From the Co-Headteachers
It has been a pleasure walking the school over the past week. In particular, we would like to highlight the huge array of topical discussions and reading aloud which have been taking place in lessons. For example, in English lessons, students have been reciting poems as part of our drive to promote Poetry By Heart. It’s been inspiring to see so many students speaking aloud with confidence and clarity and making rapid progress. We take notice when and what students do well as well as praise them regularly, consistently and specifically.
An example of this approval and admiration took place on Monday when, mid-year, we congratulated our top readers from Key Stages 3 and 4. These students READ, READ, READ – they read in silence, read to adults, read and share their love of books to their siblings. We are immensely proud of these student leaders who we call our Reading Ambassadors.
We have been getting some great feedback from families about this newsletter – thank you if you have left us a comment via our feedback form. It is still open so feel free to drop us a comment, positive or negative, so that we can keep improving.
Simon Fisher and Jo Higginbottom
Welcome to our New Intake!
On Wednesday this week, offers were sent out to Year 6 families ahead of their start with us in Year 7 in September.
To those families, welcome to the Isleworth & Syon community – we hope that you enjoy this weekly slice of life in school. We are very much looking forward to meeting you in the weeks ahead.
We also recommend reading the entire archive for this online publication, so you can learn more about what’s been happening so far this year – as well as some of the things you can look forward to!
Hounslow Youth Council
Next week, students will be able to exercise their democratic rights by voting for the candidate that they would like to represent them as a Member of Youth Parliament (MYP) on the Hounslow Youth Council (HYC).
The HYC is a group of young people aged between 11 and 18 from different backgrounds and experiences. Their role is to represent the views of children and young people from across Hounslow borough – this is active citizenship. We are thrilled to take part as it teaches students valuable lessons about the role of democracy in public life.
Examinations – Good Luck
Students in Years 11 and 13 embark on their Pre-Public Examinations all next week! These important internal assessments are their final opportunity to sit papers in examination conditions before their public exams this summer. They will be a fantastic way for students to identify areas for improvement so they can maximise their progress. Good luck to the students – we hope that your revision pays off!
Resourcefulness
We are trying to build resourcefulness and resilience in all our students. Here are some hints and tips for how you as parents/carers can support this drive.
1. Try and resist the temptation to do everything for your child, as they need to learn to both organise their school bag and manage their time efficiently.
2. Encourage your child to get organised the evening before school. This saves themselves (and you!) a lot of undue stress in the morning.
3. Have a calendar on display at home clearly marked with their timetable and the different equipment needed each day (sports kit, music, projects etc.). Encourage the habit of looking at this schedule the night before and organising schoolbags there and then.
4. Check that your child is keeping up with their PPA (homework) assignments.
5. If your child travels to school on public transport, check their punctuality. There has been a lot of disruptions of late. Reflect on whether they need to catch an earlier bus or train.
Club of the Week – Science Club
Staff: Ms Stead
Location: 124 and 125
Who: Year 7
When: Thursday, 3.05 – 4.05pm
Since September, our Year 7s have had the opportunity to participate in a weekly after-school Science Club.
Science Club allows the opportunity to explore new curiosities and outlook on different areas of life, developing a deeper and relatable understanding of the world. It is a session where students come to relax, enjoy, nurture their love of science, and build their confidence to continue studying science further up the school. Building balloon buggies, as shown in the photo above, is just one fun example! So far, students have also practiced fire writing as well as investigated changing the colour of a flame and how fireworks are made.
Any students who wish to attend should speak to their science teacher.
The above is just one of our outstanding array of opportunities, which continue to grow in school under the supervision of Extra-Curricular Co-Ordinator, Mr McDonnell. So far this term, over 320 students have attended at least one club. This showcases the breadth of opportunity available to students at Isleworth & Syon.
There is something for everyone, with activities taking place on every single weekday. Please do check out the full list of opportunities!
Pride of House
For those who are not aware, our weekly Pride of House awards are a fantastic way to reward students for working hard and contributing to the life of the school. Each week, the pastoral staff nominate a student from each house! You can check out the full roster by clicking a house badge below.
Parent Portal Access
Many of our parents/carers regularly use the Parent Portal, a fantastic tool to keep up to date with students’ homework tasks, timetable and attendance.
We have recently learned that the company who makes the Parent Portal has discontinued the ‘Insight’ app which you may use. This means that it is no longer available on Google Play or the App Store.
Do not worry, though, as you can still access the Parent Portal via the homepage of this website or this direct link: https://parent.isleworthsyon.org/webapp/.
Safeguarding
It is vitally important that parents/carers always tune in and report back on local and national issues which result from their discussions with their son/ward. These “live” youth issues help inform our innovative PSHE education programme, which aims to equip students with a toolkit of knowledge and skills to make the right decisions.
If you know of any issues that can feed into PSHE, either use our feedback link or use the email address below.
If you have a concern about the safety or welfare of your child, please email the safeguarding team at safeguarding@isleworthsyon.org. If there is an emergency call 999 or, for non-urgent matters that require police attention, call 101.
Coming Up!
- Monday 6 – Friday 10 March – Pre-Public Examinations (PPEs)
- Monday 6 – Friday 10 March – National Careers Week
- Thursday 16 March – Key Stage 4 Courses Evening (Year 9)
- Thursday 23 March – Year 10 Parents/Carers Evening
- Thursday 30 March – Drama & Music Festival
- Friday 31 March – End of Spring Term (students dismissed at 12.30pm)
Word of the Week
The word of the week is prospect.
Careers Corner
Next week is National Careers Week! It’s an opportunity to showcase to our students the huge variety of career paths that are available to them.
Throughout the week, students will have the opportunity to hear from three external visitors (two of which are former Isleworthians) on their career paths, and their successes and challenges in the fields of construction, digital advertising and sustainable energy. On Teams, students will be able to complete profile activities that suggest potential career paths that may not have previously been apparent to them, enter competitions, and get an insight into the local labour market.
We recommend this useful parent/carer guide to National Careers Week, explaining the changing landscape of qualification and training options.
Don’t forget to follow our dedicated careers Twitter account at @IsleworthCEAIG.
News
Student Council
At Isleworth & Syon, giving students a voice is very important – so that they can continue to the ongoing development of the school. On Wednesday, we held our second Student Council meeting of the year. 52 students from across year groups came together to discuss school matters such as quality of education, literacy, personal development, crime & safety, extra-curricular opportunities, facilities and how we can further celebrate diversity at I&S.
Students were outstanding representatives for their peers at the meeting. It is important to us that all of our students have the opportunity to share their views and opinions, so please do encourage your son/ward to complete the Student Voice survey which they can access through their year group Team.
Co-Heads Celebration
The Co-Headteachers held their latest Celebration Meeting with selected students in Key Stage 3 and 4. This has been a regular feature this half-term as a means of celebrating students who have gone above and beyond in areas of school life.
The latest theme was ‘reading’, with students selected because of either their amount of library loans, their great Accelerated Reader scores, their regular fantastic book reviews, or their overall reading progress. Mr Fisher and Ms Higginbottom met with the students before break and treated them to something from the canteen as they talked about reading in school. Students had the chance to air their opinions and offer suggestions for how our whole-school reading drive can be enhanced.
Borough Road Memorial
At I&S we understand the importance of connecting with our local community. So we were delighted on Friday afternoon to be invited to a special ceremony at the local Borough Road memorial.
Led by Councillor Tony Louki, a plaque was unveiled commemorating students of the former Borough Road College that died in the two World Wars. The site of the old college is opposite the school and is now residential flats (Academy Place). We took five Student Ambassadors to this short event, including our resident bugler Max Manson (Year 10). It was lovely to see former staff and students of the college also present – and a fitting reminder of the importance of remembering those who gave their lives.
British Airways Work Experience
As mentioned earlier in this newsletter, our careers programme is a key part of school life. We were delighted to help facilitate one Year 10 students on a four-day placement at British Airways.
Harsh Joshi (Year 10) had a fantastic time, taking part in several virtual sessions as well as two days on-site at Heathrow. He received a tour of the BA engineering base and visited an aircraft, as well as learning about the raft of apprenticeship options with the company. Harsh commented after day 2 that it had been “one of the best days of my life”, and he had an incredible week. Well done to him for seizing this fantastic opportunity!
Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge
Another Year 10 boy, Kai Mahoon, had a fantastic opportunity this week, taking part in the regional final of the Jack Petchey Speak Out competition, held at Brentford School for Girls.
The Jack Petchey programme began in school last November, where a selection of Year 10 high-potential learners took part in a workshop with a trained facilitator. The aim was to hone their public speaking skills! Kai was our best performer so qualified for the regional final, taking part against students from other schools in the area. The title of his regional speech was ‘How can a Rubik’s Cube change your life?’ – a fascinating topic which he discussed very well. He was highly praised for his performance by the judges and fellow attendees!
Performing Shakespeare
There was another regional final taking place in this busy week, as two Year 9s headed to Featherstone High School on Monday for the next stage of the ESU Performing Shakespeare competition.
Axle Moldero and Hanaan Hussain (both 9Bl) had first progressed from the school round, where they had performed their favourite Shakespeare monologue in front of their peers. This was no easy feat, but Axle and Hanaan did brilliantly and were well worth their place in the regional final. They were both (understandably) nervous, but gave brilliant renditions from ‘Twelfth Night’ and ‘Measure for Measure’ respectively. This opportunity has helped to improve the boys’ confidence, which will no doubt benefit them in the classroom as well.