LANGUAGES
from the Languages Team for the first time for 2023!
Well, here’s a big welcome to all our new Year 7s, new arrivals in Year 8 and an equally big welcome back to everyone else! We hope you had a restorative break over Christmas and every opportunity to catch up with family, pursue personal interests and maybe even just ‘get away’. Be that as it may, once again, welcome back!
There have been some obvious changes to the school and the way it is run. In summary it is worth being aware of the following.
- Languages are taught in C Block:
While the Year 7s have their classes based in the Discovery Centre, specialist subjects are still run in specialist areas. Languages are certainly special and we have fantastically decorated educational rooms set up in C1, C7 & C8. So, should any student forget where their language classes are, just head down to C Block. Our staff room is attached to all three rooms and we will help any lost soul.
- MC have introduced a five period day and a change for CATs:
In Languages the five period day has meant that we now no longer have any half periods. All periods are 57minutes long and we most commonly see each class twice a week. However, we have lost some instruction time overall. This means we now only set two CATs per Semester (One Oral & one Written). Year 7 & 8 German, for example, will complete their Oral CAT in Term 1 and the Written CAT – a poster– in Term 2. There will be lots of help and planning and practice time. A teacher will always show up to Club3/4 on Thursday for anyone looking for extra help.
In addition to the two CATs, there will be regular tests on paper as well as through our online learning platform Education Perfect. Furthermore there is regular class work which will need to be sighted, so that teachers can give appropriate feedback for improvement. An example is in Year 7&8 German where students have recently had time to produce title pages and then record the information included in these. Parents will get to inspect the fruits of these labours at Parent Teacher Interviews. We are looking forward to seeing you there!
Recently we had the Year 7 Barbeque and it was nice to put some names to parents’ faces as well as being able to get to know a few students just that little bit better. There’s nothing like having a friendly chat over sausages, cordial and icy-poles, right? Students who signed up for the EP club will be notified shortly about our activities.
The Education Perfect World Championship will this year run from the 7th to the 14th of March. During that time we will dedicate classwork and homework to this competition. It allows students to collect points, aim for certificates and prizes all while building vocabulary. We can hardly wait! Of course, students should always bring their charged device as well as their other equipment to all classes.
Jonas Bahlo
LANGUAGES KEY LEARNING HEAD