Welcome from the Co-Headteachers
Helping student embed strong daily routines
It has been very busy week in school. Following our Year group assemblies, students are working on embedding strong daily routines. Key issues include improved punctuality and attendance based on our whole school strategy of “No Minutes Lost”.
Parents/carers can increase the resilience of their son/ward by ensuring that students are on school site by 8.25am every day. To support this drive, remember that our school canteen – The Pantry – provides a free porridge breakfast each morning at 8.00am while the school library is open at the same time for either PPA completion or reading for pleasure.
You can further support your son/ward by:
- Resisting the temptation to do everything for him – he needs to learn to manage his time efficiently, which includes checking public transport for any disruptions.
- Asking him about how he has positively contributed to school each day – for example, “What’s been your favourite lesson today? Why is that?”
- Using every opportunity to keep in contact with us, using the Pastoral Support Managers if there are any issues.
- Encouraging him to get organised the evening before. This saves everyone a lot of morning stress. He should check his timetable for the following day, pack his school bag and lay out his uniform if necessary.
- Having a calendar on display at home clearly marked with different equipment needed for different days (for example, sports kit, music, projects).
- Checking that he is keeping up with his PPA (homework) tasks – he should have several each night.
Simon Fisher and Jo Higginbottom
Positive Habits
More about our theme of the week
It is vitally important that parents/carers reinforce our messaging about students becoming more self-disciplined in their pursuit of becoming strong independent learners. This means breaking the cycle of avoidance.
Typical things that some students avoid are:
- being responsible for their own learning;
- completing classroom work;
- finishing all PPA (homework); and
- reading for 20 minutes every day.
Successfully breaking the cycle of avoidance – and therefore achieving at a higher level – are all our shared responsibilities. Given this, we encourage all parents/carers to devote time to discussing – and checking – these habits with their son/ward. These are shared responsibilities; a partnership between school, parents/carers and every student.
Coming Up!
Dates for the diary from now until the end of term
- Thursday 30 January 2025 – KS5 Parents/Carers Evening
- Thursday 6 and Friday 7 February 2025 – School Production of ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’
- Friday 7 February 2025 – DTP/MEN ACWY Immunisations (for Year 9 with consent)
- Monday 17 – Friday 21 February 2025 – Half-Term
- Thursday 27 February 2025 – Year 9 Parents/Carers Evening
- Monday 10 – Friday 14 March – Year 11 and Year 13 Pre-Public Examinations
- Thursday 13 March – Key Stage 4 Courses Evening
- Thursday 20 March – Year 10 Parents/Carers Evening
- Tuesday 1 April – Year 11 Raising Standards Evening
- Wednesday 2 April – Drama & Music Showcase
- Friday 4 April – End of Spring Term (students dismissed at 12.30pm)
You can access the entire calendar via this link.
Exploitation Workshops
Online webinars from the police
PC Dixon, our Safer Schools (police) Officer has asked us to share about some online parent/carer workshops being hosted by the Metropolitan Police. These online webinars are designed to show you how to spot early signs of child criminal exploitation and grooming, as well as signposting the support available. Find the dates below as well as links to sign up.
- Hounslow – Wednesday 22 January, 7.00 – 8.00pm, register
- Ealing – Wednesday 12 February, 7.00 – 8.00pm, register
Flu Immunisations – Catch-Up Clinics
Still a chance for students to get a free immunisation through the NHS
Last term, we hosted the local NHS team into school to conduct flu immunisations via nasal spray for students in Years 7-11 with consent. If your child missed the immunisation, the Hounslow NHS team are running a catch-up clinic on Thursday 23 January at Brabazon Community Centre, 106 Brabazon Road, Hounslow, TW5 9LT from 2.30 – 5.00pm. There are also other dates and locations listed in this attachment.
If you wish to attend, you must book a slot. For more information, please call 0208 432 7070.
Extra-Curricular Posters – Spring Term 2025
Help your child “buy-in” to our outstanding offer
Last week, we revealed the exciting Extra-Curricular Opportunities timetable for the Spring Term, organised by day. To make it even easier for students and families to explore the wide array of activities on offer, we have updated the year group posters!
Now, you can quickly spot which activities are available for your son/ward to dive into. We encourage you to inspire your child to “buy in” to our fantastic range of opportunities—who knows, they might just discover a brand-new passion! Check out the updated posters through this link, with a sneak peek of some of the exciting options below.
Club Spotlight – Python Programming Club
A great club for exam preparation
One of our specialist clubs is the Python Programming Club, run by the computing team to help Year 11 students improve their skills coding with Python. Last term, students began by working through programming challenges before completing examination-style questions later in the term. Students had to write their code on paper with a pen, to mimic what they will have to do in their summer examination. We are looking forward to seeing what the students will produce in the Spring Term.
Pride of House
The latest award winners
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.
House Point Champions
Another student reaches 250 house points!
Two more students have earned a Diamond certificate as a reward for reaching 250 house points. They are both from 7Bl – well done to:
- Mantej GILL (7Bl)
- Gurveer SINGH (7Bl)
Will your son/ward appear on this list next week? You can check his progress via INSIGHT.
Note: this list is accurate as of 7.00am today (Friday). If your child reached a threshold after 7.00am on Friday, they will appear in the next list.
Safeguarding and Personal Development
Using physical activity to improve mental wellbeing
Games and physical activity are an important part of school life. From our experience, we know that physical activity is crucial to improve children’s mental health and wellbeing. It can reduce feelings of anxiety and depression, leading to a more positive mood. Regular exercise helps the body release endorphins, often called “feel-good” hormones, which improve emotional wellbeing.
Taking part in sports or group activities also helps children build social skills, make friends, and feel part of a group. This is vital for mental health. Exercise also helps children focus better at school, which can mean they perform better. By developing healthy habits early, students learn how to handle stress and become more resilient as they grow.
We appreciate your support in both ensuring your child takes part in PE lessons and encouraging them to “buy-in” to our extra-curricular offer.
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.
News
The latest stories from across the school
Year 7 Parents/Carers Evening
Yesterday evening (Thursday), we held our Year 7 Parents/Carers Evening – a fantastic opportunity for families to connect with subject teachers and discuss their child’s progress in each lesson. These events are crucial to building a strong partnership between home and school. A huge thank you to everyone who attended and made the evening such a success! Your involvement makes all the difference in supporting our students to be the best they can be.
End of Examinations
The January examinations season has now been completed in school, with Year 12 students finishing their internal examinations and students taking vocational courses in Years 12 and 13 completing some public examinations. For the latter, these exams will form part of their final grade. Our excellent vocational offer continues to be a strength within school, offering students an alternative to the A level pathway.
Year 11 students also received their results for the December examinations on Wednesday afternoon. It was set up to mirror the summer results day, giving them a flavour of that unique experience. We hope that the results today give students the push they need to maximise their progress over the coming months.
Production Tickets on Sale!
Finally for today, tickets are now on sale for our whole school production of ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’. It takes place on Thursday 6 and Friday 7 February. We will publish the full poster – designed by a Year 11 student – in next week’s Isleworthian.
Tickets cost just £5 for adults and £2 for everyone else. We expect this production to be popular so we recommend buying tickets in advance via SCOPAY; a limited number will be available on the door.
Rehearsals are still ongoing for this fabulous production, with our Production Pit Band and the Performing Arts Tech Crew working hard alongside our talented actors. You won’t want to miss this one!