Transition to Trinity 2022 - 2023 Information

Year 7

Welcome

Thank you for taking time to read our parent and student guide to transitioning to Trinity School. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to Trinity School. I hope you find this guide useful in supporting what can often feel like a very daunting time when students move from primary school to secondary school.

Our mantra at Trinity School is “Standards, Responsibility, Opportunity…. for all” and we look forward to working with you to secure the highest standards of learning, through responsible attitudes, creating as many opportunities as possible for students as they develop as learners and as well -rounded individuals. As a Church of England School, the “for all” part of our mantra links to our Christian values. We believe that every child is unique and can thrive and flourish here. You will see as you walk through our entrance hall the quote from the New Testament: “I came so that they could have life and have it full to overflowing.” This sums up our aim that all students will leave us ready to tackle their next steps in life.

Partnership with parents is important to us and we look forward to working together to get the best for your child. We value community, trust, hope, endurance and compassion.

All that remains for me to say is that I hope your children make some fantastic memories in their remaining weeks at primary school and I look forward to welcoming them to Trinity School in the near future where they will be able to make even more great memories in their new setting.

Ms Hawkin – Headteacher,
Trinity School

A MESSAGE FROM OUR HEAD OF YEAR 7

Dear parents/carers and Year 6 students,

We look forward to being able to welcome you in person to our Trinity community in future. In the meantime, I hope that you will enjoy spending time getting to know our school, key members of our staff and our curriculum through this Transition information page.

You and your children will naturally have many questions about moving up to secondary school and some may well feel a bit of trepidation about joining a new educational setting after such a long time out of the classroom for many. I hope that the information presented here by some of our staff members and current students will help answer queries and allay any concerns despite this very unusual set of circumstances for all.

With my best wishes,

Miss Constant – Head of Year 7

The Pastoral Team and Who to Contact

Form Time Information

A School tour from our Year 7 Students

A Welcome from our Departments

Senior Leadership Team

MFL

Music

Maths

History

Drama

English

Geography

Art

Science

Learning Support

Design & Technology

Physical Education

Subject Documents

Values and Ethos

Trinity School is a dynamic community that promotes enjoyment in learning and extensive
opportunities for young people in a warm and friendly environment.
Our students consistently achieve positive outcomes in both their GCSE and A Level studies.
This academic excellence does not happen by accident; it is as a result of the highest
expectations of all our students and staff. We work in partnership with students and parents
to ensure the very best academic achievements for all our students. We encourage students
to have a love for learning. We believe we provide them with the right skills, aptitudes and an
appetite for learning that will last for a lifetime

Uniform Information

Trinity School strongly believes that students should be smartly dressed. We expect all of our students to attend wearing the School’s uniform correctly

Uniform checks take place on a daily basis, as students arrive at the school, and throughout the day. Sanctions are issued daily for those ignoring uniform requirements. If for some unavoidable reason a student is temporarily unable to wear an item of uniform a note must be brought from a parent/carer and presented to the Year 7 Pastoral Office before morning registration.

The student will then be issued with a uniform card by the Head of Year/Year Group Tutor, which should then be shown to each subject teacher to explain the unorthodox clothing.

This uniform card will indicate an agreed deadline by which time the uniform breach should be corrected. Thereafter, students may be subject to school sanctions as appropriate.

Uniform Guide

PE Expectations

Arrive on Time
Bring full PE kit
Try your BEST

Excused from PE?
- If you are unable to take part you must still bring full PE kit (as you will remain with your group)
- You must also provide a written note from home explaining why you are unable to participate
- If your group are swimming you must bring PE shorts and t-shirt
Changing Rooms
- Assigned depending on your teacher
- Line up outside your allocated changing room
- All litter to be placed in the bins
- Trainers to be taken off, and surplus mud removed, before entering the changing room, (good idea to bring a carrier bag in case your trainers get muddy)
- All jewellery to be left in the changing room
- All phones to be kept in bags and must not be used whilst in the changing room
- Hair must be tied back • If you have asthma inhalers are your responsibility – you must bring it out with you for every lesson
- No chewing gum

PE Kit

PE Kit for Boys:

PE Kit for Boys:
PE Kit for Girls

Plain white round-necked T-shirt
School Rugby top
Black shorts (no brand logo)
Plain, long black socks
Trainers & Football boots
Shin pads are required for football and gum shields are recommended for rugby
Swimming shorts (any colour) and towel

Optional for Colder Months
- Base layer skin in Black (Thermal base layers are available);
- Traditional style cuffed tracksuit bottoms or performance fit slim athletic training pants in Black;
- Plain black tracksuit bottom, please (no logo)
For Swimming
- Plain one piece swimming costume (bikinis/tankinis are not permitted);
- Plain swimming trunks/swimming shorts (Bermuda shorts are not permitted);
- Plain black swimming cap with/without logo;
- A towel is required.
We recommend that students should have the following items:
- A towel for alternative weather;
- Gum shields & shin pads for Rugby and Hockey;
- Shin pads for Football.

Note for Year 7 students: Please complete the All About Me booklet before you meet your tutors in September

Download the All About Me Booklet

what do I need to know about homework?

The aim of setting students homework is to improve the learning of all through the experience of self-study, using initiative and building up resilience. Trinity School will provide opportunities to:
• Learn independently of the teacher;
• Practise skills learnt in the classroom;
• Complete learning started in the classroom;
• Experience meeting of deadlines in preparation for Post 16 study and lifelong skills;
• Re visit past learning to consolidate knowledge in preparing for examinations

ClassCharts

All our teachers will be setting homework via an online platform called ClassCharts. Staff will post the task, deadline and additional resources on this platform to which students will have a personal log in. Staff can monitor who is therefore engaging with homework and who requires additional support. Students will receive their log in on the first day back in September. Also within the first half term we will send home personal log ins for parents and carers so that you can keep track of what homework is being set and support its completion.

ClassCharts

Behaviour and Discipline

Many parents state their reason for choosing Trinity School for their children is the high standards of behaviour that are expected of all of our students. We have firm but fair policies and procedures to ensure that all of our students behave in a respectful and tolerant way, to staff, other students and members of the local community.

Visitors constantly comment on the fantastic way that students conduct themselves around the building and we always receive excellent feedback from trip facilitators when our students are out on educational visits.

Trinity School rewards students for going above and beyond in their studies and students are recognised for their hard work and dedication through reward logs via the class charts system. This is an online system which enables behaviour events to be recorded.

Your child’s behaviour and progress will be closely reviewed and monitored during each lesson and if they have gone above and beyond in their studies they will receive achievement logs to reward such endeavour.

Disruptive behaviour in lessons is entirely unacceptable. It will be addressed positively and will only lead to further sanctions if students fail to respond appropriately.

Classroom removal is a last resort and is typically only actioned after multiple advices have been ignored. Students will be directed to a ‘good neighbour’ venue to continue with their studies with another teacher. Participation at this level triggers an after-school holdback detention.

If a student fails to attend any form of holdback detention during the week without speaking to their Pastoral Year Leader, they will automatically be added to higher tier consequences such as seclusion or exclusion as appropriate.

Additional detail about our behaviour procedures can be found in the Parent/Carer Handbook on the school website where a full version of the school’s behaviour policy is also available.

Using the Internet

Using the school ICT facilities is a key part of the curriculum and is a valuable tool in the progress being made by all students. However, the safe usage of this tool is vital to maintain the e-safety of each individual in the school.

To assist in the protection of our students, the school uses an up to date monitoring system and firewall that monitors all traffic leaving and coming into the school. Social media is not accessible in any form using the school system and all searches are automatically checked for their content. Students are not able to access the school system using their own devices to protect against the transmission of electronic virus’ etc that could cause damage to your home system and/or the school network.

There is an expectation that an acceptable user agreement is signed by students at the start of the academic year.

Forbidden Items

At the school we take personal health and wellbeing very seriously. Therefore, the following items are forbidden on site. If any of these items are found, they will be confiscated immediately, and sanctions will be imposed:

Cigarettes/vapes and associated paraphernalia – It is illegal for anyone to smoke on or near the school site as it is a public space. Vaping is regarded as ‘smoking’ activity and is equally unacceptable
Illegal drugs and paraphernalia of any kind – this will be dealt with by the school and will include police involvement.
Knives or other sharp implements – It is illegal to carry a concealed weapon of any description in the UK. If any form of weapon is brought on site, this will involve immediate action and police involvement.

How can Parents Help?

Finding the right balance, when giving homework help, is tricky. It is tempting, especially when they have just started Year 7 to help with homework. However, too much help can mean, in the short term, that the day’s lesson is not reinforced. In the long term, if parents are overseeing homework too much, our students won’t learn the organisation skills they need. They can become disconnected from understanding their responsibilities when it comes to homework.

You can support your child by:
• Providing, where possible, a quiet learning environment at home. This doesn’t mean a
different room but somewhere free from distractions such as TV.
• Keep up with home school communication via class charts and school planner. As a parent,
knowing assignments and due dates can be invaluable in supporting your child to meet
deadlines and plan when they will complete the work
• Encourage your child to ask teachers for support, use the Library or LRAs.

Student Curriculum

Students will study a broad and balanced curriculum at Trinity School. Alongside the core subjects of English, Maths and Science, they will study RE, Humanities, a Modern Foreign Language, Art, Technology, and Physical Education.

Student timetables are based upon five lessons per day, each lesson lasts one hour. Student timetables will be provided on the first day of September and are written into planners.
Subject Information sheets are available on the school website

FAQs from Students

How do students find their way around the school? Do we get a map? Is there a year seven area?

Trinity School has a large site and it might take you a little while to find your way around but most students start to learn their way from classroom to classroom in a week or two. If you get lost – and you probably will at some point at first – there are always members of staff and older students on corridors who you can turn to and ask for directions. Don’t be scared as they will be happy to help.

Before you join us in September, you might find it useful to look at the map of the school. It might look complicated but will start to make more sense when you receive your timetable with room numbers on. You will quickly notice that all rooms for a subject tend to be grouped together in one area of the school (e.g. all Art rooms are on the Art corridor on the first floor). This makes it easier to find your way around.

There is a Year 7 Learning Resource Area (LRA) which you can access before 8.30, at break time and after school. For more information about where it is and what it looks like, watch Miss Constant’s video message.
How do we get a locker and how do we know whose is whose?

You will get mor information about how to get a locker in September. If you want a locker, you will need to pay a £5 deposit for the year (this can be done on Pay360). Your Year Group Tutor will then allocate lockers so you may have to wait a few weeks before you know which one is yours as there will be a lot of students wanting one.

All lockers are numbered so you can recognise yours. In year 7, your locker is likely to be located on the first floor, on the Maths/Art corridors and in the area near the Year 7 office. You will also be asked to chose a 4-digit code to activate the lock on your locker and keep it secure.
How do we pay for food in school?

You cannot use cash to pay for food in the dining hall. We will scan your thumb print or a card – which we will give you in school – at the till and the money that you spent will be taken away from your account. Come September, we might not be able to let you use your thumbprint on the machines because of stricter hygiene rules linked to the coronavirus situation. We might use cards only instead.

Your parents/carers can top up your account using Pay360. You can also add money on your account yourself by putting coins or notes into one of the revaluing machines in school. Your Form Tutor will show you where these machines are and how to use them on your first day.
I have heard that if you're late you get a holdback detention but what if we got lost and were late to a lesson? Is there such a thing as a trail week?

There is! We understand that you might sometimes be a bit late to a lesson if you get lost on your way. You may also have to get used to new routines in the morning to arrive in school by 8.25.

If you are late during the first couple of weeks of school, you will not be getting a holdback detention. Your teacher or Form Tutor will probably have a little chat with you to understand why you were late and help you make sure that this doesn’t happen again.

We will let you know during registration and assemblies of when we plan to start giving holdback detentions for lateness. By then, you will have had time to learn your way around the school.
I have been asked to put the names of three students down from my primary school and I wondered what the chances are of being in the same form?

Your primary school will have passed this information onto us. We will try as much as possible to put you in the same form as one of your friends and people who your Year 6 teachers told us you work well with, but this is not always possible.

Most people will end up in the same form as at least one friend from primary school. If you come from a smaller primary school – or a school where not many people come to Trinity – this might not be the case. Do not worry though as you will quickly get to know new people from your form group, and this will help you make new friends.

Also, being in the same form as a friend does not mean that you will be sitting together in class. In fact, you might be in different classes for some of your subjects, like Maths and English. You will still be able to see your friends during social times: break and lunch times, before and after school.
Do we have a break? Is this the same break for all classes and years?

You will get a break in the morning after your first two lessons of the day. During break time, you can go outside to relax in one of the courtyards, meet your friends from other classes, buy food and drinks from the dining hall, go to the Year 7 Learning Resource Area to use the computers or go to the toilet.

Break time is normally the same for all year groups in the school, but this might be different in September if rules on physical distancing are still in place. We will let you know nearer the time.

The Year 7 lunch time is at a different time from the rest of the school, so the dining hall and courtyard do not get crowded at this time.
What equipment do we have to bring?

We expect every student to have their ‘famous five’ in their bag and pencil case every day: a 4-way pen (or equivalent black, red, blue and green pens), a pencil, a rubber, a ruler and your school planner. You should also have a maths set and scientific calculator for your maths lessons and a French/Spanish dictionary for your languages lessons.

When you watch the welcome videos from our teachers, they will also let you know of specific equipment that you will need for practical subjects, like in Food Technology for example.

On the days when you have PE, you will also need to remember to bring your PE kit.
How do we find out about the after-school clubs such as sports theatre music drama art etc?
What happens if at break time there isn't enough time to go to the toilet? Can I go to the toilet in the middle of a lesson?

You should try to go to the toilet at break and/or lunch time as much as possible to avoid missing out on lesson time. There is usually enough time and enough toilets available around school to accommodate this.

If you really need to go to the toilet during a lesson, you will need to find an appropriate time to ask your teacher for their permission and they will give you a note. You may need to show this note to other members of staff if they ask you why you are out of your lesson.

Teachers may refuse permission to go to the toilet if you ask to go just after break or lunchtime, or in the last 10-15 minutes of a lesson before break or lunch. In September, we might also have to be stricter about when people go to the toilet if social distancing rules are still in place, but we will let you know about this on your first day.
Am I allowed to bring my mobile phone? If so, when can I use it and is it safe?