From the Co-Headteachers
It has been a hugely busy week in school as we run up to the end of the first half-term. A key focus has been on preparing for, completing, and re-drafting written assessments following target-setting at our successful Progress and Partnership Day (PPD) held last week. Our expectations for written work are extremely high and, from our regular learning walks across lessons, we notice how students are striving to take greater pride in their work. For example, there should be no gaps in exercise books with students using pens for writing and pencils for sketching or drawing. On this note, it would be beneficial if parents/carers could check the basic equipment of their son/ward before the start of the new term.
On another positive note, a total of 1746 books have been borrowed from the school library over the past six weeks. This phenomenal figure shows how so many of our students are hooked on reading, a key skill which is so important to their success in all subjects. Over half-term, please ask your child what he’s reading, read alongside your child, ask your child to read to you and, finally, ensure that he reads little and often. Good readers become good speakers and good speakers become good writers; when this happens, students make rapid progress.
Please read the full newsletter below which also contains information about our values. The newsletter will take a break during half-term and will return the week after next. Have a good holiday.
Simon Fisher and Jo Higginbottom
Learners as Leaders
Teachers are increasingly asking students to act as leaders in the classroom. Pictured right is a great example – 8Ad’s sport ambassador, Tyler Barrett, presenting to his form about his sporting hero, former I&S student Reece James.
Such leadership normally takes place in collaborative learning situations where students provide feedback after working together on learning activities in small or large groups. Students regularly make presentations and/or act as leaders in highly structured group work. Some collaborative learning approaches put students in pairs, groups or teams of mixed ability to work in competition with each other. There is a very wide range of approaches to collaborative learning; educational experts highlight how student leadership is a low-effort, high-impact way to raise standards. When you next get a chance, ask your child – when was the last time he demonstrated leadership in the classroom?
Club of the Week – Science Club
Staff: Science team
Room: Various
When: Thursday, 3.05 – 4.05pm
Who: Year 7 who already signed up
It has been fantastic to see over 60 Year 7 students participate in Science Club during the last two weeks, making and racing their balloon buggies (see below).
Every Science Club session is designed to develop their key scientific process skills such as observing, comparing, critical thinking, predicting and hypothesising through experimentation of varied, fun and engaging activities including can we write with fire? which glue is better Roman or Egyptian? What makes the colours of fireworks? and whose rocket can travel the highest?
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, develop their love of science, and build their confidence to continue studying science further up the school.
Check out our full range of opportunities.
Coming Up!
- Monday 24 – Friday 28 October – Half-Term
- Tuesday 8 November – Sixth Form Open Evening
- Friday 11 November – Remembrance Commemorations
- Thursday 17 November – Year 11 Parents/Carers Evening
Safeguarding Updates
The school is closed from Monday 24 October and reopens on Monday 31 October. We hope that all members of the school community have a peaceful and safe half-term break.
Members of the Senior Leadership Team will be on duty over the half-term break to pick up any urgent safeguarding referrals. If you have a concern about the safety or welfare of your or another child, please email the safeguarding team at safeguarding@isleworthsyon.org
Should there be an emergency call 999 or, for non-urgent matters that require police attention, call 101.
Word of the Week
The word of the week is phenomenon.
News
Black History Month
While every curriculum subject celebrates Black History Month, we are of the belief that Black history should not be confined to one month alone. And yet, in the UK, October is traditionally the month of celebration. While as a school we try to look beyond this, it’s been important for all teachers to raise awareness to the issues at hand.
Given this, over the past month teachers and LSAs have been endeavouring to share examples of history that are both positive and hidden in plain sight. We look forward to a time when these examples will be an overt and consistent part of our inclusive and diverse curriculum. This is not about teaching the personal history of key individuals, but rather about linking the story of the diverse communities that make up our society. This will help form a unifying sense of Britishness and, in turn, will equip the next generation with a more comprehensive understanding of the making of modern Britain. Ultimately, we hope that this will support their aspirations and academic attainment.
Celebration Breakfast with the Co-Heads
As a school, we want to constantly reward individuals that excel. To that end, Co-Headteachers Mr Fisher and Ms Higginbottom invited a small selection of students in Years 7-11 to a celebratory breakfast in our Dining Room this morning (Friday).
Students were chosen because they had the best Attitude to Learning scores in their year group – meaning they have been consistently ready to learn and eager to achieve. Whilst enjoying CucinA’s delicious Friday fry-up, students talked with the Co-Heads about what they enjoy in school, as well as giving some ideas for ways that we can make Isleworth & Syon even better!
This will become a regular feature each half-term during this academic year, with different criteria for selection each time. Well done to the boys chosen this time:
Jonas Pardo Buikus (7Tu), Darius Roohi (7Sh), George Davies (8Tr), Sam Gilmour (8Am), Rian Mckeever (8Tr), Jonas Canniere (9Tu), Axle Moldero (9Bl), Finn Donovan (10Bl), Ollie Gilmour (10Am), Angad Madhan (10Ad), Max Manson (10Ad), Nishant Brahmbhatt (11Tr) and Pierson Da Costa (11Am).
London Fieldwork Trip
GCSE geography takes the course beyond the textbooks and outside the classroom, with fieldwork a key requirement. Simply put, this means that students have to have to go out into the world and identify key geographical features. Interacting with real-life geographical examples helps to illuminate complex concepts and is also great fun! This Year 11 cohort visited London’s Canary Wharf earlier this week.
All the work completed on the day was crucial both for their public examinations in June 2022. Therefore, it was important for them to keep their focus throughout. This was easy as the geography team planned an engaging day, including a visit to the Museum of London Docklands and a walking tour around the Millwall Dock area. After a successful day, the four groups came back to the classroom and analysed what they had found. This meant comparing notes and working together to build a detailed case study of the area.
Rose Theatre Trip
Our Year 12 A level drama and theatre students have had a busy first half-term, getting to grips with the demands of Key Stage 5 – certainly a step up from their drama GCSE. These students have taken to it like a duck to water, and are on course to achieve brilliantly in their exams come summer 2024.
For these exams, students have to write about live theatre. So, they visited Kingston’s Rose Theatre for a production of ‘The Caucasian Chalk Circle’. Students loved the production, and have already begun writing up their observations relating to character, costume and staging!