15th December 2017

ASPIRE
Friday 15th December 2017
King’s
Inside this issue
Science Christmas Special Page 2
King’s Christmas Dinner Page 8
King’s presents Othello Page 9
Christmas Carol Concert Page 10
Inskip Cadet Training Centre Page 12
An Evening of Dance Page 14
King’s Cross Country Page 16
King’s Fencing Page 17
Terry Caffrey Visit Page 18
Sixth Form News Page 20
Bike & Road Safety Page 21
Interview with at Teacher Page 22

The King’s Departmental
Christmas Tree Competition
Staff at King's got into the festive spirit by designing their own Christmas trees specific to their own departments.
There were no rules of what the trees had to look like or how they were to be made apart from the idea that each
one needed to reflect the department that constructed it! As you can see, there were several interesting and
highly creative entries which could be seen by pupils as they walked around the school. The pupils themselves
are voting on which tree they like the best so, as you can imagine, departments have been working hard to try
and win the competition (and the kudos it comes with!) in these final days of term. We can reveal at last that the
winning department was the Science department!

The 'trees'
certainly
brightened
up the
school!
Well done to everyone
who entered!

The Science Christmas Special
Following the Spooky Science spectacular, around 50
students were treated to another fun after school science
session this week called the Science Christmas Special.
Pupils watched and took part in five exciting and engaging
experiments from across the sciences. Firstly, Mr. Barker
showed everyone a rather strange chemical that changes
colour when stirred and then gradually changes back again
when left - and which does the same thing every time you
repeat that process! Miss Ashley led students in making
their own Christmas tree-shaped buzzer game which was
harder than it looked to win! Miss Vernon helped pupils to
make sculptures out of blu-tac and matchsticks which we
then burned to show just how much heat matches release
upon combustion. Mr. Rush showed everyone how to
make sparklers out of splints and metal powders just as
firework manufacturers do to produce a range of colours
for their fireworks. Finally, Miss Black and the brave pupils
who stayed until the very end dissected turkeys to get a
close up look at how muscles worked and what exactly you
find when you look inside this seasonal creature!
Students enjoyed the session and are already looking
forward to the special science event that will be taking
place at the end of learning cycle 3!

The Great Gardening Club Sale
As part of their enrichment programme, year 8 pupils undertake a number of weeks of
gardening but, at this time of year, there is limited work to be done outside in the school garden.
The emphasis has therefore been on how gardening is not just a hobby but can also be a
commercial venture with many people depending on gardening for their jobs and incomes.
The present gardening club then had a go
at turning gardening into a business
themselves and have spent a few weeks
enjoying making some seasonal
gardening-related products they could sell
to the rest of the school. During a lunchtime,
pupils sold a range of plants they had grown
as well as garden-themed Christmas cards,
decorated pine cones and mini-wreaths
using holly and its berries. The money from
these sales will go back into buying more
seeds, bulbs and gardening equipment for
future Year 8 gardening groups and there
will be more sales coming up later in the
school year especially in the spring and
summer when the plants and decorations
sold will reflect the changing seasons!

The catering team
created the perfect
Christmas dinner last
week for all students and
staff to enjoy!
Mr Bowden helped to
serve the staff their
lunch!

King’s Presents...

King’s Christmas Carol
Concert
On Wednesday 13th December, a record
number of students at King’s took part in
the first Christmas concert held in the new
build.

The evening showcased a wide variety of musical talent, styles and drama.
We raised £175 for the local church.
A massive well done and thank you to the students and staff involved and the
support shown by parents!

On Wednesday 6th December, the recruits from the CCF enjoyed their first field day at Inskip
Cadet Training Centre. They spent the day rotating around introductory CCF activities;
climbing, abseiling, air rifle shooting and team building exercises. These all tested their
leadership and teamwork and the day was thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended.
Inskip Cadet
Training Centre

An Evening of Dance at King’s...
On Monday evening King’s students from Years 7 - 11 performed for their friends and family.
All performed amazingly and should be extremely proud of themselves!
We had 15 students performing as part of their GCSE PE moderation. This will go towards their final
GCSE PE grade so it was a big night for them!

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The final round of the Warrington Athletic Club School Cross Country
League took place on Saturday 9th December at Walton Hall Gardens, in at
times heavy snow or sleet making the course more difficult and heavy
underfoot.
Lucie Davis, Hannah Laughton, Shauna Clarke and Laura Armstrong
completed the girl’s Year 7 team for Kings. They all ran amazingly in such
horrible conditions finishing within seconds of each other. This was by far
the best team performance to date. On the day Kings Leadership won the
team race. In the overall league competition Great Sankey were the overall
winners on 70 points, Bridgewater 2 nd on 101 points and Kings Leadership
3 rd on 92 points. Kings however were awarded overall third place due to
only having three runners in the first race.
Jacob Cox (Year 7 Boys) also ran for King’s on the day and had an amazing
race and finished 2 nd .
All athletes received medals and ran with true grit and determination.
They are all a credit to King’s and truly demonstrated their ASPIRE values.
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Fencing
William Chrimes won the Beginner Foil Fencing Event and Hope Hopkinson came second and also won the
Technique Award.
The team also competed in our under 13s epee category which was a lot more difficult but they all fenced well.
WELL DONE!
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Terry Caffrey Visits King’s
On the final Wednesday of the year, our poetic Year
7s had the pleasure of hosting Terry Caffrey, a local
poet and writer with bags of inspiration and
enthusiasm for writing and literacy.
The students spent the day with Terry and the
English staff crafting festive poetry to share with
their year group in a poetry parade at the end of the
day.
Each class brought something different to the competition, and produced
some fantastic poetry. Amelia Ellignham, Thomas Shankland and Will
Chrimes, Evie Lythgoe and Lillie-Isabelle Lamerton, Liam Potter, Sam
Murphy and Tegan Wilson were our finalist from each class, and after a
tense final vote, the overall winner of the poetry parade was Sam Murphy
with his poem “Man’s Not Cold”. Congratulations Sam!
Terry also wrote a poem for the school:
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Terry congratulated
the students on
their talent,
creativity and
imagination, and
the whole year
group were
outstanding
throughout the day.
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Sixth Form News
I was part of a group of 5 invited to witness a lecture about Albert Einstein’s life and the
physics he produced explaining special relativity, general relativity, the photoelectric
model and most impactful the production of the maths for the creation of the atomic
bomb. The lecture was engaging with jokes interweaved. At one point the lecturer
stood on one leg whilst explaining general relativity. When asked at the end why he did
it he answered ‘to make sure I didn’t go on and on’. The physics was interesting to
understand but the best part was learning about Einstein’s life. He had once been
invited to be the 2nd president of Israel in 1952. Being a Jew and having strong ties
with Israel he deliberated the decision for a week answering with’ I am deeply moved
by the offer from our State of Israel, and at once saddened and ashamed that I cannot
accept it’. Einstein at the time was mainly remembered for one thing; becoming the
grandfather of the atomic bomb. However I learned from the lecture that he was seen
as a liability and was never actually offered a place on the Manhattan project to make
the atomic bomb. The idea of giving the maths however haunted him, being a pacifist,
he wanted no harm to come to anyone but the Nazis (and their attitudes to jews) were
the cause of his intervention. The lecture allowed me to see a new view on a scientist
we all know.
By Liam Carroll
On Friday 10th November, 5 sixth form students visited Salford University with Miss
Ellis and Mr Hudson to listen to some well-known lecturers and mathematicians.
We arrived at the university at 10:30am, where we had time to enjoy a hot drink and a
cooked breakfast each. Our first lecture was delivered at 11am by Dr Mark Lewney, a
physicist armed with a presentation and a guitar, playing Metallica’s Fade To Black as
the seats filled. Dr Lewney was wildly intelligent and entertaining, and managed to
captivate every student who listened to his lecture. His presentation, “Are We Made Of
Maths?” explored the ways in which maths can be found all around us, and really
brought the A-Level to life. The day consisted of many other lectures, including Sara
Jabbari’s “Fighting disease with mathematics” and Simon Singh’s “Fermat’s Last
Theorem”. Each lecture encouraged us to perceive maths as more than numbers and
symbols; they delved into the deeper thinking behind famous equations, and showed
us that an A-Level in maths opens pathways into many different careers. Overall, the
day was thoroughly enjoyed by students and teachers alike.
By Kayla Marsh

Bike & Road Safety
This is just a gentle reminder about the
importance of bicycle safety. Please may we
encourage all students to purchase a light for
their bikes and a helmet to ensure safety when
riding your bikes to and from school.
Below is a link to a website which gives clear
instructions on how to ride a bike safely. In
addition, please ensure you are riding your
bicycle in a professional manner when on the
school premises, as well as when you are riding
in the local community.
http://kidshealth.org/en/kids/bike-safety.html#
Mr Humphries and Mr Wright would also like to remind
parents/carers who are picking students up from the
school entrance at the end of the day that the speed
limit is 5mph and there is a one-way system.
Many Thanks

Interview with a teacher...
Ms Michelle James
This week we spoke to Ms James, English Practitioner for King’s…
Did you have a flight path?
It may sound completely boring but I have always wanted
to be a teacher. From an early age I decided that I would
be going to university and from there to achieve a teaching
qualification. English was always my favourite subject so
there was never really any question regarding which
subject I would teach.
What inspires you?
People who push themselves out of their comfort zones
and work hard to achieve their goals really inspire me.
Throughout my life meeting people like this has really made
me push myself and challenge my own limits.
Are
you involved in any extra
curricular activities?
I am involved in the creating and running of the King's
Creative writing blog.I love reading all the stories that the
students come up with week after week; their creativity
never ceases to amaze me.
Greatest achievement?
Throughout my life different challenges have crossed my
path causing me to stray from it. Once you stray it is easy
to give up on your goals and dreams so I would definitely
say that my greatest achievement was getting back on that
path and beginning to work hard towards my future career
as a teacher.
What drew you to King’s?
King's is unique in so many ways but the one way that
stands out is the fact that the students are the centre of
everything. King's looks at the whole person and their
future beyond King's rather than just an exam result and
statistic at the end of Year 11. King's ethos is to build
character within a student allowing them to have the best
possible start in life once they leave.
Favourite part of King’s day?
I enjoy the lunch time family dining because it allows me to
talk to the students and get to know them in a different way
than just from behind a desk in the classroom
Have you learnt anything new since
starting at King’s?
Besides the meaning of credimus I have learned that
building a student's character is just as important as
building their education.

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Pay for bags, trips and dinner money by logging in to
our scopay system:
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For general Enquiries please email:
info@kingswarrington.com
Uniform Orders
Student Canteen Cashless Account
At King's we operate a cashless canteen system, in which students use credit to make purchases at our Canteen.
There are three ways in which their cashless accounts can be topped up:-
Online - using Tucasi Please note payments via Tucasi take up to 24 hours to appear on your child's account in school.
At any one of our two Top-Up Machines open daily from 8am till 2pm Payments via our top-up machines appear
instantly on your child's account, enabling them to make payments immediately after topping up. Please note no change is
given.
At Student Services In the event that there are problems with either method described above, students are able to
visit student services and have their accounts topped up there. Payments via student services will also appear instantly on
your child's account. Please note no change is given.
Each student at King's also has a £4.00 overdraft limit. This will ensure that your child will be able to make a total of at least
2 dinner purchases (for example 2 x ham or cheese sandwiches), thus ensuring they do not go without a dinner if they
happen to have no credit on their account. This has been put in place to ensure that our students have a chance to credit
their accounts if they happen to forget to top up etc. Please note, that once this overdraft is maxed out, and no further
payments into the system have been made, the student will not be able to make any further purchases until their account is
suitably credited.
Keeping the canteen account credited helps us in being able to serve our students much more efficiently and quickly.
Therefore we please ask your cooperation in this matter.
Our weekly menus are emailed to our students every Friday, and copies of our breakfast, cold counter and panini menus are
also available around the canteen noticeboards, and upon request.
King’s Term Time Calendar
Tuesday 2nd January 2018—All STAFF AND STUDENTS return to school
Wednesday 10th January—Bike Light Team will be handing out free bike lights at 4pm
12th—14th February 2018—Year 8 Brathay Residential
19th—25th February—Half term holiday