Bulletin november 2013 (1)

King Edward VI School

November Bulletin 29th November, 2013

T

he autumn term is moving into its final phase with the cast of ‘Grease’ preparing for the last few days of intense rehearsal and performance. The Children in Need and Philippines Typhoon appeals have all increased charity sales taking over the Crush Hall while preparations for the Carol Service at St. Mary’s Church are keeping our musicians busy. Many in the Upper Sixth Form are now rather nervously waiting for the outcome of UCAS applications with many already securing good offers.

One of our legal requirements is to report on formal complaints made to the Board of Governors each year. We have had no such complaints this year. The procedure for registering such a complaint may be found on our website although we always hope that informal means can resolve any issues parents may have.

We have had a good term so far on the sports field making excellent use of the new facilities at Wellington with some enjoyable highlights including county successes for the girls' hockey teams and the senior netball squad. Our rugby players have been busy with particular success for the U16 side and an increasingly confident U14 side as well as some fine performances from our young players. Our footballers and our basketball players go from strength to strength and even our sailors are still fully involved in spite of the weather!

A J Thould Head

School Christmas Lunch

Carol Service

Pupils who do not usually have School lunches but would like a Christmas lunch on the last day of term are able to purchase a ticket (£3.55) from the accounts office from 2nd December

Monday 16th December at 7.30pm St. Mary's Church, St Mary Street, Southampton

Deadline for the sale of tickets is 12th December LAST DAY OF TERM The last day of term will end at our usual time of 3.55pm THERE WILL BE NO LATE BUSES

SO14 1NX

SCHOOL LUNCH REMINDER The service is followed by mulled wine and mince pies

The deadline for changes to School lunch arrangements is:

Wednesday 4th December

It will not be possible to meet requests that arrive after the deadline

IMPORTANT PARKING INFORMATION FOR CAROL SERVICE We have been informed that it is no longer free to park in the church grounds.

The charge is 90p per hour. There is, however, street parking nearby which is free after 6.00pm.

Please email dinners@kes.hants.sch.uk giving pupil name, tutor group and the change intended No action is required if arrangements are to continue as at present Any request using the dinners@kes email address will have their request acknowledged 1

Smartphone Safety

Corner Many of your children will have smartphones which will have internet access and the risks that young people face online also apply to smartphones. You may want to consider the parental controls that can be placed on these devices or the restrictions that the service provider can place on them for you. http://www.kidsmart.org.uk/parents/parental-controls.aspx Morrisby Psychometric Testing for all Fourth Year Pupils Many of you will be aware that HMC Schools frequently offer Morrisby Testing to students in their pre-GCSE years. Following several years of conducting the Morrisby Test on an opt-in basis, King Edward’s now offer the test to all Fourth Year pupils.

Friday 7th March at 7.30pm in the School Hall for parents and friends Teams of 8 The cost is £12.50 per head with supper included Click Quiz for more information and booking form

The test is intended to provide detailed profiles of your child’s aptitudes, learning styles and problem solving abilities and provide useful information for detailed careers guidance. The test is booked for the morning of Thursday 9th January. A feedback interview will be provided later in the term.

Staff & Parent Prayer Meeting Tuesday 3rd December 1pm-2pm Commemoration Room

Please contact Mrs Mandley on cjm@kes.hants.sch.uk for more information.

The NIHR Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility needs our help In 2011, KES supported a Meningitis Research Study carried out by the National Institute for Health Research, based at Southampton General Hospital. They are now embarking on a large scale clinical trial of a new Meningococcal Group B vaccine and are seeking healthy volunteers aged from 10 to 18 years to take part.

Type B Meningococcus is the major cause of meningococcal meningitis and septicaemia in the UK. These severe diseases are thankfully rare, but are most common in young children and young adults compared to other age groups.

An effective vaccine for type C meningococcus was introduced in to the routine immunisation schedule more than a decade ago. A vaccine against meningococcus B has recently been approved for use in the European Union, but is not yet widely available.

A new, slightly different vaccine is being developed (called bivalent rLP2086) that they hope will help prevent illness caused by meningococcus type B (MenB). NIHR Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility is involved in conducting this very large study that will include more than 3,600 children and young adults worldwide.

To find out more about this clinical trial and how to take part, click here.

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Tout ce qui est français 2014!

First Aid Club

Normandy Second Year Visit 3rd - 6th July

Following a very successful term, the First Aid Club will be running again in the new year. The course is designed to give the necessary first aid training to cope with situations the pupils may face in everyday life. During the course topics covered include common illnesses, bleeding and shock, burns and scalds, choking, communication and casualty care, coping in an emergency, recovery position and resuscitation.

A polite reminder to all parents and pupils to be mindful of the residents when parking and dropping off in our local area.

At the end of the nine week course (Monday after school), the students are assessed and if they are successful receive a nationally recognised First Aid qualification (British Red Cross).

Angers Sixth Form Exchange The French group will arrive on Friday 14th March and will depart Friday 21st March

The course is open to Second Year pupils and above and costs £20 via KESpay. The first session commences on Monday 13th January.

Andalucia Information Evening Monday 10th March at 8.00pm in the Hospitality Suite

If your child is interested and you need more information, please email ljd@kes.hants.sch.uk.

Mutterstadt Exchange Information Evening Tuesday 4th March at 7.00pm in the Hospitality Suite

Morocco Information Evening Monday March at 7.00pm in the Dobson Theatre 3rd

Charities Commission Christmas Stalls

Burns Supper and Ceilidh Saturday 1st February at 7pm in the School Hall

Crush Hall 9th to 13th December

Tickets £25 in support of our international charity the Goedgedacht Trust

There will be games and all sorts of Christmas paraphernalia!

More information coming soon

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DATES FOR YOUR DIARY Thursday 5th Dec to Saturday 7th Dec

School Musical: Grease

Monday 9th Dec

Charity Christmas stalls week

Wednesday 11th Dec

Fourth Year Parents’ Evening

Please note: A more comprehensive calendar, which is updated and reviewed regularly, is available on our website

Closing date for 11+ and 13+ applications Friday 13th Dec

Aachen Christmas Market trip: returns 15th Dec

Monday 16th Dec

Carol Service - St Mary’s Church - 7.30pm

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Friday 20 Dec

Term Ends Adult Choir Carol Service Rehearsals Rehearsals will be held in the Music Department from 7.30pm to 8.30pm on: Monday 2nd, Wednesday 4th and Monday 9th December. All singers will need to attend the massed rehearsal with the pupil choir on Thursday 12th December in the School Hall.

If you need convincing that Grease is the show for you click here for a sneak preview of the show rehearsal!

Tickets available on KESpay

Parents’ Childnet Talk Internet Safety Seminar for Parents Tuesday 14th January, 2014

Message from the Nursing Team

You are invited to attend the Know IT All seminar presented by Childnet International.

This is a very informative presentation which will give you an insight on how your child uses online and mobile technologies and the pitfalls and risks that can be associated with it.

If your son/daughter brings an inhaler into school please make sure it is named as unfortunately, nameless inhalers have to be disposed of, due to health and safety requirements. If you wish to discuss this or other matters, please contact the Nursing team on 023 80 799213.

Further information will follow in the End of Term Bulletin

Mindfulness Training Annie Davison, our School Counsellor, has recently qualified as a Mindfulness Teacher for Teens. Mindfulness is training in concentration and self-awareness which can help young people respond better to the demands of performing well at School and with interactions with their peer group and family. Students who have participated in this training have said it has helped them, not only with stress, anxiety and relationships but also with concentration and sleep problems.

In the Spring Term, Annie will be running a Mindfulness Course, which will be open to students of all age groups and they will be informed of this opportunity during assemblies this term. You can find more about it by clicking here to access details from the School website. The sessions will take place on a Thursday lunchtime for nine weeks and there will be a limited number of places available. More information about the specific course can be found www.mindfulnessinschools.org.

If you, as parents, are interested in learning more about Mindfulness, then please contact Annie on ad@kes.hants.sch.uk.

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