Dear parents and carers,

I hope you have had a positive week.

On Thursday, I was delighted to present at the East Sussex National as part of the East Sussex Attendance Conference. We were asked to present our recent work within our super curriculum, and how we have made significant gains in our attendance. Our presentation centred on the importance of increasing student belonging within our three-year vision, and ensuring that students increasingly feel a part of our school community. We know we have made positive steps, and the presentation was a chance to show this work to attendees from other local and national schools. While our focus will always be on the students, it is always reaffirming when we are asked to lead these discussions locally. The conference itself was an important reminder as to the work that is going into all schools to ensure that positive school attendance remains the key priority, given the link to students' life chances. The chances of a student gaining five good GCSEs, including English and Maths, deteriorates significantly from 96% to 90% and below. We therefore remain focussed on our goal of ensuring consistently above 96% for our students.

Assemblies this week have been led by Mr Madriaga and focussed on the importance of positive mental health. A key thread has been our key value of ‘Kindness’. We took time to reaffirm the importance of our words and language to each other. I am especially impressed by the increased numbers of children since I joined who also take the time to say a simple ‘thank you’ to staff after lessons. These are key character traits that we mention consistently and reinforce when we see them.

As we look forward to the ski trip, we continue to work behind the scenes on furthering our personal development provision and offer. Today I have been discussing some potential new international offers which will give our students fantastic opportunities. I hope to have some exciting news soon. 

Finally, we have received some small changes to the bus timetables. Please see below for more information.

Have a great weekend, and thank you for your ongoing support.

Best wishes,
Mr Harvey

Textiles Super Curriculum group

Mrs R. Hepburn Imber, Design & Technology Teacher, Tutor of 7RHE, Head of House System: "The Textiles Super curriculum group has been busy learning various techniques over the past couple of weeks. Last week they learnt about basket weaving and extending skills to learn more intricate patterns. This week they have been creating their wet felt, which they will decorate with embroidery techniques." 
 

Bus Timetable Changes

We have been advised that there will be changes to the 28 Regency bus route to/from Hailsham from Monday 27 January 2025.

Please see below the changes that will affect the bus to and from school each day. The column in cream is the details for the additional bus service specific to King's Academy Ringmer.

For the morning journey to school:

For the return journey home at the end of the school day:

* = This journey does not serve Ringmer King’s Academy Grounds on non-school days. # = During school holidays this bus calls at the main road bus stop on the Lewes Road B2192.

Please follow this link to the full 28 PDF timetable with effect from 26 January 2025 - https://passenger-line-assets.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/brightonhove/BH/28-timetable-20250126-34ab6c6e.pdf

InvestIN - Free events for students interested in competitive industries

Reminder about InvestIN free event series which will be kicking off next month. These events give students the chance to hear directly from industry professionals about what it’s really like to work in some of the world’s most competitive and desirable fields.

For further information please follow this link to the InvestIN events page - https://trk.send.investin.org/l/01JJ3YYCJW3MYF0DPDNVA1GQHE_1 

Channel 4's The Dog House is back

Five Mile Films Ltd are the programme makers of the BAFTA-nominated Channel 4 series, The Dog House, which is about to return for a new series. Described as one of the most heart-warming programmes on TV, they are starting the search again for people who can offer a loving home to a rescue dog and share their reasons for doing so.  They have therefore asked if we can share this information with our parents / carers.

In the previous series, they found that there were many reasons people might consider bringing a rescue dog into their life; to help combat loneliness, extra company for a child, to encourage getting out more. For children specifically, having a dog in your home has been proven to help with social skills and impulse control, and even improve self-esteem. Dogs are always happy to see you when you get home from school, and their love is unconditional - the ideal confidante and an ever-willing playmate! They would love to highlight some of these benefits and wondered if any members of our school might be interested in applying, or simply find out more with no pressure to take part. 

Please see above for  their flyer plus this additional information - Could you provide a loving home for a rescue dog? The Channel 4 series, The Dog House is looking for couples, individuals, friends and families who are seriously considering bringing a rescue dog into their lives and are willing to share their reasons for doing so.    

Please follow this link to apply: 

 The Dog House | Channel 4 or email thedoghouse@fivemilefilms.co.uk 

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