Welcome to Year 9

Welcome to the Year 9 information and guidance page

The information here covers (click on the bullet point to take you to more detailed information):

Key Contacts
Information on remote learning/programme of study/Microsoft Teams
Video Assembly from Mr West
Messages to parents/carers
Information on completing their Learning Logs (explained below)
Recognition/Hall of Fame

1. Key Contacts

Year 9 Achievement Lead: Mr B West – BWest@garibaldischool.co.uk

Student Services Year Manager: – Miss Taylor – PTaylor@garibaldischool.co.uk

Please direct all technical queries to your child's mentor in the first instance

Year 9 Mentors

9VU	Miss V Urquhart	VUrquhart@garibaldischool.co.uk
9HP	Mrs H Pilmore	HPilmore@garibaldischool.co.uk
9CH	Mrs Hutchinson	CHutchinson@garibaldischool.co.uk
9RB	Miss R Biggs	RBiggs@garibaldischool.co.uk
9LR	Mrs L Robinson	Lrobinson@garibaldischool.co.uk
9CHL	Mrs C Hill	CHill@garibaldischool.co.uk
9FG	Miss F Gibbs	FGibbs@garibaldischool.co.uk

2. Information about remote learning

Remote learning is a new experience for everyone. One of the challenges is managing your time to ensure you get the right balance. Click the link below to access some time management tips including how to use the calendar function on Teams to set up your working week.

Time Management Tips

The following link is to the Study Support page, this contains guidance sheets, notes and help videos on accessing work through Microsoft Teams:

In light of the government’s decision to close schools to the majority of students for the foreseeable future we will be setting work for students to do remotely. All students have been set up with access to the Microsoft Teams app which is where they can access all work set by their teachers, get support in completing it and upload it for feedback.

Work will be set at the start of the week with the recommendation that students work according to the following timetable for Year 9; AM and PM blocks are two hours.

x2 hours work needed for each session (AM/PM)

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
AM	English	Maths	Science	English	Maths
PM	Option 1 Tue 3 and Wed 3 Triple Science Child Development DT Enterprise Music Performing Arts	Option 2 Mon or Tue 2 / Thur 5 Art Child Development Enterprise Geography iMedia Performing Arts Spanish	Option 3 Tue 1 / Wed 4 Art Cam Nat PE DT Geography Hospitality & Catering History Spanish	Option 4 Wed 2 / Fri 2 Art Cam Nat PE Computer Science Geography History iMedia Spanish	Science – Triple and Combined

3. Messages to Students

3rd June 2020

Thank you for continuing to work hard on your school work at home. We have listened to you, your parents, and your mentors, and from the week beginning 8th June we will reduce the amount of work that we set for you by 25%.

We have made this change because, over the last half-term, we know that the workload for you has been high. We also know that remote learning is completely different to what you are used to. It is completely fine for work to take a little longer to complete and for you to struggle a little bit more than what you usually do.

We want you to focus on the positives of remote learning, so that you can practise key skills and learn new subject content. As teachers, we do not want to cause unnecessary stress for you.

This means that, from 8th June, you will be set the following work:

3 hours each for English, Maths and Science (a total of 9 hours)
90 minutes for each of their four Option subjects (a total of 6 hours)
Study Period/Mentor tasks (a short 15-minute task each week)
Learning Log (15 minutes fortnightly)

This is equivalent to approximately 15 hours’ worth of work for each week, compared to 22 hours’ worth of lessons when in school normally.

4. Messages to Parents

Note: Please don’t wait for the teacher/staff member to contact you/your child before reporting concerns about not having a laptop/internet. You can e-mail your child’s mentor if you cannot access Microsoft Teams and then the school can provide work in other formats.

3rd June 2020

Thank you for continuing to support your son/daughter with their remote learning at Garibaldi. In response to feedback from staff, students, and parents, from the week beginning 8th June we will reduce the amount of work that we set for students by 25%.

We appreciate that remote working is a complete shift for students and we acknowledge that, over the last half-term, we have placed high demands on students to complete the same amount of work as they would when at school. We have made this change because we want to ensure that students’ experiences of remote working are positive. This will allow students to practise what they’ve learned in Microsoft Teams and receive feedback from staff. We do not want to cause unnecessary stress for students.

For Year 9, this means that students will be set:

3 hours each for English, Maths and Science (a total of 9 hours)
90 minutes for each of their four Option subjects (a total of 6 hours)
Study Period/Mentor tasks (a short 15-minute task each week)

This is equivalent to approximately 15 hours’ worth of work for students, to be completed each week.

5. Learning Logs

Learning Logs have been created for students to complete each fortnight. These will be set by Mentors as assignments through Teams. Mentors will check these on a rolling basis and offer feedback to students.

The Learning Logs give students an opportunity to:

Map out a record of the work they’ve done in recent weeks
Reflect on their efforts and identify strengths and areas for development
To consider and reflect on what they may need additional support with
To consider and reflect on their Attitude to Learning
To develop their independent learning skills
To help them manage their time while learning remotely
To flag up points of discussion/follow up with mentors through email or Microsoft Teams

We’d encourage parents to engage in supporting students with the completion of these as they are a good way on checking on their engagement with work and to flag any issues that might need to be followed up with subject teachers or mentors.