School Council News

School Council

The Lansdowne School Council held a very constructive meeting ahead of the half tem holiday. All classes at Lansdowne are represented on the Council by a Cllr. The role is to listen to the suggestions from their class friends, and then put these forward at school council. Any resolutions are later fed back to the class.

Miss Mitchell Chaired the most recent meeting. We started off by re-capping on some of the ideas that were suggested at the previous meeting. It was reported that the bubble machine in the playground is proving popular.

School badges have been ordered. We want the Cllr’s to be easily identifiable around the school so that all pupils can take any ideas or suggestions to them.

Wet play provision was then discussed. The School Management Team has asked the School Council to come up with a list of possible games and DVDs that we can by for wet play use. The Cllr’s have been instructed to see what games would be popular within their own year group.

The end of year trip for Year 11 was then discussed. The students have decided that they would like to celebrate their final few days at Lansdowne School with a bowling trip, and then a fun day out at Brockwell Park.

A request was made by one Cllr to improve the Wifi signal around the school. All classes now have access to the Lansdowne iPads. There are a few areas within the building where the signal needs to be strengthened.

This led to a discussion about the new Lansdowne School building. Miss Mitchell reported that new plans are currently being drawn up by the architects. There has been a re-calculation in the funding, but we are optimistic that our plans for expansion and improvement are still progressing.

A useful contribution from one Cllr was to keep the water supplies fresh in each classroom. It was noted that the water needs to be change frequently.

Another suggestion was to look at the current timetable for use of the outdoor pen in the school playground. There was also discussion about playing sports other than football in the pen during playtimes.

Finally Miss Mitchell received a list of reading books that various year groups have put forward to help improve the Lansdowne School library. These include Harry Potter and The Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

You can listen to a couple of the Lansdowne School Cllr’s explaining a little more about the meeting in the podcast below.

Year 7 – Star Class!

Year 7

Year 7 celebrated the start of half term week by being awarded the Class of the Week Trophy in the Lansdowne Achievement Assembly. Miss Tovey reminded all pupils what it takes to win the trophy: all class members need to follow the Lansdowne FRESH rules and support each other as we continue to learn. All teaching staff were in agreement that Year 7 have been continuing to work together as a group incredibly well.

The pupils continued this approach during the Guided Reading session that followed. This is a daily activity where we share our knowledge and love for reading at Lansdowne School.

Year 7

Year 7 have started to look at different reading sources as part of their work. We are currently reading an autobiography of Susan Greenfield, a leading scientist. The pupils have been identifying what makes this type of book different to a piece of fiction that we sometimes read in class.

We listened to a short passage from the book being read out, and then worked in pairs to complete a short worksheet. The pupils were asked to use the school dictionaries to identify any unfamiliar words. We talked about the techniques we can use to find a word in a dictionary, and then shared our findings within the group.

You can listen to some of these ideas being explored in the podcast below.

Year 7

Year 8 Drama Video

Year 8 have been having great fun during our drama lessons as we look ahead to future learning in Year 9. The pupils have been taking part in some drama activities that we usually introduce in Year 9. The focus is very much on individual choice and memory recollection techniques.

All class members sat in a drama circle. We asked each pupil to think of their favourite animal. The first Year 8 member then acted out some of the features of their animal, including the sounds that it might make. The next person in the circle then had to copy this activity, and then introduce their own animal. The third class friend added in their chosen animal. This process continued until all Year 8 members had added their animal into the sequence.

We spoke about what techniques we could use to help us remember which animal came next. The pupils were encouraged to make the connection between their friend and what we know their favourite animal is.

This activity continued with a new challenge set. We had to make our own favourite animal sound, and then add on the end the sound from someone else in the group. If we heard our sound at then end then this meant that it was our turn next. All class members had to concentrate and listen carefully for their sound.

You can watch a video of the Year 8 drama session above.

Year 8 Geography

Year 8 have been continuing their map reading skills as part of our geography learning for the summer term. We started off our learning by looking at maps of the world. The pupils were able to identity features such as continents and oceans. We have now scaled this down to look at London. The pupils have been looking at the river Thames and other identifiable features.

This work has now led Year 8 to look at some of the symbols that we can see on maps. We have seen that a representation of a location can help us to find features on maps more easily. The pupils have looked at features such as airports, cliffs and islands.

Year 8 have completed their own map sheet, matching symbols with photographs, as well as writing a short description underneath. Some of this work is shared by a Year 8 student in the video above.

Year 9 PSHE

Year 9

Year 9 have been thinking about possible future plans as part of our Personal, Social and Health Education sessions. These are often very open sessions where we encourage the pupils to think about different social situations and how we might handle them.

We started off our work with a warm-up exercise. The aim of the activity was to follow instructions. Each class member completed a simple sheet containing questions such as draw a small circle in the top left hand corner, or write YES on the back of the sheet.

The final question was: Complete the first question only. Most pupils worked down the questions in sequence, answering each one as they went along. We were able to see how important it is to read the instructions in full before we attempt anything.

The Year 9 PSHE session then looked at some of the ideas that we will be investigating throughout the remainder of the summer term. These cover a wide range of issues such as health, relationships, learning, work, money and staying safe.

We asked class member to prioritise what they would like to learn in more detail over the coming weeks. You can listen to some of these thoughts in the podcast below.

Year 10 Maths

Year 10

Year 10 have been revising many of the different maths topics that we have learnt so far during the summer term. We wanted the pupils to be able to recap on their knowledge ahead of the half term break.

Much of the maths work for the first half of the summer term has focussed on learning our six, seven, eight and nine times table. Different pupils are helped with different strategies in this task, depending on their learning needs.

Year 10

Maths dominoes is a popular game that the pupils have been playing. We work with a set of cards, which show a number followed by a sum. The challenge is to find the answer to the sum, and then make the connection between the different domino cards.

Other Year 10 students have been completed a calculated colouring sheet. As the name suggests, we use a calculator to help complete some colour-coded questions. An example might be that the number 12 is associated with the colour yellow. Wherever we see a sum on our sheet that has an answer of yellow, we then colour this segment in yellow.

Year 10

Year 10 have also been looking at Venn diagrams as part of our maths work for the summer term. The students have been looking at the concept of sorting similar and different items. This work has been very practical. We have set up table activities. The pupils have been sorting animals or shapes by using the headings for each section of the Venn diagram.

Year 10

All students are given some individual iPad learning time at the end of their maths lesson. This is an opportunity to explore the maths-based apps that we have researched and made available for the students to use.

Year 11 GCSEs

Year 11

We are incredibly proud at Lansdowne School in the mature manner that the Year 11 students have been working their way through the GCSE exam timetable. There is still plenty of work to complete, but the early signs are positive.

Continued learning is taking place for Year 11 in-between the examination schedule. All subject teachers are preparing the students to help come up with the best examination technique to suit their needs.

The students have been looking at past GCSE papers English papers. We have been holding class discussions about how we might each approach some of the questions that we have looked at.

A particular focus for GCSE English has been on the presentational features of a news report. The pupils have been revising the importance of a strong headline, an explanatory strap line and the use of powerful images. The main message here is how all of these elements need to draw in the reader. Different media sources have been analysed.

Year 11 will be treated to a number of fun school trips once the GCSE examinations have been completed. We are also starting to think about the special Leaver’s Day assembly that takes place on 18 June. We are looking at many ideas as to how we can say goodbye to our Year 11 friends and leave them with a lasting memory of Lansdowne School.

GCSE Timetable and Exam Rules

Please find below a list of GCSE examinations and start times that will be taking place at Lansdowne School over the coming weeks. The examinations body set the start times for these exams and it is important that all students arrive in time for the start. We strongly suggest that pupils arrive at school at 8:45am.

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We would also like to take this opportunity to remind all candidates about the rules that need to be observed whilst sitting a GCSE exam at Lansdowne School.

GCSE rules

GCSE rules

Year 7 PSE Thoughts

Year 7

Year 7 have been using their Friday PSE sessions to share ideas about what they have achieved throughout the previous week. We are keen to pass on thoughts about personal and group development, as well as academic and social achievements.

The pupils discuss ideas involving interaction, friendships and strategies for dealing with anger. A strong theme during a recent session was how we can manage our feelings. We wanted to find out how class members deal with different situations.

Year 7

Mr. Gulley led the discussions with each class member sitting in a circle and encouraged to offer full group participation. Mr. Gulley posed the question: how do we deal with anger? Suggestions including moving away from another person, thinking nice thoughts, taking deep breaths or counting from one to ten.

Our PSE session then moved towards the idea of happiness. Mr. Gulley asked for suggestions as to how Year 7 can work together even better as a group. The pupils spoke about the importance of feeling comfortable whilst at school.

The favourite part of the PSE lesson for many of the Year 7 pupils is when we introduce Muzzy, our toy friend. Each class member is given some time with Muzzy where they can talk openly about what they have achieved over the course of the previous week.

Year 7 concluded the PSE lesson with some thoughts on what we can theme our future Lansdowne School assembly on. The pupils were asked to give this some consideration over the weekend.

Year 8 Artwork

Year 8 are looking at the differences between traditional and contemporary Japanese artwork during the summer term at Lansdowne School. This is part of our introduction to Japanese art and culture.

Year 8

We have started out study by researching some of the contemporary artwork produced by the Japanese artist Chiho Aoshima. Plenty of surreal scenes and dream landscapes are used. The pupils have seen how traditional Japanese motifs are used in the work, but these are mixed up with modern colours.

Year 8

The students have been learning to identify what is a primary and a secondary piece of artwork. By looking at copies of Aoshima’s work, we have worked out that this is a secondary source.

Year 8

We will be combining these contemporary images with some artwork inspired by ancient Japanese pictures. Year 8 will weave the two different strands together to create a sushi mat. The pupils will also be learning about traditional Japanese 3D art designs that can be found on /lacquerware boxes.Year 8 will be looking at traditional Japanese symbols and writing our own names.

Year 8

You can find out a little more about our introduction to Japanese culture in the video above.

Year 8

Year 9 Mural Video

Year 9 are continuing their work on designing and sculpting a set of murals that will be displayed in the new Lansdowne School garden space. The students have been on a photography walk around the school identifying images, objects and symbols that represent our school community. Examples include the fish that we can find in the school pond, table tennis tables and the Lansdowne School logo.

Year 8

The next stage was to create a 3D copy of the photo image using thick cardboard and materials such as tissue paper and string. These designs were then transferred on to clay to form part of what will be become the new school mural. You can watch some of the Year 9 students talking about their work in the video above.

Year 8

Year 8

Year 10 Drama Video

Year 10 have been preparing for life beyond Lansdowne School during our current drama sessions. We are looking the world of work and some of the skills that we might need to help us during a job interview situation.

The students have been studying a genuine job description and application form. We have seen how employers compose a job specification, which we then need to match our own talents to.

Working in pairs Year 10 used role-play to act out a job interview scene. We spoke about the importance of personal presentation. Posture and good eye contact with the interviewer are both important.

We then shared our job interview drama pieces with the rest of the class. Each session was videoed so that we could analyse and offer constructive feedback. The students found that personal responses to questions were sometimes being offered instead of a professional approach.

Year 10 concluded the session by re-capping on the sills that we have learnt and discussing how we can further improve our job interview techniques.

Y11 GCSE Coursework

Year 11

The Year 11 students at Lansdowne School are celebrating having completed all of the coursework for their GCSE Entry Level in Product Design. This is a practical qualification that helps to prepare for future learning and the world of work.

The course has four main units: health and safety in the kitchen, designing food for a specific function, evaluating an existing product and enhancing fabrics. There is plenty of scope for different ideas and skills to be used.

The next stage will be for all of the GCSE coursework to be assessed. We are confident that the Year 11 students will achieve high after putting plenty of thought into the ideas for their work. You can listen to one young student explaining more about his Product Design work in the podcast below.

Year 8 PE Video

Year 8 have been introduced to tchoukball during our recent PE lessons. The skills involved build upon the passing techniques that we have already mastered as part of our basketball learning. Lob passes, chess passes and bounce passes are all key to succeeding.

We started off the session with a warm up activity to remind us about the importance of teamwork. Two lines of attacking players formed on either side of the school playing court. A team of defenders was in the middle. Each attacking team had to pass the ball from a stationary position across to another attacker. Year 8 were encouraged to use the three key passing techniques that we have already been learning.

Before the main game started, Mr. Lee recapped on what techniques had been effective. As well as careful passes, eye contact and team communication were also needed. Mr. Lee spoke about the importance of looking and attracting the attention of a teammate with the ball.

The pupils then played a full game of tchoukball. The rules involved passing the ball around, and then scoring a point by bouncing the ball off a small net. Communication and talking to our teammates were important.

You can watch a short video of Year 8 demonstrating their tchoukball skills above.

Year 8

Lansdowne Achievement Assembly

Lansdowne School Choir

The Lansdowne School Choir has been helping other students to remember some of our favourite songs during our weekly singing and signing assembly. Choir Leader Miss Shelton decided to revisit some popular old songs that we haven’t sung for a while.

The Friday morning singing and signing assemblies are an opportunity for the Lansdowne Choir to lead the way and support other pupils with their singing and signing skills. Mikita is always available with her expert signing skills.

We sung You Gotta Be during a recent assembly. This is a song with a powerful message, as well as containing some tricky signs for us to remember.

Miss Shelton then invited Garry to come to the front of the assembly to receive his certificate for being the Lansdowne Signer of the Week. Miss Tovey presented other pupils with their individual subject awards in recognition of outstanding work over the past school week. Class 8JH was awarded the trophy for being the Star Class of the Week.

We finished off our weekly assembly by singing happy birthday to Garry and Abdellah. Miss Tovey reminded all pupils about the Lansdowne FRESH rules ahead of our lessons for the rest of the day.

Lansdowne School Choir