From the Co-Headteachers
It has been very busy week in school after half-term. Through assemblies and Study Support sessions, teachers and students alike are working on embedding strong daily routines. Key issues include punctuality and attendance as well as in-class strategies linked to how students can make rapid progress. The most effective in-class techniques include completing classwork, answering questions, asking questions, building on the responses of others and reading aloud with clarity and confidence.
Parents/carers can also the increase the resourcefulness and resilience of their son/ward so that they are better prepared for school. Every day, ask your son/ward about how they have positively contributed to school – for example, “What’s been your favourite lesson today? Why is that?”
This is our 22nd newsletter of this school year – we hope that you enjoy reading it. We really do appreciate any feedback, positive or negative, about this piece of work. Leave your comment via this form.
Simon Fisher and Jo Higginbottom
NEU Strike – 2 March
The next industrial action by the National Education Union is currently scheduled for Thursday 2 March. This action will result in changes to school arrangements for that day.
We will be sending more information to parents/carers on Monday.
Whole School Reading Initiative
During the half-term break, we sent all parents/carers an important letter about our whole school reading initiative.
In short, we are expanding our work with reading aloud. In the letter, there are a list of books which we encourage you to read with your son/ward. Please do actively take part in this programme if you can, as the educational benefits of increased literacy are very clear. Indeed, just 20 minutes of reading a day means students are likely to perform better in standardised tests.
Sleep Routines
Sleep is an essential requirement for people to effectively carry out our daily activities. It is hugely important for the protection of our wellbeing and mental health as well as self-esteem. Sleep helps with learning and the formation of long-term memories. Not getting enough sleep or enough high-quality sleep can lead to problems focusing on tasks and thinking clearly. To support your son/ward, please review our sleep checklist as well as NHS guidance.
Club of the Week – Senior Cricket
Staff: Mr Mangat
Location: Sports Hall
Who: Years 11-13
When: Wednesday, 3.05 – 4.05pm
Now that the evenings are starting to turn lighter and we head towards Spring, we can look forward to the cricket season. Mr Mangat invites all senior cricketers to come and develop skills in the nets, come and pit their skills against each other; and test themselves against our state-of-the-art bowling machine.
Careers Corner
Last week saw ten Sixth Form students undertake a multi-faceted work experience in IT & technology. The week started with input from Accenture and Qush, covering topics like ‘Working as a software engineer’ and ‘Cybersecurity – protecting our business’. The week continued with a Dell Business challenge and culminated with a visit to Framestore, a visual effects company in Holborn. Feedback from the students has been overwhelmingly positive with a number of now really considering apprenticeships rather than university as a viable option to enter the IT & Technology industry.
Don’t forget to follow our dedicated careers Twitter account at @IsleworthCEAIG.
Pride of House
As Spring Term 2 begins, another 40 students have been rewarded for their contribution to school with a coveted Pride of House award. Check out the winners by clicking a house badge below – congratulations, everyone!
Revision – Years 11 & 13
There are just ten days until the start of our Pre-Public Examinations (PPEs) for Years 11 and 13. These important assessments run from Monday 6 – Friday 10 March and offer students one final chance to get a sense of their progress before the summer. Students should be revising frequently over the next week to ensure they are prepared; check out our Study & Revision Skills page for some handy hints and tips.
Safeguarding
The cost of living crisis is undoubtedly having a bearing on the ability of some of our parents/carers to provide the basic educational needs of their children. This includes: school equipment, school uniform, PE kit, water bottles, scientific calculator, and an appropriately sized school bag. If parents/carers require support, please contact the school.
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 approximate.
Website Spotlight
Parent/carer communication is a key component of life at Isleworth & Syon, as a means of keeping parents/carers up-to-date with what is going on.
We upload key letters to the school website, in the ‘Letters’ section. They are also posted on the homepage of the school website, so they are easy to find!
We don’t upload all letters that are sent home; just key communications that are sent to large groups (e.g. a whole year group).
On the letters page, then, you can see all key letters or click on a specific year group below to view all letters sent to just that year (e.g. Year 7). It is a useful tool to keep up to date with life at Isleworth & Syon.
News
Ski Tour 2023
During the half-term break, 50 students headed to the snowy slopes of Austria for a fantastic ski tour. Based in Zillertal, students had an incredible time that was tailored to all ski skill levels – from beginner to advanced. Trained ski instructors put students through their paces on the slopes during the day, while evening entertainment was filled with laughs and fun!
We really do recommend checking out our tweets from the week (no account required) to get a bigger sense of this incredible, life-changing opportunity.
Old Vic Monologues
Year 10 student Harvey Dobel has been selected for an Old Vic theatre project called ‘One Voice: Whose Planet Are You On’. The competition was open to all students in the theatre’s prestigious Schools Club programme, in which I&S is involved.
For the project , Harvey wrote an outstanding monologue exploring the impact of individual actions and the force of collective responsibility on the future of our planet. He will now be matched with a professional writer who will help Harvey expand his piece. It will then be recorded with a professional actor and released on World Environment Day – 5 June 2023.
Well done, Harvey!
Music Industry Talks
During the first half-term of Spring, Mr McKeever and the music team ran a series of music industry visits for Year 12 students taking the vocational course. All four students want to get into the music industry, meaning that this was a fantastic way to make connections and go deeper.
We published a full article on this in the ‘News’ section – please do take a few minutes to learn more about this excellent opportunity for our students. More inspirational talks are coming soon, as we plan to re-launch our ‘I&S Inspires’ series, featuring special guests, to students across the school.
Intermediate Maths Challenge
On Wednesday 2 February, 62 students in Years 9-11 took part in the Intermediate Maths Challenge in school. This multiple-choice assessment is a nationwide competition for keen mathematicians.
Students could achieve Bronze, Silver or Gold colour prizes, as well as a participation award. We were thrilled that 100% of participating Year 11s received a gold, while a third of Year 10s taking part received colours. Four students reached the threshold needed to qualify for the next stage – Jayden Kwok, Kai Mahoon, Ayaan Memon and Ayman Shah. Ayman achieved the best score in school. Well done to everyone who took part, and good luck to the final four in the next round!
Year 9 Parents/Carers Evening
Last night, we held our Year 9 Parents/Carers Evening – the first opportunity this academic year for families to meet with students’ subject teachers. These ten-minute appointments led to fruitful discussions on what students are doing well and how they can do even better – all with the aim of maximising student progress.