The cast of GREASE took to the stage, at The Albany Theatre Coventry to a sold out audience. The atmosphere was electric and finished with a standing ovation. Each student worked so hard, demonstrated team work, kindness and determination. The amount of talent on the stage was unreal!!
What a show and what a cast! Massive well done all.
We were delighted once again, to welcome ex President Kennedy School student, Callum Wilson into school.
The current Newcastle United and England striker visited students during a PE lesson. The students were learning how to do shot put and were able to teach Callum the key technical aspects and teaching points on performing the activity with success. Raphael G was particularly confident with his coaching and helped Callum launch the shot about 20m!
Callum then supported some of the Year 8 students and took penalties at Kamran, Dylan and Nash. The first two students both made great saves from Callum's strikes but Nash was unable to keep the third effort out.
Word had spread that Callum was on site and many students (and staff), understandably, were asking for autographs and selfies from the football star.
After a little chat with Mr Sheridan, who taught Callum when he was a student at President Kennedy School, it was time to leave. A final few students were waiting for Callum before he headed back home to Newcastle.
A wonderful afternoon was had by all and we look forward to welcoming Callum to school again very soon.
Thanks to all the staff and students who made this visit so memorable and contributed to a fantastic experience for all.
Mr Sheridan, P.E Department
Well done to all 31 Year 9 students who took part in the Bronze DofE training day on Saturday.
A first taste of the outdoor expedition, students all completed a short walk, learning valuable navigation and map reading skills from experienced staff volunteers.
Students had a crash course in pitching a tent for a good night's sleep and folding it away correctly so as to keep it as dry and clean as possible for the next use.
Students were also taught how to safely set up, light, and cook on a Trangia camping stove which they will use for all of their cooking when on expedition.
The students engaged in all of the activities with a keen interest and enthusiasm, learning valuable expedition skills that they will use again after half term when they complete their final Bronze expedition.
A huge thank you to all of the staff volunteers who gave their time and expertise to make this an engaging and valuable training experience for all of the students.
Mrs Sly, DofE Leader
Year 7 students took to the stage in The Lion King Junior - The Musical.
They worked so hard and showed such passion and determination.
The cast performed to a sell-out audience over two nights and every student involved rose to the occasion.
There was so much talent on stage - it was hard to believe these students are eleven and twelve years old with only five weeks worth of rehearsals under their belt!
The finale show was complimented with a joint performance with the original Simba from London's West End, Roger Wright - a truly emotional performance.
A massive well done to all - a very proud Performing Arts department!
Miss Walsh, Leader of Performing Arts
The Bridge is delighted to have been awarded The Gold Award for their participation in the Shakespeare Schools Festival.
It is awarded to Schools who have performed Shakespearean plays over five years.
We have completed our 6th Year with an amazing performance of The Tempest, at the Belgrade in November 2022.
The whole process has, over the years, allowed students to engage with Shakespeare's plays with a series of workshops and direction by professional actors and has also given them an amazing experience of performing in a professional theatre; The Belgrade Theatre, along with other schools around the country.
Mrs Arnett said, " This award is in recognition of all the hard work students in The Bridge have given over the years. We are grateful for the opportunity of being in the Festival every year and are looking forward to being part of it again next academic year!"
Mrs Arnett, Student Leadership and Character - The Bridge
At President Kennedy School I am subject Lead for Health and Social Care and teacher KS4 and KS5.
Over the bank holiday weekend, I was selected to be part of the state duties team where the Scouts of the Commonwealth supported and gave service to our communities as part of the Coronation of King Charles III.
I have been an active member of the Scout Association and volunteered my time as an adult, for twenty eight years in Coventry. As a scout, I have promised to do my duty to the King, serve my community and help other people, and it was a privilege that I could uphold my scouting promise during this historical event. As scouts, we live by our values of integrity; to be honest, trustworthy and loyal. Respect; for both self and others. Care: we are expected to support other people at all times. Belief: in all faiths and attitudes, and Cooperation; that collectively we can make a difference.
My role started on Thursday afternoon with briefings of the event and over Friday I was supporting ten young people from across the Commonwealth aged 18-25 to be ready for the event, one of which was from Australia who had flown here to be part of the Coronation.
Saturday started at 3am and we were based in St James's Park during the big screening of the Coronation. Collectively, we ensured that people were looked after, that they were able to find their way, and that everyone had an amazing day despite the inclement weather and the mud.
The day finished back at the campsite at 7pm.
It was a huge honour to be a part of this team.
Ms Miller, Lead for Health and Social Care
The cast of this Year 7s production of 'The Lion King', had a workshop with Roger Wright, the original 'Simba' in London's West End's production of The Lion King.
Roger worked with the students on their performance and gave great advice and tips. He followed by giving an inspiring Q & A session.
The students also had the opportunity to sing with Roger one of the songs from the show, which was extremely moving. What an opportunity! Such an inspiring and fabulous afternoon.
Thank you, Roger, we hope our performance makes you proud.
Hakuna Matata!
Miss Walsh, Leader of Performing Arts
Students from Years 7, 8 and 9 took part in a HS2 STEM Event in school delivered by The Small Piece Trust. The students in groups of 4 took part in activities that put their STEM knowledge to the test - they had to build a paper structure to hold a 500g weight no glue or tape allowed just paper. The highest structure a group of students managed was 66 cm tall. The teams were then tasked with designing and building a tunnel that would fit a toy train through and hold a much weight as possible, it also had to be at least 60 cm long.
There were many excellent designs, and the majority of the tunnels held some weight, but the winning teams tunnel supported 4.5kg of weight. Which is fantastic considering the only materials they had to build their tunnel were paper straws, scissors and masking tape.
Students learned about the UK railway infrastructure, railway construction, how tunnels are made and about all the careers involved in building the UK’s railways.
There were so many more careers than we could have imagined involved in building and maintaining railways from Civil Engineering, Data Analyst, Rail Engineer, Designers to Business Administrators and Solicitors.
The students really enjoyed their day and hopefully took away some ideas of the type of careers they can do with their Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths Skills.
Miss Worwood , Leader of Careers
On Tuesday night, the Year 8 rugby team took part in the end of season Coventry Schools Rugby Festival.
This consisted five other schools in who all played each other in a league format. President Kennedy School beat Barrs Hill, Stoke Park, Coundon Court and Finham Park to set up a winner takes all game vs Bablake and King Henry VIII Schools.
This proved to be a close and exciting game with BKHS scoring first, before President Kennedy School went into the lead only for BKHS to tie level. As the game entered the dying seconds President Kennedy School broke from their own half and some excellent support play led to the winning try and jubilant celebrations by the Year 8 boys.
Well done to all the boys who have played this year.
Mr Garlick, P.E Department
A group of Year 7, 8 and 9 students had an exciting opportunity to develop their instrumental, orchestral ensemble and music making skills during their visit the Midlands Art Centre (MAC).
The event was led by the "National Orchestra For All" whose programme is about giving young people an opportunity to rehearse and play in a symphony orchestra.
I would like to thank all students involved; you were so engaged, focused, thoughtful, polite... not to mention passionate in your playing! The NOFA team said that they were genuinely blown away by the positive attitude they arrived with, and maintained, throughout an intense but rewarding day. Well done!
Mr Channer, Head of Music
On Tuesday, three students from Year 8 and 9 were invited to a special event at the University of Warwick; this was in recognition of their hard work participating in the after school English club Transformations.
Run by the university, the club was based around the theme of 'Voices' in which the students discussed socio-political issues such as the climate crisis, prejudice and identity. At the end of the programme, all students were invited to submit a creative response - either a speech, poem, story or piece of art work - based on their learning. The three school finalists were Ritik (Year 9), Shante and Dheeraj (both Year 8).
When we arrived on campus, we were given a tour of the facilities including state of the art technology, the newly opened Faculty of Arts Building and the library. Next, we had a poetry master class with Nicola Hamer and an awards ceremony for the school and competition finalists.
We were thrilled to learn that out of the ten schools in the competition and with over ninety entries, Dheeraj was the overall winner for the city! Emma Mason, the head of English at the University of Warwick, spoke passionately about how moving she found Dheeraj's poem, praising his creativity, insight and compassion.
I was so impressed by the mature and insightful questions our students were asking the university ambassadors, as well as their excellent behaviour throughout the day. As always, they did the school proud! Thank you to all of the students who participated in Transformations this year. Miss Stentoff, Teacher of English
Students in Year 11 had the opportunity to watch a production of Macbeth performed for them in the school hall. It was a wonderful experience, which allowed them to consolidate their study of the play, as well as enjoying the text as Shakespeare intended – aloud!
The production was a small team of three actors who used costumes, voice and gestures to play a variety of characters, all while still staying faithful to the text.
Many Year 11 students commented that hearing the key quotations in the context of each scene really helped them to understand the impact and meanings intended by the author.
After the performance, the actors were kind enough to run a Q&A session where they shared more fascinating insights into the psychology of the characters, contextual links and their own personal interpretations of key scenes. Altogether, it was a great afternoon!
Miss Stentoft Teacher of English