Welcome to Millennium

House!

This is your welcome pack to introduce you to your

house!

In this pack you will find:

A letter from your Head of House

A letter from a current Year 7 student

Details of a typical week

A copy of the school map and some questions to

get help you get to grips with it

Some details on our school rewards system

A glimpse into the PiXL Edge

Some helpful answers to questions you may have

A postcard which you can fill out and send to us!

If you or your parents/carers have any further

questions after reading this booklet, they can send

an email to primarytransfers@kingdown.wilts.sch.uk

A letter from your Head of House…

Welcome to Millennium House – the best house in Kingdown!

Congratulations on being chosen to join us.

I want to tell you a bit about Millennium House and about me before

you join us in September.

I am your Head of House and also a Maths teacher. My job, as your

Head of House, is to look after you and all the other students and staff

who are in Millennium House.

Millennium House has:

11 tutor groups

We wear ties with a yellow stripe

We have a Meerkat as our house mascot. Meerkats work

together for the benefit of the whole community. Like Meerkats

we look after one another and work together as a strong team.

Each house at Kingdown has a motto. Our motto is standing tall,

working together. It is very important to me that in Millennium

we look after each other, support one another when we need to

and work together to get the best out of everyone.

In Millennium we always try to be the “best that we can be”. We

celebrate each other’s successes and those of the House.

There are lots of special events that take place within Millennium

which include the Millennium Challenge and the Meerkat Market

(but more about these when you join us!)

For now, please enjoy this welcome pack which has been

put together to help answer the questions you

may have and get you excited about coming to

Kingdown.

Mrs Twigger

A letter from a current Year 7!

Hi,

My name is Harry and I am in year seven at Kingdown. I really enjoy playing

games on my Xbox and spending time with my friends. I have a younger brother

and we have a dog who we love to take out on walks.

You might have some worries coming to Kingdown and I wanted to reassure

you. I was really worried about getting lost and Kingdown is probably bigger

than your primary school, but it is very hard to get lost, trust me! If you do, just

ask a teacher and they will be happy to help.

Another worry I had was about the homework. There is more than your

primary school, but it’s not that much and you do get plenty of time to

complete it. I am in Millennium, which is by far, the best house to be in! I love

the friendly competition between all the houses, it makes learning lots of fun.

If you ever have any problems you can go to your tutor, who will be more than

happy to help you. Your tutor is where you go after your first two lessons and

after that you have a break. You will have two breaks (break 1 and lunch break)

and you can bring lunch into school or you can buy lunch with a code or a

biometric thumbprint.

Finally don’t sweat it! Kingdown really is a great school and within a few days, it

will feel as though you have always been here!

Have a good summer and I hope you are looking forward to joining Kingdown in

September.

Harry.

A typical week in Millennium House Tutor groups at Kingdown meet for 20 minutes every day, and enjoy a different activity each time. Below is a typical week!

Day Activity What happens?

Monday Admin – weekly bulletin

Quiz

Handing out important notices for the week. Every tutor group in each house participates in a quiz each week. At the end of the Christmas, Easter and Summer terms the highest scoring tutor group from each house fights it out in the inter House Final.

Tuesday Attendance

Current affairs

This is a day where we focus on the importance of attendance and check our progress during the year. We also look at what has been happening in local and world news over the last few days.

Wednesday Tutor Theme Each term we focus on a different tutor theme, or topic, in tutor groups. This is a time for whole group discussion.

Thursday Assembly

It is important for us to gather together and hear messages which are key for us as a house. Sometimes this will be with every tutor group in the house; other times this will be for particular tutor groups or year groups in the house.

Friday Leadership day

This is a chance for students in the tutor group to take over and use the session to practise their leadership skills, by presenting something to the rest of the group. It is also an opportunity to catch up on any revisit any of the exciting activities from earlier in the week.

E15

E11 E14

E16

ICTSuite

ENGLISH BLOCK

Library

Mrs Harris

CAREERS GUIDANCE& SUPPORT

S22S20

S21S19S17

S18S16

S15

ICTSuite

S14

S13S11

S12

SCIENCE BLOCK

LANGUAGES BLOCK

L12

L14L13

L11

Mrs Rossetti

Head of House OfficeMr Case

Mr MeehanMrs Twigger(Mi)

Miss swaile

Kingdown SchoolUpper Floors

September 2019

H23 H24

H21H22

H14H13

H11H12

HUMANITIES BLOCK

SECOND FLOOR

FIRST FLOORMr Harrison

Miss Burdett

Miss Keeling

Geography Office B1 B2 B4 B6

BUSINESS & SOCIAL SCIENCES BLOCK

Miss Swaile

Mrs Miller

Miss Spicer

Miss MaleMr Clarke

Mr Phelps

History Office

Mrs Hutchinson

E19

E17

Mrs Hooper

Mr Blizzard

Miss Millest

Mr Henry

LanguagesStaff Room

SENCO OfficeMrs DunfordMrs Keenan

Mrs Flynn

Mrs Ashton

Miss Clutsom

Mrs Brock

Miss Millest

Mr Jordan-Mayhew

Mr Fernihough

Miss Pointer

Mr Richardson

Mrs Marlow

B3

Mrs BloxhamDr Ranger

Ms Elliott

Dr Fernihough

Miss Peddle

Mrs Carpenter (DH)

Mr Henry

Mr Gunstone (Lo)

Mrs Bloxham

Dr RangerMiss Peddle

Miss Pointer

Misss Clutsom

Mr Scarfe

Mrs Whitcombe

B5

Ms Eggleston

Mr BloxhamMs Eggleston

Mr Humphrey

Mr DudleyMrs TaylorMrs Ledbury

InternalExclusion

room Referral

room

Mr Murray

Miss Middlemiss

Mr Sutheran

L3 L5L4L2LC 2

K3Dining Hall

WC

S1

S2

S3Prep

Room

S5ICT Suite

WCWC WC

WC

WC WC

Main Hall

Gymnasium

S7 S9

S4

ICT Suite

S6 S8 S10

BoysChanging Girls

ChangingC1

C2 C4 C6 C8 C12 C14

C10

C3

C5 C7 C9 C11WC

WC

Boys

Chan

ging G

irlsChanging

Small Hall

E3

E1

E5

E6

E4

E2

EnglishOffice Office

PeConference

Room

ExamOffice

SLTConference

Room

Conf

eren

ceRo

om

Radi

oSt

udio

Mrs Hodgson

Mr P

rice

(DH)

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6

Maths Office

ICT

ICTOffice

D1

D2

D5

D12

D11

D10 D9

D6 D7

D8

M8

ICTSuite

A1A2A3A4

Print Room

H1

H3 H4

H2

ICT Suite

Kingdown SchoolGround Floor

September 2019Mrs Wheeler

Miss Keloglou

Mrs BurgessMrs Cole

Mrs DillonMrs Miller

WC

WC

Mrs Ashton

Mrs Reid-Bowen

Mr Partington

LANGUAGES BLOCK

ENG

LISH

BLO

CK

AV/Music Technology

Recording StudioMusic Practice

Room

Miss Crothers

Miss Gavin

Art TechnicianMrs Herbert

Mrs VynerMr Gordon

VISUAL ARTS

Mr Bray

Mr Leater

Mr DudleyMr BeaversMr Webster

Mr Munro

MATHS BLOCK

Mrs MunroMrs Harris

Mrs Fullick (PA to CEO AET)

Medical Room

WC

Fina

nce

Offi

ce

ReceptionMrs Godfrey

Miss Krzyzosiak Head’s PA

Mrs Edwards (CEO AET)

HUM

ANIT

IES

BLO

CK

WC

WC

Mr Haydon

Mrs BuntingMiss Keeling

Head of House Mr Bindon(We)Mr Hatcher (Tw)

Mr BiggsMr Tully

SCIENCE BLOCK

Mr Robertson

Mrs Dyson

DESIGN AREA

Mrs Hill

Springboard

Mr Munro

Curriculum Support 1

WC

WC

ICTIT

WC

WC

Miss Bunting

LC 1

Learning Centre

VLC = Vocational Learning Centre

RS Office

LINK CENTRE

PE

Office Office

Mr HolmanMr Hillier

Mrs Green

H & SC Office

Mr Case

ICT Suite

ArtOffice

Mr Grayson

Miss Elliott

Mr Cooper

Mr Bloxham

Miss Francis

Miss Williams

PE office

Mr Widger

ISRMr Holman

Mrs Strange

St

aff R

oom

Mr House Mrs Lewis

SIXTH FORM

WC

WC

IT Suite

Sixth Form Office

Mr HumphreyMrs Colliss

Common Room

Mrs Hooper

SF1 SF2

SF3Sixth Form

Conference Room

Acorn Education Trust Head Office

InterviewRoom

Miss Pelopida

Mrs McGavin

Mrs Pope

Ms Bala

Mr Cass

Mrs FarrDr Henley

Miss Simpson

Mrs Alston School Nurse

Mrs Cook

Mrs Honeysett

Miss Pelopida

M7

Mrs Bale

Mr Barnes

Facilities Team

Mr Marsh

Business/ICT Office

Mr Marsh

Medical InterviewRoom

Mrs Haydon (Si)

Miss Annetts

Mrs TaylorMr Bowman

Miss PartingtonMrs Murray

Miss Paper

Textiles

Mrs Knudsen

Mrs Marsh

ICTSuite

Mr Player

Mr Knott

Mr YogevMr Pemberton

Maths InterventionRoom

M12 M11 M10 M9

Miss HockleyMrs Gibson

Mrs Stephens

Mr Edwards

English interventionRoom

MrBloxhamSchool

CounsellerInterview

Room

Mr Locke Headteacher

Mr PlayerMr Richardson(Wi)

Mrs Locke

Mr Grayson Office

Mr Denny

Mr Golding

Miss Potkin

Mr Clark

Mr CassMr ClarkMs BalaMr Bowman

Curriculum Support 2

Dr HenleyMiss Keloglou

Mrs FarrMr Case

L1

Operationmanager

Mrs Gardiner

Mr PhelpsMiss Spicer

A tour of the school (using a map!)

When you join us in September you’ll receive a tour of the school on

your first day, to show you where everything is.

In the meantime, see if you can identify the following things on your

map (please note, one or two of the names may change before

September, with teachers who are joining or leaving the school).

1. Can you find the Dining Hall?

2. Can you find the English block?

3. Can you find the Science block?

4. Can you find the Maths block?

5. House assemblies take place in the Main Hall. Can you find this?

6. Smaller assemblies take place in the Small Hall. Can you find this?

7. The Humanities block is where our Geography, History and Religious

Studies lessons are taught. Can you find it?

8. Can you find our Languages block?

9. Can you find our Design area?

10. Creative Arts is all about performing! Think Drama, Music and Dance.

The classrooms all start with a ‘C’ for Creative Arts. Can you find the

Creative Arts block?

11. Can you find our Visual Arts block?

12. You might find you need to pop to Reception. Where is it?

13. Take a look at the numbers of Humanities, Languages, English and

Science classrooms on the ground floor and upper floors. How do you

think you can tell if a classroom is upstairs or downstairs?

14. ‘WC’ are student toilets. How many can you?

15. You will do some PE lessons in the Gymnasium. Can you find this?

16. Where are the boys’ and girls’ changing rooms?

Rewards at Kingdown Here at Kingdown, we love celebrating all of the fantastic achievements of our students! We give reward points each time one of our students does something which deserves recognition. It could be that you’ve held a door open for someone, or tried your hardest in a lesson. When you join us in September, you’ll be awarded points for a wide range of achievements; in and out of the classroom, during tutor time, in extra – curricular clubs, for contributions to the school and wider communities, for excellent attendance, for showing resilience, and for being helpful and kind. Each point a student achieves contributes towards a total. During the year, we regularly reward students for the number of points they have received. Examples of reward events last year included trips, extended breaktimes, café experiences, and even a visit to the ‘Kingdown Sweetshop’! Just like your homework, your reward points total can be viewed anytime on the website Go4Schools.com We can’t wait to see which wonderful things you achieve next year!

What is The PiXL Edge?

When you start in September, we’ll be introducing you to

something called The PiXL Edge!

The PiXL Edge is a set of challenges for you to complete during

Year 7, to show you have ‘the edge’!

It focuses on 5 key skills:

Leadership

Organisation

Resilience

Initiative

Communication

…often called the ‘LORIC’ skills!

Across the year, you’ll be set the challenge of completing 10

different tasks to help you learn the skills above.

This summer, why not spend some time finding out what each

of the ‘LORIC’ skills mean?

You could even use your postcard activity from this welcome

pack to tell us about something you’ve been up to, which shows

one of these skills!

Frequently asked questions (FAQs) Please email us if you have any questions about joining Kingdown for Year 7 in September at:

primarytransfers@kingdown.wilts.sch.uk .

Will I get lost? No, you won’t get lost. Everyone feels nervous when they join a new setting (whether it be a new job, a new community or a new school) but you will soon become familiar with your new surroundings. Your Teaching Group will be following the same timetable, so you will all be walking in the same direction. If you do feel you are lost or feel unsure, you can ask other students or teachers nearby or ask at reception. Everyone will be happy to help you. I am worried I won’t be able to read/understand my timetable? When you meet your tutor in September, they will give you your timetable and they will ensure you know how to read it and where to go for your lessons. Once you have joined us, if you are still unsure about the timetable, just ask! What is Go4Schools? Go4Schools is computer software used by students, parents and teachers. You will be given instructions on how to login when you join in September. Teachers use Go 4 Schools to set you work – uploading worksheets, video links and a range of resources to help you in your learning. We use Go4Schools a lot at the moment as schools have been closed because of the Coronavirus. Your parents will use Go4Schools to check on your progress, attendance and achievement. Importantly, you will use Go4Schools for school work including homework tasks. What happens during a school day?

Here is a plan of the school day so you can begin to get used to our timings. Each school day is structured

as follows:

Activity Time

Lesson 1 8.30 – 9.30

Lesson 2 9.30 – 10.30

Tutor time 10.30 – 10.50

Break 1 10.50 – 11.20

Lesson 3 11.20 – 12.20

Lesson 4 12.20 – 13.20

Break 2 13.20 – 13.50

Lesson 5 13.50 – 14.50

Optional after-school clubs 14.55 – 16.00

How much homework will I get? We will only set Year 7 homework in Term 1 that is appropriate and manageable – given current restrictions, this will be under constant review, so please don’t worry! We will be using Term 1 to make sure you have a good routine with the organisation of your work. This will include using Go4Schools, having a routine at home, meeting deadlines and working to your ability. We will only increase the quantity, breadth and depth of homework (to include a wide range of subjects) when it is appropriate to do so. What if I can’t complete the homework or I do not understand it? When the homework appears on Go4Schools, have a look at it, to ensure you understand the task. If you don’t, slowly read the task again and look at any attachments or links that have been provided to help you. You could ask an adult at home for guidance or a friend. By looking at the task straight away will allow you the

time to do this and if you are still stuck, ask the teacher in advance of the homework deadline. You could do this in person or via email. Homework Club runs on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays – you are welcome to attend if you would like some help from a member of staff. How is a Teaching Group different to a Tutor Group? Your Teaching Group is the group you attend your lessons with. Your Teaching Group will be mixed gender and ability. You will spend all day with this group, except for tutor time, some lessons and break/lunch times (if you choose). A Tutor Group (TG) is the group you are with every day between 10.30 – 10.50am. You will see your tutor every day. Your tutor group will be mixed gender, age (Years 7-13) and ability. What happens if I am late to a lesson? For the first couple of weeks you will be getting used to lots of change and you may make a few mistakes, especially when reading your timetable. We understand this, as we have all been there! However, punctuality to school and lessons is extremely important. It is a life skill and demonstrates qualities of organisation and respect. We do monitor punctuality and attendance. Try your best to adjust and ask for help if you are having difficulties. After a few weeks, you will have it mastered. I am worried I won’t make friends Some of us adjust to change quicker than others – that is perfectly normal. We are all moving from primary to secondary school with different experiences and friendship groups. A lot of our intake will be joining us on their own or maybe only knowing a few other people – again this is normal. Moving on physically and emotionally, from your primary school setting, to us at secondary school, may take many weeks and it will take time for you to settle into your new routines at home, with new staff and friends. However, you are never alone. Your tutor, Head of House, Deputy and Assistant Heads of House are there to help and support you through this change. We also ask your parents to keep in touch and to build relationships with us, as the change can be difficult and unknown to us all! I’m worried I may not be able to complete all the work in lessons? The Primary Transition team at Kingdown has been gathering lots of useful information from your Year 6 teachers. We are aware of everyone’s abilities and the lessons will be differentiated to meet all students’ needs. If you are concerned about the level of the work in a specific subject(s) you can have a chat to your teacher, tutor or you can find your Head of House. When will I know which Teaching Group I am in? Things are a bit different this year because of restrictions enforced by the Coronavirus. Please don’t worry. On your first day at Kingdown, you will have time with your tutor before you go to lessons. In this tutor time you will receive your timetable. This will tell you where your lessons are and the name of the teacher who will be teaching you. When can we buy my uniform? Kingdown uniform is available at Scholars, 42 George St, Warminster, BA12 8QB; the telephone number is 01985 847757 and the email address is: info@scholars-uk.com . Kingdown has a limited stock of second hand uniform; details are available from Mr Dudley: dd@kingdown.wilts.sch.uk .

Mrs Twigger

Kingdown School

Woodcock Road

Warminster

Wiltshire

BA129DR

Use this postcard to tell us about something you’ve done over the summer holidays. It might be an activity you’ve enjoyed, somewhere you’ve gone, or something you’ve made!

Why not draw a picture on the front of the postcard, and write to us on the back? You can either post you postcard back to school or bring it in in September.