NEWSLETTER
SUMMER
Week 4
Our first May newsletter!
We hope you enjoyed our improved newsletter design. Thank you for your positive feedback. We'll continue to add improvements as we move into our last few weeks before summer.
In this newsletter you'll find exciting trips, Maths challenges, sporting achievements and lots of new discoveries. There's plenty of shout-outs and we'll also let you know about exam prep for our older students. Use the buttons provided to jump to the year group you'd like to find out about - and don't forget to add the following dates to your diary!
Dates for your diary
Take note of these upcoming events and visit the parent's calendar to see an overview for the term...
Remember:
- Year 7 trip to Jamie's Farm - Monday 13th May - Wednesday 17th May
- Year 6 trip to Gurdwara - Tuesday 21st May
- Year 6 SATs, GCSEs, A-levels - Week commencing 13th May
- Year 6 'Let's Talk About Consent' - Monday 20th May, 3:30pm
- Nursery celebration event - 24th May, 10:45am or 2:45pm
Primary
Early Years - Key Stage 2
Primary spotlight on...
Celebrating our Reach Values!
We are super proud of all of our certificate winners over the past few weeks who have demonstrated our REACH school values each and every day. We make sure to Reflect, Endeavour, Aspire, show Courage, and Have fun in order to reach our goals and pursue lives of choice and opportunity. It's great to see so many of our Primary classmates sharing these values with one another. Well done and keep it up!
We have been endeavouring to complete one of our big goals by stitching bookmarks in the Nursery. We have listened carefully and followed instructions and developed our manual dexterity and fine motor skills.
In the Seedlings class we have been making beautiful pasta necklaces and developing our fine motor skills and hand eye coordination. Well done Seedlings pm class for receiving the Attendance diamond award. We are so proud of all these families and their efforts!
A special shout out to our Nursery PM classes who have all been in school every day this week, congratulations! Well done Seedlings pm class for receiving the Attendance diamond award. We are so proud of all these families and their efforts!
Reminder: If your child is going to be absent, please phone the school in the morning to report this. If your child has an appointment, please provide paperwork in person or email a photo of it to the front office. Thank you for your continued support.
Literacy
In Literacy, we have been learning the story of Handa’s surprise. The children have had so much fun acting out the story of Handa’s surprise in the tuff tray. In addition the children have also created and tasted their own tropical smoothies using fruits from the story.
Maths
In Maths,we have been learning about grouping and sharing. We have practised sharing objects between two and three people. We have developed the skills of looking at groups and finding out if the group of objects are equal or unequal.
Practise at home:
The children can show you their new learning by sharing objects out between family members at home, and telling you if the groups are equal or unequal.
Year 1
This half term we have been learning all about dinosaurs! This week we looked specifically at the type of diets a dinosaur may have followed. We learnt some dinosaurs were carnivores which means they only ate meat. Some were herbivores which means they only ate plants and vegetables and some dinosaurs were omnivores which means they ate both plants and meat. This also linked into our science learning because we have been learning about mammals and the diets different mammals have. At home you can ask your children which diet the animals follow below!
A recommended read for Year 1!
The Cat In The Hat by Dr Seuss
When the Cat in the Hat steps in on the mat, Sally and her brother are in for a roller-coaster ride of havoc and mayhem! The Cat can rescue them from a dull rainy day, but it means lots of thrills and spills along the way.
Maths
In Maths, we have been looking at the different properties of 3D shapes. We began by learning that 3D shapes have three dimensions; height, width and depth. We then moved onto looking at faces, which are the flat/curved surfaces that made up a 3D shape. During this lesson, we saw the faces of 3D shapes are 2D shapes. For example, cubes have square faces! After that, we looked at edges which is where we two faces meet. We finished off by exploring vertices, which is the point where two edges meet.
PE
In PE, we have continued our units on yoga and tennis. We have been very impressed with how children are beginning to develop their racket control.
Science
In Science, we have studied the five different food groups, learning about their different uses. We talked about the importance of having a balanced diet so that we can live healthy lifestyles.
Writing
In writing, we have continued to write an adventure story about a night owl called Plop. Although Plop is a nocturnal animal, we have come to realise that he does not enjoy the night as much as he should! Children have been using a range of subordinating and coordinating conjunctions, onomatopoeias and adverbs to make their stories so detailed.
They have described reasons why Plop should love the night time such as roasting marshmallows during campfires and playing pranks during sleepovers. We have had so much fun writing these stories. Well done team!
Humanities
In Humanities, the children learnt about the importance of the River Nile to the development of the Ancient Egyptian civilization. We then looked at some of the most famous landmarks and inventions attributed to the Ancient Egyptians, including the Pyramids, the Sphinx of Giza, hieroglyphics and the calendar. Children have been so amazed to learn about the different Gods and Goddesses from the Ancient Egyptian times and have been learning new vocabulary that comes with it. Test your child at home for the meaning of these words: envious and merged.
A trip to the museum
It has been a very exciting couple of weeks in Year 3. We took a trip to the British museum where the children saw lots of artefacts from Roman Britain, Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece. They were particularly excited to see the mummies in the Egyptian section of the museum. Thank you so much to all of the parents who offered to volunteer for the trip, we are extremely grateful for your help and these trips couldn’t go ahead without you.
Science
In science, the children conducted their own scientific investigation to see how light affects the growth of a plant. They put some of their cress in the cupboard and observed that restricting the amount of light a plant receives limits the plant’s growth.
Writing
In writing, the children have just finished their first independent writing of the summer term. Their piece of writing was inspired by the text The Iron Man, which is the book the children are studying in book club. In their writing, they have included similes, rhetorical questions, and repetition. Please see some wonderful writing below from Marisabel and Amelia.
.jpg?width=1500&height=2000&name=Y3%20Writing%20(1).jpg "Y3 Writing (1)")
Maths
In maths, we are learning all about angles and shapes this term. Do you want to test your children at home? Please ask them what is a right angle, an acute angle and an obtuse angle are. Challenge them by asking them what are parallel lines and perpendicular lines.
Year 4
Year 4 have had such a wonderful time on their residential this week! They have shown lots of courage trying new activities! We have been really impressed with their teamwork and kindness. They have been excellent ambassadors of the Reach Academy values. They took part in: fencing, rock climbing, zip wire, a survivor skills course and a sensory challenge course!
Year 5
Three days of adventure and learning on the Isle of Wight!
We are thrilled to share highlights from our recent Year 5 residential trip to the breathtaking Isle of Wight! Over the course of three unforgettable days, our students embarked on a journey filled with exploration, discovery, and invaluable learning experiences.
Amidst the stunning landscapes of the Isle of Wight, our young adventurers not only immersed themselves in nature but also honed a variety of essential skills. From teamwork and communication to problem-solving and resilience, each day presented new opportunities for growth and development. Throughout the trip, students engaged in a range of activities, including beach fun, outdoor challenges, and interactive educational sessions. They navigated through obstacle courses, conquered rock climbing walls, and even tried their hand at catapult target shooting, all while fostering a sense of camaraderie and cooperation.
Moreover, our time on the Isle of Wight provided a unique platform for students to deepen their understanding of environmental conservation and sustainability. Through hands-on activities and discussions, they gained a newfound appreciation for the natural world and the importance of preserving it for future generations. As we reflect on this incredible experience, we are immensely proud of the resilience, adaptability, and enthusiasm demonstrated by each and every student.
Year 6
The Junior Mathematical Challenge
Some of our Year 6 pupils recently took part in the Junior Mathematical Challenge. This challenge is a national competition that is mainly designed for Year 7 and Year 8 pupils.
However, some of our mathematicians took part and did exceptionally well!
At Reach, around 119 pupils took part in this challenge. A huge shoutout to Aarav Dubey who came 1st place overall at Reach, Denis Chetvertkov who got the third highest score and Rhea Verma who came 6th overall. This is an outstanding achievement and shows there are no limits to what you can achieve!
A special shout out also goes to Annika Kashyap, Kelvin Ohn-Myint, Ronav Shah, Eliana Tedrous and Rishabh Nambiar who also took part in this challenge.
Congratulations to you all!
SATS breakfast club
From Monday 13th May - Thursday 16th May 2024, we will be running a free breakfast club before the assessment in the Main Hall from 7:45am- 8:15am. We would ask that all children attend so that they have a calm, purposeful start to the day. School staff will be running this breakfast club and checking in with pupils in the morning. Here is the link to sign up: https://forms.gle/j8Yc9FJzSHXjCUh29
Just so you are aware, we will only be providing breakfast for pupils who have been signed up to avoid wasting food. Please make sure you fill out the Google Form if you would like your child to attend the SATs breakfast club.
Equipment needed for SATs
Please ensure that your child has the following equipment for the upcoming SATs:
- 30cm ruler
- protractor
- rubber
- pencil
- black or blue pen
- clear pencil case
On Thursday 16th May, please ensure that your child has their PE kit for post-SATs celebrations.
Upcoming dates for your diary:
- Monday 13th May - Thursday 16th May: KS2 SATs examinations week
- Monday 20th May 3:30pm - 4:00pm - Y6 Parent Workshop: Let's talk about consent and relationships
- Tuesday 21st May - trip to Hounslow Gurdwara
- Monday 24th June - Friday 5th July - First Give project
- Tuesday 9th - Friday 12th July - Jamie’s Farm
Secondary
Key stage 3 & 4
Attendance
We have been celebrating success across Year 7 as a number of students in the last 2 weeks have achieved a fantastic 100% attendance.
Bhavya won the attendance certificate this week and Payslip Hero Klaudia earned over 200 points!!
Team Don, congratulations on becoming the Attendance Champions of Year7. Team Tyne it's yours for the taking next week!!!
Headteachers’ lunch
The Headteachers lunch invitation goes to Fiyin in Don class
Fiyin, for being a fantastic support to a new student settling in, making her feel very much part of the team and being super welcoming. Fiyin is a true scholar to her independent learning whilst instilling all the Reach values 100% of the time.
Congratulations Fiyin.
Shout Outs!
- Shiv -Maths SO to team Don who showed excellent courage by showing great effort during their weekly maths quiz whilst having the disadvantage of not seeing the practice quiz ahead of time!
- Serena - Art shoutout to year 7 group A for being super polite with excellent manners, very engaged and being so fun to teach.
- Tom B - Drama S/O to Myah for superb participation in Drama! She seemed to be having lots of fun and collaborating very effectively #aspire
- Ruksar - Science Massive SO to Team Don - such a focussed biology lesson, all students on S1 passed and were very engaged in the lesson. I barely needed to correct any behaviour, they're starting to hold each other to account. SO to CD for reflecting and followng all instructions the first time. SO to Asil, Hanan and Aarav for HOTR for 4/4 in their exam style question taken from a GCSE paper!
- Chloe V -Spanish SO to Royce, Amelia and Hajerah for some outstanding and fantastic writing! Their response to my email was so lovely and they wrote with accuracy in Spanish!
Extra curricular activities
We have a large number of students who take part in a wide range of activities in their spare time from football to dance classes to Sea and Air Cadets and even competing in boxing competitions. We would love to share more on the activities your child/ren do outside of school so feel free to contact HoY7 with some photos to share in the next newsletter.
Sports news
A group of Year of 7 and 8 girls were invited to Orleans Park School to take part in some trial events on their 400 metre track to help prepare them for the Borough Athletics competition in June. The girls were superb and represented all of the Reach values across the board, giving their absolute best and not being afraid of running on a full size track. We gained valuable experience that will be incredibly beneficial in the build up to the borough athletics competition in June particularly in the 800 and 1500 metres.
The 7 and 8 boys will be going to Orleans Park on May 15th to help in their preparations for the Borough Athletics competition in June. Shoutouts for all the girls that went: Y8 - Lena, Hannah, Daisy, Esther, Christine, Yara, Y7 - Nelab, Joelle, Paris, Liberty, Precious, Klaudia, Fiyin.
Year 8
Sports news
A group of Year of 7 and 8 girls were invited to Orleans Park School to take part in some trial events on their 400 metre track to help prepare them for the Borough Athletics competition in June. The girls were superb and represented all of the Reach values across the board, giving their absolute best and not being afraid of running on a full size track. We gained valuable experience that will be incredibly beneficial in the build up to the borough athletics competition in June particularly in the 800 and 1500 metres.
The 7 and 8 boys will be going to Orleans Park on May 15th to help in their preparations for the Borough Athletics competition in June. Shoutouts for all the girls that went: Y8 - Lena, Hannah, Daisy, Esther, Christine, Yara, Y7 - Nelab, Joelle, Paris, Liberty, Precious, Klaudia, Fiyin.
Shout-outs!
Y8 have shown incredible endeavour and aspiration over the past two weeks. So much so that the newsletter is PACKED with shout outs! Thank you to the parents/carers for your continued support and love, the Y8 students for the resilience and joy you demonstrate in school and the Y8 teaching and year team who are so dedicated, going above and beyond for our amazing students. Enjoy reading the shout outs! :)
- Ruksar and the Y8 team: SO to Max and Lena for winning the attendance raffle for C2! 💯🕐 🎉🙌🎖️
- Izzy: SO to Varunan, he was excellent in history :) also SO to all of Thames they were brilliant and HOTR to Jayda!
- Lily: SO to Thames who have been exceptional in English despite a technological disaster, they are resilient and diligent scholars 🌟
- Elly: SO to the Year 8 girls that attended the trip last night - they represented the school beautifully! Special SO to Esther who swapped with a Year 6 that didn’t want to sit by a stranger #ShowCourage
- Kit: SO to Team Leam super keen computer scientists!! Lots of reflection and deep thinking about how we represent information- especially to Willow and Yara #jointHOTR, and also to Bikal, Harlow, Ismaeel, Maisey, Nihanya, Stanley + Zarlish who were showing so much #Aspire
- Alice: SO to Leam, they have been incredible during the Junior Maths Challenge. Everyone has tried really hard and those who finished early are being really respectful of those still working. They have been so great!
- Shiv: SO to Thames for great focus whilst completing their Junior Maths Challenge!
- Lillian: SO to Leam for a great start to the day and despite the computer not working stayed very focussed. Special SO for Aspire to Max for being helpful, Dheer and Willow for their top tier engagement and enthusiasm.
- Leah: Shout out to Zarlish who has the most XP points of anyone in the WHOLE SCHOOL !!! (on Sparx). This is a massive achievement as she is beating even Y10s who are the year group we launched Sparx with initially!
- Lily.B: SO to Jayda in Thames for yesterday - HOTR for some excellent reading in English, also to Max in Leam today for the same reason! 🌟❤️
- Kit: SO to Nihanya, Willow, Sharun, and Halle who wrote fantastic coded sequences in Comp Sci! Future codebreakers in the making 🔍
- Chloe.V: SO to Team Leam, in particular Willow, Sharun and Shreyash for wonderful linguistic answers!
- Lily: SO to Daisy - HOTR in Thames today for some excellent recall and sharing well thought out opinions about the characters in DNA.
- Anna.V: Big shoutout to Nihanya, DJ Willow and David who raced through the Seneca today. Also SO to Maisey who was endeavouring really hard for the whole period
- Chloe.V: SO to Team Thames, so much Spanish knowledge and retrieval they did fantastic and really impressed me with their quick recall of language expertise!
- Elly: SO to Tharuni, Willow and Yara for their thoughtful, sensible contributions in our session on gender identity and sexual orientation.
- Chloe.V: SO to Leam so much endeavour in preparing for a mini presentation at the end of the half term in French!
- Lily: SO to Thames today - joyful lesson, Lena's gasp at the plot reveal in DNA was priceless. Xavier HOTR for some excellent reading, predictions, and inference of key characters. R Jay also made an insightful contribution about the character's motivations. What a delight 🌟
- Kit: SO to Bertha Earthers Willow, Stanley, Calleigh and Catlynn who were an absolute joy to chat to and paint with after school today!
- Lily: SO to Tyler who has been helping a Year 9 pupil with her French homework ❤️
- Ben: SO to the Year 8 students in enrichment, such a nice way to end the week!
Excellent Endeavour!
Have a look at the excellent endeavour RJay has shown this week in English!
.jpg?width=1500&height=2000&name=RJG%20Y8%20ENGLISH%20(1).jpg "RJG Y8 ENGLISH (1)")
A recommended read for Year 8!
We Are All Liars by Carys Jones follows five friends – Allie, Stacie, Diana, Emily and Gail – who have been by each other's sides for as long as they can remember. But growing up has meant growing apart. And little white lies have grown into devastating secrets.
Year 9
Knowledge is power!
This cycle, students in Year 9 have been given a Knowledge is Power booklet containing all of their 100% sheets, to help them revise key words and concepts. Here are some ways that you can support your children to be GCSE ready, using the Knowledge is Power booklet to support them:
- Make flashcards - flashcards with the key word on one side and the definition on the other can be used to quiz your child on what they know.
- Encourage your child to use LASACAWAC (Look and Say and Cover and Write and Check) - Ask your child to look carefully at the word until they think they can remember it. Next they cover the word up and write it out. Then they check their version with the 100% sheet, identifying any errors they have made.
- Quiz your child on what they remember, by asking them questions based on the key words.
Here is a mini quiz you can try with your child at home:
- English: Define ‘Catharsis’
- Science: What is a vector?
- Spanish: How do you say “I think that…” in Spanish?
- Art: What do artists call the act of twisting or altering something out of its true, natural, or original state?
- Geography: How many people live on the UK’s coastline?
Use your child’s 100% sheets to find the answers - can they get 5/5?
For more tips on how to support your child to be GCSE ready, you can read this article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zmy692p
Shout-outs
- Chloe V - French - Shout Out to Oluchi, Aaishah and Malak for some great writing using comparatives and superlatives in French!
- Chloe S - Spanish - Great Ribble lesson pre-lunch! Amazing Endeavour from Nicole and Eshan and lots of Reflect from Elias / Ahmed from last lesson.
- Ryme - English - Shout Out to Cam and Ribble who are definitely budding actors! Ahmed did a fab job of 'dying' as Rodergio, Kai did a fab job 'attacking' Cassio, Calvin displayed a manic Othello effortlessly and Joseph as the manipulative Iago. It almost felt like we were in the Globe (almost!). I have experienced so much joy reading with yr 9!
- Kit - Computer Science - SO to Calvin, Aryaan, Max, and Steven who were endeavouring in our Comp Sci lesson!
Year 10
Futsal competition
Reach sent a team of boys to compete in London Youth Games Futsal Final, representing Hounslow. Although we didn't advance to the knockout stages, our team showcased exceptional skill, determination, and courage throughout the competition. Special shoutouts to Riley for his impressive goals, Rathin for his bravery during the media Interview, and Mazin, our captain, who was on top form until unfortunately getting injured in the last game.
Activism academy
A number of our Y10 girls are preparing themselves to give presentations for Activism Academy. They will be presenting on challenging topics that drive social action such as Ethnic Women in the Workplace. We are really proud of Faith, Jagoda, Kasia, Tomi, Ava, Zoe who have been organising their presentations amongst all their school work.
GCSEs underway!
This week also saw the start of GCSEs. Many students submitted the first part of coursework for both BTEC Sport and BTEC Business. Their teachers have given great feedback on the quality of assessments so far. Additionally some students have completed the speaking part of their language GCSE in Arabic, Polish, French, Spanish and Italian. This is an incredible achievement in year 10 and they all came out with smiles on their faces.
Year 11
Y11 are now fully immersed in exam season, with Business and Biology kicking us off this week. We are so proud of all of the endeavour they have put in, and the consistent focus that they are showing right up to the end. We are excited to celebrate with them on Friday 24th May.
A reminder below of the exam timetable, and some of the shout outs from the last couple of weeks:
Shout-outs
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Feltham College
Exam season
It’s been a very busy week in Year 12 and 13 as we get ready for exam season!
Vocational (Business and Health and Social Care) students in both year groups have already begun their external examinations. A level students begin their exams next week.
End of year Y12 assessments for A Level students will happen in the week beginning 17th June. Business students’ end of year grade will be made up of both the results of these exams and their coursework for this year. Assessments will cover all content that has been taught in Y12 and will replicate external exam conditions and question styles.
Exams that replicate the way qualifications are graded in Y13 are the clearest, most reliable and fairest way for the school to provide UCAS predicted grades. The results of the end of year exams will be the main way in which UCAS predicted grades are determined.
What should students be doing outside of school?
The upcoming exams are challenging and cover a lot of subject content. Students should already be revising and preparing for these exams. As a minimum, we expect students to be completing 5-10hrs of study per subject (15 hours in total for business students) each week. Revision should then be in addition to this. Students will need to be regularly completing work and revision at home to be ready for these exams.
There is always more that can be done. If all homework and pre work has been completed, the sort of work that should be done at home is:
- Writing consolidation and revision notes
- Learning content
- Practising questions in timed conditions
- Reviewing answers with mark schemes and past papers
If a student is unsure of what more they can do to prepare, they should contact their subject teacher or form tutor for support.
How to achieve success at Sixth Form
Homework
- 2-3hrs of homework per week per subject/unit
- Homework includes:
- Core (exam practice)
- Consolidation (the week’s notes)
- Stretch (wider reading)
- Students should be doing a minimum of 5-6 hrs independent work per week per subject
Revision Tips (see guide)
-
Start now
-
Little and often
-
Quiet space, away from screens
- Spaced practice
- Retrieval
- Elaboration
- Dual coding
- Concrete examples
Journals and Newspapers
-
- Hodder subject ‘Reviews’
- The New Scientist
- The Economist
- The Guardian
- Nature
- The New Internationalist
- Harvard Business Review
London lectures
- Gresham College
- LSE
- Royal Institution
- Kings College
- https://interestingtalks.in/London
Exam board materials
- Course syllabus or specifications
- Past papers
- Examiner reports
- Core course textbooks (check with subject teacher)
Would you like to have more say about your local community?
We have been meeting for the past 6 months to explore whether a Town Council would give back power to the residents of Feltham/Hanworth/Bedfont. We are holding public events so that we can share information, allow people to ask questions and hear your dreams and hopes for the west of the borough. All the details of the events are in the leaflet, please come along to any of them, refreshments will be available and feel free to invite your friends, neighbours and local people. Hope to see you there!
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