From the Head of Secondary 25.09.2021
Secondary students are stepping up into leadership roles and interviews for Prefects from Years 11 – 13 took place this week, with each applicant doing extremely well. This followed their written applications in which they expressed a range of ideas about how student leaders can contribute to their school. Student councillors for each form have been selected, and this group, together with the Charity Committee members, will be setting up their regular meeting times moving forward, as will the House Ambassadors. Supporting their roles we now have a Student Leadership Constitution, which was partly written by last year’s Prefects and which has been refined and added to with information about the Primary section leaders. With a few more tweaks it will be ready to be published onto the school website. In future newsletters we will hear from our different student leadership groups. In the meantime, see the news in this newsletter from the EcoWarriors and read about what we can all do to help the planet!
Plans are moving ahead for the university applications of our Year 13 students. They will have a day off timetable next Friday 1st October to focus on this, with the support of Mrs Colbeck, Head of Key Stage 5 and other teachers. Students receive a lot of individual counselling during this time and we have had a lot of success in previous years with our graduates getting into top universities around the world; we expect the Class of 2022 to be equally successful.
On Thursday we met with some of our new parents to formally welcome them into the KIS community; this was led by Helle on behalf of the PTASC New Friends Team. Coffee in hand, we were able to replicate somewhat how this is done in ‘normal’ times, and we certainly hope that we can return to that at some point soon. On Friday morning Ms Service managed a well-attended meeting for parents of Key Stage 4 students, specifically those whose children have just entered year 10. It can be a baffling time for parents who are keen to support their teenagers through the exam years, which are so important, and year 10 is the start of that journey which eventually leads onto university and careers of their choice.
Another busy week has gone by very quickly. We are extremely pleased with how students are coping with online school but realise it is not easy. Staff are always looking for ways to make lessons interesting and stimulating and they are using a range of applications to do that. This week we revived an idea from last term, with teachers asked to complete a Padlet doc to describe and provide links to ideas which they use and have found to be worthwhile, the idea being that other colleagues may also wish to try them out. It is a great way of sharing good practice!
Have a wonderful weekend
Margaret Renshaw
Deputy Principal / Head of Secondary
An Important Message from Julia
My name is Julia and I am in Y9S. I am a PADI Junior Advanced Open Water Scuba diver and started diving on the day of my 8th birthday. I was also recently chosen to be a ‘Girls That Scuba’ ambassador, the biggest worldwide community of female divers.
I have a Facebook page called Seed of Hope which I created last year. I raise awareness through interviews which t I host with marine experts, conservationists, advocates, conservation organizations or just people who are making a difference. I am already on my eighteenth interview. I also raise funds through selling postcards of pictures that I have taken underwater.
I have heard from many of my interview guests that climate change is an ocean problem. The planet is so intertwined and connected that it is impossible to damage a component without creating a domino effect on all the others. Right now, all of the Earth’s components are being damaged. The wildlife, the forests, the deserts, the seas, even the polar ends where rarely any humans have been.
To prevent any uncontrollable and devastating consequences, everyone should do their part to help maintain the climate at a reasonable temperature. We can all do something, whether it be using less natural resources or discarding waste properly, or even trying to reduce our carbon footprint. It all counts and it’s all a part of the bigger picture.
