Kirkburton Middle School
Parents’ Bulletin - 28 April 2023
A word from the Head of School
We have started our final half-term very positively so far! Last week's assemblies focused on the new leadership structure and who pupils should see if they have any safeguarding concerns. (See information below) All staff have been reinforcing our positive learning routines; pupils are expected to come into the classroom quietly, get out all of their equipment, open their planner on the week's page and complete the retrieval task when appropriate.
Pupils do not get their statutory positive if they are not fully equipped at school or are late, so your help in ensuring pupils always have the correct equipment is very much appreciated.
We ran a double points week last week, including points for the best form group in assembly. All form groups did really well but our winning groups were 6F, 7F and 8B. Well done to all of those pupils!
Finally, we look forward to welcoming Miss Smith who will be joining our pastoral team from next week, initially for one term, as a pastoral manager. She will be working closely with our recently appointed Heads of House.
Mrs Kerr
School Show
It is only a matter of weeks before the curtain goes up and we present our KMS school show of 2023 ‘The Musical of Musicals’. The cast and performing arts department are working incredibly hard to ensure this is a night to remember. We strongly encourage you to come and see the KMS cast perform some of your favourite musical numbers from shows such as Annie, Matilda, Hamilton and Charlie & The Chocolate Factory.
Show dates are Tickets are on sale now via ParentPay
Wednesday 24th 6.30pm £5 per ticket
Thursday 25th 6.30pm £15 family ticket (4 family members)
Running time is approximately 75 minutes. We look forward to seeing you there.
Lost Property
Our lost property cupboard is getting full again. PLEASE, put your child’s name on all their belongings. The office staff can then reunite your child with their belongings and save you money by not having to replace ‘lost’ items!
Catering update – ‘Grab
bags’
and a
meal
fit for a King
There will be a special menu next Friday to mark the Coronation of King Charles III complete with decorated tables - not one to be missed!
As we move into the summer months (allegedly) those pupils on packed lunches will have the opportunity to eat outside – weather permitting. For those pupils on school lunches, there is now a ‘grab and go’ option for those pupils who wish to avoid the queues at lunchtime. Grab and go bags can be eaten outside.
As previously mentioned, whilst most pupils eat a healthy, and full, lunch every day, we are becoming increasingly concerned about the menu choices of some pupils. Parents are reminded they can check their child’s lunch choices via ParentPay. Please contact your child’s form tutor in the first instance if you would like to discuss this further.
Please remember we are a nut free school.
Mobile phones
Please can you remind your child that our school rules state mobile phones must be handed in each day. Some pupils are failing to hand in their phone which is not only against the rules, it also increases the chance of them getting lost or damaged. Please see page 17 of the school behaviour policy for more details about our rules surrounding mobile phones. Parents are reminded we reserve the right to confiscate phones overnight for persistent breaches of the rules. Thank you for your support with this.
Highburton ‘Rec’
We have a growing number of pupils who are congregating to play at Highburton Rec before school each day. Ideally, we would ask all pupils come straight into school in the morning where staff are on hand to supervise. There is a worry that somebody may have an accident with large numbers of pupils playing at the park.
Uniform
We are seeing a significant minority of pupils arriving at school without the correct uniform. The main issue is in relation to footwear. Please could you ensure your child arrives in full school uniform every day. Should your child arrive in incorrect uniform we will always aim to lend them clean uniform for the day, including shoes, and there is an expectation that pupils wear this. If you would like support, please contact school as we have lots of spare uniform. Alternatively, you can contact Huddersfield Uniform Exchange
Any donations of unwanted items of uniform are always gratefully received and we will make sure it goes to a good home. Watch this space for our very own ‘KMS does Vinted’ school uniform event which is coming very soon.
Teachers for Zambia Logo Competition
Year 6 pupils were invited to enter a competition to design a logo for a local charity called Teachers for Zambia. Miss Charlesworth is a trustee and former chair for the charity. The charity raises money to improve the quality of education for children in the poorest areas of Zambia. The logo will be used on all documents here in the UK and in Zambia in working with the Zambian Government.
Thank you to all the pupils who entered, there were some fabulous designs.
Special mention for their design and shortlisted.
Alice H, Emily H, Isaac P, Anya M, Ethan W, Harry K, Thomas W, William G, Greta N, Seyara H, Maisie H, Lucy D, Elodie P, Amelia D, Freddie S
Winner
Chloe P - her design has an excellent link to education and Zambia. The logo is simple and will reproduce well for in posters and documents.
Rotary Technology Tournament 2023
Four Year 8 pupils represented our school in a technology tournament run by the Rotary Club at Greenhead College. The pupils were given a brief to design, build and test a vehicle to cross a river on a suspended cable. They were assessed on a portfolio of design work, their team working skills and the performance of the finished vehicle. I am delighted to say that team KMS defeated the other 8 schools to win the Gold award. What is even more impressive is that most teams were made up of pupils from Year 9. We are very proud of Arina, Logan, Tyrus and Zak who were incredibly enthusiastic and independent.
Congratulations from the music department
Congratulations to Jenson P (Year 6) who passed his Grade 1 Electric Guitar exam with MERIT. Jenson will also be staring in the Musical, ‘School of Rock’, playing the part of Zack. The show will take place in Bradford in July/August. Well done from all at KMS. You rock!
Mrs Charlesworth
(A big well done and thank you to the technology department as well - Mr Taylor)
Clubs and Societies
We like to encourage all pupils to participate in at least one extra-curricular club. Please remind your child/children to keep an eye out on the bulletin for any club they might be interested in joining. If they can’t find something they like perhaps they’d like to set up their own club or society – we’re always open to suggestions.
Sporting update
Year 6 Cross Country
A massive congratulations to the Year 6 Boys Cross Country Team who took part in the West Yorkshire School Games Cross Country final at Temple Newsome on Thursday 20th April. They came 2nd out of all of the schools who made the final which is an amazing achievement! Well Done!
Neiley races
We have 10 Year 6 runners taking part in this event this year. Good luck to all of them!
Netball
Year 6 Netball - we had three teams in the Kirklees Final on Thursday 20th April at KMS. All played four games against the other two KMS teams and Hepworth and Reinwood Junior Schools, who had previously won their area competitions. All played very well and showed great resilience when asked to play a variety of positions. They came 3rd, 4th and 5th with Reinwood finishing in 1st place and Hepworth in 2nd. Well done to all players!
The Year 7 and 8 netball teams were in action again last week away at Colne Valley High School. Both teams played some fantastic netball and came away victorious. It has been a very successful year for all players, we wish the year 8s well as they move on to Shelley College and continue to play netball. They Year 7s can look forward to another fun filled netball season from September 2023 when they are in year 8. There are also Kirklees netball trials in September which many of our pupils will be invited to attend. Well done to all players involved!
Football
All year groups have had a successful season of football. There is one final match to play for the year 7 team as they have made the Huddersfield Cup Final. This will be played on Wednesday 3rd May 2023 at Storthes Hall, 4pm kick off. It would be great to have support from parents and pupils. Good luck to the team!
Cricket
We look forward to the cricket season of 2023. Year 6 will have their school games competitions coming up for both boys and girls. Year 7 have their first Yorkshire Cup match against Holmfirth High School on Thursday 4th May and will have Huddersfield league games to fulfil. Year 8 will also have many Huddersfield league matches to look forward to over the next few months.
Summer PE Extra-curricular timetable
Please see the timetable below. We still have places for all after school clubs. Your child should collect a letter from the school office to get permission from a parent or guardian to stay after school. This should be returned to the school office via their form tutor. All lunchtime clubs are open to anyone who would like to take part, no parental permission is required. We had 34 players for Year 7 rounders on Tuesday lunchtime so hopefully these excellent participation rates will continue.
The KMS school day
Please can you ensure your child arrives in school at 8.50am every morning so they can get to registration on time.
