Recent update:
A message for all Year 6 students and their families from Mrs Jewell
I have now spoken to all of your teachers to find out a little more about you; what you are good at, what you need help with and what kind of personality you have. It was wonderful to hear so many really positive things about you all and I look forward to working with each one of you.
Transition will be very different this year but I don’t want anyone to worry. I will be sending your Year 6 teachers some short information clips about life at Bideford College covering everything from where the toilets are to what you can have for lunch, what equipment you need to bring and what uniform you will need to wear. Your teacher will be putting these clips on the online portal that they use for your home learning and they will also be on the Bideford College website. If you return to school I will be providing your teachers with some resources so they can help you get ready for the transition to Bideford College and I hope I can visit you in your classrooms to meet you. If you are not going back to school, for whatever reason, I will make sure these resources are available online too.
Over the coming weeks we will be allocating you to a House and a tutor group. Your teachers have told us who you work best with so we will endeavour to keep you with those people and in the same House as any siblings you may already have at the College.
I hope you are all keeping safe and continuing to engage with the work that your teachers are asking you to complete. As I said in my letter a few weeks ago, focus on your spelling and your times tables, make sure you are reading every day and keeping your brain active. The most important thing is to be kind and helpful to your family and friends.
If you have any questions at all you can email me directly ajewell@bidefordcollege.org
A Jewell
Assistant Principal – Key Stage 4 and Designated Safeguarding Lead
Transition to Bideford College – September 2020
Dear Year 6 Student,
Moving to a secondary school can be a daunting experience when life is normal, so we understand that many of you will be feeling unsettled about how transition is going to work this year.
We would like to assure you that all the staff at Bideford College will do everything they can to reduce any anxiety you have about starting secondary school in September.
We will continue to work with your primary school teachers and your SENDCo to ensure we have all the information about you, your learning needs, what you are good at and what you need some extra help with. We will talk to them about what they thought you were going to get in your SATs and this will help us put you into classes for the first few weeks of term. These will not be set in stone though and if you are finding the work too easy or too hard we can move you to where the learning will best suit your ability.
Please don’t worry or get stressed about the work you are missing in school. The most useful and important things you can do whilst you are at home include;
- Reading – read every day! Read fiction books for pleasure and newspapers and websites for news and information. If you find a word you don’t understand look it up.
- Spellings – practise those words you find tricky. Know when to use their, they’re and there and all those other homophones.
- Maths – practise your times tables – this is by far one of the most useful skills you can have when you arrive to us in September.
- Stay healthy – make sure you do some exercise every day, eat healthily and drink lots of water, stay in your normal sleep pattern and minimise your screen time.
- Be creative – do the things you enjoy; arts, craft, Lego, cooking, sport or take up a new hobby – sewing, knitting, chess, karate, ballet!
- Do something nice for your community – send a letter to a care home, put a rainbow up in your window – make the world a brighter place.
- Be helpful – help your parents around the house, make your bed and keep your room tidy. Some of you may have little brothers and sisters, play with them, teach them things, snuggle up and watch a film with them.
We will write to everybody as soon as we can to give you more information about transition days, how and where to buy your uniform and the family information evenings when you will meet your tutor and Head of House. We might need to do things a little differently this year but we will try and make the transition as smooth and worry free as possible.
If your parents have any worries they can email me ajewell@bidefordcollege.org and I will endeavour to answer their questions.
We are really excited about seeing you all in September, in the meantime take care and stay safe.
Dr Ankers & Mrs Jewell