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HOME FAQ overview HOW IT WORKS BOOKING & FEES TERM DATES DOWNLOADS CONTACT US
FAMILIES SAY ... ASSESS A SCHOOL STUDENTS HOW WE TEACH SOFTWARE? OUR 3 CLASSES TIMETABLE TEACHERS PERSONAL SUPPORT EXAMS HOME EDUCATION USEFUL LINKS DOWNLOADS CONTACT US |
First College HOW IT WORKS DAY BY DAY
 A TYPICAL SCHOOL DAYWake up! get up and get to the computer. No school run for me! Log in to the classrooms and great! my best friend is already in school waiting for me. Have a good groan about that homework last night then we say hello to the new guy who comes in. He's cool with the software because he's had the usual personal training on it but he wanted to know what the teachers are like. We said they are OK not to worry. One of the teachers arrives and we all chat a bit together which is enlivened by my cat getting between me and the keyboard silly moggie. Off to my first class. It's Sciences and we're doing a practical experiment so there's a list to copy down for when we shop this week: some sea salt and a potato and stuff. In the break my best friend and I check out some cool music till it's time for class again. History and you'd never believe the weird gear those people wore! The pictures flashing up were amazing and there's a quiz on a site that tells you who you'd have been if you lived back then. I didn't understand quite a few things but no problem I could just put the questions up in a private chat to the teacher. In the lunch hour I walked the dog for Mum and then joined the DJ show the kids do in one of the classrooms. Last lesson English. This was quite hard but interesting because we could all choose our own topic. It's about advertising and how it persuades us to buy things. Big discussion about advertising alcohol and sweets. After school I had a bit of a flop in my room with the cat and a DVD. Then it was homework. Wasn't sure what to do for one question so I sent a message to the teacher - should get the answer back tomorrow. My Report isn't looking too bad, only one Overdue flasher so if mum checks it tonight she'll be OK. My old school friends are let out at last so I phone my other best friend who's exhausted with the travelling and lugging her bag around all day. Long chat on phone till mum yells for me to get off as usual. Swimming, supper and bed. THE HOMEWORK SYSTEMEach student has their own private work area which displays a Report page. This lists all subjects and each work item in all the subjects. (For two students in one family this means two personal work areas.) Only the student, their parent/s and their teachers can see this private area with its Report. Each subject like English or Sciences has a box with every work item showing a big coloured marker. A red marker means that work has been set but not yet done. Blue means it was sent in. A flasher warns it's late and gone overdue. A pearl shows it's completed, with its grade beside it. Teacher comments are also displayed via a link off the Report boxes. This can all be quickly viewed and checked by parent or teacher any time so as to help the student if they need support to get missing work done, or else deserve praise for staying on top of their workload. Messages can be sent here between student, teacher and parents to cover questions or help needed. These trigger emails so for example the student gets alerted when homework has beenb marked, and gets a personal copy of the comments made. Parents get an alert email if work goes overdue. Our Report software is a pioneering design we developed ourselves that helps us work closely with the family, keeping them well informed day by day. Obviously we are very proud of this sophisticated communication system provided for our families, and that it is easy for the family to use. A LEARNING COMMUNITYThere is a strong emphasis on the school as a learning community, not just a bundle of tutored subjects. In order to study efficiently students need to learn how to work in groups, how to mix with others from different backgrounds, how to get help from teachers, and how to both get help from and give it to other students. We train in a practical philosophy we call "shared space" which students find easy to grasp, that explains why we all have to accept certain limits on what we do when we are using the "shared space" of the school (or any shared work project). The teen years can be a very lonely time which makes having a supportive learning community that much more important. So we encourage friendships to develop through private communication in and out of school. We teach clear effective ways to handle awkwardness or disagreements constructively so that social skills can mature. However, being a teenager is a time when privacy and independence is also very important. Some are 'loners' by preference, and some very much need a quieter period for personal reflection when going through difficulties. The option to connect is always there, and gently encouraged, but not in any hearty or forced way. PARENT TEACHER PARTNERSHIPParents are the first educators of their children, and the long-term managers of their education (see Parents page). Parents have influence which goes far beyond school and teachers, an issue proved by research (Desforges 2003). We can help, advise and support, but it is ultimately parents who decide what is best. Parents' practical support is most important of all in the area of homework which is why we provide our powerful homework system so parents always know what is going on. It is an important aspect of our approach to parents that parents can talk to each other if they wish it. Parents are a very important part of our community and a community does not flourish if its members are held apart from each other in isolation! The great wealth of knowledge and experience among parents is an educational resource too important for them not to be able to share it for mutual support. However this is an option and no pressure isput upon parents to use these resources. We just provide parents with an email discussion list and a discussion board area. Finally First College positively welcomes parents' suggestions and ideas to enrich the school for all to benefit. Some parents may also be interested in becoming actively involved in the work of the school, and this would be a welcome interest.
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