I mentioned in last week's column that Alice Redknap from Year 10 was due to represent the school in the Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge. I am delighted to be able to announce that she was victorious in the competition and is the newly crowned champion of public speaking in the district. The event was held at King Harold Academy and Alice was up against strong performers from a number of local schools. The competition is always fierce with every school eager to win the prestigious award. Having the confidence to stand up in front of a hall full of people is an impressive feat in itself but Alice had put a huge amount of preparation into the writing and delivery of the speech. She was very well supported by her friends and by staff from the school and I would like to thank Ms Hanlon from the English Department for all of her hard work in supporting Alice. The topic that Alice chose to discuss was the term "on fleek" and I think most of the staff have learned a lot from her entertaining performance. Despite the best efforts of the others speakers there was no doubt that Alice was the clear winner. This continues Roding Valley's fine history of speaking and debating and it is something of which we should all be very proud. Since the weather finally seems to be improving I would like to mention that the expectations for students' uniform remains as high as ever. If the temperature does soar in the next few weeks I will announce that students will not need to wear their blazers as I want students to be able to work in comfort. However, I would ask that you as parents continue to support the school by ensuring that your sons and daughters are wearing the uniform with pride. I often have members of the public commenting on how smart our students look in the local community and I certainly want this to continue to be the case even if the summer turns out to be a hot one. Girls skirts still need to be below the knee and boys shirts should be tucked in and ties should be done up to the top button. Finally, I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I was concerned about some issues at the Underground Station with some of the individuals that hang around at the end of the school day who are not members of Roding Valley High School. Several parents have thanked me for letting them know and have instructed their children to avoid these individuals and go straight home. I would like to make it clear that we have been liaising with the British Transport Police, Essex Police and the Anti-Social Behaviour Team from Epping Forest District Council in order to try to move the group on. Please make every effort to encourage your sons and daughters to ignore this group of youths as I would not want any of our students to become involved in any problems that may transpire. James Luck Headteacher
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RODING VALLEY BAKE OFF Thursday 9th June 2016 3.15-4.30pm Make up to 12 cupcakes and decorate… To take part please see Mrs Collings in T2 for an entry form.
The winners of 100 Club Easter Draw 2016 are as follows: 1st Prize £95.00 - Mrs J Edgar 2nd Prize £57.00 - Mrs G Giltnane 3rd Prize £38.00 - Mrs J George
Speak Out Challenge On Tuesday this week, Alice Redknap from year 10 competed in the Regional finals of the Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge, which she had been preparing for since a speech writing work-shop back in March. A group of students and teachers went along to King Harold Academy to support Alice, and attention was gained by our
proud waving of banners and flags! It was an excellent night and inspiring to see so many young people talking so passionately about topics of their choice. The standard of speakers was very high on the night, and in the end Alice’s brilliantly witty speech ‘On Fleek’ won her the title as West Essex Champion!
EXAMINATION INVIGILATORS REQUIRED Roding Valley High School is currently looking to expand our team of Invigilators for the forthcoming and subsequent examination sessions and is looking for efficient, flexible and well organised people. The role involves overseeing and supervising examinations and ensuring awarding bodies guidelines and regulations are followed. There are also internally scheduled examinations held throughout the school year where you will be required. Hours will be on a varied/adhoc basis held throughout a school day. There will be appropriate training for successful candidates. Please contact Jenny Draper, Examinations Officer on 0208 508 1173 for further details.
Breakfast Revision Please find overleaf a copy of the Breakfast Revision Timetable for the forthcoming AS & GCSE Examinations. Breakfast Revision Sessions will be taking place in the Canteen from 8am until 8.45am for students sitting exams scheduled to start at 9am. Our Catering staff will provide students with croissants and juice free of charge. These sessions are hugely beneficial and we would urge you to encourage your son/ daughter to attend. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Draper, Exams Officer.
South Loughton Cricket Club are the nearest club to our school, and we will be playing matches this term at the club's home ground on the Roding Valley Playing Fields in Roding Road. The club has a popular and dynamic junior section, and pupils who would like to play cricket outside school hours are very welcome to join. Enthusiasm is more important than ability! Weekly evening coaching sessions take place in the nets at Chigwell School and there are regular matches at the club's home ground during the summer. All coaches are qualified, insured and DBS checked, and the club holds the prestigious 'Clubmark' accreditation from Sport England. Older pupils can also play on Saturday and Sunday afternoons in the club's four adult teams. To find out more, visit www.southloughton.org.uk or call head coach Andrew Shields on 07941 347812. How do you pay for your child’s meal? Cashless catering has been a great success since we installed it in February 2012. However, although we let Years 7-9 go overdrawn by £3 to ensure no-one goes without food, we have had more students having to contact home because they have already reached this limit and do not have any cash on them. This causes more work for the office and often distress to the student as they do not find out they have no money until they are at the till. You can put money on your child/ren’s account/s in the following ways: 1.
2. 3. 4.
Electronically through ParentPay. All parents have been issued an ID and password which will enable them to put money on to their child’s account using either a Debit or Credit Card. There is the option within ParentPay to receive a text when your child’s balance reaches a certain limit. This is the school’s preferred method of payment and if you need your log-in details please contact the Finance Office on finance@rodingvalley.net. The Finance Office will accept a card payment over the ‘phone. Please just contact the school on the usual number and choose option 3. By sending a cheque into school, marked clearly with your child’s name and form and that it is for lunches. This will be added to their account by the school. Putting cash on the revaluer machine located near the maths department on the bridge. This should be used in an emergency situation only.
K Salmons Business Manager
ATTENDANCE MATTERS….. Student Absence If your child is unable to attend School for any reason then please report their absence by phoning the school number by 9.30am, you must also ring in each day of your child’s absence.
020 8508 1173 On their return to School please ensure your child brings with them a letter or medical evidence if requested explaining the reason for the absence for our records. Medical Appointments When possible please make sure you make any medical or dental appointments outside of school time. If this is not possible then please try to ensure that your child attends before and/or after their appointment Holidays in Term Time It is not school policy to authorise any holidays during term time except in exceptional circumstances. If you put in a holiday request a ‘Leave of Absence’ form must be completed (these are available at Student Reception). Please be aware if the absence is not authorised and the holiday is taken, the case may be referred to the Education Welfare Service who may issue a Penalty Notice for £120 (or £60 if paid within 21 days) to each parent for each child taken out of school. For full details regarding attendance please see our Attendance Policy which can be found in the ‘Parents’ section on our website or contact Mrs Jeanette Low our Attendance Officer on the school number. Guidance for Common Ailments Please see, on the following page, guidance from the NHS of common childhood illnesses; this advises what type of illness requires time off from school and what does not. Should you require further guidance please contact the school.
Week ending 6th May 2016
Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10
Highest Attendance
Lexia1
Form with the highest Honours
7V
Student with the highest Honours
Evie Prasse 7T
Student of the week
Daniel McSweeney Lex 1 nominated by Miss Stockings for excellent work in Humanities this week – excellent effort in all classwork!
Highest Attendance
8U
Form with the highest Honours
8U
Student with the highest Honours
Raajveer Singh 8V
Student of the week
Nikolay Raychev 8S & Elise Murray 8R nominated by Mr Crabbe for their exemplary behaviour for learning attitude.
Class of the week
8qt/MaC1 nominated by Mr Crabbe for their hard work and determination this week as well as the good progress they made during our Percentages and Ratios lessons.
Highest Attendance
9W
Form with the highest Honours
Lexia 1
Student with the highest Honours
Jermaine Adae-Bosompra 9V
Highest Attendance
10R
Form with the highest Honours
10T
Student with the highest Honours
Sidney Jethva 10T
Highest Attendance
11X
Student of the week
Year 11
Class of the week
Caitlin Hockley 11U & Shyla Mcdonald 11Catering nominated by Mr Poovilingham for their continuous hard work and improvements in recent assessments. Bilaal Riaz 11U & Thisbe Barnett 11Q nominated by Mrs Hodges for excellent independent learning, downloading and completing practice Qs in own time for feedback. Sonny Ray 11S nominated by Miss Ahmad for excellent essays in English Literature. Jake Forecast 11E nominated by Mrs Routledge for always going that little bit further and working so hard for the whole year group in preparation for the English exam. Jack Patterson 11M nominated by Mrs Vermaak for his hard work every morning in Maths – arrives early and gets on with revision. Very commendable! James Jolly 11X, Alanya Lewin 11X, James Clune 11U & Niamh Peppiatt 11V nominated by Mrs Patel for their hard work and dedication to extra revision classes. 11a/MaS1 & 11b/MaS1 nominated by Miss Dyer for all working hard and doing their best to nail those grades! 11B/Fr1 nominated by Mrs Lasfer for their hard work in French and for their remarkable work ethic – keep it up! 11b/MaEa nominated by Mr Naidoo for excellent work ethic and constantly striving to improve. 11a/MaCL nominated by Mr Naidoo for all the extra effort during registrations in pursuing a better grade in Mathematics. 11B/Sc1 nominated by Mr Bedi for their excellent progress and attitude in their recent assessments.
Attention all RVHS students Send photos of yourself reading a book or Kindle to Mrs Martin at: jmartin@rodingvalley.net and see your picture(s) on our @RVgetcaughtreading Twitter feed. The more weird & wacky the better! Mrs Martin, School Librarian
You can follow us at www.rodingvalley.net and on Facebook at the ‘Roding Valley High School Official’ page. Our Twitter (@RodingValleyHS) account is a great place to keep up to date with some of the latest news and activities in school. You can also sign up to our free electronic media release service at rodingvalleymedia@gmail.com Students are regularly coming into school with cheques with the payee being left blank Can you please ensure that all cheques are made payable to
Roding Valley High School The school cannot be held responsible for any cheques which go missing and are then cashed elsewhere
PE Twitter Account The PE department have activated a Twitter account where regular PE updates, extracurricular news and curriculum information will be regularly published. Follow @RodingValleyPE to keep up to date with our department. Mr Hudgell
Supported Homework Club Learning Zone Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday 3.05pm - 3.40pm Everyone welcome A drink and biscuit are provided
Dear Parent/Guardian Our Immunisation Nurses have visited the school and administered the Meningitis ACWY vaccination to Y9 girls and Y10 boys and girls. Y9 boys will receive their vaccinations in May on the date below.
Yr9 boys 20th May 2016 The consent form and information leaflet have gone home. Please ensure the consent form has been returned. The health authority require all forms to be returned, even if your son is not having the vaccination (please either write on the form you do not wish your son to have the vaccination or attach a note on the consent form). This will avoid your son being recalled at a later date. If any student has missed the vaccinations already given out please can you contact the school if you still wish them to have the injection. Thank you.
Form Class Maths Competition The competition is held twice a month and is accessible to all year groups and abilities. It will help students to develop problem solving skills which are needed for the new GCSE specification. I would ask all parents/guardians to strongly encourage and support the students in entering this fun challenge. Mrs Vermaak Maths Department
School Shop Opening Times Before School: 8.30am - 9.00am Break: 11.00am - 11.20am Lunch: 1.20pm - 2.05pm After School: 3.05pm - 4.00pm
Maths Support Monday & Friday After school in M5 Maths Club Tuesday & Thursday Lunchtime in M3
STUDENTS WILL NOT BE SERVED OUTSIDE THESE HOURS
ICT Coursework Sessions Every Tuesday Lunchtime with Miss Wilson in ICT4
For the Attention of Year 8 students and parents Last year we enjoyed two Jack the Ripper tours on two separate summer evenings. We would like to take year 8 students again this year. Letters of interest will be handed out on Monday. Please note that a parent or nominated guardian will need to attend with each student..... at this stage it looks as though these will be in the first week of July. More info to follow when I have an idea of numbers. Miss Preston Head of Humanities
Drop in times for Students with Special Educational Needs Drop in times for parents of SEN students are to enable you to discuss your son/ daughter's progress in detail. We will be available at the following times: Mondays 11.20am—12.20pm Wednesdays 12.20pm—1.20pm Thursdays 10.00am—11.00am Please email me to book one of these times, or an alternative time if these are inconvenient, at asmith@rodingvalley.net
Drum Lessons
Access to Water in School Parents, please be aware that the canteen has jugs of water available both during lunchtime and break time for all students to access. Bottled water is sold at all outlets Large bottle 50p Small bottle 25p If a student is overdrawn or has no money on their lunch account, they will always be sold water.
One to One, Two to One and Small Group lessons available. Learn with your friends! Contact: marksevel@hotmail.com
Guitar Lessons Lessons slots are available on Mondays with lessons priced at ÂŁ12 per half hour. Please contact Steve van Niekerk on vn.steve.vn@gmail.com if you are interested.
Singing Lessons
Needed! Any unwanted good quality badged uniform, skirts especially, for the PTA to sell on at a huge reduction. Good quality used uniform is always available from the school from 3.15pm - 4.15pm daily.
Private singing lessons are now available. Please contact Alex Larke for more details and to book your slot. email: alex@thevocaltutor.com
Piano Lessons To book piano lessons please contact rosswall@gmail.com
The Humanities Faculty has a Twitter account designed to promote sites of interest, pre-reading, revision, humanities information, news and general humanities support. It is aimed at all KS3, KS4 and A-level Humanities Students and can be followed @humsrvhs