KEVI Newsletter 30th June 2023

Senior Leadership Team Update

Last week we said goodbye to our students from Year 11 and Year 13 who have finished their examinations and are hopefully now enjoying a well-deserved break. Year 13 students finished with a barbeque organised by Mrs Prince and Mr Kay.

Good luck to all of them as they await the results which will hopefully secure places at university.

Year 11 students finished with the Leavers’ Gala which we hope is the start of a new KEVI tradition. We’d like to say a huge thank you to Mrs Everton and her team of staff and student helpers who made this such a memorable and successful event. We are so proud of them and thought we would share a few fabulous pictures from the event here. We will shortly be in touch with Year 11 families with details of how you can download the professional images, free of charge, which were captured on the night. We would like to say a huge thank you to Mr Caldwell for the hours spent setting up, taking and editing such lovely memories of the evening.

We are also pleased to be able to share a letter, written by two Year 11 students, who have reflected on their journey and offer some useful advice to students in Year 10 but also essential reading for anyone lower down the school.

Dear Year 10!

The next year is going to go by fast! It may sound like a cliché but it really will. Having just gone through Year 11 and hopefully been very successful we wanted to be kind and share our top tips on how to make the most of it.

1. Start your revision early

Even a small amount such as 20 minutes a day will help you achieve the grades you deserve. Don’t leave it to the last minute to cram all the revision in. Cramming is not effective, it doesn’t work. It will cause a lot of stress as you start to panic. Putting effort in from the very start really is worth it. It enables you to walk in and out of every exam feeling confident and positive. Hopefully at the end of the year you will see the results and see all the effort was worth it.

2. Trust the staff because they really do care

As much as you think they are always on your case they are genuinely just trying to help you achieve the best you can. During Year 11 we have really understood how much they are invested in our success. Listening to them will better your chances of succeeding. The younger versions of ourselves would not believe we are saying this but we are so grateful now for the rules and standards here that have allowed to us to benefit from such a great environment to learn in. If you’re struggling with exam stress or general mental health speak to someone you trust.

3. Treasure the moments

The year goes by so fast! Spend as much time with your friends as you can as it starts to become reality that you’re not going to be with them every single day at school. Understand the boundaries as you don’t want to spend precious time in BSU or detention as you don’t have many quality moments left.

Finally, we really have come to believe and understand the KEVI ‘choice not chance’ mantra. You have so much choice at this stage of Year 10 to commit to doing well in the exams. We’d add our own version for anyone struggling for motivation: “You must make a choice to take this chance, or your life will never change!”

We hope you enjoy every minute of year 11 and take every opportunity that comes to you! It’s your time to be top of the school!

Ashton Price

Apollo House Media Rep

Tia Fitzakerley

Mercury House Media Rep

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs S Jones - Executive Principal & Mr M Wilkinson - Acting Head of School

Why we do what we do -Academy Rationale

When students are moving around the academy, we ask them to walk on the left and 'feet behind feet', in a single file. We have quite narrow corridors and staircases, and we want to ensure our environment is safe, calm and comfortable for students to get to and from lessons.

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 year 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 next 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

Table Talk

Mr A Carrington - Vice Principal

We have introduced in assembly this week, a new anti bullying charter. Next week students will be going through this with their tutors. It would be great if you could take the time to go through and discuss it with your child. If you have any comments to make please email listening@kingedwardacademy.co.uk

Teen Support

Bullying is unwanted and aggressive behaviour that involves an imbalance of power and is repeated.

Many students suffer as victims of bullying. As you know we have introduced a new charter and are introducing new anti bullying ambassadors. It is hoped that anyone who does suffer will find a way of communicating this so that school staff can support you. There is also lots of support available on line

• Helping Children Deal with Bullying & Cyberbullying | NSPCC
• Bullying | How To Deal With Bullying and Getting Help | YoungMinds
• Information and advice about all forms of bullying (nationalbullyinghelpline.co.uk)
• Find help and support (anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk)

If you have ever been a perpetrator of bullying, understanding the effects that bullying has on others helps people to find another way of communicating emotions.

The impact of bullying - YouTube

This video may help to understand the impact of a bullies actions have on their victims.

Word of the Week: Inherent

Inherent: Adjective – existing within something as a permanent quality or characteristic

Origin - Latin: in: in or towards; haerere: to stick

There are dangers which are inherent in mountaineering.

She had an inherent quality of patience.

The failures were inherent in the original design

Accelerated Reader

We have many Word Quarter-Millionaires, most of whom are just one book and one quiz away from being a Word Half Millionaire. Lots of encouragement goes particularly to the following students for them to reach Word Half Millionaire by the end of term:

Year 7: Grace, Oscar W, Tori, Shanel, Daisy, Ellis, Sienna.

Year 8: Ryan B, Charlotte, Hannah, Joseph S, Jacob, Zhoe, Sam M, Harmony, Katie, Sam P, Braydon, Lucas.

Year 9: Oliver C, Maisie W.

Words are added to ongoing student scores from completed quizzes which have scored a pass mark.

There are just three more weeks of term left to make it to Quarter Word Millionaire, Half Word Millionaire and Word Millionaire targets.

Please encourage your child to quiz on the books they have read. As well as having the opportunity to quiz during tutor times and during KEVI Reads times, your child can now access Accelerated Reader at home via Dret Cloud. They can simply log into Dret Cloud and select the AR icon.

Please ask your child to see their English teacher if they have forgotten their Accelerated Reader username or password.

Overdue Books

Overdue book reminders are sent to parental emails. Please look out for them and if you receive one, please then encourage your child to return or renew books which are overdue so that they can be issued to other students. Books which are not returned must be replaced which causes unnecessary cost.

Book Logs

Your child is now recording every time they read on a temporary book log. Please encourage them to complete it when reading at home. It is kept inside their reading book. You will be able to monitor your child’s progress by looking at their book log with them.

Library Opening Times

The Library is open before school at break and during lunch time. Should students choose to read books from home, please Google “A R Bookfinder” where you will be able to check the level (BL) of more than 180,000 books.

KEVI20 WC 3rd July Lesson 1

Ms K Davis - Head of English Department

Dates for the Diary

• 6th July - Summer Cup
• 12th -16th June – Who wants to be a millionaire?
• 23rd June – House rap
• 10th July – Tallest sunflower
• 12th July - Lip sync battle
• 19th July – House champion rewards