Highfields School
Issue 11: 27 November 2020
Newsletter Headteacher’s message I am so sorry that students are having to spend so much time out of school self-isolating. This week Geoff Barton from the Association for School and College Leaders (ASCL) said: “… many schools are
experiencing disruption on a monumental scale and are desperately trying to cling on to the end of term.” Monumental it certainly is. I can only assure you that we regret every single student absence and we are trying our best to tweak our risk assessment and practice to ensure that transmission in school is minimised. I would ask that you to do your best to influence the things we can’t (masks on buses when away from school site, mixing out of school with other households, encouraging children to wash hands regularly when not in school etc). Our focus in school is that, in the classroom, EVERY LESSON COUNTS. In fact, every second of every lesson counts. Teachers are working remotely through a workbook by Claire Grimes which drills teachers on Rosenshine principles principles which, if mastered, will cement and embed learning quickly and decisively. This week I saw this being done brilliantly in a sixth form chemistry lesson when the teacher used a visualiser to complete an exam paper. He narrated this in real time and made several deliberate errors to simulate the mistakes most often made by students. Classic Rosenshine modelling (what he calls ‘explicit narration of thought processes’). We make no apology for the moment at being very clear with students - neither the learning nor the safety of others will be compromised by unkind or inconsiderate behaviour. At the beginning of term this led to a rise in the number of short term exclusions, but I’m happy to see that these have now reduced and this perhaps indicates that everyone is getting the message: no matter what happens we will remain a happy and inclusive community where students feel safe and happy because behaviour is considerate and kind. We are trying our best to focus on positives and we have just DOUBLED our fairy light budget for the year! We are hoping to light up Highfields with a bit of Christmas cheer in advance of what may be a slightly muted festive season. Even amidst the misery of having to send some Y9 students home on Thursday I managed a brief moment of joy at break kicking about a rugby ball with Mr Shirtcliffe and some Y11 girls. I love Highfields School. I can’t claim that we are getting everything right at the moment. But I can say that staff are working day and night to try and minimise the damage inflicted by this pandemic. We are grateful for your support. We are trying our best. We are Highfields. A Marsh Headteacher
Be the best you can
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