Weekly Updates

Friday 25th October 2024

 Good News Stories 

Black History Month Challenge 

Congratulations to the following students who took part in the Year 11 Black History Month Challenge and produced fantastic presentations and posters about their chosen black pioneer: 

A particular well done goes to Samuel C and Ibrahim A who have also won Amazon gift vouchers because their presentations were particularly excellent.  

Revision Challenges 

For the past two weeks, Year 11 students have taken part in two revision challenges to encourage and reward their efforts in revising for their upcoming PPEs. The winners of these challenges were praised during assembly on Friday afternoon. 

• Congratulations to Christopher M 11T, Archie Gray 11A and Harvey H 11L. They won the two-week Revision Challenge and have been rewarded with a sweet treat and a praise card.  

• Congratulations to the following five students who won the GCSE Pod Challenge and were rewarded with a sweet treat and an Amazon gift voucher: Dylan P 11T, Seth N 11C, James C 11T, Haaziq R 11R, Oliver W 11L. 

All the boys that took part in these challenges have giving themselves the best possible chance of doing well in their PPEs so a massive well done to them all. 

Year 11 

It has been a pleasure to see Year 11 students approach this half term with focus and maturity as they all prepare for their upcoming PPEs which will be taking place between Monday 4th November and Friday 22nd November, with the first exam being the English Language Paper 1 on Monday morning that all students will be sitting. 

To ensure your son is ready for after half term, please ensure has the following essential equipment: two black pens, scientific calculator, pencil, ruler (30cm preferable), rubber and protractor. The following equipment is desirable: pencil sharpener, compass, highlighter, clear and see though pencil case. We would also recommend that students also have a water bottle which must be see-through and have no labels on it. 

Period 6 

Period 6 sessions for Year 11 students will not be compulsory during the first two weeks of PPEs. Nevertheless, staff will be available during their usual period 6 slots for students to go and see if they require help and advice. Period 6 sessions will resume following this two-week period – parents and students will be notified about the compulsory sessions they need to attend. 

New Lunch Menus 

Our lunch menus will be changing after half term. If you are excited to see what might be on them, click here to find out!

Reading Books Years 7-9 Reminder 

Please can you ensure that if your son is in Year 7, 8 or 9, he has a reading book in his bag upon his return following the break. Form tutors will be checking this in the first week. 

Sparx Reader 

A massive well done to Logan C (Year 7) and Elisha C (Year 8) for topping the Sparx Reader Leader boards last week. Students have already read an amazing 589 hours of Sparx Reader so far this year, with a whopping total of 243 books having been read. Let’s keep it going! 

Parent Tip: if you want to find out more about Sparx Reader please follow this link: Sparx Reader - A parent’s guide to Sparx Reader .  Ms Blythe is also available for any questions or support as needed and can be contacted via enquiry@knbs.co.uk. 

Elevate Education 

This week saw our year 11 cohort work with Elevate Education again prior to their Pre-Public Examinations. Elevate Education have worked with our students a number of times now focussing on preparing in the best way possible for their exams. As part of the Elevate Education experience, they also offer free parent webinars. A number of our parents took up a place to engage in this free opportunity last year. You can find a link to the webinars coming up this year with the next webinar available on November 19th. This opportunity is available to all parents and not just those with children in year 11.

Parent Webinar Timetable – Elevate Education

Dates for your diary 

Monday 28^th October – Friday 1^st November: Half Term 

Monday 4^th November: Return to school for all students 

Monday 4^th November: Year 11 PPEs begin 

INSET Days Advance Notice – school will be closed to all students on these days 

Monday 6^th January 2025 

Wednesday 5^th February 2025 

Monday 28^th April 2025 

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Friday 18th October 2024

Good News Story

Sparx Reader Update: congratulations to Kashif E in Year 7 and Hayden T in Year 8 for gaining the most Sparx Reader Points on Sparx Reader in their year groups this week.  Well done boys – that is an amazing amount of reading that will help you to access learning across the curriculum!

Tip for parents: if your son is struggling with Sparx Reader there are several settings that can be changed, such as background colour, spacing and font size.  Please help them to access this via the online platform.  If you have any other queries Ms Blythe is happy to help.

Reading Books Years 7-9

Developing all our students’ reading skills is a key priority for us at KNSB, and we expect that every student in Years 7, 8 and 9 will have a reading book with them at all times in school. This can be a book from home or one that they have borrowed from the school library. Books can be fiction or non-fiction, including graphic novels, which many of our students love. Please have a chat with your son over the next few days and see if there is a book at home that he wants to read and pop it in his school bag ready for next week or after half term.

Year 10 Parent Information Evening

Last night we saw the parents of over 90 of our Year 10 students in attendance at the Year 10 Parent Information Event. The aim of the event was to share information about what being in Year 10 is like and discuss how we can work together to support our boys during their GCSE studies. If you were unable to attend the event, to can access the information here.

West Midlands Police Keeping Safe Notice

It is that time of year once more when the nights start drawing in and our thoughts turn to keeping all our boys safe. Please click here for an important notice from West Midlands Police.

School Lottery

We were excited a few weeks ago when we launched our new School Lottery fundraising initiative which gives families a chance to win prizes and will also support fundraising to help improve our facilities. 

Tickets cost just £1, and each ticket bought will boost the school environment for our students.   All money earnt this year will be either be added to the student leadership budget or the extracurricular budget.  The student leadership budget is used to fund school council initiative and make the students ideas and plans become reality.  The Extra-curricular budget is spent on facilities for clubs and activities that the students enjoy. 

Through the old fundraising 50:50 club, families helped us raise funds to purchase new sports equipment for breaks and lunches, new nets for goals, student toilet upgrades, benching area improvements and more. You really can help us make a difference for our students.  Our new lottery opportunity is a great way to help our quest to have the best facilities possible for our boys, every ticket will make a difference.

With a draw every Saturday there are guaranteed weekly cash prizes, the more families and alumni who get involved, the bigger the cash prize.  There are even chances to win the central jackpot of £25,000!

For more information and to purchase your tickets, please click on the link here.

Dates for your diary

Monday 28^th October – Friday 1^st November: Half Term

Monday 4^th November: Return to school for all students

Monday 4^th November: Year 11 PPEs begin

INSET Days Advance Notice – school will be closed to all students on these days

Monday 6^th January 2025

Wednesday 5^th February 2025

Monday 28^th April 2025

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Friday 11th October 2024

Good News Story

Year 7 students, Rory and Quinn, completed an independent research project on the first moon landing. They have both produced fantastic pieces of work. Well done boys – in completing this you really demonstrated the resilience and endeavour skills required of a King’s Norton boy.

And another Year 7 student, Ryan, created an amazing piece of homework in recognition of Black History – we think you will agree that he had done a fantastic job!

Black History is Our History

1^st October has brought about the arrival of Black History Month at KNSB, where we are embracing the fact that Black history is OUR history. Students have been developing their understanding of the range of contributions that black people have made to Britain, and society as a whole.  The canteen has also been offering a range of tasty delights including rice and peas, jollof rice and jerk chicken, with more variety of food from the African diaspora appearing over the next few weeks.

Boys wishing to get involved can take part in this event below, as well as in lessons:

Year 8 Mental Health Presentation

This week, Year 8 students were visited by Joel Foster who works for The Prime Agency; he told his story of his mental health struggles as a teenager and how he worked through them using a mixture of self-composed songs and speech. Year 8 students discussed the importance of telling someone whenever we feel like we are struggling and impressed Joel greatly with their knowledge on this topic. 

Spotlight on Safeguarding

Our new Spotlight on Safeguarding newsletter is now available for parents. Please click here to access this.

Maths Progression Programme

The maths department is working alongside MEI (Mathematics Education Innovation) to prepare more of our students achieve higher grades at GCSE Mathematics and then progress to A-level mathematics and beyond. 

This initiative, called the Maths Progression Programme (MPP), is being evaluated by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER). The aim of the evaluation is to improve understanding of the activities that support student attainment and progress in maths. The findings from this evaluation will help inform the design and delivery of this programme, and other similar national programmes, which will be beneficial for students in terms of their maths achievement and progression.

The data of students that the NFER will be using for their evaluation may include your son in their fully anonymised reports.  You can read more about this here. If you DO NOT want your son’s data to be used, then you must opt out of the data collection.  Opting out of the data collection will not prevent your son from being a part of any of the work in lessons, intervention groups or additional mathematical enrichment activities.

Year 11 Pre-Public Exams

Please find a link to the PPE timetable here. You were previously issued with a draft version. This has no changes from the draft version, but we wanted to confirm with you and students the timetable for revision and planning purposes. 

Here is a reminder of some of the exam expectations for students:

• Students are not permitted any electronics in the exam, including wrist watches

• Students should arrive to school no later than 8.30am each day

• Students should always be in full school uniform

• Students should bring with them their full equipment including two black pens, pencil, rubber, sharpener, ruler, highlighter, protractor and scientific calculator, which must all be held in a transparent pencil case

• Students are permitted to have a drink in the exams, but this must be in a transparent bottle, containing no markings and must only be water

Period 6

Year 11 Parents should have now received email confirmation of the Period 6 timetable for the week commencing 14th October and 21st October, which includes details of which sessions your son is expected to attend over the next two weeks. Attendance at their allocated sessions is compulsory so if there is any reason why your son cannot attend, please let us know in advance.

Early Help Support for Families

We wanted to share this newsletter with you in case it is helpful to you or someone that you know. Please click here to read this.

Studybugs

We would just like to give a reminder to you about the Attendance Studybugs App. Studybugs is a safe way to report when your child is sick and off school. Here are some of the reasons to download the App:

It saves you time as it takes seconds to give the school all the information they need, and you will know they’ve got the message, even if you’re reporting at 6am or 11pm the night before.

Helps safeguard your child by automating school’s processing of sick reports, so if any children are unaccounted for, they’ll know right away. It also verifies that reports of your child’s absence have really come from you.

It guides you with official guidance from the UK Health Security Agency (formerly Public Health England) on the need to stay off school, based on the symptoms or illnesses you enter. Note: Studybugs does not provide medical advice or diagnosis — please consult your GP for this.

It is confidential and secure. Your personal data is kept strictly confidential between you and your child’s school. We never share your personal data with third parties. Your child’s school cannot see your location. All shared illness data is first anonymised, so your personal data is always kept confidential. You can also opt out of having your anonymised data shared. Studybugs is hosted from purpose-built secure facilities and all communications with our apps and website are encrypted.

It contributes to public health by collecting anonymised data on illnesses going around, to help schools, parents and public health organisations take preventative action as early as possible.

Here is the link to join:

https://studybugs.com/register

Dates for your diary

Tuesday 15^th October – Thursday 17^th October: Year 10/11 Berlin trip

Thursday 17^th October:  Year 10 Parent Information Evening

Monday 28^th October – Friday 1^st November: Half Term

Monday 4^th November: Return to school for all students

Monday 4^th November: Year 11 PPEs begin

INSET Days Advance Notice – school will be closed to all students on these days

Monday 6^th January 2025

Wednesday 5^th February 2025

Monday 28^th April 2025

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Friday 04th October 2024

How lovely…

…to hear students filling the hall with music after school while making good use of our grand piano!

The Eagle – Enrichment Week Special Edition

While the summer term and sunshine seem like a million miles away to us all now, our Enrichment Week Special Edition of our online magazine, The Eagle, will remind you of the fun that was had by all in the last week of term. Click here to see the wealth of enrichment week activities that our boys had the chance to get involved with, as well as pictures from Charity Day, when we raised over £3000 for Birmingham Children’s Hospital. It makes us all really proud to be a part of the KNSB community.

Year 11 Pre-Public Exams

To aid Year 11 students with their revision for the upcoming November PPEs, which will take place from Monday 4th November to Friday 22nd November, two booklets have been uploaded onto Satchel One for all students to access:

• November PPE Core Subject Booklet: this includes a list of topics, guidance and websites provided by teachers to support students’ revision of their core subjects
• November PPE Options Subjects Booklet: this includes a list of topics, guidance and websites to further aid students’ independent revision of their option subjects.

As part of the ongoing revision during am registration, students have been provided with revision timetables they have been filling inand have been supported in how to plan and organise their revision leading up to the November PPEs. An electronic Copy of the Revision Timetable is available on Satchel One for students to use, along with the instructions on how to fill this in. Students will be provided with additional paper copies of a revision timetable by their form tutors. All of these documents are available here:

Geography Revision Guides

We are currently ordering GCSE Geography revision guides (RRP £7.50) published by CGP for the Edexcel B exam course that we follow, and strongly recommend that all Year 10 geography students purchase one, as it will help their understanding of key ideas and provide opportunities to practise exam techniques. As the geography department is purchasing a significant number, there will be a discount and the cost of the revision guide is just £5.00. Please make a payment via ParentPay if you would like to take up this offer. If your child is entitled to free school meals a revision guide will be provided free of charge.

Mobile Phones Policy Review

As part of the forthcoming review, we thought it would be sensible to share the King’s Norton Boys phone expectations with families.  We will be reminding the boys of these on Monday and Tuesday in form time, so it would be helpful if you talked through them over the weekend.

Reading Books Years 7-9

Developing all our students’ reading skills is a key priority for us at KNSB, and we expect that every student in Years 7, 8 and 9 will have a reading book with them at all times in school. This can be a book from home or one that they have borrowed from the school library. Books can be fiction or non-fiction, including graphic novels, which many of our students love. Please have a chat with your son over the weekend and see if there is a book at home that he wants to read and pop it in his school bag ready for next week.

My Child at School App

If you have not yet registered for the My Child at School app, that allows you to check details about commendations, behaviour points, personal details etc., we will be sending you an email next week with the necessary details to allow you to do this. If you are not in receipt of these details by Friday next week, please get in touch via enquiry@knbs.co.uk and we will forward these to you.

Communicating with School Staff

With there being almost 1000 people present in our organisation on any school day, you can imagine that school is a very busy place. To help us with the management of the school, we do have a communications strategy that is designed to aid stakeholder communications with us, and still allow us to continue with the important business of teaching and looking after our 800 plus students.

There have been occasions recently when parents have arrived in reception without prior arrangement and expected to meet with a particular member of staff immediately. This will rarely be possible, as staff have commitments across their working day that mean they will likely be unavailable. We appreciate that this can be frustrating or upsetting when you feel you have an urgent matter that needs attending to, and we want to support you in minimising the chance of this happening. Therefore, please refer to our website (https://knsb.kevibham.org/communication-between-home-and-school/) for guidance on how to best communicate with us and the procedures that we would like you to follow. Adhering to these will hopefully mean we can resolve any issues effectively.

Parking

We wrote to you a couple of weeks ago about safety measures that we would like parents to take when dropping off and collecting their sons from school, but the situation has little improved, particularly at the exit closest to the mini roundabout at Selly Oak Road. The road and pavements are particularly narrow here, and the risk to our boys at its greatest.

We are appealing to all parents who park outside or adjacent to school to keep the welfare of our students at the forefront of their mind when making decisions about dropping off or collecting their sons, and we once again ask that you adhere to the polite requests below:

• please can you park a little further away from school if you are dropping off or collecting your son. There is ample space in adjacent roads to do so, and this will help us to keep the area directly outside the school safe and minimise any risks to our boys
• avoid parking on the pavement, as this forces students to walk in the road and risk being harmed by passing traffic
• arrange to meet your son further down the road if you are on foot, to avoid the exits becoming clogged up and again necessitating students walking in the road
• drive in a safe, sensible manner when driving along or stopping on Northfield Road, including not turning, either in the road or on neighbouring driveways.

We thank you in advance for your support with helping to keep our students safe.

Dates for your diary

Thursday 10^th October:  Open Evening – early finish at 1.30 for all students

Tuesday 15^th October – Thursday 17^th October: Year 10/11 Berlin trip

Thursday 17^th October:  Year 10 Parent Information Evening

Monday 28^th October – Friday 1^st November: Half Term

Monday 4^th November: Return to school for all students

Monday 4^th November: Year 11 PPEs begin

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Friday 27th September 2024

Good News Stories

We start this week’s comms with news that we are delighted to share with you. Connor in Year 10 has been awarded The Cricket Collective Rising Star at the recent Warwickshire CC Foundation Awards.  What a wonderful achievement – well done, Connor, we are really proud of you!

Year 11 Apprenticeships 

Many of our Year 11 students are already starting to think about their next steps once they leave KNSB in summer 2025. If your son is thinking about an apprenticeship, please click here for lots of useful contacts and apprenticeship providers.

Post-16 Open Days

We have shared information about post-16 providers to our Year 11 students in form time. You can find the document here. As mentioned in last week’s Parent Information Evening, this is not an exhaustive list so there may be other suitable post-16 providers out there for your son. He (with your support) should research different providers and keep a close eye out for when their open events take place. We are advising that the boys visit two or three providers to get a good feel for the types of opportunities there are for them.

Year 11 Students Attending Open Events

As part of the process that Year 11 students with undertake as they start to consider their post-16 destination, will, of course, be attending the various open events. If your son is attending any post-16 open events which take place during the school day, please ensure that you contact the school to make our Attendance Officer aware.

Period 6 Sessions

Year 11 Parents should have now received email confirmation of the Period 6 timetable for the week commencing 30^th September and 7^th October, which includes details of which sessions your son in expected to attend over the next two weeks. Attendance at their allocated sessions is compulsory so if there is any reason why your son cannot attend, please let us know in advance.

Saltmine Performance for Years 10 and 11

On Wednesday 25^th September, as part of the Personal Development curriculum, our Year 10 and 11 students were able to watch a performance called ‘Switch Up’ by a company called Saltmine, which West Midlands Police has stated, ‘challenges the audience to consider the consequences of carrying a knife. It is very much recommended for all young people to see.’

The company delivered a powerful anti-knife crime message in our school, delivered in two parts – firstly, through a one-hour thought-provoking drama production that focused on the complex, interrelated issues of knife crime, gang violence and self-identity, and secondly through an interactive workshop which challenged the consequences of knife crime. Within the content, the production exposed the tragic unseen effects of knife crime on an individual, family members and the wider community. Both the play and the follow-on workshop highlighted the role that peer pressure and social context can play in poor choice making, whilst also addressing some common misconceptions. It identified some of the harrowing, long-term, life changing consequences of knife crime in a student-friendly manner that made it fully accessible. 

Year 7 Data Check

Year 7 students will be bringing home their confidential data for parents/carers to check today. Please spend some time checking this information and making any amendments, before sending this back to us via your son’s Form Tutor. The deadline for these to be returned to us is Friday 4^th October at the latest.

Dropping off or Collecting Your Son from School

For those of you that collect your son from school, either on foot or by car, you will undoubtedly already be aware that the periods of time at the start and end of the day, when students are arriving at or leaving school, can be somewhat challenging. The sections of Northfield Road closest to the school site are very narrow, and the road also has to accommodate the No 18 bus route, as well as the vehicles of parents who are collecting their sons. Furthermore, the pavements adjacent to the school site are similarly narrow too, and this can prove problematic if students and parents congregate close to the school gates, sometimes meaning that students have to walk in the road to go around them.

We fully appreciate that many of our Year 7 parents will have wanted to accompany their sons to school in the first few weeks, and the recent particularly rainy weather will have led to lots more parents collecting boys by car. However, it is vitally important that we make a collective effort to keep our boys safe upon their arriving at and when leaving school, so we ask that you take some simple steps to support with this:

• please can you park a little further away from school if you are dropping off or collecting your son. There is ample space in adjacent roads to do so, and this will help us to keep the area directly outside the school safe and minimise any risks to our boys
• avoid parking on the pavement, as this forces students to walk in the road and risk being harmed by passing traffic
• arrange to meet your son further down the road if you are on foot, to avoid the exits becoming clogged up and again necessitating students walking in the road
• drive in a safe, sensible manner when driving along or stopping on Northfield Road, including not turning, either in the road or on neighbouring driveways.

We have been working with the local council and West Midlands Police in recent months to improve road safety conditions and implement traffic calming measures around our school site. If we all support this and take individual steps to collectively improve the situation, we can all help to keep our boys safe.

Early Close for Open Evening 10^th October

As previously notified, school will close early on Thursday 10^th October to allow for preparation time for our Open Evening. There will be more information next week about the time that your son will be released from school.

Any students that would like to help out at Open Evening should speak to their teachers and collect a consent form that you will need to sign and return in order for them to do so.

Revision Guides Food Preparation and Nutrition

The Food Technology department is currently ordering GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition revision guides (RRP £11.99) published by CGP for the AQA exam course that we follow. We strongly recommend that all students purchase the guide as it will help their understanding of key ideas and provide opportunities to practice exam technique. The cost of the revision guide is just £6.00. Please make a payment via ParentPay if you would like to take up this offer. If your child is entitled to free school meals a revision guide will be provided free of charge.

Bikeability

This week has been Bikeability’s ‘Cycle to School’ week, so please praise your son if he has come to school by bike. However, everyone can support our school’s work on Active Travel by completing the online survey described in the poster attached. This is a fantastic opportunity for students and their parents/carers to use their voice and potentially shape government policy on supporting students’ physical and mental health. Scan the QR code and get started now for a chance to win a £50 Amazon voucher. The survey closes at 5pm on 11^th October. click here

Lost Property and Naming Items

We have previously notified you that we have an ever-growing mountain of lost property, including some high-priced items such as trainers and coats. This is now in danger of overtaking the school office and the stage. In the first instance, can you please check that your son has all of his belongings, from PE kit to pencil case. Following this, if everything is present, can you please name as much as you can to help us to avoid our office staff disappearing under the lost property behemoth before the end of term!

Reward Trips

For those students that have been invited on the reward trips, either next Thursday or Friday, you should have received a text message today indicating the finer details of each trip. If you did not receive the text or require any further information, please email enquiry@knbs.co.uk citing ‘reward trips’ in the title and you will be contacted.

Physical Education School Sports Guidelines Reminder

Last week, we shared our School Sports Guidelines document, which outlines, amongst other things, our policy relating to selection for sports teams. We have lots of sports teams at KNSB and so many boys are keen to get involved in trials, as well as in recreational activities. If your son is currently a member of a sports team or would like to be but has been unsuccessful this time, it is important that you read this document as it will give you a clear idea of our policies and processes, as well as how your son can continue to be involved in sports activities at KNSB.

Nasal Flu spray – protecting against infectious disease (on behalf of Schools Immunisation Team)

Your child is due to have their Nasal Flu spray immunisation. The School Aged Immunisation Service (SAIS) will be offering these immunisations in school.

Please see the attached letter with details about the immunisation being offered.

Please use the link in the letter (click here) to let us know whether you do or do not wish your child to have the recommended vaccine. 

We advise that you copy and paste the link into Google Chrome

If you need help or advice completing the consent form, please contact the SAIS team on the phone number 0121 466 3410 or via email BCHNT.BirminghamImms@nhs.net

New Opportunity to Work at KNSB

We are delighted to announce a new employment opportunity that is going live this week, for a Digital Technology Manager https://knsb.kevibham.org/digital-tech-manager/. Please share feel free to share this advert across your networks if you feel you know someone who would be suitable and who shares our ethos.

Dates for your diary

Friday 4^th October – Tuesday 7^th October: Year 10/11 Paris trip

Thursday 10^th October:  Open Evening – early finish for all students

Tuesday 15^th October – Thursday 17^th October: Year 10/11 Berlin trip

Thursday 17^th October:  Year 10 Parent Information Evening

Monday 28^th October – Friday 1^st November: Half Term

Monday 4^th November: Return to school for all students

Monday 4^th November: Year 11 PPEs begin

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Friday 20th September 2024

Year 11 Parent Information Evening 

Last night we shared information with the majority of our Year 11 parents about what their son’s final year at KNSB will be like and about how they can support him through this all-important period, in preparation for his GCSE examinations. If you missed this event, you can access the presentation here. Year 11 students have been given revision timetables this week to help them to get organised and start planning for their PPE revision, but they might need a little bit of support to organise and plan these. 

Period 6 

The Year 11 Period 6 timetable for next week can be accessed here These sessions have proven invaluable for our boys in the past, and provide opportunities to consolidate understanding of topics, identify and address misconceptions, and ensure that our students are fully prepared for their GCSE examinations. 

Period 6 sessions begin at 3.15 after pm registration and will finish between 3.45 and 4pm. All students have been informed about which sessions they are expected to attend. 

Mobile Phones 

There has been much media attention about students’ mobile phone use in schools in recent months, the DfE have provided guidance about their use, however for now the final decision around policy remains with each individual school. 

Although there are many positives around the current approach it is an area of great debate, and we feel that the time has come for a wider consultation to seek staff, student and families view on this matter.  Therefore, we will be dedicated this term to conducting some surveys to feed into our evaluation of the current policy.  Those opportunities will be shared via email and our Friday comms. 

Parent Forum 

The school is delighted to host a termly Parent Forum, in which key members of the school staff meet with a selection of parents to share ideas, give information or seek opinion. Topics are decided prior to each meeting, and recent meetings have focused on assessment, the school approach to SDfL (Self-Discipline for Learning), student leadership and extra-curricular activities. This term we intend exploring student rewards and seeking parental opinion on mobile phones in school. 

All parents are invited to join the Parent Forum, which meets in the school Drama Studio for a 6pm start. I will release the date of the first meeting shortly. 

If you haven’t been involved in Parent Forum before, I would really encourage you to come along. We have a regular group of parents who attend, but we are always looking for others to become involved. Parents of new students who have recently joined our Year 7 are particularly encouraged to take part. If you would like to be involved and haven’t yet made contact, please email me on j.butcher@knbs.co.uk with your son’s name and your contact details. 

Mr J. Butcher (Deputy Headteacher) 

Year 10 and 11 English Literature Texts 

If your son does not yet have his own copy of the literature text that he is currently studying, please could you support him with this as soon as possible. Year 10 students will be studying Macbeth by William Shakespeare this term and Year 11 students will be studying A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Please let us know if you have financial difficulties and are unable to purchase a copy for your son via enquiry@knbs.co.uk, and we will do our best to help out. 

Year 7 Student Data 

We are currently in the process of double-checking that we have all of the information that we need on file for our new Year 7 students, and on Friday next week, your son will come home with his individual data. We ask that parents carefully check all this information, make any amendments if needed and return the forms to school in the envelope provided by Friday 4^th October. Once we have completed forms back and are satisfied that all details are correct, we will issue you with your details to the My Child at School (MCAS) app which will allow you to access ‘live’ information about your son, such as commendations. 

Physical Education School Sports Guidelines 

Our students get a wide range of opportunities to take part in many different sports at KNSB, both in lessons and at sports clubs and teams. To ensure that both kinds of activities are fully accessible to all and safely conducted, we have clear guidelines on conduct. Please spend some time reading our KNSB School Sports Guidelines, which can be found here:

Extra-Curricular Clubs 

Many of our extra-curricular clubs are starting next week (see below) – please encourage your son to get involved. 

Homework Club: General and SEND homework, in the library after school until 4pm on a Mon-Thurs and until 3.30pm on a Friday. 

Drama: This is for students from all year groups and will be begin in the week commencing 23^rd September. This will be held on Wednesdays at 3:05 in the Drama room. 

Darts Club: This will be starting in the week commencing 23^rd September and will take place in A1.9 according to the timetable below: 

• Years 7 and 8: Friday lunchtimes (both weeks) 

• Years 9,10,11: Week 1 Monday lunchtime and Week 2 Tuesday lunchtime. 

Spaces are limited to 15, so it is on a first come-first served basis. 

SparxMaths Club: This will take place on a Thursday 3:15-4pm in A2.6 for any students to get help with or just have a place to do their homework. 

Origami Club: This will begin in the week commencing 23^rd September. It is for students in Years 7-9 and will take place in E1.4 on the following days: Week 1 – Friday lunchtime and Week 2 – Thursday lunchtime 

Vocal Group (Singing club): All Year 7-9 students are welcome to come and sing on Mondays in A1.12 12:25-12:45 

Year 9 and 10 Recreational Football Opportunity 

A Year 11 student who left us in the summer is offering a great chance for Year 9 and 10 students to get involved in some recreational football, and has this message: 

“My name is Ben Jackson. I am an ex-student of KNSB, and I am starting a non-competitive football league that is fun and inclusive for students in years 9 and 10. I am starting this with the help of a grant from the Commonwealth Games Legacy Fund. It will be starting on 5^th October and will take place at the University of Birmingham pitches. I am also looking for 16-year-olds who would be willing to volunteer as coaches or referees and could receive FA qualifications for their role.” 

If your son is interested in taking part in this, please check out this flyer for more information:

New Opportunity to Work at KNSB 

We would like to thank families for their patience as our usual organised start to year has been disrupted. We are aware that there have been some issues with our IT support as our new students get used to the software and apps that we use with such long-term success.  This is partly due to key staffing shortages, so we are delighted to announce a new employment opportunity that is going live this week, for a Digital Technology Manager https://knsb.kevibham.org/digital-tech-manager/. 

Please share feel free to share this advert across your networks if you feel you know someone who would be suitable and who shares our ethos. 

New Opportunity to Work at KNSB 

We are currently working with our catering provider AiP to bring you more upto date information regarding break and lunchtime food provision, please see the link below for the current full menu and item costs.

Dates for your diary 

26^th September: Paris trip parent meeting 5pm 

26^th – 29^th September: Year 10/11 Barcelona trip 

04^th – 7^th October: Year 10/11 Paris trip 

15^th – 17^th October: Year 10/11 Berlin trip 

10^th October: Open Evening – early finish for all students – more information to follow 

17^th October: Year 10 Parent Information Evening 

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Friday 13th September 2024

Year 11 Information

Year 11s have started their final year as KEVI KNSB students in a fantastic manner. It has been brilliant to see them embark on this crucial year with the right attitude and a positive mindset. This final stretch of their secondary education is not just about preparing for exams, but also about personal growth, developing critical thinking skills, and building resilience. As their Head of Year, I have been particularly impressed with their focus and mature outlook as they begin to take on the on the challenges and opportunities of Year 11. I look forward to seeing the many successes that the rest of this year will hopefully bring.  

Miss Yussuf

Year 11 Parent Information Evening

Year 11 Parent Information Evening will take place on Thursday 19^th September in the main school hall from 5.30-6.30pm. This is a parent only event. You will learn about how best to support your son this year and have information about key milestones and events across the year. We look forward to seeing you there.

Period 6

The Period 6 timetable  begins next week for the vast majority of our Year 11 students. These sessions have proven invaluable for our boys in the past, and provide opportunities to consolidate understanding of topics, identify and address misconceptions, and ensure that our students are fully prepared for their GCSE examinations.

Period 6 sessions begin at 15:05 after pm registration and will be finished by 16:00. All students have been informed about which sessions they are expected to attend. More information will be shared at next week’s Year 11 Parent Information Evening about the communications you can expect to receive going forward regarding Period 6. 

Year 10 and 11 English Literature Texts

Key Stage 4 students are required to study a number of texts for their English Literature GCSE, and it is hugely advantageous for students to have their own copy of these. Year 10 students will be studying Macbeth by William Shakespeare this term and Year 11 students will be studying A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Both texts can be purchased cheaply online from Amazon (other text providers are available!), and we would recommend your son having this as soon as possible. Please let us know if you have financial difficulties and are unable to purchase a copy for your son via enquiry@knbs.co.uk, and we will do our best to help out.

Year 7 positive messages

Year 7 students have had a great start in their new school and are already looking like seasoned King’s Norton boys! Their teachers have been really keen to share their praise with us, and we thought it might be nice for you all to hear some of this too:

Miss Islam: Here are some real strengths of the Year 7 start so far:

• 70 children turned out for football trials, and the talent in Year 7 is phenomenal.  I cannot wait for all the trophies to be lined up in my office!
• The numbers of commendations being accrued by the children is wonderful – particular mention must go to Junior, with over 45 already!
• Year 7s have been wonderful at forging relationships with the adults looking after them.
• They have shown immense resilience as a team during this transition period.

In addition to Junior, the following students have also been commendation superstars, with over 40 commendations each!  

• Elias M
• Tom L
• Alfred C
• Mohammed D
• Harrison H

I am a very proud Head of Year!

Miss Day: 7R have had a brilliant start to KNSB. They have shown enthusiasm and maturity in their first week.

Mr Cooke: Year 7s have had an excellent start to KNSB this year. I’ve had a lot of fun over the last week practising vowel phonics with my Spanish groups and playing slap the board with my French class. I hope their hard work continues into the year – well done so far boys!

Miss Grindrod: I have a delightful year 7 Spanish group. I’m so pleased with how well they’ve started, demonstrating our values such as self-discipline, teamwork, initiative and resilience. They’ve really engaged fully with learning a new language and are keen to try out and show-off what they’ve been learning in the lessons. It’s been a great start.

Miss Boyce: I have noticed how polite our new Year 7s are.  I have seen lots of them around school and they seem eager and happy to be here.  They look extremely smart in their uniforms too 😊

Mr Butler: Both of my maths groups have made really positive starts. Please encourage your son to maintain this high standard.

Mr Main: A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of meeting many of our new Year 7 boys at Summer School. We knew that they would have a positive start to their time at KNSB, but they have significantly exceeded our initial expectations. We are all so proud of their application and approach so far. Keep it up, Year 7!

Mrs While: The current year 7 Drama cohort has settled into their lessons exceptionally well. I have been incredibly impressed with their enthusiasm and bravery to tackle all tasks with 100% effort and engagement. Their zest for learning is brilliant. 

Mr Julian: This week I’ve had the pleasure of taking Year 7’s rock climbing. I’ve been so impressed with the boys, giving it their all through sunshine and rain, showing real resilience and taking themselves out of their comfort zone. 

Miss Nabi: The year 7s have really impressed me – their approach to the music lessons have been so positive. They have been respectful, engaged in the work and have tried their best with the tasks. So proud of the year 7s! 🙂 

Mr Davies: It has been a real pleasure getting to know our new cohort of Year 7s these past couple of weeks. They have proven to be brilliant historians so far, showing great enthusiasm for the subject with their contributions in class as well as earning plenty of commendations for their hard work. I look forward to seeing them progress further in History this year! 

Mr Garvey: Year 7s, it has been a pleasure to get to know you in the first few weeks and I know moving to secondary school can be a daunting experience. You have responded well to all the requests of the Physical Education department and have worked hard to establish the routines that we need to enable us to enjoy our physical activity. I look forward to seeing your progress throughout the year and hope to see as many of you as possible at our extracurricular clubs.  Well done and keep it up, 

SparxMaths

This week saw the return of our students being set their maths homework on SparxMaths. Now in our 3rd year of using this platform, it provides automated, personalised, differentiated and scaffolded homework to enable all students to thrive. Last year our students answered nearly 600,000 questions correctly on the platform, and collectively spent over 12, 500 hours completing their maths homework.

This short parents’ guide (Sparx Maths – A parent’s guide to Sparx Maths) gives more information about SparxMaths, and ways you can support your child with their homework in mathematics. 

Extra-Curricular Clubs

In addition to the sports clubs which were shared last week, please see below other clubs that are/will be on offer to your son this year. Please encourage him to get involved – there is something for everyone:

Homework Club: General and SEND homework, in the library after school until 4pm on a Mon-Thurs and until 3.30pm on a Friday.

Drama: This is for students from all year groups and will be begin in the week commencing 23^rd September. This will be held on Wednesdays at 3:05 in the Drama room.

Darts Club: This will be starting in the week commencing 23^rd September and will take place in A1.9 according to the timetable below:

• Years 7 and 8: Friday lunchtimes (both weeks)
• Years 9,10,11: Week 1 Monday lunchtime and Week 2 Tuesday lunchtime.

Spaces are limited to 15, so it is on a first come-first served basis.

SparxMaths Club: This will take place on a Thursday 3:15-4pm in A2.6 for any students to get help with or just have a place to do their homework.

Origami Club: This will begin in the week commencing 23^rd September. It is for students in Years 7-9 and will take place in E1.4 on the following days: Week 1 – Friday lunchtime and Week 2 – Thursday lunchtime

Vocal Group (Singing club): All Year 7-9 students are welcome to come and sing on Mondays in A1.12 12:25-12:45 – see below for more music clubs!

Dates for your diary

16^th September:            Late start – 9.50 to allow for statutory staff medical needs training (please note, there will be a further late start as some point in Autumn 2, but we are awaiting confirmation of this date)

18^th September:            Berlin trip parent meeting 4.30pm

19^th September:            Year 11 Parent Information Evening 5.30pm

26^th September:            Paris trip parent meeting 5pm

10^th October:                Open Evening – early finish for all students – more information to follow

17^th October:                Year 10 Parent Information Evening

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Friday 06th September 2024

Welcome Back

Welcome to our Friday communications where we try and keep you informed and up to date on everything KNSB. Feedback from parents is that one dedicated place to share information helps them stay in touch, so again this year, we will try and ensure the majority of our communications are shared each Friday, keeping communication outside of this format for those urgent or time sensitive messages.

To our new students, a very special welcome! We are thrilled to have you join our school community. As you start this new chapter, know that you are now part of a supportive and vibrant environment where we strive to do our best.  Our dedicated staff team is here to guide and support you every step of the way and you have made a very good impression already.

To our returning students, welcome back! We are excited to continue our journey with you and to build on the successes of the past year. This year, we have an array of new opportunities and experiences planned, and we look forward to seeing you grow and achieve your goals.

To our parents and carers, thank you for your continued support and involvement in our school community. Your partnership is crucial in fostering a nurturing and effective learning environment for our students. We encourage you to stay engaged with us and to take an active role in your child’s educational journey.

As always, our focus remains on providing a high-quality education that not only meets academic standards but also prepares students for their future.  This has been, yet again, reinforced by some wonderful examination results and we are very proud of our 2024 leavers.  There have been some very happy students and, as a collective, our 2024 leaver results are well above the early indicators for national averages.  Once we have completed our analysis of the results, we will share a more detailed update.  

Here’s to a fantastic year ahead, full of learning, growth and achievement!

Attendance 

From the back-to-school information, you will know that attendance regulations have changed for all schools. We have uploaded here an important letter from Birmingham City Council; we will also be emailing this letter to you as we have to ensure we can track that we have delivered this letter to each family in our school community.

Some important points of note

Arriving late: if your son arrives in school later than 9:10am, we must mark him as an unauthorised late and he will not get a morning mark, which could have a significant impact on his overall attendance. 

Appointments: our families are really good at limiting the time their son takes off school for appointments, and often in the past parents have booked early appointments so they can get their son into school for as many lessons as possible. However, students now arriving after 9:10am will be marked as unauthorised lates even if there is a very good reason for his late arrival (e.g., dentist).  Therefore, if you can only get a medical appointment during the school day, please send your son into school first and then collect him for that appointment (e.g., leave school at 10am and return at 12pm). This would minimise disruption to learning and reduce any days missed for non-attendance.

Update to detention policy and procedures

We would like to make you aware of some changes to our detention procedures for this academic year. This has been shared with students this week.

• For every 3 SDfL points a student loses they will sit a 35 minute after-school detention. This is a change from one hour last year. Parents will receive a text at least the day before with the detention date. Students will be escorted to the detention by their Form Tutor.
• If a student fails to attend their SDfL detention, then they will be placed in a one hour after school detention on the following Friday. This is a change from last year whereby students were deducted 10 SDfL points. This detention will be staffed by a member of the Senior Leadership Team. If a student is absent on their detention day, then the 35-minute detention will be re-scheduled. Parents will receive text if a detention has been missed and informed of the new detention day.
• If a student fails to attend both their initial 35-minute detention and their subsequent one hour Friday detention then they will be placed in Internal Suspension on the following Monday for a period of one day. Parents will be informed of this by text.

If there is any reason that a student is unable to complete a detention, please let their Form Tutor know (a hand-written note is fine) in the first instance. The detention will then be rearranged without incurring escalating consequences.

Year 7 Keeping Our Children Safe Online Zoom Meeting

Please click here for the flyer for a Year 7 Keeping Our Children Safe Online Zoom meeting on Tuesday 10^th September . The link for attending this meeting will be sent to parents via text on Monday 9^th.

Year 11 Period 6

We will once again be offering our Year 11 students the opportunity for further study time with their teachers via Period 6 sessions. These will commence for the majority of students and subjects in the week commencing 16th September.

These sessions have proven invaluable for our boys in the past, and provide opportunities to consolidate understanding of topics, identify and address misconceptions, and ensure that our students are fully prepared for their GCSE examinations.

Individual timetables for each student will be shared with next week.

Year 10 and 11 English Literature Texts

Key Stage 4 students are required to study a number of texts for their English Literature GCSE, and it is hugely advantageous for students to have their own copy of these. Year 10 students will be studying Macbeth by William Shakespeare this term and Year 11 students will be studying A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Both texts can be purchased cheaply online from Amazon (other text providers are available!), and we would recommend your son having this as soon as possible. Please let us know if you have financial difficulties and are unable to purchase a copy for your son via enquiry@knbs.co.uk, and we will do our best to help out.

Uniform and Lost Property

Every year we very quickly start to accrue items of lost property that students have misplaced in school. Some of these are smaller items, like pencil cases, but even expensive coats and trainers end up there and are never claimed. To ensure that we can return items that are handed in back to their rightful owner, please make sure that all your son’s uniform, including his school bag (and anything else you can label) is clearly labelled with both first and last names. 

PE Extra-Curricular Activities

Our outdoor sports and activities are central to our curriculum here at KNSB and we are pleased to get started with our extra-curricular activities this year. Please click here for the timetable of activities for the Autumn term.

PE Extra-Curricular Activities

Year 7: Monday 9th September

Year 8: Thursday 12th September

Year 9: Wednesday 11th September

All pupils who want to trial must head to the sports hall straight after school on their selected dates. Pupils MUST have PE kit to take part.

Dates for your diary

10th September:           Year 7 Keeping Our Children Safe Online 6:30pm – Online Zoom meeting

11th September:            Barcelona trip parent meeting 5pm

13th September:           INSET day – school will be closed to all students

16th September:           Late start – 9.50 to allow for statutory staff medical needs training (please note, there will be a further late start as some point in Autumn 2, but we are awaiting confirmation of this date)

18th September:           Berlin trip parent meeting 4.30pm

19th September:           Year 11 Parent Information Evening 5.30pm

26th September:           Paris trip parent meeting 5pm

10th October:               Open Evening – early finish for all students – more information to follow

17th October:               Year 10 Parent Information Evening