I would like to start by reminding all Year 11s and their parents that we are holding the Sixth Form Open Evening on Tuesday 20th October. The evening will run from 6pm to 8pm and there will be presentations from myself and Mr Harris, Head of Sixth Form, as well as from our Head Boy and Head Girl. There will also be ample opportunity for students and parents to speak to Heads of Department and subject teachers in depth in order to develop an understanding of what each A Level entails. It is crucial that students wishing to stay on at Roding Valley Post 16 attend the evening as it is the best chance to ensure that an educated choice may be made regarding the subjects that are best suited to them. A Levels are certainly challenging and choosing the right options is a significant factor to secure success. If students are considering other schools or colleges for their Post 16 studies I would still encourage them to come along to the evening to see what we have to offer here. I have been delighted with the start that the new Sixth Form have made. The lessons that I have observed have been of a very high quality and students are certainly being challenged to achieve highly. The small group sizes mean that individual attention can be given to each student and this will increase their rate of progress significantly. The atmosphere in the Common Room is lovely with a cohesive group of students working together. I have also been pleased to see how keen the students have been to involve themselves with extra-curricular activities, supporting younger students with their learning and getting community projects under-way. All in all I think we can be incredibly proud of our Sixth Form and I am confident that we will go from strength to strength in the years to come. On Thursday evening of this week we hosted the Year 7 Parent Information Evening. This was billed as a means to guide parents in the best ways that they can support their sons and daughters to succeed in secondary school. The evening involved a number of presentations referring to the changing demands of schooling from Primary to Secondary and how the students can be given every chance to flourish. There was also a focus on the Accelerated Reader programme and the Literacy focus that we have throughout the year. Finally the Maths Faculty ran a workshop highlighting the Maths Mastery programme that we are following in the school. I spoke to a number of parents at the end of the session who had been given a series of Maths questions to answer and had appeared to have enjoyed the challenge. I hope that all those in attendance found the evening useful and if anyone has any comments, in addition to the feedback from, please do get in touch. I would also like to say a very big well done to the Year 7 boys Football Team. Mr Hudgell is delighted with the impressive start that they have made so far this season in both the Essex and National cup competitions. They have been playing some outstanding, attractive football so far which has been a pleasure to watch. So far they have won 4 and have a perfect record. Long may this continue. I would also like to congratulate the girls and boys Cross Country teams who both performed incredibly well in the championships this week. There were some excellent individual and team performances and we are very proud of our students. J Luck Headteacher
6th Form Open Evening Calling all parents of Year 11 students—our Sixth Form Open Evening will be held on Tuesday 20th October 2015 at 6.30pm in the Hall. Please come along and have a look at what we have to offer.
Week ending 16th October 2015 Year 7 Highest Attendance
7V
Form with the Highest Honours
7X
Student with the Highest Honours
Aya El-Hajji 7X
Class of the week
7qr/Mu2 nominated by Mr Savage for Aspiration, Respect and Endeavour
Year 8 Highest Attendance
8V
Form with the Highest Honours
8U
Student with the Highest Honours
Lauren Atkinson 8U
Student of the week
Class of the week
Ella Margetts 8U nominated by Ms Cordwell for outstanding work and homework being completed to a very high standard. An asset to the school Fred Christmas 8X nominated by Ms Williams for excellent progress in his reading tests Lauren Atkinson 8U nominated by Mr Dowd for representing the school outstandingly in her speech to parents at Open Evening 8ux/Fr1 nominated by Ms Langlet for being outstanding in French 8uv/Cs1 nominated by Ms Wilson for excellent behaviour and focussed work completed by supporting each other 8Q/Gg1 nominated by Ms Cordwell for working superbly, producing some very good work and a pleasure to teach 8ux/Fr4 nominated by Mrs Chambers for working extremely well and working as a team, trying hard, all doing homework and making good progress
Year 9 Highest Attendance
9S
Form with the Highest Honours
9R
Student with the Highest Honours
Jessie Bradley 9S
Class of the week
9uv/Dr2 nominated by Mrs Sargent for working very hard, listening to the work being set and preparing for their end of term assessment. An absolute pleasure to teach!
Year 10 Highest Attendance
10Q
Form with the Highest Honours
10R
Student with the Highest Honours
Max Jessop 10X
Student of the week
Grace Horsford 10U, Katia Brooks 10V & Georgia Lench 10V nominated by Mrs Barrett for helping in Health & Social Care on Open Evening
Class of the week
10C/Hs1 nominated by Mrs Barrett for being focused, enthusiastic and really keen to do well 10a/MaE1 nominated by Mr Rahman for working independently and taking notes from a video clip 10b/MaE1 nominated by Mr Edeko for showing great resilience and work ethic through this week
Year 11 Highest Attendance
11V
Form with the Highest Honours
11T
Student of the week
Class of the week
Taylor Samson 11T nominated by Ms Cordwell for outstanding attitude and effort on his Controlled Assessment Elizabeth Harbutt 11V nominated by Mrs Barrett for fantastic help in Health & Social Care on Open Evening Alanya Lewin 11X nominated by Ms Patel for being an asset to the class! Very proud of her commitment in Science and for always striving to succeed. Well done Alanya keep up the good work! 11a/Rs1 and 11b/Rs4 nominated by Mrs Cain for having a fantastic attitude in RE 11b/Rs2 nominated by Mrs Humphreys for working really hard and producing some outstanding war posters 11a/ScA2 and 11b/ScA1 nominated by Mr Bedi for their outstanding progress and determination in class
* Summer Term only
LIBRARY OPENING TIMES The library is open to all students for homework, G.C.S.E. work and private study/reading at the following times: Monday - Friday (excluding Tuesday): Before school 7.15am – 8.30am, break time, lunch times & after school for homework club 3.15pm – 4.15pm. Tuesday: Before school 7.15am - 8.10am, break time and lunch times. Access for early opening is via the door by resources.
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
Supported Homework Club Learning Zone Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday 3.05pm - 3.40pm Everyone welcome A drink and biscuit are provided
Please email me to book one of these times, or an alternative time if these are inconvenient, at asmith@rodingvalley.net
ICT Coursework Sessions Every Tuesday Lunchtime With Miss Wilson in ICT4
FUTURE CHEF 2016 SCHOOL HEATS YEARS 8-10 THURSDAY 22nd OCTOBER 3.30PM - 5.15PM IN T1 & T2 Please see Mrs Collings for info and entry form.
Maths Support Monday & Friday After school in M5 Maths Club Tuesday & Thursday Lunchtime in M3
The deadline for students to submit any coursework for the English Language IGCSE course is Friday 23rd October 2015. Students have spent a large proportion of the course working on coursework and, in order to prepare adequately for the exam, we have decided to make the end of this half term the cut off date. Students have been aware of this date for some time and many of them have been working towards this deadline.
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
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
@humsrvhs
School Website Please visit our school website to find details of any recent letters home, the Student Bulletin and previous copies of the Parent Bulletin - www.rodingvalley.net
You can follow us at www.rodingvalley.net , on Facebook at the ‘Roding Valley High School Official’ page or on Twitter (@RodingValleyHS). You can also sign up to our free electronic media release service at rodingvalleymedia@gmail.com
PE Twitter Account The PE department have activated a Twitter account where regular PE updates, extra-curricular news and curriculum information will be regularly published. Follow @RodingValleyPE to keep up to date with our department. Mr Hudgell
The Governors’ Personnel, Finance and Premises committee met on Thursday October 15th and were delighted to review the improvements to the School that have been carried out during the Summer holidays. The launch of our new sixth form required extensive preparation and hard work which was accomplished superbly. The Governors would like to congratulate and thank all staff for their help in implementing the recent changes so effectively. Tony Barritt
POLITE NOTICE FROM FOOD TECHNOLOGY
Could parents/guardians please return the slip attached to the contributions letter. Whether paying by cash or via ParentPay it helps keep our records up to date. Many thanks for your continued support.
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.
The next meeting for the PTA will be on Monday 2nd November and will be an EGM (Extraordinary General Meeting) where we will vote in a new constitution. The meeting is open to all parents/guardians and anyone wishing to be involved with Roding Valley High School PTA. The meeting will start at 19:00, please see the website for more details (www.rodingvalleypta.net). Many Thanks David PTA Chair
Roding Valley High School PTA UPCOMING EVENTS For up to date information on all events please check the weekly Parent Bulletin and/ or go to our website:www.rodingvalleypta.co.uk Our email address is:admin@rodingvalleypta.net if you have any questions or would like to offer help at an event. Halloween Disco, Friday 23rd October 2015 (Yr8+9) Yr7 Christmas Disco, Friday 11th December 2015
Students are regularly coming into school with cheques with the payee being left blank
School Shop Opening Times Before School: 8.30am - 9.00am
Can you please ensure that all cheques are made payable to
Break: 11.00am - 11.20am
Roding Valley High School
Lunch: 1.20pm - 2.05pm
The school cannot be held responsible for any cheques which go missing and are then cashed elsewhere
After School: 3.05pm - 4.00pm STUDENTS WILL NOT BE SERVED OUTSIDE THESE HOURS
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 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 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 020 8508 1173.
Please find below a copy of the Year 11 Exam Week Timetable. These exams will be conducted under full exam conditions and will start to prepare the students for the rigour and preparation to sit their actual GCSE's in the summer of 2016. Where possible the examinations will be sat in the Hall, any subject not shown on this timetable will be classroom based during lesson time. This is a generic timetable and students must refer to their individual timetables for precise timings of examinations relevant to them. Students will receive their individual timetables shortly.
Teacher Training Update Roding Valley High School is an active member of the West Essex School Direct Partnership which for the last four years has been recruiting and training secondary teachers (and now primary teachers) for our community of schools in Harlow and Epping Forest. There is, at this moment in time, a real concern about recruitment and retention on a national scale and schools have struggled to attract teachers in the core subjects of Maths, Science and English but also now in other subjects. The media have highlighted this concern and our “partnership” of schools has been proactive in addressing the issue. In the last two years 2013-14 and 2014-15 we have jointly trained 36 secondary teachers, all of whom have found employment in the area with most enriching our own schools. We have been partnered with Hibernia College UK who provide an on-line learning platform with Subject Knowledge Enhancement, Professional Studies units and a subject specific pathway tutor. Hibernia College UK have now been bought by TES Global which has a vast international “reach” and many valuable resources. All training takes place in our schools and online. There are now plans to extend our recruitment and include “returning teachers” and we are hoping to pilot a course to attract local people who are already qualified but may need a refresher course at no cost to themselves. The UCAS portal for recruitment and application for School Direct will open on 27th October and there will be an Information and Recruitment Evening at Davenant Foundation School on Wednesday 11th November from 7.00 p.m. and at Burnt Mill Academy on Tuesday 17th November. If you are interested and would like to find out more about a career as a teacher and you have a degree plus Maths & English GCSE Grade C or above for Secondary or for Primary you will also need Science GCSE, please contact Suzanne.Giles@davenant.org or on 0208 498 6718. There are significant bursaries for most subjects especially shortage subjects (between 15,000 and £30,000 for Physics, Maths, Chemistry, MFL, Biology and Geography). There are also Salary routes for applicants who have experience working in schools in a classroom capacity.
SKILLS LONDON - 13-14 November 2015 Skills London 2015 is London’s biggest jobs and careers event for young people. Two days of interactive activities and inspiring jobs and careers, held at ExCeL London, for 15-24 year olds and their families. The 2015 event takes place on Friday 13th and Saturday 14th November. For more details about the event please visit. http://www.skillslondon2015.co.uk/ Kind regards Mrs Mason Careers Development Manager dmason@rodingvalley.net
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
Drum Lessons One to One, Two to One and Small Group lessons available. Learn with your friends! Contact: marksevel@hotmail.com
if you are interested. Singing Lessons
Piano Lessons To book piano lessons please contact rosswall@gmail.com
Private singing lessons are now available. Please contact Alex Larke for more details and to book your slot. email: alex@thevocaltutor.com
Message from the PE Department
Netball Results RV v West Hatch Year 7 RV won 15-13 player of the match - Chloe Slatford Year 8 RV won 14-12 players of the match Maisy Mead & Maddy Holden Year 9 RV lost 1-20 player of the match - Kezia Studman U16 RV lost 11-34 Player of the match - Sophia Filaitis RV v Debden
Please remember that the PE department has a no jewellery policy. Students are not allowed to wear earrings for PE lessons and will be asked to remove them so if your child is going to have their ears pierced this should be done at a time when they are not in school for enough time to allow the ears to heal, e.g. at the beginning of the summer holidays.
year 7 RV won 15-10 player of the match - Terri Sandford Year 8 RV lost 11-14 player of the match Maddy Holden Year 9 RV lost 3-24 player of the match Kezia Studman U16 RV won 13-8 player of the match - Hannah Rivers
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.
at Roding Valley High School, Loughton Tuesdays 6.30pm (please use Brook Road entrance) Our successful ProPoints Plan makes weight loss as effortless as possible. Whatever you like to eat, you can lose weight; no food is off limits with WeightWatchers —Your Way. You’re guaranteed a warm, friendly welcome, motivating activity, advice and support, inspiration, a confidential weigh-in and successful weight loss. I look forward to meeting you! Contact Julie Faulkner 07981 744746 jfaulkner@weight-watchers.co.uk See our website for current offers www.weightwatchers.co.uk