During the week commencing 10 July, 60 year 7 students from Carisbrooke and Medina Colleges had the fantastic opportunity to take part in a project called ‘Wavelength’ with a local arts-based charity, Independent Arts. 

“Wavelength sets out to inspire and awaken our community to the very special geographical and coastal settings of the Island which have lent themselves to top-level, epoch-making design and testing firsts. 

In bringing the arts together with the sciences, we hope to help Island children understand how both disciplines have strong links and can inform one another, and to try to dissolve barriers that have arisen in recent times between the sciences, technology and the arts.” (Kerry Tindall, Programmes Manager, Independent Arts)

The project which was based at The Island VI Form, focused on the work of Robert Hooke, an Island scientist who is best known for his invention of the microscope. Independent Arts designed a number of workshops in response to the work of Robert Hooke, ranging from Suminagashi ‘floating ink’ to wire and stained acetate molecular cloud sculptures inspired by the work of  Minjung-Kim.

Students also had the opportunity to visit our science laboratories to gain experience of using the larger microscopes that we have available.

We were incredibly proud of all the students involved as they managed to produce some beautiful final outcomes that fuse the worlds of Science and Art together.

We are excited to announce that the work produced by our students will be on display at The Independent Arts Hub in Newport town centre from Wednesday 16 August – late September.

32 students from Carisbrooke College, Medina College and The Island VI Form had the amazing opportunity of performing at this year’s Isle of Wight Festival!

Our students have rehearsed endlessly and shown incredible effort and enthusiasm in putting these performances together and gathering the confidence needed to stand up in front of a field full of people cheering them on. Students performed on the stage in the busy KidZone on Sunday afternoon and had the unique opportunity to see first hand how stage managers and sound technicians operate; learning all about set logistics, scheduling, soundchecks and life backstage.

Students from Carisbrooke College’s ‘School of Rock’ group opened our set with hits from 3 of this year’s festival headliners: George Ezra, Pulp and Blondie. Following this, The Island VI Form’s Olivia McC performed her own catchy original song ‘Take a Hint’, supported by fellow VI Form musicians. Our IWEF Stage Band (comprising students from all three sites) then wowed the crowd with REM’s ‘Shiny Happy People’ followed by Medina and Carisbrooke’s ‘Sing’ choirs uniting to perform ‘Royals’ by Lorde. The set was finished with a rousing rendition of Sunday headliner Robbie Williams’ iconic hit song ‘Angels’.

We are incredibly proud of our students. The time and energy invested into preparing for this event is highly commendable. We look forward to seeing our musical project at the IOW Festival go from strength to strength in the coming years.

If you would like to get involved in any of these musical activities please speak to your Music teacher – all students are welcome!

Mrs. Peckham, Mr. Phillips, Mr. Wiseman, Mrs. Brear and Mr. Turner

Following the invitation to parents to make nominations for the Governing Board, we are pleased to let you know that Shaun Arnold has been appointed to the post of Parent Governor. There was one nomination made for the two vacancies, so a ballot was not required.

Shaun has been a member of the IWEF Governing Board for almost four years as a Co-opted Governor.

Shaun says ‘I have been a governor for nearly 8 years and have been a member of many committees, from finance to quality of education. I was also an active member of the Isle of Wight Education and Children’s Services Scrutiny Panel for 4 years. Being a school governor is a truly rewarding experience. As a school governor, I give back and make a difference to the young people in the school. I have a unique outlook being a person with Aspergers (ASD) and having children with ASD. I believe that every student should have the opportunity to achieve their full potential, and that this can be achieved through high-quality teaching, a supportive environment, and a focus on the individual needs of each student.’

The Governing Board will continue to try to fill the remaining Parent Governor vacancy.

Could you be a governor? There’s more time to apply!

A small group of parents did not receive the letter inviting nominations for the parent governor vacancies on the Governing Board. The deadline has therefore been extended to allow all parents time to apply. The new deadline is 12.00 noon on 29 March. 

We have sent out a letter inviting nominations from parents who would like to join the Governing Board. If you feel you can help in this capacity, please contact the Clerk on 01983 526523 or email emma.shambrook@iwef.org.uk for an application form. If there are more applications than vacancies a ballot will be held. Application forms must be returned by 12.00 noon on 29 March.

A copy of the Federation’s governor recruitment information can be found at https://iwef.org.uk/iwef/governor-recruitment/. This includes more information about the work of the Governing Board, who can be a governor and what to expect. If you would like to talk to a governor before applying please contact the Clerk. You can also find information about the role of governor online at: https://governorsforschools.org.uk/courses/introduction-to-school-governance/

Please note that, for the protection of children, all governor appointments are subject to an identity and DBS check.

Could you be a governor? If so we would love to hear from you!

The Isle of Wight Education Federation has always aimed for a partnership with parents, which brings great benefits to the children. One of the most significant ways you can help in promoting this aim is to volunteer to be a Governor. You don’t need to be an education expert to volunteer as a governor. Schools require a combination of hard and soft skills to ensure their boards operate effectively. In return you will be supported through training and mentoring.

Here’s what some of our governors say:

“I became a Governor after being involved with Carisbrooke College Parents Voice group. I have now been a governor for nearly 7 years ! It is very rewarding. I have learnt a lot of new skills. The reason I am a governor is because all children should have a good education and I feel that we are helping this to happen in our schools.”
Vanessa

“I became a school governor in order to put support back into the school that my daughter attended and to broaden the use of skills I had built up in the business world. At the time this also aligned with the company I worked for having a goal of supporting wider community activities. Having had the experience of being a parent to 5 children, becoming a governor was also a way of contributing to:
Ensuring every young person has the right to the best possible education.
Focusing on the individual and each young person’s needs.
Ensuring that school is a safe and creative environment in which to learn.”
Richard

This week we have sent out a letter inviting nominations from parents who would like to join the Governing Board. If you feel you can help in this capacity, please contact the Clerk on 01983 526523 or email emma.shambrook@iwef.org.uk for an application form. If there are more applications than vacancies a ballot will be held. Application forms must be returned by 12.00 noon on 20 March.

A copy of the Federation’s governor recruitment information can be found here. This includes more information about the work of the Governing Board, who can be a governor and what to expect. If you would like to talk to a governor before applying please contact the Clerk. You can also find information about the role of governor online at:
https://governorsforschools.org.uk/courses/introduction-to-school-governance/

Please note that, for the protection of children, all governor appointments are subject to an identity and DBS check.