Updates

We hope everyone has a great summer! But before you forget about school completely for the next six weeks, let's reflect on the past year . . .

2023-24

AUTUMN TERM (September-December)

Here's what we did this term . . .

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

For last year's Black History Month, we focused on the theme 'Saluting our Sisters', which highlighted the crucial role that black women have played in shaping history, inspiring change, and building communities.

We picked out some of our favourite titles written by and featuring black women.

HORROR GENRE WEEK

Our Horror Genre Week theme this year was Gothic with links to The Woman in Black and Wednesday.

AUTHOR VISIT

Last year, we were fortunate enough to be visited by award winning children's author, Chris Bradford.

As an author, Chris Bradford employs a technique he terms ‘method-writing’. For his BODYGUARD series, Chris embarked on an intensive close protection course to become a qualified professional bodyguard. During his training, he acquired skills in unarmed combat, defensive driving, tactical firearms, threat assessments, surveillance, and even anti-ambush exercises.

BOOKBUZZ

Both KGA Bay House and KGA Brune Park took part in BookTrust’s Bookbuzz programme last year, which aims to get children reading! Year 7 pupils have chosen a book to keep from a selection of sixteen titles. The books were wrapped and gifted to the pupils in the last week of term, so they could be enjoyed at home over the holiday.

BookTrust is the UK’s largest children’s reading charity that transforms lives by getting children and families reading. We hope that Bookbuzz will encourage your child to read more frequently, which will help improve their wellbeing, spark interesting conversations and inspire creativity.

CHRISTMAS WEEK

Our theme for Christmas last year was A Christmas Carol.

We also did some festive reads:

The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore
The Santa Trap by Jonathan Emmett
The Smelly Sprout by Allan Plenderleith
The Dinosaur That Pooped Christmas! By Tom Fletcher and Dougie Poynter

Which were followed by our A Christmas Carol hunt where students had to match up quotes to the characters who said them.

One More Sleep Till Christmas - Muppets Christmas Carol

SPRING TERM (January-March)

Here's what we did this term . . .

PRIDE MONTH

February was LGBTQ+ History Month and this year's theme was Medicine!

Visit the Library to learn more about LGBTQ+ people's contribution to medicine and to borrow from our ever-growing LGBTQ+ collection!

WORLD BOOK DAY

Our World Book Day theme this year was Myths and Legends.

Students came in non-uniform or fancy dress for £1 to raise money for our chosen charity and the library.

Students were involved in our World Book Day activities, took pictures with our displays, and helped donate with our cake sale!

For more, go to our World Book Day page!

CRACK OPEN A BOOK THIS EASTER

This year we tasked students with choosing a wrapped book to borrow with only a few keywords to describe the story.

This is always fun and helps learners widen their range of reading with genres and themes, and to not judge a book by its cover!

SUMMER TERM (April-July)

Here's what we did this term . . .

BISCUITS AND READ

Since March, the library has been hosting monthly Biscuits and Read sessions for Year 8. This has given pupils the opportunity to spend some quality time reading for pleasure facilitated by our wonderful and supportive School Pastors.

Pupil feedback has been positive - “I liked it because you have time to relax and enjoy reading” and “I found the book interesting because it showed what life would be like if there was a world disaster."

Our school Pastors have commented: “I have enjoyed spending time with the pupils carrying out an activity together” and “the students have been engaged and enjoyed discussing what we were reading."

PRIDE MONTH

Happy Pride Month from us to you! For Pride month, like always, we promoted our brilliant selection of LGBTQ+ books!

Have you checked out our LGBTQ+ section yet?

SIXTH FORM EPQ

The Sixth Form Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) runs every year and gives students the chance to complete a university-level project on a topic of their choice. Miss Sisk provides the taught-time sessions for the EPQ, giving guidance on academic skills including research, and citing and referencing. Students then have the opportunity to visit the University of Southampton's Hartley Library to access millions of brilliant academic resources to use in their projects. Topics chosen by students this year include:

The need for prosthetics in veterinary sciences
The link between architecture and mental health
How dystopian literature is reflected in modern America
The extent to which childhood affects adult health

EUROS

Did you keep up with the Euros? We did!

If your football interests have stuck around after the final, check out some of our football fiction!

BOOK FAIR

Students enjoyed visiting the book fair in the last few weeks of term. There was a selection of YA, teenage, and children's fiction and non-fiction, along with lots of fun stationary!

MANGA & ANIME CLUB

Here are a few things the Manga & Anime club did this year . . .

Last October, the Anime Movie club started off with a showing of Suzume.

"17-year-old Suzume's journey begins in a quiet town in Kyushu when she encounters a young man who tells her, 'I'm looking for a door.' What Suzume finds is a single weathered door standing upright in the midst of ruins as though it was shielded from whatever catastrophe struck. Seemingly drawn by its power, Suzume reaches for the knob... Doors begin to open one after another all across Japan, unleashing destruction upon any who are near. Suzume must close these portals to prevent further disaster. Guided by these mysterious doors, Suzume's journey is about to begin."

PG, Released Apr 14, 2023, 2h 2m, Fantasy/Adventure/Anime

In our opinion, Suzume has the prettiest artwork and cutest kitty!

For more information on our Anime Movie club, look at our Manga page!

Last December, the Anime Movie club finished the year with The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.

"A high-school girl named Makoto acquires the power to travel back in time, and decides to use it for her own personal benefits. Little does she know that she is affecting the lives of others just as much as she is her own."

Released 2006, 1h 38m, Comedy/Drama/Sci-Fi/Anime

The Anime Movie club started off this new year with Promare.

"Thirty years has passed since the appearance of Burnish, a race of flame-wielding mutant beings, who destroyed half of the world with fire. When a new group of aggressive mutants appears, a battle begins."

PG-13, Released Sep 20, 2019, 1h 51m, Adventure/Sci-Fi/Anime

Spring term, the Manga club looked at Superheroes and Supervillains in anime and manga, with club members creating a top 10 list of heroes/villains before deciding on their favourite. Following this they created their own anime hero/villain.

They also explored the different trends in Japanese pop culture looking at movies, video games, J-pop and idol culture.

In February they explored the Japanese festival Setsubun, which is celebrated by throwing beans around the home, temples and shrines across the country. When the beans are thrown, you shout out "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!" (devils out, fortune in). Afterwards you pick up and eat the number of beans, which corresponds to your age. Following the bean throwing, members then took part in mochi tasting, voting for their favourite flavour.

They finished the term looking at the process of designing anime themed video games and Disney vs Anime. Japanese animation has become increasingly popular in recent years, with award winning films Suzume, Your Name, Weathering with You and the Ghibli films. Members looked at the difference between the two artistic styles and then voted on which one they preferred.

March was much more enjoyable with the showing of The Boy and the Beast.

"Two souls, living very different lives, wander alone and isolated in their respective worlds. For nine-year-old Ren, the last person who treated him with any form of kindness has been killed and he is shunned by what is left of his family. With no parents, no real family, and no place to go, Ren escapes into the confusing streets and alleyways of Shibuya. Through the twists and turns of the alleys, Ren stumbles into the intimidating Kumatetsu, who leads him to the beast realm of Shibuten. For Kumatetsu, the boy represents a chance for him to become a candidate to replace the Lord of the realm once he retires. While nearly unmatched in combat, Kumatetsu’s chilly persona leaves him with no disciples to teach and no way to prove he is worthy of becoming the Lord’s successor. While the two share different goals, they agree to help each other in order to reach them. Kumatetsu searches for recognition; Ren, now known as Kyuuta, searches for the home he never had. As the years pass by, it starts to become apparent that the two are helping each other in more ways than they had originally thought. Perhaps there has always been less of a difference between them, a boy and a beast, than either of the two ever realized."

PG-13, 2015, 1h 59m, Action/Adventure/Fantasy/Animation

This last term they looked at festivals that fall under the category ‘kisai’ meaning strange festivals. Included were some of the most interesting and unique festivals in Japan such as giant long-nosed goblins, a snake shrine and crowds of people dancing with body paint on their bellies. Club members created their own Matsuri (festival), presented their ideas and then voted on the festival they’d most like to attend.

They also explored kaiju (giant monsters) linked to Godzilla films. Club members created their own Kaiju giving them a name, description and any abilities it may have.

The term has culminated in the annual Anime and Manga Awards, celebrating the best anime, manga and music across the industry. Nominations included Demon Slayer, Komi Can’t Communicate, One Piece, the movie Suzume, live-action series One Piece and music by BTS.

We ended this year with a viewing of Summer Wars.

"A young math genius solves a complex equation and inadvertently puts a virtual world's artificial intelligence in a position to destroy Earth."

PG, 2009, 1h 54m, Sci-Fi/Adventure/Anime

CREATIVE WRITING CLUB

Here are a few things the Creative Writing club have been doing this year . . .

Here's an extract from The Bellator Assassin and the Jewels of Nyzaia by Lily (Year 10)

‘The sound of fluttering filled the air as the flower transformed before them. A shower of golden dust rained down from the flower as more petals grew up from behind the closed yellow centre and golden orbs decorated the tip of each petal, hanging on by golden threads. Smaller petals sprouted around the centre and clung to it like a blanket as every petal turned lemon coloured, the pink details disappearing into the flower. The flower emitted a golden glow as Calla held it, lighting up the area.'

Here’s an extract from Sunrise Academy by Robyn (Year 8)

‘I didn’t mean to start the fire. I was just stressed. She was coming towards me, shouting, screaming. It wasn't my fault. I can’t explain it. The fire was just there. My hands were normal, cold even. Then suddenly there was . . . fire, ignited from my fingertips. Except I couldn't feel the pain–the burning you should feel when you are on fire–I felt . . . powerful. Then the curtains went up in flames, running up to the ceiling. I heard the scream of the fire alarm pounding in my ears. It was a bunsen burner, I managed to say. The kids in my class ran like a riot out of the room, pushing past me as if I wasn’t there. Did they see what really happened?’

Here's an extract by Sophie (Year 8)

'Taria winced at the sticks breaking and poking at her bare feet. She swerved to dodge any lone trees that were in her way. Her long blonde waves kept getting snagged by stray branches and she was covered in dead, auburn leaves. Running probably wasn’t the most logical course of action, but when you meet a group of suspicious scouts that are particularly protective of this part of their woods, there isn’t much more you can do without being shot the second you make a move. She tightened her grip on the dagger that she had slipped off the leader's belt. It was engraved with some form of foreign tongue that she had never seen and had a gleaming silver blade that slivered down in a thin wavy strip to wrap itself around the fine wooden handle.'

Here's an extract from The Rose He Gave by Bluebelle (Year 10)

'It was quiet. The air was filled with tiny little dust flurries floating around gently in front of the heavy dark red velvet curtains, drawn shut. There was no light apart from the soft glow dancing under the doors that led to the studio, which seemed so close but so far. Her chest was rising and falling slowly as she tried to soothe her nerves and slow her heart. Inhale, she closed her eyes, exhale. Her breathing slowed as she smiled gently. Light flashed before her eyes, a breath hitching in her throat. Her eyelids fluttered open allowing eyes of emerald green to search the air around– the scarlet of the curtain was gone, the wood of the floor beneath her feet . . . gone. Pure black– the only colour as far as the eye could see. Nothing but total darkness and an innate sense of fear, but a creeping sense of comfort in the peacefulness of her surroundings dwelled in the pit of her stomach, setting her on edge. A small noise off in the distance made her jump and squint her eyes in the direction from which it came. Footsteps grew louder, louder, louder. Then silence.

“Eliza,” a voice whispered in her ear.'