KINGS NORTON

HIGH TIMES

November 2010

IN THIS ISSUE

STOP PRESS PASTORAL REVIEW DAY HAS CHANGED TO

MONDAY 22ND NOVEMBER 2010 FROM 3.15 PM TO 6.00 PM

REMINDERS TRAINING DAY— FRIDAY 26TH NOVEMBER

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS— MONDAY 20TH DEC TO MONDAY 3RD JAN

We have:

• Exceeded the national average for 5A*-C's for

the last three years (2010 - 82%).

• 20% improvement in 5A*-C including English and

maths over the last two years and reached National

Challenge floor targets one year early.

• Exceeded the national average for science over the last

two years (2010 - 90%).

• 28% rise in GCSE maths over the last two years.

20% rise in GCSE English over the last two years.

...... and rising

SMALL, SAFE, SENSATIONALLY SUCCESSFUL!

When you support school you are supporting your

child’s future success, and together we are

sensational! If we get the little things right –

attendance, punctuality, uniform – and the big

things will follow. This issue is dedicated to ‘enjoy’

and ‘achieve’. Below are the headlines of our 2010

GCSE successes. Within these pages are more

successful stories and a celebration of what gets us

all up in the mornings. Enjoy!

Please see our website -

web.kingsnortonhigh.bham.sch.uk

for more good news results

On Thursday 9th of September 19 students from Kings Norton High

School – all with 99 or 100% attendance, less than three late marks

during the last academic year or vastly improving on previously

unsatisfactory attendance by 10% or more - were invited to attend an

annual celebration of excellent attendance. The ceremony, organised

by the Kings Norton Education Action Zone, took place in the Banqueting

Suite at the Council House where our students were presented with

certificates in recognition of their excellent achievement by the Deputy

Lord Mayor Councillor Michael Wilkes.

Kings Norton High School staff recognises the achievement of these

students and send their congratulations to: Grace Branch Hayley Glendinning Stacey Burt Remi Graham Xin Yi Dong Leah Graham Liam Foley Eunice Cornejo Stephanie Greenstock Martin West Toluwalase Odubanjo Lyndsey Harper Keelee-Ann Rivers Shannen O’Neill Shanae Palmer Shannon Mole Brandon Mole

BIRMINGHAM COUNCIL HOUSE CELEBRATION OF EXCELLENT SCHOOL ATTENDANCE

Key Stage 3 Attendance

At the time of writing, every year group in key stage 3

has a cumulative attendance over 95%. It has been a

good start to the year in this respect and I am sure the

students will continue to attend well and give them-

selves the greatest chance of success in school. As a

reward for attending during the final week of the first

half term, attendance prize draws were conducted.

Congratulations go out to Taekia Curtiss (year 7),

Rozhgar Mahmood (year 8) and Jo-Ann Bigg (year 9)

who all won £10 vouchers. There will be a number of

attendance draws in the upcoming weeks and ongo-

ing inter-form attendance competitions across the year

groups.

What’s on for FREE in November —book your place now!

ANYTIME Our 1:1 Parenting Support Programme

Kids don’t come with an instruction manual and there’s no hard and fast rules for raising teenagers, but it’s surprising how many parenting problems are familiar...It’s not easy getting them to stick to home rules and routines. If you would like some parenting support then contact us for more information.

EVERY FRIDAY Parent Group @ KN High School (various times)

This is a very friendly group where parents are able to support each other. We get together each week to talk through your ideas or concerns and come up with some practical help for any issues you may be facing with your teen. Free refreshments and crèche places are available.

Home-School Links Parent Partnership

EVERY FRIDAY CV Workshop 1-3pm @ KN High School (meet @ reception)

Would you like to get your CV up to date? We’ll be running weekly workshops were you’ll be guided on how to create the perfect CV . All materials are included. Free crèche places are available.

Call Liz on 0121 451 4451 ext 225 or 07891 505 184

or email crooksl@kingsnortonhigh.bham.sch.uk

EVERY MONDAY Cooking Group 1.00-3.00pm @ KN Children’s Centre

Come and join our very friendly and free 3 week cooking group! The group meets once a week to cook a healthy meal to take home. All ingredients and equipment are provided free of charge and a free crèche is available.

EVERY TUESDAY Maths & English Course 9.30-12.30 @ KN Primary School

Would you like to make gain a recognised qualification in maths and English? This is a FREE weekly course running at Kings Norton Primary School. You can go along on 10th November at 9.30 to regis-ter or call Liz on the number below for more information.

MONDAY 8th November Free Health Drop-In on 9.30-11.30am @ KNHS Drop-in Centre Come and meet the health trainer Ladies! They can offer lots of brilliant support such as free

vouchers for a weight loss group, help to stop smoking aids and lots more. Children are wel-

come. Grab a free tea or coffee, Danish pastry and some fruit while you’re there!

EVERY WEDNESDAY IT Workshop 9.15-11.15 @ KN High School (meet @ re-

ception)

Would you like to improve your computer skills ? We’ll be running weekly workshops were you’ll learn more about using the internet, email, creating documents and digital photos. Free crèche places are available.

Home-School Links

Liz Crooks, Home School Link Worker

0121 459 4451 ext 225 crooksl@kingsnortonhigh.bham.sch.uk

November 2010

Why are home-school links important?

When parents are involved in the life of the school and their children’s education, children do better.

We want to achieve the best we can for all our students and we believe that all parents should be seen as partners in the success of our school and its students. Please contact me on the number below if you would like to be part of

a totally new parents-staff association.

Working in Partnership with our Parents

My name is Liz and I work at Kings Norton High School as the Home-School Link Worker.

I can help you...

∗ speak with the school about matters that are important to you and your child

∗ understand the curriculum and teaching methods so you can help with homework

∗ access drop-in sessions, information, services and grants

∗ complete forms and applications I can support you during...

∗ times when you need a visit or to talk about your worries

∗ school meetings and parents evenings I can work with you to...

∗ manage your children’s behaviour and improve your relationship with them

∗ improve your own learning, education and life skills

Give me a call and we can work together to find solutions for your concerns, however big or small.

Free activities for the kids!

My Choice

Would you like your child to take part in an after school or holiday activity?

This could be trying anything from sports, computers, music or drama....and lots more!

We have a limited number of free places for all kinds of activities in the Kings Norton area.

If you are interested please call me or

Elaine Edgar on 0121 459 7937

Family Day out at Ragley Hall

There is a chance next year to run a family day out which will probably run during February half term.

If you are interested please contact me so we can get an idea of numbers.

Parent Partnership

The class of 2010 tasted a level of success not seen before at Kings Norton High School. Now the dust has settled, it seems

like a good idea to review their final year to see what lessons we can learn to ensure further success for the years ahead.

Working in places such as nurseries, shops, solicitors, factories and primary schools is where the year started for our students.

The first two weeks of September were spent learning new skills and applying various levels of expertise developed in the

classroom undertaking work experience. Feedback from employers from all over the city was very good and the tone for the

year was set. While many students found the process to be an invaluable indicator as to whether their perceptions of a career

were accurate, others found the world of work a challenging environment. Either way, the vast majority of students returned

buoyed by the experience and with a renewed determination for academic success in the upcoming year.

November saw the first GCSE entries of the year with a fine performance from a great deal of our students. For some,

English coursework bought the first important deadline of their academic careers and students’ skills of self organization and

prioritisation were put under the spotlight. Already students were beginning to triangulate their application in lessons, their

efforts at home and the impact these would have on their future aspirations. By Christmas most of the students had applied to

a number of different colleges following guidance from connexions and there was a definite sense that their success over the

final few months would shape the next stage of their time in education.

The New Year saw time passing increasingly quickly, another round of exam entries and the many students were beginning to

complete BTEC qualifications. As students began to pass these qualifications, time was freed up on their timetables which

allowed them to focus their studies with even greater precision. Some used this time to harness their maths and English skills,

others spent time passing their Adult Numeracy and Literacy qualifications whilst others used the time to refine their work in

areas applicable to their future studies or careers. The evolution of increasingly bespoke timetables equipped many of the year

group with solid foundations for the big final push. Results from the November exams were very promising as 15% of

students had achieved at least a C grade in GCSE English and 38% had done likewise in maths. Easter school was well

attended reflecting the clear determination of the year group to succeed wherever they could.

Students and staff alike worked harder than ever to ensure the best chances of success in terminal examinations. For many, the

final months passed by as a blur of endeavour in the pursuit of success. Timetables became even more focussed, students were

taught in small groups or tutored individually to target their specific individual needs, teachers were on hand before and after

school to lend pieces of advice or instruction that might have been difference makers in the final exams. There was a sense of

nervous anticipation tempered with the realisation by many that this chapter of their education was drawing to a close.

The maturity of the year group was certainly apparent in their conduct throughout the exams and during the revision sessions

scheduled in between. The hard work shown by all culminated in a delightful night at the Class of 2010 Prom at the

Westmead Hotel. It was fantastic to see a great effort made by so many and a perfect way for our students to say goodbye. In

what has become somewhat of a habit in recent years, our students were commended for their politeness and behaviour on the

night by adults they came into contact with; yet another tribute to the Class of 2010.

The results recorded by the year group were very pleasing indeed:

32% of the students achieved at least 5A*-C grades including English and maths meaning the school reached National

Challenge floor targets a year early

English secured an increase of 15% on last year’s number of A*- C grades (38%)

Maths built upon their tremendous improvement last year to record a further rise in A*-C grades to 46%

82% of students achieved 5A*-C grades

Almost half (49%) of students left Kings Norton High School with 10 or more GCSE or equivalent grades A*-C

Fantastic reward for a huge effort all round but as ever at Kings Norton High School, we’ll be trying our best to improve yet

again next year.

Mr S.Moore

A Fond Farewell to the Fabulous Class of 2010

The ‘World Noise’ project is an initiative to get everyone in the local community performing music from

around the world. Work has already begun in local primary schools around the Kings Norton area as each

primary school will receive 1 hour per week for half a term during the year. Schools can choose to work on

African drumming or on Samba drumming.

There is also an opportunity for parents and carers to get involved. Regular workshops will be run after

school during the term time at KNHS for all parents and carers to come along and learn to play either the

Djembe or one of our Samba drums. Both groups will work towards a performance at the KNHS Christmas

Concert along with the primary schools who have also been invited to join in!

For more information on the parent sessions please contact Mr Firth at school on 0121 4594451

The creative arts faculty had a fantastic year in 2009-10

It was the first year that students were entered for BTEC Art and Design and I am pleased to say all students

who were entered for the course passed. In July parents attended an exhibition of their children’s work, a

great evening was had by all. BTEC sport achieved 100% pass rate for students entered for the first

certificate and 74% of students entered for the diploma passed. This was equivalent to 4 GCSE’s. We look

forward to even greater success next year for sport, art and the BTEC performance group.

2009-10 saw the birth of an emerging music scene within our school. Students have performed within

assemblies and have gone out to visit local primary schools and have even performed in the Symphony and town

hall. We now have a student band who performed at our awards evening and will be repeating their

performance at the Christmas concert to be held on the 15th December, along with many other students who

will be showcasing their talents. The creative arts faculty aim to show the creativity of our students

throughout this academic year and look forward to all of your support for our forthcoming events. We hope to

see you there…..

South Birmingham Leadership Academy

The following pupils have been nominated to represent Kings Norton High School on the South

Birmingham Leadership Academy:

Najee Palmer

Norma Andrews

Jodie Bennett

Kassandra McGrogan

Hayley Glendining

Stephanie Greenstock

Sharna Samuels

Romario Gauntlett

Paul Brennan

They attended the launch at Swanshurst School before half term where they had the opportunity to

meet all the other young leaders in the academy and discuss ideas on how to both develop as a leader

and use leadership skills to best effect. This is an amazing opportunity for these pupils to use sport

together with citizenship to spread enjoyment and prospect in sport to others around them.

Throughout the school year they will have the chance to attend leadership courses in a variety of

sports to aid them when they are required to organise and run festival and competitions for peers and

pupils from surrounding primary schools.

Upcoming Sports Competitions

The following events are taking place over the next half term. Pupils wishing to represent the school at

these events need to see Miss Slater as soon as possible to register their name.

16th November – Volleyball Competition

17th November – Novice Trampolining Competition for Boys and Girls

23rd November – KS3 Badminton for Boys and Girls

25th November – KS3 & 4 Dance Festival

8th December – KS3 & 4 Rowing

The city of Birmingham… the way I see it.

As I look out of my bedroom window I see the street lamps silhouetted against the dark night sky. The gangs outside have a joke. I can hear them laughing. The smell of alcohol comes from a gang member’s breath as he laughs and messes around. My neighbour’s light flick-ers on in his kitchen as he pops his head out the window and shouts. Oh nothing is quiet in the city of Birmingham. The next morning a cold and rainy day for good old Birmingham. I see the rotten mess on the ground from the night before. As I walk down the narrow road I can feel the dampness in the air. I stop by a homeless man who smells like out of date milk and he doesn’t look too fresh either. He asks for 20 pence in this cracked voice, so I give it him and off I go. Oh noth-ings right in the city of Birmingham. I wait at the bus stop for the number 35 bus taking me into town. I stand there with patience. When other people join me at the bus stop, they speak about the weather trying to make small ‘chit chat’. A car comes flying around the corner, clearly breaking the speed limit. I know it isn’t long until someone will have the misfortune of being knocked down. The road is bumpy, broken and dangerous. At last the bus comes. I am not surprised the bus is full so I have to go upstairs. The greasy steps and handrail are the only thing I have to hold onto. Oh nothings clean in the city of Birmingham. As I take my seat at the front of the bus. At the back are more gang members. I can smell their cheap after-shave and I hear them shouting at me in their ‘chavy’ voices. Oh I don’t be-long in the city of Birmingham. I got into town and there I find so many people going into different shops, fancy shops, top shops, shoe shops, book shops all types of shops. Tall people fat people, small people, all different types of people. Oh everybody’s different in the city of Birmingham. AND THAT’S THE WAY I LIKE IT.

WRITTEN BY

CASEY DUNNE 11N

Faculty of Science and Mathematics: 2009-10 an overview

It gives me great pleasure to summarise what has been another year of outstanding achievement in science and mathematics. In terms of results, both subjects performed admirably, with 89% of science learners, and 46% of mathematicians, achieving at least GCSE grade C or equivalent. The tremendous progress made by BTEC students in science has been maintained, and mathematics results have shown a healthy 12% gain over those achieved last year. Aside from results, we now have an advanced skills teacher in science and a ‘Learner of the Week’ initiative in mathematics. Our learners have been involved in the ‘National Maths Challenge’ and science learning days at the Think Tank. There are regular breakfast clubs prior to examinations and revision and coursework clinics after school. This has been an exciting year in the development of the faculty, and is due in no small part to the continued hard work and dedication of our excellent staff.

Maths Star of the Week

In the maths department this year we have started a new initiative: the ‘Maths Star of the Week.’ Our aim is to recognize and reward the excellent work done by our learners and so on the last lesson of the week, one child in each class is given the honour of receiving the ‘Star of the Week’ prize. Our stars of the week are chosen from the best: only those hard working learners who are on time to l lessons, diligent in their work and who have completed their homework can be selected! As well as the privilege of being ‘Star of the Week’, the children also receive a small prize they can keep as proof, and can enjoy having their name displayed on our ‘Star of the Week’ notice board. We know that our learners love to have their hard work recognised and we have been seeing this in how highly prized the ‘Star of the Week’ award has become! The competition can only get even fiercer as learners’ strive to become the maths ‘Star of the Week’. Finally, hearty congratulations to our current stars:

Year 7 and 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11

Kion Manikam

Martell Drew

Jhavan Samuels

Joshua Smith

Reece Smith

Hermon Shanay

Cindy Dong

Connor Poole

Abdul Thabit

Shelby Barrington-Smith

Bader Ibrahim

Kaleem Stewart

Mark Richards

Asma Suldan

Amy Moore

James Thrupp

Jack Ashton

Laquisha Stewart

Rabi Kisanga

Parents, carers, pupils and school supporters, It is rapidly approaching the season of goodwill and our chosen

charity this year is The City Mission. It is a Birmingham based charity that helps those less fortunate in these

increasingly hard times. We aim to collect food and other items to package and deliver to the needy. This will be

done by creating food parcels for families and shoe boxes for children containing small gifts.

To enable us to give much needed support to this very worthy cause we are asking you to help us by donating the

following items:

v Non perishable goods for food parcels

o Tinned fruit, meat, beans, spaghetti, soup, fish, tomatoes, vegetables

o Dried pasta, fruit, noodles, soup, sauces, milk, coffee, hot chocolate

o Jars of jam, marmalade, spreads, sauces , onions, pickles

o Boiled sweets, tea bags, sugar, crackers, biscuits, flour,

o Toothpaste, soap, shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, moisturiser, toothbrush, hairbrush, comb, toilet roll, talc, lip balm, bubble bath

v Items for shoe boxes from birth-15yrs

o Hats, gloves, scarves, socks, pants, tights

o Small toys, cars, dolls, puzzles, key rings, McDonalds toys

o Pens, pencils, rubbers, rulers, sharpeners, crayons, felt tips, colouring books

o Books

o Hair clips, hair bands, nail polish, bubble bath

o Small cuddly toys

o Sweets (not chocolate)

o Empty shoe boxes

o Christmas paper

Please send your donation in to school and hand them in at reception no later than Monday 13th December.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Bronze

at Kings Norton High School

Ghosts? Torrential rain? Camping? Cooking your own food? Working as a team? Getting away from

Kings Norton? A sense of achievement? Fun?

If you fancy any of these things, then the DofE just may be for you

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, or DofE for short, is an award where students are rewarded for

their participation over a range of activities. There are no exams to pass, but an excellent and valued

qualification to achieve. The four sections of the DofE are listed below:

• Volunteering: undertaking service to individuals or the community.

• Physical: improving in an area of sport, dance or fitness activities.

• Skills: developing practical and social skills and personal interests.

• Expedition: planning, training for and completion of an adventurous journey in the UK or abroad.

For bronze this is a weekend away doing roughly 15 km a day, based on a preplanned route.

At Kings Norton High School we have introduced the Bronze award in 2009/10. All students, as long

as they are aged at least 13 years and 9 months at the start of their practice expedition are welcome

to enroll, and expeditions are undertaken in groups of between four and seven people.

Our expedition training started with a series of training sessions to develop the camping, cooking,

planning and navigation skills of the students, and a first aid day where they passed the St John’s

Young Lifesaver Award. All learned quickly and enthusiastically and were soon ready to put all of their

kit in a rucksack and take part in the practice expedition to Upton Warren. Bright sunshine greeted

the learners as they started walking and it wasn’t long before all had found the campsite and had set

up camp. After some superb cooking (well done Romario) and a haunted night of sleep, all participants

successfully reached the end point.

The assessed expedition took place in September. After a successful walk to The Stables outdoor

centre, the campers awoke the next morning to the sight and sounds of torrential rain. I have never

run or assessed an expedition in such appalling weather and it is testament to the determination of all

of the participants that they walked through it, and passed their expedition.

The DofE Bronze Award will be running in 2010-11. See Mr Gerrard, Mr King, Miss Mugnier or Miss

Lockley for details. We look forward to seeing you!

I have really enjoyed work-

ing with people from other

year groups!

It was fun!

Can we do this again?

Murder most foul! The new term began with a shocking discovery. Everyone was being welcomed back after their summer holidays by Mr Horner in the hall in our first assembly of the new term, when a phone rang out (I thought they were supposed to be switched off in assembly?) and Mr Horner stopped his discussion about uniform, attendance, punctuality, homework, blah, blah, blah … to take the call! It was the POLICE!!! announcing that a crime had taken place at KNHS and that because they were so understaffed and short-handed at that time – could the learners at KNHS help them solve the crime? Who’yer gonna call? CSI Kings Norton High!! Well, it wasn’t long before the Scenes of Crime Officers (SoCOs) were dressed in their white suits and ready to in-spect the crime scene. With the help of some very famous detectives; Lt Colombo, Inspector Morse, Hercules Poirot et al, the investigation was eagerly begun by KS3 learners keen to be the one ‘to solve the crime’. The first tasks were to record all of the clues that had been left behind by the villain and to try to establish the identity of the victim. So much enthusiasm, so little time ... we had only two weeks at the start of the term to find the culprit – could we meet the challenge? The investigators were split into two groups to complete the investigation – Globality, where the psychologi-cal profiling was to take place and Discovery, who were the forensic crime busters. But first to the crime incident con-trol room to set up the ‘crime boards’ that would hold the evidence and hopefully lead the investigators to the culprit. In Globality, investigators were initially asked to establish the identity of the fatality by using the clues found at the crime scene and from the personal possessions of the unfortunate victim. Using their findings they began to make assumptions about the victim’s last movements (even spending some time in ‘France’ (Ms Mugnier’s room) follow-ing up leads showing the victim had recently spent some time there! Meanwhile in the forensic labs experiments were being conducted on footprints, finger-prints, hand-writing, powder analysis and even a heart dissection to find out more about what had happened. All the evidence was stacking up! Were we ready to name the perpetrator? We all crowded into the main hall – was this the moment we had all been waiting for? We all presented our evidence and as a result the villain was identified and ‘nicked’ by Mr Benham. A good time was had by all and the villain got to spend the rest of his days in isolation!! By ‘gumshoe’ Gary Some student comments:

I learnt lots about being a forensic

scientist!

I want to be a detec-tive

Humanities – headlines from 2009-10

Fame at last . . .

In a busy year that saw visits from theatre groups, speakers from charities and project based learning events

involving the humanities faculty, the cult of the ‘celebrity’ was never far away! Learners from Y8 and 9 took

part in the BBC News Report, a nationwide initiative by the BBC to encourage young people to get involved in

‘making’ and ‘reporting’ local, national and international news. A ‘newsroom’ was hastily set up in the humanities

office and a team of learners assembled themselves, ready to report unfolding events. This day culminated, for

the team of news makers, in a visit to London by one learner to take part in a ‘day in the life’ of a BBC news

reporter. This involved a visit to the Houses of Parliament to interview prominent MPs and to the BBC newsroom

where advice was given to our student on how to pursue a career in journalism. Our representative was also

filmed whilst being interviewed which was shown on locally and nationally that same evening. Mr McCay (head of

RE and Citizenship) led this event, spent hours editing footage and compiling the report (shown on the school

website) and accompanied our chosen representative to the London where he even managed to get himself on

TV for a few seconds!

Celebrating success . . .

The faculty saw a greater number of learners opting for its wide range of subjects at the end of last year.

More learners chose GCSE History than has been evident in previous years. The BTEC subjects such as Travel &

Tourism and Child Care, Learning and Development continued to be a popular choice with Y9 learners for their

KS4 options. The faculty continues to offer GCSE Humanities to its ‘exam-ready’ Y9 learners and has for the

last two years been successful in ensuring that a quarter of those entered attained a Grade C or above! - two

years before they would normally be expected to work at GCSE level!

Exam success for humanities continues to improve. In Citizenship, the exam grades for those entered for the

short-course showed that 63% of learners had achieved a Grade C or above. This year the Religious Studies

(RS) short-course is being taught to Y10 and Y11 making a full GCSE for those successful in both Citizenship

and RS. In GCSE Sociology (short-course) 80% of learners achieved a grade C or above – all of whom have gone

on to study GCSE History (short-course) this year.

The team . . .

The humanities faculty team profile is strong – being made up of two senior leaders (Mr Punton, deputy head

teacher – Geography and Mr Horner, Assistant Head Teacher – History and RS) and two heads of key stage (Mr

Moore, head of KS3 – Geography, Travel & Tourism and RS and Mr McCay, head of KS4 – RS and Citizenship).

The team has recently been joined by Miss Lockley (shared with the English department) whose background as

a ‘Teach First’ entrant to the profession is an inspiration to our learners – encouraging them to achieve. As head

of faculty, I am pleased to acknowledge the breadth of expertise which allows the faulty of offer a wide range

of subjects to our learners, giving them choice and excellent teaching within those subject areas.

The future . . .

This academic year will see a greater number of Y9 learners entered for their GCSE Humanities examination in

June, giving them the opportunity to ‘bank’ a GCSE pass earlier in their careers at KNH.

The faculty will continue to recognise and reward those learners who are working to the best of their ability

with ‘out of the classroom’ learning and enrichment opportunities. It is also the intention of this faculty to

forge links with other faculty areas within the school (cross-curricular projects) and with humanities faculties

in other local schools to further develop the learning experiences for our students.

And if we join the BBC School Report again this year (as planned) maybe … just maybe, we might get on TV

again!

Lindy Thompson

Head of Humanities Faculty

‘REDUCING THE REDS’ October 27, 2010 was a day of independence! On this day at KNHS, learners were given a liberating approach to learning. The main

purpose was to individualise the intervention so that learning would be personalised.

Personalised Learning is not about leaving pupils to develop on their own. It's about building their independence and their responsi-

bility through interaction with others, through rich interventions, stimulation and exciting curriculum opportunities — and, through

that process, developing pupils' range and capacities.

In order for this to work successfully, learners were supported through a side range of resources. The preparation for ‘Reducing the

Reds Day’ began weeks before. This all started when learners sit an examination and therefore entered the Magic matrix

The magic matrix is a spreadsheet that collects data on how well learners performed on specific learning objectives in an exam. It is

then analysed and organised under headings; red, green and amber. A topic is seen as red if performance was poor, amber if it was

average and green if it was mastered.

Learning mentors then produce a RAG sheet that learners can see which areas will require priority support. The sheet is divided in to

columns and the main purpose is for learners to see the list of topics identified as reds. The aim is to reduce the number of topics

listed as reds through effective interventions.

Prior to the event, learners used their RAG sheets to identify five topics they would like to focus their revision on with the aim of

‘reducing the reds’. Packs were then prepared with worksheets and video clips that would support their progress and understanding

on that day. This approach allowed learners to choose the topics they wanted to study but also to demonstrate to the learners, a way

to learn independently.

On the day, learners streamed in eagerly and were very pleased to see that packs were prepared exactly to their requirements,

waiting for them. Independent Learning was the order of the day and most learners relished the opportunity to work in a liberating

environment that allowed them to progress independently.

In the end it was successful event, as learners attested to in the evaluation sessions. Most felt that this approach suited them since

they felt they were now progressing and they were in charge of their learning. There will be more ‘reducing the reds’ days in the

near future!

COMMUNICATIONS

As we look forward to another successful year, it seems appropriate to remind you of just some of our successes from last year.

Our GCSE English results have improved yet again achieving 38% A-C in English from 23%.We have been extremely pleased with

our achievements. This improvement has been gained by the continuity and high expectations of the faculty; we also need to

congratulate the French department who yet again continue not only to increase their uptake in language but achieved 70% A-C for

GCSE. This is an ongoing process for the faculty to continue to raise the expectations and examinations for all students.

Our policy is to offer pupils a wide range of extra curricula activities, which last year included a weekend trip to Paris and Disney,

and special organised master classes out of the school environment for year 11. This was supported by the local authority.

The library continues to flourish and with the establishment of Accelerated Reading . This year we aim to further develop the love

of reading throughout the school.

A further sign of our growing success is the number of new staff who have joined our Faculty, Miss Wyatt, Miss Robbins, Miss

Lockley, Mrs Wall and Mrs Benjamin.

This year we have already embarked on some new enterprises, including a ‘Spelling Bee’ and a trip to Normandy in June. We have

also just paid a visit to the Birmingham Nature Centre where year 11 enjoyed an English master class, in a quiet and relaxed

environment, and were even joined in the classroom by three lively Marmoset monkeys. We hope to use this excellent facility in the

future.

Watch this space for even more exciting developments.

October 2010

This month we have concentrated on collecting construction materials to make a variety of items for our garden. We started by phoning Turners Pallets a company we use for work experience placements. They kindly delivered 12 pallets free of charge. A local Tyre company called Rik Fit have said we can collect as many tyres as we want. They have to pay £3 a tyre to have them taken away for disposal. The best offer of materials came from Harris Scaffolding. They have to replace all scaffold planks after a number of years due to health and safety regulations. We made three visits to Harris with the school mini bus to obtain a large quantity of planks.

Garden club first meeting. The gardeners and I had a exhausting hour but had a lots of fun. We all were given our sizes in boots and overalls to put on to make sure we don't get any dirt on our clothes, we also were given a locker to put our belongings in. Our task was, to clean up kings Norton's front garden near the house, to make a much cleaner place to put in plants. We also wanted a display area to attract customers to buy some of our product offers in our garden. First we had to cut the grass and make the surface much tidier, with an adult (Mr.Benham) he supervised us to how to use materials with safety instructions. We found and buried a dead mouse. ‘We cleared the land with the help of our teacher, Mr.Benham. He used a strimmer to cut the grass, which made the garden much neater. I and the gardeners, Faisa and Conner, got instructions to use rakes, as you can see in the picture.‘ Plans before Christmas Our plan before Christmas will be to establish the gardening club on Wednesday evenings then agree on how the garden should take shape. We need to be clear about our ideas and establish a time scale to put them into action. At the moment we have started to build a polytunnel which will be used to propagate plants in the spring. This is going well so far. By Faisa Sharif and Hassina Akhtar yr 11

Attendance

We have set ourselves an attendance target of 95% for this academic year. In order to

achieve this level of attendance we would like to remind you that:

* Holidays are not authorised in school time

* Medical appointments should be arranged outside school hours when possible. If not we

may not be able to authorise a full day; please aim to return after the appointment or

make sure your child attends school in the morning if the appointment is in the

afternoon.

* Any special requests for absence to be put in writing to the headteacher.

Please continue to support us in raising school standards by ensuring that your child arrives

on time and has the highest possible attendance.

‘Grow your own’: The notion of growing and harvesting our own fruit and vegetables - the idea seems to be the new big thing. TV celeb-rity chefs like Jamie Oliver, Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall and Nigel Slater are all doing it and telling us we need to do the same. The fact is it’s by no means anything new.

During the Second World War Britain relied on peo-

ple to be able to sustain and feed themselves as we couldn’t depend on imported foods.

Personally I have always been interested in growing my own fruit and vegetables for my own family and from a young age I’ve always been de-signing and making things. Two things I bring to my role as head of technology.

At Kings Norton High School enterprise education is very important to us . Enterprise education as all about fundamentals, theories, and processes of busi-

ness . One such project developed following a visit to a well known gar-den centre. Our BTEC construction learners came up with an idea for timber planting boxes de-signed to produce a flexible structure holding soil for growing a wide range of plants and vegetables. We started with a few on display adjacent to the school entrance—as from there interest bloomed! Mrs Burns gave us £200 as a start up fund towards plants and materials. During the next few weeks before the summer holi-days we gained support from two businesses. Selco Trade Cen-tre provided us with discounted timber and Arkle Plants in

Worcester gave us advice about plants and also an opportunity to sell our planting boxes through their store. This year the project has continued to expand. We have con-tinued to make and sell our boxes, some now have gone into primary and nursery schools who find them an easy way to introduce children to growing plants. Our product range has also expanded to include gates and larger timber raised beds. Our cash flow has moved from £200 to £690 with more orders

Meadow

sweet

Meadow

sweet

Cottage.

..Cott

age...

Autumn

Autumn

More pupils are now involved in business studies, and con-struction. There is even a gardening club that has taken root after school. We’re quite fortunate at Kings Norton High to have access to outside spaces on which we can use from grow-ing. Learners have identified three areas to work on over the coming months. The first being the over-grown and some-what neglected garden of what once was the school care-taker’s house, or has it has become referred to since

the gardening club has taken it over “Meadow Sweet Cottage” Of course Meadow Sweet Cottage is much more than just a Gardening Club. It’s a project in itself which has been driven and directed by learners from across the school. Stu-dents have formed a committee who will oversee the decision making on everything from the design to work rotas to make sure the garden (once the growing season is well underway)

is well tended. A number one priority is to create time and opportunity for staff and pupils to work together on a common project. Listening to students and

allowing them to learn and discover by putting ideas into action in a fun environment is para-mount.

By creating their own vegetable garden and growing their own food the students will gain an insight into the seasonal nature of food. Along with the benefits of exercise and lots (we hope!) of fresh, healthy vegetables students will also be developing their prob-lem solving, mathematics, communication, leadership and thinking skills. And watch out for our up and coming section on the school website where the students hope to blog and post video diaries of their progress. Aside from turning an un-used patch of land into some-thing that will be attractive and productive, the Meadow Sweet Cottage project aims to involve the local commu-nity. We plan to invite parents to come and work alongside their children in the vegetable garden, learning skills to-gether that they can put to use at home. It might be early days but we’re already looking forward to inviting parents and other members of the community to the summer cele-bration where our students will be serving up a bumper feast , grown and harvested by them in the vegetable garden they will have created and tended. The garden club runs each Wednesday evening from 3.00 to 4.30. Here we focus on our two main gardens, one will be a nursery area for rearing plants and the other will develop from pupil’s ideas. At

the moment they are experimenting with a range of projects made from the materials we have sourced from local compa-nies. I would like to thank in particular Turners Pallets, Rik Fit Tyres and Harris Scaffolding for providing large quantities of materials for us to work with. We are now in a fortunate posi-tion of being able to start projects without being restricted by expense. Pupils are currently building Meadow Sweet Cot-tage’s polytunnel which is almost ready to be constructed.

Flock to school?

KNH students could soon be

raising chickens in their veg

Join the gardeners

Wednesdays and Fridays after school

See Mr Benham for more info