Weekly Newsletters

During next week we will be welcoming a Pop Up Science event to the school. I know from past visits that it will engage and enthuse our year 7 and 8 students into studying science, as well as students from many of our local primary schools that are also coming along to experience the event. On Monday, year 9, 10 and 11 students will be introduced to a motivating coach, Kamal Hyman, who will tell his own story of no having regrets and introduce strategies to maximise performance on Monday. Extracurricular experiences, such as visitors or trips, really do enrich learning and I am pleased  to share with you experiences alongside the Year 10 Art trip and earlier in the week a theatre visit for Post16 students as part of the Performing Arts studies.

We are working hard to really push extracurricular activities during the school day and after school. We will be conducting a survey to find out from yourselves and students what they want to do and, following this, I will report back to you the enhanced extracurricular provision that we will offer our students. Look out for more details and please feedback your thoughts.

Looking ahead, there are a number of other visits planned:

* Year 10 Thorpe Park visit on Friday 29 September 
* Year 11-13 London Theatre visit on Monday 9 October

Looking further ahead we have released the details of the annual Year 7 residential which takes place at the end of the academic year. The letter of arrangements and costs is attached.

Whilst we do issue paper letters for trips and specific events taking place, to minimise the risk that they do not reach you we aim to place all letters into the newsletter as and when they are released to students. Following feedback from parents, we will aim to clearly mark the attachments with a year group reference.

It is pleasing to see so many students cycle to school, a growing trend that increases year on year. In the interest of the safety of the general public and your son/daughter, we expect the students to not cycle in the Werrington centre. Furthermore, I ask that you remind your son/daughter to be vigilant when crossing busy roads, in particular near the bus lane near the Medical Practice in the centre. I also wish to remind students and parents that your child represents the school outside of school hour and I would expect that they should show both respect and exemplary behaviour when during to and from school.

Members of staff and myself will be reminding students about not bringing in bottles of fizzy drinks and other high sugar food into school. The evidence is clear that that this is a recipe for hyperactivity and poor concentration when it is needed during the school day. Water is provided to students before school, during break and lunch times for them to fill up their bottles. Large bottles of fizzy drink will be confiscated and released only at the end of the school day to avoid distractions to learning and achievement.

Art Exhibition 
The Art department are holding a KS3 Art and Design exhibition on Monday 2nd October in the Art department (Room 1L37) between 5-6pm.

I am inviting parents of pupils from last year's Year 7, 8 and 9 cohort to view the work. I would also like to extend the invitation to all of you. It would be lovely to see some familiar faces to support the students' achievements in this subject from last year.

Up and coming Parents' evenings 
Over the next few weeks we have the first of the two scheduled parents meetings, where you can have a face-to-face meeting and find out more about your child's progress.

* Post 16 subject evening - Tuesday 26 September 
* Year 11 subject evening Tuesday 18 October

To make a booking with your child's teacher please navigate to https://kscs.parentseveningsystem.co.uk/v2/. Please note that the Year 11 subject evening letter will be sent out next week with appointment booking details.

Finally, just a reminder that we will finish early on Wednesday 4 October, finishing at 1.35pm in order to accommodate the Prospective Parents Evening.

New staff welcome: Mrs Willoughby, Second in English 
This week I have asked Mrs Willoughby to introduce herself to you all.

"Ken Stimpson is a school I hold dear to my heart. I worked here six years ago before taking time to nurture my own young family and get a variety of other teaching experience around the city. When making the decision to come back I was nervous to take that step; like Marty McFly in the DeLorean, my mind was racing at 88 mph thinking back to experiences, friendships and students that had dominated my life previously. Now I am back I am happy to say that nearly all of the things that I love about this school are still here: friends, fun-loving and dedicated students and a school that continues to strive to demonstrate its strengths. I am proud to be working with a hard-working English department and look forward to a future with you all."

Bryan Erwin
Principal

Our first stop was at Sandringham Forest, we had a wander through the woods taking lots of photos of the surrounding landscapes and natural environment, a few students even found a few minutes to enjoy the play area! Our second stop was Old Hunstanton, this was the students chance to create some first-hand artwork on the beach, thankfully the sun made an appearance! Our third and final stop was Hunstanton, we gave the students opportunity to go grab some chips and enjoy the seafront! This also meant that our BTEC students could take some more food related photos for their ‘Artwork for a café’ project. A wonderful day was had by all and we were so impressed with the mature attitude and behaviour of our students, they threw themselves into each task and created some fantastic drawings. Now to get stuck into our projects! Watch this space!

Miss Williams, Art Teacher.

 The abstract staging and use of multiple intelligent lights made for a performance that left us all astounded. It was clear the producers and stage designers had thought about how to make the audience feel as though they were inside of the protagonist Christopher’s head, allowing us to be truly immersed into the world of The Autistic Spectrum; something that as students we can't fully comprehend. The actors were highly trained to make this possible, which was clear through the way their movements were so fast paced and full of energy. This performance was inspired by the work of the theatre company Frantic Assembly and provided a perfect theatre review opportunity for students on the GCSE Drama and A-level Drama and Theatre Studies courses. More live and local theatre opportunities to follow if you were unable to come along to this one. You missed a real treat!

Stephanie Pullen (Year 13 Performing Arts Student)

"You control your destiny -- you don't need magic to do it. And there are no magical shortcuts to solving your problems." -- Merida (Brave)