Wholeschool Portal | Home 22 February 2012
 
  
 

Key Stage 3 Curriculum

In order to provide a wide and balanced Curriculum in each year group at Key Stage 3, St Genevieve’s have developed a timetable that covers 10 days (2 weeks).  This arrangement allows our students to access all the Areas of Learning within time allocations that we believe are meaningful and effective.  In everyday school life our students will follow either a ‘WEEK A‘or ‘WEEK B’ timetable and this is planned well in advance to ensure equilibrium throughout the school year.

Day of the Week

Number of 1 Hour Lessons

Monday

5

Tuesday

4

Wednesday

5

Thursday

5

Friday

5

 

 

 

 

 

Daily Timetable
Each school day has five teaching periods of 1 hour.  The only exception to this is on Tuesday when pupils finish lessons after period 4 to allow all to participate in extra curricular activities.

Year 8 and 9 will follow this timetable.  Slight differences effects Year 10. 

School Day

Time

Teacher

Registration

8.50am to 9.10am

Form Teacher

Period 1

9.10am to 10.10am

Subject Teacher

Break

10.10am to 10.25am

Supervised Areas

Period 2

10.25am to 11.25am

Subject Teacher

Period 3

11.25am to 12.25pm

Subject Teacher

Lunch

12.25pm to 1.05pm

Supervised Area

Period 4

1.05pm to 2.05pm

Subject Teacher

Period 5

2.05pm to 3.05pm

Subject Teacher

Registration

3.05pm to 3.15pm

Form Teacher










Class Sizes

Each Year Group within Key Stage 3 has 8 Form Classes.  The sizes of these classes range from 18 to 24 pupils.  Form Class groups remain together for most subjects except for practical lessons such as Physical Education and Technology and Design.  For these subjects class sizes are restricted in size and therefore some Form Groups are split to make up smaller practical groups. 

 

Subjects Studied at Key Stage 3 

A sample of subjects and time allocation for each over a 10 day timetable.

Subject Titles

Year 8

Year 9

Year 10

English

6 Hours

6 Hours

7 Hours

Mathematics

6

6

7

Art

2

2

2

Home Economics

2

2

2

Information Technology

2

1

 

Music

2

2

2

Drama

1

1

 

Technology and Design

2

2

2

Citizenship

1

1

 

Employability

1

1

 

French

3

3

3

Geography

3

3

3

History

3

3

3

Irish

3

3

3

Physical Education

2

2

2

Religious Education

4

3

4

Science

4

6

6

Careers

 

 

1

Social Education

1

1

1

Total number of 1 hour classes over 10 day timetable

48

48

48


 

Assembly Time
Each Year Group will have an assembly planned on one morning each week.

 The type of Assembly varies and can include;

  • Principle’s Assembly- Timetabled throughout the Year
  • Year Head Assembly- Each Year Group has a Year Head who will lead the Year Group in Morning Prayer and pass on important information on a weekly bases.
  • Class Assembly- Each Form Class will write and present assembly to the rest of their year group. These assemblies are an opportunity for Form Classes to be creative and use the talents of individual members to lead the year group in prayer through song, dance, role play and art.
  • Awards Assembly- Director of Studies will conduct these assembles and will recognise pupils who gain 100% attendance for example. (See Achievement Record)
  • Guest Speaker- From time to time pupils will welcome guest speakers to assembly.  This may be a Youth Worker or a visit from the Gideon Society.
  • Fund Raising Information for ‘Ajosepo’ Project- all students have an opportunity to raise funds for our chosen charity.  From time to time our teacher volunteers will give a presentation on the work being done to support ‘Ajosepo’. 

Enrichment in Key Stage 3

Additional Initiatives which support the Curriculum at Key Stage 3 in 2010/2011

(Only a sample included.  For more information see our events calendar)

Year 8

September

Year 8 Induction and enrolment in small groups and day includes ICT Training and some sporting activities provided by the P.E Department.  These activities are essential to help with Transition from Primary and provide students and parents with an opportunity to meet with Key members of staff.

Young Enterprise ‘Your School, Your Business’

Working in groups and as individuals, students are provided with an opportunity to talk to and work with other pupils within the Year Group.  Pupils are encouraged to take ownership and make contributions towards Class Group, Year Group and School Community.

November

West Belfast Project will conduct sessions with all Year 8 classes on the issue of ‘Bullying’. 1 Hour

December

Love for Life

The Love for Life course supports the Year 8 Personnel Education Programme and gives pupils an opportunity to speak to someone other than a teacher about issues or questions that they have. 

December-January

Young Enterprise

In line with our ‘Teaching and Learning Policy’ this initiative should help pupils prepare for assessment either at end of module or end of Year. 

Primary School Visits

Year 8 pupil’s help with promotion of the school through visits made to local primary schools.  It is important that our pupils feel they can make a positive contribution to help promote our school community.

Big Bus’ – Provided by City Bus

As the majority of our pupils depend on public transport this course is extremely informative highlighting services already provided and allows pupils time to consider how the actions of a few can cause series disruption for many others. 

Year 9

September

Young Enterprise – Enterprising Skills and Qualities

Problem Solving, taking risks, working as part of a team, being creative, public speaking and much more.  In these session students are given tasks which had to be completed in a team and each member of the team had a specific role.  The pupils were fully engaged and the course was designed to support areas of LLW.

October

Special Assemblies

West Belfast Group - Awareness of the Dangers of Smoking (1-2 Hours in classes sized groups).This course helps promote healthy life style and supports the Personnel Education Programme at Key Stage 3.

November

Love for Life Programme ‘I Zone’– 1 Hour

This course is delivered to all classes in Year 9 by an outside agency.  Part of our Year 9 Personal Development.

SPSS Friendship Group (Small Group)

Designed to help provide support for individuals when possible.

Heart Math/Safe Place Programme

A Pilot this year which is only running with one Year 9 Class.  The objective is to use the programme as a means to improve student emotional stability, relationships and overall student well being by reducing stress and improving behaviour and learning.

January

Ski Trip

Year 10 

November/December

West Belfast Project – Drugs Awareness

These 1-2 hour course helps support aspects of our Personal Development Course delivered in Year 10.  Gives pupils opportunity to speak to real Youth Workers who are knowledgeable and who are not teachers.

January

Young Enterprise – Project Business

An introduction into organisations and how they operate.  Tasks around making money, banking and organising business.  Personal skills and qualities highlighted and opportunities for pupils to learn about the world of work.  Links to LLW, Personal Development and Careers.

Ski Trip

February

Curriculum Meeting before Parent Teacher Meeting

Initially to give information and answer queries that parents have regarding subject choice, criteria etc.

March

Delamont Trip

Two and a half days of outdoor activities designed to raise self awareness and team work. 

Celebrating Success in Key Stage 3

In September 2010 St Genevieve’s launched a brand new initiative that was designed to recognise the achievements of all of our students.  At Key Stage 3 the system is known as the ‘Achievement Record ’and all Subject and Form teachers can nominate students for their efforts under the following categories;

  • Effort in Class
  • Quality of Work
  • Most Improved

Each nomination has a value of one point except for ‘SPECIAL NOMINATIONS’ which are worth more points. ‘Special Nominations’ can be given by any member of staff to any pupil for something extraordinary that that pupil has achieved or done.

A prize book is published for each class with points representing different prizes. Each month nominations are tallied for every student and pupils are free to convert these nominations into prizes. Students can continue to save nomination through the year so that they can select a bigger prize at the end of term.

This system has proved extremely successful and we hope to end the year with our first Key Stage 3 Prize Giving Event which will recognise a wide range of successes across the Key Stage.

Collaboration Event


Year 9 Curriculum Event 2010

As part of our Curriculum Planning for Year 9 we organized a series of events which are designed to allow pupils to make educational links between subject areas that they already study at Key Stage 3.  The theme for this Collaborative Learning in Year 9 is

The Wonder of Nature’. 

The Black Mountain Experience

On Wednesday 20th October around forty pupils and four members of staff launched the Year 9 Collaboration as they set out on the first trip to the Black Mountain.  The day started cool, damp and very misty but 9G and 9T were eager to get off the bus and start walking towards the observation point that would hopefully give them a spectacular view of the city and beyond.

 
  

Very few of the students had ever visited this local attraction even though it is just a few miles from the school building and part of our local environment.As the fog settled low on the landscape the pupils were able to capture some dramatic scenery.  The view and atmosphere seemed to change with every turn in the path. Pupils came prepared with work sheets and were encouraged to describe the sounds, smells and surrounding which would form research for a piece of poetry they would write on their return to school.







The weather changed as we walked on and although the north wind was cutting at times the landscape was bathed in sunlight.  The pupils may have been shivering but even they were taken back by the sights from our final view point.