Volume 2 Issue 22

Once the pupils have been tested on return to school the Department for Education have asked all schools to test all pupils twice more with tests set 3 to 5 days apart. On these occasions pupils will be issued with a time slot to attend their test and will be excused from their lesson for about 5 minutes. We do not need to ‘hold’ the whole year group in one area as they will have already tested negative. The schedule for testing is shown below.

After we have completed all the tests on Friday 19 March, pupils in the First to Fourth Year and Lower Sixth will receive a pack of self-test kits. These will be distributed during an additional group base at 3.40pm so that the pupils receive their test kit and go straight home. Please can parents check they have their kits and are kept safe. Pupils should then test themselves twice weekly.

As the Fifth Year and Upper Sixth have assessments from Tuesday 16 March, we will not be able to complete a third test for these year groups. Therefore, they will be issued with their self -testing kits on Friday 12 March and we would ask the students to undertake a home test on the evening of Monday 15 March.

Testing remains voluntary but we would encourage all pupils to take part to help prevent the risk of transmission from anyone who may be asymptomatic.

Parents of First Year pupils are advised that a letter from Dr Waymark regarding language options for next year can be found here. The online options form, to be completed by Friday 19 March, can be accessed here.

The March 2021 assessment timetables are available on the school intranet, which can be accessed here. Pupils will be given an individual copy of the timetable when they return to school next week.

In celebration of World Book Day, the Library Manager and Library Assistant put together a week-long itinerary of activities and events. 

Students were invited to join virtual author visits from Chris Bradford, Ali Sparkes and Matt Dickinson. A Big Book Quiz was hosted by Ms Speck on Wednesday, and on Thursday, First Year and Lower School students read a book in a day. 

The KES Art department launched an art competition in January, inspired by David Attenborough's 'Take Action Through Art Competition'. Art has a vital role to play in both imagining and building a better future and students were invited to present a reimagined future where we celebrate and protect nature. The full brief can be found here.

We were delighted that so many students participated and submitted artwork in response to the competition. Presented below are the winners and the shortlisted students that showed both artistic skill and had carefully considered how to present the environmental concerns in their work. We also accepted entries that showed appreciation of the beauty of our natural planet. We hope you enjoy looking at the artwork as much as we did!

This week's issue of the KES Literary Review is here! 

Each week the newsletter features guest reviewers to share their opinions on recent or favourite reads. Click on the images below to read the newsletter in PDF format.