KAR Newsletter 26/04/2024

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope you have had a great week, we certainly have at KAR!

Firstly, I will soon be in touch with our finalised 3 year vision strategy, which sets out our key priorities within this time. Further to all consultations during the first two terms, we have realigned our school vision as follows:

'To develop well rounded, confident individuals who are world ready'

As Principal, I have explained to students through assemblies that whilst the GCSE grades are the essential tickets to the top jobs, it is their well roundedness and positive character which will see them succeed.

As a key part of this, we are excited to move forward in our plans for our ‘Super Curriculum’ next year for Key Stage 3 to support our vision in developing well rounded, confident students, ready for the world outside. This week, we have held some student voice sessions to see which events they would like to see as part of their curriculum this year. I am thankful to staff who have proposed up to 50 opportunities that could feasibly run. Once we are able to review our staffing and the student voice, I will be in touch with further details. If parents and carers have any ideas, or contacts that might be useful, then please get in touch with the school. This might be, for example, a business that works with children, or indeed a skill that you may have which might be an opportunity! Our initial plans are that we are looking to run our Super Curriculum next year for 70 minutes on a Wednesday afternoon, built into the school day. All ideas welcome.

At Key Stage 4, our careers programme continues to be an integral part of developing well rounded students. This week, we have had two whole school external careers events for Years 9 and 10 which supports this vision. I have been delighted with feedback regarding the positive conduct of our students. I have received comments on their smartness, their curiosity and their politeness. The students seemed to enjoy the experience and returned with a number of freebies!

I was privileged to be a part of our student leadership interviews this week for senior students. Student voice and leadership are an important area we are looking to enhance in the school. All applicants for the roles performed excellently, and the process really highlighted the talent and motivation our students have.

I hope you have a great weekend.

Best wishes,

Mr Harvey

Congratulations to the new Senior Student Leadership Team

We are delighted to announce that the following students have been selected to represent our senior student leadership team. After the rigorous interview. This is a well-deserved achievement and recognition of the support and consistent high standards they have shown throughout their time at King’s Academy Ringmer.

Theo (Principal student)
Edith (Principal student)
Charlie (Vice/Deputy Principal student)
Charlotte (Vice/Deputy Principal student)
Scarlett
Max
Foster
Evie
Chloe
Fife
Abi
Jess
Wills
Harry
Lottie
Nylah
Felix
Alex
Jasmine
James

Well done to you all!

The Big Futures Careers Fair – Year 9

Our year 9 students had the fantastic opportunity to visit the BIG Futures show this week, the largest employability, skills and jobs event in East Sussex. Our students immersed themselves in fun demonstrations, taster sessions and exhibitor activities, including photography, virtual -build a road challenge, Skim plastering, sustainable building and renewable energy taster sessions. They received expert advice on the world of work, careers, further education and training. We were incredibly proud of how Kings Academy students represented our school. The student feedback from the visit has been overwhelmingly positive.

Mrs Colbourne, Careers Lead.

PE Department Clubs after school – 3.20pm to 4.20pm

Monday	Duke Of Edinburgh	Stoolball Club
Tuesday	Rounders Club
Wednesday	Athletics
Thursday	Meeting or Fixtures
Friday	None

Year 7 - Food Technology

Year 7 have been developing their skills using the grill with the French classic, croque monsieur.

Year 10 Food Technology - We Eat With Our Eyes

Year 10 have entered into their food styling project and have been working hard to elevate their presentation skills.

They have made a beautiful tomato soup with homemade garlic croutons dressed with a swirl of natural yoghurt and garnished with seasonal herbs .

What wonderful progress these students are making. Well done year 10. Pictures from Phoebe, Ryan, Amy and Nicole.

Prom Ally -free loan of prom dresses and suits

Prom Ally offers free loans of prom dresses and suits to school children who otherwise couldn’t afford one. They are linked with social services, food banks and charities. They run on a referral basis, this initial referral could be from the school. They just request £10 to cover the cost of delivery and return postage/ packaging. There are lots of great testimonials and they won a social enterprise start up award. https://www.promally.co.uk/

SportsCool Year 7 intervention

Children and Young Persons Social Prescriber at Foundry Healthcare, Lewes is commissioning a series of sessions aimed at year 7 students struggling with their mental health. These sessions will be delivered by Steve Simmonds of Sportscool, Brighton.

These sessions are for Year 7s experiencing mental health challenges, poor attendance & engagement or struggling with the transition to secondary school. Your child has been identified as a student who would benefit from this support and intervention.

This project will run for 10 weeks during the summer term. Sessions will run during school every Monday, 2-3 pm (excluding half term and enrichment week).

22/04, 29/04, 13/05, 20/05, 03/06, 10/06, 17/06, 24/06, 01/07, 15/07
The session aims to promote positive association with school attendance and encourage ‘in school’ social connection therefore improving attendance and wellbeing. The sessions will be delivered using the ‘Play Their Way’ approach so that children have autonomy and ownership, to maximise engagement and enjoyment.

Activities will be chosen by the children, and might include:

‘manhunt’ style outdoor games
Silent disco
Lazer tag
UV dodgeball
Inflatable obstacle course

Year 11 leavers Hoodies

The deadline for ordering the Leavers Hoodies is now approaching. The order deadline is 9am Monday the 29th of April. Please ensure you place your orders before this time, after the deadline the ordering website will no longer be active.

Order yours via this link https://www.totalclothingshop.co.uk/kgaringmer/leavers-hoodies

Wakehurst Art Competition - Closes April 30

Sussex Uniforms - Competition

Enter here: https://www.monkhouse.com/uniform-voucher

Existing customer? Already subscribed to Monkhouse? Great, you’re already halfway there! Shop with us in June and July to be entered.

See t&cs on the website.

Funded Swimming Lessons for Children from Diverse Backgrounds

The following are offering swimming lessons specifically tailored for children from black and minority ethnic backgrounds, including refugee children and those from care. This initiative is generously funded by Active Sussex and aims to provide a safe and inclusive environment for learning to swim.

Details of the Swimming Lessons:
Duration: Sunday, June 9th to Sunday, July 14th ( 6 weeks) AND Sunday, 14h of July to Sunday, 25th of August (6 weeks).
Time Slots:
3:00 PM to 3:30 PM for primary school children
3:30 PM to 4:00 PM for secondary school children
Capacity: Limited to 20 children MAXIMUM
Given the limited spots available, we encourage you to inform parents and guardians about this opportunity promptly so they can secure a place for their children.

Cost: Standard rate: £90 per child (equivalent to £15 per session)
Discounted rate for low-income families on free school meals: £30 per child (equivalent to £5 per session)
Priority: Children who are in care, have been looked after, or adopted will receive priority for placement.

Please note that the full fee must be paid in advance to confirm registration.
This program not only teaches essential swimming skills but also promotes physical health and safety around water. The course is delivered by the Black Tri Tribe which has teachers from BAME backgrounds so that children feel empowered to swim. Children will be given afro swimming caps compatible for long/big hair types.

For bookings and more information, please click the links above. For enquiries please email blacktritribe@gmail.com or Whatsapp message 07468975852 or book a meeting.

Ringmer Rovers FC Y7&8 Girls

Lewes 5-a-side youth football tournament

Lewes FC invite teams to participate in a Lewes FC youth 5 a-side football tournament on Saturday May 4 2024, for all age groups from U7s to U15s! Please see the website for more information https://lewesfc.com/news/lewes-fc-youth-football-festival/

Vacancies

KING’S ACADEMY RINGMER

PREMISES ASSISTANT

37 hours per week. Required to start asap
Permanent, 52 weeks per year

Salary – KGA Pay Scale, Band 4, Points 4 to 6
I.e: £23130pa to £24362pa

We are seeking a permanent full time Premises Assistant to start asap. The successful post holder will provide an effective caretaking service and to be responsible for the security of the premises whilst on site and to lock up the buildings and secure the site at the end of the evening. It is important that the post holder is flexible, is able to work as part of a team as well as being able to work on their own.

Hours of work - Late shift: 7.4 hours per day, Monday to Friday. Daily start time will be between 11.00am and 1.15pm depending on the finish of times of our evening school lettings. Excellent rates of overtime pay ie: Saturday's at time and a half. Weekend working required on a rota basis (every 3rd weekend) during term time with the other two members of the Premises Team. In total, over the whole year, 12 Saturdays.

If you would like further information regarding the role or the hours of work, please either contact the Premises Manager, Mr Nigel Duckworth at nigel.duckworth@kingsacademies.uk or can be discussed at interview should you decide to apply and be shortlisted.

King's Academy Ringmer is a rural comprehensive with an ethos of "Kindness, Ambition, Resilience ". We have a simple but bold ambition, to be the best school in Sussex. We consider this to be our ‘journey to excellence’. We are on a positive trajectory towards this goal, with outcomes a third of a grade above national average. We have a strong reputation for our inclusion, pastoral care and a rapidly improving trend of results in terms of student attainment and progress. The Academy is part of King's Group Academies whose mission is to equip all students with the confidence, knowledge, skills and values that will enable them to thrive in the modern world. We anticipate exciting developments ahead working together with students, parents/carers and the wider community to build upon our strengths and make this an outstanding school.

What can we offer you?

A chance to be at the forefront of educational development
An Academy with a positive ethos, motivated students and focus upon learning
Excellent induction, support and staff development opportunities
A beautiful, rural environment situated approximately 12 miles from the coastal city of Brighton and Hove.

For full details and an application form can be download directly from our website: https://www.kgaringmer.uk/vacancies/support-staff-vacancies or contact Amanda French on either 01273 815463 or amanda.french@kingsacademies.uk quoting job reference P/464. We offer a first class working environment with supportive colleagues and opportunities for career development.

King’s Academy Ringmer is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All posts within our Multi Academy trust are exempt for the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore all applicants will be required to declare spent and unspent convictions, cautions and bind-overs, including those regarded as spent and complete an Enhanced Criminal Records Disclosure via the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)

Closing date for applications is Friday 10 May 2024 at 8.30am with the interview date as Tuesday 14 May 2024.