Term One News

Year's 10 and 11

A big warm welcome back to Term One at Gillotts. For most students in year's 10 and 11 the big DiDA challenge is to get Unit One completed before Friday October 24th which is the day before the autumn holiday. Over the holiday the ICT team will provide individual feedback so that students then have around four weeks to get their projects finalised for the December 1st deadline when EdExcel close the window on receipt of marks for Check it Out.

To help students we will be holding catch-up sessions on Wednesday evenings from September 17th when we will attempt to have at least two ICT teachers on duty to help students. PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR STUDENTS TO ATTEND THESE SESSIONS.

If you have any concerns or worries about your child's progress please contact Mr Thomas the subject leader or any member of the ICT team.

Year 9

Our target for Year 9 is to get all students through Unit One - Dance O Clock by May 2009. This is a big challenge for both students and teachers. In lessons we will be working on the eportfolio and revisting each of the raw publications the students worked in Year 8. So far we have got off to a good start. Later in the year we will be introducing catch-up sessions to help students meet the dealine.

Year 8

We are currently waiting for EdExcel to publish this year's SPB. The information we have at present is that the publications will based on local tourism. The expected release date is around September 30th. In the build-up we are focusing on creating a series of publications where the students are required to ensure that each has a consistent corporate theme. Don't forget to revisit the blog to find out full details of the SPB at the end of the month.

Year 7

The first project for Year 7s will be 'Cyberscary'. This is the ICT teacher's favourite topic of the year and one which the students all seem to enjoy. The students are required to use MSPublisher to design a bookcover based on the 'Cyberscary' book review. Full details can be found on our Moodle site.

DiDA Marks

When students receive their final grades from the EdExcel exam board they are either D, M, C or P. Understandably this has caused some confusion, especially with last year's Year 11. If students have passed just one unit they will receive the Award in Digital Applications (AiDA) while two units will secure a Certificate in Digital Applications (CiDA). Each award which is equivalent to a higher level GCSE is graded as follows:

D = Distinction = A*

M = Merit = A

C = Credit = B

P = Pass = P