Y8 Parents’ Evening

We are looking forward to welcoming all families on Thursday 3 February for Y8 Parents’ Evening from 4.30pm to 7pm. This is the opportunity for parents to speak with Subject teachers about the progress of their child since they have started the academic year.

Please do support your children to follow the guidance below in preparation for the evening.

What should be happening now?

Students should use the parents evening page in their planner to begin making appointments for the night.

To ensure that you are able to see as many teachers as possible on the night the time slots that students should get their times in is shown below:

8SOS, 8VMU, 8COM and 8MVI should make appointments in the 00,10,20,30,40 and 50 time slots
8HCR, 8EOT and 8JRO should make appointments in the 05,15,25,35,45, and 55 time slots.

If your child’s teacher has multiple classes, it might mean students are unable to schedule an appointment for the evening. If this is the case, teachers will make direct contact with you to discuss progress.

Please do check your child’s planner and email tutors should you need any support in getting times for your child.

KS3 - How to……… revise for assessments

Student assessments are taken in different forms throughout Key Stage 3. This may be an extended piece of homework, a practical, an extended piece of writing in class, an online quiz or a landmark assessment. In preparation for an end of topic or unit assessment, subject teachers generally provide students with a check list to support the topics they should revise.

Each student will revise in a different way, and some revision techniques don’t work for everybody. Please see below some top tips for planning revision time and how students might choose to revise.

How to get your revision times right

It is not realistic to sit for hours reading notes and going over key themes. Your brain will not absorb and store information this way. Below are some top tips on the amount of time to spend on revision.

Be realistic and plan time away from your work to avoid burn-out!
Make sure you study the hardest subjects, topics first, and not at end of day when you are tired.
Be focused: 20 minutes working followed by 10 minutes rest is a good starting point.
Planning helps you to balance your time so that you don’t spend all your time revising one subject
If you share your revision plan with friends or family then you are more likely to stick to it
Don’t worry about other students’ revision plans, everyone does it differently!

Top tips to support your revision

Make sure you know which topics you need to revise for each subject. Use your assessment trackers for key topics and make a revision list
Make your revision active. Don’t just read notes. You could make flash cards, mind maps or use post it notes in key places
Watching videos online can really help to bring your notes alive!
Test yourself by asking a friend to ask you questions, or by looking at your old assessments! This will identify areas of strength and weakness
Build-in rewards for your revision eg: your favourite snack, using your games console when you have completed a designated amount of time

Below is an example of a mind map with top tips on how to create them!

Remember when you create your mind map to:

Make your mind map eye-catching: big, bright and colourful
Stick them on your door, wall, fridge so that you can see them regularly
Use CAPITAL letters, incorporate doodles and use different colours for each ‘branch’
Use them as a ‘mental splurge’ if you need to, then they are good way to assess your existing knowledge
Use exercise books, textbooks and revision guides to make your mind maps.

Annie Parkin
Director of Learning - KS3
aparkin@aclandburghley.camden.sch.uk.
Extension number: 3049