Secondary Newsletter May 2013 English

M AY 2013

T H E S E C O N D A RY N E W S L E T T E R Secondary News from the Pupils and Teachers of King’s College, Alicante

Ye a r 7 C h e m i s t s

Head of Secondary Message As I write this final message of the year I cannot believe that 10 months have almost passed since we returned to school in September. It has been another fantastic school year with a huge number of trips, extra-curricular activities, fundraising, sporting and music events squeezed into our time together. The progress and achievements of our children are also at the forefront of our minds and this year has been no exception, with our students continuing to achieve great things across the range of subjects and year groups. We will be celebrating these individual successes at Prize Giving in June and I am sure our senior students will reap the benefits of their hard work when the examination

results are released in August.

Above all else, however, this year has allowed many of us to make new friends, to cement existing friendships, to experience new opportunities and along the way has hopefully provided us all with lots of fond memories to look back upon in the years to come. The combination of all this is what makes our school community so special and why your days in school really are the best of your lives.

On a personal note, I would like to express my thanks to all the pupils, parents and staff for their support of me in my new role. I have thoroughly enjoyed my first year as Head of the Secondary School and I look forward to many

more to come. Many thanks also to the pupils and staff for their hard work this year and their continuous enthusiasm. I look forward to welcoming you all back to school on the 4th September, refreshed and relaxed after the summer break and I hope you all have a well-earned and enjoyable summer holiday.

Simon Wicks Head of Secondary

CARTAGENA TRIP On the 21st of May 2013, we went on a trip to Cartagena to learn about the history of the city and the influences on the city´s architecture from other countries or religions. For much the whole day we were roaming the beautiful streets of Cartagena and visiting historical sites like the 2000 year old Roman theatre. We also saw one of the bomb shelters that was excavated during the Civil war. We even went to visit the Conception castle ; the view was amazing. Whilst in the castle, we saw peacocks walking around in the castle grounds. Although it was raining, it was a very interesting and historical trip. We really enjoyed it.

BY MIKKEL & CHRISTIAN

We started off the day with a bus drive to the historically-rich port city of Cartagena. We arrived in the port at 11:30 where we were greeted by our guide, Pedro, and the beginning of the rain. That rain continued all day - however that didn´t dampen our spirits.

Straight away we put on our rain coats and walked to the `Museum of the Roman sites in Cartagena´. In the museum we watched a short video introducing us to the Roman activities in Cartagena. It focussed on the Roman theatre and its many uses throughout history. After that we made a quick stop to eat our snack, sheltering from the rain on the patio of the town hall.

Soon after we viewed the rest of the museum and went to the theatre itself.

Next we went to the evacuation tunnels underneath the same mountain upon which the theatre was built. There the rebels and habitants of Cartagena took cover during the civil war. Then we went up in a panoramic elevator to the top of the mountain, where we visited the medieval castle before having our lunch.

BY ROARY

We went to Cartagena and had so much fun. First we visited a museam where a tour guide explained to us all about a roman theatre. He started off by saying that the theatre was divided into three parts.

The first one for the authorities, the second was for the rich and noble and the final one was for the women and slaves.

Then we were sent to a shelter where we were told that the people went to protect themselves from the bombs during the civil war. Afterwards we had to go up a really high bridge.

BY TAREK & LILLIE

Pag e 3

YEAR 7

SCIENCE

This month the Year 7 Science students became qualitative chemists, testing the effectiveness of commonly found indigestion tablets. The tablets are used to reduce the amount of acid our stomach produces after we eat; too much acid causes a pain that we refer to as “indigestion”.

Mr Dexter brought three over the counter brands of indigestion tablet into the laboratory and the pupils’ task was to design an experiment to see which brand was the best. They had to decide the apparatus to use, the chemical quantities that were sensible and a way of measuring which tablet neutralised the most acid.

So next time you have maybe had one croquette too many, you might want to consult your local Year 7 pupil...

BY MR. BUTCHER

YEAR 9

MAKETH

MAN The students in Year 9 have been making sculptural forms using a variety of different materials and techniques; Papier Mache and clay have proven to be the most popular with the casting of classmates using Sellotape coming a close second. The topic enables students to think about the space around an object and to think outside the art room and art gallery as a display area. Ultimately the objects they have produced will be exhibited as part of the Recycled tea Party. The human form was a popular choice for several groups who have made bizarre figures to be displayed amongst the trees. This topic is proof that art doesn´t have to be contained within a square frame.

BY MRS. MANNERS

Pag e 5

RACE AGAINST

HUNGER

On May 30th, we supported the ´Race Against Hunger´charity. Last year we raised over €5,000 and hope to repeat that figure again this year. Younger children ran around the school premises and the older children ran a loop up to Ciudad de la luz and back to school. Once again, it was an incredibble sucess.

BRUISED BUT NOT BROKEN

WALK FOR LIFE

On Sunday, 19th of May I took part in a “walk for life” event from El Campello to Muchavista beaches, to raise funds for families living with cancer. The event started at 10:00 am, I completed the 10 kilometre walk in 1 hour and 55 minutes, and came 1st.

Over 28,000,000 people worldwide are affected by cancer, that’s 1 in 3 people and the number grows every day. “Bruised but not Broken” helps to support the people who care for their loved ones who have cancer, and allows them to take a break so they can relax and look after themselves for once.

The total amount raised is currently unknown, but thanks to all of the teachers who sponsored me, I know that my total is well over 50€! Thank you so much for all your support!

BY JODIE, 10W

SPORTS

LEADERSHIP

Pupils from KS3 who have been doing particularly well in the coaching element of their recent PE lessons, were selected to help with the three mornings of Primary Sports Days.

The various events they were involved with were all athletics-based. Primary teachers moved around the carousel with their classes but the Sports Leaders had a big job on their hands: give instructions, demonstrate, start races, judge, score, hand out rosettes, set the equipment up, motivate pupils AND ensure the teachers could keep up with who won what! Two of the KS3 pupils weren´t directly involved with the events but instead managed the mornings by scoring and timing – vital to an efficient sports event!

The Primary teachers were very impressed with the Sports Leaders’ patience, ability to deliver clear instructions, making the activities fun, politeness… and a whole load of other things too. In fact they did such a good job the teachers have asked for them to teach their PE lessons next year!

Well done to all of you who were involved.

BY MRS. MCHUGH

Pag e 7

PUBLIC

SPEAKING Year 13 participated in a workshop delivered by Manuel Jurado about public speaking. He explained the importance of knowing how to express yourself and how to do it effectively. Each one of us stood up in front of the rest and we realised how challenging it is for most of us. After giving us advice on how to improve we stood up again, this time to present any topic. Between all of us we assessed the rest of the class and gave each other tips. He also gave us the key to be successful in interviews in university and in the future. Personally, I think it was very useful as after standing up to talk following the tips he gave us, I was more confident. It was a very interesting workshop from which we all took something practical to use in the future.

BY MARĂ?A, Y13

LAST MEETING That day came. The last meeting of the Sixth Form Committee with donuts, coffee and juice.

thank you very much for your enthusiasm, effort and continuous work. You have been a great example to King’s College, Alicante. You have demonstrated what Honesty, Faith and Courage truely mean and you all have determinedly contributed to make this school a better place. See you in September to organize 2013/2014 year!

We will miss you.

BY SR. ESTEBAN

Gone are nine months of hard work, weekly meetings, review meetings, review of the review, and many, many hours spent on the preparation of the numerous activities that this amazing group has prepared and developed during the course: Talent show, buddies, charity collections, sustainability survey, “Eco School”, Sports Day, House activities, Hallowen Disco for year 7 and assemblies, among many others. The highlight of it all would be the Christmas Fair, which involved 75 Sixth Formers running activities for years 5, 6 and all of secondary; more than 500 students in total and about 1,200 euros raised for several charities Dear Verena, Craig, Claudia, Juan, Martha, Victor, Maria, Alba, Laura, Jesus, Claudia, Ellis and Gerry,

Pag e 9

SCHOOL OF ROCK TEAM We would like to say thank you to all cast and crew of our school production, “School of Rock”. We can’t wait to see what next year’s musical brings!

Important Dates 3RD June Y8/10 Exams begin 3RD June A2 lessons begin for Y12 6/7TH June Y10 Fieldwork 7TH June Y13 Graduation Dinner 10TH June Y8 Trip to Granada (CC, PS, GW) 12TH June Y9 Recycled Tea Party (SM / KM) 18TH June Prize Giving 7:00pm 18TH June Hogueras

Glorieta del Reino Unido 5 Alicante 03008 Spain www.bsalicante.com email: carlos.lazaro@kingsgroup.org

21ST June Y13 Graduation Assembly 1:00pm 21ST June Last Day of Term - 4th September First Day of Term One