Pedagogy Portal – Walkthrus

3rd November 2023Ian Finch

Teaching WALKTHRUs: Five-Step Guides to Instructional Coaching: By Tom Sherrington and Oliver Caviglioli

The Research Schools Network states:

It is a book that is refreshingly different from most other books about teaching both in its aim and its presentation. The aim: to be a ‘technical manual’. It looks simple but its aim is ambitious: to ensure that “all teachers can have “24/7 access to … a compilation of the best of the profession’s practices.” Like any manual or encyclopaedia, it may not be the most refreshing to read cover to cover, but certainly a ‘go to’ book when you need to.

It presents these practices in straightforward, concise language, with lots of pictures (dual coding) but it is deeply rooted in careful analysis of robust research into how humans learn – and it follows its own advice. Stylised drawings, for example, replace videos because research by Sweller et al (Cognitive Load Theory, 2011) suggests that videos are, counter-intuitively, hard to learn from. Too fast, too transient, too much irrelevant visual ‘noise.’

This is not a book which loves the latest fad, as the authors make clear on the first page. ‘Professional amnesia thwarts the attempt to build on past knowledge.’ There is a wonderfully succinct overview of some of the most robust evidence-based contributions to our understanding of the science of learning and an acknowledgement of how established, successful techniques can too easily be lost in favour of a new approach.

The authors suggest using this as a focus for coaching conversations to neutralize some of the emotion that clings to feedback, directing the emphasis back to a shared understanding of a common goal: good teaching. It would be an excellent tool for this.

But it also works as a book for teachers, a way to help them to use metacognitive and self-regulation strategies themselves. With sections on curriculum planning, explanation and modelling, questioning and feedback, practice and retrieval and more, it provides a comprehensive bridge between theory and practice.

We are also delighted to welcome the author Tom Sherington to Simon Balle to work with staff on our INSET day in November.

Library News #1

2nd November 2023Rosemary Iles

Well done to everyone who took part in library events and activities in the first half term. 

It has been a great start to the year!

Speaker’s Corner

Well done to Ben, Charlie and Isshi who have presented in the library for Speakers’ Corner last half term! Ben and Charlie talked about different forms of transport and Isshi told us about the Secret Listeners (including his own great-grandmother!) who had a very important role during the second world war! We look forward to hearing Charlie and Kieran’s presentations for Speakers’ Corner in the first two weeks of this new half term.

Get Rewarded for Reading Half-term Awards

Well done to everyone who has been awarded house points for reading this last half term.
Each half term, three awards are up for grabs: Silver award, Gold award (for the most house points for reading in the year group) and Platinum award (for the most house points for reading in the whole of the secondary school). Very well done to all the award winners!

Reminder of how to get house points for reading next term:

*You can read a fiction or non-fiction book, Britannica magazine (password: britannica), or articles from a reliable source such as the Britannica online encyclopedia, RSPB articles, and the BBC website. 

(To access Britannica magazine, you can read it online, or, for larger print, you can download the magazine and open it in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC. To access Britannica online encyclopedia from the school website, go to: student home-library-Britannica)

*Each time you finish reading something, complete the reading questionnaire and win a point for your house! (The reading questionnaire can also be accessed in the library section of Google Classroom code: uro2phn)

*You can also win extra house points if you read a library book from the following sections: Around the World, Classics, Diversity and Inclusion. 

(To get the extra house points you must get your books checked out and returned by Mr Belsey or Miss Iles at the library desk!) 

Which house will win the Reading Trophy at the end of the year!?

 

 

Library Ambassadors

Welcome to the new Larch Librarians Rosey, Jennie, Megan, Cara, Henry and Isaak. Thank you very much for all your help.

Welcome also to the new Library Ambassadors who are just starting their new role in the secondary library: Ben, Bea, Sam, Samar, Oliver, Oscar, Elizabeth, Holly, Elizabeth and Lily.

Poetry Mash-up for National Poetry Day

We had fun creating poetry with author Alice Hemming in the library on Thursday 5th October to celebrate National Poetry Day. We gathered together words and ideas as a whole group and then got to work on our own individual poems.The theme for this year was ‘refuge’.

We also launched the annual SBAS poetry writing competition. The poems will be judged by the author Alice Hemming. The results of the competition will be announced during this half term.

Upcoming library events this half term

Piano Day

Pop into the library at lunchtime on Thursday 23rd November to listen to students’ piano recitals.

 

 

 

Newsletter 3

13th October 2023David Ayres

Friday 13th October

Co-headteachers’ welcome

I do hope everyone has enjoyed the remnants of the summer at the weekend as we move further into the autumn term. I am sure our ‘welly walkers’ in reception will see the changing colours of autumn as they walk though our lovely school grounds. At school we have spent a lot of time walking the corridors and popping into lessons to see the learning taking place.We have witnessed high levels of engagement, discussion, challenge and collaborative group work which has been a delight to see.  It is also inspiring to see students across all phases of our school displaying and modelling the values we feel so proud of.

On a personal note it was lovely to attend the residential battlefield trip on the 5th and 6th of October. As part of the itinerary we visited Passchendaele, Langemark Cemetary, Essex Farm, Tyne Cott Cemetary, Sanctuary Wood and Flanders Field museum. Students were a real credit to our school, absorbing  information, asking lots of questions and  seeing their classroom learning translate into real life. A poignant moment was watching two of our Year 9 students laying a wreath as part of the ceremony at Menin Gate.  Although many were excited by the last visit to a chocolate shop it reiterated to me how important educational trips are and how our students are creating such wonderful memories with their year group. The second group (due back this evening) will have had a great time too!

Finally it is always a pleasure to take prospective students around the school showing off our fantastic school. This week and next we are welcoming prospective Year 7 students and parents and giving them an opportunity to visit lessons. The best way we can show off our school is by seeing our staff and students in action!

Sixth Form open evening

Our Sixth Form Open Evening will take place on Wednesday 22nd November from 5.30 – 7.30pm.

To ensure that students are given the best possible support to make appropriate option choices,  over the coming week, during form time, year 11 students will watch videos covering subjects which are not available at GCSE, but are on the Sixth Form curriculum. At the open evening you will then have the chance to further explore option choices at Key Stage 5. For further information and support, we would strongly recommend looking at the Sixth Form section of our  website.

Pedagogy Portal

In this week’s newsletter, it is important to share the reading and research that staff are using to develop their teaching to meet our improvement priorities. Whilst we look forward to sharing with you our main professional development programme, our thinking this year is how we can go from great to greater in the classroom. In the Pedagogy Portal this week, I recommend ‘Atomic Habits’ by James Clear. This is a comprehensive, practical guide on how to change your habits and get 1% better every day. 

Please click the link to read further:

https://www.simonballe.herts.sch.uk/category/teaching-learning-news/

Year 13 BBC STEM trip

Wednesday 27th September, myself, Miss Chuchla and three other year 13 geography students went on a day trip to the BBC Broadcasting House in London. Two other schools took part in London and the same activities were taking part in Cardiff, where we were a zoom call with the other students. We were based in the BBC STEM area of the building.

Firstly, we had a talk from a BBC weather presenter about her day to day working life. A typical work day lasts 12 hours (shifts) and consists of lots of things from creating graphics to putting on green screens to being on live television.

Then we had a talk from a forecaster- someone who isn’t normally on live TV but actually goes and analyses the data used to put together a forecast. We learnt about Stevenson screens that are used to collect data such as air temperature and how they interpret the data. They then spoke about how this is then transformed into what we see on TV. I found this really interesting as I have always wondered how they made them!

After lunch, we were shown the code behind the BBC weather app and discussed how a climate change element could be added. For example, adding a section on ‘the weather a year ago…’. We were also discussing climate change and the key differences we can expect.

Finally, we were asked to plan a weather forecast for the year 2100. The background graphics were made for us, showing the predicted temperatures for that time of year. We either presented for a winter’s day or a summer’s day. I was given a summer’s day. We weren’t allowed a script so it was all on the spot. We were given about 15 minutes to look over our graphics and plan out a few things we wanted to say.

Then we got to present it! As a school group, we went into a studio- there was a green screen and several cameras. We each got to present on our own and it was quite nerve racking! This experience helped me realise that I would be interested in a career in this sector. 

Francesca Year 13

Giving back

Harvest festival

On Monday 2nd October, Y1-6 walked to All Saints Church for their Harvest festival celebrations. The generosity of our Larch community meant we were able to donate 16 crates worth of food and essentials to The Hertford Pantry- thank you!

Our governors expressed their thanks to the students:

“It was a service for all with so many excellent contributions – spoken, sung and visual – the students were very engaged and superbly behaved. The support from our sixth form, with gorgeous music but also practical help, really added to the event.” Anna Orpin, vice chair of the full governing body.

“I echo Ann’s comments, a wonderful and touching service.” Paul Connolly, chair of the full governing body.

Christmas Gift Drive

Future Living Hertford is collecting for families in need this Christmas. Please click the image to see the flyer.

Hertford and District Foodbank

If you would like more information about the Hertford and District Foodbank, please see the flyer or contact contact Tania Noxon on noxont@simonballe.herts.sch.uk or 01992410400 ext 236.

 

A reminder about online payments

At Simon Balle, we use an online payments portal called Parent Portal to manage all of our financial transactions with parents with the exception of secondary school dinners. The links to Parent Portal and ParentPay can be found here:

ParentPay

You can read more about these systems on our website.

SEND

The SEND team has weekly virtual appointments that can be booked online via the website or by following this Booking link. Appointments for after half term are available for up to fifteen minutes. It has been a good way to catch up with parents in our school community and offer advice or share what is in place at school.

Learning in the Larch

The children in reception have thoroughly enjoyed their recent additions to the classroom. They have been patiently watching and waiting as eggs hatch and chicks are born. They are learning how to care for them and have loved having other year groups visit them to witness too. Phonics is now in full swing and the children are learning sounds, identifying them at the beginning of words and writing them using cursive handwriting. 

Beebots have joined PE lessons in Year 1! The children have created obstacle courses for beebots and worked really hard to program them to move through safely. The children have been using appropriate language for directions and loved seeing if their algorithms work.

Year 2 have been focusing on one of their literary canon texts ‘On the Way Home’ by Jill Murphy. They have looked at how the main character changes her story about her ‘bad knee’ on each page! The children have had a go at writing their own page, coming up with all sorts of peculiar ways the character hurt themself! Also, they have been looking at inference skills in Reading, exploring how ‘Iggy Inference’ can help them to find clues in the text to be able to find out what is happening.

In Year 3, they have been studying Amelia Earhart and writing their own stories based on her life. They have been able to recall significant events and explain why she is such an important and inspirational figure! During Geography lessons, Year 3 have been looking at the different climates around the world and studying each one in more detail. It has been wonderful to see their home learning based on this too. 

During English lesson, Year 4 have been looking at a poem called ‘The Highwayman’. It is a very tricky poem with lots of difficult language which the children have loved unpicking. They have been busy turning this poem into a narrative using their fantastic writing skills and writing letters in the voice of The Highwayman himself! In Maths, the next layer of times table learning has begun with them working with multiples and learning keywords such as factors and product. 

This week, Year 5 have enjoyed writing newspaper articles based on the book ‘Tuesday’. They have worked on embedding relative clauses into their writing to add extra information and used punctuation to correctly mark this. Year 5’s  science knowledge has continued to go from strength to strength and they have been able to apply their knowledge of air resistance to make predictions about how water resistance would impact different objects falling through water.

Year 6 have been enjoying their rehearsals for Macbeth, they were lucky enough to take part in a Shakespeare Schools Festival workshop where they could work with a professional director and develop scenes in their plays. In English they have been immersed in our lessons where we have been writing a letter as Macbeth to his wife. They have been including ambitious vocabulary and a range of punctuation to really add to the meaning of their writing.

Sports News

It’s been a busy month for the SBAS sports teams. You can read about their performances in the new Sports News blog, along with information about next week’s Inter House Sports fixtures.

Sixth Form Enrichment – More than just great A Levels

We have over 250 students in our Sixth Form, who study a range of A level and vocational subjects. We are proud of the young adults that promote our values and are role models for the rest of the school. Sixth Form students are fully integrated into the life of the all-through school.

However, as well as their academic studies, year 12 students have the opportunity to participate in their chosen enrichment activity each week. This could include working in a classroom with primary or secondary phase students. This term over 30 Sixth Form students have chosen to sign up to the Larch Outreach programme and spend two hours each Friday morning supporting reception to year 6 classes. Lila, currently working with year 4 said “I honestly look forward to enrichment each week. Everyone is really enthusiastic and it’s such a positive experience. So far I have been working with a small group of students helping them with their 3 and 5 times tables.”

As part of the Music Academy, Mr Taylor offers guidance each week and support for those students wishing to progress on a musical pathway. The students are currently working towards delivering a number of performances in the local community and project managing the music for the upcoming Frost Fair.

Working with Mr Ford, a team of creatives including; writers, budding-journalists and designers are looking to establish a new Sixth Form magazine that will be published termly. Our recently appointed Editor-in-Chief, Caitlin is keen to hear of any local news stories or events the team could attend and review. We hope to share our publication with staff, students and parents plus enter national competitions for art, design and literature. 

For the first time, Simon Balle All-through School is participating in the Young Enterprise scheme where students are provided with the opportunity to set up their own business. Young Enterprise is designed to give young people an insight into how a successful business operates. So far students have selected Otto as their Managing Director and are enjoying the development phase.

We understand the pressures and stresses of being an A level student. To support fitness and health our enrichment offers students the opportunity to get active during the week. Working in partnership with Hartham Leisure Centre, Sixth Form students have continued to access the brand new multi-gym. They are currently preparing to attend their first spin-class. Good luck! For those students looking for quieter, more reflective physical activity, the Sixth Form offers yoga sessions delivered by fabulous local charity The Secret Space.

Our enrichment offer also supports students with their preparation for next steps and personal development. Already this term we have welcomed Talent Manager, Lauren Christie from Sky Studios, Hertfordshire Constabulary and the OLLIE foundation.  

This has been a truly exciting start to the academic year for our students.

The Great European Bake Off

As reported briefly last time, we celebrated European Day of Languages at SBAS. All students attended an assembly on the essential values that language learning can instil in us all, such as resilience, respect, tolerance and wisdom. To continue the celebrations, we also hosted ‘The Great European Bake Off’. The students were asked to design and bake cakes related to the theme of ‘Europe’. We were completely blown away by the entries from students spanning all year groups in the secondary phase, with creations ranging from croissants to Eiffel tower cakes! In the library we showcased all of the designs and we had over 206 votes cast for the winners! Thank you to all those who took part. Please also take a look below at some of the creations! Here are the final results:

The winners for the three categories are:

  • Josh (Year 7) – Cake best linked to the European Theme
  • Charlie, Lily and Willow (Year 9) – Tastiest looking cake
  • Summer (Year 8) – Best decorated cake

 

Issues relating to ‘no-caller ID’

There appears to be an issue for some mobile phone users when receiving telephone calls from the school. Instead of displaying our phone number it appears as ‘no caller ID’. Unfortunately this is to do with the mobile network and is not something that we can change.

Young Herts talent

It has been a wonderful start to the new school year for the YHT programme with 32 young people over years 7 & 8 taking part in group work and 35 young people in  years 9-13 meeting with their mentors on a weekly basis. This number is set to rise to 50 over the coming weeks. We look forward to these relationships growing from strength to strength and it is great to hear how the mentors are supporting our young people with career guidance, general support and encouragement.   

Young Herts Talent is a mentoring programme from MCR Pathways designed to help young people unlock their potential.

By providing weekly group work sessions for selected students in Year 7 and Year 8 and taking the time to carefully match students in Years 9-13 with their very own mentor based on interests and career aspirations, we help young people to realise their skills and progress onto a positive destination after leaving school.

Mentors visit students in school once a week and commit to at least one full academic year of mentoring.  As long as both the student and the mentor are happy to do so, the mentoring relationship is able to continue until the student leaves school in Year 11, or Year 13 if staying on in the Sixth Form.  This ensures that students receive encouragement and support to succeed for the entirety of their Simon Balle journey.

Safeguarding

What parents and carers need to know about Whatsapp and supporting children with upsetting content (click images to open the attachments).

 

Picking up and dropping off

For the safety of all pedestrians using the pavements around the site, please can we once again remind parents not to drop students off outside the school gates. The road is not wide enough to safely turn around, and the extra traffic generated is causing problems for local residents and people needing to access our site. The London Road car park is a much safer place to drop and pick up students: there is plenty of space to park and there is a safe walking route between there and the school site.

Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service

Please have a look at this important Schools Stay Safe Newsletter from the Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service. Click on the image to open the attached document.

Careers

Please take a look at some of these exciting careers opportunities coming up over the next few months:

  • IBM Early Careers Webinar – 17th Oct 6:30pm to 7:15pm – click here
  • Parent and Carers Virtual Open Evening for Creative Careers (18th October) – click here
  • Tomorrow’s Engineers Week 6th to 10 November – webinar – click here
  • Meet Dentons: Life as a Solicitor Apprentice at the World’s Largest Law Firm – 21st Nov 6:30pm to 7:15pm – click here
  • Careers in Business – Virtual Expo, 6th Dec 8:30am to 5:30pm – click here
  • PWC Work Experience 2024 (Year 12) – click here
  • Virtual work experience opportunities – click here
  • Year 12 Sutton Trust applications are now open – click here

PSA Events

7th November – PSA AGM and Meeting

Join us in the Secondary Library for a cheese and wine reception from 6.30pm, ahead of our AGM. You’ll learn about some of the upcoming events, meet the team and will have the opportunity to share your fundraising ideas. We urge as many supporters to attend as possible.  You will not be committing to anything, but good attendance will allow us to elect a larger number of committee members. If you are unable to attend but are interested in supporting us or sharing ideas, please take a moment to register your interest here.

10th November – Manic Ceramics Festive Paint

We would love to be able to offer a Manic Ceramics festive paint session after school on Friday 10th November.  Before we can open bookings, a good number of volunteers is needed to help oversee this event.  This event is for all Larch children, as well as students in Year 7 and Year 8 who can work independently.. Can you help? Sign up here!

2nd December – Frost Fair, Volunteer and Sponsor Search

Will your business be our next sponsor? Our popular all-through Frost Fair is less than two months away and we are searching for sponsors for this year’s event.  With a bar, raffle, inflatables and games, we hope to be able to gain your support with one of these areas. Please email psa@simonballepsa.org.uk if your company may be able to support us.

Calling all volunteers!  Students, staff and adults alike, can you spare just an hour of your time on Saturday 2nd December to help make this year’s fair a success? Sign up here! There’s a craft market, games, entertainment, craft activities, a super sized inflatable snow dome, mulled wine and giant pigs-in-blankets with all the trimmings – we know you’ll find something that you’ll love.

All student sign ups that complete their volunteer slots will be awarded a House Point and will also be entered into a draw to win a £20 Amazon voucher.

Wishing everyone in our community a positive and fulfilling fortnight ahead.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs Rachel Kirk and Mr Michael Moss (Co-headteachers)

October’s Sports News

13th October 2023Benjamin Moses

Inter-House Sport

Next week, our first instalment of Inter House Sport takes place for Year 7-13 students, with students very excited about representing their House in competitive sport fixtures.

The sports will be as follows:

  • Y7 – touch rugby
  • Y8-11 girls – netball touch rugby
  • Y8-11 boys – touch rugby
  • Y12/13 – Football

The schedule of matches are as follows;

  • Y7 – Thursday Period 5 + Friday Period 2
  • Y8 – Monday  Period 1 + Monday  Period 4
  • Y9 – Monday  Period 5 + Wednesday Period 4
  • Y10 – Wednesday Period 1 + Friday Period 3
  • Y11 – Friday Period 1 + Friday Period 4
  • Y12/13 – Weds – 3.30 – 4.30pm

October Round-up

It’s been a busy October so far with a wide range of sports catered for as well as Simon Balle being represented across many competitions, including, National, County and District participation. In Football we are competing across National and County level and have made some long journeys into London and across to Bedford. We have also competed in Netball, Hockey, Cross Country, Basketball and Rugby. 

Football

In the National Cup the Year 9 Boys lost to Parmiters but are through to the next round of the County Cup after a 5-0 win against Katherine Warrington. 3rd round fixture against Dame Alice Owens on Monday 16th. 

The Senior football team were knocked out of the National Cup by Hemel School. A 3-1 loss but a game that could have been won without a few sloppy mistakes. In the County Cup the Senior team showed great courage to come from 1 down to beat Parmiters 5-1. We now play Tring or Townsend School in the last 16.

U14 Girls had a great opening to their County Cup run, winning 6-0 vs Adeyfield. Their next match is round 2 of the National Cup on Thursday 18th October.

The Year 8 Boys play the Grange Free Academy next Wednesday in the County cup. 

Year 11’s have had a fantastic start to the County Cup beating Dame Alice Owens 5-2 after a highly competitive first half we were able to control the game during the second half. After excellent demonstrations of pace from our wide players leading to Jack scoring 3 and getting an assist. Similarly after getting a bye in the first round of the National Cup the team had to travel an hour towards our first fixture where we maintained our positive play from the county game leading to a 9-0 win against Chiltern Hills  Academy. Looking forward to seeing how far the team can go in both competitions.

Year 7 boy’s football team had a tough first game of the national cup against Hab’s boys school. With the score staying 0-0 into the full time whistle after our boys held the majority of possession during the game. By the end of extra time the score had not been settled. We then needed to settle the game through penalties. The game finished 5-4 with Alfie making 2 great saves during the shoot out.

Cross Country League

The Cross Country League has taken place over the past 3 weeks this season and as always has attracted big fields of athletes with tough competition throughout the age-groups. On Wednesday this week, Simon Balle hosted the District League finals across our school fields. In the Senior race KG, in his first race of the season finished a strong 6th and looks forward to the Inter Boys race at the upcoming Championships. 

ID and MF have been battling it out in the Year 7 Boys competition this year, however due to I ID completing all 3 races, he finished in the top 5 overall. The team finished in 3rd place, a great achievement and one of our highest placings in recent years for a Year 7 Boys team.

Our Y8/9 Girls performed very well with CN winning the overall league title with 3 wins out of 3, a phenomenal achievement from a Year 8 student competing against Year 8 & 9 students. The team finished 2nd overall just behind a strong Presdales team. 

The Year 7 Girls won the overall team title by a big margin ahead of John Warner School in second place. Top performer from Simon Balle over the series was LW. 

Netball

Year 7 have had a great start to the year and it’s great to see so many students attending training! Year 7 have their first game on the 19/10 which they’re all very excited for.

The year 8s made a fantastic start to the county cup winning 26-0 against Goffs Churchgate. The team has massively progressed since year 7 and I look forward to seeing them continue to grow as a team throughout the year. We have a friendly game against Broxbourne this week which will be a challenging match.

The Y9s have had a very positive start to the year with around 30 students attending extra-curricular netball club. The students have had their first friendly fixture vs Chauncy with the A team narrowly losing and the B team winning 11-9. We look forward to building on this fantastic start at our next 2 fixtures in the coming weeks against Freman college and Presdales School.

The Year 10 team have had some mixed results in their opening fixtures. The A team faced Stags in the county cup for their first game and unfortunately were knocked out. We then travelled to Chauncy with both the A and B team to take part in a close fought match. Despite taking an early lead the A team just missed out on victory. However the B team took control early on and built up a strong lead with Chauncy unable to put much pressure on the defence. We then travelled to Freman College and our practice paid off, despite a close first half the A team pulled away with a convincing lead to win and the B team, with some new additions playing their first game never looked in any doubt working hard throughout to achieve a convincing win.

County League

The U16 team are competing in the County competition. Their first game was against Dame Alice Owens which we knew was going to be a challenging match. The year 10’s and 11’s have combined to create a team and this was the first time they played together. Dame Alice Owens took an early lead but Simon Balle students showed excellent resilience. In the second half, connections made in attack and defence were fearless, which resulted in Simon Balle winning the second half, however this unfortunately was not enough to take the win overall. Poppy was the player of the match.

Our second game was against STAGs. Simon Balle students showed excellent versatility during the match and great resilience against tough opponents. Player of the match was Ella. 

Hockey

In September we entered the County Hockey Championship with our U16 team. The girls have come on so much since last year, playing some fantastic hockey throughout the day. They finished in 3rd place. Last week they took on Freman College in a friendly fixture winning 8-0. A great start for the team!

Basketball

The Year 10 Boys Basketball team played against Samuel Ryder this week in their first Basketball fixture of the season. After an excellent start by the boys, Samuel Ryder played a storming second quarter to close the gap to 4 points. However with outstanding performances from GG and player of the match LN, the team pulled away in the fourth quarter to win by 10 points. The team now look forward to competitive basketball at both County and District level over the next few months. 

 

 

 

Pedagogy Portal – Atomic Habits

13th October 2023Ian Finch

“All big things come from small beginnings. The seed of every habit is a single, tiny decision. But as that decision is repeated, a habit sprouts and grows stronger. Roots entrench themselves and branches grow. The task of breaking a bad habit is like uprooting a powerful oak within us. And the task of building a good habit is like cultivating a delicate flower one day at a time.” James Clear – Atomic Habits.

It is so easy to overestimate the importance of one defining moment and underestimate the value of making small improvements on a daily basis.

James Clear writes, ‘improving by 1% isn’t particularly notable— sometimes it isn’t even noticeable—but it can be far more meaningful, especially in the long run. The difference a tiny improvement can make over time is astounding. Here’s how it works out: if you can get 1% better each day for one year, you’ll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you’re done. Conversely, if you get 1% worse each day for one year, you’ll decline nearly down to zero. What starts as a small win or a minor setback accumulates into something much more. It doesn’t matter how successful or unsuccessful you are right now. What matters is whether your habits are putting you on the path toward success’

We challenged our staff last month to focus on getting 1% better every day. 

Our teachers are all in the process of setting professional growth targets with this in mind. We want staff to have a relentless ethic to constantly look at ways to improve their practice. This may be tweaking small things such as: allowing more thinking time for students when asking a particular questions, using varied modelling techniques to provide clarity or tweaking activities to further enhance the level of challenge further.

In recent staff training, we used James’ analogy: If a plane was travelling from LA to NYC across the USA – yet the nose changed a couple of degrees inflight, for most of the flight initially, you would notice no difference! However, you’d be bound for NYC but end up in Washington DC – some 300 miles away. The impact of the plane represents a shift of habits over time.

Our staffs’ drive to continuous improvement is a dedication to making small changes and improvements every day, with the expectation that those small improvements will add up to something significant. Our continual goal to develop our pedagogy and make 1% improvement over time is a commitment to ensuring the students and children at SBAS get the best possible learning experience.

 

Newsletter 2

29th September 2023David Ayres

Friday 29th September 2023

Co-headteachers’ welcome

It has been an exciting fortnight at Simon Balle All-through School and our reflections must first begin with Open Day. It is hard to put into words just how proud we were of our students in every year group from Year 5 – Year 13. 

Those who supported on the Friday ensured that the site was impeccably clean and tidy, allowing displays and resources and newly renovated and painted classrooms and interiors to really shine. On the Saturday itself, we cannot speak more highly of students’ conduct – polite and welcoming, confident and so proud of their school. Whether they were touring visitors around the site, showcasing a particular department, engaging in music or sport, speaking at one or more of the four speeches, or just generally being on hand to give back to our community, we were so grateful for the multitude of ways that our Simon Balle values were exemplified. You will see house points, postcards and more on the way to you as parents/carers  so that we can recognise the contribution of so many individuals. We had well over 1000 visitors on site across the all-through, a fantastic ethos was felt by all, and the feedback we received from both visitors and our committed governing body all added to the celebratory atmosphere. It is indeed a privilege to lead and to belong to this special community. Thank you to all students, parents/carers, staff and governors.

Mrs Saunders receives her MBE

Mr Moss and Mrs Kirk were honoured to attend Windsor Castle to see Mrs Saunders receive her MBE yesterday. Mrs Saunders asked us to thank again everyone who sent cards, gifts and best wishes at the end of last term. She will come into school  later this term to show the children and young people the medal she received. Whilst she is missing the Simon Balle Community, she is already planning some travels and continues to support other Headteachers in their role. Please click on the images below to enlarge them.

The Pedagogy Portal

At Simon Balle, our vision and values drive our curriculum. Our ambitious all-through subject curricula are a powerful educational journey that empowers students to develop comprehensive knowledge and skills within a specific area. This ensures a seamless and continuous learning experience from the early years through to advanced levels of education. By immersing students in a subject from the very beginning, they gain a deep understanding and mastery of the subject matter, fostering critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity. This approach not only builds a solid foundation but also cultivates a lifelong passion for the subject, enabling students to explore its full potential. It encourages interdisciplinary connections and a more profound engagement with the subject matter, ultimately preparing students for success in their academic and professional journeys. An all-through subject curriculum is a powerful catalyst for intellectual growth and the development towards creating tomorrow’s citizens today. 

We want to ensure that there is:

  • An inclusive and challenging curriculum designed to inspire curiosity and build subject mastery, including the skills of literacy, numeracy and oracy.
  • A progressive and sequential curriculum designed to develop a depth of knowledge. The integrity of each subject is respected with key vocabulary being explicitly taught.
  • An interwoven, rich curriculum that is designed to support students’ retention and retrieval of knowledge

Please take a further look at our subject overviews on the webpage: https://www.simonballe.herts.sch.uk/curriculum-overview/

Many subjects that are taught all-through will show the sequential progress we are proud of.

Recently, Mathematics had an external Deep Dive that monitors and reviews our curriculum and the quality of education students experience. A summary of the review can be found here: https://www.simonballe.herts.sch.uk/category/teaching-learning-news/

Uniform

Uniforms are not mere clothing; they are quite literally the threads knitting our students into a tapestry of belonging and community so it is important that we give due care and consideration to it. In light of this, we wanted to inform you that we are carrying out a review of our uniform at Simon Balle All-through School to consider our policy and provision in terms of accessibility, affordability, and sustainability. This is a unique opportunity to consider multiple aspects of uniform in terms of branding, the number of items, gender-neutral designs, as well as shaping uniforms as tools to cultivate positive behaviour. Our commitment to review also extends to evaluating suppliers, benchmarking against peers, and promoting pre-loved uniforms, fostering a circular economy benefiting all backgrounds. We aim to simplify complexities and empower parents with more choices. We will keep you abreast of any updates as part of this process.

Safeguarding

At our school, safeguarding is not just a policy; it’s the very essence of our community. We have cultivated a safeguarding culture that is at the core of our school’s values and ethos, underpinning our environments and practice, where we place our young people at the centre of all our decisions.

The strength of this culture rests on each and every one of us, as it is only as robust as we collectively make it. This is what drives our desire to be proactive and at the forefront of trends and practice, rather just compliant. Parents play their role in this too. If you need support, guidance or wish to raise a concern then please contact one of our team named on the classroom safeguarding poster (click on the image to expand it). We would appreciate it if you could take the time to review the separate attendance update.

Careers

We believe that an education related to careers has its foundations in the Early Years and must be progressive and sequential through each year of the primary phase and beyond, all the way up to Sixth Form. Please take a moment to read the September careers update to see what’s on offer in the coming months. There are also links to some useful careers websites to get the conversation started at home.

Library news

Click on the images below to find out about what has been happening in the Library.

Well done to everyone who participated at the Roald Dahl quiz in the library at lunchtime on Wednesday 13th September and especially well done to the runners-up and winners who have all earnt a point for their house!

  • Runners-up: Christos (8A) Benjamin (8A) Jackson (11L)
  • In joint third place: Ethan (9M), Shay (9N) & Jake  (9M)
  • In joint second place: Issachar (7L) & Lucas  (7A)
  • In first place: Yahya  (7A)

Well done also to everyone who participated in the Great European Bake Off to celebrate the European Day of Languages. And thank you to everyone who voted – there were over 200 votes!

The winners for the three categories are:

  • Josh (Year 7) – Cake best linked to the European Theme
  • Charlie, Lily and Willow (Year 9) – Tastiest looking cake 
  • Summer (Year 8) – Best decorated cake

You can read more about the procedures around borrowing books (and what to do about overdue books) on the library pages of the school website.

Spotlight on the Larch

Reception: In Reception, the children have read the book ‘The Mega Magic Hair Swap’ and spent time celebrating the differences amongst our new cohort. The children have really enjoyed lots of activities linked to ‘All About Me’ making some fantastic self portraits! The children have thoroughly enjoyed starting the Level Two phonics and beginning to apply their sounds to initial sounds, blending, segmenting and learning new songs. Please have a look at the Reception notice board for more information. 

Year 1: The children in Year 1 have had a busy start to the year! They have begun reading books from their literary canon and writing repetitive stories based on the book ‘Brown Bear, Brown Bear’. The children have thoroughly enjoyed being creative with the different things they may see inspired by their weekly welly walks. They have also been practising directional language in maths which has supported their learning of  algorithms in Computing, directing each other in preparation to create routes for bee bots. 

Year 2: The children have been focusing on poetry in English lessons. In preparation for our Harvest Festival celebrations, they have written some beautiful acrostic poems using fantastic descriptive language to really capture what Harvest is all about. 

Year 3: Year 3 have become experts at debugging during Computing lessons! Over the last few weeks, they’ve been learning what a ‘bug’ is and how it can cause the Computer to malfunction in some way. This week, they were given an algorithm of two penguins telling a ‘knock knock’ joke but it didn’t work as intended so they got to work in finding how they could improve the algorithm to allow the joke to be told correctly. 

Year 4: Science lessons have been jammed packed full of practical activities linked to the digestive system in Year 4. They have made a set of teeth and analysed all of the different jobs and this week really got to grips with how our food is digested and made their own ‘faeces’. Make sure they tell you all about it! 

Year 5: The children have been immersed in building on their prior knowledge of coding to create their own maze game in Scratch. They have impressed us with their ‘debugging’ skills when their coding hasn’t quite worked to resolve the issue, and successfully started creating an interactive game where their ‘sprite’ can make its way around a maze and if it hits an obstacle it is sent back to the beginning.

Year 6: There has been awe and wonder in Year 6! They have been learning all about the circulatory system in Science, and had hands-on experience  dissecting a lamb heart in pairs in class! The children showed real courage and resilience, whilst also showing such wisdom as they explored and asked excellent questions about their observations.

Lunchtimes in the Larch

It has been wonderful to see the children playing games with friends at lunchtime whether that be on the playground or astro. With various new playground equipment children can play games such as tennis, bowling, bowls, hoopla and practice walking on stilts.

The astro now has set times for year groups to enjoy organised sports with Mr Leonard and Mr Rouse. Key stage one has a focus on playing team games and promoting good sportsmanship in games such as football, rugby, basketball and many other sports.

A child in Key stage 1 said, ‘‘Mr Leonard always does fun games with us on the astro, I love lunchtimes!’

With the buzz of the rugby world cup currently taking place in France, the Simon Balle Lunch Time Premier Leagues are underway with a focus on tag rugby for a year 3 & 4 combined league, as well as a year 5 & 6 combined league where skills such as drop kicks, penalties and conversions have been added in for the year 5 & 6 competition. 

The leagues were set up to promote physical activity and healthy competition amongst children, with a focus of developing good sportsmanship skills whereby teams can earn extra points by displaying skills such as: encouragement for teammates, positive comments to the opposition, respect and shaking hands after every game.

The winners of the league will have the most points combined with sportsmanship points to earn house points, a team photo in the trophy cabinet alongside the Lunch Time Premier League trophy.  

Two children in Key stage 2 said, ‘I love lunchtime sports. I really like that they are competitive and fair and there is always lots to do and always lots of fun! I am always excited to do the lunchtime leagues. I look forward to playing against my friends in different teams’

Year 12 Scholar Programme

Tuesday 26th September saw the launch of the Year 12 Scholar’s Programme to support students who are applying to Oxbridge, Russell Group and other aspirational Universities. The programme supports students in a variety of ways:

  • Application workshops
  • Interview preparation
  • Support with admission tests
  • Workshops led by our link colleges at Oxford and Cambridge University
  • Support with super-curricular activities

Students will also have the opportunity to apply for the Cambridge Higher Aspirations Scheme (CHAS) which includes the opportunity to experience Cambridge-style supervisions: teaching led by subject experts in small groups. A series of six supervisions in 27 different subjects will run between January and the end of March, with the first being in person in Cambridge.

Year 12 and Year 13 Expectation Evenings

Over the past few weeks we have held expectation evenings for both year 12 and year 13. We would like to say a massive thank you to all the students, parents and carers who were able to attend these evenings. 

Year 12 were informed about the expectations of sixth form students with additional strategies they could use during their study lessons, they were also given an in-depth introduction to the new year 12 enrichment programme.

The year 13 evening focused on their next steps and the different pathways available including university and the different types of apprenticeships available,  Effective study techniques and UCAS deadlines were also discussed alongside the recent changes to student loans.

We hope you found these evenings informative and if you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact us.

All-through enrichment clubs

We offer a vast and exciting range of enrichment opportunities at lunch and after school across our all-through school, thanks to the fantastic commitment from staff. These provide for a broad range of interests and to provide the students with new and exciting experiences beyond the curriculum.  There are also regular opportunities for the students to engage in competitions and events which are promoted in assemblies and on the enrichment board, such as the recent all-through design a new house logo competition, The Great European Bake Off in the secondary library and Speakers Corner, plus much more!

If your child is interested in any of the below, please contact:

  • Y1/2 clubs- A Google form has recently been shared.
  • Explorers Y3-6: A Google form for Autumn 2 will be sent by the end of next week.
  • Music: please email Mr Taylor at music@simonballe.herts.sch.uk
  • Secondary sports: please email Mr Brennan or Mrs Scarrott or sport@simonballe.herts.sch.uk
  • Lunch clubs: your child should speak to the adult running the club to confirm the location. 
  • Y6-8 Wednesday enrichment: please fill in the form which outlines the information.

Please also contact Mrs Boyce if you have any questions at all about enrichment: boycek@simonballe.herts.sch.uk 

A full calendar of enrichment opportunities can be found on the enrichment page of the website.

House competition: Form boards

For this academic year, Ms Cannon is re-launching the Simon Ball House system with the help of her Year 12 House Leaders team. All of our students from reception to year 13 are members of a House – Ashbourne, Beane, Lea, Mimram, New and Rib. The first competition launched at the start of September was for each form in secondary to decorate a form board to reflect the colours and themes of their House. The winning entries are below:

  • Year 7 Mimram
  • Year 8 Lea
  • Year 9 Ashbourne
  • Year 10 Ashbourne
  • Year 11 Ashbourne
  • Year 12 Lea
  • Year 13 Beane

Dates for the diary

Please check the calendar page and the term dates page of our website for upcoming events

Vacancies

We are currently looking for a teacher for the Larch and a 1:1 SEN Teaching assistant. For more information, please see Teach in Herts. If you, or someone you know may be interested please contact creaseyj@simonballe.herts.sch.uk

PSA news

30th September – Quiz Night

Quiz, games, raffle, auction, cheese, wine, music and dancing. Final tickets remaining, for tomorrow’s ‘Quiz with a Twist’.  At £12.50 per head, it will make for a fun filled evening out.  Teams can book in groups of either 4 or 8.

7th November – PSA AGM and Meeting (Rescheduled)

Join us in the Secondary Library for a cheese and wine reception from 6.30pm, ahead of our AGM. You’ll learn about some of the upcoming events, meet the team and will have the opportunity to share your fundraising ideas. We urge as many supporters to attend as possible.  You will not be committing to anything but good attendance will allow us to elect a larger number of committee members. We will be looking to fill some key positions, new joiners are welcome! If you are unable to attend but are interested in supporting us or sharing ideas, please take a moment to register your interest here.

Click on the images below to expand them.

Wishing everyone in our community a positive and fulfilling fortnight ahead.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs Rachel Kirk and Mr Michael Moss (Co-headteachers)

Pedagogy Portal – Maths Deep Dive

26th September 2023Ian Finch

Deep Dive in Mathematics

We’re excited to share the wonderful experience we had on Monday September 11th, when our school embarked on a Deep Dive in Mathematics. A Deep Dive is an opportunity for us to explore and celebrate the incredible work happening in our school, from our youngest learners in Reception to our secondary students. It’s a day of discovery, reflection, and growth.

The day began with a discussion among our Hertfordshire Improvement Partners (HIPs) and key leaders. Together, they painted a vivid picture of our school’s Mathematics Vision: to create confident, fluent Mathematicians. This vision serves as the guiding light for all our mathematical endeavours.

As the day unfolded, our HIPs embarked on a journey through all year groups, visiting classrooms and engaging in meaningful conversations with both students and teachers. Their mission was to gain insight into our curriculum and teaching methods.

Some initial findings were really positive: Our students are being encouraged to take their time and think deeply about mathematical concepts as teachers are using cold calling, ensuring that every student is actively participating in the learning process. Thought-provoking questions were able to stretch their mathematical thinking and students in all years were seen collaborating and supporting each other, fostering a sense of teamwork

Teachers demonstrated a clear focus on the curriculum, making it the heart of their lesson planning ensuring appropriate challenges were present in all phases of learning. The team was particularly impressed with how well-settled Reception and Year 1 classes were, considering it was early in the term.

It was also noted that Subject specialist Teaching Assistants (TAs) are a valuable asset.

An area for growth is to review the purpose of our retrieval practice starter activities. The Deep Dive team suggested making more use of Retrieval Starters to promptly identify and address any misconceptions.

The insights gained from the Deep Dive will play a pivotal role in shaping our Department/Phase Improvement Plan in Mathematics. We are committed to continuous improvement and will use this feedback as a catalyst for growth.

The Deep Dive experience was incredibly valuable for our professional development. It reinforced our confidence in the quality of Mathematics education at our all through school while highlighting opportunities for improvement. We’re thrilled to see our students thriving becoming confident & fluent Mathematicians.

Musical News – September 2023

14th September 2023Heather Morgan

Welcome Back!

The start of a school year is always one of reflection. Those who have left our immediate musical family, those who are moving up, perhaps realising a long held ambition to have 'their turn'.

It is always amazing how our musicians 'step up'. Take on new challenges, fill gaps in ensembles and adapt to still be part of Team Music. More news on this below, but how our musicians are adapting is brilliant.

I'm also over the moon with how everyone is embracing Practice Pal Music. Over time, this will make life so much easier for all, bringing together information and learning for our instrumental and vocal lessons. It is early days, but the feedback has been brilliant. Thank you. We will be using more features in the coming weeks.

I am also working on new projects and musical opportunities across our work. Details to come as I work them out with the team!

Please have a read of the rest of this newsletter and put the relevant calendar concert dates in your diaries. There is so much going on, so don't miss out!

Mark Taylor,
Director of Music

Ghent 2023

An incredible time was had by all in Ghent last July, with amazing concerts, amazing team work, an amazing Hertford and international audience and inspirational performances and music. We are booking for next year. I'll leave the pictures to do the talking. What an experience. (the last picture is of the crowd. 90 minutes before, the square was empty due to torrential rain that interrupted our concert.....)

Celebrating our Musicians!

In June and July, Team Music enjoyed 6 days of musical exams for students throughout the All-through community, from Year 2 - Year 13 with Trinity Classical, Trinity Rock & Pop and Musical Theatre exams. Well over 200 exams in 6 days.

Further to this, 8 Year 12 & Year 13 students achieved diplomas:

DipLCM - Gabriel and Ciara  (piano), Sam Portas (drums), Ada (popular vocals), Patrick and Jacob (classical saxophone),  - Daniil, (Jazz saxophone).

ALCM - Luke. Saxophone - the music of Charlie Parker. The hardest diploma we have ever had at Simon Balle. We’ve had a few! Luke’s level of musicianship was off the scale.

As part of these diplomas, our musicians have performed at the most challenging standard for their age. Charlie Parker, Bebop, Dave Weckl, Beethoven, Bach, Debussy, Philip Glass, french saxophone repertoire and much more. Eight Simon Balle musicians performing at an incredible professional standard.

It is such an achievement taking a Music Exam, and every student rose to the challenge. We are so proud of them, for some it is the beginning of the musical journey, and for others it is a fantastic way to complete their Simon Balle All-Through Journey. Well done to all.

Click the image below to see the results!

Learning a second instrument

We are putting together a project for students to pick up a second instrument - one that might fill in a gap in our ensembles. In return for an instrument and some lessons getting going, musicians commit to getting involved, weekly. Particularly for pianists, drummers and so on. Music is so much about being with others, taking part. If you are interested, get in touch.

Enjoy our Past Musical Events from this year below!

 

Past Musical Events

Keep an eye on our What's On page!

It has important dates for the year.

What’s On

THE PEDAGOGY PORTAL

14th September 2023Ian Finch

Welcome to the Simon Balle All-Through teaching and learning blog, your window into the heart of our educational community. As we embark on this journey together, we want to share with you in upcoming newsletters the principles and practices that make Simon Balle All-Through School a beacon of excellence in education.

We are constantly exploring new and innovative ways to enhance teaching and learning. We want to ensure that our students receive the best possible education. Our teachers are committed to staying updated with scientific studies and the latest educational research and they use this knowledge to enhance their teaching methods.

This section in the newsletter will share these insights with you by porting you into the world of our teaching community. Our aim is to share and celebrate key practices, our professional development agenda and how all of this has an impact on every child and student that attends our school.

Recently, our senior leadership team looked at how we can maintain and sustain the highest quality of education at Simon Balle. Therefore it is important to share with you that one of our whole school priorities this year is our relentless drive to continue to ‘achieve the highest quality of teaching and learning for all, through research-informed practice’.

I am looking forward to communicating this journey with you and celebrating the success of our staff and students through our upcoming all-through newsletters.

Mr I Finch

Assistant Head