From the Head of Secondary, 26.01.19
Year 11 mock examinations finished on Wednesday and the students will have received some of their results by the time this newsletter is published. The Mock Reports will be sent home next week, and the Year 11 Parents afternoon is on Monday 11th February, starting at 3.10pm in the hall. This is a very important event and we hope that all parents will attend. In the interim we will be looking carefully at how well students have performed in the exams and all Secondary teachers have been discussing support/revision strategies that they will employ between now and the actual exams in May/June. In the Heads of Department meeting we have been discussing study leave for Years 11, 12 and 13 and how to students can benefit from it. We will be sending out more information about that to parents closer to the time.
Drop Off and Drop In
I would like to thank those parents who attended the ‘Drop Off and Drop In’ coffee morning in the multi-purpose room on Wednesday morning. We were fortunate in that Doctor Nionella Stephen from the Ministry of Health was able to come along and give us a highly informative talk on Hand, Food and Mouth Disease. KIS takes its responsibilities very seriously in the area of student health and it was pleasing that Dr Stephen was able to confirm that the actions that we had taken as a school during the outbreak last term were highly appropriate. As part of her presentation, Dr Stephen showed us all the correct way to wash our hands, which we all mimed as she showed us the actions that we should take! In addition to the HFMD talk, there was a discussion about homework across the school and also about the teaching of Mathematics at KIS, both topics that I am sure we will revisit in the future.
Over-Tired Students
We are aware that there are a significant number of students who are arriving at school in the morning visibly tired and definitely not ready for a day’s study. I frequently see boys and girls in lessons who are unable to participate or even listen properly as they are exhausted and spend their time yawning, stretching and putting their heads down on the desk and closing their eyes. Clearly this is disruptive to the learning not only of those particular students but also of others in the class who are distracted by this behaviour.
In many cases children are not getting enough sleep because they are spending too much time in the late evening and even well into the early hours of the night on their phones. It makes sense for all such devices [mobiles, tablets, laptops] to be left outside the bedroom once it is time for sleep, a time that is set and adhered to by parents.
I will be writing to parents of individual students should this be an issue with their child as I know that they will wish to work together with the school to solve this problem. Parents will of course use their own common sense to establish how much sleep their child needs, but quick research reveals that the National Sleep Foundation states that children aged 6 to 13 need between nine and eleven hours of sleep each night and teenagers aged 14 to 17 should have between eight and ten hours.
Extra Curricular Activities
Can all parents [Primary and Secondary] ensure that their child has all the correct equipment with them for the ECA that they have signed up for. It can cause some disruption if children do not have the right kit as it can mean that they cannot join in the activity and need supervision until pick-up time.
Year 7 Trip to HMS Argyll
On Friday last week our Year 7 students boarded HMS Argyll, a Royal Navy Type 23 frigate visiting Kota Kinabalu for a few days as she nears the end of a nine-month tour of duty.
HMS Argyll is actually quite an old ship, recently refurbished, so there was quite a blend of “old” hi-tech rubbing shoulders with new, cutting edge technology.
Students were split into four groups, each guided by HMS Argyll personnel, and treated to a very informative tour of the ship, taking in the Bridge, the Control Centre, the engine control room, the various gun placements on the deck, as well as the ship’s helicopter. Access to these areas was gained through a bewildering array of cramped corridors and steep ladders, so it was quite a physical workout for our students.
Year 7 students had no shortage of questions to ask, from the scientific to the social, and they were particularly interested to hear about how the helicopter is used to combat modern-day piracy. Our students were excellent ambassadors for KIS, and were fulsome in their appreciation of the kindness of our hosts.
Royal Navy ships are fairly frequent visitors to Sabah and we have asked, in no uncertain terms, to be invited along for the next visit.
CISSMUN Conference 16th to 21st January
Dania, one of the KIS delegates to the recent Model United Nations conference in Shanghai has written an inspirational account of the visit. This is now on our website and can be accessed here.
The students were outstanding ambassadors for our school and it is clear that they have gained a lot from this amazing opportunity to really experience what it is to be a global citizen. Many thanks again for the support of parents, the energy of students and the guidance of Mr O’ Kane and Ms De Sa, the teacher mentors for the trip.
Mrs Margaret Renshaw
Deputy Principal/Head of Secondary
