Chiswick News issue 14 2014

Student Services Direct Line 020 8747 6655 to report your child ill or late.

SPORTS

D i a r y D a t e s

Tables can be hired at £5 each with a deposit of £25.

Sellers are let in from 7am. The sale hours are from 8am to 1pm.

Note: Chiswick students may sell their own possessions at the sale as ‘walkers-in’ and will not be charged but if a student is accompanied by a parent with a car, normal rates apply. They can rent a table at no charge using their School Diary as a deposit, but if the items for sale belong to the parents, the normal hire fee applies.

The PTA would also welcome hearing from any parent(s) interested in helping at these sales. Please contact Jay Sordyl jsordyl1@gmail.com

YOUR SCHOOL NEEDS YOU!

28th April 2014 - Issue 14

CHISWICK SCHOOL Your Weekly Newsletter

APRIL Mon 28th Adult Education Start of Term The PTA would like to encourage you to attend the monthly Car Boot Sales held on the school site every first Sunday in the month, except in January when there is no sale.

You can come either as a seller or a shopper.

Entrance – Cars

£15 Cars - side on £30 Vans £30 Larger Vans and Vehicles £60 Walk in Sellers

£10 Shoppers

50p Car Parking before 9am (includes occupants)£5 Disabled parking (includes occupants) £3

Also available online at www.chiswickschool.org

MAY Tue 1st Junior Maths Challenge Sun 4th Car Boot Sale Mon 5th Bank Holiday Tue 6th Year 7 OM Trip (x) Thu 8th Year 7 OM Trip (y) Year 12 Scripted Exam Tue 20th Sixth Form Celebration Evening Thu 22nd Key Stage 3 Stars Event Fri 23rd Year 13 Leavers Picnic Mon 26th Bank Holiday

Chiswick School, Burlington Lane, London W4 3UN. Telephone 0208 747 0031

Chiswick School Wins Two More Accolades Chiswick School has been presented with two prestigious national awards. First the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust has recognised Chiswick for being in the top 20% nationally for student progress.

The school was also awarded the Investors in People Gold Award for going above and beyond in the way that they develop, support and motivate their staff.

The Gold Award has been presented to just 3.2% of organisations in the UK and celebrates those that perform particularly well. The school was given the award for being forward thinking and developing learning, leadership skills as well as rewarding staff.

John Telfer, Managing Director of Inspiring Business Performance Ltd (IBP), the organisation that delivers Investors in People for London and the South, said: “In a climate of constant change it is even more important that an organisation shows a capacity to adapt in order to initiate and sustain growth. Chiswick School is a shining example that proves organisations can achieve great things during challenging times”.

The SSAT has invited Chiswick School to a celebration of their achievements. "I am delighted to let you know that your school has won an SSAT Educational Outcomes

Award for your outstanding progress", said their chief executive, Sue Williamson.

The award is in recognition of how Chiswick pupils all make much better progress than pupils nationally whatever their starting point.

Tony Ryan headteacher stated “We are absolutely delighted with these awards.

We have been an Investors in People school since 1996 and received the Bronze Award three years ago. I am blessed with an absolutely amazing body of staff who work so hard for Chiswick students; we simply could not have made the progress that we have over the last four years without their support, hard work and absolute dedication.

These awards demonstrate how much we value every member of staff and how our pupils are making progress in leaps and bounds".

Year 12 Trip to Uganda Cancelled: Students to Visit South Africa Chiswick News readers will have noted that a year 12 visit was planned to support The Street Children Charity Project in Uganda this July. After much soul searching Chiswick’s Senior Leadership Team agreed to cancel the planned visit.

The decision was made after the Ugandan president agreed to sign off a draconian law discriminating against gay people and making homosexuality punishable by life imprisonment.

There has also been a witch hunt against known gay people who had their names and addresses printed in a tabloid newspaper leading in some cases to violent attacks being carried out on them.

Also a duty was placed on the Ugandan public to report anyone suspected of being gay to the authorities.

Chiswick School has a strong Equalities policy opposing discrimination against any group on grounds of race, disability, gender, faith or sexuality. It was felt the visit would be incompatible with this policy because it would prevent any gay student from participating. The school also feels it has a duty to make a moral stand against countries imposing such discriminatory laws on groups of its citizens.

Mr. Witts, geography teacher and International coordinator, had put a considerable amount of work into preparing for the visit. However, it has not all gone to waste. The company coordinating has agreed to change the destination to South Africa at minimal

extra cost. This excellent news means the students are not to be disappointed.

Author Dan Freedman Impresses Year 8

Mr. Schramm, Learning Co-ordinator for Year 8 and a massive football fan (sadly not of a local team), was delighted by the talk. "Mr Freedman clearly knew his stuff and engaged with the students very well. It was great to see so many of them asking questions," he said.

Leah O’ Grady was the student who won the best question award. It was:"If you could speak to Jamie Johnson what would you say?" She was pleased by her prize consisting of two signed books, a football and a ten pound note.

"It was great listening to him", she said. "He made everyone feel that they could achieve something in their lives."

of what the next year entails for the current Year 12s.

The workshops included were: Student Finance, which was run by an economist from Kingston University, Applying to Oxbridge, Work Experience and Applying to Russell Group Universities.

"It was a very beneficial evening, being made aware of what is to come is helpful to parents, and I'm grateful that Chiswick Sixth Form has addressed that" Mr Bered, a Year 12s parent told me.

Overall, there was satisfaction in the air as parents and students left the hall, all grateful for an informative evening!

CHAPs Event a Success Despite the Rain Dan Freedman famous author of the Jamie Johnson football books series visited Chiswick last week and gave a talk to year 8. Librarian Helen Williams arranged the visit as part of a series to encourage students to read more books. Dan was also accompanied by David Davies ex Chief executive of the Football Association.

Dan spoke about his life in football and as a writer. He has been a journalist attached to the England Football team and personally knows some top players. Students were impressed by his presentation and many stayed behind to speak to him after the event was finished. They asked lots of questions too and Dan Freedman offered a prize to the person who asked the best question.

Year 12 Progression Evening Inspires

Tuesday 1st April marked an important date for Chiswick School's Year 12 students and their parents alike; the Sixth Form's annual 'Progression Evening'.

Hosted in the hall, with a vast array of snacks and drinks, the event started at 6.30pm and comprised of 4 different workshops. Mr Ryan gave a motivating introduction, inspiring all to do well. He was preceded by Miss Emmett and Miss Lee, who gave the audience a breakdown

On Thursday 27th March, during 2nd break, Miss Dyment invited Chiswick School's Year 11 prospective CHAPs (Chiswick High Achieving Performers) to come along to the Sixth Form area to meet the current CHAPs, and discuss their future over the sandwiches and drinks kindly provided.

There was a phenomenally strong teacher and student turnout, with the teachers and current CHAPs alike answering many of the questions that the year 11s had. "It was lovely to see how passionate both the teachers and year 12 students are in helping the year 11s." One student told me. However upon embarking onto the snazzy new Sixth Form patio, the typical British weather let us down! It is indisputable though, that the event was a success.

By Maryam Khalifa