Year 12 Newsletter 30/03/20
The Sixth Form team would like to congratulate Year 12 on their maturity, patience, self motivation and resilience during these unprecedented times. Students will have experienced a mix of emotions including frustration, anger, disappointment, relief and anxiety, to mention a few. All these emotions are perfectly understandable and interchangeable. Staff have been impressed with the work that has been completed and it has been really pleasing to hear how students have been proactive in preparing for the next chapter of their lives.
We want to reassure our students that the Sixth Form team will continue to support them and if they have any questions, they can e-mail us directly.
Your subject teachers have been, and will be continuing to set work on Go4Schools whilst school continues to be closed. The work set will always be uploaded by 9:30am on the day of your lesson. Work will be set on the day you would usually have a lesson and have a due date of the same day. This should keep your ‘homework’ page uncluttered as the work will clear daily so it’s easy to keep track of what is being set.
What’s important here is to try and keep your routine as normal as possible and to get you in the right mindset you should avoid working in your bed. Make sure you get washed, dressed and take breaks as needed. Try and access the work on the day it is set so you don’t miss anything. Download any documents you need and create folders on your computer/laptop at home to save the work.
You will be sent a variety of resources. You can print the resources if you wish, but there should not be a requirement to do this. You will need to keep your folders really well organised with the work you do. Keeping an electronic log of work completed (whether that means completing written work on Word etc or just taking pictures of your work will depend on how you work best).
You should be set a full 50 or 100 minutes of work per lesson. However, teachers will factor in the additional time it will take you to learn new topics as they are not with you for direct instructions. Remember teachers are likely to then set additional work that would have corresponded to the homework for that lesson, so your private study time should be filled as well. If for some reason you cannot complete the work on the day it has been set, make sure you have either downloaded it or know how to access older work on Go4schools.
The current guidance is that teachers will be checking you have completed work on your return, so you must be able to show them. However, many teachers may wish to give you feedback on work as we go, so may indicate this in their instructions. Make sure you do return work to them by the deadline they set so they can coordinate and organise any marking or feedback. (It is A LOT more difficult for teachers to currently manage the work that is coming in to them as they balance full time work from home with the demands of also caring for their own families etc. so please bear this in mind.)
If you have any queries regarding the work, please do email your teachers directly. Teachers should respond to queries within 24 hours. Please keep all your emails professional and polite! You may find that if you have asked them to check/mark some work, it may take a little longer than 24 hours to get back to you.
Do expect that your parents/guardians will be contacted over the period as we check on your progress and wellbeing. It would be fab to not have any surprises at that stage as we would hope you have been mature enough to ask teachers about any concerns.
In all this, don’t neglect your future planning. Tutor Period work will continue to be set and will prompt you to undertake some research tasks, and we will be in touch with University and Apprenticeship application processes as we find out more about how this will work this year.
Throughout all this there are just a few key points to reiterate:
- TURN UP – Get yourself into a routine and stick to it. Keep yourself well organised.
- WORK HARD – Goes without saying – but ask when you need help.
- BE NICE – We’re in this together - Look after yourselves and each other. Stay in contact with friends, family and school.
Most importantly
- STAY AT HOME AND STAY SAFE!
After the Easter break, Year 12 A Level students will complete a series of 'closed book', timed assessments for each subject that they are studying. The purpose of these assessments is to provide an opportunity for students to receive feedback on exam technique and to encourage students to revisit content that has been taught earlier in the year. It also provides evidence of key skills for subject staff when writing student references.
Students are not expected to complete any other work during this period. The teachers will set the assessment as per the timetable linked to this article. If a student has more than one exam on one day, a parent can make the decision to delay an exam until the next free day that the student has (Please ask the student to e-mail their teacher if the exam is to be delayed). No student should have more than 4 assessments in a week. When students do not have an assessment, they may revise. Please could parents ensure that the time allocated to the assessment is adhered to, as this prepares students for writing under timed conditions in the A Level exams. If a student has Access Arrangements in place, these should be applied where possible. Students will be able to view the papers on Go4schools and they may choose whether they type their response to e-mail to their teacher or hand write their response and scan/photo in preparation to e-mail. Ideally, a student's completed assessment should be e-mailed within 12 hours of completion. Please remind students to refrain from discussing the content of the assessments with other students, as this will undermine the process.
All BTEC students should carry on with the work that has been set by their class teacher. If a student studies both A Level and BTEC courses, they should e-mail their teacher if they are unable to complete their BTEC work as they are revising for their A Level assessment.
Many of you are making full use of Unifrog to create a shortlist of university courses that you would like to study. Normally, lots of Year 12 would use the time after the Easter break to make their final choices by visiting the university. Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, universities are unable to offer Open Days in their traditional sense, however, they are offering a number of online opportunities. Please use this LINK to view the virtual Open Days listed on UCAS.
Students should continue to use the Personal Statement builder on Unifrog to develop this section of their application form. They are able to send a link to their tutor to receive advice and support on this.
Please make sure that students are completing their Tutor time activities at home as these will support any future applications. This work is set for a Wednesday Period 4.
Free one to one coaching for students who are applying for Apprenticeships
John Taylor High School has worked with a company called ‘Young Professionals’ for the past few years and they have offered our students the opportunity to receive online one-to-one coaching on the application process. This will involve an hour spent with an expert in this field over a Zoom / Skype call.
Content:
- Online Digital Interviews
- Applications to work experience and apprenticeship opportunities
- Mock psychometric testing
- Assessment centre preparations
The Young Professionals company represent many big companies including; PwC, EY, IBM, Capgemini, Lloyds Bank, Travis Perkins and many others!
All students have access to Office 365, therefore, they will be able to download Skype or use Zoom for this. Please direct them to the Office 365 home page.
To book please email Dan Miller at [email protected] with a date and time so that he can issue students with an appointment. Please can you ask students to also add [email protected] as a CC so that the sixth form team can monitor the use of this service.
Other resources to support Apprenticeship applications:
www.unifrog.co.uk - Remember you can search apprenticeship opportunities across the UK as well as visit the 'How to' library for support on applications and interview preparations.
Assessment_centre_guide.pdf- This is a really detailed guide to what to expect on an Assessment Day.
https://www.ratemyapprenticeship.co.uk/advice/apprenticeship-assessment-centres
While you have time at home- think about trying a new cultural pursuit online. If we #Stayathome, the entertainment and learning can stream into our home instead. Lots of online services have enabled free access-take advantage of this unexpected opportunity.
Watch a Play
National Theatre Live will screen a NT Play every Thursday at 7pm. They will be available to screen for the following 7 days, It starts on 2nd April with James Corden in One Man Two Guvnors LINK.
The Royal Shakespeare Company has free full length broadcast here LINK
Watch a Ballet
Every Friday at 7pm a full-length ballet will be broadcast by the Royal Opera House LINK This week begins with Peter and the Wolf LINK
Discover a new City or Culture
Explore the world’s greatest landmarks, culture and arts with Goole Arts and Culture LINK
Virtual Tour
Here are 12 of the world’s greatest museums and galleries LINK
Explore London
All our best Museums and Galleries from Home Museums LINK Galleries LINK
Have you ever tried Opera?
The Met Opera in New York have nightly broadcasts of World-class performances LINK
Glyndebourne Opera is in East Sussex LINK
Attend a virtual Lecture
Gresham College records all of its high-quality lecture programme LINK
MASSOLIT works with academics from the world's best universities to produce high-quality videos. LINK
Live Classical Music
Chamber music from around the world LINK
Berlin Philharmonic LINK
Speak another Language
Learn a language for free HERE
Read/listen to Classic Books
Free on Audible including some classics HERE
There are over 1000 free audiobooks here LINK
Go to University
Try a Short University Courses from around the world LINK
Still not found your passion?
Try Chatterpack’s - Zoo cams, podcasts, tour, challenge, concerts, prayer, mindfulness, dance, engineering, Tai Chi, economics, rainforest tours, virtual choirs and lots more! It’s fantastic… LINK
At this time of uncertainty your well-being is more important than ever. You might find yourself feeling worried about the spread of coronavirus and its impact on you and your loved ones. These feelings are normal and it’s important we acknowledge them and remind each other to look after our physical and mental health. For the most recent government guidelines on how to do this please check www.gov.uk/coronavirus. For more specific guidance on how to look after your mental health while staying at home please access student minds and/or young mind websites.
Strategies to maintain your well being
- Keep a daily routine; you might find it helpful to plan our your time in advance so you know what you are doing each day and have something to look forward to.
- Learn a new skill; cooking a new recipe, playing a new instrument.
- Complete an online course; British Sign Language, Open University or a MOOC.
- Stay in touch with family and friends via video calls; Use apps such as Whatsapp and Zoom.
- Complete daily exercise and get fresh air where possible; watch.lesmillsondemand.com/at-home-workouts or complete Joe Wicks home workouts; www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6r99N3kXME
- Read a book or catch up on a series that you were hoping to watch.
- Look after your personal environment; create a space that you are able to enjoy and feel comfortable in. Have a clear out of old clothes and clutter.
- Take a break from social media and the news if you need to.
- Download the app called Headspace.
Just a quick reminder from IT Support @ JTHS.
If you are having any technical issues accessing Office365 or Go4Schools, in the first instance, please read the linked document (below) which contains lots of help.
If you are still struggling then please email :
Sorry for the strange email but this ensures your message will be seen by a team of 6 it technicians and someone will be able to help you.
Please keep safe and look after yourself.
See you all again soon
Mr Duncan (Snr IT Technician)
Alistair Duncan - JTHS
[email protected]