From the Head of Secondary 12.02.2022
Many thanks to all parents, staff and students for your support this week. Although as a school we are well practised in switching to home learning, it is not an easy thing to do and demands a lot of all of us.
The Year 11 Mock Examinations have continued this week, and they will finish next Wednesday. From Thursday they have taken place in the school hall; we have been able to space the tables and chairs out considerably and it is an excellent environment for these tests. This year they are even more important than ever. Should the actual exams be cancelled in May / June, the mock papers, which are all being scanned after each exam, will be sent to the Cambridge Examination Board to be assessed by their examiners. The Year 11 students are taking them very seriously and they have risen to the challenges of this week. The mocks will be followed by a report and then the Year 11 Parent Meetings, on Monday 28th February. It is important to mention here that as well as preparing themselves for their exams in May / June, Year 11 are also contemplating the next stage of their educational journey as they think about what A Level subjects they would like to take in Years 12 / 13.
Next Thursday we have the Year 9 Parent / Teacher / Student meetings. On Thursday 17th those students will leave school early, at 2pm, so that they can be at home by 3pm to join their parents and teachers in these discussions. It is an important time for Year 9 as they ponder their IGCSE options and make decisions about which subjects they will study in Years 10 / 11. Ms Service and Ms Colley are guiding the students, and are always available to offer advice when needed.
Our Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award students are undertaking their momentous Adventurous Journey from today to Wednesday next week, ably led by Ms McNutt, Mr Gant and Mrs Beresford. It is a tough challenge and we wish them all the best….I am sure we can look forward to reading some news and seeing some photos about this in next week’s newsletter!
Read on to find out what our pastoral team have planned for PSHE next Tuesday and how our House competitions are going!
Margaret Renshaw
Head of Secondary / Deputy Principal
Keeping up the KIS Smile! Tuesday, 15th February 2pm
Mental health and Wellbeing have been a key focus for the school and society over the last two years as we have faced the many challenges of Covid. It is important that we make time for ourselves away from the computer screen and try to keep some boundaries between our working day and our relaxation and hobbies. KIS Secondary has decided to promote Wellbeing and encourage our students and staff to find an activity that they enjoy and that makes them smile during the PSHE lesson on Tuesday 15th February. This may be reading a favourite book, shooting hoops in the garden, painting a picture, playing with a family pet, dancing to music or chatting to their siblings. The students have been asked to take a photo of themselves smiling and send it in to their Form Tutors. We will then put the best of these together into a poster. It will be fantastic to see the students’ smiles again!
Yap Family Adventures!
We were delighted recently to receive this communication from Mr and Mrs Yapp about what their family had been doing during Chinese New Year:
“Over the term break the Yapp siblings went for the PADI scuba diving education program.
Both Amanda and Leroy are now Advanced Open Water Divers whereas Mabel completed her PADI’s Junior Open Water Diver upon turning 10.
Upon certification, they took part in underwater reef clean-up in line with Project AWARE organized by Blue Waters Borneo. The protection and preservation of ecosystems by volunteer scuba divers for a clean and healthy ocean are vital to be instilled from an early age.”
Many thanks for letting us know, and congratulations to Amanda, Leroy and Mabel!
