From the Head of Secondary 15.02.2020

Over the next few weeks we will hear from various members of Secondary staff who will give some insight into what they do in school, by describing a typical day

A Day in a Life 

Episode 1: Mrs Renshaw

I like to arrive before the traffic really gets going but don’t beat Ms Suzanie who is manning the temperature control post from 6am. There is always that brief moment of hesitation when the monitor is held up to the forehead….an intake of breath…..hold it……’beep’ and a cheery “you’re fine!”. At that time in the morning the sun is just rising but the moon can still be seen…and at the moment it is full and splendid against an increasingly smooth blue sky. School is quiet, with a few other early risers. My office has been unlocked by Mr Jumat and it doesn’t take me long to settle down and start to go through emails. This is a good quiet time to complete admin tasks such as checking letters to go out, planning meetings and sorting out agendas and thinking about upcoming larger tasks. I go into the Secondary office to touch base with Mr Barker, another early arrival, and we briefly discuss the Sixth Form Scholarship programme and agree next steps for that. Round about this time Mr Gross and I usually have brief phone call just to catch up over any issues that have emerged over the previous 12 hours or so.

Next it’s the Year 7 assembly. It’s just me and them and the format is one of relaxed discussion as we talk about how they are finding Year 7, now that they are half way through the year. The students are great fun to be with and are open and fair in their observations. What they tell me I can take to my next meeting with Mrs Smith when we talk specifically about Year 6 to 7 transition. We have already made plans for some updates to the programme and the feedback from Year 7 will support our planning so that we can make the experience for the current Year 6s as beneficial and positive as possible.

This week and next I have scheduled meetings with Secondary Heads of Department and at 9am Miss McNutt arrives. We spend the time going through the departmental handbook and discussing updates. We then move on to looking at the teachers’ digital mark books. Ms McNutt manages a department which consists of four different subjects: Geography, History, Business and Psychology and it is quite a job making sure that there is consistency in record keeping.

In between meetings I work on various tasks. I continue writing references for a couple of ex-students. We have our own format for these and after completion they will be sent directly to the child’s new school or college. I arrange a team meeting for next week so that a number of colleagues can come together to discuss how best to support a particular students, and I do a write-up of a formal lesson observation that I carried out a few days ago. The teacher and I have already discussed the lesson. All teaching staff participate in a performance management process annually. This involves setting targets both individually and in departments and this year the whole school focus is ‘to embed our definition of High Quality Learning throughout our curriculum and lesson planning, as well as demonstrating in practice through our interactions with all KIS students’. I am also working on the horizontal and vertical mapping of the curriculum. These documents, when complete, will be useful additions to our already existing and regularly updated long and medium term plans.

I have also started to prepare for a CIS Team visit I am making to a school in Australia later in the term. At this stage I am reading their school report at odd moments but later on my preparation will become more in-depth as I focus on the areas of the school that I will be scrutinising. Bring a CIS peer evaluator is a great professional experience and helps hugely in supporting KIS’ own journey through the process to become reaccredited in 2021.

At lunch time I have a visit from a student who is seeking advice about his career/university options. For students in Years 12 and 13 this is a busy time as they negotiate their way through their courses and prepare for upcoming mocks. Mr Barker, Head of Sixth Form, is currently organizing talks from university representatives. As KIS becomes more well-known on the ‘international circuit’ we have noticed an increase in the number of universities who are interested in us, and in particular in wanting our students to go to their institutions. When we are able to we organize for them to come and visit us so that they can present to our students. My visitor is in Year 12; he is interested in studying Business at university but is also ultimately thinking of working in a sports-related field where business acumen will be very useful. I am impressed at the scope and depth of his thinking and we bounce some ideas around until the bell goes and it’s time for both of us to move on.

In the afternoon Mrs Colbeck and I talk about Book Week 2020 [more about this in this newsletter] and we run through her organizational strategy for the next few weeks. Book Week is a highlight of the school year and we are sure that this year it’s going to be an amazing event. My job is to take the photos of staff for the ‘Guess the Teacher’ competition and we agree a date for me to start snapping the teachers with their favourite books. Later, Ms Bater and I talk about the events that the Charity Committee would like to organize and we consider ice-lolly sales, car washing, clothes recycling and a fun-run amongst other exciting ideas. Ms Bater will now go back to the Charity Committee and they can start some serious planning.

It’s nearly the end of the working day. I check through emails and respond to those that I can and I look at my diary for the following day, making sure that I am prepared for any meetings; I print out any documents and have them ready. My days are partly planned and partly spontaneous and that is one reason that they are so varied and interesting. Busy, yes, but worth it!

Next week: A Day in the Life of Mrs Colbeck!

Margaret Renshaw

Deputy Principal/Head of Secondary

As part of the pastoral system in Key Stage 4 some Year 10 students were invited to an extra Study Skills session this week.

Those that chose to attend were given a booklet containing ideas about Time Management, Concentration and Improving their Memory. It was a quiet and introspective session that gave the students time to reflect on their motivation and approach to studying in school. All our students are supported in their learning with Study Skills throughout the curriculum and they should make sure that they listen carefully to the advice on learning that they receive, especially from their Form Tutors. As their support network we can help them to learn by making sure that they have a designated quiet place to study and checking their homework diaries on a regular basis to encourage good time management. There were some invited students who did not attend yesterday; the invitation is still open to them for the second session.

Book Week 2020 is not long away now, with exciting plans and ideas being mooted amongst the staff at KIS to make sure this is the best Book Week ever! Our theme this year is ‘Robots and Aliens – The Future!’, and many of the week’s events, challenges, and competitions will be based around this.

Book Week has been running successfully for many years now and it is a highlight of the school year, an opportunity for the all students, staff and parents to enjoy the fun, excitement and power of the written word!

Monday 16th March – Book Week 2020 Launch and The Big Book Swap.

The week will get off to a flying start with the Primary and Secondary Big Book Swap, with a brief introduction to the events happening across the school throughout next week. The Primary Book Swap will be at 8.00- 9.00, followed by The Big Read 9.00- 10.00 when students get a chance to get stuck in to their ‘new’ pre-loved books.  Secondary students will spend between 8 and 9am competing in a school-wide treasure hunt, then their Book Swap will be from 9 to 10am. The Big Book Swap will take place in the Hall, where all the students who have donated a book will be able to browse the tables and choose a new book to take home.

For a successful Book Swap event, we are relying on every student to bring in ONE book, in good condition, to donate. If your child has not yet donated their Big Swap book, please can you ensure it is handed in to their class teacher if they are in Primary, or to their Form Tutors if they are in Secondary, by Wednesday 11th March. Thank you very much.

The Storytelling Tent

The Storytelling Tent is back again this year! The tent will be set up on stage in the Hall again this year, and again will feature teachers reading their favourite stories. Each day, the children will have the opportunity to go and sit in the tent before school (7.30am – 7.50am), and at break times, and listen to a host of mystery storytellers weave their special storytelling magic! Please encourage your children to head to the tent in the morning when you drop them at school.

Friday 20th March – Primary Character Parade and Assembly

Perhaps the highlight of Book Week! This is the day where staff, students – and maybe even parents! – come to school dressed up as their favourite book characters! After registration, all the students will gather in the Hall with their teachers and then take to the stage for photographs, judging, and general gasps of admiration from the audience! This will begin at 8.10am. We would like to encourage you to stay and watch the parade so you can see all of the fabulous costumes and there will be plenty of opportunities for you to take photos of your children! 

Friday 20th March- Secondary Character Parade and Assembly

Our student numbers dictate that Secondary need their own celebration for the Character Parade! All Secondary students will gather for photos in the Hall at 11.20, followed by the prize-giving and a short assembly to hand out all the awards and prizes from the Book Week competitions.

Our other events

We will also be engaging in scavenger hunts, book quizzes, and picture quizzes over the course of the week, as well as decorating the doors and windows of the classrooms to represent our favourite books. The ‘Guess the teacher’ competition will be happening again too, with a range of literary prizes to be won. The Secondary cake contest, held on the Friday, where we see how creative our students can be, is my personal favourite  – especially as we all get to eat all the cakes!

If you have any questions about Book Week, or would like to get involved, please speak to your child’s class or Form tutor or contact us directly.

Mrs Colbeck

Teacher Librarian