Weekly Newsletters

On Monday I received a wonderful letter from the parents of Molli Tilney in year 7.  A few months ago I wrote in the weekly newsletter to congratulate Molli’s Ice skating achievements.  I remember writing that  “we may have a future British Champion”, well the letter I received was to share the amazing news that Molli has become a British Champion!!  Whilst many of us were absorbed in watching the World Cup, Molli was at the British Championships at the National Ice Skating Arena in Sheffield, being awarded the Gold Medal for the Ladies British Solo Ice Dancing Championship.Congratulations to Molli – what an amazing achievement so early in her career.  Dare I say we may have a future world champion?!

As we draw towards the end of another academic year, I would like to remind everyone of the arrangements for Friday 20 July and also for the start of the next academic year.On Friday we will finish at approximately 1.35pm.  There will only be a break 1 service available in the canteen.

Over the summer holidays there will a considerable amount of work on the school reception and cycle spaces.  I hope to share with you in the first newsletter of the next academic year the changes which will be welcomed by everyone.

All students return on Wednesday 5 September, however, there will be a special induction session for the new Year 7 students on Tuesday 4 September starting at 8.45am.  I am aware that the recent letter confirming your child’s tutor group placement for September did have the incorrect date and we apologise for this error. As a reminder I have included the uniform and equipment checklist so that we get off to the best possible start, ensuring that conversations are about learning and not about breaches of the school’s uniform policy.

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Year 11 students can wear either a white collared shirt or blouse.

 
Finally, I would like to publicly thank all the staff for their hard word this year and also to acknowledge the following staff that are leaving us

• Miss Blackwood
• Miss Clissett
• Mrs Thirsk
• Ms Goodfellow
• Ms Nuzzo
• Mr Anderson
• Mrs Leeman
• Ms Beverley Stone
• Mr Cardillo
• Mrs Day

In particular, I would like to pay a particular tribute to Mrs Holland, Chair of Governors for her twenty years of service as a governor and chair of Governors.  Not many people appreciate the level of responsibility and commitment required to carry out this vitally important voluntary role.  Mrs Holland will be stepping away from the role of Chair of Governors and this is a very sad moment for everyone connected with the school.  We wish her well and hope that she continues to look out for the school.

Bryan Erwin
Principal

Our nominee this year was Mohammed Shafiq in Year 10 who was recognised for his outstanding effort and hard work in physics throughout the year.

On Wednesday Miss Blackwood met Mohammed and his family at Churchill College Cambridge to be awarded his certificate and prize. There were demonstrations of classic Physics experiments as well as a talk about Tycho Brahe’s supernova of AD 1572.

Cambridge University also gave an excellent talk about the route to study Physics at Cambridge which really highlighted the important links between maths and science in school.

This is a fantastic opportunity for a student who has shown dedication to a challenging subject and we hope this can provide many future opportunities for Mohammed.

Well done!

Miss Blackwood
Teacher of Science

Current Y10 students, who are going to be Y11 next year, have completed all of the Biology content. To help them retain this information - and I stress that there is a lot to remember - I have set holiday work on Connect for Y10 to complete.

The work comprises of revision presentations and questions that have been set on Doddle and SAM Learning. Students should be able to remember their log on details for at least one of these. If they have forgotten please email me at k.young [at] kscs.org.uk and I will reply with details as quickly as I can. Science teachers are expecting at least one of these websites to be used and we will be given a report of who has done their work. The deadline for this work is as late as I can set it, which is August 18th, so students have a month. While not a popular activity in the holiday, it has a significant impact on final results, and I would ask parents to encourage their Y10 child to complete all the tasks.

Thank you for your support.

Mrs Young
Teacher of Science

J Sothmann (KSCS teacher)

I am one that is always up for a bit of a challenge.  40 miles in 3 days, sounds like a walk in the park... It is not exactly that. This amazing journey through the Jurassic Coastline, up and down hills, is a true test of one's mental and physical strength.  To be part of the team of staff and students from Ken Stimpson that completed the 40 mile walk makes me immensely proud of everyone's achievements.  The students shone during the course of our time away.  They faced enormous hills and valleys, stifling heat courtesy of the sun, a lot of walking and stunning views.  I cannot fault the students and their achievements.  Their sense of accomplishment was evident on their faces from the moment they finished the "sprint finish" of the 10th anniversary walk and was still evident on Tuesday upon their return to school.  It has been a pleasure to be a part of the Ken Stimpson team that conquered the walk and I would recommend it to all students, staff and parents.

Len Donnelly (KSCS teacher)

Back in October, Mr Whales introduced a charity walk to students that for some reason really struck a chord with me and I was straight up volunteering to be one of the staff on the walk. Those who know me would definitely not call me athletic and as the walk got closer serious doubts set in. The walk itself was without doubt the most physical and mental challenge I have ever done and yes there was a point towards the end of day one when I seriously questioned why. The feeling of achievement, comradery and pride in myself, colleagues, the students of Ken Simpson and the wonderful new friends from all over the country was unbelievable! I will definitely be back next year and for years to come, I just hope the blisters have gone by then. Great weekend, great cause and you would want to bottle the way you feel when you complete it!

Nimah Butler (KSCS student)

These past few days I have been set a challenge to walk 40 miles in 3 days. It’s been hard and I didn’t want to give up; I wanted to get through it as it is for an amazing cause. There were times I thought I wasn’t going to be able to get up the mountain and that my legs were going to fall off but I persevered through it. 
I would like to say thank you to Mr Whales for giving us the chance to attempt the walk and I’m so glad that I got given this opportunity to support the Malcom Whales charity. 
I will be looking forward to the ones in future years. If you didn’t make it this year I would definitely give it a go next year as it’s such an amazing experience, one I will never forget.

Ashley Steadman (KSCS student)

I would like to say to the people that didn’t come on the walk you have really missed out. Although it was tough at times it was an amazing walk.

To Mr Whales you have done an amazing job and have put a smile on everyone’s face. I am so glad to have been on the 10th year of the walk. To have been put in a position of losing a loved one and then to do something in their memory is outstanding. Thank you and well done.

KSCS parent

My daughter from KSCS came on the trip after her Grandad dying a week before , he had previously fought bowel cancer. She came back from the trip with a sense of pride and achievement having finished and feeling she had done it for her Grandad and raised money to help a cause he supported.
She had already decided she wants to do it next year. Thanks to all for making it possible for these kids to take part in such a worthy trip.

More information can be found on www.malcolmwhales.co.uk, @TMWF_Dorsetwalk and via the Facebook page @Themalcolmwhalesfoundation

Many thanks for your support.

Mr D Whales
Vice Principal

Congratulations to Aspire House who have taken back the first place.  There has also been movement within 3rd and 4th place.  I wish everyone a lovely summer break and hope that the students return refreshed on Wednesday 5th September.  For year 7 start date is Tueday 4th September.  Let us all work together to keep attendance high and to make sure you are making the most out of every lesson.               

   "Teachers open the door. You enter by yourself."