9 October 2015

INASecondaryNewsletter

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Dear Parents and Carers,

This week we held our Open Evening for Year 6 pupils and their parents. It was a great opportunity for our Year 7 student guides to show off how much they have learnt about the school in the past 5 weeks and for us to display some of the fabulous Knightley and Son summer projects that the new intake worked so hard on. We had older students helping out in all curriculum areas: performing in music, drama and PE, running experiments in science and completing practical assignments in ADT, showcasing Harkness discussions and welcoming visitors to the English, Maths, MFL and Humanities classrooms. There was a wonderful buzz about the whole school and we had lots of very positive feedback from those who looked round. I was extremely proud of the INA community.

On Monday next week we have the Access and Outreach Officer of our link college at Cambridge University (Newnham) coming to talk to all of the Year 9 students in two sittings. This is part of our work on preparing our students for university.

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-Greens 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

>>> NewsAnnouncementsCycle to School Challenge: 5th 16th October 2015As part of our school travel plan, Isaac Newton Academy is taking part in the Redbridge Cycle to School Challenge between 5th and 16th October and we want to encourage as many students as possible to cycle to school during these two weeks!

Every time your child cycles to school during the challenge weeks they will be given a raffle ticket. The more they cycle, the greater chance they will have of winning a prize.PLUS the class with the most cyclists during the challenge will get a trip to the Lee Valley Velopark at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park!

So lets get cycling and see which class can cycle the most!

Mrs Chamberlain, and Mrs Vanlint INA Youth Travel Ambassadors.

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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 HistoryOctober is the month to reflect and remember the History of Black and Minority Ethnic communities in England and the world.

Barack Obama, the current president of the United States named his daughter after her.

Her friends included civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., famous choreographer Alvin Ailey, singer Billie Holiday, talk show host Oprah Winfrey and former U.S. president Bill Clinton and she influenced millions around the world.

Not bad for a humble poet, eh?

But Maya Angelou was so much more than a poet. She died a year ago this week at the age of 86, but her words will live on forever.

In addition to her poetry, Angelou was perhaps most famous for her autobiography (the story of her life which she wrote) called I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

She rose from relatively modest beginnings, the daughter of a doorman and a nurse, to become a leader in a mind-boggling number of fields.

In addition to writing many books, plays, movies and TV shows, she was an actress, a journalist and an activist for human rights, including working to end racism against blacks in South Africa. She was a singer in nightclubs, a restaurant cook, and the first female African-American streetcar conductor in San Francisco. She formed a dance troupe with Alvin Ailey; toured Europe in an opera called Porgy and Bess, was an administrator of the University of Ghana in Africa, and spoke six languages.

She was a journalist, a market researcher and a famously wonderful cook, who also wrote two cookbooks. She published seven autobiographies and 30 books.

Angelou composed songs for movies, and she was nominated for a Tony Award (a top award given to actors in stage plays), and a Pulitzer Prize for writing.

Although she never earned a university degree, Angelou taught philosophy, ethics, theology, science, theatre and writing in universities. She received 30 honourary degrees from universities.Her influence was felt, and will continue to be felt by millions of people around the world.As it was National Poetry Day on Thursday 8th October,

I felt it was important to include one of Maya Angelous poems:

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Still I RiseYou may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,You may tread me in the very dirt

But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom?

'Cause I walk like I've got oil wellsPumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,With the certainty of tides,

Just like hopes springing high,Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes?

Shoulders falling down like teardrops.Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you? Don't you take it awful hard

'Cause I laugh like I've got gold minesDiggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,You may cut me with your eyes,

You may kill me with your hatefulness,But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you? Does it come as a surprise

That I dance like I've got diamondsAt the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shameI rise

Up from a past that's rooted in painI rise

I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fearI rise

Into a daybreak that's wondrously clearI rise

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I riseI riseI rise.

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Well done to the following students who are this weeks 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 weeks 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

INA has been awarded the Sainsburys School Games Silver Kitemark.

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.Year 8 1st Football team The Year 8's hosted Valentines at Knox Field. The game was very tight, with both teams battling hard. INA showed a great team performance. The final score was 5-5, with both teams persevering until the end. Stand out performances go to Tafcir Majumder with some incredible saves that kept INA in the game and also to Lucas Overton and Ayman Oulad-Lafkuih for maintaining their enthus0iasm and desire to win from start to finish.

Fixtures coming up.. 12th October- Year 9 1st Football team away to Valentines School 13th October- Selected students to be taken to the Wheelchair Rugby Tournament 14th October- Year 8 Netball away to Beal High School 15th October- Year 7 & 8 Netball home to Loxford Year 10 1st Football team away to Mayfield

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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!

PE department extra-curricular and enrichment clubs

After school

Lunch time clubs

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ATTENDANCE

Year Groups

Leanne Abbott-JonesYear 9 Pastoral Leader

Year 7 98.5%

Year 10 96.3%

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.

The attendance totals for all tutor groups were lower than usual last week, due to a number of students taking part of a day, or a full day off to celebrate Eid.

Well done to 7T for achieving their 100% target. It would be great to see more forms achieving this next week.

7T 100% 8C 99.5% 9E 98.3% 10W 99.6%

7C 99.1% 8S 99.5% 9I 98.2% 10I 98.1%

7E 99.1% 8T 99.2% 9N 98.2% 10T 97.3%

7S 99.1% 8E 99.1% 9C 97.7% 10N 96.5%

7A 98.3% 8N 99.1% 9A 97.3% 10A 96.1%

7I 98.2% 8W 99.5% 9S 96.1% 10C 95%

7W 97.1% 8A 95.2% 9W 93% 10S 94.3%

7N 96.5% 8I 90% 9T 88.3% 10E 93.9%

Year 8 97.2%Pr

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and R

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Prai

se an

d Rec

ogni

tion

Form Totals

M e r i t s

Jennifer ByrneYear 8 Pastoral Leader, i/c Praise and Recognition

Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10T 190 N 180 T 242 N 59 S 188 C 168 E 181 E 57I 172 T 146 S 102 S 56 C 171 I 141 N 85 T 50E 141 A 140 W 78 W 42A 136 S 131 I 59 A 39N 112 W 83 C 54 I 28W 112 E 80 A 27 C 15

Ahmed Al-Khafaji Award (Peer Commendation Award)After consultation with students, I am pleased to announce a new award at Isaac Newton Academy: the Ahmed Al-Khafaji Award (Peer Commendation Award). This award will be decided by students rather than teachers. Each year group will have their own trophy which will have Ahmeds name engraved at the bottom. The idea is that the previous weeks recipient decides the next weeks winner. The previous winner will award it to the next winner, stating their reason at their year group assembly. 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. It might be that the previous weeks winner saw how well the next winner helped out people in his/her group during group work, or perhaps he/she saw a potential winner helping someone out who fell or perhaps they saw how hard the winner worked on an IL project.

The first awards will be decided by Pastoral Leaders and given out in the next year group assemblies.

Good Deed FeedHave you seen someone do a good deed either in or outside of school? Please make sure to let your Pastoral Leader know as their name and good deed could appear on the digital screens around school very soon!

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COMING NEXT WEEK

BRIDGES Parent Workshop for Primary and Secondary Parents/Carers

Thursday 15th October 6.00-7.00pm in the KS3 Hall

You are invited to a workshop to find out more

about our BRIDGES programme and how you

can support your child in developing these key

characteristics. Please inform the primary or

secondary school office if you would like to attend.

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.

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

Year 8 girls HPV Vaccinations Wednesday 14th October

2015Parents of year 8 girls should be aware that their first HPV vaccination to protect against cervical cancer will take place on Wednesday 14th October. Only those girls that have returned their completed consent form and have opted to have the vaccination will be given it. Please be aware that this vaccination is not available from your GP.

Thank you

Eleanor Seale, Office Manager

Wanted! Year 10 Guided Reading Men s

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Meet the PrefectsJust before the summer holidays Ms Macfarlane, Mr Griffin and Ms Abbott-Jones received nearly 50 applications from students keen to be selected as the first cohort of Isaac Newton Academy Prefects. After a tough selection process, we appointed 24 prefects, and we are delighted to introduce them to you below:

The prefects have a very important role to play in the school community. They have all been trained as Peer Mentors and a number of them are already mentoring some of the younger students, supporting with transition to secondary school and Independent Learning. Some have lead roles on the student and charity council, or support the PE department with primary academy sports leadership. 5 of the Prefects have attended Philips Exeter Academy, so as part of their role as Harkness Champions they support in Harkness lessons and work with teachers to plan engaging Harkness discussions.

All of the prefect team support the community through contributing to a duty rota, and as part of this duty rota they are always on hand in the area next to the Key Stage 4 hall to support other students with independent learning. We hope that you will get the opportunity to meet them as they support at school events, and look forward to them shaping the prefect role for future year groups.

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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 RecitalThe 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 childs 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

Monday 12th October Open Mornings 9amThursday 15th October Parent Workshop re BRIDGESSaturday 17th October Saturday Stretch: MedicineTuesday 20th October GCSE Music performanceWednesday 21st October` 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