Dear Parents / Carers
I hope you have had a good week.
This week saw one of the highlights of the school calendar, our winter showcase. One of my key goals as Principal is to empower this talent at the school and bring it to the forefront. I was extremely saddened that due to a personal, exceptional circumstance late on in the day, this meant that I had to miss the evening. These events are the very reason I became a Principal, and I was very much excited to see the students perform. The feedback - Wow! We had 65 performers, with 200 staff, parents and friends attending. I am proud of every single student who took part, and delighted at how much talent we have at this school. I will be seeing them all personally next week to reiterate how fantastic they were. There was a real buzz around school on Thursday with lots of students talking about their experience and being rightly proud of themselves.
We also celebrated Ms Urquhart and Ms Bailey, for all of their effort and passion through the rehearsals and production. They are pivotal in driving our creative arts, and I'm determined to harness this longer term and ensure our students have the best possible opportunities, technology and equipment to succeed.
Next week sees our Xmas jumper day/festive wear day to round off the term, as part of our charity push for Save the Children. A reminder that school finishes at 12.20 next Friday.
Have a great end to the week.
Best wishes,
Mr Chris Harvey, Principal
WINTER SHOWCASE 2023!
On Wednesday 6th we held our second Winter Showcase in the Hall with 65 performers and an audience of over 200 staff, parents and friends. It was a really special evening of performances from students throughout the school.
A HUGE thank you must go out to our brilliant Ms Urquhart and Mrs Bailey for all of their effort and passion, from rehearsals to production to organisation. These events would not happen without them. Another thanks to Mrs Taylor and Mr Wood for helping out on the night and a last huge well done to our amazing creative arts students for showcasing their talent and helping bring some festive cheer to everyone.
Save the Children Christmas Jumper Day - Friday 15 December 2023
As the Christmas holidays swiftly approach, we are mindful of the priority to keep students’ focus on learning for as long as possible, whilst acknowledging the excitement that the festive season brings.
The official Save the Children Christmas Jumper Day was 7th December; however, we would like to contribute to this worthy charity by holding a Festive Mufti Day at King’s Academy Ringmer on Friday 15th December. Donations of £1 per student can be made via Parent Pay in the usual way.
Please note we are not expecting anyone to buy a Christmas jumper for the occasion. Mufti wear may be a ‘home-made’ jumper / outfit if they wish, to avoid unnecessary expense. We always welcome creativity and fun for our fund-raisers and a prize will be awarded to the Best Festive Outfit in each year group!
We wish you all a restful and happy break - when it comes - and thank you for your continued support of the academy this term.
Kind regards
Ms Sophia Hunnisett, Assistant Principal, Personal Development
PE Department
Congratulations to Thomas French completing his brown belt grading the other week.
We always love to hear about how well students are doing in their respective sports outside of school, so please do let us know of any achievements outside of school.
PE Lessons - All students in KS3, have now had an activity list put onto their individual google classrooms in which they will be able to see when the activities change.
Can we please ask that students dress appropriately for the weather, students are allowed to wear extra clothing for lessons, things such as skins/baselayers are perfect for this colder weather (https://www.sportsdirect.com/football/clothing/base-layer). We are still having to lend out to many items of lost property as students are not coming prepared for learning, we do have a minimal amount to lend out for lessons but are struggling at times to provide enough appropriate footwear for all students.
Please email james.coulthard@kingsacademies.uk directly if you have any issues with the kit. Best Wishes, Mr Coulthard
Book Trust and Bookbuzz
In September King’s Academy Ringmer joined the reading programme Bookbuzz organised by The Book Trust. https://www.booktrust.org.uk/what-we-do/programmes-and-campaigns/bookbuzz/
This scheme supports schools by encouraging reading for pleasure, it celebrates independent choice and works to develop a school reading culture.
All our year 7 students chose a book from 16 exciting titles including fiction, nonfiction, graphic novels and dyslexic friendly options.
The books are all carefully selected by a panel of experts to ensure quality, suitability and to encourage reading for pleasure.
These gifted books arrived in school this week and are making their way to all our year 7’s during Library lessons and are theirs to keep and take home. Thank you, Mrs Colbourne
Apprenticeship Skill building workshops for Year 11
Last week all our year 11’s had an assembly on apprenticeships delivered by James Brooklyn from The Apprenticeship Support and knowledge Programme (ASK).
This programme is funded by the department of education to support schools and colleges to help increase awareness and promote the benefits of apprenticeships and technical education.
https://amazingapprenticeships.com
A group of our year 11’s then took part in three workshops focusing on CV/ Application writing and mock interviews.
We hope these face to face workshops supported and inspired our students to make informed decisions on their next steps after GCSE's, also helping to build their skills and confidence when applying to their chosen pathways.
Our year 11’s really engaged with the sessions and demonstrated thoughtful and meaningful contributions. Thank you, Mrs Colbourne
Enrichment Voluntary Donation Fund
At Kings Academy Ringmer, we are passionate about providing enriching activities and rewards to motivate and inspire every student.
Last year, many parents generously donated to our ‘Enrichment Voluntary Donation’ fund, enabling dozens of students to attend activities that would otherwise have been prohibitive due to cost.
The financial squeeze on households has not become any easier this year. We are acutely aware that many students attending Kings Academy Ringmer are affected.
You may be aware that families on low incomes can request financial assistance from the school if they need help in funding school equipment or trips. Whilst we do receive some extra funding for such students, a large portion of that rightly goes to academic intervention and essential uniform and provisions, leaving little left for other opportunities like the activities we are offering for our Enrichment week in 2024.
Other families who are not automatically entitled to this funding will also be finding it difficult to commit to funding school extra-curricular visits, and unfortunately the school is not in a position to support them.
We are humbly asking for any voluntary donations that you can spare to enable young people from low income families to enjoy some of the experiences on offer. Every penny of these donations will go to supporting young peoples’ personal development and will be distributed according to need, following strict auditing guidelines. We know that activities and rewards like the ones we are offering are unique opportunities that build confidence, a sense of belonging and create lifelong memories and friendships. If you are able to help, you will be contributing to a very special experience for these young people.
To make a contribution, please log on to ParentPay (https://www.parentpay.com/) and choose the service called Enrichment Voluntary Donation. All payments are made through a secure online transaction and your debit/credit card details are not stored by the school or company.
We will also be approaching local businesses and organisations to request assistance; if you know of any such organisations that will be willing to help, please let us know.
Thank you for your continued support of the school and our students