Y11 Academic review day
• Mathswatch /cds
• Give your views on homework
• Attendance
• The hub
• Free school meals
• Ask.fm website
• Turnford attends the Inspiring women seminar
• Y7 girls’ puberty talk
• Sex education day
• BLP days
• Insight
• Site safety
• Dates/holidays

T1 To ensure that all teachers have high expectations and challenge students so that they are able to make good progress

BBC School Report 2013-14 Project

BBC School Report is a fantastic project where students film news reports, conduct interviews and write articles about news at Turnford School and news stories that are relevant to teenagers. The students’ work will then be shared with a national audience via the BBC website, so it is a great opportunity for students to become more involved in the life of the school and engage with other students nationwide. Any students who are interested in taking part should come to EN3 at the beginning of lunch on Thursday 24th October. Many thanks. Mrs Jackson.

U14 County Rugby Player Success:

Sam Hurding has recently been selected to represent Hertfordshire in the Rugby U14 Team. Sam had to attend multiple trials to be successful and is 1 of only 30 boys across the county who were asked to join their squad.

We wish him all the best and look forward to hearing about his future games.

Science: Current year 10 students if you still have a KS3 Revision guide at home from last year can you please return them to your science teacher before Half Term. Thanks in advance the Science Department.

Geography news

A-Level Geography conference – Thursday 21st November

This conference is a student-centred day, focusing on independent learning. It encourages students to develop a wider understanding of the subject of geography beyond school and invites them to move forward confidently in their A-level course. Students will participate in various presentations and workshops throughout the day regarding contemporary geographical issues with academics from across the country. This is a great opportunity for our AS and A2 Geography students. The cost of the day is £23.00 – please can this amount and consent forms be returned to me ASAP if your child would like to attend. Many thanks, Miss Boughey

A2 Geography revision Day – Tuesday 25th March

Following the successful AS geography day we attended last year I have booked places at the A2 day in March for our year 13 Geography students. This intensive revision conference is aimed at students of A2 level Geography who will be taking their examinations in the summer of 2014 with the AQA examination board. The emphasis of the day will be the preparation of students for success in their examinations. The day will include lectures, workshops on examination practice and hints and tips as to how to do well in the examinations.

The day will be led by David Redfern and Phil Banks along with a team of highly experienced and knowledgeable speakers. All of the team have extensive experience of both teaching and assessment. They will guide the students through a series of informative, skill based sessions providing a clear focus for the examination ahead.

All students will receive a pack of notes and exercises to reinforce their learning and revision for the examination. Please note that these students will be attending this event themselves and will not be accompanied by a member of Turnford staff.

Year 10 Geography trip to PGL, Dorset

Can I please remind parents that opted to pay for this trip in instalments that the September payment is now overdue and the October payment is required before half term. If you have any issues with this please contact me using ny thanks, Miss Boughey

Year 11 Geography revision guides

A reminder of the links for the revision guide being published in the next week, now available for pre-order that covers the whole EDEXCEL B specification:

A complementary work book is now also available for pre-order for early November to help support your child in improving their exam technique at home as well as in lessons:

Year 8 ‘I am Geography projects’

This half term our year 8s have been set the challenge of producing a creative project, as their home learning, to show how they are linked to the subject of Geography. 8T were the first form to present their learning this week and look at their excellent achievements! We look forward to seeing the finished results of the other forms next week.

Business Studies/Media/ICT coursework catch up sessions

Media – Catch-up session for coursework is every Tuesday and Thursday from 3-4pm – Media Room

Business with Miss Clarke is on Tuesday 3-4pm – Coursework Catch-up in IT3

Business with Mr Lindquist is on Friday, 3-4pm – Coursework Catch-up in IT2

ICT- Coursework catch Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday in - IT1 from 3-4pm

Y11 Academic Review Day

Year 11 academic review day will take place on the 5th of November. Please make sure you attend this meeting to hear how your child is progressing and what they need to do next to make sure they are successful.

T2 To continue to improve the quality of teaching so that all is good or better

Inset day report

On Tuesday 15th October staff had an In Service Educational Training Day. The purpose of the sessions were:

• To share outcomes of exam analysis and implications for current exam groups.
• To share examples of best practice for improving the quality of Teaching and Learning.
• To review the current behaviour policy and share effective strategies
• To facilitate preparation time within faculties.

The workshop sessions run by teachers included: misconceptions in maths, incorporating effective literacy strategies in your lessons, effective challenge and pace in lessons, the art of teaching, and differentiation strategies to engage and motivate students. Teachers were asked for their feedback at the end of the day and here are some of the comments made:

“I have gained lots of ideas and strategies to use in my lessons to encourage participation.”

“Developing starters and plenaries using resources and techniques for my lesson. This was very useful and I am able to implement straight away.”

“This has made me think about the quality talk in my lessons and modelling strategies to help students become more independent and make their knowledge more flexible.”

It was agreed that this was a really worthwhile and purposeful day enabling teachers to reflect on their current practice and promote further opportunities to develop teaching and learning. T and L Team @ Turnford School

Mathswatch CDs

Maths department have received a new delivery of Mathswatch CDs. GCSE are priced at £5 to support Years 10 and 11 and there are now Key Stage 3 discs that support years 7, 8 and 9. These are £4 each. The CDs can be bought from Mrs Quinn in the maths department.

Homework views

Can you help? We are interested in hearing your views on homework and how it can be improved. We will be hosting a wine and cheese evening where we will share ideas about what we would like to do with homework at key stage 3. If you have the time please attend this event at school on Thursday 24th October at 6.30 pm. Please register your interest with Julie Lawrence on extension 256 or email

TL 3 To ensure that marking gives good guidance to students on how to improve

BS1 To improve student attendance

If your child is absent from school for unavoidable reasons please leave a message on the absence line or send an email to

Thank you, Mary Dettmar, Attendance Officer Ext 213

Please make sure your child is in school. All holidays are unauthorised absence.

BS2 To improve the progress that our most vulnerable students make

The hub is now up and running for all students. Please be aware all students are welcome to gain support for any homework activity after and before school.

Please apply if you feel you are eligible for free school meals. It will support your child and family finances and support the schools as each free school meal means an additional £900 per child into the school’s budget to place in support.

Don’t miss out, apply now!

Applying for free school meals in Hertfordshire has never been easier or faster! Werecommend you apply online at

The benefits of applying online include:

• It’s quick and easy to do – most online applications take about ten minutes to complete. Please make sure you have your national insurance number to hand.

• It can be done whenever it suits you, with no need for face-to-face or telephone contact

• In most cases, you won’t have to provide paper proof of benefit

• You won’t have to reapply for free school meals every year

• Your child will get their free school meals without delay

• You can apply for other benefits that you may qualify for at the same time

If you do not have access to the internet at home, you can obtain access and support at

any of the following locations:

• Public Libraries

• UK Online Centres

• Turnford School

Please note:

Applications must be made in the name of the person who is receiving the qualifying benefit, or there may be a delay in processing the application.

If your application is accepted, you will be notified immediately. Your child’s school will also be advised to ensure the free school meal is provided straight away.

For more information or assistance with your application Visit or call the customer service centre on 0300 123 4048 (8am-8pm Monday to Friday, 9am-4pm Saturday).

L1 To focus all of the senior and middle leadership roles on a unrelenting shared strategy to become an outstanding school

Ask.fm website

Ask.fm is a social networking website that enables users to ask and answers questions. It has become popular with young people and has millions of users around the world. The site can be abused and used for cyberbullying and the posting of offensive and obscene material due to the fact you can post anonymously. There have been reports of tragic events in the press due to negative use of Ask.fm

Herts for Learning have created a guidance document and a video to highlight steps to keep safe. However following this guidance does not make using Ask.fm safe and there will always be risks associated with its use. The guidance is accessible at:

BS3 To encourage a positive attitude to learning and the community.

Turnford School attend Inspiring Women: the launch of a national campaign

On Thursday 17th October 6 students from Turnford School were lucky enough to be invited to theInspiring the Future: Inspiring Womencampaign launch with a ‘career speed networking’ event hosted by Miriam González Durántez at Lancaster House with 100 girls from 12 state secondary schools talking jobs and careers with 10 high profile successful women. The aim of the campaign is to see 15,000 women from a wide range of occupations going into state schools, over the next year, to talk to 250,000 young women about the range of jobs available and entry routes into them.

The evening began with 10 women sharing their career insights with girls. The high profile women who took part in the launch include:Miriam González Durántez, Partner at Dechert LLP and the wife of Nick Clegg the DPM,Fiona Bruce, BBC journalist and presenter,Athene Donald DBE, Professor of Experimental Physics at the University of Cambridge,Thea Green, CEO Nails Inc’s,Bettany Hughes, historian and broadcaster,Livia Firth,Creative Director Eco Age Ltd,Carrie Longton, Mumsnet co-founder,Carolyn McCall, CEO easyJet,Heather McGregor, entrepreneur and Financial Times columnist andBarbara Stocking DBE,former CEO Oxfam and current President of Murray Edwards College, University of Cambridge.

Talking about the campaign Miriam González Durántez,Partner at Dechert LLP says: “There are legions of female role models in our workplaces, in our own families, in the street. Every woman can be a role model for the new generations, no matter the path they have chosen in their lives. Through taking women into state schools to talk face-to-face with girls around the country this campaign will help to remove the stereotypes and absurd labels that still today surround women. Young girls deserve to feel free to aim high”.

Year 7 Girls’ Puberty Talk with the School Nurse 22/10/13 lesson 5

On Tuesday 22nd October all of the Year 7 girls will be off timetabled lessons for lesson 5 to attend a talk with our school nurse, Helen Bolton, about puberty and how to cope with the physical and mental changes associated with growing up.If you have any questions or queries about this then please contact Mrs Goodes on 01992 308333 ext. 200. Thank you Mrs Goodes

Sex Ed day

On Monday 14th October 150 Year 10 students were involved in a Sex Relationships Education morning. The sessions included looking at ‘What is normal and when should I be concerned?’ ‘What are some of the misconceptions surrounding sex and relationships?’ ‘What choices and responsibilities do I have and how can my choices affect my well-being?’ ‘How can I protect myself from pregnancy and STIs?’

Here are some of the students comments from the survey completed at the end of the day:

“It was good fun and we should have more days like this.” “I enjoyed the session about STIs I felt like I learnt a lot of new stuff.” “I enjoyed talking about some of the issues.” “Why couldn’t we have had a whole day on Sex Education?”

We will take into consideration the students’ views when planning for the next SRE day.

Maxine Goodes

BLP Parent day

The BLP faculty will be holding a Year 7 parent day on Thursday 14th November during periods 1 and 2. This is an opportunity to see your child in action and to participate in a BLP lesson followed by discussion with the teacher if you wish. This invitation is on a pre-book basis so kindly have a look at the table below and book in with Julie Lawrence (ext 256) or who will pass names to me. Please state what lesson you wish to see and the name of the teacher. We look forward to seeing you. Angela Goody, Faculty Leader Key Skills

Period 1 / C. Mcgrath
H. Allingham
C.Simeou
Period 2 / M.Hampson
S.Grant
A.Goody
J.Blank

A1 To make sure all subjects are able to show that their students have made good progress.

Insight

I would like to take the opportunity to ensure all parents are aware of, and able to access the Insight website.

Insight enables you to monitor your child’s daily progress at Turnford via a host of information such as:

• Notices
• Attendance
• Achievements
• Behaviour
• Assessments
• Student Report
• Special Educational Need details (if applicable)
• Timetable

You can access Insight via the website

Alternatively there is a link on the Turnford School website which can also be used;

If you have any queries or problems logging into Insight, please contact me via;

A2 To establish effective and consistent teaching of Communication ( Literacy) and Maths across the curriculum

Other news

Lost property/timetables

Please note there are quite a few lost property items at student reception which will go to charity if not claimed before half term. If your child has lost an item please ask them to check with Mrs Sparrow at student reception.

Please also mention to your child to stick their timetables in planners. Mrs Sparrow is constantly printing off new timetables especially on a Wednesday when students change to their enrichment uniform. Thank you.

Site safety

Please do not drive onto the school site unless you have an appointment or are on school business. If you do need to come on site please make sure you use the correct entrance.

If you are collecting or dropping off students at the start or end of school please park away from the school entrance to allow space for the students to leave safely.

Dates for this half term:

October

22nd Y7 Girls’ puberty talk

23rd Y11 art and photography gallery trip

28th-1st November half term

4th November back to school on a week 1

November

5th Year 11 Academic review day