Here's your RAHP Newsletter for Winter Week 2

Dates for your diary

Here are all the important dates for your diaries!

Year Group	Date	Timings	Event Details
All Year Groups and families	Wednesday 17th December	2:30pm - 4.30pm	Reach Christmas Fair
All Year Groups	Thursday 18th December	Daytime	Christmas Jumper and Christmas lunch Day
All Year Groups	Friday 19th December	Daytime	INSET Day
All Year Groups	Friday 19th December	No school	Last day of term for Christmas holiday
All Year Groups	Monday 5th January	Daytime	INSET Day
All Year Groups	Tuesday 6th January	Usual time	Start of Spring term
Year 7	Wednesday 14th January	3.15pm - 6.30pm	Parents' Evening
Year 1	Thursday 15th January	3pm - 7pm	Parents' Evening
Year 1	Tuesday 20th January	3pm - 7pm	Parents' Evening
Parents of prospective Nursery children (starting Sept 2026)	Tuesday 20th January	9am - 10am 1.30pm - 2.30pm	Reach Schools Nursery Open Event at Reach Academy Feltham

Spotlight on... Bright Futures Ahead

Last Thursday we held our first Team Reach day of this academic year and it was a fantastic day! Entitled 'Bright Futures Ahead', we were very lucky to welcome a firefighter, doctors and a biologist to our school to talk about their roles. They helped our pupils learn about the skills needed to be a success when they leave study and go on to the world of employment.

For our younger children, an actual Little City was set up in the Sports Hall. Reception children enjoyed trying out lots of job roles, including being engineers, doctors, builders, police officers and much more. Then they explored what would be their dream job.

Year 1 thought about the many different careers they might enjoy doing and what skills they might need for the roles, what uniform they might need, if they would like to work in an office or not. It prompted lots of questions and some interesting discussions about how exciting their future lives will be!

In secondary, Years 7 and 8 considered job sectors and industries, including the private and public sectors and compared the two. We talked about different career pathways and the qualifications they might need, as well as how much money they might make! As part of the talks from a firefighter, Ella showed the pupils what it was like to put on all their uniform and equipment, including gas mask!

It's Christmas Time!

This is just a final reminder about some festive events coming up next week. On Wednesday 17th December it is our festive Christmas Market, which begins at 2.30pm and will finish by 5pm. We may even have a special visitor, who may be bringing some presents with him.... We hope to see lots of you there.

Entry for children is free and adults are £1. We would very much appreciate it if you bring the correct change. The next day, Thursday 18th December is our last school day for everyone apart from those in Nursery at Reach Academy Feltham. It is also Christmas lunch and jumper day. Please can your child(ren) come wearing the most festive jumper. They are still expected to wear their normal uniform underneath. We also ask for a donation of £1 from each child, which will also go to Save the Children. Many thanks for your support with this.

Connect the Community Fund

We know that in the current climate, there can be numerous pressures on families and that these can be constantly changing from month to month. Christmas can be a particularly challenging time.

This Christmas we have a small number of supermarket vouchers to give out to families who need them.

Who is eligible?

We encourage applications from families of pupils currently attending Reach Academy Feltham and Reach Academy Hanworth Park, or directly from students themselves in Year 9 and above.

Applications should be made from families who are currently experiencing financial struggles and would benefit from additional support that we can offer.

What evidence do I need to supply?

We will not be asking for specific evidence for applications. We might contact you if we need more information. All forms, correspondence and communication will be dealt with in strictest confidence.

All decisions will be made on a case by case basis, and you will be notified if you are successful as soon as possible. We have a very limited fund this year so will try to support as many families as possible, but the amounts are likely to be lower than in the past and we may not be able to meet every request.

If you would like to apply for these funds, please use this form by the deadline, 5pm on 15th December.

Maths

We have been exploring size through practical activities and play. The children have been comparing objects to decide whether they are big, medium, or small. They especially enjoyed sorting classroom items and using comparative language during their learning: great early maths skills in action!

Nativity

Rehearsals are in full swing for our Nativity, and the children have been working so hard to learn their lines, actions, and songs. By the time you read this, you will have hopefully seen their performances on Friday the 12th. They have done such a fantastic job of bringing the story to life through song and dance. The children are rightly proud of themselves, and we know you will be too!

Christmas Market

We are super excited about our Christmas Market coming up on Wednesday the 17th December, straight after school. We look forward to seeing as many of you there as possible: it’s always a lovely event and a great way to start the festive season!

Christmas Jumpers

On the last day of term, children are welcome to wear Christmas or winter-themed jumpers.
Please keep the rest of their uniform as normal. We can’t wait to see everyone looking wonderfully festive! Please remember we ask for a £1 donation so please send your child in with their money for Save the Children, our chosen charity.

Thank you!

As we head into the holidays, we want to thank you for your support throughout this busy and exciting term.
We hope you all have a wonderful break, and we can’t wait to hear all about what the children got up to when we return in January.

Have a restful and magical holiday!
The Early Years Team

Maths

We have been investigating odd and even numbers up to 20. The children have been spotting patterns, sorting numbers and using practical activities to deepen their understanding. It has been lovely to see their confidence grow as they explain how they know whether a number is odd, or even.

Science

We have been learning about the life cycle of a plant. The children even planted their own beans and they have been so excited to watch them grow! They have taken great care in placing their pots in the right spot for sunlight (what there has been of it!) and watering them regularly to make sure they thrive. Just look at how fantastic they are looking now!

English

In Year 7, we are determined to ensure that all pupils feel represented and empowered through reading and writing. In cycle 2 , pupils read I Am Malala, a memoir of Malala Yousafzai’s life in Taliban controlled Pakistan, as an example of a non-fiction text used for political activism.

This book introduces themes of displacement, refugees, asylum and activism: all themes which are highly relevant in today’s social climate, and set pupils up to better understand the world around them.

Reading Programme

Thank you for all the support you have given your children with reading Private Peaceful as part of our reading programme. Next week, pupils will be given a copy of the new text, The Island at the End of Everything by Kiran Millwood Hargrave.

This is an adventure story about a girl, Ami, who lives on the secluded island of Culion with her sick mum, who has leprosy. When the government decides the island must be quarantined, Ami and all the children who don’t have the disease are forced to leave, while her mum must stay behind, along with everything Ami has ever known.

Our family resource can be found here which has information on how to support your child with reading at home. You will also find discussion questions for each section of the book. Please use these to hold your child accountable for their reading at home.

Pupils should read up to page 39 over the winter break. Thank you for your support with this.

Drama

Year 7 have worked super hard in their drama this cycle! We are moving on from Greek theatre and will now be working on persuasive speeches, tone and emotion while speaking. We kicked this off with a lesson on tongue twisters which they loved!

Here’s an example: how well can you say it?

“Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers; A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked; If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?"

Here is a picture of some of Aconcagua having fun practicing their tongue twisters and making their own!

Maths

This week our Year 7 Mathematicians have been continuing their excellent work on multiplying and dividing with a particular focus on decimals. It has been fantastic to see our pupil’s strong foundations with place value paying dividends in their great efforts with decimal calculations. Our students have also been working on developing their knowledge of factors to go alongside their work on multiples earlier in the term.

Congratulations to the following students who achieved 100% in their quiz. A bumper week with over 40 students!

Amanat	Kanshikaa	Mohamed	Kerri
Dhiyaan	Alexander	Niharika	Misha
Ethan	Owais	Shayan	Naisha
Haniyah	Ali	Violet	Panavdeep
Matilda	Anaya	Yasmi	Raj
Mohammed	Dylan	Archie	Sai Deeksha
Nicole	Eyad	Ayaan	Shayaan
Rafi	Hannah	Elijah	Vedasree
Sanaya	Hridaan	Jathniel	Vincent
Veera	Juliana	Kabir	Wajahat
Yusuf	Magdalena	Kelbin	Ydelle

An additional shout out to Raj, Jasmin, Hafsa, and Sofiia who have all been putting in lots of extra work on Sparx. Keep up the good work!

Science

The Year 7 end of cycle 1 assessments were all very successful. Pupils will be getting their feedback in lessons this week and continuing their new topic of acids and alkalis.

A huge shoutout to the following pupils who got 90% or higher on their section A&B of the assessment which focussed on recall. They have clearly been working incredibly hard on their LASACAWAC and not just in lessons: Naisha, Panavdeep, Owais, Ishani, Kabir, Anaya, Josie, Hashir, Prithvi, Raj, Mawahib, Yasmi, Eyad, Ali, Kanshikaa, Jasmin, Veda, Kerri, Vincent, Nirvan, Nikita, Dylan, Dhiyaan, Nicole and Avin.

The twenty-five pupils above have a recall score of over 90%, which is almost a third of the year group. In total 55 students (almost two thirds of the year group) had a recall score of over 70%, which sets them up brilliantly for future success. Keep up the amazing work!

PE

See this pupil's success outside school!

Congratulations to Yasmi, who won a trophy for her dancing competition. Well done Yasmi!

Congratulations!

To Rafi and Prithvi in Aconcagua who got 100% on their written PE end of cycle assessment.

Gymnastics

I have been really impressed with the effort that all the pupils put into their first gymnastics lessons this week. They have been working hard on shapes, jumps and adding some balances to their routines that they will build on as the cycle progresses. There has been some excellent team work. Well done Year 7!

PE Kit in the New Year

The Christmas break is the perfect opportunity to make sure that PE kit is perfect going forward. A few reminders that pupils should be wearing black tracksuit bottoms or leggings without any logos, and they are not allowed to wear flared leggings. Pupils can wear a black or navy base layer for outside lessons as the weather gets colder, under their black Reach Academy Hanworth Park quarter zip.

We would also like families to ensure pupils have safe footwear for PE lessons. T his includes trainers, that are suitable to run in. This does not include Nike air forces. Thank you.

Maths

This fortnight Year 8 have been continuing their “Ratio and Proportion” Unit. This has included simplifying ratios, sharing in a given ratio when given one amount, and when given the difference. They have also learnt about directly proportional relationships. In the last week of term they will be solving problems involving both direct and inverse proportion.

Congratulations to our Sparx stars of the week, who have completed the most independent work in Maths: Zain, Aryan and Lucy

Congratulations to the pupils who achieved 100% in their weekly quiz as well.

Abhijay

Adam

Arogya

Daniel

Jayden

Kyla

Mahad

Nahom

Prish

Senudi

Violeta

Amaan

Amir

Ethan

Hassan

Isabela

Jiya

Kushpreet

Lulu

Maher

Maja

Neel

Sameer

Shahzeb

Taha

Abdullah

Aryan

Corey

Dashin

Dua

Kaira

Lakshmi

Lily-Mai

Mohammed

Mollie

Mourad

Muntaha

Myra

Omar

Rayaan

Sofia

Tanveer

Udamsa

Zahra

Zain

Science

Year 8 are coming to the end of their chemistry topic for the year, rounding off with a final end of topic test covering atomic structure and the periodic table. They have done incredibly well throughout this cycle, in particular making some huge improvements between their chemical reactions end of topic test and their end of cycle 1 assessments. Some students to shout out in this area are:

Simran	Everest
Mia	Kilimanjaro
Agraj	Everest
Lily	Matterhorn
Muhammad	Everest
Abhijay	Everest
Lucy	Everest
Hafsah	Matterhorn
Mohammed	Kilimanjaro
Ophelia	Kilimanjaro
Dolcie	Everest
Charlotte	Matterhorn
Jahmal	Everest
Lulu	Kilimanjaro
Mollie	Matterhorn
Joseph	Kilimanjaro
Emily	Everest
R'eal	Kilimanjaro

All of these pupils made an improvement of 20% or higher from their previous test, which is fantastic endeavour.

Additionally the following students all made an improvement of 10% compared to their Year 7 average score.

Omar	Matterhorn
Lulu	Kilimanjaro
Amir	Kilimanjaro
Mohammed	Kilimanjaro
Amaan	Kilimanjaro
Mia	Kilimanjaro
Charlotte	Matterhorn
Pranav	Kilimanjaro
Adam	Everest
Ethan	Kilimanjaro
Abhijay	Everest

Next cycle we move onto biology. To prepare the pupils, their holiday homework will be to carry out lots of LASACAWAC on last year’s biology content, with an optional extra to complete some biology exam questions. Please support your child in completing this homework to a high standard.

PE

Congratulations to our boys basketball team who represented Reach Academy Hanworth Park in a tournament last week. They won 3 of their matches! Well done, boys.

Over the last few weeks, Year 8 have been taking part in interform netball matches through lunch activity time. Everyone played so well, and congratulations to the winners, Kilimanjaro.

Attendance

We are so proud of our current 96.5% attendance at RAHP. We have had an excellent start to the year with strong regular, daily attendance, so thank you to all our families for ensuring their children come to school each and every day.

In the new term we would love to see our overall attendance exceed 97%. We know every day in school counts. Children with 97% attendance consistently achieve better results, especially in English and Maths. It sets themselves up for success in school and beyond.

Domestic Abuse Support App

Domestic abuse, whether towards a female or male partner, can significantly affect the children who live in that environment. Exposure to violence, coercion or ongoing emotional manipulation disrupts a child’s sense of safety and can influence their behaviour, relationships and engagement in learning.

These situations are often hard to spot. Many victims work to hide what is happening, particularly from official agencies, due to fear of consequences for the abusive partner or worries about major upheaval for the family.

Hestia is a London-based charity that supports adults and children in crisis, delivering frontline services and campaigning nationally on issues such as domestic abuse, modern slavery and mental health. They have created the Bright Sky app, a free and discreet tool that helps people recognise signs of abuse, access specialist support and record concerns safely.

The Bright Sky app provides:

A simple tool to help someone recognise signs of abuse and understand whether a relationship feels unsafe.
A secure, optional journal for recording incidents or concerns that can be shared later with a trusted person or agency.
A directory of national and local support services, making it easier to find the right help quickly.

To find out more, please follow the link: https://www.hestia.org/brightsky

Hounslow Repair Café - youth repair workshop

Hounslow Repair Café is running a programme of events, including the community repair café and new youth repair workshops focusing on developing electrical, bike and sewing repair skills.

The workshops offer free electrical repair courses for 12-24 year olds. These take place one Sunday a month throughout October, November, January and February at St. Leonard’s Church Hall, Heston Road, Heston, TW5 0RD. Run by Team Repair, participants earn a certificate and develop Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mechanics (STEM) skills. They also learn problem-solving, resilience, and sustainability awareness to reduce waste and promote a circular economy. Book now at https://e-voice.org.uk/hrc/book

Community repair cafés also run every third Sunday of the month from 1:30pm-4:30pm at St. Leonard’s Church Hall (address above), where people can bring bikes, small appliances, clothing and digital equipment to be fixed. Book your visit here: http://bit.ly/46njvd4

For any questions, feel free to email hestonrepaircafe@gmail.com