What a difference it makes when the sun shines ! The students have made the most of the glorious weather during their social times; the field has been full of such a wide range of activities, complete with smiles. I am also delighted with the self-regulation the students demonstrate when returning to class; taking the time to fill up water bottles during social times and not during lessons.
On Wednesday we had a visit from our marketing advisor who toured the school and met with over 25 students from Y7-10 to discuss their ideas for renovating their identified areas around the school site. The students were a joy to work with and Ben remarked on how their innovative ideas and thinking showed ‘plenty of Pride and Ambition’ and he left wishing that he could ‘bottle the atmosphere in the room and sprinkle it everywhere!’.
Lockdown Procedures
Last term I had the privilege of being trained by Gloucestershire Police alongside other headteachers so that we can build robust and simple lockdown procedures in schools. As a result, this week we have shared with the students our Lockdown Strategy in the event of needing to lock down our school site. Although these are very rare occurrences, we feel it is important that our students understand the value and importance of these procedures as there may be a time in the future where they are in a public arena that requires them to follow a lockdown protocol. Our education on this matter is not limited to an assembly, we will be reminding students in the coming weeks through STEP time, student bulletins, our plasmas and we will also commit to an announced drill in term 6. These drills and reminders will become a feature of the school calendar moving forward.
Assemblies this week
This week the theme of our assembly was pollution. This is an issue that is very close to my heart and sadly one which we seem to always talk about but continue to fall behind in terms of action. The students were reminded of how through our STEP’s culture, if we try to live our lives with Pride, Responsibility and Respect, then rather than ignore the piece of litter on the floor, we can all work together to make a better environment for all of us. We focused on plastic pollution in the assembly and how this has a devastating impact on our environment, especially the marine environment in the UK and around the world. Thank you to all students for taking on board this important message.
Mr Darren Stillman
Assistant Headteacher
Y11 Exams
After some truly superb creations that were created in the practical subjects in recent weeks, our Y11 students have made a good start to their written exams over the last few days. They have been working exceptionally well and are already appreciating the impact of the Booster sessions which help to familiarise their approach to each exam. We wish them every success over the busy few weeks ahead.
Eco-Club Project
After weeks of dedicated effort, the unsightly old pallets have undergone a remarkable transformation into two charming, raised beds. Thanks to the hard work of Freya and Ruby, the beds are now assembled and looking fantastic as they prepare them for soil and planting next week. If your child is interested in joining the Eco-club and being part of exciting projects like this, we meet every Thursday lunchtime in S7.
Mr Edwards
Head of Y11
Award Winning Author Visit
Next Thursday is an exciting time for the English team as we welcome the award-winning author, Tọlá Okogwu. She will be speaking to the whole of Year 7, Year 8 and local primary school students, as well as running a workshop for a select few students. You may have come across Tọlá already through one of her 14 children's books, especially the superb Onyeka series, which was selected for our 'Book Buzz' scheme. She’s also had a book published for World Book Day this year! If you haven't heard of her yet, I highly recommend a quick visit to her website and getting yourself a copy of 'Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun' so you can try the series for yourselves.
“My hope is to create ‘mirrors and windows’ through my writing, allowing children the opportunity to read books that are reflective of their own experiences as well as other cultures.”
-Tọlá Okogwu
Pre-Loved School Uniform Sale
The Friends of Kingshill School are excited to announce two dates where you can buy pre-loved school uniforms. Be sure to mark your calendars!
Cricket Champions
Over the last two Thursdays, our U15 (25th April) and U13 (2nd May) Cricket Teams have competed in the Gloucestershire Indoor Finals, as a result of qualifying from District and County preliminary rounds of the competition. This competition is open to all Gloucestershire State Schools, stretching across the county from Bristol to North Gloucestershire and the Forest of Dean to Cirencester.
Following a series of resounding successes, throughout the group stages on each of the days, both our teams qualified for the final game without losing a match. There were 30 run, 50 run and 70 run victories respectively.
The U15s played Newent and the U13s met a strong Redland Green School from Bristol in their finals.
These amazing teams then had the competence, confidence and character to win both titles.
Kingshill can now identify as Gloucestershire State School Indoor Cricket Champions across both KS3 and KS4 Students.
Mr Paul Hamblin
Sports Department
County Athletics
On 30th April, 27 Kingshill students showcased their talent at the District Athletics Trials. Each and every one of them demonstrated unwavering dedication, giving their all and supporting one another throughout. We're proud to announce that 10 pupils have been selected to advance to the Counties, a new record for Kingshill! Congratulations to all participants for their outstanding efforts!
Best regards,
Mrs C See
Other Sports News
Our Sports Leaders hosted a Primary QuadKids athletics event for 10 local primary schools (110 pupils)
Our girls had their first rounders fixture of the summer term against Deer Park. Congratulations to the girls on the following winning games: Year 10s (22-10), and Year 9s (10.5-9.5). The following girls were awarded Player of the Match by the opposing teams: Year 10 (Amber), Year 9 (Erin), Year 8 (Poppy), Year 7 (Layla)
Our tennis teams had their first matches this week against Farmors. Both U13 and U15 teams competed well against strong opponents, narrowly conceding their matches: U13s lost 6-4 and U15s lost 7-3. Notable performances from Robbie and Joe (U13s) and Fraser (U15s)
Our cricket teams were also in action this week against KLB, both teams securing victory. Kingshill U13s batted first scoring, 128/1, with 2 pupils retiring on 25 runs each. In response, KLB scored 178/5 off their number of balls.
The U15s won after chasing their target of 99 in 12.3 overs, only losing 2 wickets with notable performances from the following students: (U13s) Dan (batting) and Charlie (bowling) and (U15s) Matt (taking 4 wickets) and Jasper (choosing to play with an injury)
Thank you to all students, staff and parents/carers for giving up their time to support these fixtures.
Theme Day – World Cultural Diversity Day
The next theme day the kitchen team are running will be held on Tuesday 21st May 2024 – World Cultural Diversity Day. The menu for the theme day can be found at School Lunch Menu - Cirencester Kingshill School
Miss Burt
Kitchen Manager
Closing Remarks
The last thing I expected to find myself doing on a Friday was standing with my pike amongst the Y8 history civil war lesson led by Mr Rowe on the school field. Today, we learned how to advance, order, and charge our pikes whilst the enemies approached us on their imaginary horses. We stood steadfast and held our lines – an awesome end to the week!
