From the Head of Secondary 23.03.2024
There has been no slowing down during this last week of term!
Staff Performance Development and Review
One aspect of the staff performance development review is that I am fortunate enough to be able to go into Secondary lessons and get a taste of what our students experience all day, every day. Over recent weeks this is just a small sample of what I have seen.
I would like to think that I am a little bit more knowledgeable about all of these topics and more than I was at the beginning of the term before I started going into and watching the amazing work that is going on ‘behind the scenes’. Students at KIS are very fortunate in having such highly experienced teachers who know what good teaching is, and understand the range of teaching strategies to use so that our students get the most out of every day.
Wednesday 20th March
Outside of the classroom it has been another busy week, with Wednesday in particular being a stand-out day. It started with the latest in our series of Coffee Mornings, and this one was all about ‘Physical Education and Sport at KIS’. Whilst I was unfortunately unable to attend, by all accounts it was a tremendous success with a good sized audience keen to find out more. What perhaps they hadn’t been expecting that it involved ‘audience participation’ and rather than just sit there exercising their listening faculties, they were invited to join in a couple of physical challenges: ‘7 Bounces’ and ‘Hula Hut Showdown’ I am certain that there was a lot of laughter….that’s the thing about exercise, it brings out those endorphins!
PE and Sport is huge at KIS and during my time here I have seen it grow tremendously. Much credit for that must go to Ms Watt who is an amazing Head of Department. Her passionate belief in her subject and the leadership of her team, Mr Celestial, Mr Bromley and Mr Denyer, are inspirational and I am pretty sure that she conveyed all of that to her audience at the Coffee Morning. A recent survey carried out as part of Maths Day found that PE is the most popular subject in school! I think we can all understand why. On Wednesday Ms Watt’s presentation showed all the various aspects of the curriculum inside school, from Primary up to A Level, and about the foundation ‘Head, Heart, Hands’. Sport Development outside of school was also discussed including FOBISIA events which our students have enjoyed for many years and been increasingly successful at, as we saw this year in the U15s and then the U13s. It is not just about winning medals though. PE and Sport, whether inside or outside of school has contributed to our students’ growing confidence in themselves and that has a knock-on effect to all areas of their lives both now and into the future.
Also on Wednesday we were treated to the IGCSE and A Level Drama students’ performances of The Birthday Party by Harold Pinter and An Inspector Calls by JB Priestley respectively. The evening’s entertainment commenced at 4.30 to a large audience consisting of staff, parents, siblings and friends.
The Birthday Party was first published in 1959 and is Pinter’s best known work. The setting is a seaside boarding house when a small birthday party turns into a nightmare when two strangers arrive. The play has been classified as a comedy of menace. It would be fair to say that it’s somewhat difficult to see the humour in the play but the IGCSE students had perfected the art of menace, and the fear that the characters imposed on Webber, the central character, played by Bridget Boura, had him spiralling into madness.
The whole cast did an amazing job and the created drama which was accessible to an audience who were able to empathise with the situation that Webber was in.
Stanley – Bridget
Goldberg – Juah / Seohyun /
McCann – Shannon / Crystle Azwina /Sofia
An Inspector Calls is a modern morality play. It was first performed in the Soviet Union in 1945 and in London the following year. Similar to The Birthday Party, the play is set within the intimacy of a home, this time that of the middle-upper class Birling family. The evening is interrupted by the sudden arrival of Inspector Goole; he is investigating the death of Eva Smith.
The Year 12 students were totally believable in their roles. Jack, as Mr Birley, nailed it. Within the few moments, we were not seeing Jack, we were seeing a middle aged wealthy captain of industry who was ponderous and patronising in his interactions with the rest of the family. Amber, as Mrs Birley adopted a permanent supercilious disdain for others, especially Inspector Goole. Played by Reine, this portrayal was completely on track. The hard stare, the stillness, the confidence, the imperturbability were all there. Goole knew he had control and there was no way that this wealthy magnate and his wife were going to throw him off, as they tried to do. Ruth, as daughter Sheila, was the appalled recipient of the news that her father [and her brother] had treated Eva Smith in such a dismissive way, as though she was not a real person with feelings and emotions. Ruth was completely in character as she showed her horror with her clear and visible facial and body language. Travis, as the alcoholic son of the family was also pitch perfect. Rushing off stage early on with a ‘headache’ I almost had to stop myself from checking that he was ok; in fact this was Eric’s reaction to hearing about Eva Smith, who it turns out he had previously had an ‘unsavoury relationship’ with. Travis’ dramatic moment came towards the end, when he lurched forward, trying and failing to control his alcoholic body. Sebastien James stepped in to play a small role as Gerald Croft, whose betrothal to Sheila was the reason for the get-together. Sebastien did a great job as the enamoured fiancé.
Mention must be made of Mr Bryant, who has worked tirelessly with the students. There are probably not enough superlatives to describe his efforts in doing all that he does, including making trips to Mr DIY to buy the material needed to build the set! I am sure that I speak for all who were in the audience when I say many many thanks and congratulations to Mr Bryant, and to all the cast members!
Rice Donation for Ramadan
Many thanks to all staff, families and friends who donated bags of rice for Ramadan. On Thursday we were able to hand over a significant number of kilos of rice and it was gracefully received. Many thanks to the MFL Department for once again organising this annual initiative.
The MFL Department and The Charity Committee would like to express their heartfelt appreciation of your generous donations and wish you a Blessed Eid.
SECONDARY CELEBRATION ASSEMBLY 22ND MARCH
Music News
This term in Music, the year 9’s have been developing their skills as songwriters. They begin with investigating songs and chord progressions and playing a song. This was followed by experimenting with chord order and various chord substitutions to create their own chord progressions and strumming patterns. With a theme of Social Justice, each student chose a topic dear to their heart and wrote lyrics and melodies over top theri chord progressions and strumming patterns to create an original song. The students then formed Bands to perform one of the songs adding in additional parts like piano, drums, bass, and even flute. The students showed dedication, creativity, and hard work to bring these performances to life. This is our first songwriters showcase here at KIS and we hope it is the start of more to come!
