Teamwork. Fairness. Success.Part of the Turner Schools Family

Turner Free School Newsletter

THE PAGETerm 3 2019/2020

Welcome from Kristina Yates,Principal

Dear Parents and Carers,I am sure you have noticed that work has begun on creating our fantastic new building. This is a very exciting time for TFS and our scholars! Over the

forthcoming months, we will be working closely with our contractors, Bowmer and Kirkland, in order to utilise learning opportunities throughout the construction process. As you are aware, we are currently preparing to move out of the Sports Hall block at Easter, ready for a total refurbishment of this area, which will be completed in time for September. Consequently, a new modular block will be delivered on site over the February half-term break. This will provide two high specification science laboratories, in addition to additional office space, ready for Easter. This will ensure that there is minimum disruption for our scholars. This term our scholars have continued to demonstrate their great work ethic and positive attitude to learning, throughout both lessons and extra-curricular activities. We were incredibly proud of Leo, Maddie, Ruby and Will who represented TFS at the recent Holocaust Commemorations. I have received many positive messages from people who attended the event, highlighting how impressive our team was, particularly given that they were the youngest participants by a significant margin. All four scholars have received personal thanks from the Town Mayor of Folkestone, praising them

for their contribution on the day. Our wonderful SENDCo, Carrie Baker, has recently begun her maternity leave. I am sure you will join us in wishing her the very best in her new adventure. We also have three great new additions to our Aspiration Team, our Deputy SENDCo, Nick Brooks and our Teaching Assistants, Alexandra

Johnstone-Pieri and Natasha Luetchford. Furthermore,

recruitment for exceptional teachers to join us in September is already well underway. We have a huge amount to look forward to next term including World Book Day, a number of inter-house sports challenges and a visit from a theatre company, who will be performing the two Shakespeare plays that our scholars are currently studying. Moreover, Year 7 will take part in a Living History workshop and we look forward to welcoming Year 7 parents and carers to their first Parents’ Evening. Mr Attrill has also organised a Rewards Trip to Wembley, for 24 of our scholars to watch the upcoming football match between England and Italy. We look forward to seeing all scholars back in school on Tuesday 25th February.

Dates for Term 4Mon 24 Feb INSET day - TFS closed to scholars

Tue 25 Feb Term 4 Starts

Tue 3 Mar Year 7 Parents Evening (Bologna and Cambridge only)

Thu 5 Mar World Book Day

Mon 9 Mar Inter-house Sport Challenges - all week

Thu 12 Mar Year 7 - A Midsummer Night’s DreamYear 8 - The Tempest

Tue 17 Mar Year 7 Living History workshopsYear 7 Parents Evening (Harvard and Kathmandu only)

Fri 20 Mar PTFA Family Quiz Night 7-9pm

Tue 24 Mar Year 7 Parents Evening(Oxford and Sorbonne only)

Fri 27 Mar Wembley Awards Trip

Fri 3 Apr Term 4 Ends at 2.05pm

Mon 20 Apr Term 5 Starts

Teamwork. Fairness. Success.Part of the Turner Schools Family

Turner Free School Newsletter

THE PAGEHolocaust Memorial Service (see cover photo)Monday 27th January was Holocaust Memorial Day, 75 years after the liberation of the concentration camp at Auschwitz. Several of our scholars attended the memorial service in Folkestone and presented a short spoken piece on the importance of standing up for the victims of genocide. Their powerful delivery of the tragically short life of Sophie Scholl, an anti-Nazi demonstrator arrested and executed by the regime, and of Martin Niemoller’s famous poem, was extremely impressive; several of the other schools commented upon the maturity and sensitivity with which our students bore themselves. Our thanks go to Maddie, Leo, Will and Ruby for their hard work and dedication, and to Mr Foad, Miss Baker and Mr Burrell for helping to prepare the students.

Reading ChampionCongratulations to Lilly Arber who is the first Year 7 scholar to be awarded The Reading Champion Certificate! Lilly has read and written reviews on ten books from the KS3 reading list. Well done Lilly!

History LibraryThe new Turner Free School History Library has been busy over the last few weeks. Situated at the back of UF4, the library is well-stocked with an array of original sources and modern historical writing about the periods of history we study in the curriculum. We also have several history magazines and hope to take out subscriptions to more in the future. Scholars should feel free to come and browse the books; Mr Burrell is always happy to give recommendations!

Year 7 Visit to Cheriton LibraryDuring recent English lessons, every Year 7 scholar was given the opportunity to participate in a trip to Cheriton Library. The scholars were issued with library cards, they had the chance to take books out and they learnt about the many services that the library has to offer (such as free printing for homework!) The scholars were a credit to the school with their exemplary behaviour. Moreover, their enthusiasm both for the library itself and for the books they were able to take out was a delight to see!

A Message from the Pastoral TeamAs a Pastoral Team at TFS, we strive to offer exceptional pastoral care to our scholars and our parents/carers. In order for us to be most efficient at responding to any queries or concerns you may have, we kindly request your cooperation with the following:• Pastoral staff are in a daily meeting until 8.30am so are not available to scholars or parents/carers during this time.• Pastoral staff will not be available to meet with you if you arrive unannounced in Reception. Wherever possible, we will meet with parents/carers, but please respect that this is not always possible due to other commitments we may have.• If you would like to meet with a member of the pastoral team, please request a meeting, via Reception, and we will respond with an offer of convenient times for you to come in for a meeting or telephone call.• As respect is a key element of our culture, we

Term 3 2019/2020

Teamwork. Fairness. Success.Part of the Turner Schools Family

Turner Free School Newsletter

THE PAGEkindly ask that you are polite and respectful towards all members of staff at all times, both on the telephone and during face-to-face meetings. Rudeness or aggressive behaviour will not be tolerated and the meeting or telephone call will be terminated immediately. • If you would like to contact a member of the pastoral team directly, they can be contacted at the following email addresses:Year 7 Pastoral Leader:Miss S Brown – BrownS@turnerfreeschool.orgYear 8 Pastoral Leader: Mrs K Dempsey – DempseyK@turnerfreeschool.orgSenior Pastoral Leader: Miss S Tyler – TylerS@turnerfreeschool.org

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any comments or concerns.Sophie Tyler, Senior Pastoral Leader

French ClubMondays at 1.20pm&Tuesdays at 1.40pm

Scholars are invited to come along to GF3 and play some games to help improve their spoken French in a fun way.Tout le monde est bienvenu!

Uniform and EquipmentUniform at TFS is smart and simple. The scholars take great pride in looking smart for their days at school. Being in the correct uniform helps make the rest of the day run smoothly. Similarly, having the correct equipment removes any barriers to learning, and increases learning time.We have noticed that some scholars have been in trainers for an extended period. Whilst we understand the expense of buying school shoes, mid-term, school shoes are a part of the uniform policy and this must be adhered to. The shoes should be “polishable”, leather, not suede. Boots are not allowed, except in snowy conditions. Where shoes break during the term, a period of grace will be allowed, until after the nearest weekend, to purchase shoes. If scholars arrive in trainers after the weekend, then they will be removed from lessons until the uniform policy is followed.If you are unsure of which shoes to buy, then please, before you spend, consult with the pastoral team. The parent handbook also has pictures of the types of shoes allowed at TFS.Scholars are expected to have a school bag (rucksack or holdall) and pencil case containing:• TFS planner• 2 black / blue pens

• 2 green pens• Pencil• Ruler• Rubber• A calculator• Appropriate reading book• PE kit (on the appropriate days)

Attendance - Every Day Matters!

Term 3 2019/2020

Poor Attendance and GCSE GradesThere is a clear link between poor attendance and lower academic achievement. While an attendance figure of 90% may not sound very low, it reduces a child's chance of achieving 5+ 5-9 grades at GCSE from 81% to around 57%. A child who averages 80% attendance during their secondary school career effectively misses one whole year of education and significantly reduces their chances of good grades.

As the attendance level falls the average residual falls, so a scholar with less than 90% attendance is in danger of achieving a whole quintile lower than expected.

People with 100% attendance had an average residual of 0.92.This means that a scholar who attends every day is achieving almost a whole quintile better than expected!

Remember quintiles are the bands we put scholars into, based on KS2 performance, reading ages and other indicators.

The recent assessment results were compared to scholar attendance. The data clearly shows that the performance of scholars with below 95% attendance was significantly lower than their peers.

A year of 365 days is made up of 190 days in school & 175 DAYS OF HOLIDAY A YEAR for family time, friends, visits, holidays, shopping, appointments……..

Teamwork. Fairness. Success.Part of the Turner Schools Family

Turner Free School Newsletter

THE PAGETerm 3 2019/2020

Sporting NewsOur development and progress in PE has been wonderful to watch. We are encouraging more and more scholars to challenge themselves in new sports and areas that they might not have tried before. This term has been fantastic for extra-curricular clubs. At the start of January, the basketball club was up and running with our first session encouraging 53 scholars to attend! This then gave me the difficult job of choosing the scholars to represent Turner Free School around the Ashford and Shepway district.

Both our Year 7 girls’ and boys’ teams have been in action since the first week back with fixtures against Highworth Grammar School, Folkestone Academy, Brockhill Park and the Marsh Academy. The performances from all the scholars involved has been fantastic so far. The high level of teamwork, desire, and determination has been evident in every game. Our most notable performances have come against Brockhill Park and the Marsh Academy.

Our first win for the Year 7 girls’ team came when we travelled away to Brockhill Park. The girls were extremely excited, as this was one of their first sporting fixtures outside of school. They played some amazing basketball with excellent execution of the skills learnt within lessons. After a game controlled by TFS, our girls came away winners, recording a 14-6 victory. Special recommendations go to Sophie who has impressed not only myself, but also other coaches from around the area. Her exquisite dribbling control combined with sharp athletic skills make her a menace for the opposition players. The girls’ team also won again against the Marsh Academy, with a basket scored within the last ten seconds of the game to win 8-6!The Year 7 boys’ team has also been impressive this term. With a loss against the Folkestone Academy,

the boys were raring to go against the next team that they faced. Although they came away without a victory against Brockhill Park, the team showed great morale to get together from 10-0 down, and score 10 points. Unfortunately, one mistake in the last quarter allowed Brockhill to score one more basket, resulting in a 12-10 loss. The team came away without the points they wanted yet feeling as if they had won the game due to their second half efforts. The highlight for the boys’ team this term was against the Marsh Academy. Their fantastic tactical play, embedded with some impressive positional work, led to TFS taking a deserved early lead. The free role of our scholar Khanye allowed the team to strike on the counter attack, resulting in basket after basket. Khanye shone in this game, defensively, and in an attacking manner. He led from the front and pushed his team onto victory scoring baskets even Michael Jordan would have been impressed

by. The result finished 16-8 in favour of TFS. A fantastic display by all involved.

The next fixtures coming up are against two strong sides, the North School and John Wallis Academy. If both teams continue in the same manner they have in the last couple of performances, I can see the players making the finals at the end of February!

Basketball club will continue to run every Thursday after school, as well as Table Tennis on a Wednesday 4:00-4:30. I also look forward to seeing our scholars participate in Dance next term during PE lessons.

Mr Attrill, Teacher of PE