King Arthur's School Wincanton Autumn Newsletter

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King

Arthur’s

AUTUMN NEWSLETTER 2020

Christmas Card Competition Operation Future Hope Awards Evening

King Arthur’s School @KingArthur’sSch

KingArthur’sSchool

S

S HERBORNE AREA SCHOOLS’ TRUST

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Welcome Welcome to our autumn term newsletter.

The first part of the academic year has been nothing like a normal year at King Arthur’s School, but we are pleased that we have been able to create a reassuringly calm and happy new normal. We prepared meticulously for the return to school, with Covid safety at the heart of all our decision making. We are very pleased and feel very lucky that we were able to maintain a Covid free environment for so long and therefore have minimal disruption to the learning of our students. We look forward to the vaccine becoming widely available; this certainly keeps us hopeful as we look toward the Christmas break.

It certainly has been quite a term and I know that we are all looking forward to the Christmas break. Our students have coped admirably with the return to school and make me endlessly proud with their commitment to our community, their futures, and their determination to make the best of all that is on offer.

Usually, at this time of year, I would be sharing exciting reports of trips, visits and all the extra-curricular fun our students would have enjoyed. Even though this has not been possible this term, we have still managed to give students a packed agenda of activities in which they have been involved. We look forward to a time in the relatively near future when we can get back to our normal level of provision, but we are proud to have been able to offer as much as possible at this challenging time. I hope you enjoy reading about all our adventures to date.

During this term, we have been very pleased to see the launch of our virtual parents’ evenings, our remote learning plan and our parent portal. We hope that you have been able to make use of all these new ways to be involved in your child’s school life.

Firstly, the new virtual parents’ evenings may have come about through necessity, but we feel has been a great way to ensure you can still be in contact with class teachers about the progress of your child. If you have been unable to access your year specific event, please do get in touch with us via office@kingarthurs.org.uk so that we can support in rectifying the situation.

We are also proud to have launched our new Parent Portal (see image below), which is a platform for all the things you will need to

access. Log ins were posted home to all parents 2 weeks before parents’ evening to ensure time to explore and access the link to make appointments. Once the portal has been accessed, you are able to edit your password to something more memorable for future use. On the portal, you will find the link to Wisepay, School Cloud (parents’ pm booking app) and the School’s website. You will soon be able to access your child’s profile, including their attendance, behaviour and progress information as well.

Moving forwards, we will be using the parent portal as our communication method with home. We will share letters and communications with you via the portal. I would encourage you to start using this as your ‘go to’ place for information and check this regularly for news. Where letters are of vital importance, we will text you to ensure you are aware to read them. We will continue to post letters on our website and share information on social media, but we are keen that you have a ‘one-stop shop’, where you can access all you need to support your child; we know the portal will be able to provide this for you.

Please do ensure you read and digest our Remote Learning plan. This was sent home to parents in a letter earlier in November and is on our portal and the website. This makes clear the role of school, students and parents, in the event of any absence from school due to Covid.

Finally, I would like to thank you for your continued support. It has been lovely to read emails and communications from parents who have welcomed the measures taken to keep our school community as safe as possible. We are also grateful for your support in making sure our students can follow the additional expectations and have what they need to keep them safe. Our team is extremely committed and determined to ensure that life with us is as normal as possible for all our young people. We will continue to work with our whole school community to get through this together.

Wishing you all a happy and safe Christmas break.

Warmest wishes,

Jen Jacklin - Headteacher

Remembrance Classrooms across the school fell silent on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month as students observed a two-minute silence dedicated to those soldiers who died fighting to protect the nation. At 11 am on 11 November 1918, the guns on the Western Front fell silent after more than four years of continuous warfare. The allied armies had driven the German invaders back, having inflicted heavy defeats upon them over the preceding four months. The Germans called for an armistice (suspension of fighting) in order to secure a peace settlement. They accepted the allied terms of unconditional surrender.

Information about the Governing Body I am sure most parents will be aware of the many changes that have happened at King Arthur’s over the last couple of years. There have been changes to the school’s leadership and of course the school has joined Sherborne Area Schools Trust. The membership of the Governing Body has changed over that time, and we have been very involved in helping to make the improvements that will benefit all the students at King Arthur’s. Parents often ask what the Governing Body does, and how it makes a difference. The best way to explain it, is to describe us a ‘critical friend’ to the school’s leaders. We provide both support and challenge, asking the right questions to hold them to account, but also to provide whatever help we can to ensure that the school goes from strength to strength.

Broadly, the role of the Governing Body is to: • use our knowledge and experience to provide the headteacher and staff with support, advice and information.

Awards Evening On Tuesday 1st December, it was our privilege to (virtually!) welcome back our Year 11 Leavers from 2019-2020 and celebrate their academic and sporting successes with an awards evening. This is normally a highlight of the year and we were determined to make it happen even under these very difficult circumstances.

Mr Hayes organised a wonderful event streamed live from the school hall, supported by Mrs Pattemore and Mr Elloway. A huge congratulations to all the award winners including ex-Head Girl Erin B who won several prizes and also gave a wonderful speech eloquently summarising her five years at King Arthur’s.

Former Year 11 Rob T said ‘the evening was really enjoyable and brought back many great memories of the time I spent at King Arthur’s’ and Dan S, who also spoke beautifully on the evening, said ‘I genuinely really miss King Arthur’s.’

We sincerely hope we will be able to see all of our former Year 11s again in person soon!

• challenge the headteacher and senior leaders by asking searching questions and look for evidence of how the school is improving.

• work with the school leaders to take important decisions on both long and short-term strategies for the school.

Our Governing Body currently has nine members, including our clerk, who looks after our administration and is the only paid member. Members come from a variety of backgrounds and have a wide range of skills, knowledge and expertise. They include two elected parent governors, a staff elected governor and the headteacher.

You can read more about the skills and experience of our members on the school website.

We meet formally five times a year, but also visit the school regularly to talk to staff and students, so we can get to know the school well. We also act as champions of the school in the local and wider community, promoting its interests and successes. If you would like to know more about what we do, comment or to ask a question, then please ask via the school to make contact with one of us.

Mary Massey - Chair of Governors

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This year’s winning Christmas Card design

by Eden F.

Christmas Card Competition Thank you for encouraging and supporting our young people with their homework to design the KA Christmas Card this year.

We were overwhelmed by the number of amazing and diverse approaches from our students.

The designs were very imaginative, creative and some responded to what has been a strange year by including the idea of face coverings and messages of social distancing into their designs.

Some designs were engraved in wood, some created using digital media and some beautifully painted. We are always delighted to see that every student individualised their response and we really had a very hard job to select the top three entries. We would like to say a huge well done to all of our students for taking part. 1st place went to Eden F.

Somerset Schools Art Display at The Octagon Theatre After a successful exhibition in the Octagon Theatre last year we are very happy to be able to take part this year again. We have submitted three pieces of work by our students to be exhibited in the theatre as a part of the Somerset Schools Art display.

With the second national lockdown due to end on 2nd December, the Octagon Theatre is looking ahead to re-opening on 11th December for their Christmas Pantomime. Artwork which celebrates theatre, dance and music will be displayed all around the venue.

We are very proud that the imaginative works by Amelia E, Attica E and Maisy E will be featured in such a venue, well done.

Rotary Young Photographer Competition: 2020-21 Once again, Brue Valley Rotary Club is inviting our school to participate in the competition promoted by the Rotary International in Britain and Ireland (RIBI).

There are three stages to this competition, the local heat organized by Brue Valley Rotary Club, the District Finals held between January and February 2021 and the National Final, held sometime after 1st April, 2021.

There are three age groups:

What a great opportunity for our GCSE Photography students to compete with students from other schools and to have their work publicized.

Well done to year 10 students who have been taking some amazing photos in the past 3 weeks to submit them for the

What a brilliant afternoon we had with Mr Gibson and the Year 7’s sowing the newly created wildflower meadow at the edge of the playing fields. The new meadow is one of a number of conservation initiatives that are taking place around the school grounds as part of the Operation Future Hope Conservation School Award. King Arthur’s School has been sponsored to take part in the award by Sherborne School, and we are also extremely grateful to Richard Leach for providing the wild flower seeds for this latest project. Nature in Britain is in great decline, and we have one last chance to save our endangered species. Empowering young people to take positive action to reverse this decline, right here right now, is at the heart of the work we do at Operation

Future Hope, and we are excited for the next phase of rewilding at King Arthur’s School… .watch this space for more exciting developments!

Lesley Malpas, Founder and CEO, Operation Future Hope

New Benches

Junior 7-10 years old Intermediate 11-13 years old Senior 14-17 years old The Young Photographer Competition aims to encourage young people to experiment with photography, use digital and/or traditional methods of photography, to demonstrate interpretation of the topic and to express ideas through the medium of photography. The theme this year is ‘Wild Nature’.

Operation Future Hope

competition. Art and 3D Design departments had a hard job to select the best entries. We would like to confirm that at this stage we have managed to select five finalists: Charles V, Ruby L, Phillipa S, Harry C and Caleb C. Well done to all students who have submitted their photos and good luck to the students mentioned as there will be a further selection process to choose the top three entries for the final submission.

Towards the end of last term, Mrs Jacklin put out a plea to local suppliers and tradesman for picnic tables to be placed outside the canteen area of the school in order to support us with expanding our site for Covid safety. Now we are proud to have in place some beautiful new picnic tables courtesy of Bradford’s who did a fantastic deal for us plus two free benches. These tables have been used frequently throughout this term, despite the weather, and are the first in a new development plan for the front of the school. We are extremely grateful to Bradford’s for their generosity and we hope this will provide our students with a safe environment to eat, drink and socialise during break and lunchtimes.

Congratulations Eddie!

Well done to Eddie C who has been awarded the ‘Community Under 25’s Award’ by Wincanton Town Council. The council said: “During a challenging time for residents and the public sector Eddie produced and distributed treat boxes and raised money for the NHS. We wish to thank you for demonstrating a commitment to supporting those in need during Covid through the preparation of your delicious treats”.

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Prefects

Pastoral

We have been given the amazing opportunity to be King Arthur’s prefects this year. All the prefects have been allocated certain roles e.g., student voice and safeguarding.

These roles ensure the students know we are here to help, guide them and that they can relate to us, due to prefects going through very similar experiences. Through school we have been given some exceptional opportunities - from the range of after school clubs KA provides e.g., sports clubs to extra revision sessions and also, to lots of beneficial school trips which expanded our learning greatly.

This academic year sees the start of the Deputy Team Leader role within the pastoral team. Each year group now has a lead tutor working with Mr Elloway and your child’s tutor. In Year 8 this is Mr Chapple, Year 9 Mrs Saget, Year 10 Mr Saget, and in Year 11 Ms Cadieu. These members of staff help to support behaviour of students as well as having an overview of their year group’s progress, monitoring things like achievement and behaviour points. As always, your child’s tutor should be your first point of contact but do please contact your child’s lead tutor if you feel there are issues you would like to discuss.

This year has been very difficult for many people and businesses, but we believe, as a school, we have taken this in our stride and came out even better due to everyone working as a team. The support system at King Arthur’s is great, no matter what problem you have, you know there is always someone there to talk to or help. We hope everyone has an amazing Christmas, stay safe!

Careers Rewards System King Arthur’s now has a new reward system in place, which was developed by Mrs Pattemore and student voice last year. So far, students have enjoyed receiving letters home from their subject teachers, had the opportunity to collect a reward of their choice during the lunch hour, which has included items such as a new book, calculator, pens or stress ball. Later this term students in Year 11 will receive a pizza party, Year 9 & 10 a film in the PEC, and Year 7 & 8 an activity in the sports hall as a reward for exceptional house points and good work ethic.

Intake of Year 7 We were delighted to welcome our new Year 7 cohort to our King Arthur’s family in September.

After a very different transition period in the summer term, students were finally able to come to the school and they all settled very quickly.

Our Open Evening this year was again virtual and we were able to showcase our school. If you would like to see this please visit https://www.kingarthurs.org.uk/transition/ where you will be able to watch video clips, and see what each curriculum area has to offer through our curriculum maps and top trump cards.

Children in Need Staff and students held a non-uniform day on Friday 13th November to raise money for Children in Need - together we raised £280.61 for the charity which is absolutely fantastic!

This year has already been busy when thinking about next steps for our students. Year 11 are focussing on making the right decision about where they want to be in September 2021. Students have completed research on career sectors and pathways in PSHEE, been part of virtual assemblies covering all of our local post-16 providers and they have also attended the online Somerset Careers Fair (which Year 9 and Year 10 also attended). Every student in Years 9-11 has also had the opportunity to meet Aaron, our independent careers advisor, at least once since September. Year 11 students are now working on their personal statements, CVs and applications to colleges and sixth forms, and are also exploring the amazing apprenticeship and job opportunities that are starting to be advertised for next year. Lots of information on work experience opportunities, seminars and events such as the TalentEd Academy series, which focusses on different local employment sectors in a live online event each week, have been promoted via our Google Classroom Careers page for students of all ages. Mrs Huggins has also been talking about different career pathways in the recent careers assembly. We are also hoping to host several online Careers Cafés, which students can access live through tutor time and also via Google Classroom after the event. The aim of this is to speak to local people about their career, including information on what their job role is, what they do and the route that they took to get to their current role. If you are interested in being part of a careers café, please get in touch with Mrs Huggins or Mr Chapman.

Hinkley Point C virtual work experience – written by Divine A (Year 11) I am a Year 11 student and we are looking into careers in school because soon I will have to apply for college placements. I was given information on the work experience programme which was being organised by Hinkley Point C. On the 15th October 2020, I attended a virtual work experience programme. It was almost an hour video conference which was well attended; there were many students from other schools in Somerset.

It was about the nuclear power sector and opportunities for apprenticeships and careers. It had interactive activities about building structures and foundations. After this session, we were given some time to make our own project based on the theme.

Some students made videos of their project, but I just sent some photos of my completed work. I am really happy that I took part, as I really enjoyed the session. I learnt things that I didn’t know before and I had a chance to see how other people approached the same theme.

Megan R and Lucy N Heads of School

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Performing Arts

Science

This term in Science we have been keeping ourselves busy, refreshing our practical skill work as well as developing our knowledge of the world around us through the study of Biology, Chemistry and Physics. In Year 8, we have been looking at elements and compounds, with Mrs Huggins’ Science class doing particularly well in practical work. In a recent lesson the class learnt about the chemical symbols for Magnesium (Mg) and Oxygen (O) and then completed a practical, looking at the mass of Mg before and after

heating in oxygen. This is a complex practical, with many steps and calculations, but the class completed it with ease, and were even able to balance the chemical equation at the end! Mrs Huggins watched from the front and was so impressed by the focus and safe working of all of the students in the class. We will continue to complete (Covidsecure) practical work in Science lessons across all year groups as the skills and understanding that are developed through hands-on activities is invaluable in this subject.

3D Design In 3D Design, the Year 10’s have been looking at a range of different architects from Norman Foster to Frank Lloyd Wright, to provide inspiration for their own architecture models. The students have produced a range of different building styles with some really exciting and interesting work being produced. The use of grey board has allowed our students to produce some very professional results using a range of difficult skills. I am sure we have some architects of the future!

Year 10 Hospitality & Catering Year 12 students have been focusing on knife skills, a variety of cooking methods, and presentation in relation to fruit & vegetable dishes. They are a supportive group who are eager to help each other and strive to reach the Level 2 Distinction grade. This requires them to work independently and ensure their food is cooked to an excellent level with great flavours and presentation. The group has got off to a flying start with many students regularly achieving this top grade.

Year 11 This term, the Year 11 students have been working hard on rehearsing their acting performances from text, a key component of their BTEC Performing Arts exam. Students were able to choose their own repertoire from any published play and I was delighted that they picked material to suit their individual strengths – we have seen a wonderful mixture of both comedic and emotive acting skills developing over in the drama studio!

Year 9 Next term Year 9 will be considering their GCSE options for next year and Drama GCSE offers the opportunity for students to devise and create their very own pieces of theatre. In preparation for this, Year 9’s have been experimenting with a range of dramatic techniques to bring a real life event (The Hillsborough Disaster of 1989) to the stage in a sensitive and creative way. These techniques have included Cross Cutting, Flashbacks, Body Propping and Thought Tracking, to name but a few. Students have also had the opportunity to write their own monologues and see these performed by others.

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iMedia

Wow, what a busy start to the year we’ve all had!

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After starting at King Arthur’s myself in September, there has been a lot to get ready for each year group and many students to get to know. Everyone has been pleased to be back at school and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed getting to know everyone – students and staff alike. Here’s an overview of what ' ' 'each year group has completed so far and ' ''&./;)0#' what’s in store for the rest of the year:

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' BIENVENUE ' very ' ' ' ' of French' for' some ' students, ' ' Year 7 have ' embraced ' ' the challenge ' ' ' ' Despite little' knowledge Year 7 - Computing ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' of learning a new language. In mid-November they completed their first assessment and a lot of During the first half term we completed an 'them worked ' very hard to towards their targets and beyond! I am very impressed by the effort introductory Digital Citizenship unit to and confidence that some students show during lessons and even more amazed by students who consistently show great work ethic and positive attitude towards the subject. Merci!

understand the importance of being responsible online. Further topics will be ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' covered ' ' during the remainder of the ' J’ADORE ' ' LES éTUDIANTS ' ' ' ANNéE ' ' PENSE, DONC ' ' ' ' ' ' ' EN 7, ' ' JE JE' SUIS……. year including misuse of social media, cyber bullying and finding balance in our digital SONT GENTILS ET TRèS For Year 10 they began their GCSE during CAR ' ' ILS''+;-17;1"8''<7&';+#.'0"("+.$'&5"%)',-./+"01"'';<.7&'3)"-45'5%#&.)*8'#$.)&#';-0'&5"'M.6;-'"6$%)"=' a' challenge N ' ' AIMABLES ' ! ' ' ' ' '' ' ' Lockdown, ' ' ' which' was' quite ' ' ' for ' ' world. ' We are currently completing an introductory unit to spreadsheets – learning the term with But the students came back in ' In'Year ' 8 we began ' ' ' the ' topic ' ' ' some ' ' of them. ' how to write basic formulae, how to edit “le cinéma et la télé” which the students September quite confident about their prior ' sheets with our main assessment task enjoyed very much. As part of their learning learning and they were ready to tackle the focusing on how to create numeracy and film presented to' them.

We are ' ' we ' watched ' ' the French ' ' “Astérix' aux' jeux ' ' challenges ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' literacy activities for KS1 students through Olympiques “which allows the students to be currently learning about celebrations in ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' the use of ‘IF’ statements. more immersed in the language, but also France and their traditions. It was the perfect

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develop their knowledge about French opportunity for the students to sample some Year 8 – Computing / iMedia '' history, sports and the Roman empire. We are French delicacies, such as “escargots”.

This term started with a focus on Digital currently working on “la musique”, which I Definitely a very mixed response about it!

Citizenship topics that impact Year 8 both in love to teach as it allows me to keep up with school and in their home lives. Our main ' ' ' ' ''&5"%)'PQRS'07)%-1'Z.4,0./-8'/5%45'/;#'L7%&"';'45;++"-1"'2.)'#.6"'.2'&5"6='[7&'&5"' focus was on our Digital Footprints and the POUR NOëL, EN FRANCE ON MANGE DES the current musical trend and to introduce ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' impact of what we do online. It’s essential to different genres of music that is not “le Rap”!

FRUITS DE MER, DES ESCARGOTS, DU ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' SAUMON ' ' ' ' ' DE ' ' remember ' ' that once anything is posted ET ON' BOIT BEAUCOUP ' J’ADORE STORMzY ' ' ' CAR IL' EST ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ''!"2%-%&"+*';'(")*'6%J"0' online, it remains online. Posts/photos that CHAMPAGNE !! ' ' '' ET TRèS AMUSANT ! are deleted can still be found so it’s GéNéREUx Finally, Year 11’s have had such a positive essential that everyone thinks before they In Year 9, we have started working towards start of the term. I am so proud of their post. A key topic we focused on was the GCSE, to allow students who want to resilience, organisation and the support they ‘Responding to Online Hate’. Unfortunately continue French at KS4 to gain solid basics, give to each other! At the moment we are this is a key issue that many students such as tenses like, present past and future. working towards their PPE’s, starting the first ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' encounter ' and sometimes aren’t always After February half term, we will focus more week back in January. They are using mainly ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' aware ' ' of what ‘online hate’ actually is. We on the cultural aspect of the language and online resources such as Memrise and ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' looked ' at various case studies to help we will go back in time to research about Quizlet, which allows them to expand their ' ' '' ' ' ''&5"%)'"22.)&#'/%++'$;*'.22A' identify how different situations should be World War 2 in French, through the film “les range of vocabulary. I am confident that dealt with. We are currently learning how to choristes”. their efforts will pay off! use Photoshop to develop our basic skills before completing more complex tasks later MA CLASSE D’ANNéE 11 EST MERVEILLEUSE : ILS SONT TRAVAILLEURS, in the year as well as in Years 9 and 10 if RESPECTUEUx ET ILS ONT UN TRèS BON SENS DE L’HUMOUR !!! students opt for iMedia.

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RE In RE this term we have started new scheme. Year 7 have started by looking at ‘Comparative Religion’ and how all religions compare and contrast, before turning their studies to Christianity. Year 8 have started by focusing on Judaism and Year 9 have been looking at ethics in society and the workplace. RE at King Arthur’s focuses on our students having the knowledge of the wider world and having tolerance and understanding of other people’s ideas and beliefs.

Year 9 – Computing / iMedia As Year 9 will soon be deciding on their optional GCSE subjects for next year, their curriculum is focused primarily on the KS3 curriculum alongside an insight to what they would be completing if they decide to opt for iMedia in year 10. Like Years 7 and 8, we started the year with Digital Citizenship – focusing on grooming and online coercion.

With the ever increasing need of young people to lead digital lives, grooming is an issue that they need to be aware of, how it can occur, how they can spot it within their friendship groups and who to report it to. We are now learning how to use Flash to create animations (great creative fun!) with the following units due to be completed during the remainder of the year – Creating digital graphics/ photography, Microbits, ICT in Society (WW2 Codebreakers, The evolution of gaming) and website design.

KS3 Homework As ongoing homework, all students in Years 7-9 are working on achieving their online iDEA Award - the Inspiring Digital Enterprise Award. This is an international programme that helps students develop digital, enterprise and employability skills for free. iDEA is the digital and enterprise equivalent of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE).

Bronze is beginner, Silver intermediate and Gold advanced. Through a series of online challenges, they can gain education and career-enhancing badges, unlock new opportunities and, ultimately, gain industryrecognised skills that will help them stand out from the crowd in an increasingly digital world. All KS3 students have registered and should be completing at least one badge per week on www.idea.org.uk. By the end of this academic year, the aim is for all students to have completed their Bronze award, with Years 7 and 8 completing their Silver by the end of Summer 2022 and Year 7 to have the opportunity to complete their Gold by the end of KS3 in Summer 2023.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

A number of students have been incredibly enthusiastic and have worked really hard in their own time to complete their Bronze awards within the first 6 weeks of term!!! A huge congratulations to Oliver P (Year 7), Amelia E, Katie H (Year 8) and Sol B (Year 9) who have already achieved their Bronze Awards and are already making good progress with their Silver Awards.

Year 10 - iMedia Having started this course as their optional subject, students are currently completing their first unit of coursework – Creating Digital Graphics. This course is very demanding in terms of the amount of creative and written work that is required so the class have made a positive start and will be working very hard over the next 18 months to complete their exam (PreProduction Skills) and two further units of coursework (Designing a Video Games Concept and Digital Photography). Well done to those in the class who are already exceeding their target grades in their coursework!

Year 11 iMedia Wow, we have a lot of work to complete before May 2021 and we will get there! As well as working on our second coursework unit (Designing a Video Games Concept) and preparing for our upcoming exam in January, we have another unit of coursework to complete – leaving the best until last – Digital Photography. The final year of GCSE’s is always tough and this year especially so with 2020’s lockdown occurring during such an essential time. It’s important to remember that whilst we have such a mountain of work to complete in the next few months, we will all have such a great sense of achievement when all assignments are completed and target grades are not just met…….but exceeded!!!

Ms Swaine

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English Getting lost in a good book is one of life’s greatest pleasures but it is becoming increasingly clear that secondary age pupils are reading less regularly than at any other time in our recent history. Less than 50% of 8-16 year olds have read a book (outside of school texts) in the last month and 49% of children and young adults think that reading is boring. This may be a phrase that you have heard from your own children recently!

While these statistics are shocking in themselves, they hide another, more worrying, fact. According to research, regularly reading for pleasure correlates with a higher level of academic attainment across all subjects, not just English. Furthermore, research by van Steensel in 2006 proves that children who grow up in a ‘literacy rich’ environment (one where there are books, discussions and communication) do better academically regardless of their economic background.

At King Arthur’s we are working hard to promote reading for pleasure across the school. Students read for 10 minutes every day in tutor time and our library is well stocked with books from all genres. Each subject area has a reading list that recommends titles related to different topics and these are displayed in classrooms. If your child loves History, Miss Andrews has a whole display related to historical fiction and the PE department can recommend many sport related stories and autobiographies. The English corridor windows are also covered in our favourite reads.

Year 7 Relief Models in Geography Year 7 students have been learning about map skills this term and part of their assessment was to create a 3D model and 2D map representation of an Island or Hill. Students were shown in the lesson how to make the model’s contour lines in order to help create the 2D map. They were then left to be as creative in order to add features and symbols that they had learned during their lessons.

If you are looking to support your child with their reading at home, here are some top tips to create positive reading habits in young people.

1. Build their resilience slowly. If your child doesn’t enjoy reading, suggest short bursts of 10 minutes every couple of days and build this gradually over time. Any reading is better than no reading in the beginning.

2. Ask older siblings to read to younger ones or even to elderly family members.

KEY STAGE 3 BOOK CLUB This term, we will be looking at the antics of the animals in Animal Farm by George Orwell. We will be discussing propaganda, communism and the abuse of power, to name just three of the ‘meaty’ topics. I hope they will enjoy this absolute classic – a favourite of mine!

Mrs den Hartog THE IMPORTANCE OF READING ‘Reading is the gateway skill that makes all other learning possible.’

Barack Obama

3. Remember that reading doesn’t just have to be fiction books. Lots of young people enjoy reading non-fiction like gaming strategies or reviews, match summaries, magazine articles etc.

4. Start with an audio book. Students can follow in the printed text or just enjoy listening to a story. This might spark an interest in reading later.

5. Model reading at home. If young people see their parents/carers reading, they are more likely to copy.

Miss Howell

History The History Department has welcomed a new addition to the team this year. Miss Ashford will be completing her teacher training at our school.

She has brought increased enthusiasm to the department and many great interactive ideas. In Year 7, we have started looking at the concept of chronology and where time periods fit into history. The students enjoyed creating timelines of their own lives. Year 8 students have been studying the Tudor reign and have been able to link its impact and significance to today’s society. Year 9 students have been looking at the Industrial Revolution and although we were unable to visit the Big Pit in Wales this year, we were able to virtually experience the site. Year 10 GCSE students have made a fantastic start completing one unit looking at what life was like under Nazi rule. Year 11 students are working hard on the concepts taught last year as part of their revision programme and learning about the impact of the aftermath of World War II. We have been focusing on the site study ‘The Stasi Prison’ in East Berlin. The students have enjoyed learning new concepts and ideas and love to come in to class and discuss their own research.

Maths This year in maths students have been embedding their key numeracy (Years 711) and algebra (Years 8-11) skills in the first half term, before moving onto other areas of the curriculum such as geometry, statistics and probability. Year 11 have worked really hard and have made positive progress towards their GCSE. Keep up the great work! We have also welcomed a new member to our teaching team, Mr Wilson. Special recognition go to the following mathematicians: Year 11: Rosie H, Year 10: Fian M, Year 9: Aryan R, Year 8: Ellie B, Year 7: Flynn B!

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SPORT

At Key Stage 3, During Core PE, Year 7 have been introduced to orienteering.

They have quickly learnt to orientate maps, use grid references and locate clues.

KA’s new basketball hoop

Each lesson a different challenge is set whether it is photos, star or line orienteering, students have learnt to work as a team to navigate themselves around the school, with prizes for the quickest groups.

Thanks to the generous donation from Mrs Cutts from the Nog Inn in Wincanton, KA now has a new, standalone basketball hoop which students are making good use of during lunch and break times.

Parent Participation Strategy We are developing a new Parent Participation Strategy to ensure parents are fully aware of what is happening within the school. This may be for their individual child or as a school community. If you feel you have ideas as to better ways the school can communicate with you as parents please contact Hayley.Andrews@kingarthurs.org.uk

House Captains in Year 7-10 Congratulations to the following house captains for their successful application at the start of the academic year in being appointed house captain for their year group. Students have been prepped about their roles and responsibilities for this year and are keen to organise and run regular house competitions at lunch time for their year groups.

Alfie M, Enzo T, Jacob C, Corey W, Ethan W, Hazel P, zak B, Brandon H, Devon P, Freddie S, Jim D, Ollie G, Maisie T, Ben M and Reece V.

At Key Stage 4, PE students follow a more personalised programme with pathways suited to the competitiveness of the individual and the group they are in. Alternative sports such as Kinball and Handball have been introduced over the last couple of years, as well as greater opportunities to access the fitness suite being offered to broaden students’ experience. This term Year 11 have had the option of selecting spinning to further personalise their learning, de-stress from the pressures of studying, and to help look after their mental and physical wellbeing.

The LED Wincanton Sports Centre kindly let King Arthur’s School use their impressive studio, with specialised spinning bikes, air fans and the all-important sound system to cycle along to. Spinning is an energetic and effective way to burn calories whilst on a stationary bike.

The students cycled to the eclectic motivational music playlists of Mr Elloway and Miss Howell. The music set the momentum for the rides with students performing standing cycling, press ups and adjusting hand placement and body positioning to alter the intensity. Students were even caught singing along to the ‘Ghostbuster’ theme tune whilst working hard on the bikes, with the strobe lighting effects setting the tone in the background. The instructors created visuals for the students pretending we were cycling up West Hill and having to go flat out on fast sections of the songs.

Conversely at other times students dropped a few gears working aerobically imagining they were cruising along the country lanes around Bruton! KA students have taken to the activity, with some not realising how tiring cycling on a stationary bike can be!

PSHEE We have had two PSHEE drop down sessions this term. In September, we focused on Health and Wellbeing. As part of this, Year 8 had a presentation from Somerset Police and the charity Turning Point looking at substance misuse and pressures relating to it. Year 9 had a session with Somerset Police on peer influences and gang exploitation. The second half of term we focused on the concept ‘living in the wider world’. This has focused on careers education and some year groups have been using https://www.careerpilot.org.uk/. This is fantastic free resource that students can use at school and at home. As this newsletter goes to press we are organising for Year 9 and 10 to have a virtual session on Human Rights Day looking at the importance of 9/11. This will feature speakers: • Sir Simon Schama: distinguished historian, writer and broadcaster • Sara Khan: the UK’s Lead Commissioner for Countering Extremism and former director of Inspire • Nicky Napier: whose husband Alex was killed in the World Trade Center on 9/11 • Jeremy Hayward: Lecturer in Education (Citizenship) at the Institute of Education, UCL. Should you ever wish to discuss the PSHEE content delivered in the school please do not hesitate to contact Hayley.andrews@kingarthurs.org.uk. In the spring term there will be virtual sessions for parents to join to discuss the content of the course.

King Arthur’s Community School, West Hill, Wincanton, Somerset BA9 9Bx • Phone 01963 32368 • office@kingarthurs.org.uk • www.kingarthurs.org.uk

Curriculum One C1 is a newly formed tutor group. Within this group everyone’s needs are different, and each individual has different strategies they are working toward. It is a safe place where pupils can support their peers, and friendships are being made. All pupils can freely express their ideas with active group discussion.

Encouraging reading is something we are passionate about. With 10 minutes reading at the start of each session this not only gives the students time to relax and transition from lunch, but allows them to read at a pace that they are comfortable with and to find the enjoyment in being able to escape within a book. A homework support service afterschool on a Thursday is now available. This supports pupils with access to the internet and google classroom, and guidance from a learning mentor on how and where to access the work.