Headlines By James Saunders 27th November 2020
PE and Protocols I have had the pleasure of watching some great lessons this week. I started the week by popping into several PE lessons to see how learners were getting in with their theory. It was great to see learners being challenged to think about how various parts of the human body affect performance in sport. There were also great discussions about the influence media has on our own sport consumption. We often think of physical activity when the topic of PE comes up, however, there is another side to the subject; a side with real depth - where our learners are challenged to think about sport through a more academic lens. I would like to thank the PE team for welcoming me and other colleagues into their lessons this week. I finished the week off in a Computer Science class. Computing is my own subject and one that is close to my heart. What I enjoyed was the way that the often abstract topic of protocols was introduced. Protocols are simply rules; rules about how computers must behave, act and respond. The problem with computers is that they are quite inflexible and so the rules are very rigid and precise. What computational rules do achieve is efficiency. Rules have been a big part of our lives this term. It is fair to say that we have had to be more rigid and computerised in our design and application of rules. This has been for good reason - in these pandemic times we have needed to operate as effectively and efficiently as possible to meet the requirements placed upon us. In a way this is no different than what has been asked of us in society at large; lots of rules that at times feel oppressive but ultimately have a shared purpose of effectively and efficiently getting us through a crisis. Next week the rules are set to change further for society. Currently there are no implications for schools however I would like to reassure you that we remain vigilant and are constantly monitoring the situation both in and out of school. We have made it this far and I
believe we can continue to do what is required and expected to get us safely to the end of term and into a well deserved break that hopefully will include some quality family time. Have a safe weekend James Saunders Punctuality As you will be aware, our adaptations to the school day include going straight to LS1 rather than learning. We have noticed that this has had an impact on learner punctuality for LS1 and therefore will begin to focus on this from Monday. Due to the nature of social distancing it means that many learners are quite spread out which, when combined with our one-way system, adds time to their journey around school for the start of LS1. Therefore from Monday we will chime the school bell at 8.40 to let all learners who have not yet begun to make their way to LS1 that they must now do so. Hopefully this will ensure a swift and effective start to the day. Dress Code One final reminder. From Monday we will no longer require learners to come to school in their PE kit if they have PE that day. Learners have all been emailed this information so should come prepared with PE kits in their bags as usual from Monday. Thank you for your support. Thanks to: C7 Pru Duffy, Sam Colairo, Joel Osiebe, and Lily Sinnott. C8 Tamzin Brignall, George Clarke, Elise Duncombe, Jacob Prestney, and Sammy Taylor. C9 Amelie Cooper, Charlie Cosford, Alex Hore, Maya Scott, and Lola Williamson. C10 Ethan Briggs, Mia Fisher, Taylor Hughes, Rosie Smith, Alfie Spurgeon and Lily Tilyard. C11 Regan Camps, Adam Edwards, Lauren Evans, Maleek Godward, Hannah Pyatt, and Mondo Watts. For their support with meetings this week.