18 January 2019
Secondary Newsletter 18 January 2019 Secondary Newsletter
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Southern Entrance
We would like to remind parents and carers that the gate at the southern entrance will be locked at 08:23 each morning. Students arriving after this time should enter via the main entrance in Cricklefield Place.
Safeguarding The welfare and safety of our students is our priority. We do everything possible to ensure our students’ safety, both within the school community and outside of school, including working with relevant agencies to address any issues related to child protection. Students are informed of who they should go to should they have a concern about their own safety or the safety of others. At INA, all staff have regular safeguarding training to ensure that they are able to meet their statutory responsibilities. We also have a number of staff who are designated to respond to any child protection concerns and to liaise with social services: Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) Leanne Abbott-Jones Assistant Principal Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead (DDSL) Tam Broadway Primary Headteacher Sugra Alibhai Head of Sixth Form Designated Child Protection Officers Patrick Ball (Online safety) Pardeep Chaggar Jody Lapish Gareth Marshall-Jones
Mariam Mayet Amreen Patel Jag Singh David Wilson
vYou can find the INA Safeguarding policy, Child Protection policy and other related policies and procedures on the Academy’s website.
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Secondary Newsletter
18 January 2019
Dear Parents and Carers, It is a very important time for Year 9 students who are about to commence the options process. This started on Tuesday with our Options Evening for parents and their children. It was great to see such fantastic attendance at this key event. This will be followed by options interviews which will be held over the next few weeks with parents and their son/daughter and a senior leader to discuss students’ options choices before students submit their options forms on Friday 15th February. We were delighted to receive some excellent applications from Year 8 and 12 students for the Phillips Exeter Academy Summer School last week. On Thursday, Ms Abbott-Jones and I interviewed the students who were shortlisted. We were incredibly impressed with the mature and confident way the students interviewed and we had a hard time deciding upon the six students who are fortunate enough to be given this amazing opportunity. We will announce their names shortly. Finally, just a reminder that it is Year 11 Progress meeting next week, on Thursday 24th January. This is a crucial meeting for Year 11 parents/carers and their sons/daughters as we share mock results and advise on next steps to ensure that each individual student knows exactly what they need to do to make rapid progress over the next few months. We look forward to seeing you all there.
With all best wishes,
Jo Spencer 18 January 2019 Secondary Newsletter
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BRIDGES Mentoring Wednesday 30
th
January
The first BRIDGES mentoring session takes place on Wednesday 30th January from 1:45-4:30pm. All students will be given a fifteen minute 1-to-1 coaching session with their BRIDGES mentor. This is an important opportunity for KS3 students to reflect on how they have developed or strengthened their BRIDGES dispositions, to discuss the dispositions they consider to be their strengths and the ones they need to work on further. Year 10 students will be engaging in a mock interview focusing on their preparedness for GCSEs and work experience and how they are further strengthening their BRIDGES dispositions to achieve success in both. Year 11 students will be engaged in one to one coaching focusing on mock exams, wellbeing and managing workload.
Arrangements All students will complete lessons p1 – 4 (Year 10 and Year 11 students will complete lesson 4 as per KS3 timings). Period 4 will end at slightly earlier at 12.50pm to allow time for all students to make their way home for lunch before returning to school for their allotted mentoring session. Failure to attend the mentoring session will lead to an unauthorised absence. Students who are eligible for Free School Meals who request lunch in advance (via form tutors) can collect a lunch bag from the student reception as they leave. Students are expected to go directly home and return between 1.45-4.30pm for a fifteen minute 1-to-1 coaching session with their BRIDGES mentor. Appointment times will be issued to students beforehand. Students must attend their session on time. KS3 students must wear full school uniform. KS4 students may wear either school uniform or professional work wear. We are unable to supervise any students as all staff are BRIDGES mentors and will be engaged in mentoring session throughout the afternoon. Parents are not required at the sessions but will be given feedback on how their son or daughter’s BRIDGES skills are progressing later in the year. Please note that enrichments will be cancelled on this day. Mr Ball, Lead Pastoral Leader / Acting Assistant Principal
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18 January 2019
Year 11 Progress Meeting Thursday 24th January 2018 2:30 – 6:30pm Year 11 Progress Meeting is calendared for Thursday 24th January 2018 from 2:30-6:30pm. All students will complete lessons P1 – 4a (Year 10 and Year 11 students will complete lesson 4a as per KS3 timings). P4a will finish for all students at 1:05pm. Students who are eligible for Free School Meals who request lunch in advance (via form tutors) can collect a lunch bag from the KS3 desk area as they leave. Tutors will escort students to the KS3 gate at 1:15pm where students are expected to go directly home and return between 2:30-6:30pm with parents/carers. Students are expected to attend with an adult family member in full school uniform. The last appointment is 6:25pm for a 6:30pm finish. Staff will set Independent Learning for Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 in advance for P5 and 6. The school will be closed to Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 from 1:15pm. Enrichments and detentions will not take place. Mr M Crowther-Green Assistant Principal
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The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust encourages remembrance in a world scarred by genocide. Genocide is intentional action to destroy a people (usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group) in whole or in part. We promote and support Holocaust Memorial Day on 27th January to remember the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, the millions of people killed under Nazi Persecution and the genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur which followed. The 27th January marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp. The Holocaust threatened the idea of freedom of religion and led to the deaths of millions of people. By participating in this we send a signal that unfair treatment must be resisted every day. We as a community cannot be complacent, wherever there is injustice we encourage students to speak out. Prejudice, hatred and unfairness must be challenged by us all. Holocaust Memorial Day is for everyone. Each year across the UK, thousands of people come together to learn more about the past and take action to create a safer future.
‘Torn from home’ is the theme for Holocaust Memorial Day 2019. Torn from home encourages audiences to reflect on how the enforced loss of a safe place to call ‘home’ is part of the trauma faced by anyone experiencing persecution and genocide. ‘Home’ usually means a place of safety, comfort and security. On Holocaust memorial day 2019 we will reflect on what happens when individuals, families and communities are driven out of, or wrenched from their homes, because of persecution or the threat of genocide, alongside the continuing difficulties survivors face as they try to find and build new homes when the genocide is over. In some parts of the world, sadly many people are still being torn from their homes due to war and violence. From the Rohingya Muslims in Burma to the Christians and Yazidis in Syria, many groups still face the growing threat of genocide and forced expulsion from their homes. Use this month to reflect on what you can do to help stop injustice in school, in society and abroad. Humanities Department
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Secondary Newsletter
18 January 2019
On Tuesday 8th January, 30 of our Year 9 students went back to the Old Vic Theatre to watch another show as part of a schools programme the Drama department won. They watched Emma Rice's adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol and thoroughly enjoyed it! INA even received a commendation from a member of the public who said: "It was half past one on Tuesday. A lively, personable bunch of kids on a school outing. One offered me a seat, which I declined. A credit to their school, their accompanying teachers and, most of all, to themselves. May they thrive. Robin." The Drama department can’t wait for the next trip!
18 January 2019 Secondary Newsletter
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Q
What is Qu
• Questioning is good question Asking great qu information fro • Great learners below the surf unthinkingly w • Questioning ca Great question and ideas just inventors are g
TOP TIPS: Students
Krishnan Guru-Murthy Krishnan Guru-Murthy is a British journalist who has built his career around posing challenging and though-provoking questions. Presenting BBC Newsround launched Krishnan’s career. Since then, he has taken his questions all around the world as a journalist in Yemen, China, South Africa, Afghanistan and many more places. He is currently presenting Channel 4 News and is considered one of the most successful journalists of our era. Krishnan has commented on how his interviewing style can be traced back to his school days. He claims he has always had a passion for “finding out the truth and gaining a deep understanding of the complex world we live in”. He uses his questioning to help the audience gain information that may have been previously hidden – this is what makes his journalism so interesting.
• Ask your partne your understand • Write a list of qu have been learn • Ask an older me questions to find • Try to ask one in • Generate a serie answer when re • Reflect on a cha questions such a change the outc improve on my • Read an article o and note down understanding.
Students w
Could you be the next Krishnan Guru-Murthy?
Hassan 7S
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18 January 2019
QUESTIONING
uestioning?
about developing the skill to ask ns and having the curiosity to do so. uestions provides a wide range of om different perspectives. love questions. They enjoy getting face of things and do not accept what they are told. an be non-verbal as well as verbal. ners play around with materials to see what happens. Artists and great questioners.
er/group members questions to develop ding of new knowledge or a new skill. uestions to test yourself on a topic you ning in one (or more) of your subjects. ember of your family some probing d out about their early life. nquisitive question in each lesson. es of challenging questions that you can evising a particular topic. allenge you’re facing by asking yourself as ‘What’s one thing I could do to come of the situation?’ or ‘How can I performance in this area?’ on a topic that you are studying questions you ask to deepen your
Behaviours
Having the confidence to ask questions if you are unsure or need clarification. Evaluating the things you do and the ways you do them and seeing if they can be improved. Constructing the correct questions when faced with a challenging topic or problem. Being responsible for building your knowledge, learning power or character through questioning.
Parents
• Encourage you son/daughter to ask questions about you, your day or your life before them. • Watch a few minutes of the news or read a newspaper report and encourage your son/daughter to ask questions about its content. • Watch ‘Question Time’ or a similar TV programme with your son/daughter. Discuss the topics being debated, the type of questions being asked and how the panel respond to the questions. • Visit an art gallery or museum and encourage your son/ daughter to ask inquisitive questions.
who have shown great Questioning at INA Hassan is showing great questioning skills in Harkness; this is deepening the understanding of everyone in the class.
Ruqayyah 9S
Ruqayyah has been selected as one of the 32 Year 9 BRIDGES mentors. These students will be mentoring Year 3 and Year 4 students, using questioning as a way to help them develop their BRIDGES dispositions.
18 January 2019 Secondary Newsletter
INA BRIDGES 9
On Wednesday, there were thirty of us chosen to take part in a workshop for the Jack Petchey Speak Out competition. We met a lovely lady called Hilary, who began our workshop session by asking us all to deliver a thirty second speech. All we had to say our name, what we liked and disliked, and our plans for the future. This was a great activity because it made us feel more at ease with speaking with our peers, as it showed us that we could easily talk about ourselves for this time. Later, we made slightly longer speeches (this time about a minute) just to a partner. We described a story that was important to us. Again, it was easy to recall. We tried different ways of telling the stories, such as without movement except for our mouths, or with only movement and no speech. This gently increased the time in which we had to speak, readying us for the final speech, as well as building our confidence, with subtle humour After lunch, we began to write our speeches. They had to be a minute and a half long and performed from memory. We were given free rein on the topic of our speeches, which we definitely all utilised, the topics ranging from skittles to gender differences, and from reading to ‘middle child syndrome’. Although it was at first hard to think of what to speak about, with so many good options at hand, we were given a booklet to complete throughout the day which contained plenty of good ideas and prompts, which was all we really needed for our speeches to properly get going.
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After two hours of writing and practising, we performed our speeches one by one. At first, a slightly awkward, nervous atmosphere was present, but as soon as we got into the speaking, everyone loosened up, inspired by the other brilliant speeches. At the end of them all, 6 students were picked to go through to the next stage: the regional final. Whether or not people went through, it was clearly apparent that everyone had greatly come out of their shell, with some serious and some lighter topics. It was a really enjoyable day, and I feel far more confident, and honoured to have taken part in such an enriching experience.
Eleanor Brant
Year 10 Work Experience 1st–5th July 2019 Students should have submitted their placement forms to Mr Crowther-Green by the end of December 2018 If you son/daughter needs a replacement form please print directly from the website isaacnewtonacademy.org/secondary/year-10-work-experience 18 January 2019 Secondary Newsletter
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Praise and Recognition At INA, we aim to provide a stimulating, challenging and rewarding learning environment which supports learning, celebrates achievement and encourages everyone. Awarding merits, informal praise in class and the end of term awards assemblies are all part of this. Please speak to your child/children on a regular basis to see how many merits they have and how they are working towards the different awards at school.
Merits The inter-form merit competition is heating up – with more and more merits being given out each week. Each merit you gain will increase your individual total and also your form’s overall total. So make sure you are keeping up the fantastic work to gain merits! Also if you are owed a merit go and collect it and make sure it gets recorded on your form’s spreadsheet! YEAR 7
TOTAL
YEAR 8
TOTAL
YEAR 9
7I 7S 7W 7N 7C 7A 7E
1152 1013 943 902 868 786 660
8N 8C 8S 8A 8W 8I 8E
855 774 720 654 635 521 471
9E 9C 9A 9I 9S 9N 9W
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TOTAL YEAR 10 TOTAL YEAR 11 TOTAL
351 315 282 237 162 149 110
Secondary Newsletter
10T 10C 10W 10S 10A 10I 10N
111 84 78 74 52 17 15
11N 11I 11A 11E 11T 11S 11C
192 98 94 89 68 67 54
18 January 2019
Ahmed Al-Khafaji Award (Peer Commendation Award)
Ahmed was well known for being kind, for helping others and for being extremely polite. He was also someone known for his hard work and absorption; the idea, therefore, is that the winner should be someone who encapsulated one of these qualities in that week. Year 7: Adil Hussein 7E Year 8: Qasim Qadir 8W Year 9: Tasbir Rahaman 9C Year 10: Samiul Hoque 10W Year 11: Abdur Razzaque Miah 11N
Good Deed Feed Every week we ask teachers to nominate students who have been role models by carrying out good deeds for others and the INA community. A big well done for those who have been nominated this week!
Thank you to the following students in Year 7 for helping during the Year 9 progress meetings, I know that all of the teachers really appreciated it! Eshwar Deerhe Rajpreet Kaur Aisha Khan Diya Taheem Abdur-Rahman Sudais - Ms Crowther-Green Mr Athwal Pastoral Leader for Year 11, i/c of Praise and Recognition 18 January 2019 Secondary Newsletter
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INA Attendance and Punctuality Regular attendance is a crucial factor in students’ educational development and success in achieving their full potential. Missing out on education and learning leaves students vulnerable to falling behind, putting them under unnecessary pressure. At Isaac Newton Academy every student is expected to maintain 100% attendance.
Punctuality All students need to be present on site and ready for line up no later than 8.25am each day and as such we advise students to be through the school gates (side entrance and southern entrance) no later than 8.23am.
Reporting of child’s absence In line with INA attendance policy it is the parent/ carers responsibility to phone the school by 8.15am on each day of an absence. If you fail to contact the school to inform us of your child’s absence we may take the necessary steps to ensure your child is safe. Please take the time to familiarise yourself with the INA Attendance policy.
Year group and form attendance for last week
Tutor 7A 7C 7E 7I 7N 7S 7W Total
% Tutor % Tutor 97.9 8A 90.7 9A 95.8 8C 94.0 9C 97.8 8E 93.1 9E 97.6 8I 98.9 9I 93.4 8N 94.0 9N 94.5 8S 98.4 9S 94.2 8W 98.9 9W 95.8 Total 95.4 Total
% Tutor % Tutor 89.6 10A 98.9 11A 92.1 10C 93.7 11C 96.0 10I 94.6 11E 94.5 10N 94.2 11I 93.5 10S 95.6 11N 92.9 10T 92.9 11S 94.5 10W 96.0 11T 93.3 Total 95.1 Total
% 97.8 94.9 96.7 89.0 96.0 89.0 89.7 93.3
Absences immediately before or after a school holiday If your child is absent before or after a school holiday we must see evidence for the absence. This may be medical evidence if your child is unwell, or evidence of flight delays or circumstances beyond your control. We cannot authorise any absences before or after a holiday without this evidence and you risk being issued with a penalty notice.
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Secondary Newsletter
18 January 2019
Friends of Isaac Newton Academy Thank you to those of you that have signed up attend and be a part of the INA fundraising committee. Our first meeting with be held in the Primary Dining Hall at 7.00pm on Wednesday 30th January. I look forward to seeing you all then! from Ms Broadway
GCSE Examinations Contingency Day
The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) have announced a contingency date of the 26th of June 2019. A contingency date is a day specifically set aside “in the event of widespread, sustained national or local disruption to examinations during the June 2019 examination series�. This decision comes following the tragic events of last summer, in particular the Manchester attack and the Grenfell Tower fire. It may be necessary to postpone an exam in the event of such an incident to allow all students a fair and equal chance. This means that all candidates taking GCSE or A Level exams must be available to sit exams from the date of their first exam until the 26th June 2019. We understand that once your exams are over you will probably want to celebrate, but in light of this new rule please do not organise a holiday or plan to be any distance from school until after the 26th June. This decision is not one that has been taken by INA, it has been imposed on all schools by JCQ and does apply to all candidates in all schools in the UK. Mr Crowther-Green, Assistant Principal
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Key Dates
Spring Term 2019 Friday 4th January - Friday 5th April 2019 Half Term: Monday 18th - Friday 22nd February 2019 Independent Learning Day: Friday 8th March 2019 INSET Day: 11th March 2019 Wednesday 23rd January Thursday 24th January Monday 28th January Monday 28th January Tuesday 29th January Wednesday 30th January Friday 1st February Monday 4th February Monday 4th February Wednesday 6th February Thursday 7th February Friday 8th February Tuesday 12th February Friday 15th February Friday 15th February Monday 18th February to Friday 22nd Wednesday 27th February
Years 11/12/13 Reports to parents Year 11 Progress Meetings Options Interviews begin Year 7 Music Theatre Trip Sixth Form Open Evening BRIDGES Mentoring Sixth Form Application Deadline Year 12 Progress Meetings Hairspray Dress Rehearsal Hairspray - Performance 6:30pm Hairspray - Performance 6:30pm GCSE Biology Live Trip Year 13 Progress Meetings Options Interviews end Ypres Trip for Year 10 HALF TERM
Year 8 Progress Meetings Monday 4th to Thursday 7th March Family Week (no after school events) Tuesday 5th March PEA Concert 4.00pm Thursday 7th March World Book Day – Dress as your favourite character from a book
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18 January 2019