Student information

School to home communication

Students should be regularly checking their school email account as well as Show My Homework daily (Monday to Friday during the school term) for the latest updates and work to do at home.

Communication with teachers

Please can all students/parents wanting support or advice on any pieces of homework set at this time use the messaging/comments option in SMHW. Teachers are aware that many of you will have questions for certain tasks and so are regularly checking SMHW for notifications. If you are unsure how to do this, please take a look at the web link below: https://help.teamsatchel.com/en/articles/2911863-leaving-comments-for-your-teachers

Please only use teacher emails as a last resort, and certainly not until you have tried a message on SMHW to your teacher. Remember you must use your school email accounts to contact staff. Usernames and passwords for school email accounts are the same as student log-ins to school computers. Staff are unable to respond to emails from students’ personal accounts.

School Website / VLE:

Resources are available on the school website www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk

Students can access ‘all users’ from home from the Highfields School website:  Go to Highfields School homepage  Click on ‘portals’  Click on ‘student portal’  Enter school IT username (not email address) and password  Find ‘all users Starkholmes’ or ‘all users Lumsdale’ on the right hand side  Select the appropriate department/folder required.

If students have forgotten their password please email reset@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk specifying your user name and tutor group to request a new password.

Show My Homework online homework submission guidance

Students should be submitting work through the SMHW platform. The link below is from SMHW and explains how to do this or you can follow the steps below:

https://help.teamsatchel.com/en/articles/2912000-submitting-my-work-online

Always be doing tasks

We have seen some excellent online learning from students so far during lockdown. Please see the Highfields Virtual Learning Studio later in the newsletter for examples of the high quality work students are submitting.

As you are aware all lessons are scheduled to run for 100 minutes and subject staff set work to enable students to complete tasks within this time. However, if work is completed earlier, we have updated our KS3 and KS4 ‘always be doing’ lists for the spring term for students to work on – please follow the link below to access via the school website.

Y7-9 KS4: https://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Jan-2021-KS3-Y7-9Always-Be-Doing.pdf Y10-11 KS4: https://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Jan-2021-KS4-Y1011Always-Be-Doing.pdf

Remote learning

The following guides are available to help with your remote learning

 Student guide on using Zoom/MS Teams: https://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/ZoomGuideForStudents.pdf

 How to download MS Teams https://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/how-to-download-microsoft-teams/

 How to use MS Forms https://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/how-to-use-microsoft-forms/

 How to learn from home https://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/how-to-learn-from-home/

 Remote education provision

Microsoft Word - website - Providing remote education info for parents Jan 2021.docx (highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk)

Warhammer Club returns (remotely)!

Highfields School's weekly Warhammer Club returned on 3 February at 1pm. Sessions last for 30 minutes, and utilise Microsoft Teams, which will allow students to show off their painting skills via video-based chat.

If you have not attended Warhammer Club before, but you would like to join in, you are more than welcome. Our regular members will be able to explain to you why it is a fun hobby for people of all ages to enjoy.

If you would like to attend, please e-mail Mr Crawford to confirm, using your school e-mail address.

Free Microsoft Office for Students

Students at Highfields School can download Microsoft Office for free on up to five devices, for the duration of their time as a student at the school.

Microsoft Office can be installed on compatible desktop computers, tablets, and mobile phones. https://www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk/students/office-for-students/

Summer exam update for students in Y11 & Y13

The government have confirmed that your grades this summer will be awarded on the basis of teacher assessment. They have asked us to use a wide range of evidence to decide on final grades. This can include work you have already done as well as work that you will do over the coming months. It can include test papers set by the exam boards, as well as other evidence such as coursework, NEAs, tests and other work completed as part of your courses. We are now awaiting further details and thinking about how we could use tests from the exam boards alongside other evidence to ensure that you achieve the fairest possible grades, which reflect all that you have achieved.

When we have worked through the details we will be able to give more information about the arrangements that we will be putting in place in school for awarding your grades. We will be providing you with the opportunities you need to show us what you know, understand and can do through further assessment over the coming months. The crucial thing now is for you to remain as committed to your learning as you have been over the year, including in these past few weeks of remote education. As we have said before this is the thing you are most in control of, and the most important factor in your success.

Remember results will be based on completed and future work, so keep doing your best.

This ‘infographic’ from Ofqual provides a good summary the main information on the kinds of evidence that can be used by teachers to arrive at grades and on results and appeals. It also includes dates for this year’s results days: A level on 10 August and GCSE on 12 August.

Year 12 Frequently Asked Questions

We have aimed to answer some questions that year 12 students and parents/carers may have about assessments and help for future decisions.

When will year 12 exams take place this year?

We will be formally assessing year 12 on their learning this year. Normally that has been done at the end of May and beginning of June. This year, the arrangements for year 11 and year 13 are only just emerging. Once the year 11 and 13 arrangements have been sorted, we will be deciding on those for year 12 (and year 10). In the meantime, students should continue to work positively, and know that there will be a chance to show what they have learned in the summer.

What support do students get for making applications to university?

In a normal year, there are several events which we put on in June. These include:  An evening at school, for parents/carers and students, with admissions tutors from several universities who will answer your questions about choosing courses and universities, writing personal statements and what student finance is all about.  Open days which we will take students to, in order to get a taste for different universities. For the last few years we have used the Universities of Birmingham and Nottingham Trent. This is a cheap way of getting to places and having a good explore of what is on offer.  UCAS day at school - where we help students to understand the UCAS process, teach about what makes a good personal statement, and get former students to come in and talk about their experiences.  Tutors and the sixth form team will be on hand to guide students through the Personal Statement process.

We will still do these, or their equivalent, one way or another.  So… last year we did an evening via Zoom which covered all the points we normally had at the evening.  Open days were virtual, but we gave tips on how to get the most out of them, and shared experiences from students.  We produced a lot of resources for the UCAS day, and managed to record some equivalent sessions for students to watch.

Is there anything that can help students appear more attractive to competitive university courses? Or anything which can help them to make up their mind?

Summer schools, or their equivalent are always good – and students have been booking onto them. Most deadlines have now passed, but there will be taster days available. It’s good to try these (one or two – but more than that on school days will means missing too much). Following up some of the opportunities which Mrs Sargeant emails out will also help.

What about work experience, future careers and apprenticeships?

The Unifrog platform is designed to help make informed decisions about the future and has a range of tools. Each student has their own personal account that provides a wide range of information related to their interests and aspirations. The platform helps with searches for apprenticeships and careers, not just university. Key features of the platform include:  Exploring Pathways – personality quizzes, career and subject profiles, MOOCs (these are free courses in lots of subjects that you can take) and webinars  Recording – self-reflection about extracurricular activities and key employability skills  Opportunities – search tools showing live vacancies/courses/placements for apprenticeships, universities (in the UK and abroad), FE, virtual work experience and much more

 Applications – tools to help students build applications for a range of pathways (eg, CVs, Personal

Statements, Common App Essays)

Students have been given sign-up codes, and so should already be able to access the platform. They login to Unifrog using their email address and password and they can do so from any computer, tablet or smartphone.

Parents/carers have often found it helpful to share the platform and look together at some things with their son or daughter. We have also set up a parent login so that you can use Unifrog as if you were a student yourself, allowing you to support your child throughout the process. The form code has been emailed to parents/carers along with information on the Y12 parent consultation evening (Unifrog website: www.unifrog.org/code)

Students can be using Unifrog whenever they like, as can you. But we’ll also set some tasks for them to do which will help give some structure for thinking things through. The tasks will be good for everyone to have a go at, but in particular for students who feel they don’t have a direction and are feeling concerned about that.

We will have an Evening Session on Zoom to help students and parents/carers think through work experience, apprenticeships, careers and future planning. We are currently making sure that the return to school goes as smoothly as possible, but will let you in due course when this evening will take place.