May 2023
Dear Parents / Carers
During the start of the summer term, we have been exploring the idea of “Our Story” at Kingsway Park High School and how vital it is that we all have a collective responsibility for this.
We have also started a discussion with our staff and students around the idea of
“The Kingsway” - the way that we do things around here! Although this remains a work in progress some clear themes have emerged:
- Consistency is the key to success
- Mutual respect and manners form the basis of all our interactions
- High standards of uniform, demonstrates a professionalism and readiness to learn
- Being punctual and not truanting lessons are a basic expectation for everyone
- No one has the right to negatively impact anyone else's education
- Establishing and growing partnerships with all of our community can only benefit our students
- Forming positive relationships and a sense of belonging to the school will mean that we are all moving forward, united together
Parents Evening
In our recent Year 10 and Year 7 parents evenings we had an active engagement of between 55-70% attendance. Parents and Carers were given the opportunity to discuss their child’s progress, outcomes and attitude to learning, with our many subject specialists. In future we would like these numbers to increase, to ensure the important dialogue and wrap around support your child needs.
We are also continuing to look at ways in which we can further provide you with a voice as a parent. We previously offered you the opportunity to come into school and meet with a member of the senior team to discuss your child and/or our direction as a school. This offer is still open and if you are still interested in discussing any questions or concerns, please e-mail info@kingswaypark.org and we will arrange for you to come in and meet with us.
GCSE Exams
Our Year 11 GCSE students have started their final examinations last week and they have conducted themselves impeccably well. This is where our students get the opportunity to demonstrate all the hard work and effort in their learning that they have engaged with over the last 5 years. This is the crucial message we would like you to help us share with our students - your children, that it is not only about what happens in Year 11, but the work that your child puts in throughout their time with us. They have a dedicated staff who relentlessly pursue excellence and go above and beyond to support them, each and every day. What I need now is all of us pushing our students - your children, to consistently do their best.
Remember that although success looks and feels different for each of our children, we need to motivate them to aim high, reach for the stars and be ambitious with their dreams! This is how we continue to develop standards at our school. This is how we grow.
Kind regards,
Simon Ward
Headteacher
Moments to Celebrate and Remember - Summer Term 1
- Y10 and Y11 students engaged in the “Brilliant Club” delivered by the Science Department in conjunction with The University of Leeds. The students studied in a series of university style activities and lectures over the year on the theme of Bacteria. The majority of students secured a 2:2 or 2:1 with a couple of students achieving a First-class honor in their assignment.
- The school started its work with Evidenced Based Education, who are a professional partnership based out of the University of Durham. They will be working with the school to develop our assessment and teaching & learning practices. This is a great example of the school's priority to engage in professional learning for staff.
- School has reinitiated its license to deliver the Duke of Edinburgh Award. This marks the start of our future ambitions to offer DofE to the students at the school. It is a fantastic extra-curricular activity which gives students the chance to personally grow and develop outside the classroom and their comfort zone.
- Hairspray the musical was a fantastic success! It involved approximately 40 students from different year groups, who danced, acted and sang in front of a number of different audiences including parents, primary school students and their peers.
- 18 Year 8 girls engaged in a Cyberfirst Empower event at Manchester Central. It was an immersive event where students engaged in coding, cryptography and open source data activities with companies such as IBM, KPMG, BT and Inzpire. They also met Chewbacca!
- To celebrate Eid all students were offered the opportunity to wear their Eid clothes/own clothes, making a donation to charity. Different foods were available to sample from the restaurant, throughout the day. This marks the start of our drive to celebrate the many cultures that make up our inclusive school community.
- Manchester City in the community event with Y10 boys, involved a series of football matches and challenges where the boys excelled, and all won a medal. One student also won a Manchester City shirt through his work to develop his confidence over the course.
- One of our Y9 students has been selected to be a ball assistant at Manchester Utd throughout next season, with two other Y9 students being involved in the Adidas pitch day where they will play at Old Trafford. In additions 6 Y9 students engaged in a STEM eventwhere they used Lego® Mindstorms™ to create their own underwater robot or Remote Operated Vehicles from scratch. This is all due to our link with the Man Utd foundation.
- Swimming in the community involved a group of 10, Y7 and Y8 girls who have engaged in a series of swimming lessons at a local leisure through a partnership with the school.
- Year 10 Construction students visited the local OTC to review the post 16 courses on offer and engage in taster sessions. The college remarked on what fantastic ambassadors our students are, demonstrating impeccable conduct throughout the day.
- 10 Year 9 students engaged in a Cultural Capital and Teamwork Building Trip where they were coached by England netball and tennis coaches as well as engaging in extreme scootering and trampolining.
For ongoing updates and pictures celebrating our students’ successes please visit our social media as seen below.
Dates for your Diary:
Monday 5th June – Return to school
Thursday 15th June – Year 8 Parents Evening
Monday 26th June – Year 10 Taster Day RSFC
Tuesday 27th & Wednesday 28th June – Rochdale Athletics Competition
Thursday 29th June – INSET day – closed to students
Monday 3rd July – Year 6 Induction Evening
Tuesday 4th July – Year 6 Induction Day
Friday 7th July – Year 11 Prom
Tuesday 11th Wednesday 12th & Thursday 13th July – Year 10 Geography Field Trip – Malham
Thursday 13th July – Year 11 Networking Event
Tuesday 18th July – School Sports Day
Wednesday 19th July – Inflatables Sports Day
Thursday 20th July – End of Term
Wednesday 6th September – Start of term for Y7 & Y11 only
Thursday 7th September – All year groups in school.
