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Going for Gold
We welcomed a very special guest to our Presentation Evening this week – Olympic Gold Medal winner Alex Danson. Alex was part of Team GB’s Women’s Hockey Team at Rio.
Alex came to present GCSE certificates and prizes and also to share some thoughts with the former students about the nature of her success. She said that at the core, success comes by having the best team around you. Those who work, train, and nurture need to be the best that you can find. She gave full credit to her team of 31 women who worked for four years, after London 2012 (where they won a bronze medal), with a shared determination to do even better in Rio. In spite of a setback a few months before Rio, the team stuck together. They set high standards for each other in terms of training and expectations. For example for the team being on time for training meant being 5 minutes early. When the final 16 players were selected for Rio just six weeks before the Olympics the entire training squad of 31 continued to come together. It was not the time for disappointed players to drop out.
The level of dedication and commitment to a shared cause was absolutely amazing. The students winning felt honoured to have met and heard Alex.
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Maths Homework Update
There are 181 schools nationally using www.hegartymaths.com at the moment. Mr Hegarty has started a leaderboard to show the schools making the most use of this excellent resource. The first league table published after half term showed that our students are 10th in the country in terms of usage. This is an excellent result for the school, and I think demonstrates the significant shift that there has been in student effort and attitude towards the importance of their maths homework this year.
To give some context – so far students have completed 170,000 questions since the start of September. This is an average of 200 each in 10 weeks! The current top 10 classes in order of average questions answered is:
CLASS [teacher] Ave Qs per student
- 10a/Ma4 [TBR]
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392 |
- 7x/Ma1 [RBA]
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357 |
- 9x/Ma4 [ALE]
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352 |
- 11a/Ma2 [ALE]
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319 |
- 11b/Ma3 [MTH]
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314 |
- 10b/Ma3 [CHE]
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312 |
- 7x/Ma3 [CHE]
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302 |
- 7y/Ma2 [CHE]
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253 |
- 10b/Ma1 [MTH]
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245 |
- 10a/Ma1 [ALE]
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227 |
The leaderboard is changing every week, so if your class does not appear on this list, or you are on this top 10 and want to get higher, the only thing you can do to improve is to do more maths homework.
Mr Mike Thain
Head of Mathematics Faculty
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Wednesday 14 December 2016
Christmas Dinner - all years
See below
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Thursday 15 December 2016
7:00pm Christmas Concert Main Hall
Tickets on sale from reception until Friday 9 December.
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Friday 16th December
1:00pm School closes for Christmas break
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- Get Organized. Making a plan for what you're going to do and when you're going to do it will make sure you're always ahead of the curve - literally.
- Don't multitask. Studies have shown that multitasking is physically impossible.
- Divide it up. Studying isn't fun to begin with, and forcing yourself through a study marathon will only make it worse. Dividing your work into manageable chunks and rewarding yourself when you finish each chunk will make studying (more) fun.
- Sleep. Don't underestimate the importance of those eight hours of zzz's every night! Getting a good night's rest will sharpen your focus and improve your working memory.
- Set a schedule. Do you work better right after school or after you've eaten dinner? Are you more productive in 90-minute blocks or half-hour spurts? Find a scheudle that works for you, and stick to it.
- Take notes. Taking notes will not only keep you more engaged during class, but will also help you narrow down what you need to study when exam time rolls around. It's much easier to reread your notes than to reread your entire textbook!
- Study. This one might be obvious, but did you know that there's a right and a wrong way to study? Review your material several days ahead of time, in small chunks, and in different manners (for example, write flashcards one day and take practice tests the next). In other words, don't cram.
- Manage your study space. Find a place that will maximize your productivity. Look for places away from the television and other distractions. Whether it's your local library or just the desk in your bedroom, set aside a study space that you'll want to spend time in.
- Find a study group. Sitting down with a group of people who are learning the same things as you is a great way to go over confusing class material or prepare for a big test. You can quiz each other, reteach material, and make sure that everyone is on the same page. After all, teaching someone else is the best way to learn.
- Ask questions. You're in school to learn, so don't be afraid to do just that! Asking for help - from a teacher, a tutor or your friends - is a surefire way to make sure you truly understand the material.
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