Principal's Communications
You can find updates from the Principal below:
Principal's Update 16th March 2025
Dear all
It has been a fantastic week at KSA, filled with reflection, discussion, and action around inclusion and ensuring that every child’s experience at school is one where they can thrive.
🔹 Ensuring a Consistent Student Experience
📌 On Monday, we dedicated time to mapping out what we believe every child’s experience at KSA should be—both in terms of learning, wellbeing, and safety.
📖 This will serve as our ‘playbook’ for everything we do.
👨👩👦👦 We are now in the process of developing child and parent versions so that we all have a shared understanding of what this means in practice.
🎓 Brooke Weston Trust Inclusion Conference
📅 Tuesday was a big day for inclusion across our trust, as we hosted the Brooke Weston Trust Inclusion Conference.
✔️ 200+ school leaders from across Northamptonshire attended.
✔️ Three KSA staff led workshops, all of which were well received.
✔️ I was privileged to both be the compere for the day and to deliver the closing address. (If anyone is interested in hearing this, please reach out to Lindsay and she’ll be happy to share. Her email is Lindsay.rayment@ketteringscienceacademy.org)
While I missed being on site at the start of the week at school, I thoroughly enjoyed reconnecting with our children on Thursday morning, spending time visiting lessons and speaking with students about their learning. As ever, it was wonderful to see the engagement and enthusiasm of our young people and a lovely way to spend my birthday!
🎒 Uniform & Punctuality Reminders
👕 Uniform: A reminder that students should be in full uniform every day. We understand that reasonable adjustments may be needed in some cases, and we are always happy to discuss these on an individual basis. However, students should not be leaving home in non-regulation uniform.
⏰ Punctuality: We have noticed a number of students arriving late to lessons after lunch, particularly for Period 5. Students must plan ahead if they wish to get a drink before their next lesson and ensure they start moving when the warning bell sounds.
💡 Your support in reinforcing these expectations at home is greatly appreciated.
🌟 Recent Student Experiences
🎭 Dance Workshop with Moving Together
🩰 On Wednesday, 21 students participated in a Contemporary Dance workshop led by Moving Together, a professional dance company.
🎶 Throughout the day, students worked on choreography, movement expression, and building confidence in performance.
👏 By the end of the session, they had put together a fantastic final performance—stepping outside their comfort zones and showing incredible dedication!
📆 This same group will perform at Corby Cube in June, and we are so proud of their hard work and enthusiasm.
🧠 Supporting Mental Health & Wellbeing
🎤 On Wednesday, we welcomed Lucien Moon from The Prime Agency, who delivered an engaging session on mental health and healthy lifestyles for our Key Stage 3 students.
🎶 Alongside his powerful message, he brought year groups together through music and performance, encouraging students to sing, dance, and step out of their comfort zones.
👏 It was fantastic to see everyone coming together, embracing the moment, and supporting one another.
💬 His key message: Talk to someone if you’re feeling worried or concerned.
✅ Who can students talk to?
- Their tutor, year team, or pastoral staff.
- Any trusted adult in school.
- Martha, our school counsellor, who offers regular drop-in sessions at the Rainbow Wing (details available on posters around school).
🏗️ Construction Partnership & Kettering General Hospital
🔨 We have formed an exciting new partnership with Sir Robert McAlpine and King & Moffatt, who are currently working on major development projects at Kettering General Hospital.
👷♂️ As part of their commitment to education and community engagement, they are eager to provide our students with first-hand insight into careers in construction, engineering, and project management.
💼 This partnership will include:
- Work placements & site visits for students
- CV writing & interview workshops with industry professionals
- Support for Design Technology & Construction students, helping them link classroom learning to real-world applications
🏠 Next steps:
- On Thursday, we will be meeting with industry representatives to discuss specific opportunities for our students.
- We will also be exploring their offer to help fund and support the transformation of one of our outbuildings into a dedicated bricklaying workshop.
- This will provide our students with hands-on vocational learning experiences, preparing them for future careers in the industry.
🎨 Expanding Our Visits & Trips – KSA Sixth Form
📌 This week, our Year 12 and 13 students visited the Cranedale Centre for advanced fieldwork, as part of their Biology studies.
✔️ They applied investigative sampling techniques across diverse ecosystems.
✔️ They developed practical & mathematical skills and gained real-world experience.
🖼️ Year 13 Art & Photography also had a fantastic trip to the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, for their A-level externally set assignment.
They spent the day exploring exhibitions and gathering inspiration for their projects.
⭐ We are always thrilled to provide these enriching opportunities for our sixth formers and will continue to expand these valuable experiences for them.
📅 Upcoming Events & Reminders
📅 Tuesday 18th March – Year 9 Immunisations
✅ Parents of students involved have received separate information.
👨👩👧 Thursday 20th March – Year 10 Parents' Evening
🔹 We look forward to seeing as many of you there as possible!
📅 Friday 21st March – Red Nose Day
✅ Wear a red item such as a jumper, tie, t-shirt or headband. Normal school uniform should otherwise be worn. £1 optional donation. This is not a non-uniform day.
👨👩👧 Wednesday 26th March – Raising Achievement Evening (Year 10 & 11)
📖 This event will help parents and students learn about effective revision and study skills, ensuring they are prepared for upcoming exams.
❗ Note: This event has been moved from Thursday 27th March.
🎭 Thursday 27th March – Brain Play Performance
🎟️ As part of the National Theatre programme, students will perform Brain Play in front of a supportive KSA audience before their big performance at the Royal & Derngate Theatre in Northampton later this month. Tickets can be purchased on Wisepay.
💬 Need More Information?
If you have any questions or need further details, please don’t hesitate to get in touch—we are always happy to help.
I look forward to updating you again next week.
Mrs Giovanelli
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