Week 10 (4-8 November 2024)

Reflection & Mindfulness

More about the Theme of the Week

Reflection and mindfulness are basic human skills that allow people to be fully aware of where they are and what they are doing. These strategies or tools teach students to not be overly reactive to what is going on around them. Within school, students are encouraged to be reflective within formal and informal settings. Formally, students are, first, asked to reflect on the “essential knowledge” in every lesson and, second, taught how to reflect within study support lessons as well as PSHE lessons. Informally, throughout our everyday interactions with students, staff teach our boys to develop their reflective skills, especially when they do things well or, conversely, get things wrong. Most boys react incredibly well and are not overwhelmed by these “light touch”, often “end-of-the-table” reflective conversations. Afterwards, students gain a deeper insight into their own emotions and behaviour; we would like to think they learn how to conduct themselves more effectively “the next time” something happens. 

Remembrance

Helping students remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice

Next Monday, we will hold our annual – and always profoundly powerful – Armistice Day remembrance assemblies. This is one of our favourite assemblies of the year as our young men reflect deeply and meaningfully on stories from past students to remember their sacrifices in war. During these assemblies, our students present themselves with immense dignity and pride. This is the history and tradition that students and parents/carers buy into when you join our school. Please encourage your son/ward to purchase a poppy to represent all victims of conflict across the world; pictured is Year 11 student Jacob selling poppies this week. Parents/carers can also show their support by attending local remembrance events on: 

• Sunday: South Street, Old Isleworth at 11.00am
• Monday: Borough Road memorial at 11.00am 

Coming Up!

Dates for the diary, for the next two months

You can access the entire calendar via this link.

Ambitious about Autism Survey

Share your experiences

We are eager to stimulate positive change for students with autism. If you have any experience (current or in the past) with mainstream education, we would be grateful if you could complete this short survey from the Ambitious about Autism organisation, which aims to capture and share your views. It should take about 10-15 minutes to complete. Your views will support a national campaign which wants to hear directly from autistic young people (aged 16 or over) and parents, carers or relatives of autistic children and young people about:

• how the system is currently working; and 
• your views on how it could be improved. 

The deadline for submissions is Monday 18 November.

Combating Seasonal Crime

Guidance from the Metropolitan Police

Now that the dark nights are clearly upon us, our weekly assemblies have spotlighted how, unfortunately, there is an annual, seasonal rise in local crime between October and March. This is especially linked to street robbery and, in particular, bike and/or mobile phone theft. Important messages from our Safer Schools (police) Officer (SSO) – PC Dixon – include:

• being vigilant and not hanging around in large groups which might draw undue attention 
• reporting all emergencies immediately via 999 and non-emergencies via 101 or the Met’s online reporting system
• after-the-event reporting can also take place through face-to-face interactions with our highly effective Pastoral Support Managers (PSMs). In school, our PSM team are the single point of contact (SPOC) for all incidents. 

You can obtain more guidance from this Metropolitan Police letter.

Extra-Curricular Spotlight – Sewing Club

Teaching students a valuable skill!

Our latest extra-curricular spotlight is the Sewing Club, run by Ms Wanli on Thursdays after school in room 110. Learning to sew is a simple but valuable life skill; benefits include:

• hand-eye coordination
• mindfulness
• emotional wellbeing and happiness
• creativity pride and self-esteem.

This new club has had a very successful start, with students learning how to thread a needle, to sew bottoms and even create stuffed Halloween souvenirs! Everyone is welcome – see Ms Wanli for more information!

Senior School Production – ‘Julius Caesar’

Tickets on sale next week for our November production

Our senior school production is less than three weeks away! On Wednesday 27 and Thursday 28 November, we will hold our interpretation of William Shakespeare’s ‘Julius Caesar’ in the drama studio. Featuring cast and crew made up of students from Years 11-13 only, this hard-hitting performance will feature assassination attempts, rigged elections, fake news, unholy alliances, political chaos, riots in the streets, scapegoating, and civil war – sound familiar?

Tickets go on sale next week, and you will receive more information then. For now, please do put the date in your diary and come and support the arts at I&S if you can!

Success Stories – Aaron Malhi

Another success story from last year’s departing Year 13s

Aaron Malhi (2017-2024)
Hounslow Heath Junior School
Isleworth & Syon School
University of Manchester

Aaron arrived from Hounslow Heath in 2017. He has stated that he had a successful transition into school, crediting both his PE lessons—where you could collaborate with a wider student cohort other than your form group—and whole school events such as Wider Learning Week as having a really positive impact on this.

As a logical thinker, Aaron enjoyed maths and science lessons throughout his time at school. His choice of A levels was influenced by another family member who is employed in the computer science and IT industries.

Teachers remember Aaron as a student who displayed strong critical reasoning skills and was able to find solutions to problems. Such transferrable skills will serve him well in the computer science industry, an employment sector which is already reimagining the limits of our daily lives. Aaron achieved two A*s and an A at Advanced level and started a computer science degree at the University of Manchester this September.

Pride of House

A new set of award winners

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! These awards are available below.

Safeguarding and Personal Development

Ways to stay vigilant on the roads

Now that the clocks have gone back, the mornings and evenings have become much darker. This means it is more important than ever for students to stay vigilant on their journeys to and from school. Next week’s House assemblies will include some top tips to help students stay safe on the roads, courtesy of Hounslow Council. These include:

• Be Visible – wearing reflective accessories can make a big difference. Encourage children to wear bright or reflective items on coats, backpacks, or shoes to be seen more easily in low-light conditions.
• Use Designated Crossings – remind your children to cross only at pedestrian crossings and to always check in all directions before crossing.
• Say No to Distractions – teach them to avoid distractions like mobile phones when crossing roads.
• Cycle Safely – for those children who cycle to school, please ensure they wear helmets and that the bikes are equipped with lights and reflectors
• Plan Safe Routes – use well-lit routes where possible and remind your children to stay alert, especially around busy roads or crossings.
• Walk Together – where possible, children should walk to and from school in pairs or small groups for added safety and visibility, or with their parents/carers.

If you have a concern about the safety or welfare of your child, please email the safeguarding team at safeguarding@isleworthsyon.org. A member of staff will be monitoring the account. If there is an emergency call 999 or, for non-urgent matters that require police attention, call 101.

_{Photo by Alex Fu on Pexels.com}

News

More international sporting recognition – plus the Big Band produce a music track for release!

• 

• 

• 

Music Recording Sessions

Last year, we were delighted when the school’s band won the Hounslow Battle of the Bands competition. As a reward for winning the competition, the group have recently been invited to two recording studio sessions at Paragon Studios – located at the nearby Brentford campus of the University of West London (UWL). Across two sessions, students spent time with a music producer to craft a full track, which will be released on London Records – a subsidiary of Sony – later this year. Students loved this prestigious opportunity, taking advantage of the professional equipment as well as learning more about what life is like in the music industry.

‘Waiting for Godot’ Theatre Trip

Theatre trips are a regular fixture of life at Isleworth & Syon, taking advantage of the feast of ‘cultural capital’ that is a mere train ride away – namely, London’s West End. On Wednesday, Mr McDonnell took a group of students to the Theatre Royal Haymarket to see a fascinating production of the classic Beckett play, ‘Waiting for Godot’. Starring Ben Whishaw (Q from the Daniel Craig ‘James Bond’ films), it was a superb opportunity for these boys. This opportunity became even more unique with the inclusion of a question-and-answer session after the play had finished! Students loved it, and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. One student said, “It was an enriching experience which I thoroughly enjoyed” while another remarked that it really helped their studies of acting!

Undefining Masculinity Workshops

As we discussed before half-term, we know the importance of showcasing a positive side to masculinity in school. This also means unpicking and reflecting on what the term actually means. To that end, we partnered with Hounslow Council and the Metropolitan Police earlier this week for a series of workshops entitled ‘Undefining Masculinity’. Aimed at Year 10 students, these sessions talked through concepts of masculinity and asked students to think about their role models. Students also learned about healthy and unhealthy relationships and how this can manifest into violence against women and girls in our community and wider society. It certainly provoked plenty of discussion afterwards!

• 

• 

• 

• 

Sixth Form Open Evening

Yesterday (Thursday) evening, we held our Sixth Form Open Evening, with all young people in Year 11 welcome to visit the school. We were delighted with a healthy attendance from our Year 11s as well as students from other local schools.

During the evening, the Co-Headteachers and the Sixth Form team discussed how our school Sixth Form provides students the best platform to succeed, with exceptional educational outcomes and extensive leadership pathways – as well as offering aspirational next steps and outstanding opportunities.

Applications for the Sixth Form are open now. The closing date is Friday 31 January 2025. Check out the application page to read the course guide and learn more.

Nazir Niazi – International Footballer

_{Last month, Year 12 student Nazir Niazi (pictured above in white) represented the Afghanistan under-17s (u-17) football team in the qualifying rounds for an international competition, the Asia Cup. We asked him to write a short reflection.}

I am writing a little summary of one of the best experiences I have had with football my whole career and would like to share part of it to you. This was my first time travelling alone – a 13-hour flight to China, then another four hours to Cambodia, Phnom Penh, where the under-17 qualifications for the Asia Cup took place.

I got called up by Afghanistan u-17; we had to play four very tough games against four solid teams. Our first game was against the Philippines, where we won 8-0. Macau was the second game, which we won 9-0 – surprisingly starting off on a very good streak! Afterwards, we played Cambodia – the host of the qualifying – where despite our high disadvantage, we still won 3-1. Finally, we faced Bangladesh to end out amazing run; where we won 3-2 after a very tough first half. This means that we have qualified for the Asia Cup in Saudi Arabia in 2025. All in all, it was a very good experience as a first timer. My thanks to Mr Doyle and Mr West for allowing this opportunity to happen as well as the support that they gave me along the way.