Matthew Arnold Newsletter

As we approach the festive season, I want to take a moment to reflect on the incredible efforts and achievements across our school community this term. The run-up to Christmas is always a special time, and I am delighted to see the energy and enthusiasm in our classrooms and corridors as students engage in learning and prepare for the celebrations ahead.

A particular highlight has been the Year 11 mock examinations. These results provide an invaluable opportunity for students to understand their progress and identify areas for improvement before the summer exams. I encourage all Year 11 students to use this feedback constructively and continue working closely with their teachers to achieve their full potential.

I also want to stress the importance of attending Parents’ Evenings. These events are a vital part of our partnership with families, offering a chance to discuss progress, celebrate successes, and plan next steps together. Your engagement makes a real difference to your child’s learning journey, and we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at these meetings.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend.

Assal Ruse

Thursday 4 December - Year 11 Mock Exams Results assembly

Thursday 4 December - Year 11 Parents' Evening

Thursday 11 December - Year 10 Parents' Evening

Friday 12 December - Christmas Meal and Christmas Jumper day

Thursday 18 December - Last day of term

Thursday 18th December - Ski Trip departs

Friday 19 December - Holidays begin

Tuesday December 2nd - Year 8 Boys Football 7-a-side

Tuesday 9th December - Year 7 Girls Football 7-a-side
Tuesday 9th December - Year 7 Boys Rugby vs Richmond

Wednesday 17th December - U16 Girls Football vs Thamesmead

Last week, our school came together to mark Anti-Bullying Week with a series of activities focused on kindness, respect, and support. We began with an assembly to each year group that explored the challenges some students face and highlighted the many channels of support available both in and out of school.

Throughout the week, students and staff wrote messages of positivity to each other, staff members, home. The week concluded with Odd Socks Friday, a fun and meaningful way to celebrate individuality and show solidarity against bullying.

Our students demonstrated outstanding kindness and positivity, making this an inspiring and impactful week for our whole community.

Three of our talented Year 10 students, Scarlett G, Florence G and Evie G represented our school at the Rotary Youth Speaks Competition on Wednesday 19th November. This is a competition that involves debating for and against a topic, whilst a third member chairs the debate.

The students received glowing feedback on their debate about deforestation and we could not be prouder of them. Special congratulations to Scarlett G, who won best Chair.

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Gardening club are working hard to build our garden at the front of the school. We are so looking forward to all of the bulbs sprouting in the spring to bring us lots of colour!

If any students are keen to get stuck in and join the gardening club, please speak to Miss Stergiopoulos.

If you find yourself waiting at Staines Railway station, please head into the waiting room, to see our students' artwork on display for you to look at.

In English, students have been delving into 19th Century crime, engaging in discussion and practising their non-fiction writing skills. Students have been shocked to hear about some of the crimes committed in the Victorian era!

Year 10 Animal Care have been learning how to safely restrain and handle different groups of animals. They invited Ms Ruse to their lesson so they could show off their skills, and showed her some excellent handling as well as explaining to her the different reasons for handling animals. Year 10 will be starting their coursework after Christmas.

Our Year 8 Design & Technology students have recently been working on an exciting project: creating their own passive speakers. Their design brief challenged them to produce a speaker that reflects a cartoon theme and is suitable for a young child. Students have embraced this creative task with enthusiasm, developing imaginative designs inspired by a range of well-known characters and animated styles.

As part of their Elements of Art autumn curriculum, Year 7 are really focusing on texture and mark making at the moment. Inspired by the work of artist Peter Randall-Page, students have been using textures from the natural world to inspire clay tiles. In the build up, we carried out lots of drawing studies and then applied this in a clay context.

Year 11 students are currently using eggs as an ingredient to learn about food science. Whilst making meringues, they saw the egg whites denature as they whisked them with the hand beaters. When they were cooked, they were set through coagulation.

Next lesson we will make lemon curd which is an emulsification using the leftover egg yolks. We will then plate up the desserts using our newly found piping and presentation skills. These skills are all helpful for the up-and-coming NEA 2 coursework which involves a 3-course meal practical.

Year 7 students have been busy making cinnamon rolls. The smell wafting down the corridors as they were in the oven was wonderful!

Our Year 10 A team won the local Borough 7-a-side tournament. We are proud of each and every one of you! A special mention goes to Diyan P, who is proudly debuting his managerial role!

Matthew Arnold students also did us proud at cross country, held at Hazlewood. We had some excellent performances from all the year groups involved!

Well done to Year 8 and 9 girls football team who played Orleans Park last week in the Surrey Cup. Special mention to Georgie M, who scored for Matthew Arnold!

Friday 12th December

Christmas Jumper Day

Students are encouraged to wear a festive jumper to school on that day. We kindly ask for a minimum £1 donation from both staff and students, which will go to Crisis UK Homeless Charity. Donations can be made via ParentPay.

Christmas Dinner

Cucina will be serving a Christmas Meal in the canteen.

Cost: £3 (payable via ParentPay)

We would like to remind you that students entitled to Free School Meals have a daily allowance of £2.75. This amount can be used to purchase food from the school canteen at breakfast, break and lunch. If unused, the allowance will roll over each day until Friday and will be reset again the following Monday.

To help students start the day well, we also offer a free Breakfast Club everyday in room L20 from 7.45am to 8.25am. All students are welcome to attend.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us via info@matthew-arnold.surrey.sch.uk