From the Co-Headteachers

This week has seen a focus on British Science Week. This year, the focus of our innovative science department has been on making connections with other STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) as well as “smashing science stereotypes“. To support this excellent work, students were also exposed to World Maths Day on 8 March. It is always a joy to walk the school while these hands-on events take place; it’s always great to see and hear so many students engaged in conversations about scientific and mathematical problem-solving.

In school assemblies this week, House Leaders have been leading on Comic Relief and, in particular, global citizenship. Finally, as a gentle reminder to all parents/carers, your child should be checking their INSIGHT for weekly Progress and Preparation Activities (PPA – homework). These PPA activities are usually linked to: reading, research, revision, re-drafting. Please find time to check that your son/ward has completed their PPA – it makes a huge difference to their consolidation of work.

Got any feedback to make this newsletter even better? Let us know via this link. Please note that all comments are anonymous.

Simon Fisher and Jo Higginbottom

Employability and Work Placements

Talent is everywhere; opportunities are not.

We are again actively looking for Year 10 and Year 12 work placements – with a PLUS ONE opportunity. A “plus one” opportunity allows some of our more disadvantaged students to access more favourable employment placements and thus support more effective social mobility.

If you can offer a work placement and a “plus one” then please email Jayne Spink: jspink@isleworthsyon.org.

Club of the Week – Year 7 and 8 Drama Club

Staff: OTH
Location: 123
Who: Years 7 & 8
When: Wednesday lunchtimes, 1.00 – 1.25pm

This well-attended drama club has been running since September. They first gave an enthralling performance of ‘Jabberwocky’ at the Christmas Concert. Since January, the numbers have grown significantly with over 20 students now working on a performance from ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ for the Drama & Music Festival (see below). In the Summer Term, why not come along and play some games, make some friends and join the fun!

Our extra-curricular programme continues every single day, with students able to develop new passions and broaden their horizons. Please do check out the full list of opportunities and see if there is something that may interest your child.

Pride of House

Our Pride of House awards have just been given out. There is one winner from each form group in Years 7-11, meaning eight per year and 40 in total. Students receive the award for a specific contribution to school life. Check out the winners via a house badge below!

House Point Champions

Last week, we introduced this new weekly feature, showcasing our top students who have reached either Prestige or Diamond level for house points.

Students can receive house points for a wide range of contributions to the life of the school – including in and out of the classroom, plus student leadership and citizenship.

The following students have now received either a prestige or diamond reward – congratulations to them!

Prestige

  • Ayman SHAH (9Br)

Diamond

  • Abdalla ABDALLA (8Sn)
  • Mohammed ALI QURESHI (8Bl)
  • Ubai ANSAREY (8Am)
  • Ali ASGHAR (9Tu)
  • Dan BURDEN (7Am)
  • Kabeer BUTT (7Tu)
  • Jonas CANNIERE (9Tu)
  • Harvey CHAPMAN (7Tr)
  • Syon CHATTERJEE (9Sh)
  • Jatin DESINENI (7Am)
  • Jeswin ESTIBEIRO (11Sh)
  • Sam GILMOUR (8Am)
  • Sam GOLDSMITH (8Ad)
  • Anatoli HIORA (9Br)
  • Owais HUSSAIN (9Bl)
  • Hanaan HUSSAIN (9Bl)
  • Gabriel JAWORSKI (9Sh)
  • Adam KHALIFA (8Br)
  • Jayden KWOK (9Ad)
  • Thomas LANE (9Bl)
  • Kai MAHOON (10Bl)
  • Rian McKEEVER (8Tr)
  • Axle MOLDERO (9Bl)
  • Godwin OMONDI (7Am)
  • Arjun PATEL (7Bl)
  • Ved PENDSE (9Ad)
  • Gishaan RAHLLEN (9Am)
  • Darius ROOHI (7Sh)
  • Zisis ROSSIOS (8Ad)
  • Arman SADAT (8Am)
  • Daniel SALVATORI MARTIN (7Tr)
  • Lloyd SECCOMBE (8Sh)
  • Isaac SHAW (8Ad)
  • Abhi SINGH (9Tu)
  • Jai SINGH (9Am)
  • Maks TOR (8Br)
  • Fin WOOD (7Sh)

Careers Corner

National Careers Week (6-10 March) was a brilliant opportunity to get our students thinking about their futures.

Highlights included:

  • Matching their personality and skills to a career
  • A talk from former student Alex Newberry (pictured above) about the digital advertising industry
  • Attending a virtual conference with employers like the Met Office, British Horse Racing and the NHS
  • Using a ‘career-ometer’ to compare jobs and salaries
  • History students enjoying a talk from Roehampton University about history-specific careers
  • A talk from ex-students Behdad Shabani and Mohamed Mohamed about working in construction
  • IT students learning about apprenticeships with Cisco
  • A talk from AECOM about energy demand and careers in that industry

We are always looking for people to address our students and share with them their enthusiasm for their chosen career. Please contact Mr Adams (Careers Leader) if you are interested.

Safeguarding – Mental Health

The new Met Police Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, has made a range of public comments about making London a better place.

In his Turn-Around Plan, one of his nine strands to building more trust and reducing crime is strengthening neighbourhood policing. This involves effective partnership working with between schools and community police as well as parents/carers on a range of matters such as: street robbery, anti-social behaviour, criminal damage and knife crime.

Given that students receive a drip-feed of personal safety messaging through PSHE and school assemblies, all parents/carers should also aim to raise their own awareness of how to keep their child safe from these unsafe activities. On this matter, we recommend this excellent online guide about knife crime from The Ben Kinsella Foundation.

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!

  • 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 acknowledge.

News

KS4 Courses

Last night, we welcomed Year 9 families into school for our Key Stage 4 Courses Evening. During this important event, parents/carers and students learned a little about the step up from Key Stage 3 to Key Stage 4, as well as some of the new courses they would be able to study in Year 10, including business, computer science, economics and film studies. The event was very well-attended and a fantastic way to get students thinking about their future pathways.

Anthony Di Falco

Congratulations to Year 13 student Anthony Di Falco, who received a Jack Petchey Achievement Award at the end of February. He was nominated by Feltham Explorer Scout Unit.

These prestigious national awards are given to young people who have gone above and beyond to achieve. Each year, only 12,000 students in the country receive the award, meaning that Anthony is part of a very exclusive club. Each award winner will receive a certificate, pin badge and a book from Sir Jack Petchey himself! Well done to Anthony, pictured above in our school production of ‘The Odyssey’.

Hounslow Teen Read

As part of our whole school drive towards reading for pleasure, the library team organised for us to be a part of the Hounslow Teen Read again this year.

This borough-wide competition has involved students in Years 8 and 9 reading through a shortlist of six books over the course of a term, meeting weekly to discuss each book and submit their favourite. This week, they attended the Celebration Event at The Green School for Girls – learning the winning book and meeting author Sarah Mussi. It was a fantastic morning for these keen readers!

BFI Trip

On Monday, Sixth Form film students attended the British Film Institute (BFI) on London’s South Bank. This special educational visit saw students attend a screening of a silent film which is part of their course. This, then, was a fantastic way for students to see the film how it was meant to be seen – in a film theatre. It really helped bring students’ classroom studies to life and help them see things they hadn’t previously spotted!

Music Trip

Mr McKeever and his vocational music group were lucky enough to take part in a music production showcase on Tuesday. These four Sixth Form students study the music industry in depth, and this visit was a fantastic opportunity to meet professionals and make important connections. The conversation pictured above took place in a state-of-the-art Dolby Atmos studio at the British Institute of Modern Music – one of only a few in an educational setting, anywhere in Europe. Students learned loads about cutting-edge music technology!