From the Head of Secondary 05.09.2020

As reported last week, there has been a flurry of ongoing activity in the area of student leadership and this week potential House Presidents have been canvassing for votes from the student body. In this newsletter you can read about each of the candidates, what their aims are for their House and why they think they would be the ideal leader. I am sure that we can all agree that these students deserve our congratulations simply for putting themselves out there in their determination to contribute to their school. It is not an easy thing to do.

This week students in Years 11, 12 and 13 were invited to apply to be a school Prefect. This is a highly prestigious role and undoubtedly we will have lots of interested students. Selected students will be given specific responsibilities and will be expected to be ideal role models to the younger years. From the core group of Prefects, once they have been selected, we will be choosing Head Prefects; one of their roles will be to act as an intermediary between the students, Prefects and the Senior Leadership Team. We will arrange regular meetings so that we can discuss ideas for the continuing betterment of the school.

A letter was sent home on Thursday inviting parents of Year 7 students to a meeting next Wednesday the 9^th September at 8am in the multi-purpose room. The aim is to communicate ideas about life in Secondary and to answer any questions that parents may have after their child’s first three weeks in the school. Feedback is important to us. Although our normal year 6 to 7 transition programme was disrupted this year the ‘gentle introduction’ that Year 7 experienced during the Induction Days at the beginning of term seem to have worked well. Generally, Year 7 have settled in well and have quickly become familiar with a rather different way of doing things. Well done Year 7!

A date for your diary if you have a child in Year 10: we will be holding a Year 10 Parent Meeting on Wednesday 23^rd September. This will be an opportunity to hear all about the all-important examination years and to ask any questions that you might have. We are also interested in hearing  about how your child is managing their courses so far.

The Sixth Form are hard at work and in this newsletter you can read an account of what is happening in AS Level Biology. The Sixth Form as a whole is the biggest group that we have had at KIS since the A Level programme started 7 years ago. Class sizes are small and students have chosen from a wide range of subjects. There is lots of one-to-one attention and lessons are highly interactive; I am hearing that students have made a flying start to the year!

Margaret Renshaw

Deputy Principal/Head of Secondary

We held a debate with the motion “This house believes that Eukaryotic cells are better than Prokaryotic cells.” Basically this means “Bacteria versus the rest of the world!”. Bacteria or prokaryotes are simple, fast dividing and most numerous, they are found from deep sea trenches to the hot springs in Yellowstone National Park, USA. In fact, 3% of our body mass is actually the prokaryotes that live on and in us. On the other hand… we are Eukaryotes and as such have taken over mastery and responsibility of the world. Eukaryotes are complex, multi-cellular and enormously diverse – from the tiniest plant to the great Blue Whale.

The students were put into teams and spent one lesson and a homework session researching the details of Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes. They then put their research into action and debated the advantages and disadvantages of each type of cell. The research and familiarity led to an excessive fondness for their faction and an emotional plea called for us to consider the “smallest farmers of the world”. Biology came alive in the classroom as we compared extreme adaptation, metabolic efficiency and reproductive strategies. We finished with the challenge of switching sides, so that it became clear there was no real winner and both types of cell are essential for life on Earth!

Ms Laura Jane Service

Photography competition – the theme was nature.

Here are the top 3 photos from a large selection of over 50 photos submitted.