In spite of the dreadful weather at the start of the week, we have enjoyed a spectacular week in school. I have visited so many lessons and witnessed a whole range of activities being undertaken from Y10s dissecting hearts, Y7s identifying political and physical geographical maps, Y11s singing the national anthem (Mason was exceptional) and I also managed to squeeze in 10 minutes of umpiring the Y7 netballers in their PE lesson. I also visited the performing arts after school clubs and saw over 25 students being led by our KS4 drama students and 50 students warming up in the choir. Our Y10 buddies toured over 50 parents in our final Open Morning on Thursday, and they were equally blown away by our students and the culture of our school. Mr Rowe and Miss Acock escorted 30 of our student leaders to the Houses of Parliament this Wednesday and we enjoyed the first ‘Rock with the Head’ of the year. Read on below for more details.
Kindness Matters
This past Thursday, an airplane made a surprise appearance above our campus, painting a GIANT smiley face in the sky! The excitement spread across Kingshill School as students and staff stepped outside to catch the unique spectacle, bringing a wave of positivity and smiles to everyone on the grounds. The sky-high smiley face reminded us all of the power of kindness and how a small gesture can brighten up an entire community.
Assembly
This week the STEP in focus has been about RESPECT. About how we are open-minded about those with differences. The focus has been on how we look at the same thing, experience the same environment or circumstances, but see very different things. Students have been very reflective in identifying times where they have demonstrated open-mindedness and respect towards others.
World Mental Health Day and Kindness
‘Being kind to others and to ourselves has positive effects on our mental health and that of others.’
Next Thursday, 10th October, is World Mental Health Day and Mrs Christopher’s assemblies throughout this week will promote the importance of good mental health and things we can all do to look after our wellbeing. One of our Year 11 Student Leaders, Amelia, has also developed some ideas and activities that will link the theme of mental health to our own Kindness STEP, and most importantly the importance of being kind to others and kind to ourselves. As a part of this, each member of the school community will have a Kindness Bingo card next week on which they are encouraged to log acts of kindness and to nominate someone else for a kindness award.
To celebrate the significance of World Mental Health day, we are also going to celebrate our first non-uniform day of the year next Thursday, with the theme of ‘Hello Yellow’ promoted by the charity Young Minds. On this day, students are encouraged to wear their own choice of clothes (ideally including some yellow!) and making a £1 donation which will be passed onto Young Minds to support their work in supporting the mental health of young people. Further details of this charity can be found here: Hello Yellow | World Mental Health Day | YoungMinds
Please do remind your child that although this is a non-uniform day, our usual expectations do apply in terms of no hats in lessons, no crop tops
Houses of Parliament Visit
The year 11 student leader trip to the Houses of Parliament was an enriching experience that I would recommend to any aspiring student leaders in the younger years. Not only did we have a guided tour experiencing some beautiful architecture and rooms of monumental importance, but we also received explanations and links to history to help us to properly understand the positions and powers Parliament holds. As amazing as the tour was, I’d say that personally my favourite part of the day was the discussions had in the education building afterwards. We were even able to have a Q and A with an aid to our Mp, giving us an insight into what working in Parliament is like, and telling us routes to become politicians ourselves. Overall, I believe that this opportunity has greatly benefited me and inspired me to potentially take up more leadership roles to help make a change.
Rebecca Y11
Lunchtime Concert
Greetings from your friendly neighbourhood music department. We are hosting a lunch time concert on Wednesday the 9th of October. This is to give our young musicians the chance and opportunity to perform outside of the less frequent, larger concerts. Although this is not available for parents and guardians to come and watch, performances will be recorded so you can see and hear the amazing work that our students are doing. These concerts will then be once a term alongside our other scheduled performances.
If anyone would like to be involved, they simply need to pick up a form outside the music classroom, fill it out and then give it to Mr Ashby. Performers will then be chosen and informed via the school bulletin.
These performances will take place in the Music Departments rehearsal room and a small tuck shop will be there. All money raised will go to the music department.
Rock with the Head
As we will be performing ‘We Will Rock You’ this year, we thought it apt to ‘Rock with the Head’ rather than indulge in cake! The students this week had all been identified by our Heads of Year for making an exceptional start to the new term. I look forward to meeting many more students as the year continues, as the conversations we have during our time together are both insightful and goose bump inducing – I am incredibly proud of their experiences Kingshill offers them daily; a reminder of the brilliant team we have here.
Netball v Westonbirt School
On Tuesday we welcomed Westonbirt School to Kingshill for netball matches between our Year 7 and Year 8 teams with 4 matches being played in total.
For Year 7, this was their first opportunity to represent the school after only having had a couple of training sessions. Not only are the girls still learning about the sport and the positions they may be best suited to, they are also still getting to know each other. Teamwork was visible in abundance as they offered to swap positions each quarter to ensure everyone had the opportunity to play a role they wanted. Congratulations to Matilda E, Chloe M and Martha H who all received Player of the Match from the opposition.
Our Year 8 netballers have seen lots of new players coming along to club training these past few weeks and the new team coped well in their first match against strong opposition. Our existing team from last season, secured victory after a very close game, winning 13-10.
Congratulations to Hollie D, Mia B and Poppy W who received Player of the Match from their opposing teams.
On Thursday Westonbirt welcomed our Year 9 and Year 10 teams to their courts in the sunshine.
The Year 9s showed great resilience and determination after falling behind in the 3rd quarter to stay calm and focused in the 4th quarter. They drew 6-6 at the final whistle. It was a nail-biting last quarter, great work girls! Congratulations to Elizabeth D and Eliza B who received Player of the Match.
Our Year 10s secured a convincing victory in their match, winning 15-7. All players worked hard to maintain possession in attack and apply pressure in defence to create and capitalise on turnover opportunities. Player of the Match for attack and defence went to Lara F and Harriet F.
We are looking forward to welcoming Sir William Romney and Farmors schools next week for more fixtures. Fingers crossed for dry weather!
Mrs Jones
Cross County Relay Success
A huge congratulations to all our Year 7 and Year 8 students who competed in the Cross Country Relays at Thomas Keble on Wednesday, 2nd October 2024. Our Year 7 teams, featuring Ruby R, Lucy P, Emily F, Isla W, and Billy G, Wilf R, Caleb Som, James W, gave outstanding performances, showing great teamwork and determination. In Year 8, Henry H, Joey B, Sion J, and Riley S ran brilliantly, making us all proud. Well done to everyone for representing our school with such energy and spirit!
Parent Forum
Thank you to the parents who supported our Parent Forum this Friday. We were able to share our developments around the Behaviours Culture framework we are implementing which is linked to rewards and sanctions. Parents enjoyed a tour of lessons and witnessing firsthand the Active Minds in place within the classroom. In addition, we reviewed how Edulink supports students and families and discussed how we can maximise this new venture. If you have 90 minutes to spare and want to hear about our school strategy, do come and join us at the next forum meeting.
Parent Survey
Still on the theme of mental health, NHS Gloucestershire have asked us to invite you to complete a short survey to share your views on mental health and wellbeing support services in Gloucestershire for children and young people. The survey can be found here: this short survey.
The information provided goes directly to NHS Gloucestershire so is not seen by us and they have reassured us that all individual responses are anonymous and will be stored securely. The feedback received will be used to influence the way people access and experience local services and may be shared in a summative way with organisations in Gloucestershire who provide support for children and young people.
They have also asked us to remind you that you are looking for mental health and wellbeing support for a child or young person, the On Your Mind Glos mental health support finder can help them to explore the range of support available locally.
Student Passwords
Students not knowing their log-in details or passwords can lead to wasted time impacting your learning, your teachers, and our IT team. To avoid this, we encourage all students to take responsibility by recording their details in the designated section of their Journal. Let’s work together to reduce unnecessary delays and keep everything running smoothly!
Volunteer Opportunity for School Admission Appeals
We are reaching out to invite you to consider a rewarding volunteer opportunity. Gloucestershire County Council is currently recruiting Parent Panel Members to assist with virtual School Admission Appeals, and they are in particular need of parents with children in education and who have worked in an Educational setting.
This is a fantastic way to make a positive impact on the school admission process, and your experience as a parent could be invaluable. If you or someone you know works or has worked in an education setting, please help spread the word or consider volunteering yourself.
For more information and to apply, visit the Gloucestershire County Council’s website by clicking here or contact Vicki Hopson at vicki.hopson@gloucestershire.gov.uk or by phone at 01452 425492.
Closing Remarks
A reminder that Monday is our second Inset day of the year. As the students enjoy their three day weekend, we will be focusing on strategies to be deployed in the classroom to support all learners to accelerate in their progress.
