March 2013 Staff Changes We say GOODBYE to Mrs C Cleaver, Headteacher‟s PA, and WELCOME to the following staff who have joined us this term: Mrs S Okunwaye Raising Achievement Assistant, English Miss T McCurdy Raising Achievement Assistant Mrs V Smith Level 2 Teaching Assistant Mrs L Dodds Finance Assistant Mrs Akhtar Kingsbury School and Sports College, Kingsbury Road, Erdington, Birmingham, B24 8RE Phone: 0121 373 1080 Fax: 0121 306 4878 Web: www.kingsbury.bham.sch.uk E-mail: [email protected]Dates for your diary Thurs 28th March Last day of term Mon 15 th April First day of term Thurs 25 th April Year 7 Parents Evening Mon 6 th May Bank Holiday – School closed Ms C O’Driscoll, Head Teacher KINGSBURY SCHOOL AND SPORTS COLLEGE Message from the Head Teacher This month we have welcomed a wide variety of guests to Kingsbury School and Sports College. All have provided excellent opportunities for our students to discuss ideas, share a passion for learning and gain insights into careers. The PACER focus this half term has been ENDEAVOUR and students have learnt about the commitment and hard work needed whatever field of work, training or education you choose. Our students have been excellent ambassadors for their generation of young people, engaging with enthusiasm in debate, presentations and hospitality. Thank you to all our visitors and organisations that hosted or took part in events with our students. „Together we can‟ help this generation of young people to have high expectations and achieve high standards for their future lives. If you would like to offer work visits, placements or be a guest speaker from industry, please contact Mrs Jakszta or Mrs Rose at the school. Dame Julia King visits Kingsbury On 16 th March we received a „VIP‟ visit from Professor Dame Julia King, Vice Chancellor of Aston University. The visit was arranged through the organisation Speakers for Schools, which organises talks in schools across the UK from successful people in business, industry, public life and a range of other areas. The talk was part of National Engineering Week, which celebrates all aspects of this sector in the UK. Dame Julia has had an amazing career in engineering, at one time overseeing aerospace development at Rolls Royce, and has a host of other interests as well as now being in charge at Aston. She delivered an inspirational assembly to Year 10 on the theme of engineering and climate change, and afterwards took part in a Q&A session with students. Her advice to students is to always look for solutions, be positive, and of course, work hard! Ms O‟Driscoll Sainsbury’s Active Kids Please continue to send Sainsbury‟s vouchers in to school. Thank You. Mrs Jakszta
Transcript
March
2013
Staff Changes
We say GOODBYE to Mrs C Cleaver, Headteacher‟s PA, and
WELCOME to the following staff who have joined us this term:
Mrs S Okunwaye Raising Achievement Assistant, English
Miss T McCurdy Raising Achievement Assistant
Mrs V Smith Level 2 Teaching Assistant
Mrs L Dodds Finance Assistant
Mrs Akhtar
Kingsbury School and Sports College, Kingsbury Road, Erdington,
This month we have welcomed a wide variety of guests to Kingsbury School and Sports College. All have provided excellent opportunities for our students to discuss ideas, share a passion for learning and gain insights into careers. The PACER focus this half term has been ENDEAVOUR and students have learnt about the commitment and hard work needed whatever field of work, training or education you choose. Our students have been excellent ambassadors for their generation of young people, engaging with enthusiasm in debate, presentations and hospitality.
Thank you to all our visitors and organisations that hosted or took part in events with our students. „Together we can‟ help this generation of young people to have high expectations and achieve high standards for their future lives.
If you would like to offer work visits, placements or be a guest speaker from industry, please contact Mrs Jakszta or Mrs Rose at the school.
Dame Julia King visits Kingsbury
On 16th March we received a „VIP‟ visit from Professor
Dame Julia King, Vice Chancellor of Aston University. The
visit was arranged through the organisation Speakers for
Schools, which organises talks in schools across the UK
from successful people in business, industry, public life
and a range of other areas.
The talk was part of National Engineering Week, which
celebrates all aspects of this sector in the UK. Dame Julia
has had an amazing career in engineering, at one time
overseeing aerospace development at Rolls Royce, and
has a host of other interests as well as now being in
charge at Aston. She delivered an inspirational assembly
to Year 10 on the theme of engineering and climate
change, and afterwards took part in a Q&A session with
students. Her advice to students is to always look for
solutions, be positive, and of course, work hard!
Ms O‟Driscoll
Sainsbury’s Active Kids
Please continue to send Sainsbury‟s vouchers in to school. Thank You. Mrs Jakszta
Year 7 Careers Event On 5
th March, Year 7 students received talks from a range of guest speakers,
who spoke about their own careers and offered advice to students about their future choices. They included:
Diabetes research scientist and STEM Ambassador, Dr Ann Wilson from Birmingham University.
Business Apprentice Emily Langridge from Interserve, who talked about Apprenticeships, and her role coordinating bids for large projects
Business owner and school governor Alex Yip, whose talk motivated the students to set goals and work hard to achieve them.
Paralympian and STEM Ambassador Darren Harris who gave a moving talk about achieving your dreams and never giving up.
Joel Goodlet from local youth and community group Urban Devotion who inspired the students with real life examples of other young people who had succeeded in becoming what they wanted to be.
Dianne Elsworth and Linda Meredith from Aston Villa Hospitality and Events, who raised students‟ awareness of the huge variety of jobs and careers at Villa Park. As more than one student said: “Now I know Aston Villa isn‟t just about football!”
Students‟ comments summed up the event: “It encouraged me to focus on what I want to achieve in life and to work hard.” “I learned that you can do an apprenticeship, and that science is to do with almost everything.”
Visiting speakers help our students to make links between what they learn at school, and the world of work. We appreciate the time that all our visitors gave to support our students. Mrs Jakszta
Kingsbury Students Stay Tuned We welcomed members of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra to school on 27th February, to begin the exciting Stay Tuned Project. The project, funded by Deutsche Bank, is a fabulous opportunity for Kingsbury students to work alongside professional musicians and gain access to a professional classical music concert within their own school. We hope this is the start of a lasting relationship with the CBSO and just one of many ways we intend to extend the musical opportunities open to our students. The school is
proud to be hosting two concerts by members of the orchestra in March. Ms O‟Driscoll
World Book Day On 7th March, students from Year 10 dressed up as characters from their favourite book and held a cake sale to raise money for Cancer Research, in memory of Miss Bunn, who sadly passed away late last year. The Tooth Fairy, Captain Jack Sparrow, the Grim Reaper, Wilma Flintstone and Winston Zeddemore from Ghostbusters invaded the corridors of the school, armed with buckets, to help raise money. There was also a sponsored reading day on 12
th March, the proceeds of
which will be added to funds raised on World Book Day. Mr Smith
Visit to Villa Park Year 10 Hospitality and Catering students recently had an
educational visit to Aston Villa‟s Hospitality and Events
team, to learn more about the industry. They learned
about careers within the sector, and discovered more
about the types of service, and equipment used. They
were also treated to a tour of the pitch and the dressing
rooms. Dylan O‟Keefe said: “The trip to the Villa was very
eye opening; the tours showed us just how much work
goes into little things. Overall the trip was a great
experience.” Mrs Folkes
STEM @ KSSC On 5-7 March several students attended the STEM Big Bang events at Birmingham Metropolitan College. They took part in lots of activities linked to Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. Year 9 took part in a Maths Challenge and a Maths Rap, chemistry experiments and a review of technology development from 1950 - 2009. Year 10 learnt about the production line with Jaguar's Lego car challenge, followed by an activity demonstrating how bugs spread via bacteria, completed the Postman's Challenge and some
number problems, made DNA from marshmallows and watched experiments from Nottingham University chemists. Year 11‟s experiences included measuring height by bone length, making balloon kebabs, Computer-Aided Design activities, and a talk on apprenticeships from BMW. The students were enthusiastic and demonstrated maturity, good subject knowledge and inquisitiveness. They participated willingly in activities, even if at times, they stepped outside their comfort zones. Mrs Jennings
Enrichment Day On 14
th March, students were involved in a range of learning activities
linked to Citizenship. Professionals from the legal system and law students worked with Year 10, where they debated the criminal justice system, discussed high profile cases and looked at the dilemmas faced by judges in preparation for a mock trial activity, linked to their English GCSE. They also received careers advice from the visitors. In other areas, students took part in enterprise activities, technology challenges linked to the theme of world conflict, discussions around humanitarian themes, and activities to develop skills in preparation for the world of work. We would like to thank all the visitors who gave their time to support our students, in particular our „legal eagles‟: Emily from Wragge & Co; Ambia from Solihull Magistrates Court; Magistrate and school governor Alex, and law students Dan from BCU and Sarah from Aston University. Mrs Jakszta
Kingsbury ‘Paparazzi’
On 15th
March a group of 14 students, with Miss Walters and Mrs Rose, attended a charity ball in Leicester, organised by the Interserve Employee Foundation. The students‟ role was to help create an authentic „Hollywood red carpet‟ atmosphere for guests arriving at the venue. Armed with cameras, students got into the spirit of things and created a brilliant paparazzi style welcome, with flashbulbs going off and pleas to guests to pose for a photo.
Leah Shafik, Interserve‟s person in charge of the event, said: “I have to say a Massive THANK YOU to the wonderful students who came along to help with making the event special. Every person that entered was surprised and touched by such a lovely welcome that it set the mood for the rest of the night. Please extend our thanks from everyone at Interserve, especially the Directors and Organisers.”
Y10 student Sean Fowler said: “We met the directors of the company and built more links with Interserve. We learnt new skills with the camera and gained confidence in ourselves as we had to speak to lots of people. Overall the experience was spectacular; we had a hard job but it was also fun. We would like to say thanks to Interserve and to Miss Walters for the opportunity.”
We were extremely proud of all the students, who conducted themselves impeccably and looked very smart, showing just what fantastic ambassadors our students can be for Kingsbury and for young people as a whole. Miss Walters
Legal Advisor Ambia Begum gives Year 10
students an insight into court proceedings
Well Done to: Sam Simpson, Sasha Allan, Izaac Steadman, Rafe Clarke, Abbey Phillips, Renai Thomas, Liam Astley, Dayle Demerat-Smith, Chris Horspool, Omar Schrouder, Jack Smith, Sean Fowler, Joel Phipps and Adrian Ellis.
from 7U who created this magnificent example of a motte and bailey castle in their History lesson. The girls worked tirelessly to complete their model at home and in lessons. Mr Hussain.
Our budding photographers with Miss Walters, Interserve
Directors and event organisers
In the first of a new regular feature, we interview Mrs
Evans-Gardner.
What is your current job role at Kingsbury and how did you start?
I have various roles, including Year 8 Form Tutor, working with Year 9 Geography, and supporting the Inclusion Faculty. Since starting here 7 years ago I
have completed a range of training and development courses with the support of the school.
I have qualifications in counselling and mentoring, Level 3 and Higher Level Teaching Assistant, and
am also a qualified ADHD coach, which means I can provide specialist support to students who have this learning difficulty. The school recognised that, as a
parent of a child with ADHD myself, I can bring certain skills and qualities to the role. I have
delivered parent workshops, and my experience helps me to understand and support other parents. I am now proud to be studying for a degree part time
at Newman University, to continue my learning journey.
What skills have you gained during your time at Kingsbury?
I think I have developed confidence in my classroom work, the ability to stay calm and be consistent in
supporting our students to achieve their very best. It‟s about developing good relationships with
students, using encouragement, praise, reward and sometimes sanctions if necessary. I do always
encourage students to talk to me or other members of staff if they are having difficulties with work; if we
don‟t know we cannot help!
What are your interests outside school?
I have 2 children and 3 stepchildren, one grandchild and another one on the way so that keeps me busy. I enjoy watching my youngest son play football, and
like to spend time in our touring caravan, visiting different parts of the UK.
Finally, what advice do you have for our students?
I would say, always believe in yourself, irrespective of barriers; support is always there if you want to
achieve. I am really keen to see our young people achieve and be independent. You have to grasp life
with both hands and make the most of every opportunity.
We think Mrs Evans-Gardner perfectly demonstrates the Kingsbury qualities of Endeavour
and Achievement.
Staff @
@KingsburySSC
Sports News
The KS4 Table Tennis team recently competed at the NIA against schools from across the city. They played excellently and finished in 3rd place overall, winning the Bronze medal. Well done to Adam Mohammed, Jamel Barker Edwards, Joseph Hylton and Pierre Weston. Mr Brough
Local residents and businesses
are being encouraged to become „Energy Savers‟ under
a new initiative, being run in partnership with Birmingham
City Council and Carillion Energy Services.
The scheme aims to significantly improve energy
efficiency across the city, and assist more than 26,000
homes out of fuel poverty. The scheme offers
households a range of energy efficiency measures
including heating, insulation and glazing, with funding
arrangements to make the improvements more
affordable. For more information, contact 0800 917 9772
