Year 12 #1 - GCSEs are sooo last year!

[bpisok]

New thread to see us through to Christmas?

Shalom DS would have left his in his school bag if I hadn't made him hand them over!
I've just removed a pile of gcse papers from his room and slung them in the paper recycling. DS is currently transferring a mountain of AS paperwork into his folders. (at last!)

Shalom watching your DS'S progress with interest.

Still no GCSE certificates here. I must ring his old school and find out when they’ll be available. His old school only award prizes to those who stayed on at their sixth form, not that DS3 was expecting any.

Yep, well done Bluebelle's ds!

We had prize giving at dd's school at good few weeks ago. She won the 'Achievement in the face of adversity prize' (I kid you not) - probably because she did well academically despite spLD and despite anxiety and school refusal at times. She also got the 'Community contribution' prize. Tbh it is such a small school that practically everyone in her year got a prize so its no great shakes, but I think its rather lovely that they all go home with a prize for something. One might think this makes it rather meaningless/ is tokenism, but the outgoing students seem to appreciate it

LimitIsUp I think that's great that they recognised that she had to overcome challenges.

I may have used the word 'that' too many times there.

Well done to your DD Limit - your post comes at the right time for me to hear that- my DD in Y9 is currently struggling with anxiety and attendance. Like your DD, I am hoping that she ‘overcomes’ her present difficulties to achieve what she’s capable of.

Meanwhile (thankfully) DS is doing well - he has settled so well into his new - much larger - sixth form and with his ASD and anxiety we could have had issues. His first ‘interim’ report was excellent and he is on target for his ‘challenge’ grades. He had a letter home from Head of Year congratulating him which was a nice touch for him and us. Parents’ evening this week - will be interesting to see the rapport between DS and his teachers - in his tiny secondary teachers knew him so well and he was very at ease with them.

Yay many congrats sostenuto, bluebelle and limit for the amazing prices. I hope I'm not forgetting anyone.
sandy I think the house market is frozen because of Brexit hell. Nothing is selling around here either.
kilash and the third wishing your DC best of luck with Grade 8.
loose I blame Ofsted too
shalom that sounds hard work to get. Mazeltov
Alde020 They live 4 hours away and they want to see you once a month?!!! Wow some forms of love can really kill. Just make it clear you just don't have the time. Simple.

@brainmelt - wow, great catch up! Totally agree that Brexit throws a spanner into the works but ours is definitely a family house that people need rather than want. In catchment for great primary schools (remember when that mattered?) and a lovely spot to raise a family and get into London really easily. I'm sure we'll sell - two more viewings tomorrow...

DS1 has his first off-road driving lesson today. Another rite of passage. He's 17 in March so is having a block of 10 lessons from his DGPs for Christmas. He says it was quite stressful and made his left foot ache.

Lovely to hear of prizes - no prize giving here, certificates just came home in an envelope. I think it is a bit of a shame, this is the first year the school haven't done one for gcse.

I have a very sad dd, her boyfriend broke up with her on Friday. She was smitten, and he is an integral part of her friendship group. Her youth group on Sunday was pretty tricky for her...

That's hard PandaG but good for her for facing it and going anyway.

We have certificate evening this week. I think it rounds off their secondary school education nicely. I'm sure Harold Wilson came to my own evening, as I seem to remember that he was presented with a pipe stand somebody had made in woodwork.

We haven't been in your position yet Panda, but I'm sure the advice all says to try not to minimise how she feels or say anything negative about the boyfriend, just in case the break up is only temporary.

That's tough Panda, but as we all know from experience, once you have weathered your first break up, it makes subsequent break ups more tolerable since you know that it will pass.

Dd has a different problem - she has two close girlfriends whom she prefers to spend time with over weekends. The first acquired a boyfriend a few months back and its all been fine - very often all 3 girls and the boyfriend hang out. However, now dd's other friend has acquired a boyfriend so its two couples with her fifth wheeling!

Pannetone - glad that things are going well for your ds. Sorry to hear of your dd's struggles. Is she getting any help?

Panda ouch! I think we all remember our first break up and there is a good reason for that: all breakups hurt a lot, but the first hurts more.
I hope she gets over it quickly.

Thanks for kind wishes. I have been in tears with her!! Lots of hugs, pizza and ice cream for tea, and affirming her. He is such a lovely chap too, ah well, plenty more time...

On another note was a bit frustrated to get absence text from school - yes my daughter was present at school yesterday morning, she was in the form she is mentoring in, rather than her own form, and sent a message with classmates to confirm that. The supply form tutor refused to mark her in...hope it gets sorted!

He is such a lovely chap too

That's nice to reminisce about when your DD is much older, but right now it would be better for your DD if she was way out of his league anyway!

I occasionally get the absence email regarding DS2.

Yes, he is in school. No, he wasn't in registration, because he was at choir / wind band / insert other music group here, just as he has been every Xday morning for the past Y years. Yes, he did write his name in the form registration diary before he went to the rehearsal.

Limit thanks for asking about DD. Unfortunately she isn’t getting enough help ATM and the school need to do more to help put right an issue they created...

DS although outwardly fine and getting on academically has got very stressed about the ‘flipped learning’ approach in Chemistry. He is diligent and does all the advance reading and note making but he is getting so frustrated with what he sees as the lack of teaching in the lessons - or one of his chemistry teachers just repeats what DS had ‘pre learned’. I must admit I haven’t got to grips with how flipped learning is meant to work - can anyone enlighten me? (Pre occupied with DD ATM)

My understanding is dc ‘learn’ the topic for homework before the lesson. Then lesson time in spent doing questions/tasks so they can get help from the teacher if thet find from the questions they haven’t understood it. Makes a lot of sense to me - but relies on the whole class doing the pre work and also the teacher setting appropriate tasks in class to test knowledge and provide support

DS2 does flipped learning. He teaches himself the topic before the lesson, then the lesson is spent consolidating and going through any aspects of the topic that anyone is stuck on.

It works best if everyone in the class is self-motivated, an independent learner, and of a similar ability level.

DS1 says that his university course is taught the same way. They are expected to read up on each topic before the lecture / seminar.

Yes flipped learning on all 3 A level subjects for DS. it does at least prepare for uni. You pre-read the subject and thus class discussions are meaningful and in depth rather than awkward silences.

But repeat what I said in that for it to work teachers have to use it effectively - sounds like Pannetones DS teachers may not be doing so - can imagine this happening if teachers don't have by in or its been forced upon them and they don't really get it. Maybe some feedback needed - could your DS do this Pannetone - if its a new thing they may welcome feedback.

Thanks all. I entirely understand the sense in reading up on a topic before it’s covered in class and maybe making basic notes, but I can’t get past is ,well, the teacher not ‘teaching’ the material. Surely a good teacher is doing much more than parroting what is in the textbook, explaining and emphasising points, making links with previous topics etc.

I think only one of DS’s Chemistry teachers is doing what Cherryburn says should happen in the lesson - tasks and questions to check and consolidate learning. The other just repeats the topic that DS has already made notes on. DS spoke to him yesterday- and got told he could use the lesson to start making notes for the next topic. But DS can’t see the point if the teacher will just repeat that info in the next lesson.

The flipped learning is new this year and just in Chemistry for DS. There was an (anonymous) survey recently for comments from students but no feedback on that. We have parents’ evening this week and will raise it then - our appointment (most subjects you get told which of the 2 teachers to see) is with the better teacher.

Overall DS is finding that he’s spending more time on Chemistry than any of his others subjects - but he doesn’t feel that he’s consolidating and extending his knowledge despite the hours put in.

FirstofHN you did mean your DS officially does flipped learning didn’t you? Interested in your DS’s perspective as he is also on the spectrum. But I think I’m realising that DS’s problem isn’t with the flipped learning per se, but the teacher’s delivery of it.