Weekly Newsletters

• Tuesday 16 January is the Year 10 subject evening 4-7pm. It will be an excellent opportunity for you to have one to one dialogue's regarding the progress of your child just nearly at the midpoint of studying for their GCSE's. If you have not already made bookings then it is not too late, you can do so by clicking here.
• On Wednesday 24 January the next Parents' Forum is scheduled. I have invited Mrs Nottingham and Miss Berry from the Humanities faculty to present on the lower school Humanities curriculum provision. I look forward to seeing many of you at the evening.
• The whole school production of "Back to the 80s" will run from 30 January to 1 February. Tickets can be purchased on the door but also online by clicking here.
• Letters are going out today to invite you and your child to the Year 9 Pathways process on February 6. This evening is significant in helping your child become better informed in working with key staff to make their GCSE provision which begins later in the year. The letter is attached to this week's newsletter.

Change of date for the public consultation - school new build proposal for autumn 2019

Please could you make a change to your diary as I was informed yesterday that the Public Consultation on the design proposals to develop a brand new extension to the school will be on Wednesday 7 February from 3 - 7pm, not Tuesday 23 January as previously advised. It will be held in the Assembly Hall. It brings some very exciting opportunities and as a parent/local resident you may have questions about the development. A team of architects, local authority representatives, myself and Governors will be on hand to share these exciting designs and answer any questions that may be raised on the evening.

Congratulations!

It was nice to award Alan Pietrzak in Year 9 with a huge hamper of goodies supplied by Ellior (our catering company) this week. Alan's name was drawn out as he was one of many students that had spent over £25 on food over the term. The catering company will be running further prize draws during this and next term.

Bryan Erwin
Principal

Every week I will be sending out resources students can start using at home called the final countdown, this may seem premature but there are only 76 teaching days to the first maths exam on the 24 of May and revising gradually is much more effective. Using the countdown alongside Hegarty and other revision resources will really make the difference to closing the gap on areas students still have issues with. Please find attached week 3 of the extra questions students can do at home with the support of parents, as mark schemes and examiner's reports are also attached. I will continue to attach five topics that regularly appear on examinations, there is also a Personal Learning Checklist so students can track what they feel they have mastered and what they need more help on. This can be used alongside Hegarty maths which has video tutorials to help students understand topics.

Revision guides are also available in school at cost price saving you more than 50% on the RRP. There are 3 books at £2.50 each and an answer book for £1. Please see your class teacher, Mr Hussain or Mr Donnelly if you wish to purchase these. Alternatively you could pay on the schools parent pay system.

The final PPE exams will be straight after half term, so only 20 teaching days away!

Mr Donnelly
Second in Mathematics

Midnight Musings

The eerie silence of midnight,

Looms in the air, no sound to be heard,

A single whisper could pierce the night

Utterly alone, utterly peaceful,

Completely alive, my brain is a whirlwind

The muses are whispering into my ear

Thoughts and words I can’t hear them

My mind is blocked, unable to be helped.

I tried shouting during the day

But nobody would listen, I was invisible

Ignored, nobody cared

The light gave me no inspiration

No hope of friendliness,

So I turned towards the night,

Towards my own solitude,

And in that moment, I felt like myself.

Chloe Greenwood
Year 13 Student

I speak of the 80s, the iconic decade that brought us so much, and several hairstyles we’d rather forget. 

Back to the 80s is a nostalgic, tongue-in-cheek, trip back in time. Featuring some of the greatest music from Cyndi Lauper, Wham, Billy Ocean, Michael Jackson and, of course, Madonna ; as well as lively dance routines. Come along for the “Time of Your Life” as we tell the story of Corey Palmer and his journey through the school year.

Performances are at 6.30pm nightly on the following dates:-

• Tuesday 30 January
• Wednesday 31 January
• Thursday 1 February

Come on the Wednesday in 80s Fancy Dress and receive a £1.00 back off the ticket price.

Reserve seats by purchasing tickets in advance online at www.ticketsource.co.uk/kscs or pay on the door (subject to availability).

Tickets priced at £8.00 for adults and £5.00 for OAPs and Students or buy a family ticket (2 adults, 2 children) for just £20.00.

We look forward to welcoming you to the show.

Mr Norman
Head of Performing Arts Faculty

Last academic year, we had great success with the trial of the 'student shout' as a regular occurrence in the weekly newsletter. I feel it is incredibly important to showcase the achievements of students in our school and the school council who work tirelessly alongside Mr Erwin to improve the school environment.

The school council held their first of many meetings in November where we discussed a variety of issues such as the new structure of the school day, connect, the canteen and plans for charity/ reward events throughout the year. Since then, we have had 3 in depth meetings with Mr Erwin and Mrs Boughton to discuss these issues and have begun putting plans into action.

It is extremely humbling to see the amount of positive comments we were being given about staff around the school and how many of them go above and beyond their job role to give us extra support and advice. As a school council we decided that it was only fair that these staff members get the recognition that they deserve for their efforts and set about designing a set of 'postcards' which show our appreciation. Last December the first batch of these were hand delivered to several members of staff, each of these containing personalised messages that were given to us by the school council - it really was an amazing experience being able to see the success of an idea implemented by the student council.

Over the next year, we hope to ensure that every student has a voice, and that it is heard. We aim to hold another set of School Council meetings and hope they are as successful as the last.

Your House Captains for 2018-

• Excellence House Captain - Laura Griffin
• Excellence House Deputy - Stefan Cozzetto

"My main aim during this school year regarding being in the school council is to ensure that students have good working environments. I would like to try to make students in excellence house feel more involved in what is happening around the school and what they could change."

•  Integrity House Captain - Amie Johnson
•  Integrity House Deputy - Georgina Peters & Anna Pinto

"This year I intend to make sure that everyone's thoughts and opinions are listened to and I'd like for everyone, both integrity and the other 3 houses, to feel as though they can come to me to express anything that they feel needs changing or praising. I also hope to better the school through school council meeting feedback and the idea's that you guys have."

•  Aspire House Captain- Kayla Green
•  Aspire House Deputy - Thomas Alexander

"Over this academic year, I am to make sure that every student knows that their voice is heard and that every person in the school knows that their opinion is valued. I look forward to doing my part for the school council and helping in whatever way I can."

• Success House Captain - Logan Marriott
• Success House Deputy - Zulaikha Iqbal

"Throughout this academic year, I aim to have greater recognition for students who perform at their best consistently as well as those who have constantly met behaviour expectations. On top of this, I would like to hear from as many students as possible over how we can improve school life."

Laura Griffin
Year 12 Student - House Captain

Polo Shirt - White

School range Polo plain white with House logo
(only available from Chroma Sports).
Year 11 may wear a short or long sleeved plain white shirt/blouse.
Other polo shirts are not acceptable.

Trousers - Black

New students (September 2017 onwards) - School range trousers with logo (only available from Chroma Sports).
Current students - Traditional formal ‘suit’ style trousers.
Casual, ‘skinny-type’/leggings or chino or jean type trousers are not acceptable.

Jumper/Cardigan - Black

School range plain black school jumper/cardigan with House logo (only available from Chroma Sports).
Hooded tops are not acceptable

Skirt - Black

New students (September 2017 onwards) - school range skirt with logo (only available from Chroma Sports)
Current students - Knee length traditional style skirt.
Fitted skirt, lycra, jersey, with slits or zips are not acceptable.

Shoes - Black

Traditional /formal style in leather or leather-style.
Heels must not exceed 5cm.
No canvas/trainer style shoes will be accepted.
No boots will be accepted.
Tights/Socks should be black or white, plain, no patterns and not leggings.

Coat - Dark

A waterproof coat - dark colour
(discrete logos acceptable).
No hoodies/ track-suit tops/ football/ sports or denim.

Make up

Make up must be discrete for Upper School.
Lower School – No make up.
Nail varnish, gel nails or nail extensions are not permitted.

Hair

No extreme/un-natural hair colours or styles are
allowed including tram lines.

Jewellery

One pair of plain, round, metal stud earrings allowed (to be worn one in each ear or a single earring).
Optional wrist watch.
No other jewellery is acceptable.
We do not accept any other forms of body piercing or retainers of any description.

PE Kit

Plain House colour t shirt (Years 7-9)/ polo shirt (Years 10-11).
School rugby shirt (Years 7-9)
Black sweatshirt (no logos) (only Years 10-11) No hoodies.
Black football socks (Years 7-9).
Gum shields (for Rugby).
Sports trainers and football boots.
Black shorts/black tracksuit bottoms/black sports leggings.

Dance Kit

Plain House colour t shirt or plain black t-shirt.
Black shorts, leggings or tracksuit bottoms.
No trainers or socks for Dance.

Please note: It is not possible to list all the combinations of hairstyles and clothing fads or fashions that may contravene our uniform requirements. It is at the Heads of House discretion to take action regarding fashion trend or hairstyles we feel are not acceptable. In order to prevent difficulty, and possible further expense, please ask for confirmation before buying shoes or clothing that you suspect may fall outside our uniform agreements.

Our school policy is: if a student arrives at school with the wrong clothing (including trainers), they will be isolated in the first instance. Parents and carers will be requested to bring the correct uniform into school. Alternatively, students may be sent home to change with parental permission. In this event, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised and attendance action may be taken (please see the Attendance Policy). 

Aspire are still in first place this week although general attendance has slightly decreased. Attendance is so important to help the students get the most out of school.  The years fly by and before they know it they are sitting their exams.  You can help your child by ensuring their attendance and to keep absence to an absolute minimum.  Please send in medical documentation for absence after the third day of illness, unless you have been requested to supply daily documentation.  If the student has a bad throat/cold they may still attend school, if they require medication a form can be obtained from the Admin Office. Also please try to keep medical appointments outside of school time.