Message from the Head Teacher

Dear staff, students, parents and carers,

This is my last head teacher message for the newsletter. I have had an incredible experience as head of this school. It has been an amazing five and a half years.

Kingsbury is a challenging school to work in for all sorts of reasons. It is also a dynamic and exciting learning environment where the vast majority of students come to school to achieve. It has been my job to make sure that Kingsbury students leave with the best possible academic qualifications and the personal skills and qualities that will help them to

succeed in the future, whatever path they choose to take. I also want to provide them with rich experiences, like those featured in this newsletter.

I have really enjoyed my time here and have left the school in good shape with a sound platform on which to build. I shall look back on my time at Kingsbury with great fondness. May I take this opportunity to thank you for the support that you have given me and wish you all a safe and happy Easter break.

Farewell and good luck for the future.

Ms S Coulton, Head Teacher

NEWSLETTER

Issue 6 March 2012

Dates for your diary

Monday 16th April Summer term, students return.

Thursday 26th April Year 7 Parents evening

Monday 7th May May Day Bank Holiday

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 Email: enquiry@kingsbury.bham.sch.uk

Attendance Matters!

Attendance overall is currently 94%. Please ensure your

child attends school regularly and on time. We do not

authorise holidays/leave of absence from school during

term time for any reason.

Well done to 8G for achieving 100% attendance

recently! A tin of chocolates was presented to form tutor

Mrs Jennings to share amongst the form. Mrs Clarke

This newsletter is also available online at www.kingsbury.bham.sch.uk. If you would like to receive newsletters by email please email:

enquiry@kingsbury.bham.sch.uk with „Newsletter‟ in the subject header. @KingsburySSC

Reception Opening Hours: Monday to Thursday 8.00am – 4.00pm

Friday 8.00am – 3.00pm

Should parents require assistance outside these times they

are most welcome to leave a message on the answer

phone and somebody will return their call as soon as

possible. Mrs Colvin

Goodbye to the following staff who are leaving us for pastures new. We wish them well in the future:

Ms S Coulton Head Teacher

Mr I Smith Assistant Head Teacher

Mrs M Hughes Office Manager

SAFETY ALERT These Jequirity bean bracelets,

recently on sale across the UK, have been found to be

highly toxic due to the seeds they are made from. The NHS

is urging people who have bought these bracelets to wash

their hands, avoid touching their eyes

or mouth, and return them to the

supplier straight away.

Ms Coulton

Sainsbury’s Active Kids

Please keep collecting as many vouchers as you can so we can purchase equipment for our students. There are collection boxes in main and student reception areas. Mrs Jakszta

Hearing impairment Sharon Poxon, a teacher of deaf children, recently delivered an assembly to Year 8 to raise awareness of the issues this can cause in school, what it is like to be deaf, and how they can help. If parents have concerns that their child is experiencing difficulty with their hearing, they should contact Mrs Fowler, the school hearing

impairment coordinator. Mrs Hitchins

Together we can

KSSC students and staff have been really busy this month. More detailed reports will soon be available on the News section of the website, under the Home tab. Mrs Rose

FOCUS ON ENJOYING AND ACHIEVING

World Book Day Visit Local author Richard Denning, writer of young

adult sci-fi and historical fiction, visited us

recently. The day included a lively debate with

year 8 and 9 students about the science of time

travel and a discussion on Einstein‟s theories.

Who would have thought that a visit by a fiction

author would have encouraged learning about

physics! Mrs Bowley

Dedicated Health and Social Care students

Well done to these students

who gave up their Saturdays to

attend workshops at UCB:

Nathan Benson, Elise Davis,

Leah Ward, Sarah Griffiths,

Jessica Lay, Sarah Bello and

Danielle Biggs. Mrs Jakszta Year 11 Health & Social Care students

Art students of the month

Congratulations to Seren Skeete, year 7 and Ifra Nisar, year 8. Your Vivo‟s and certificates are on their way! The artwork is on display in school and on the school website. Mr Daniel

Richard Denning with Year 8 & 9 students

Enrichment Day

The event on 13th March saw students trying

a variety of activities with an Olympic or

Science theme. These included Paralympic

sports, rocket cars, photography, journalism,

art, music, website design and much more.

Thank you to all the staff for their hard work

and to our visitors for their invaluable support.

A full report and photos will soon be on the

school website. Mrs Rose

Gifted and Talented News

Dayle Demaret-Smith excelled himself performing at the Sound City Concert at Sutton Town Hall on 2nd March. Well done Dayle!

Year 7 students visited BMet. College recently to participate in a games design workshop, using their skills to

create characters in a virtual world. They had a fantastic day, supported by staff at the college.

KSSC students also visited the IKON Gallery and took part in a workshop aimed at promoting creativity, reflection and enthusiasm for modern Art. All the students did the school proud and enjoyed looking at Contemporary Art Work. More reports will be available shortly, and forthcoming G&T events

include a year 9-11 Dance Masterclass at North Birmingham Academy on 4/5 April. Miss Millward

Blindfold Football

IKON Gallery visit

Games workshop students

Maths Superstars

Well done to KSSC

participants in the UK

Maths Trust competitions

held recently: individual

medallists Jane Beale

(Silver), Tinuola Shodeinde

and Harkamal Gill (Bronze),

and the Team Challenge

group who got through to

the Regional Final: Jane Beale, Precious Iriabe, Harkamal Gill and

Regan Burns. Mrs Nelson

Maths stars Harkamal Gill and Regan Burns

Citizenship Assembly

Well done 8B who recently delivered an assembly to the whole year group on the theme of Citizenship.

The students talked about what makes a good

citizen, and delivered their presentation through

role play, poems and a short video clip. The

session was a great success and held the

attention of the whole year group throughout.

Mrs Hitchins

Together we can

FOCUS ON SCIENCE FACULTY Science is one of the three core subjects on the School Curriculum and we have 11 members of staff. From year 7

onwards, students study all three science subjects of Biology, Chemistry and Physics. At GCSE they study Core

Science, Additional Science, Triple Science and Applied Science. In all subjects there is a strong focus on linking theory

with practical and everyday scenarios. This is referred to as „How Science Works‟ and students are expected to use

scientific methods for all investigations. D Graham, Faculty Leader, Science

KSSC goes to Cosford.....

Six students recently went to RAF Cosford to represent the school in a

GO4SET competition. Go4SET links teams of Year 8/9 students with

companies or universities to work on a „STEM‟ (Science, Technology,

Engineering & Maths) project, to raise awareness and highlight future

careers within these subjects. Mr B Singh

We are working with Rob, a civil engineer from the company Mouchel,

on a project about water and sport within our school. Whilst we were

at RAF Cosford we had a range of challenges, and after completing them all we got a chance

to roam around and it was quite brilliant. Hasan Saif-Ullah (9I)

...and Cosford comes to KSSC! To celebrate this year‟s theme of „World in Motion‟

for National Science & Engineering Week, KSSC

combined science with sport to create an

Enrichment Day full of exciting activities for all

students. Amongst the Science Faculty activities on

offer for Year 8 were making rockets and

sportswear design. Thank you to all the staff for

their hard work, and also to Phil Clayton from the

RAF Museum Cosford who came to support us on

the day with a rocket car challenge.

Mrs Graham

COMPETITION

(Open to Year 7 and 8 only)

Why does this stick appear bent?

Answers to Mrs Graham in room

89, by Friday 20th April 2012

STEM students at RAF Cosford

Surfing the waves

Year 9 students h a v e b e e n learning a b o u t w a v e s as part of the m odu le

on the Electro magnetic (E-M) spectrum. We used a ripple tank to project waves on to the ceiling, allowing us to model “wavelengths” to help us understand how microwaves are different from radio waves, for example. Students are applying their knowledge to find out whether the E-M waves given out by mobile phones and Wi-Fi transmitters are harmful or not! Some students are now thinking twice about how long they spend on their phones and are advising others to limit their phone use through a range of creative posters.

Mr Abdul

Year 9 students learn about waves

Reflection Refraction Yr 11 students studying how

light behaves as it travels from air into glass and out again.

Year 8 rockets RAF Cosford rocket car

challenge

Together we can

FOCUS ON COMMUNITY

KSSC supports healthy active lifestyles

The World Health Organization is a campaign which each year focuses on a

single health challenge that will have a global impact. This year, for World

Health Day on 7 April 2012, WHO is focusing on ageing and health with the theme „‟Good health adds

years to life’’. A healthy diet and regular exercise can add years to your life span – what are you doing?

KSSC provides students with extra curricular opportunities to support healthy active lifestyles; the

timetable is on the school website under Students. Ms Walters

Year 10 Boys’ football

The semi final of the Erdington and Saltley District Cup produced a nail biting encounter that saw a 2-2 draw

after NBA equalised in the final minute. Following extra time, KSSC won 4-1 on penalties with Connor

Forgie scoring the decisive kick. The entire team showed spirit, enthusiasm and a determination to win. As

this newsletter goes to press, the team are preparing for the final on 23rd

March at Bodymoor Heath. Mr Brough

F a i r T r a d e F o r t n i g h t Last month, students from the TLC and those

undertaking the CoPE award were busy fundrais-

ing to support Traidcraft, a charity which fights

poverty through trade in developing countries.

They held coffee mornings and a raffle, supported

by staff Mrs Ivery, Mrs Sharp and Mrs Fowler,

and succeeded in raising £109. Well done to all

the students and staff involved. Mrs Ivery

Ski Trip

KSSC students have

recently returned

from a wonderful

week skiing in the

Swiss Alps as part of

a large group from

Birmingham schools.

Most of our students

were first time skiers

but that did not put

them off working

really hard and by

the end of the week

they were ski-ing

across large parts of the resort and even into France.

They were a credit to the school. Mr Halstead

Fair Trade: KSSC students and staff raise funds to support Traidcraft

STOP PRESS Easter Activity Camp @ KSSC

Leisure Centre with Monday 2nd to Thursday 5th April, 10am to 3pm.

Ages 5-12. Unbeatable value, prices start at just £15 per day, £10 per day if all 4 are booked. Second child discount. Due to popular demand now includes Dance and Gymnastics!

Book online at www.sport-mad.co.uk/sports_camps or contact

0870 919 3529. Enrolment forms also available from the leisure centre. Miss Stevens

Health and Safety Notice

Could parents of students

cycling to school please

ensure their bikes are road-

worthy and safe to use. They

should have working brakes,

be the right size for the rider,

ideally have a bell or a horn, and lights for riding at

night. Watch this space for more information about

possible future Bikeability courses. Mr Green

Ellen Ratcliffe, Owen Miles & Cameron Thomson

Competition report

England Ath let ics Indoor Championships

NIA Birmingham

Posit ion: 2nd in 200m Final

Ranking: 1st in the West Midlands and

3rd in the United Kingdom (U17)

I enjoyed the competition, considering it

was the first time since 2010 I've felt on

form following my hamstring injury. I've

made a great start to the year with a

silver medal in the bag. I hope that

success can continue to the outdoor season when I

represent Birmingham at the UK 2012 School Games at the

Olympic Park in May. Many thanks to the school, my Dad (#1

fan) and my Coach. Simbarashe Rwambiwa (11G)