House successes at King’s Heath Boys’We started this year with a new addition to our school; four houses named Adams, Ennis, Farah and Hoy. The houses were named after the hugely successful British Olympic athletes, Nicola Adams, Jessica Ennis, Mohammed Farah and Sir Chris Hoy. All students in Years Seven and Eight were assigned to one of the houses with the purpose of further improving community cohesion within our school and encouraging cross year group collaboration and engagement. With competitions in abundance and an array of challenges to overcome, our house system was born. Students in each House had the opportunity to vote for their own leaders with roles such as; House Captain, Sports Captain, Head of Fundraising, Eco Warrior, and Healthy Eating Captain all up for nomination. In the Autumn Term students also designed their own crests and created their own house specific mottos which you can see below.

Students have been challenged with a wide range of activities throughout the autumn term and house points allocated for every activity such as Spelling Bee, Volleyball and Football tournaments. Hoy House were named as “House Champions” in a celebratory assembly and romped home with a staggering eight trophies.

The question is, who will take the House Champions title next term…

K ing ’s Hea th Boys ’ Mathemat ics and Comput ing Co l l ege Bu l l e t i n

New Year 2014 - Edition 14

in this issue...

1 New Sports Hall

2 Spelling Bee

3 Chris Bradford Visit

4 Go Green

5 Music and Football

6 Summer School

7 Comic Relief

8 E-safety

upcoming events...

1. New Sports Hall

2. Safer Internet Day 11th Feb 2014

3. Year 10 Careers Fayre

4. World Maths Day

5. Paris Maths Visit

Planning has now commenced to provide us with a brand new Sports Hall. The proposal is that the sports hall will be situated on our current playground. We are hoping that it will be ready for the new academic year (September 2014), providing all goes to plan.

The new sports hall will be the size of four badminton courts giving us excellent opportunities to teach cricket, badminton, tennis, gymnastics, football as well as many others. New changing rooms are planned with shower facilities.

This will enable us to deliver whole school PE, GCSE PE and out of school enrichment sporting activities. These excellent facilities will raise the bar once again.

Happy New Year

New Sports Hall...

NSPCC Numeracy Day...

This term we introduced the Kings Heath Boys’ Spelling Bee - with Year 7 and Year 8 students

representing their respective houses in a competition to see who could spell the greatest number

of words without making a mistake.

In preparation for the competition, every student practised the words on their spelling bookmarks

and competed in form time spelling challenges, to see who would represent their house. Once

the teams were agreed, each student took up their place to compete in the inter-house Spelling

Bee Assembly. This was no easy feat – with students having to recall the spelling of words

such as, ‘manoeuvre’, ‘fluorescent’, and ‘polystyrene’ and many more difficult and complicated

words, in front of a cheering crowd, all routing for their team.

After much tension and excitement, Hoy House was named team champions, in both the Year

7 and the Year 8 Spelling Bee Inter-House Competition. Well done Hoy! We’ll have to wait until

next term, to see if any of the other houses will successfully gain the trophy in the Spring House

Spelling Bee!

Years 7 and 8 were involved in celebrating number day on 3rd December 2013, raising funds for their work with Childline and supporting children at risk. A host of activities took place throughout the day including to name but a few;

• Cakes and cookies crafted in the shape of a number were sold at break and lunch time

• 4-a-side football tournament with sponsored goals

• IT and Maths held number quizzes

• Business Studies calculated rates of payment

• In P.E heart rates at rest and after exercise were measured

• History created roman numerals mosaics

• Design Technology produced tangrams and numbers jigsaws

• Music devised number songs

• Languages practiced counting backwards

Spelling Bee...It’s all about Buzz Words!King’s Heath Boys’ School introduces its first inter-house Spelling Bee

2

Author Chris Bradford visits Kings’ Heath Boys’ Mathematics and Computing College...

3

The show began with a loud bang….

Tension MountsA hostage situation took place

The President’s

daughter was in danger!

Bodyguard Training Commences

Close Protection at all Times! Fully Pledged

BodyguardsI Surrender!

Part 2

Respect

Terrifying

Exhilarating

Looking NervousExtremely Courageous

The Book Signing Commenced

The Book Signing Continues

A Huge Thank You

to all Year 7

Chris Bradford is author of the “Young Samurai” Series and “Bodyguard”

The Chosen One!

This year has seen King’s Heath Boys’ become a little greener thanks to efforts from

staff and pupils and things are set to keep improving. Last year the school had solar

panels installed and new windows and doors to help us make energy savings. Meter

readings have been taken by the eco-warriors and have shown that the solar panels

are having an impact. The school has made a commitment to become greener which

has gained the school the Birmingham sustainable school’s award. We are now

working towards our next goal of Eco Award Silver Certificate. In September a group

of our eco-warriors met the Deputy Mayor of Birmingham to collect the award and

gave a presentation to other schools about our commitment to become greener. A

group of twelve students known as our eco-reps representing each form group in

years 7 to 9 have come up with our schools’ eco-code for staff and pupils. The eco-

reps will be going around school to check progress. The eco-warriors’ club have put

together a wildlife area behind the school library to try and attract more wildlife to the

area with a bug hotel and bird and mouse hibernation boxes. Year 7 students this term

have spent part of their citizenship lessons redesigning and constructing the garden

and we are looking forward to their harvest later in the New Year.

Wednesdays after school in G13 with Mr Hunt and Miss Kendrick

Follow the Science Twitter feed @KHBS_OST

So far this year, the boys attending the Science Club, have made exploding

volcanoes, set money on fire, set Mr Hunt on fire, created parachutes for eggs

(one egg even survived a 2 floor drop!), turned copper coins into gold and made

themselves some slime. They have also investigated whether diet coca-cola or

sugary cola is more explosive when adding mentos and have created mini monster

pumpkins for Halloween. Every week pupils have been able to carry out their own

practical experiments exploring different aspects of Science. There are plenty more

to follow!

King’s Heath Boys’ Goes Green

Science Club

4

Monitors on computers must be turned off at the end of the day

Projectors in classrooms must be turned off at the end of the school day or when not in use for long periods

Thermostats must be set by staff and students must not alter them

Unplug chargers for laptops and mobiles when fully charged

All waste must be thrown in an appropriate bin or recycle bin

Printer cartridges must be recycled by sending them to main office

Recycling bins (paper) to be emptied regularly by student ambassadors

External doors to remain shut to prevent draughts

Lights should be switched off when a room is not in use.

All form rooms will have at least one plant.

Working together to CARE…

…our Eco-Code

King’s Heath Boys’ first Astronomy Group

Celebration EveningThose who were present at Celebration Evening in June were treated to some remarkable musical performances: Year Nine student Harold Chinyani performed a popular ballad, accompanying himself on the piano and after only a year of piano lessons! Another singer-songwriter, Dominic Bell (year 10) performed a fantastic original song that was greeted with rapturous applause.

At the end of July, the school’s talented young musicians gave students an entertaining and inspiring send-off with a week-long residency in the school hall. The 17-strong school orchestra gave outstanding performances of songs by artists such as Rihanna and Bonjovi. The extraordinary high standard of the music, along with the professionalism the musicians displayed showed the striking amount of progress they have made over the year.

Over the summer Keelan Davis, a Year 9 saxophone player was invited to attend a residential three-day orchestral course at NOFA (National Orchestra For All). As well as meeting many other talented musicians Keelan took part in three intensive days of rehearsals which resulted in an incredible performance in Warwick University’s Butterworth Hall. The concert, received by a 1000-strong audience was outstanding and was given several standing ovations!

Autumn TermGoing forward in September we have had many musical events this year taking centre stage. Music enrichment this year will include a rehearsals for the school orchestra, a new school choir and rehearsals for smaller, student-run bands.

Our first event was a musical showcase featuring all our new Year 7 cohort on the 17th October. The 100-strong Year 7 group performed a selection of songs from well-known musicals supported by the school orchestra and GCSE Music groups.

This year we have been invited to continue our partnership with the world-renowned City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO). There will be opportunities for all of year 7 to attend a concert at Symphony Hall as well as other concerts, including an exciting percussion concert for GCSE Music students(Text removed). We also look forward to welcoming musicians from the CBSO into school to lead students in workshops that will ultimately lead to another magnificent performance.

This year the school has been selected to take part in a composition-based programme developed by the City’s prestigious music college; Birmingham Conservatoire. A handful of students will be visiting the Conservatoire monthly to work with other musicians and professional tutors. The project will involve writing music for a wide-range of instruments and will result in a number of professional performances of students’ work.

Fifa Tournament is held in M2 for year groups 9, 10 & 11, on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. It is an individual competition that determines who will become the ultimate champion.

In each group there are eight students that have fought to become runner up or champion, Joseph Bryant, is the overall champion last year. To win he had to battle with the finalist of each year group, and became the ultimate Fifa winner.

Joseph received a Certificate in assembly to acknowledge his achievement, along with the runners up which who were: Chakiah Lambert, year 9, Ciprian Bechian & Emanuel Anambah from year 10 and Mohamed Sheik, Mohamed Abdullah from year 11.

I am pleased to say that each student showed their enthusiasm and determination to win this prestigious honour in becoming the Fifa champion in a friendly sporting manner.

Who will be the Fifa Champion of 2013?

Could it be you?

Music

Fifa Football

5

6

Summer School What did you do this summer?I bet you can’t say, ‘I hit the gold on an archery target!’ or, ‘I played a couple of matches of ‘tipping’ or Tudor Skittles!’ However, if you took part in the Year 6 into 7 Summer School then that is exactly what you could say. Amongst learning the skill of loading arrows and shooting at archery targets, the group also got to test their mettle at fencing – learning the skills of a bout (fighting match) – developing technical skills in parry, remise and recovery, with the sound of ‘on guard’ resounding across the basketball court!

A big THANK YOU to all of the members of staff who helped to make this year’s

Summer School the best so far!

A fantastic foundation to an excellent start in Year 7!

Think you can Rap? The final day of the programme challenged even the

shyest of the group to get up and perform at our Slam

Poetry event hosted by Birmingham Poet, SPOZ.

The boys worked in groups, ‘M-cing’ their own

Rhythm And Poetry pieces in a ‘battle’ which involved

‘flowing’ and ‘spitting bars’. Some excellent pieces

were devised and great fun was had by all.

We also went to Shakespeare country, with a

visit to Mary Arden’s Farm. The boys completed

their literacy challenges, whilst participating

in a bird of prey demonstration, touring and

developing a photo-journal of the farm, and

playing Tudor games and past-times. Now, how

many of you can say that you’ve had an eagle

owl pass just ten centimetres over your head,

whilst you sat still with your eyes closed!?

Perhaps one of the most important and fun points about Summer School was making new friends and learning to work effectively in a team. The group were presented with some, enjoyable, but quite difficult tasks to complete on their ‘Team Challenge’ day. With the guidance of the instructors from ‘Bear Creek Adventures’ the boys had to use all their best problem-solving skills and push themselves to complete physical and mental activities - many of which even Mr Thomas and Mr Smith found trying!

There was something new to try and something for everyone each day – not just in school, but out and about across the region. Learning about Birmingham’s cultural history is so much better when you’re able to stuff yourself silly with chocolate; and I can safely say that the boys thoroughly enjoyed their mouth-watering tour around Cadbury World.

7

“Comic relief comes and goes every year raising money for deserved charities, So I thought what can I do?

I have never done anything major for comic relief in the past years, so I thought this year I would make a difference.

The outcome of this was £262.42! I raised this amount just by cutting my hair, it’s amazing how much difference a little change can make, children suffer every day of the year without us knowing and if this amount goes some way to support someone I feel proud of my achievement for the needy.

However I couldn’t have done this without the massive support of staff and students at Kings Heath Boys’ School, so I would like to thank each and every one of you.”

Please support us this year with Sport Relief on Friday 21st March 2014.

A group of Year 7 Students had a fabulous time working with our local police following a reduction in the speed limit outside school. Some students were shown how to use handheld speed laser cameras to monitor the traffic and catch people who were not driving within the limit.

Other students were able to talk with drivers to explain the changes to them, highlighting the importance of driving safely and watching their speed particularly around schools. The pupils took a lot from this successful morning and thoroughly enjoyed working with both the Police and our local community.

Comic Relief

Year 7 Road Safety

Amro

8

E- safety

Feedback, questions & virtual suggestions box

E-safety is the term used when discussing how to stay safe if we are using any electronic device that connects to the internet, this may be a smart phone, a tablet, a computer or a games console like an X-box or PlayStation. The Internet is an invaluable educational tool when used correctly and we strive to ensure we equip our students with the information to enable them to use it responsibly.

Our school curriculum has been developed so that students learn continually about safe use of devices throughout their time with us. E-safety is discussed during lessons; there are also opportunities within our rich Form Time Programme, as well as regular Assemblies to revisit this.

However, as part of our drive to ensure we are doing the best we possibly can, we will be hosting an E-safety Awareness stand at Parents’ Evenings throughout the year to discuss how we can best work together to ensure our students are “e-safe” both in school and at home.

There are many ways that you can protect your child whilst they use the internet at home, for example, the four largest UK internet service providers now providing Internet Controls that can be turned on for any devices you have that use your home internet. The UK SAFER Internet Centre provide simple yet detailed information about setting up Parental Controls on the many devices we might now have in our homes. Vodafone also produce an excellent magazine that is available online called “Digital Parenting” that is packed with useful advice about technology and children.

Top tips

• SetupParentalControlsonyourinternetserviceathome.

• Askyoursonwhatheisdoingonlineanddiscussthewebsitesthatheisvisiting.

• Talktoyoursonaboutkeepinghimselfsafeonline;remindhimnottoshareinformationwithstrangersabouthimselfsuchas phone numbers and addresses.

• Remindhimthata“friend”issomeoneyouwouldrecognizeinthestreet,andthisappliesto“onlinefriends”.

For more information and advice, look out for our e-safety display at Parent’s Evenings and details of new E-safety Parental Workshops coming in 2014.

At King’s Heath Boys’ feedback is always welcome so, please feel free to email yours or, any questions or suggestions you may have regarding any issues in this Newsletter to the email below.

s.hussain@kingsheathboys.bham.sch.uk