From the Head of Secondary 05.03.2022
I am pleased to report that our Year 12 and 13 mock examinations are going well. They started on Wednesday this week, and will continue until the 11th, next Friday, after which teachers will give feedback to the students, and reports will be written and sent home to parents. We are following the Cambridge Board instructions and scanning all the papers when the students have completed them. If the May / June exams are cancelled [and we sincerely hope that will not happen] the scanned copies will form part of a portfolio of exemplar work for each student and sent digitally to CAIE, where they will be assessed for a final grade by trained examiners.
On Monday next week teachers will start to write the Term 2 reports for Years 7 to 10, and they will be published on the 29th March after going through a thorough process of review and proofreading. The Year 10 Parent / Teacher / Student meetings will be happening on the 16th March via Google Meet and this will be an opportunity to discuss progress at this point in the first year of the IGCSE courses.
Year 9 and Year 11 students are just about to start the second stage in the process of making final decisions about the subjects they will take at IGCSE and A Level from the option blocks, created after they made their first ‘free’ unrestricted choices. Ms Service and Mrs Colbeck will be in touch with students and parents about this in due course.
This week our students received a wonderful ‘gift’ from the Student Council. The team used funds they had raised previously to produce an environmentally friendly water bottle and Qawiemah in Year 13 created the design. Read on to discover what her inspiration was for the hot air balloon image.
Book Week is rapidly approaching and Mrs Colbeck has some brilliant ideas to really make this a event to remember; have a look at her article. Reading is the single most important thing that we can do to improve our language skills and Book Week means that we can really focus on this in a fun and imaginative way. Read it here
Datin Siti, our school counsellor has contributed a piece this week about physical and mental wellbeing and the link between the two. At the moment, when we have some members of our community who are physically unwell, it is important that they take self-care seriously. For students, this means rest and recuperation. Being ill and off school is not a time to be accessing school work on the Google Classrooms and trying to keep up with everything. There will be time for that later when they have completely recovered.
Have a great weekend
Mrs Margaret Renshaw
Deputy Principal / Head of Secondary
The Hot Air Balloons on the KIS Water Bottle
Qawiemah Leong Y13
In this article Qawiemah tells us what inspired her design for the water bottles, financed by our Student Council, and given to each student in Secondary.
The eco-warriors of our school have always envisioned KIS as a plastic-free educational institution. The student council were quick to jump on this idea and went “Hey, let’s use our funds to distribute reusable water bottles to KIS students to discourage the use of disposable water bottles”. So we ran a water bottle design competition leading to the hot air balloon design which can now be seen on the bottles.
“Global Citizens” – it is a term we see and hear often in KIS, whether it be during assemblies or when you see the school’s mission statement. It is a broad term that leads one to wonder “what exactly is a global citizen?”. Everyone would give slightly different answers but each definition is based on similar principles, some of which I wanted to portray specifically in the piece that I feel are the most important to me: awareness, understanding and curiosity of the world, open mindedness, being a team player and someone with a growth mindset.
With the planet being the main symbol of global citizenship, I just had to make the hot air balloon have the pattern of Earth. But I also felt that perhaps global citizenship extends past our planet and that we should consider outer space as a way of broadening our knowledge of the origin of our universe. There was no better way to represent that idea by adding a sun and moon to fly alongside the Earth hot air balloon.
The hot air balloon holds several meanings, the core symbolism being teamwork. The balloon looks really hard to steer and manage by oneself but the help of others would make its journey smoother (and a whole lot more fun too!). To add hints of open-mindedness, curiosity and about growth mindsets, I tied it back to the physical attributes of the balloon; being a floating, easily blown wind aircraft; it can fly in the wrong direction. But if the rider is curious and open-minded enough to follow the path the wind takes them, it may lead to a land of wonder and opportunity. As just any self-driven craft, mistakes can happen. Steering the wrong way? Not sure if you’re flying it correctly? That’s okay, taking things one step at a time and learning from the mistake is the most important part.
I hope that all those who will receive the bottles will enjoy using them for a long time and think about the values that are reflected within the design!
Qawiemah
Wellbeing – Rest and Recuperating
We often think that our minds and bodies are separate, but in fact our physical health and mental health are related.
Being ill is uncomfortable. It causes the body to experience stress, followed by physical symptoms such as headaches, feeling lethargic, flu, or sore throat. The stress of this experience can also trigger emotional reactions such as irritability, anxiety, and anger.
These emotional reactions can cause a chain of other behavioral and thinking reactions such as difficulty sleeping, angry outbursts, feeling too overwhelmed by the illness and pending school assignments. All of these elements can contribute to an emotional breakdown, which can make the situation worse and prolong absences from school or work.
While it is normal to feel uncomfortable when ill, ideally during a period of illness we should find ways to facilitate our recovery so that we are able to recover more quickly both physically and mentally and feel motivated to take on challenges and complete assignments once we are back on track. Parents and guardian also need to remember to also take care of themselves.
Here are some tips to support your child while they are ill:
- Prioritise their rest and recovery
- Do not pressure them to complete schoolwork until they are well enough to do so
- Listen to their worries and be quick to reassure them
- Ensure they get plenty of sleep
- Promote a healthy diet
- Make sure they can still connect with friends and family to prevent feelings of isolation.
For anyone who is looking for further strategies, please follow this link to find more ways to support your children whilst they are unwell:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/health/looking-after-a-sick-child/
Let us remember to look after one another; we wish all members of our KIS community good health and happiness.
Datin Siti Nurafif Naim
KIS School Counsellor
