Kingsbury Newsletter Sep 2014

Message from the Head Teacher As the academic year started all students were issued with their new ties in their relevant House colours. Already a number of House focused activities have taken place as you will see from this months newsletter. By creating an ethos of competition and identification with a House, our students are developing their abilities both academic and as positive community members. Our Core Values of Participation, Achievement, Citizenship, Endeavour and Responsibility (PACER) are central to all that we do. They provide a benchmark against which students can make the right decisions and commit fully to accelerating their progress. Our improvement journey continues, with our new approach to Home Learning and student progress flight paths. We look forward to a positive year and the work ahead.

Ms C ODriscoll, Head Teacher

Welcome to the following members of staff who have joined us this term: Miss A Turnbull Skills School Director

Mr R Thompson Coordinator of DT Mrs Akhtar

September 2014

Success through Challenge, Support and Partnership

Kingsbury School and Sports College, Kingsbury Road, Erdington,

Birmingham, B24 8RE

Phone: 0121 373 1080 Fax: 0121 306 4878

Web: www.kingsbury.bham.sch.uk E-mail: [email protected] t: @KingsburySSC

Dates for your diary

Thursday 9th October Parent Forum Thursday 16th October Black History Celebration Mon 27th-Fri 31st October Half term

This years summer school for our new Year 7 students was

based around the theme of super heroes past and present.

In week one over 100 students were involved in a range of

settling in activities to encourage them to make new friends

and to combat any anxiety around transition from Primary to

Secondary school.

We also held a programme for children who had just left

Year 5; they worked with a film producer from Round

Midnight Creative Arts to make their own film to support

transition. During the second week, all the Year 7 students

were involved in a Performing Arts School and chose

options such as Dance, Music, Drama, Sport and Art. They

were supported by 16 of our older students who did a

fantastic job and worked very hard. The event concluded

with a fantastic performance in front of parents, where

students showcased the work done in Summer school - the

standard of which was very high. Mrs Sanders

Summer School 2014

Message from the Chair of Governors Welcome to the new school year at Kingsbury. The Governors are looking forward to working with staff to ensure the best possible outcomes for all of our students. There have been significant and exciting changes already implemented, designed to improve the full educational experience on offer and we hope that the coming year proves exhilarating and successful for all. Parents and carers are key partners in our continued drive for improvement and we would welcome your involvement. Please support Parent Forum and if you would like to join the governing body, we would love to hear from you. Good luck everybody ! Merrill Atack

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Success through Challenge, Support and Partnership

Well done Reece! At Kingsbury we have a lot to be proud of; not least Year 11 student Reece Kerr who completed an amazing challenge by cycling over 140 miles to raise money for disadvantaged young people. Reece was part of a team from local social enterprise Gear-Up who cycled the first leg of Le Tour de France in Yorkshire to raise money. Funds raised will support Gear-Ups use of cycling to support young people through rides, mechanics, work experience, training and employment. Funds will also go to Worth Unlimited which provides youth and community projects in and around

Hodge Hill. Reece and his team mates spent the weekend of 13th September cycling from the Tours 2014 Grand Depart in Leeds, to Harrogate. Despite aching limbs Reece was at school on time on Monday and keen to thank all the staff and other students at Kingsbury who helped him raised over 200! It was a great experience; I built my fitness, teamwork skills and got a real sense of achievement. said Reece, who modestly mentioned that he came first on the first day. Not content with this achievement, Reece tells us that next year he is planning to cycle from London to France

on another fundraising venture! Reece also volunteers in the cycle shop and repair centre at Gear-Up in his spare time, which also helps his own employability skills. Reece you are an inspiration and a credit to Kingsbury, you exemplify the Kingsbury values of PACER and we are very proud of you. Mrs Sanders

Kingsbury voices KSSC students made sure their views were heard by Birminghams education decision makers when a group visited the citys historic Council Chamber to participate in an education themed debate, organised by the Council and representatives of the Birmingham Youth Parliament. Students debated motions including: Schools care more about OFSTED than students learning

Faith schools are irrelevant in a multicultural city

Schools equip young people for adult life

Political education should be a compulsory subject The topics were devised to reflect concerns young people have with the current education system, and all

were debated widely amongst the audience, with many strong arguments and counter arguments. Their contributions were listened to intently by the Councils Cabinet Members and Executives, jointly responsible for education strategy in the city. The students shared their personal views openly and hon-estly, showing confidence and giving articulate an-swers in front of 100 other students from across schools in Birmingham. Ms ODriscoll received a letter from the Council House praising the outstanding quality of debate and commitment of our students and saying they were a credit to the city. Miss Walters Pictured: Jay Williams, Anna Samba, Fatima Sajid, Cherrie Hayes, Ellen Ratcliffe, Deanne Cope and Jack Izon

Year 7 take the bull by the horns Year 7 had a positive start to the new academic year, spending their first morning working with Year 11 on a team building exercise with a difference. Students were set the challenge of creating a replica of the Bullring bull, using only newspaper and sellotape. Thanks to a donation from Trinity Mirror Printing, there were plenty to go round and much fun was had by all, with older students supporting the 11 year olds to create versions of all shapes and sizes. The winner would be the most realistic bull chosen by Ms ODriscoll. It was too close to call, and joint winners Tolkein and Ravenhill Houses were duly announced, with prizes of chocolates and House points awarded to the winning form groups. Students thoroughly enjoyed the new start to the school year: It was exciting because we had such limited resources, and had to think as a team and problem solve. I think it helped Year 7 students to settle in and feel more comfortable. commented Year 11 student Precious Iriabe. Year 7s Jack Robinson agreed: The Year 11 students helped us make the bull, adding bits and helping us make our ideas better. I learned that this is a hardworking school, but fun aswell. The event was a great success; it fits with our core values as a school, and helped Year 7 settle in and gave older students the opportunity to use their leadership and teamwork skills. Mr Halstead Pictured: Members of the two winning Forms Shannon Whyte and Jack Robinson from Y1 and Jade Downes and Precious Iriabe from G6.

Success through Challenge, Support and Partnership

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Make the most of your opportunities says alumna Paulina Former KSSC student Paulina Walicka certainly knows a thing or two about overcoming obstacles, after adding the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro to her list of achievements. Paulina, an Oral Health Science undergraduate at the University of Dundee, juggled her studies with cake sales, raffles and sponsored events, including holding a tarantula and a baby alligator at her local zoo to raise over 2,000 to complete her trek and support a school in Tanzania. This was a real challenge for me as I have (had) arachnophobia. said Paulina But I was determined to meet my fundraising deadline and was prepared to do anything and it definitely paid off. Paulina visited the school with charity Childreach International and was shocked to learn that children were expected to bring two logs of wood to school each day so that lunches could be cooked. Part of the renovations provided by the project were new stoves, thus removing this burden from the youngsters. The mountain ascent took Paulina several days, battling exhaustion and altitude sickness, to reach the peak at 5,895 above sea level. There were times I thought I wouldnt make it, however, our guides motivated and took care of us; they were our superheroes during the climb! she said. Reaching the peak changed me it proves if you push yourself, you can do anything. When I left Kingsbury in 2011, one of the teachers told me to make the most of my opportunities, and this really stuck with me. The expedition made me realise how lucky I am and no matter how bad we think things are, there is always someone worse off who still manages to get through the day with a smile on their face. My

advice to all the current students is the same as I was given: Make the most of opportunities, and anything is possible if you work hard and set your mind to it. Paulina only arrived in the UK at age 12, and could not speak any English. With her hard work and perseverance, her English rapidly became fluent and she had lots of success with her GCSEs. She has continued with this sense of determination; well done Paulina, we are very proud of you and we were delighted to make a contribution to your worthy cause. Miss Walters

Success through Challenge, Support and Partnership

This newsletter is also available online at www.kingsbury.bham.sch.uk. If you would like

to receive newsletters by email in future please email: [email protected] with

Newsletter in the subject header.

Ice Bucket Challenge KSSC staff got a soaking recently at the Kingsbury Ice Bucket Challenge! Several brave members of staff agreed to be nominated by colleagues who paid 5 per bucket to see their workmate get a drenching to raise funds for Motor Neurone Disease charities. Students enthusiastically helped out with throwing the buckets of freezing cold water over their teachers, with the winner being Mr Barton with 7 buckets. A total of 200 was raised on the day. Students will have the opportunity to raise more funds as well as developing their skills in the forthcoming Headteachers Ice Bucket Challenge. The student who submits the most convincing and creative application for the job of wielding the bucket gets to soak Ms ODriscoll! This event showed school can be fun. It was fantastic to see so many students and staff together supporting such a worthwhile cause. The money we raised is testament to what we can achieve if we all work together. Mr Barton

I unwillingly took part in the KSSC Ice Bucket Challenge and came away soaked, but with a sense of achievement. So remember this my fellow KSSC staff and students: Challenge yourself with something you know you could never do, and what you'll find is that you can overcome anything in life in order to be successful. What challenges have you set yourself this new school year? Mr Clarke Miss Masters