From the Headteacher
It has been another really busy week in school, welcoming new students and staff for induction sessions, seeing Year 12 students take part in a geography field trip to Cardiff and of course, celebrating the arts at the wonderful Summer Arts Festival. You can read all the news below.
Please do read the full newsletter which also contains information about checking COVID vaccination status and a drive to ensure that students are protected against the current rise in measles cases.
The sun is shining and the forecast for the week ahead is for a spell of fine weather, which I hope that you will enjoy.
Euan Ferguson
Examinations
Congratulations to all our students who have now completed their internal examinations and many thanks to our Examinations Officer and the staff team, who so skilfully administer and run the exams.
Some of our Year 10 students will spend the next two weeks on work experience and others will be involved in a range of activities on-site.
Whilst we look forward to the summer break, we will be maintaining expectations and the students will still be working hard, right up to the end of term.
Safeguarding Updates
Vaccination Records
If a family needs to get confirmation of a student’s COVID vaccination status, please do not contact the school.
Vaccination records are kept by the NHS and you can call the Vaccine Data Resolution Service (VDRS) on 119, and then choose option 1 for England and then option 4 for VDRS. They will be able to assist with all queries.
Further details can be found online, search ‘vaccine record help’ or click here.
Measles Outbreak
As stated previously there is growing concern about the increasing number of measles cases in young people. Public Health England are urging parents/carers to check the vaccination status for their children to ensure that they are up to date.
If you have a concern about the safety or welfare of your or another child, please email the safeguarding team at safeguarding@isleworthsyon.org.
Free School Meals
We are pleased to confirm that we are able to provide, to eligible students, free school meal vouchers for the summer holiday. The vouchers will be issued in two emails, one at the start of the holidays and the second voucher on 15 August. The vouchers will be to the value of £3 per day.
Word of the Week
The word of the week for next week is “negate“.
Staffing
We have just advertised for a part time librarian. The post will be for 2 to 3 days a week. All details can be found on the ‘Vacancies’ page.
News
Year 6 to 7 Transition
On Tuesday, we were delighted to hold our Year 7 Transition Day – for families that will be starting Year 7 in September. First, we welcomed the boys – resplendent in their primary uniforms – for a taster day in school. Students took part in a range of lessons, including introductions to subjects like history, geography, English, MFL, PE and others! Students also experienced an Isleworth & Syon assembly to introduce them to our key values.
Then, in the evening we welcomed parents/carers for our Transition Evening. This hour-long event gave parents/carers a crash course in life at I&S, and gave more information about important aspects of school life. We were very impressed with the attendance.
We now look forward to welcoming these families to school properly in September, as their six-month induction process continues. That process finishes with the Induction celebration assembly at the end of the Autumn Term.
Primary Visit – Heart Dissection
Our Year 6 theme continued on Wednesday morning as we welcomed boys and girls from Ivybridge Primary for a practical session with Ms Stead and the science team. Students learned about the circulatory system and then had the chance to carefully dissect a heart – once they had been shown the proper safety precautions, of course! They were ably helped by some of our Sixth Form biologists, and it was a fantastic morning for everyone involved.
Summer Arts Festival
Thursday night saw the return of our Summer Arts Festival, held in person for the first time in three years. Over 150 students represented the school. The event was split into different areas with audience members free to move around as they pleased. On offer included:
- Arts Award students demonstrating their talent
- Drama clubs from KS3 and KS4 performing live
- An exhibition of student films plus live script read-throughs
- Live bands and piano recitals
- Rap and vocal performances in the dining rooms
- An art and DT exhibition featuring work from across the school.
Then, all visitors gathered together for a final showpiece featuring all performing students, plus our staff band! It is fair to say that the roof was well and truly taken off, with an incredible energy in the room. Our packed audience gave the event a truly special feel – showcasing the very best that Isleworth & Syon School has to offer.
Year 12 Geography Fieldwork
Our Year 12s have spent the last three days in the Welsh capital of Cardiff. Accompanied by Miss Lawler and Mr McAlinden, they have been undergoing vital fieldwork to prepare for their exams next year. This means that they have been studying Cardiff closely and observing important geographical landmarks.
This includes investigating coastal features and the economic development of the areas. They will then write this up as a case study in those final exams. The weather has been superb and so has the boys’ commitment. Well done to them!
Photography Competition Winner!
A few weeks ago, we told you about a photography competition hosted by the local Isleworth Society. Several of our students reached the final shortlist for the event, and we were thrilled to learn that Rohan Seehra (7Br) won the ‘Isleworth people, communities and business’ category. Well done to Rohan for his achievement, as well as the art department for encouraging so many fantastic entries to this community competition!
Hounslow Youth Champions
Next academic year, we will be running the Hounslow Youth Health Champions programme in school with a select group of sporty students. The programme gives the skills, knowledge and confidence to act as peer mentors, increasing awareness of healthy lifestyles and encouraging involvement in activities to promote good health. As a team, the Youth Health Champions will plan and deliver health promotion campaigns to their peers.
This week, students have undertaken training, with facilitated workshops before an assessment to earn an RSPH Level 2 Certificate which is equivalent to a GCSE. Well done to the students who were chosen – look out for more about this programme next year.