2 February 2018
Secondary Newsletter
2 February 2018 Secondary Newsletter
1
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) Jo Spencer Vice Principal Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead (DDSL) Tam Broadway Primary Headteacher Leanne Abbott-Jones Assistant Principal Designated Child Protection Officers Sugra Alibhai Gabriel Ayerh Patrick Ball Pardeep Chaggar
Jody Lapish Gareth Marshall-Jones Mariam Mayet Jag Singh
You can find the INA Safeguarding policy, Child Protection policy and other related policies and procedures on the Academy’s website.
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2 February 2018
Dear Parents and Carers, Last week we were entertained by the secondary students’ production of Bugsy Malone. The show was packed full of great tunes, amazing acting and sharp choreography. It was an impressive team effort, from actors, dancers, musician, staff and Year 7-10 students. Thank you so much to all those who worked so hard on the show, but especially to Ms Field, Ms Watkins, Mr Morgan and Mr Beasley!
On Saturday we hosted our first Saturday Stretch workshop of the year. Eighteen lucky students got to spend the morning with an undergraduate to find out more about studying this course at university. Read all about it in the following pages. Thanks go to Ms Epler, our Saturday Stretch Coordinator, for organising the day. This week the Senior Team are busy holding 1:1 interviews with Year 9 students and their parents to discuss GCSE Option choices. We have had a record number of applications to the sixth form this year – 350! All of the Year 11s who have applied (over 150) will be invited to attend an interview with their parent(s) on 19th February. This day is an Independent Learning Day for all other secondary year groups. With best wishes,
Rachel Macfarlane
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Dear Parents and Carers,
PARENT GOVERNOR VACANCIES – ISAAC NEWTON ACADEMY I am writing to let you know that there are currently vacancies for two parent governors on the Local Governing Body (LGB) of Isaac Newton Academy and an election will take place shortly. We are looking for one parent governor for the Secondary and one for the Primary. All parents, carers and guardians of children at the school are eligible to stand as candidates, and vote in the election. If there are more candidates than vacancies a ballot will be held and each parent/ guardian will have one vote for every parent governor vacancy. Governors do not need to be experts in the field of education. What they do need is an interest in the school and in the welfare of the pupils as well as the time and willingness to get involved. At the moment the Local Governing Body is particularly keen to develop its skills in income generation and post-school links - if you are someone that could bring these to the Local Governing Body, perhaps you would consider applying? I attach a short leaflet to help you decide whether to stand and a more detailed leaflet is available from Ms Jones (PA to the Principal). Once you have read this information, if you would like to stand as a Parent Governor, you should complete the online form at http://arkonline.tfaforms.net/2 by Monday 26th February 2018. If you would like any support completing this online form or would like to use a computer in school please contact Ms Jones on 0208 911 6666. Parent governors are very important in the life of the school, and I hope you will consider being a candidate. If you would like more information about the role, please speak with Samira Sadeghi on 07393 006280 or email samira.sadeghi@arkonline.org in the first instance. Yours sincerely
Rachel Macfarlane Principal 2 February 2018 Secondary Newsletter
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Can you be our Parent Governor? The role of the Local Governing Body: From overseeing what your children learn in class to making sure that building projects are delivered, governors are at the heart of our school’s journey. Governors work together to support the school to ensure that the pupils are able to achieve to the best of their ability. Each academy within the network of Ark’s 35 schools has a local governing body (LGB) which usually consists of six to 15 governors. All governors are expected to attend our LGB meetings, which are held four times a year in school and do not last more than three hours. The core job of the LGB is monitoring the implementation of the Academy’s educational and financial plans. Its focus is on the achievement of high standards, establishing and maintaining high expectations and promoting effective teaching and learning. Governors are not involved in the day-to-day management of the school but the Principal should provide the LGB with sufficient information to make decisions and fulfil its responsibilities.
The role of a parent governor: As a governor, you will bring the unique perspective of a parent to the school’s governing body. You are helping to ensure that school meets the needs of all its pupils and enables all of its pupils to achieve to the best of their ability. You will are not representing individual concerns and you can make your own decisions, together with colleagues on the governing body. Parent Governors are elected for a three year term of office; this is a voluntary role, but there is an expenses policy to support you. Ark will give the new parent governor a structured induction, provide information and guidance on the role. All governors are required to undergo an enhanced disclosure DBS check and must agree to adhere to the Ark governors’ Code of Conduct. See overleaf for more information.
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What skills do I need? This is a challenging and exciting role and you will learn new skills and extend existing ones during your time on the governing body. You do not need any specific skills or experience to start with. Governors do not need to be experts in the field of education; what they do need is a commitment to the school and in the welfare of the pupils as well as the time and willingness to get involved. And you must be confident in reading the documents that will be sent to you before each meeting.
The election process: All parents, carers and guardians of children at the school are eligible to stand as candidates, and vote in the election. If you would like to stand, please complete the online form at http://arkonline.tfaforms.net/2 by the relevant deadline. If you would like any support completing this online form or would like to use a computer in school to complete it, please contact Ms Jones (PA to the Principal). Please make sure that when you complete the form, you add your personal statement in support of your nomination as this helps parents/guardians to vote in the event of a ballot. If there are more candidates than vacancies a ballot will be held. Each parent/ guardian will have one vote for each parent governor vacancy. Like all Ark governors, the parent governor will be formally appointed by the Ark Governance Manager.
About Ark: Ark is an education charity and one of the country’s top-performing academy operators with 35 schools in our network. Our aim is to create outstanding schools that give every Ark pupil the opportunity to go to university or pursue the career of their choice.
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Secondary Newsletter
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Parent Governor: Role description Role of governors A successful and effective LGB will: •
Monitor implementation of the school development plan and school finances effectively
•
Act as a critical friend, developing a strong and supportive relationship with the Principal
•
Consult and respond to the views and concerns of parents and pupils
•
Be knowledgeable about the school
•
Use the skills of all members.
Governors will support the Principal and staff and will promote the interests of the academy and its pupils. The LGB can only be effective if it asks challenging questions and seeks sufficient information to make sound decisions. All governors are expected to attend LGB meetings, which are held six times a year in school. In addition, you might be expected to join a committee or take on a ‘link’ role to understand a particular area of the school’s activity, such as how it keeps children safe, provides for children with special educational needs and disabilities, or manages the school’s finances.
Expectations of parent governors As a governor, you will need to commit time to prepare for and attend LGB meetings, to take a share of tasks within the LGB and to take part in training. You will also be expected to visit the school as a governor – this can be a very different experience to visiting as a parent! As a parent governor, you will bring your parental perspective to the LGB and, through your children, you will have first-hand experience of the curriculum. Parent governors are elected by other parents and it
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is important to establish a rapport with the parental body that elected you, whilst continuing to maintain a strategic approach to school governance. As a Parent Governor: •
You are helping to ensure that the school meets the needs of all its pupils, not representing individual parents or their concerns.
•
Other parents may approach you with to concerns but you should not become personally involved in individual concerns, as this may jeopardise formal procedures. You should guide parents about appropriate lines of action and procedures.
•
You do not need to express opinions or vote in a particular way because you have been pressed to do so by other parents.
•
You are not there to promote the interests of your own children but of all children.
•
Objectivity is essential.
Parent governors are elected for a three year term of office. You can complete your term of office if your child leaves the Academy and may resign at any time by giving notice to the Clerk to the LGB. Being a parent governor does not disqualify you from your usual rights as a parent including making a complaint. Like all Ark governors, you will need to be loyal to the decisions made by the LGB and respect the confidentiality – even if you personally voted against a decision you must support the decision making process and take responsibility for the outcome. You will also be required to declare an interest and may need to withdraw from specific discussions where you, a partner or close relative or associate stands to gain or where you are so close to a matter being discussed that it will be difficult for you to be impartial.
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Secondary Newsletter
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YEAR 11 NEWS
Save the Date! INA Sixth Form Interviews Monday 19th February 2018 Please note: Year 11 students that have applied for INA Sixth Form are required to attend the interview with your parent/carer. Look out for further details in next week’s newsletter.
English Lectures Year 11 are currently in the middle of a lecture series designed to enhance their subject knowledge, particularly their understanding of social and historical context, for the key texts that they will be examined on as part of their English Literature GCSE. On Wednesday 24th January, Miss Rudd led a lecture on the contextual background of ‘Romeo and Juliet’, helping students to gain a better grasp of issues to do with family, love, religion and violence during the Elizabethan period. This will be followed on the 7th February by a lecture on ‘Animal Farm’ and its contextual links to the Russian Revolution (led by Mr Davoll), and then later in the term there will be a session on Dickens’ context and London in the 19th Century to support the study of ‘A Christmas Carol’. Mr Short will be filming each of the lectures and these will be uploaded to Fronter to support revision.
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Year 8 Progress Meeting Wednesday 7th February 2018 2:30 – 6:30pm ✧✧ Year 8 Progress Meeting is calendared for Wednesday 7th February 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 will return to tutor groups from 1:05-1:15pm. ✧✧ 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. ✧✧ Year 8 students will 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, 9, 10 and 11 in advance for P5 and 6. ✧✧ The school will be closed to Years 7, 9, 10 and 11 from 1:15pm. ✧✧ Enrichments and detentions will not take place. Mr M Crowther-Green Assistant Principal 2 February 2018 Secondary Newsletter
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EXP
What is Exp
Testing or trialling to of something.
TOP TIPS: Students
Robert H Goddard
• Take on board ot view during discu and oral respons • Experiment with • Challenge yourse within your class • Design your own
(1882 - 1945)
Robert Goddard today is hailed for his research and experimentation with liquid-fuelled rockets but, during his lifetime, his ideas were often rejected and mocked by his scientific peers who thought they were outrageous and impossible. As an undergraduate student, Goddard experimented with a rocket powered by gunpowder in the basement of the physics building. Clouds of smoke caused a lot of commotion but, rather than expel him, his professors took an interest in his work. In 1926, Goddard successfully launched the first liquid-fuelled rocket which reached an altitude of 41 feet, lasted 2 seconds and averaged about 60 miles per hour. Today rockets and space travel don’t seem far-fetched at all, due largely in part to the pioneering and experimental work of Goddard.
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Students wh
Tasnim Suhan 11O’Keefe
2 February 2018
PERIMENTATION
perimentation?
o improve your understanding
Behaviours • Trying out new ideas and ways of doing things that perhaps you have not tried before, • finding out how something works or why something happens in a particular way, • viewing experimentation as an opportunity to learn, • not being afraid to try or test new ideas for fear of failure, relishing the opportunity to learn.
Parents
ther people’s ideas and points of • Discuss with your child different revision methods. ussions and use them in your written • Encourage your child to take part in an enrichment ses. activity that they wouldn’t normally choose. different learning partners. • Discuss famous scientists/inventors who only elf by taking on a different role discovered great breakthroughs after hundreds s e.g. lead learner, note-taker. of failed experiments e.g. Thomas Edison who n learning resources. made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. When a reporter asked, “How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?” Edison replied, “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.” Henry Cavendish was a British natural philosopher, scientist, and an important experimental chemist and physicist. His experiments led him to the law governing electrical attraction and repulsion, and calculations of the density (and hence the weight) of the Earth.
ho have shown great Experimentation in their learning:
n
Tasnim tried stencilling using acetate and a craft knife, then applying acrylic paint with sponge onto the stencil and transferring the image of leaves to paper, in response to her exam unit theme of ‘Fragments’. She did this of her own accord without the teacher’s assistance, showing bravery, and taking creative risks. By doing this she is meeting Assessment Objective two- ‘refine ideas through experimentation’.
Elanah Summers 11Bacon
2 February 2018 Secondary Newsletter
Elanah experimented with wax paper for IL. She created some really effective marks that resemble cracks in rock or brick. This was in response to her exam unit theme of ‘Fragments’. This was a technique the teacher had not seen before, so it was a very independent, imaginative idea. By doing this she is meeting Assessment Objective two- ‘refine ideas through experimentation’.
INA BRIDGES 13
Saturday Stretch Sociology – January 27th 2018 On Saturday the 27th of January, students across years 8 and 9 attended a Saturday Stretch class in Sociology led by an undergraduate from the London School of Economics; Shivani Rajput. The session began with an intro to Sociology and different sociological theories. Once students had an idea of how to analyse the world around them with a sociological lens, they split up into groups and focused on a specific sector of society – education, government, health care, family, economy, judicial systems, or the media. They then needed to identify key downfalls within their sector and come up with a solution if possible. Here are a few downfalls that were raised when students came back as one collective group to share their findings: • Gentrification is a huge issue that exists in many parts of the world, but why doesn’t the government make it illegal or a lot more difficult to occur? • Health care, shouldn’t there be free contraception to those who need it, even if there is a push back from religious groups? • The judicial systems within countries should have established laws that apply to anyone who breaks them. It has become statistically common for a woman to be given a lesser sentence than a man when both are committing the same crime, but that isn’t fair.
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After wrestling with these downfalls of society, Shivani handed out an article for the students to read and contemplate. The title of the article read, ‘Lavinia Woodward: Oxford student ‘too bright’ for prison is spared jail for stabbing boyfriend’. The first challenge was to try and view the article from different sociological perspectives. Then, students needed to decide if they agreed with the judge’s ruling or not. While it was a very new experience for the students to think like a functionalist or a Marxist, they handled themselves well and had strong arguments.
To wrap up the afternoon, Shivani shared a bit more about university life and what it’s like to study Sociology at a university level. She explained that there are many avenues a Sociology student can take once they graduate, like going into education, becoming a professional researcher, or joining the fashion industry. It was great having Shivani with us at INA and all of the students that attended truly enjoyed learning more about the field of Sociology. Ms S Epler
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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 It is the start of another year, so we are re- starting the Form Merit competition. 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
TOTAL YEAR 10 TOTAL YEAR 11 TOTAL
I N A C W S E
1007 938 895 785 720 676 649
A E S W N I C
699 567 446 422 382 374 312
T I W E N S A
346 333 273 236 211 159 126
C
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N E T A C S I
273 193 187 186 162 155 136
W E T N I S A
174 151 143 112 95 73 26
2 February 2018
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 that encapsulated one of these qualities in that week. Year 7: Ali Parwane 7E Year 8: Ram Solanky 8W Year 9: Remy Adam 9C Year 10: Munawarah Noori – 10I Year 11: Adam Warishaully 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! Ms Watkins: Kaiya Greenidge 10S has been a model student since I started teaching her in September and is continuing to grow from strength to strength. She is always attentive in lessons, contributing to class discussions and exploring new ideas with courage and creativity. Her written learning is developing as a result of this and she is demonstrating depth and detail within her work. We have recently had a new student in the class who speaks very little English and Kaiya is showing an outstanding level of maturity in helping her access the learning beyond my interventions. I am so utterly proud of the progress she is making and would love for you to commend this. Ms Field: Kabeer Kaswal 8A – for stepping in and understudying a main role in the school production last week. He was a great cast member! Leah Deane 8N – for being really helpful and supportive of cast members and staff during the whole of the production. 2 February 2018 Secondary Newsletter
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A deeper insight into religion – our thoughts
On Friday 18th January we were delighted to welcome two external speakers from the organisation ‘Religion Matters’. The purpose of the visit was for our GCSE Religious Studies students to further enhance our learning from the classroom in to a Harkness session where our viewpoints were challenged.
Here are some of students’ comments on the session. “I really enjoyed the Harkness discussion we had when Rob and Matt came. It was really interesting to find out their perspectives of evil and suffering. Having external speakers come in engaged our attention and helped us to understand further beliefs in Christianity. This has made a big impact on my knowledge and has helped me very much.”
Amaan Hassan
“In my opinion, I thought the Harkness about Christianity was a great educational discussion. I liked how Rob and Matt shared their views in the Harkness and the way we got a chance to ask further questions. The discussion was about evil and suffering in the world. This got us thinking about God and if he does exist then why do people suffer? I think that being able to have an external speaker come in to school, allows us to expand our thoughts on different beliefs. It allows us to understand how they believe things from a different perspective. I was very grateful to Rob and Matt as they were honest about their life, sharing their own experiences and beliefs”. Naeemah Khan
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Attendance and Punctuality At Isaac Newton Academy every student is expected to maintain 100% attendance. Each form group across each year are competing to ensure they are top of the attendance league table for their year. Please ensure your child catches up with missed learning. Our pastoral and teaching staff are working hard to ensure students are taking responsibility for going to collect missed learning from their classroom teachers. 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 8.20am. The form with the highest attendance at the end of every term is awarded the attendance trophy. Each week we will update you with the year to date attendance figures as seen below. Well done to year 7 and 8 for achieving over 97%. Year group and form attendance for week of 26th January 2018 Tutor
Week
Tutor
Week
Tutor
Week
Tutor
Week
Tutor
Week
7A
90.0
8A
94.0
9A
96.2
10A
94.6
11A
90.8
7C
95.4
8C
83.8
9C
84.3
10C
98.1
11E
93.8
7E
93.8
8E
92.3
9E
82.5
10E
83.9
11I
87.0
7I
92.3
8I
92.4
9I
94.2
10I
96.0
11N
85.2
7N
97.0
8N
92.6
9N
92.9
10N
91.2
11S
92.5
7S
90.2
8S
92.7
9S
87.3
10S
79.2
11T
90.8
7W
93.8
8W
95.8
9T
88.3
10T
88.1
11W
93.0
Total
93.3
Total
91.9
9W
96.7
Total
90.0
Total
90.5
Total
90.4
If you have any attendance related concerns please do not hesitate to contact myself or your child’s Pastoral Leader to discuss. Ms Lapish Lead Pastoral Leader 2 February 2018 Secondary Newsletter
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Sports Report A LEVEL AND SPORTS CAREER PROMOTION SESSION
On Wednesday 24th January Year 11 GCSE P.E. students attended a talk by professionals from the sports industry, or related career paths who studied A level PE in the past. Students gained an insight into the careers of a Cardiac Physiologist (James Bilham), Personal Trainer (Chris Varnavas), Sports Therapist (Sam Jones) and a Physiotherapist (Sam Blanchard). The feedback from students was very positive as the guest speakers opened up students eyes as to what a career in Sport can do.
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Year 7 football cup quarter final v trinity The Year 7 Football team bowed out of the Redbridge Cup last week after losing 5-0 to a strong Trinity side. The boys battled well in the first half and were unlucky to go into half-time 1-0 down, but Trinity showed their strength in the second half by scoring goals in quick succession to down a hard working INA side. The boys will be back stronger next year!
Forthcoming Fixtures: Monday 5th February
GCSE Handball intervention
Year 9 and 10 Netball v Cannon Palmer (A)
Year 7 2nd XI Boys Football v Valentines (H)
Tuesday 6th February
Year 8 Basketball team v Year 9 2nd 5 Basketball team
Thursday 8th February
GCSE Theory intervention
Year 7 and 8 Netball V Loxford (A)
Year 7 and 9 boys Football tournament (LYCA Mobile Cup) (A)
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Key Dates for the Spring Term 2018 Wednesday 3rd January – Thursday 29th March Half Term: Monday 12th – Friday 16th February INSET Days: Wednesday 28th February, Friday 16th March Independent Learning Day: Monday 19th February Wednesday 7th February Monday 12th — Friday 16th February Monday 19th February
Friday 23rd February Monday 26th February — Friday 2nd March Wednesday 28th February Thursday 8th March Wednesday 14th March Thursday 15th March Thursday 15th March Friday 16th February Monday 19th March Thursday 22nd March Monday 26th March Monday 26th March Tuesday 27th March Wednesday 28th March Thursday 29th March
Year 8 Progress Meetings 2.30 – 6.30pm HALF TERM Independent Learning Day Students study from home Sixth Form Interviews End of Options Interviews Family Week (No events after school) INSET Day - No school for students Year 10 Progress Meetings 2.30 – 6.30pm Med Experience Year 9 & 10 BBC News School Report Year 8 Big Band concert INSET Day - No school for students Science Challenge Week Year 12 Finance Parent Meeting Year 7 Awards Assembly Year 7 Progress Meetings 2.30 – 6.30pm Year 11 Parent and students meeting re: exams Spring Concert Awards Assemblies for Years 8 -11
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