Dates for your diary
- Tuesday 07/02/2023 - Yr 7 Parents' Evening
- Tuesday 07/02/2023 - Yrs 9/10 Careers Fair Trip
- Friday 10/02/2023 - House Talent Show
- Thursday 02/03/2023 - Yrs 10/11 Macbeth performance
- Tuesday 07/03/2023 - Yr 9 Options Evening
- Thursday 09/03/2023 - DRET Secondary Music Festival
More calendar dates can be found on the school website here
Senior Leadership Team Update
On Tuesday this week we hosted an Enrichment Day which saw students from all year groups experience a range of different activities. In Years 7, 8 and 9 students took part in activities connected to careers including looking at how to present sales pitches, the jobs market, time management and problem solving. Year 10 students experienced a day from the Lincolnshire Stay Safe Partnership which explored healthy relationships, the dangers of illegal drugs and how to stay safe online. Year 11 students looked at study skills and received guidance with applications for next year. All of the topics covered are an important part of the education we provide at KEVI in addition to the traditional subjects we offer. We owe a huge thank you to Miss Henshall and Mr Riley for coordinating the day.
During this week our Year 11 students have continued to prepare for their final mocks and have benefitted from brilliant revision sessions in English, Science, History and French. Students have also spent time planning a revision timetable. As usual we have a Saturday School running tomorrow from 10 – 12 and this week we are offering both History and Religious Studies.
The house competition continues to be exciting and it has been wonderful to see students practising speed stacking during the week. At the time of writing we have just finished the Bottle Rockets competition. Students have spent time designing rockets in house colours and, with the help of Mr Smith, they took off this afternoon!
Finally we’d like to congratulate two colleagues who have been studying nationally recognised professional qualifications and received the news this week that they have passed with flying colours. Well done to Mr Gould and Mr Williams! We are so grateful for your commitment to continued professional development.
Year 11 students have been given the timetable for their final mock examinations. We are all working hard to support Year 11 students to achieve the best results possible this summer.
Please remember we have a programme of Period 6 after school lessons to support Year 11 students to prepare for their final examinations.
We also continue to run Saturday Schools:
- 4th February: History and Religious Studies
- 11th February: English and Maths
Each student in Year 11 should have a revision timetable and should be completing two hours' independent revision per day. During half term this should be increased.
Mrs S Jones - Executive Principal
Mr M Wilkinson - Acting Head of School
Values
Respect
Our uniform is a really important part of one of our core values: Respect. Our uniform demonstrates respect for our professional environment and it also demonstrates self-respect.
As we approach the half way point of the academic year it is a good time to remind our community of expectations regarding our uniform policy. We know that our high standards are a key reason why many families trust us with the education of their children.
Our policy for Year 7 – 11 is located here: King Edward VI Academy - Uniform (kingedwardacademy.co.uk)
Our Sixth Form dress code is located here: Sixth_Form_dress_code.pdf (kingedwardacademy.co.uk)
The uniformity of uniform is very important, as it levels the playing field for everyone. No-one looks cooler, richer or trendier than anyone else. We work hard to eradicate fashionable uniform trends, such as having large gaps between trousers and short trainer socks, short skirts, dyed hair and piercings.
These, we realise, seem minor to many, but it is worth reminding ourselves that the purpose of uniform is to remove hierarchy, difference and status as much as we can for our students. If students can raise their status over others with minor amendments to the uniform rules, then we allow a culture to develop where appearance is an important part of who students are. The entire reason for having a uniform in a school is to remove that culture. This is especially important in the world we currently live in where social media constantly reinforces messages to children that their status is heavily connected with their appearance.
We believe that tackling this culture in school will support pupils with their mental health, and this is why such minor infringements of rules are so important to us – it isn’t because we think that having a short skirt, or brightly coloured hair, or several piercings affects the way a student learns, but it is because we understand that it is an attempt to be different, to raise themselves in status and it creates a culture where students feel that they have to look a certain way.
Why we do what we do -Academy Rationale
Teaching and Learning - Review Learning at the start of a lesson
At KEVI we use a lot of evidence-based research to inform our planning and the way we deliver lessons. An educationalist called Barak Rosenshine has ten principles he recommends for effective teaching. We use his work to guide our delivery in lessons.
Throughout the rest of the year, we will explain the rationale behind each of the principles and how we use them in our lessons.
Principle 1
We devote between five to ten minutes at the start of every lesson, to review previous learning. As our cognitive load is quite small, if we don’t review previous learning, then us trying to remember old information will get in the way of us trying to learn new information.
By dedicating a short period each lesson to reviewing and evaluating previous academic performance, (knowledge and skills) means our students will ultimately perform better. This is because our students develop a more in-depth understanding of the curriculum, make connections between topics, and enhance their critical thinking skills.
House News
Speed Stacking
This week we held our first Speed Stacking competition. It was great to see so many students who had not yet participated in an activity yet taking part in this competition.
A huge thank you to Mr Read who helped every day and quickly became the most competitive speed stacker in the school with a time of 6.05 seconds.
Bottle Rockets
This week students became aerospace engineers and came together as a team to build a Bottle Rocket. Eight students from each house used lunch times to design and build their rocket. On Friday lunchtime the rockets were judged and fired into space.
The results for both competitions will be revealed on Monday.
Miss C Eyre - Games Master
6th Form Update
Oppidan Trust Applications
Last week the Oppidan Mentoring Programme was delivered to Year 12 and they have now applied for a position to be a mentor. The programme will run differently this year as it is face-to-face training rather than remote.
The students who have applied this year from Year 12 are Riley, Ava, Grace, Ruby, Gracie, Finola and Daniel.
Oppidan have a team of over 100 freelance mentors from a range of different professional backgrounds – authors, lawyers, musicians. They believe that mentors are somewhere in the space between a friend, a role-model and a teacher. Oppidan worked last year with five DRET schools running this programme virtually. What they are introducing this year will launch face-to-face later this half-term, running for twelve weeks.
Each Year 12 pupil will mentor two Year 7 pupils. They will meet weekly for half an hour for a total of twelve weeks. Each Year 12 and Year 7 pupil on the programme will receive a workbook to guide and support these sessions. After six weeks of peer-mentoring, the Year 12s on the programme will meet their Oppidan mentor again for further mentoring and training.
This is an opportunity for our Year 12 students to:
- To develop transferable skills to the world of work: communication, empathy, leadership, responsibility, making this a standout experience on a personal statement or UCAS form
- To work with an Oppidan mentor to think about their next steps out of school, receiving valuable careers guidance
- To give back to their school community by helping a younger pupil
- To collaborate with pupils from across the DRET family
Mrs P Prince - Head of Sixth Form
Thinking Ahead – My Future, My Choice
Attention Year 8 & Year 9!
- What are your future plans & career possibilities?
- What plans to do you have after you have completed your GCSEs?
- Do you plan to go on to further/higher education? If so what courses might you study?
- What career ideas do you have for the future at the moment?
In Years 7, 8 and 9 you will be learning new skills and knowledge that will give you the confidence to help you plan your next steps. This process starts with your careers education in school which will encourage you to think about your strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes. You will also start to make some important decisions that could influence your future career path as you will be choosing your subjects to study for GCSE. This process will begin for all Year 9 students early this year.
Each week we will show you examples of the various careers linked to the subject you are studying. This week’s career idea is . . .
KEVI Careers Support
Attendance
House Attendance
Attendance for last week was 93.2% so keep up the good work!
House Attendance
If you would like to discuss your child’s attendance or need any support with attendance, then please contact Mrs Kwee or Mrs Ziller on 01790 756704 or tkwee@kingedwardacademy.co.uk to discuss ways to support your child's attendance.
Mrs T Kwee Attendance Manager
Table Talk
Character education is hugely important to us at KEVI. We regularly discuss aspects of character education in assemblies and tutor periods. We talk about our moral compass and how it guides the decisions we make.
The above quote is from Laurence Sterne who was an Anglo-Irish novelist and Anglican cleric who wrote the novels The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman and A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy, published sermons and memoirs, and indulged in local politics. Please use this quote to discuss with your children the term moral compass and how you have used it to make decisions in life.
Mr A Carrington - Vice Principal
Homework
Thank you for continuing to support your children with their homework this half term. Please see the following page on the website if you need further information about the expectations, or if your child has lost one of the knowledge organisers: https://www.kingedwardacademy.co.uk/Homework/
For your information spring Term 3 homework will finish on Sunday 12th February. Therefore, the homework for Friday 10th, Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th will be checked by tutors on Monday 20th February.
Gino's Update
Price List – February 2023
Breakfast
- Bacon roll 95p
- Sausage bap (Wed only) 95p
- Large bacon roll £1.35
- Fruit – piece or small pot 40p
- Toasted teacake 50p
- Yogurt 45p
Break
- Bacon roll 95p
- Sausage bap 95p
- Large bacon roll £1.35
- Pizza slice 95p
- Toasted sandwich £1.35
- Cheese & ham bagel £1.35
- Toasted crumpet 40p
- Toasted teacake 50p
Break & Lunch
- Salad box £1.80
- Baguettes (small) £1.20
- Baguettes (large) £1.70
- Sandwiches £1.35
- Large roll £1.35
- Small roll 95p
- Tortilla wrap £1.60
- Crusty bread roll 30p
- Fruit – piece or small pot 40p
- Yogurt 45p
- Condiment sachet 10p
Lunch
- Main meal with 2 sides £2.10
- Vegetarian main meal with 2 sides £2.10
- Meal deal (meal, cake/dessert or small drink) £2.40
- Pasta pot £1.65
- Stir fry pots £1.65
- Curry, rice & naan bread pot £2.10
- Panini £1.40
- Pizza 95p
- Jacket potato with filling £1.70
- Cake/Cookie 60p
- Hot pudding 65p
Drinks (Breakfast, Break & Lunch)
- Fruit juice carton 65p
- Flavoured milk carton 65p
- Semi skimmed milk carton 65p
- Radnors fizz bottles 70p
- Large bottles water 80p
- Large bottles flavoured water 90p
- Yazoo milkshake £1.00
Angela Clark - Catering Manageress
Teen Support
The Equality Act 2010 says someone sexually harasses another person if they:
Engage in unwanted conduct of a sexual nature and the conduct has the purpose or effect of either violating the other person’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them.
This unwanted sexual conduct can happen in person, on the phone, by text, email or online. Both the harasser and the victim or survivor can be of any gender. Sexual harassment includes a really wide range of behaviours, such as:
- Sexual comments or noises – for example, catcalling or wolf-whistling.
- Sexual gestures.
- Leering, staring or suggestive looks - this can include looking someone up and down.
- Sexual ‘jokes’.
- Sexual innuendos or suggestive comments.
- Unwanted sexual advances or flirting.
- Sexual requests or asking for sexual favours.
- Sending emails or texts with sexual content – for example, unwanted ‘sexts’ or ‘dick pics’.
- Sexual posts or contact on social media.
- Intrusive questions about a person’s private or sex life.
- Someone discussing their own sex life.
- Commenting on someone's body, appearance or what they’re wearing.
- Spreading sexual rumours.
- Standing close to someone.
- Displaying images of a sexual nature.
- Unwanted physical contact of a sexual nature – for example, brushing up against someone or hugging, kissing or massaging them.
- Stalking.
- Indecent exposure.
- Taking a photo or video under another person's clothing – what is known as 'upskirting'.
This is all wrong and if you feel you are the victim of any of this please inform a staff member.
Word of the Week
Treachery
Treachery: abstract noun – a betrayal of trust, often linked to acts of treason against the nation.
Word origin: trique (Old French): to trick, cheat or deceive.
When the striker left to join a rival team, his old team mates considered it an act of treachery. The plot of many films includes betrayal and treachery which are usually discovered only when it is too late for victims to stop their dreadful consequences.
Treacherous: adjective – the quality of deceiving or being guilty of betrayal.
Having ruined his reputation for ever, her treacherous actions could never be forgiven or forgotten.
Times Tables
Years 7 and 8 will be reciting their times tables to help embed them in their long term memory.
At the end of each lesson, they will stand behind their chairs in silence, preparing for themselves for the next lesson and just before they leave the whole class will chant the timetables assigned for that week.
Week commencing 6th February 2023 - we will be chanting our 6 times table.
Mrs H Johnson - Head of Maths
Accelerated Reader
Students are continuing their independent reading with more and more enthusiasm! It is wonderful to see on a daily basis that no-one in Years 7-9 is without an independent reading book and that these are regularly being exchanged in the Library. Popular books this week have been Felix Ever After by Nancy Callendar, The Enemy series by Charlie Higson and The Gallagher Girls spy series by Ally Carter.
Student online quizzing on books which have been completed from this week has begun. Completed quizzes give useful information about how well students have understood the books they have read. It also adds to a running total of number of words read and book level points earned for each student.
The Library is open before school, break times and at lunchtimes every day.
Please encourage your child to read books from the library as they are part of the 180,000 books which have Accelerated Reader quizzes linked to them. Should your child wish to read a book from home, you can check to see if it has an Accelerated Reader quiz linked to it by visiting www.arbookfind.co.uk.
KEVI 20 WC 6th February: Period 4
Ms K Davis - Head of English Department
What do our staff do when they are not teaching at KEVI?
Mrs Taylor shares her story:
Some of you may not know that in my spare time I am part of a Musical Theatre production company. This was my background before teaching and I really only just started to get back into it after lockdown realising that I didn't do anything for myself. Last year was my first time on stage in a professional production in a very long time. I decided to do it again this year.
Next week I will be in a large-scale production of Kipps: the new Half A Sixpence, at the Grimsby Auditorium. This Olivier award winning show was performed in the West End (show closed in 2016) with the role of Arthur Kipps (who Tommy Steele played in the original film) by Charlie Stemp, who is currently Bert in Mary Poppins in London. See the trailer, it really is a spectacle - Half A Sixpence Trailer - YouTube.
The production company, Curtain Up Productions, is a registered charity and, although puts on these huge shows which we don't get paid for, it also gives back to the local community with food drives in the week of the show. It means that not only our audiences can be entertained but give back at the same time. I'm not one for begging people to come watch something that I find amazing, I know it's not everyone's cup of tea. However, this show is hilariously funny, has heart, and is relatable to all. It's also a family friendly show so children are able to come.
So, if you want to come watch the show, please bring something to donate. Last year we delivered food for almost 100 families who otherwise may not have had any. Tickets are available here Kipps: The New Half A Sixpence Musical - Grimsby Auditorium
During the show week any chocolate, snacks, Lucozade and high sugar items are welcome to come my way and will be gratefully received. I am extremely passionate about theatre and local theatre in particular. So come and support it if you can.
Mrs K Taylor - Teacher of English and Mercury House Champion
Credits:
Created with images by cooperr - "image of calendar and pencil close up" • kobackpacko - "shirt" • onephoto - "review time Business Concept , time for review , Business team hands at work with financial reports and a laptop" • amnaj - "Two business people discuss investment project working and planning strategy. Businessman and businesswoman talking together with tablet at office." • Africa Studio - "Caregiver with senior man at home" • Eugenio Marongiu - "Black and white women hands showing each other friendship and respect on blue background - Isolated diverse multiethnic female hands supporting - brotherhood, racism, equality concept" • mojo_cp - "Two confident students reading a book or doing homework together while sitting at the home" • alter_photo - "sandwich with flying ingredients" • pathdoc - "Frustrated annoyed upset woman with mobile phone" • Casimiro - "treason" • LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS - "Selective focus of colorful plastic numbers on blue surface" • tutye - "Elderly man sitting on couch and reading Bible" • Africa Studio - "Male hand writing text learn more on screen. Business training concept."