As we come towards the end of a very busy term, I have to thank my amazing staff for all they do and all they give of themselves to ensure our students have the best educational experience we can offer. Our core business is the teaching and learning of our young people so they are ready for their next stage of life. It has been extremely rewarding watching our young people flourish and there is definitely a sense of pride amongst our students which makes our job and what we do day in and day out, so worthwhile.

I hope you enjoy reading this newsletter and seeing a glimpse of what our students have been doing.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

Assal Ruse

Thursday 12th December: Christmas Jumper Day and Christmas Lunch - details below...

Saturday 14th December: Ski Trip departs to Italy

Tuesday 17th December: 100% Attendance reward - Home Alone

Wednesday 18th December: Winter Holidays start!

Monday 9th December:

• Year 7 & 8 Boys' Indoor Cricket at Chertsey

Tuesday 10th December:

• Year 7 Girls' Football 7-a-side tournament at Matthew Arnold

Wednesday 11th December:

• Year 7 Boys' Football vs STP
• Year 10 Boys' Football at Cheam High (Surrey Cup, 2nd round)

Thursday 12th December:

• Year 9 Boys' Football vs Thomas Knyvett College at Matthew Arnold
• Girls' Indoor Cricket at Matthew Arnold

Year 10 are now finishing the first term of their GCSE courses and so many are working hard and excelling in their chosen subjects. Parents' evening saw an amazing turn out with 90% of parents making appointments. There was a real buzz in the main hall with the conversations had!

Whilst completing my learning walks, I have been able to see the fantastic learning going on in many lessons such as English, Maths and Science. In DT, I saw a hive of activity while students were constructing their models with cardboard and wood.

Year 10 attendance is the best I have ever seen. Students with 100% attendance will receive an award at the end of term, so please continue to encourage your child to be in every lesson, every day.

Jo Hall

On Friday 22nd November, we welcomed Lincoln Jopp, MP for Spelthorne, to our school where he had the opportunity to speak with members of the student council. The student council acquitted themselves magnificently and asked Lincoln a host of questions about schools, Ofsted, being an MP and why he had wanted to become a member of parliament. At the end of the meeting Lincoln Jopp stated to Ms Ruse: 'that was the best 45 minutes I have every spent, your students are a credit to you'. He has even invited the student council to the House of Parliament. We are so proud of our students.

#Choose Respect: We celebrated Anti-Bullying Week with a series of activities aimed at promoting respect and kindness within our community. The theme ‘Choose Respect’ aligns perfectly with our school values.

Engaging Activities: Students participated in assemblies, PSHE sessions, and an Odd Sock Day on Wednesday 20th November to highlight the importance of individuality and acceptance.

Student Council Involvement: Our Student Council actively engaged with the community, distributing wristbands and spreading awareness about the significance of respect and anti-bullying.

We are delighted to announce the successful completion of the Matthew Arnold School Black History Month Poster Competition, and we want to take this opportunity to congratulate all of our incredible students in Years 7, 8, and 9 for their outstanding contributions!

The winners are:

Year 7

First- Juno C -Swans

Second- Avnee P -Swans

Third- Blessed E- Crowns

Year 8

First -Satida P- Swords

Second -Amneet R- Swords

Third- Isabelle S- Oaks

Year 9

First - Michelle S-W -Swans

Second- Jake A S - Swans

Third - Yasmin M- Swords

We are incredibly proud of the efforts of our students and look forward to seeing even more wonderful contributions in the future. Thank you to all the teachers who supported and guided the students throughout the competition.

We are excited to announce the winners of the House badge competition! With over 200 entries, it was a hard decision but congratulations to the following students:

Swans: Michelle S-W (Year 9)

Crowns: Hetty-Grace A (Year 8)

Oaks: Charlotte D (Year 9)

Swords: Nihita A (Year 11)

The latest House standings are below, this is a combined total of all Epraise points, entries for the House badge competition, Black History Month posters and the football results. It has been fantastic seeing the high volume of students taking part in these events. Remember every House event you take part in is rewarded with House points!

Snakes and Ladders, or as it was known in History class, Pigs and Sheep, taught Year 7 students the highs and lows of life for peasants in medieval times. Pigs allowed them to move up the board e.g. you had a great harvest this year, whereas sheep sent them back down the board e.g. the local priest caught you blaspheming and makes you repent for your sins. Great fun was had by all!

Year 9 students were using Zaha Hadid's architecture as inspiration for their own building models - crafted using only paper!

Our Year 11 students are completing their GCSE content for higher and foundation papers in preparation for their mocks in February. Our top mathematicians in Year 11 are also studying Level 2 Further Maths to prepare them for A-Levels. We are incredibly proud of their commitment to learning!

Key Stage 4 Spanish covers two different topics. Year 10 are currently looking into everyday life of people (Mi Gente) where they cover networking, social media, and family relationships. Year 10 French are covering free-time (Les temps de loisirs) and Year 11 Spanish are looking at work (¡A Currar!) or to be more specific, the ‘World of Work’, with emphasis on Work Experience, part-time jobs, and their ideal job in the future. Students speaking Community Languages will also be entered in their home language in the 2025 cohort together with the current Year 11 students.

In a recent experiment, Year 8 students explored the fascinating world of genetics by extracting DNA from strawberries. This hands-on activity allowed students to see the physical structure of DNA, a molecule that carries the genetic instructions for life.

Lots of creativity in Art and Textiles at the moment! So many different skills and talents, we are really lucky that we get to experience students exploring their inner artist!

Year 11 Netball: The Year 11 girls continued their immaculate form in the local borough as they extended their unbeaten run with a victory against Magna Carta. Sharp shooting by Ella B and Gigi H helped Matthew Arnold to a comfortable margin of victory!

The Year 8 boys team beat Jubilee 3-0 in the final, with goals from Harry L and Tyler B, under the eagle eye of Mr Monk(-Guardiola)

Miss Lanigan-Ward continued her winning streak with the Year 8 Girls' football team...

Our congratulations goes to Year 7 student Kenzie R who, with her team, has come 1st in her category in a cheerleading competition in Paris. Well done to all!

This is a great toolkit for parents where the website asks questions about devices in the home and it gives tailored advice about safe use and privacy settings: My Family's Digital Toolkit - tailored online safety advice | Internet Matters

Thank you for all the entries which have come in for the Christmas Card competition. We are blown away by such beautiful designs.

And the winners are...

On Thursday 12th December, students will be allowed to wear their own clothes with a £1 donation to the Salvation Army Night Shelter Campaign. Donations can be made on ParentPay or brought to Tutor time on the day. It would be lovely to see lots of Christmas jumpers worn around the school.

The results are in for Mr Scott's Gingerbread House Competition!

1st: Rose N

2nd: Hetty-Grace A

Joint 3rd: Dominic O and Scarlett G

Well done to all the entrants, it was a very difficult decision by Ms Ruse!

In November, students from Year 5 to Year 13, from 8 schools, came together at The Matthew Arnold School for an AI in Education Student Conference. The focus of this conference was to challenge the potential of AI versus the potential of the human brain: Which is more important for humanity? Which is more important for society? What does this mean for education?

The students completed a range of activities based on a series of stimuli, considering the power of AI and how their world will change because of it. Students entered into an impromptu discussion around the job landscape and how careers will evolve in their lifetime and that schools should be aware of this and responding to it now. They worked together in groups to create helpful tips from the student body on, in their words, the importance of ‘embracing change’.

The students were absolutely inspirational. Our students, Fawzia, Mozma, Charlie, Sam, Clara and Darcey were fantastic hosts and fabulous ambassadors for our school.