A guide for Year 7

Students
Head of Year 7
I would like to introduce myself as Ms. Nash and I am the Head of Year 7. I have been a
teacher for 15 years and this will be my first year at Woolwich Polytechnic School for Girls - just
like you! I am very excited to be part of the team at this new school and passionately
believe it is, and will continue to be, an outstanding school.
My hope is that all students in my care have a smooth a transition from primary school and
that they make an excellent start to secondary education. This will be even more important
now, due to the circumstances that have occurred during this academic year. The Poly is a
fantastic school and a place where we strive to make all students achieve more than they
could ever have imagined. There will be a huge range of clubs and activities for students to
be involved in and I will help and encourage all students to make the most of their time here.
At the moment, with only two year groups, we are a relatively small secondary school which
means we will know the students very well and our pastoral care is excellent. We will strive to
support them to become the very best versions of themselves. When the students start in
September I cannot emphasize how important first impressions are. The
students will immediately become part of the Poly community and we insist
on perfect uniform, a polite and responsible attitude to others and an
outstanding work ethic. Be prepared! I look forward to meeting and
working with you all.

Ms Nash

Deputy Head of Year 7 & 8

Welcome to Woolwich Poly! I am Mr McLeggan, known as Mr Mac and I am a Science
teacher as well as being your deputy head of year. In terms of my favourite topics in
Science I have a strong passion for human biology such as anatomy, genetics and disease.
Whilst at school you will come across many different experiences: some fun and some more
challenging. No matter what I will be here to support and guide you in achieving your goals
as well as making you realise your full potential. I am not only enthusiastic to
help you achieve academic success; I also want you to develop the life
skills you will need for your adult life. As well as academic success, we will
be looking forward to seeing your artistic talents and sporting skills. I look
forward to seeing each of you working on creating your legacy.

Mr Mac

Head of Pastoral Care

As the Head of Pastoral Care, my job is to ensure that all students at WPSfG are happy,
healthy and safe whilst thriving in school too. I will support all the staff in the school to make
sure that we give you any help that you might need at any time. I firmly believe in our school
values; Leadership, Excellence and Resilience, and I want to be certain that all students are
given the opportunity to become the very best that they can be, both as individuals and as
part of the wider community. Some students may need some extra help and guidance to
get there, some may thrive from day one; you are all different and we will do our best to
support you to achieve.

I hope that this has given those of you who are a little nervous some
reassurance. Secondary school is not as scary as you think it might be and
we will do our best to make it as successful for you as possible!

Ms Smith
Poly and Proud

We expect all of our students to be the best version of themselves, this will
show that you are Poly and Proud. In order to do this, you will always need to
keep to our three school rules:

Be Ready
Be Respectful
Be Responsible

And always demonstrate our values:

Leadership
Resilience
Excellence
How you can meet these expectations:

✓ You will have excellent attendance and punctuality to school and will
receive rewards for it each term.
✓ In lessons, you will work hard to make the most progress possible and
rise to any challenge given; you will not give up when something is
tough.
✓ You will bring the correct books and equipment for each day (e.g. PE
kit).
✓ You will always carry a reading book with you and read at home for at
least 30 minutes every day.
✓ You will use your contact diary to record your homework, complete it
all on the day it is set, and hand it in on time.
✓ You will look after any books or equipment that is given to you to use as
if they are your own. You will not graffiti on or damage any school
property in any way.
✓ You will always behave like a leader – in classrooms, in corridors, in the
playground and anywhere else that you go – both in and out of school
time.
✓ You will be kind and caring towards others.
✓ If you are struggling with anything, you will seek help. Ask a member of
staff, a family member or look online for support.
✓ You will follow instructions the first time, every time.
Timings of the school day

School starts at 8.45am each day, you are expected to be in the playground
for line up at 8.40am.

8.45 – 9.10am Line up then AM Registration

9.10 – 10.00am Period 1
10.00 – 10.50am Period 2
10.50 – 11.05am Break
11.05 – 11.55am Period 3
11.55 – 12.45pm Period 4
12.45 – 1.25pm Lunch
1.25 - 2.15pm Period 5
2.15 – 3.05pm Period 6
3.05 – 3.15pm PM Registration

This changes slightly on Wednesdays where PM Registration will be at 2.15pm

and school finishes at 2.25pm (there is no Period 6 on Wednesdays).

What do you need to bring?

On the first day, as well as wearing your full school uniform, you will need to
bring a school bag (black rucksack) that is big enough to fit your school
books and equipment in it. You should also bring the following:
- A reading book
- Your PE kit and trainers
- Calculator (unless you are buying it in school)

You will also be given a contact diary which you then have to bring to school
with you EVERY DAY. You will have your timetable in your contact diary, and
this will tell you what lessons you will have each day. You will only need to
bring your PE kit on days where you have PE or a sport club. You must use
your contact diary every day and use your timetable to pack your bag for
school each night, ready for the next day.

Your teachers will tell you if you need to bring anything specific for their
subject as and when it is needed (e.g. ingredients for cooking).
Homework and organisation
You will be set homework every day and you will need to write it down in your
contact diary so that you don’t forget what you must do. You should be
spending at least 1 hour and 30 minutes every night completing your
homework to the best of your ability. If you have slightly less homework on
any evening you should revise what you have learnt previously.

At home, make sure you set aside a place where you can complete
homework at a desk or table and without distraction. You shouldn’t do your
homework whilst sitting on your bed or in front of the TV, this isn’t the right
place for you to concentrate, you will not produce your best work.

You should do your homework on the day that it is set. Then, if there is
something that you are struggling with or you do not understand, there will be
time to speak to your teacher the next day and ask for help before it is due
in. You should not be handing in your homework late under any
circumstances.

To keep it simple, all homework at WPSfG is the same, we complete

something called ‘self quizzing’ which is a revision style activity that we will
teach you to do. If you want, you can look it up on our school website and
get a head start. (You will also be set some online questions for some
subjects).

You should be reading as often as possible, for at least 30 minutes every day.
You should be trying to read as many different things as possible too, fiction
and non-fiction, novels and newspapers…. Anything and everything is great
to build your skills and vocabulary.

Your contact diary will also have your timetable in it so that you can use it to
pack your bag ready for school. You should do this before you go to bed so
that you don’t have to rush to do it in the morning. You should get your
uniform ready the night before school too. Remember that your blazer, tie,
shirt, skirt/trousers, shoes and lanyard are compulsory – you must wear them
at all times! You also need to bring your contact diary to school every day
and have it signed by your parents/carer every week.

It’s a good idea to have your own alarm set for the time you need to get up,
you should be developing good habits so that you don’t have to rely on your
parents or carers to get you up every day. Remember, if you are late you
will get a 1 hour reset after school so you must be on time and ready.
It would be helpful if you could learn these acronyms over the holiday so that
you know exactly what the staff mean when they say SLANT or STEPS once
school begins.

Sit up straight,

Listen,

Answer questions,

Never interrupt,

Track the teacher, text or speaker.

Say…. Sir or Miss,

Thank you,

Excuse me,

Please, and…

Smile!
Recommended Reading List
At WPSfG we firmly believe that reading is one of the biggest keys to success.
We highly recommend that you read as much as you can over the summer
holidays and if you haven’t already got a membership to your local library
that you go and sign up! We would also LOVE to have your book reviews in
September so that we can share them with everyone.

We have also put together a list of books that we highly recommend for you
and a website that you can visit for even more ideas!

Books that you could try….

For more ideas visit: https://thereaderteacher.com/year6fiction/

LEARNING EMPOWERS

Headteacher: Ms S Kazmi

For more information look on the school

website:
www.woolwichpolygirls.com

For queries around Year 6-7 transition,

please email:
[email protected]