From the Head of Secondary 27.11.2021

From the Head of Secondary 27.11.2021

Back in School!

It has been wonderful having all of the students in school this week and, despite the standard operating procedures which we strictly adhere to, things are starting to feel more ‘normal’. I have dropped into a few lessons this week and it has been heartening to hear and see that old buzz of excitement in classrooms, reflecting the thrill not just of learning, but of being [albeit physically distanced] together with friends, peers and teachers. Laptops are there, but children are not spending hours each day glued to them, and that can only be a good thing. Year 7 in particular seem delighted to be here [or perhaps they just show their feelings more than the older students!?]. They enjoyed guided tours around school on Monday, led by our ever-helpful senior students.

 

A Level Option Talk: Thursday 2nd December 5pm

It is coming up to that time of year when our Year 11 students will be choosing their subjects for A Level, and next Thursday the 2nd December at 5pm Mrs Colbeck will be hosting a Zoom meeting for all Year 11s and parents / guardians. She will be presenting information about the Cambridge A Levels and how they are organised, and outlining the subject choice process. In addition, all of the subject leaders have created videos which go into detail about what their course offers and these will be available on our website in due course, together with the 2022 – 2024 Sixth Form brochure. This is an important time for our Year 11 students as they navigate the next stage of their educational journey, from IGCSEs to A Levels to University.

Christmas Angels

Many thanks to member of our very generous community for signing up to spread Christmas joy by donating gifts to another KK community, Sabah Cheshire Home. I know that many of you will be purchasing and wrapping your gifts soon, if you haven’t done so already. When ready please pass your gift, with the intended recipient clearly labelled, to our security staff by Friday 10th December.

 

 

Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award

Read on to hear about how our DofE Gold Award students managed their practice adventurous journey earlier this week. It was certainly a challenge for them [as the Gold Award is meant to be…] but they proved to be willing and tenacious, albeit totally exhausted at the end.

Many thanks to our DofE staff team, especially Mrs Colbeck and Ms Beresford for their support and stamina!

The 2021 UKMT Senior Maths Challenge

Our students’ prowess in Mathematics was tested this month with the 2021 UKMT Senior Maths Challenge. Have a read of Mr Davis’ account of how our students performed in this highly challenging arena. Can you figure out the answers to the two questions from this year’s paper??

Many congratulations to our Bronze, Silver and Gold Award winners!

 

Have a lovely weekend!

Mrs Margaret Renshaw

Deputy Principal

Head of Secondary

 

The 2021 UKMT Senior Maths Challenge

 

“The essence of math is not to make simple things complicated, but to make complicated things simple”. (Stan Gudder) 

 

 

In the first week of November our Year 12 and 3 students joined tens of thousands of other mathematicians around the world in tackling the 2021 UKMT (United Kingdom Mathematical Trust) Senior Maths Challenge – a 90-minute online multiple choice exam designed to get students thinking creatively in order to solve some pretty tough mathematical problems.

 

Most of our students are no strangers to these tests, but the questions still present a considerable challenge – they grow in complexity as the test progresses, and stress levels rise due, in no small part, to the fact that calculators are not allowed and that incorrect answers receive negative marks. Apart from being intrinsically great fun, these tests work towards providing students with a reserve of resilience and flexibility of thought, which can make a huge difference when they are confronted by something which is superficially unfamiliar during the more mainstream examinations.

 

Here are a couple of the questions posed in this year’s Challenge:

 

Earlier this week we received our results, and they are very impressive again, with nine out of the thirteen students receiving special awards. This is a phenomenal achievement.

 

The following students were awarded Bronze certificates:

 

Y13: Vadim Audy, Joseph Chang, Roshween Riar

 

The following students were awarded Silver certificates:

 

Y12: Ryan Chen

Y13: Celeste Chung, Daniel Veldman, Wilber Wong

 

And special congratulations go to the Gold Award winners:

 

Y13: Alex Woo and Hitoshi Iguchi (who also got “Best in School” award)

 

 

Well done to everyone who took part, and we now look forward to the Intermediate Challenge in February 2022.

 

 

F J Davis (Head of Secondary Maths)

Duke of Edinburgh Award News!

 

Another successful Duke of Edinburgh Award Adventurous Journey (practice) took place this week! Eleven of our Year 12 and 13 students committed themselves to three days of arduous walking and camping to enable them to take on the final assessed AJ to Sabah Tea Gardens in February. To maintain our strict SOPs, we camped at school on the field, and our walks were limited to the surrounding areas of KK, but we still managed approximately 12km per day with heavy rucksacks filled with clothes, food, and of course, water.

 

There was also success earlier this month (5-6th November) for 23 of our Yr10 Bronze Award participants who all completed the physical part of their combined Practice and Assessment Journey. Their routes were marginally shorter than the Gold groups, navigating 7-9km for each of the two days, with heavy rucksacks. Torrential rain saw this group pitching their tents in the hall and in classrooms. Year 10’s will be turning in their AJ reports and presenting their Purpose Work as videos or presentations to the DoE assessors on Tuesday 30th November,  to complete all the requirements for this section of their Award.

Year 13 on Day 1

 

All the Golds on the final leg on Day 1

 

Year 13 on Day 2 at the start of their walk

Year 12

Year 13 Golds on the last day- nearly finished!

Year 12 Golds make it back to school on their final day!

 

BRONZE AWARD: 5th and 6th  November  2021

EMDR: group of 7 students on their lunch break at the summit of Bukit Padang on Day 1.

Mee Goreng – Group of 6 students having a well deserved rest break on their hike on Day 1 route.

 

Clapppin’s group of 5 participants ready to embark on their Leg 1 of Day 1 from KIS.

 

Clappin’s reached their destination on Day 2. Successful route navigation -DONE.

 

Purpose work – data collection for Mee Goreng group on Day 2.

 

Camping in the Geography classroom

 

 

 

Routes on Day 1 or Day 2 took all groups around the Lake at Bukit Padang.