Daily Archives: 03/03/2016

School News

The Megaton Bomb: A Guide to Armageddon

DVD 30 Minutes

With the debate about Trident and the pros and cons offered by both sides taking place,  Concord have released a DVD which looks at the effects a 1 Megaton bomb would have if detonated over St Paul’s in London.

A single missile fired from a trident submarine carries three nuclear bombs with a total strength stated to be the equivalent of a 1 Megaton bomb. This is pretty big when you consider 1 Megaton equals 1000 kilotons and the Hiroshima bomb totalled 15 kilotons.

Using U.S. Congress and British Home Office official data, this programme shows what would actually happen if a one megaton warhead burst a mile above St Paul’s cathedral in the centre of London

Within 30 seconds houses six miles away would be reduced to rubble, winds of 80 – 90 miles per hour would toss objects pell-mell, and shatter windows, sending shards of glass through the air at 120 feet per second, slicing skin.

Paper and other light material would ignite spontaneously. Those in sight of the light would suffer severe third degree burns, charring skin to black carbon and causing permanent retinal burns.

Two couples carried out civil defence measures to see how effective these measures would be. For ten days they lived in temporary constructions following government guidelines. The film looks at how they fared, but suggests that after an actual explosion it is highly unlikely they would emerge at all.

This programme which is ideal as an introduction to a number of subjects can be rented on our Video on Demand system for £1.63. For this you can view as often as you like within a 48 hour period of your own choosing.

Cost of a DVD  £16.30 plus postage

You can easily order by going to our website www.concordmedia.org.uk or you can order by e-mailing us at sales@concordmedia.org.uk Please put ref HH1 in your order.

 

Administration

What is the simplest and most effective way of ensuring that your school develops and improves, every month, every year?

It is a simple but nonetheless valid observation. No organisation – and more particularly no school – improves by itself. Schools get better because someone (or more often some people) put energy into improving the school.

But is that it?  A round of improvement, an inspectors’ report, and then “steady-as-she-goes”?

Of course, that is one way of working, but there is a problem.  Because any organisation that is then left alone will slowly start to become inefficient.   Processes will change, corners will be cut, issues will be missed.

This is not a criticism of teachers or schools – it is simply the ways things are. The only way around this is constant improvement.

Now this approach, which has become increasingly common in business in the past ten years, is something that many teachers and managers resist.   The old phrase, “Why can’t you just leave me alone to get on with the teaching?” can readily be heard in response.

And yet, as the schools that use this approach have found, such an approach puts no strain on the school, and the result can be extraordinary.

Better still, the ever improving school is most certainly not in a state of constant revolution.  Rather the schools that adopt this approach work carefully from department to department, instituting changes step by step, and not moving on to the next department until the previous department is once again settled and secure.

In short, we are talking about a mechanism for bringing change into a school with the full co-operation and agreement of each department in turn.  An approach which runs continuously without in any way disrupting the working on the school on a daily basis.

It is an approach that recognises that there may be some resistance to change, but has built within it ways of overcoming that resistance.

And better still, there is no chance of the school, having improved, resting on its laurels. It continues and it grows, for as long as the leadership of the school want the process to continue.

The entire process is described in The Ever Improving School, a report commissioned and produced by the School of Educational Administration and Management – a body set up with government funding and the support of the Faculty of Education at the University of Northampton.

The Ever Improving School is available in copiable form (as a printed volume or on CD) so that it can be distributed to all interested members of staff.

ISBN: 978 1 86083 852 1   Order code: T1843emn – please quote with order.

Sample pages can be viewed at http://www.pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/education/T1843.pdf

  • Photocopiable book, £24.95 plus £3.95 delivery
  • CD with school-wide rights: £24.95 plus £3.95 delivery
  • Both the book and the CD: £31.94 plus £3.95 delivery
  • Kindle book: £9.99
  • Prices include VAT.

You can purchase the report…

PSHE, School News

What is the most effective way of getting students to retain the information you’ve imparted during a lesson?

We all know that the students who are able to focus for the longest periods of time on what we’re saying without their attention wandering are the ones most likely to retain the information.

Conversely the students with short attention spans are also the ones most likely to be disruptive in class. No news there.

We would all dearly love to be teaching classes full of students who behaved well and hung onto our every word. Realistically, a totally perfect teaching/learning scenario is unlikely, but can we improve the situation?

We believe we can! We’ve developed extremely quiet background music designed specifically to enhance information retention and improve concentration. Also, as a bonus, disruptive behaviour is reduced.

If you’d like to know more, go to: Further information and media

Where you’ll be able to see a Teacher’s TV programme explaining why and how it works, listen to samples and purchase downloads of 12 hours of Calmer Classrooms Music for £79.99.

Calmer Classrooms music can be used and is effective across all age ranges, nursery, primary and secondary schools.

If you have any questions or queries about Calmer Classrooms Music please do call me on 07801 067386 or email: vo.fletcher@btinternet.com

Vo Fletcher

English

A proven resource to easily create reading for pleasure with your pupils –

Save time as a teacher and know exactly which stories relate to which area of the curriculum (think lesson plans done for you!!)

A low reading ability affects not just English but all subjects and adversely affects the social wellbeing of the pupil.

We have discovered what is probably the easiest and most enjoyable way for both teachers AND pupils to engage in this vitally important area of learning.

Perfect for use with all pupils and it is particularly useful with reluctant readers, special needs children and pupils who have English as their second language.

Making it SUPER EASY for teachers in 2016, Ziptales link all of their stories to the curriculum in a manner that is easy to use, with practical ways to help with each strand listed line by line!

Try Ziptales for 30 days, with your entire school!

No commitments, no obligations. Just see if we may be a good fit for your school.

Ziptales – new to the UK, are a proven resource for over 10 years in Australia for literacy e-learning in primary schools (with over 20% of all primary schools using Ziptales).The UK site offers British voiceovers and all stories link directly to both the National Curriculum and Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence.

Over 500 fun interactive levelled readers, puzzles, games, poems, videos and lessons, with comprehension quizzes, voiceovers, animations and worksheets.

Call Ziptales on 02030 953 262 for a free demonstration at your school, or go to www.ziptales.co.uk/tryfree.php to find out more right now.

 

Maths

If maths students are motivated to achieve in Y9, then they will be well-prepared for GCSE maths in Y10-11.

!!NEW Y9 BOOK!!

The Optymistic Guide

to Y9 Mathematics

 an innovative approach to Y9 Maths

and an excellent preparation

for the Higher Tier GCSE course starting in Y10

 

If Maths is ACCESSIBLE and CHALLENGING,
as well as INTERESTING and ENJOYABLE
then students will be MOTIVATED and DO WELL.

  Give students working with this text responsibility
for their own progress, then watch them fly!

ONE SAMPLE COPY PER SCHOOL of “The Optymistic Guide to Y9 Mathematics”  can be ordered for £5, inc p&p.

Please send a cheque for £5, made out to The ‘Maths is…’ Jugglers to Barbara Young, The ‘Maths is… Jugglers’, The Stables, Verner Close,
Headley, BORDON, GU35 8LW

 By the time they reach Y9, students respond well to a change in approach
– and even more so to being challenged!!

The Optymistic Guide is divided into 11 topics. At the beginning of each topic is a contents list, matched to National Curriculum Levels, from 4/5 up to 8.

For each topic, students should choose where to start, using the contents list.
Levels 4&5 should be treated as revision checklists. Students deal with any weaknesses here, looking for what they will need to strengthen.

They know the date of the end-of-topic test. They decide what they should do in levels
6-8 in that time, with advice from the teacher if needed. You would be amazed at how much keen students will do in their own time.

Then students start to romp, as they want to get as high up the levels as they can. A comprehensive list of instructions is provided for both teacher and students at the front of the book.

The material in this book can also be taught in the usual way.

Details of the Optymistic Guide to Y9 Mathematics can be found at http://www.mathsisjugglers.com/ks3/year-9/y9-optymistic-guide

There are NEW PUBLICATION PRICES for all KS3 and KS4 texts
1-9 copies of one text will cost £14 each.
10-19 copies of one text will cost £12 each.
20 or more copies of one text will cost £10 each.Any school that orders 20 or more copies of a particular text, will be able to buy more copies from then on at £10.
The Resource and Assessment Pack CD (usual price £35) will be provided FREE OF CHARGE,
to any school that orders/has ordered 20 or more copies of one text.

Each CD contains
Teachers’ Notes Star Challenge Answers Worksheets
Revision Sheets (with answers on the back, so that students can mark their own)
Assessments and Assessment Answers for each Topic

If you would like any more information, you are always welcome to get in touch.

You can reach me at barbara.young@mathsisjugglers.com or on 01428 717113.

Barbara (Maths enthusiast, teacher, writer and director of The ‘Maths is…’ Jugglers)

 

Administration

SchoolCal is an easy to use communication platform that enables schools to connect with parents, governors, teachers and support staff.

With unlimited contacts, messages and reminders we think you’ll love SchoolCal almost as much as your governors, parents and staff will.

We are so confident you can try SchoolCal for free for 30 days, no opt outs, obligations or catches just a chance to see if it’s for you plus be in with a chance to win an annual subscription and tablet.

Set up your trial account www.school-cal.co.uk/schoolcal30

3 ways SchoolCal is redefining engagement across the whole school

1. Supporting two-way engagement across the whole sector by providing a safe, accessible and personalised experience for everyone.

2. Reducing the cost of communications, allowing more conversations to take place with the right people and focus more resources into the classroom.

3. Providing a platform that people can enjoy using, seen as the go to place for school conversations and to be a product organisations can be proud to share with all their stakeholders.

Involved in more than one school? You will love our Multi-School feature, if you are a MAT or a Headteacher in one school with a child in another all of your schools are brought together into one newsfeed that can be viewed separately or as one.

SchoolCal has been designed from the ground up with the specific goal of being a platform that you will be proud to share with anyone connected to your school that represents your vision, ethos and goals.

Set up your trial account www.school-cal.co.uk/schoolcal30