16 October 2015

INASecondaryNewsletter

Wheelchair Rugby

ChallengeP. 8

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Dear Parents and Carers,

This week all of the Year 9s got to hear about life at Cambridge University from the Outreach and Access Officer at Newnham College. Thanks go to Ms Alibhai-Watson for arranging the

visit.

Today the Year 7s experienced their first Maths Relay, using mathematical skills and physical dexterity to compete against each other in form groups in timed conditions. The winning form will be announced next week! Thank you for organising the event Mr Dukes! On Saturday Ms Balsdon ad I took a group of students on the first London Club trip of the new year, to The Museum of London and The Monument. We learnt a lot about the history of London, from before the Roman city of Londinium, through the Black Death and the Great Fire, to Victorian times and the 20th century. The Monument tested our fitness as we climbed the 311 steps to enjoy panoramic views across the capital. The next London Club trip will be on 11th November to see some of our students performing an abridged Shakespeare play at a Central London theatre! Interested students should contact Ms Balsdon or Ms Macfarlane for further details. It was great to see so many parents at last night’s BRIDGES workshop. If you were not able to make it, you will find the handbook and power point on the website under ‘community/parent resources’. Many thanks to Ms Spencer and Ms Broadway for organising such an informative session.

Lastly, may I please urge anyone who has not yet considered offering a work experience placement for one of our Year 10 students to read Mr Crowther-Green’s item in the newsletter about this. We know that with your support we can create a really rich and vibrant menu of placements. Thank you.

With best wishes,

Rachel Macfarlane,

Principal

>>> News

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>>> NewsYear 10 students will complete a work experience placement from Monday 20th June 2016 – Friday 24th June 2016 and we need your help!

If you feel you can offer a placement, please read the placement guide below and contact Mr Crowther-Green by email: info@isaacnewtonacademy.org with the title ‘Work Experience’.

Please provide a work address, brief details of the type of work, potential duties and include a contact name, telephone number and email.

Placement guide

• Employers must have a Health and Safety policy and Public Liability Insurance

• Placements should be easily reachable from INA by public transport• Students should not be working in a confined space with a single employer

(safeguarding reasons)• Employers offering placements will need to complete an agreement and send

details of dress, days, times, tasks and any specific information• Students will complete a project which they will work through during their

placement

We welcome friends and family of INA students to offer placements to INA students. We want students to broaden their horizons and we want students to be completing a work experience that they could not easily organise themselves. Therefore students cannot complete work experience with family and friends.

If you have an questions please contact Mr Crowther-Green by email: info@isaacnewtonacademy.org

Thanks in advance for your continued support in developing our students together.

Mr Crowther-Green

Work Experience – We need your support!

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Black History Month 2015: A Time to Discover OUR History

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the USA is a made up of a diverse array of specialisms, cultures and ethnicities. The astronauts highlighted in the poster above were selected for their unique accomplishments and leadership they brought to America’s space agency in terms of human endeavour. The contributions of these astronauts represent the theme of the poster: Your Attitude Determines Your Altitude. This is a message from NASA to students and teachers of all ethnicities. If you are mindful, purposeful and actively planning for your future, your dreams and aspirations can be achieved.

October is Black History Month, and it is an important time to reflect on inspirational contributions from around the world. Here are some stories from NASA.

Guion Bluford Jr. was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He studied lots and received a Bachelor of Science degree in aerospace engineering from Pennsylvania State University in 1964. He went to receive a master of science with distinction in aerospace engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1974, and became a doctor of philosophy in aerospace engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1978. Bluford became an astronaut in 1979. He served a mission specialist for STS-8, becoming the first African American in space. He had other successful missions as an

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astronaut in 1985, 1991 and 1992. Since 1979 he has spent 688 hours in space. His favourite quote is: “Aim high – if you can dream it, you can achieve it.”

Dr. Mae Jemison was born in Decatur, Alabama. She studied and received her Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from Stamford University in 1977. She then moved to Cornell University and received her doctorate in medicine in 1981. Dr. Jemison was selected for the astronaut program in 1987. She was the science mission specialist on STS-47 in September 1992, which was a join mission between the USA and Japan. In completing her first space flight, she logged more than 190 hours in space. She is now currently a professor of environmental studies at Dartmouth University and works privately to advance technologies in developing countries. Dr. Jemison’s favourite quote is by Alice Walker: “It is the nature of this flower to bloom.”

Dr. Ellen Ochoa was born in Los Angeles, California. She studied and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from San Diego State University in 1980. In 1985 she received her Doctorate in electrical engineering from Stamford University in 1985. Dr. Ochoa became an astronaut in 1991. In 1993 she flew as a mission specialist on the STS-56, becoming the first Hispanic female to fly on board the Shuttle. In 1994, she flew as payload commander on the STS-66. She has logged more than 484 hours in space. Dr Ochoa’s favourite quote is by Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”

I hope these stories will inspire our young students to challenge their ambitions and plan actively for their dream careers.

Miss PriestleyLead Teacher of History

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Well done to the following students who are this week’s Mathematicians of the Moment. Please collect a merit from Mr Dukes

Here are the scores after the first week.

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The Mathematics department would like to encourage all students to enter next week’s Mathematician of the Moment competition. Have a look at the problem below.

Answers to be written on a Maths postcard to be placed in the Maths post box no later than 4.10pm on Wednesday 21st October. Good luck and may the best form win!!!

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THIS WEEK IN P.E……………….............AT ISAAC NEWTON ACADEMY Wheelchair Rugby Challenge

This shows the outstanding commitment and support that teachers at the school have made to students to help them get into sport within the

school, enrichment, extra-curricular fixtures and beyond. Thank you so much to all staff and

students that have helped us achieve this.

Fixtures last week….The year 8 Netball team played Beal away on Wednesday. All players showed tremendous grit and determination throughout the game, adapting well to playing in different positions and improving as the game went on. After conceding five points to an extremely strong Beal attack in the first two quarters, a fantastic shot from Manisha Mahil gained INA a point and a lift in the third quarter. Final score: Beal 7, INA 1.

The year 7 Football team played Wanstead School in a double header: both cup and league. With the game being a contest from start to finish there was nothing to separate the teams. Both teams showed great passion and desire to win the game but unfortunately the game was to be decided by an INA defensive mix up. Wanstead 4- 3 INA was the final score, but with chances coming close at the end it was a game that could have gone either way. Stand out performance goes to Jahiem Chambers for scoring his first hatrick for INA.

MUGA Surface ChangeWe are excited to announce that in November we will have a new all-weather surface replacing the current MUGA surface! This will allow the students to use the MUGA in all weather conditions and allows INA to continue to offer an exciting, full and varied curriculum and programme of enrichments.

The conditions for use of the new surface are below:

• BreakandLunchtimes–studentsshouldweartrainersorastroturfboots(preferableastroturfboots)to play on the astro at break or lunch. No moulded studs are allowed.

• P.E.lessons–studentsshouldweartrainers,astroturfbootsormouldedstuds(preferablymouldedstuds or astroturf boots). Shin pads have to be worn for these lessons. Please note that teachers will inform students as to whether their lesson is to be at Knox Field or on the MUGA.

Please note that this floodlit all weather pitch is available for hire outside school hours. For enquiries please contact the school via phone or email.

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THIS WEEK IN P.E……………….............AT ISAAC NEWTON ACADEMY

IMPROVE YOUR SKILLS! TRY SOMETHING NEW! KEEP FIT! MAKE NEW

FRIENDS! UNLEASH YOUR ENERGY! INCREASE YOUR

CHANCES OF GETTING INTO A TEAM!

Fixtures coming up…..• 19th October- Under 15 boys Redbridge Handball Tournament

hosted at INA• 21st October- Home- Year 9 Netball vs Palmer Academy

Away- Year 8 vs Ilford County High School• 22nd October- Home- Year 7 & 8 Netball vs Forest Academy

Away-Year 7 football vs Loxford

PE department extra-curricular and enrichment clubs

After school Lunch time clubsDAY CLUB TEACHER VENUE

MON Handball DB Sports Hall

Netball EH MUGA

Table Tennis GW Activity Studio

TUES Judo Club External Sports Hall

WED Yr 9 S+C BH Sports Hall

Rugby Club OT Knox Field/MUGA

THUR Yr 10 Football AT MUGA

Table Tennis BW Activity Studio

Yr 8 Basketball JL Sports Hall

Seated Volleyball

MB Activity Studio

Football/Cricket Yr 7

TB MUGA

FRI Badminton club

External Sports Hall

Girls’ Sports club

AN MUGA

Bike Club EC, DH, BB MUGA

Football/Cricket Yr8

AG Knox Field

1st Lunch (Year 10)

2nd Lunch (year 7,8 &9)

MON Boys Handball (Year 8 &9)

TUES Basketball club (Year 8&9

WED Basketball club (BH)

Girls Handball Year 8 & 9

THUR Year 7 Handball Boys and Girls

FRI Handball Club (BH)

Basketball (Year 7) Girls and Boys

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AT

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AN

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Year Groups

Leanne Abbott-JonesLead Pastoral Leader

Year 7 98%

Year 10 97.9%

Regular attendance is a crucial factor in students’ educational development and ability to achieve their full potential.

At Isaac Newton Academy every student is set the target of 100% attendance. We know that attendance has a direct link to progress, and would urge you to really consider if a day off school is necessary.

Well done to 9E for achieving their 100% target, and all other tutor groups that just missed out, with a very close 99%. Next week we will share the totals for the term so far, to see which tutor groups are on track for the attendance shield.

7S 99.6% 8W 99% 9E 100% 10S 100%

7A 99.6% 8N 98.3% 9I 99.1% 10N 99.6%

7W 99% 8A 97.4% 9S 97.6% 10C 98.6%

7I 98.2% 8E 96% 9N 97% 10A 97.4%

7T 97.8% 8T 95.8% 9W 96.5% 10W 97.4%

7C 97.4% 8S 95% 9C 95.5% 10T 96.8%

7E 96.4% 8I 93.9% 9A 95.5% 10I 96.7%

7N 95.7% 8C 93.5% 9T 93.9% 10E 96.5%

Year 9 96.8%P

rais

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Rec

ogni

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Pra

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M e r i t s

Jennifer ByrneYear 9 Pastoral Leader, i/c Praise and Recognition

Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10T 305 C 261 T 416 W 80 E 273 I 255 E 223 N 71S 268 A 254 N 119 E 57W 254 S 215 S 102 S 56C 248 W 187 W 91 A 51I 192 N 180 I 81 T 50 A 166 T 146 C 54 I 28N 148 E 80 A 53 C 15

Ahmed Al-Khafaji Award (Peer Commendation Award)The first awards have been decided by Pastoral Leaders after consultation with staff!

Year 7: Anish Mistry (7C) Anish was chosen for the way he has completely immersed himself into life at INA. He is extremely polite, mature and helpful, recently supporting another student in year 7, helping them to feel settled and looked after.

Year 8: Rahul Kalra (8S) Rahul he has helped integrate David into his form and he is also a really hard worker in all his lessons.

Year 9: Simranjeet Sehmi (9A) Simran is making excellent progress on his trombone (Ahmed's instrument) in Big Band lessons, enrichment and beyond. He attended the open evening on his birthday to support in the music department and performed brilliantly. He always conducts himself in an exemplary manner. He shows an evident pride in his contributions to INA with a sense of humility that is appealing to staff and students alike.

Year 10: Adarsh Ramchurn (10S) Adarsh exemplified absorption this week, being so absorbed in his Maths work that he didn’t notice that a visitor had arrived for him to do his student ambassador duties! He has also proven himself to be a wonderful prefect and mentor to the younger students.

Photos to follow in next week’s newsletterNext week’s winners will be decided by the previous week’s winner in his/her year group. The previous winner runs his/her suggestion past his/her Pastoral Leader before presenting it in the next year group assembly.

Good Deed FeedWell done to Abhay Year 10: whilst speaking to the PE department, Abhay noticed that a younger student was having difficulty getting into the Library, he quickly excused himself

from the conversation and went to open the door to assist– small things mean a lot! Great role modelling Abhay!

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What do I have to do?

You spend one registration per week with a Year 1 student, helping them stretch &

challenge themselves in their reading.

See Ms Atkinson for more details.

Wanted! Year 10 Guided Reading Men s

Lessons on Reproduction After half term the students in year 7 at Isaac Newton Academy are studying a topic called ‘Life on Earth’. This unit aims to explore concepts such as the characteristics of living things; cells, tissues and organs; variation and adaptation; evolution and natural selection as well as other fundamental aspects of modern Biology. This unit will also include a series of lessons that are based around the human reproductive cycle.

Specifically these three lessons will focus on the following:

• Howmaleandfemalesexcellsfusetogethertocreateanewanduniqueperson• Anatomicallyandmedicallycorrecttermsforeachorgananditsconstituentparts• Knowledgethatsexualintercourseisnecessaryforreproductionpurposes• Thedevelopmentofsecondarysexualcharacteristicsduringpubertyincludingthemenstrualcycle• ThedevelopmentoftheFoetus,theroleoftheplacentaandbirth

It is important to note that this is not sex education and that the students will be taught in their normal science groups. This topic is part of the National Curriculum in science and will not be treated differently from any other aspect of school science. If you have any questions or require clarification on any aspect of what will be covered in this series of science lessons, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Alex Clift-MatthewsHead of Science

Why is this a good opportunity?

You will develop leadership skills.You will develop teaching skills.

You will get to read some great picture books!

What help will I get?

You will be given full training in guided reading

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Why is this a good opportunity?

You will develop leadership skills.You will develop teaching skills.

You will get to read some great picture books!

Year 10 Science Revision GuidesWe are offering Year 10 students the opportunity to purchase a GCSE Science Revision guide for their GCSE course scheduled for examination in 2017.

During years 10 and 11, students will be following the Edexcel Science GCSE course either through the double science or triple science route. The textbooks we have chosen, published by Collins, cover the topics that are clearly labelled by grade, embed problem-solving and reasoning, and have been designed to build fluency and nurture confidence in GCSE – style practice questions.

We would like to offer students the opportunity to purchase the textbook so that they can take a copy home, annotate where needed and complete additional learning independently throughout the course. It is not a requirement but we consider it a helpful addition to their learning.

The textbooks will be available at a subsidised price of £3.50 each and payments should be paid via Wisepay which can be accessed through the schools website.

Double award science students will only need one book that covers all the content required for their two GCSE’s in science. For triple science students it is recommended that they purchase a textbook for each of the science subjects (Biology, Chemistry and Physics) and will therefore require three books at a total of £10.50.

Should you wish to purchase a textbook but need financial assistance please contact me to discuss this. Students whose payments have been received will be given the textbook at the beginning of the week following payment. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact the school on 0208 911 6666 and ask to be directed to the Science department.

Yours sincerely,

A Clift-MatthewsAlex Clift-MatthewsHead of Science

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I N A B R I D G E S A d a p t a b i l i t y a n d F l e x i b i l i t y

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A d a p t a b i l i t y a n d F l e x i b i l i t y

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Music Recital

The 1st Music Recital of the year will be on Thursday 12th November at 6pm. It is an opportunity for students to perform in a small space in front of a small audience. Students are welcome to sing, rap or perform on any instrument they play in or out of school. We would like to invite

students from all year groups to sign up on the sheet in F26 if you would like to take part.

Ms HopeMusic teacher

Year 7 Settl ing In Evening Wednesday 21st October 6.00-7.00pm

How we build learning power and develop character at Isaac Newton Academy

“We build too many walls and not enough bridges.” Isaac Newton

The secondary BRIDGES programme commences on Monday 14th September. BRIDGES are habits of mind or learning characteristics that develop a student's character and learning power and enable them to grow into well rounded individuals and resilient learners.

On a two weekly cycle throughout the year, Year 7 and 8 students are introduced to one or two new habits of mind or learning characteristics that will permeate throughout the curriculum. This will take place through a range of interactive activities. In addition, the students will experience BRIDGES learning objectives in each and every lesson throughout Isaac Newton Academy. Year 9 BRIDGES lessons will focus on strengthening certain BRIDGES learning characteristics through exploration of PHSE topics and themes.

Each fortnight you will find top tips in the newsletter of ways of supporting your child to develop the BRIDGES habits of mind and learning characteristics within the home.

B R I D G E S

Our Settling In Evening for parents/carers of Year 7 students will take place on Wednesday 21st October 2015 from 6.00pm to 7.30pm. It is important that every Year 7 student is represented by his/her parents/carers.

The Settling In Evening is an opportunity to learn more about key policies, such as Behaviour for Learning, Independent Learning and Pastoral Care, and how we measure and track attainment and progress at INA. We will also explain a little more about the BRIDGES lessons at INA. We will offer advice on how you can most effectively support your child with Independent Learning and reading.

Following the presentations, there will be an opportunity to meet other parents/carers, the senior leadership team and your child’s Pastoral Leader in the dining room and to visit our school library.

We look forward to seeing the parents of every Year 7 student at this key transition event.

Jo Spencer, Vice Principal Jody Lapish, Year 7 Pastoral Leader

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Key Dates for the Autumn Term 2015: Secondary

Saturday 17th October Saturday Stretch: MedicineTuesday 20th October GCSE Music performanceWednesday 21st October̀ Year 7 Settling In Parents Evening, incl Library Induction26 – 30 October HALF TERMMonday 2nd November Staff Training: school closed to studentsThursday 5th November Parent Workshop re safetyWednesday 11th November Year 7 Maths ChallengeWednesday 11th November Shakespeare Schools FestivalThursday 12th November Music recitalThursday 19th November Parent Workshop re LiteracyWednesday 25th November Staff Training: school closed to studentsSaturday 28th November Saturday Stretch: PsychologyTuesday 1st December Year 9 Options EveningTuesday 8th December Community PartyFriday 11th December Christmas LunchSaturday 12th December Saturday Stretch: GeographyThursday 17th December Winter ConcertFriday 18th December Awards Assemblies. Term ends at lunch time.

Spring Term

Monday 4th January - Thursday 24th MarchHalf Term 15th - 19th FebruaryINSET days: Monday 4th January and Friday 12th February

Summer Term

Monday 11th April - Wednesday 20th JulyHalf Term 30th May - 3rd JuneINSET days: Thursday 23rd and Friday 24th June, Friday 8th July