Dear Parents, Guardians and Friends

Over the last couple of weeks we have been asking students to share with us their views on aspects of life at Longdean

and I wanted to share some of these with you.

Two weeks ago we asked a cross section of students from across the school their views on homework in terms of the

quantity, quality and how it is supported by Show My Homework. Last week we also asked students in Year 7 their opin-

ions on vertical tutoring and being part of a house at Longdean. The students views on both these aspects of school life

were very positive but also provided some ideas to consider and some information to work on to improve what we do in

school. All the students involved spoke of how helpful they found Show My Homework and how in all subjects students

are routinely being set homework and having it checked. All students also felt that the homework received in their cur-

rent year was an increase on the amount set in the previous year. Year 7 students were very positive about vertical tu-

toring and how this had helped them to settle at Longdean and make friends across the school. Based on student reflec-

tions we will continue to work on areas of variation in subject areas where homework is being set but not in accordance

with the rota that we have as a school. Miss Harris is also working with staff on ensuring that instructions given on Show

My Homework are clear enough for students to fully comprehend what is expected of them and for parents to be able to

support learning at home.

Last week we also had our annual School Standards Visit from the local authority. During this visit a representative from

the Local Authority spends a day in school talking to staff and students, analysing the school exam results from the sum-

mer and ensuring the school is still offering a good education for the students. I am delighted that, based upon his visit,

he has confirmed that Longdean remains a good school in all aspects of its work and he stated in his email that ‘the

school is certainly in good order’ whilst acknowledging the strengths of our summer results and the support students are

given both in and out of lessons to achieve them. We have also been given some good tips and ideas to help us to con-

tinue over the coming weeks and months.

Finally I would like to update parents on the status of some of the items arising from the parental engagement project

and questionnaires you completed for us. We have ordered a photo board for the reception in order to display photos of

staff and governors. We have delayed the placing of emails on the website as we have seen this move as an opportunity

to look at the overall layout and menus on the website. We are now in the process of uploading all the new content in-

cluding the email addresses for colleagues as discussed and agreed as part of the parent project. We have confirmed

speakers for the workshops on the Year 11 parent evening and we have established an electronic booking system.

I hope you all have an enjoyable and restful half term.

G Cunningham

Headteacher

Edition 4 20 October 2017 Headlines

Longdean Link

Important dates 23 October to 27 October—Half Term

Wednesday 1 November—GCSE resits start

Saturday 11 November—Saturday Study Session

Numeracy

Last week’s answer:

£399

Global positioning systems (GPS)

use coordinates to pinpoint a

position.

What is the number if the difference between the two

digits is 3 and the number is square?

PATHWAY CTM – a new exciting opportunity for Year 13 students

Longdean School has purchased this service for our Year 13 students and all students have been given the chance to sign up to Pathway CTM.

Pathway CTM is an award winning Social Enterprise aiming to transform employability training, support and opportunities for schools and students. Students will be given a mentor and offered the chance to attend employability/insight days; they will also have access to a unique student portal where they can find valuable resources and information regarding school-leaver options.

Students who are intending to go to University can also benefit from the organisation because they will have the chance to network with some of the big businesses in the area.

For more information please look at the website www.pathwayctm.com

We are hoping that this will help our school leavers make informed choices for their futures and also give them a head start on other school leavers.

If you would like more information please do not hesitate to ask.

Mrs Cooke Director of Learning - Careers

Careers Information

Next half-term we have a number of events for our Year 11 students to help them with their post 16 choices:

Year 11 Pathways Day – Thursday 2 November 2017

Year 11 will be off timetable for a morning of activities to help students with their future planning. The day will begin with a presentation by BT on how to perform well at an interview. This will then be followed by 5 workshops as detailed below:

1. Longdean sixth form – Miss B Segalini - Head of Sixth Form.

2. College – presentations from West Herts College and Oaklands College.

3. Looking to the future – Mr Cunningham and Ms Sian Allsopp (Executive Director at Morgan Stanley)

4. Apprenticeships/Jobs – The Youth Connexions employment team, Planning for University- Mr MacDonald

Students will attend all the workshops but will choose between workshop 4 and 5.

We are looking forward to an informative and enjoyable morning. Please remember if your son or daughter would like an individual careers guidance interview, please contact me on 01442 205785.

Year 11 Mock Interviews – Monday 13 November to Friday 1 December 2017

This is or 10th year of providing every Year 11 student with a mock interview. We have worked with BT on this project since 2007 and we are also pleased to welcome volunteers from the following companies: Epsom, Parker Hannifin, The Army, Saffrey Champness and Microsoft.

Each student will be given a 30 minute session with their interviewer.

This provides a very valuable experience for our students giving them real life practice of the interview situation. We are very grateful to the volunteers for giving up their time.

After the interviews students will receive verbal and written feedback to help them to perform to the best of their ability when it really matters.

We are looking forward to a successful and rewarding experience.

Mrs Cooke

Director of Learning for Careers

Year 11 Careers Events

Literacy

Artwork of the Month

Going away this half term?

We would love to display postcards of the places you have visited within the Vocational ar-

ea! If you go away over half term, either within the UK or abroad, then we would be very

grateful if you could pick up a postcard which shows your destination and then hand it to

either Mrs Harris or Mr Burley at the beginning of next half term.

House Points will be given to all students who provide a postcard!

Similarly, we would also like to display examples of foreign currency. Should you have any

loose change when you return, then once again please come and see us. We look forward

to creating the display after half term!

Thank you

Mr J Burley

Going Away?

Stop Means Stop

Dragon’s Apprentice

For the fifth year Connect Dacorum are running the Dragon’s Apprentice challenge for all schools in Dacorum. The Challenge pairs up teams of Year 12 students with local business people and each team is then matched to a charity. The teams are then tasked with developing business strategies and delivering their ideas to turn £100 into £1000 Longdean School are taking part once again with an enthusiastic team comprising of: Evie Coombs, Kayla Vermaak, Amina Ali, Sara Akram, Sophie Skinner, Billy Khan, Szymon Pazik, Arslaan Saleem and Atikah Saleem. The launch was held here at Longdean and we have been teamed up with Ian Edwards as our business dragon, from the Snow Centre and Woodfield School as our charity. The team will be organising fund raising activities and will be asking for support from the Longdean Community, so please watch out for future events! We wish them luck with this challenge. Mrs Cooke Dragon’s Apprentice co-coordinator

Please ensure that your child has a refillable water bottle with them everyday. There are water fountains around the school where they can refill their bottles throughout the day if needed. This will keep them hydrated and may prevent headaches.

Please Note: - If your child uses an inhaler, we now hold a central stock for emergency

use only. However, in order for your child to have access to one of these in an emergency,

please complete a consent form which can be obtained from either Mrs Wilkins, First Aid

or from Student Services.

Mrs Wilkins

First Aid

Medical

Social Media Worksop

Independent Learning and Homework at Longdean Please remember to discuss your child’s Independent Learning and Homework set on Show My Homework using the app or the website https://longdean.showmyhomework.co.uk/school/homeworks/calendar where you can find the entire school’s homework and filter by subject, teacher, or class without logging in. For specific details about your child’s homework, please log in to this website or the app. We recommend half an hour a night, Monday through Thursday, on sites such as Sam Learning, GCSE Pod, BBC Bitesize, Linguascope and MyMaths. Links to these sites can be found on the Exam Support and Homework sections of the LLP. Mr R Muskett - Assistant Headteacher

http://www.gcsepod.com/parents for a parent's guide. www.samlearning.com Centre ID: HP3LS Username and password are in the format: DDMMYYII, for example Mr Muskett's would be 050582RM. www.mymaths.co.uk - students have an individual username and password from their

Maths Teacher.

MFL—Ask your Teacher for the username and password for Linguascope. Further e-learning links can be found at: https://moodle.longdean.herts.sch.uk/mod/tab/view.php?id=8888

Information

Reporting Absences from School - Contact Numbers

If, for any reason, your child is absent from school, please contact one of the following fix numbers as soon as possible. Any messages will be picked up at the beginning of the school day.

Da Vinci: 01442 205706

Franklin: 01442 205707

Gates: 01442 205760

Pascal: 01442 205703

Sixth Form: 01442 205720

Halloween Events

Link Dates The Longdean Link is published every two weeks, via the Schoolcomms e-mail system to all those for whom we have an e-mail ad-dress, and on the LLP. Next issue: 3 November 2017

Recent Communication

Attendance

Franklin 95.1%

94.9% Pascal

Gates

94.5% Da Vinci

0% 100%

Whole School: 94.4%

94.5%

Letters that have been sent home recently: Year 10—Teenage cancer Trust Letter

All Years—Social Media Letter

Years 7 & 8—Information regarding catering classes

Year 11—Locker Request Letter

All Years—Alban Federation Partnership Letter

All Years—Lunch Sittings Letter

Years 7—12—Ski Trip Letter

Year 9—GCSE English Literature Study Guides/Workbook