Secondary Class News
Although we know that many pupils tell their parents all about what they having been studying and doing at school, not every child is so forthcoming. Therefore so that you all know what your child has been up to in the last term and what plans there are for next term, you can now visit this new page providing the latest news from the Secondary Class.
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If you have any specific queries concerning this class or your child please speak to or email the form tutor Greta.
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Also See
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Spring Term 2019
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English Language
This term we continue to look at the application of technical knowledge into written form with the focus on the development of description and ways of articulating our thoughts and feelings in the creation of descriptive imagery.
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English Literature
This term be will complete our detailed study of 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time', Mark Haddon's classic novel about a young man with Asperger's Syndrome. We are very excited about our trip to go and see 'The Curious Incident' in London at the end of January. In the second half of the term we will begin reading and studying John Steinbeck's American tragedy 'Of Mice and Men'.
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Maths
This term we will be working on sequences, 3D shapes, ratio and proportion, probability and applying maths to the real world.
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Science
Ash has just got back from a trip to East Africa, and will use some of the insights from his visit to start conversations about healthy diets and lifestyles. Throughout the term, we will be using our afternoon science lessons to work towards the 2019 RSA Pupil Design Awards - designing a product, campaign or service to help people make healthier choices about their diet.
From the 3rd week of term, we will be studying Earth Science and Evolution topics, in preparation for our exciting trip to the Oxford University Museum of Natural History on Monday 11th February. (Letter to follow!)
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History
This term we will complete our study of the American War of Independence and the subsequent Enlightenment influenced American Constitution. We will then turn our attention back to Europe with the French Revolution, considering both its positive and negative legacies.
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Art
This term we will be working on a 3D brief... to design and make a lighting feature. We will be looking at historical and contemporary examples of lighting and exploring ideas through drawing and maquette making. We will be investigating the properties of resistant materials like wood, metal, wire, plastic and non-resistant materials such as thin cardboard and clay. The final outcome for this project will be to make a functional lamp!
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Geography
We completed our work last term looking at globalisation, fast fashion and the emergence of the Tiger Economies. This term we are learning about rivers and coasts.
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Psychology
We will continue our investigation into the topic of 'Sex and Gender', as we consider what factors contribute to the differences between gender. We will ask to what degree are these differences innate and to what degree are they influenced by culture, religion, history, education and parenting. In the second half of the term we will move onto a new topic - 'The Self' - where we will consider what makes individual personalities, are they an illusion or are they fixed?
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Philosophy & Ethics
After considering the big philosophical questions concerning the nature of existence we will be moving onto ethics where we will explore a number of different ethical issues with a formal class debate at the end of each topic.
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Music
Creating a historical timeline of music; writing our own songs; promoting and designing a concert/gig and putting it on. (This will probably continue into the summer term too).
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Spanish
Hispanic Traditions (Dia de Reyes - 6th January); Revision on adjectives to describe people physically and their personality; Assessment; Hobbies - regular verbs - present tense; Sports - giving detailed opinion and justifying opinions; Talk about the weather and learn to use comparatives when talking about Spanish speaking musicians.
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PSHE
We enjoy staring our sessions with shaking and quiet sitting/body mind awareness and once termly we will do our sharing circle and work/play/home reviews. This term we will be learning about relationships, including sexual diversity and sexual health. The emphasis in these lessons is around empowered/consensual choices. Please talk to Ali if you have any questions.
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Autumn Term 2018
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Music
Completing our music for film or game pitch pieces, and recording them. Starting a large scale class performance piece; learning the accompaniment to the main Christmas number.
The School Choir needs your support! We meet every Friday Lunchtime in the Studio 1.30-2pm. Anyone from Upper Primary upwards is more than welcome to join us - as well as parents and staff! We sing a great and fun mix of music in many styles. Please encourage your child to come and join us, and why not come along yourself?!
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Spanish
The Hispanic World. Talking about yourself. We will look at Spanish speaking countries around the world, greeting people, understanding verb endings, numbers 1-31, dates, months and days of the week, expressing likes/dislikes about colours and classroom items/phrases to follow instructions and ask questions used in the classroom.
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PSHE
We will be deepening our body/mind awareness/meditation practice at the beginning of each session, working on posture, breath and watching our 'mind movies'. We will be holding twice termly sharing circles and exploring addictions.
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English Language
The class will work on their exploration of implicit meaning in tests, developing their ability to interpret and articulate thought and feeling in coherent written format.
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English Literature
This term be will be reading, discussing and studying in detail 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time', Mark Haddon's classic novel about a young man with Asperger's Syndrome.
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Maths
A new timetable to navigate, which includes a double lesson on a Tuesday. The class remain extremely enthusiastic towards their studies. We have already looked at foreign currency and exchange rates and have completed a treasure trail outside to take advantage of the good weather we have had. Upcoming topics include graphs and 3D drawings from plans and elevations.
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Science
We are looking at cells and what's inside them, learning about useful and harmful micro-organisms, and finding out the conditions needed for bacteria to thrive by making their own live yogurt and examining it under a microscope. This will be followed by a refresher on the fundamentals of chemistry - solids, liquids and gases, atoms and molecules, elements and compounds - with a chance to make their own molecular models.
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History
This term we will be studying the monumental change in human thinking that occurred in the Enlightenment. We will be looking at how the Enlightenment marks the moment when humanity stopped looking so much to the past for answers and turned its attention to the future. We will then see how this has profoundly effected modern history from the late 18th century onwards.
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Art
We begin the academic year with an exciting, new project that looks at the Latin American festival of the 'Day of the Dead'. We will be exploring the concepts, traditions and artwork associated with the festival. Producing a case study, illustrations, decorative 3D skulls, lino printing and having a go at making some of the traditional confectionery made during the celebrations.
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Geography
We are embarking on an 'Emerging Asia' unit of work, looking at how the economies of Asia have grown rapidly in recent years - the reasons for this and the consequences.
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Psychology
This will be a new subject for this class and therefore we will be looking at the key concepts in Psychology such as the conscious and sub-conscious mind, and the debate between nurture and nature. We will also be looking at some of the key ideas of Freud and Jung.
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Philosophy & Ethics
Another new subject for this class or rather an extension of Religion & Ethics that the class took last year. We will be focussing on the big questions such as 'Why do we exist?', 'Does God exist?' 'What is the nature of consciousness?' 'Do we perceive reality subjectively or objectively?' etc... We will be having many great discussions that will hopefully expand the student's minds and increase their self-awareness.