We have reached the end of the academic year and it has certainly been an exciting time for the school. It has been an historic year for the school as we have launched our Sixth Form as part of the Epping Forest District Consortium. It has been a delight to have such a wonderful group of students in Year 12 and they have been fantastic role models for the younger pupils. We await Results Day with eager anticipation. The indications are that we are going to have a much larger cohort for Year 12 in September as so many of our Year 11s have stated that they want to stay with us. We have also had a healthy number of external applications for places. I would like to thank Mr Harris and his team for all their hard work in getting the Sixth Form off to such a positive start. I very much hope that this will be the start of something very special for the school. On Monday many parents, staff, friends and Governors were in attendance in the Hall to enjoy the production of the Lion King. I would like to thank Ms Potter for the immense amount of work that went in to putting on such a great show but it was a real team effort. I can't thank the staff enough who gave of their time willingly in costume making, set design and the endless rehearsals. It was great that so many students were involved and the standard of acting and singing was wonderful. It was a real triumph and it was great that the year groups got the chance to enjoy some excerpts from the show in the assemblies this week. Very well done to all involved. There have been many sporting triumphs this year and this continues into the summer with Abbie Bromley (10X) being selected to represent the South East at netball. She is heading off to Geneva at the end of August to play against the Swiss under 17 side so we wish her every success. Also congratulations to Dylan O'Brien (7T), Teddy Gipson (7Q) and Cameron Grossett (10X) who have all been chosen to represent Essex in their respective age groups in the recent rugby trials. Saracens rugby coaches will coach the successful boys once a month starting in first week of September. A tremendous effort all round and a great opportunity to play at the elite level. I would like to thank all parents who have supported the school so effectively this year. I would also like to highlight the huge amount of effort that the teachers and support staff have put in over the course of the year. I hope that they can all have a well earned rest over the holiday. I hope that you all have a lovely summer and I look forward to next term. James Luck, Headteacher. 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
14th July 2016 Dear Parents and Guardians As we approach the end of term I thought that it was a good time to thank you all for your support this year. It has certainly been a busy 12 months and I feel that we have made a great deal of progress in a comparatively short space of time. I am fully aware that the support that our students receive from home is crucial in driving their success and goes a long way to ensure that they make the best of their opportunities at Roding Valley High School. There are a few points of order that I thought you may find helpful at the end of term: 1) End of Term – Friday 22nd July School will end at 12.20pm for all students. Students will be escorted to the gates at the end of Period 3 on this date and will be expected to make their way home. 2) Start of the New Academic Year Year 7 and 12 students only will start back on Friday the 2nd September. They will be expected in school for an 8.40am start. They will spend time in their Form Groups and will have a full day of activities before being dismissed as usual at 3.05pm. For the other year groups, term will start at 8.40am on Monday 5th September 2016. Assemblies will be held in the morning and lessons will start thereafter. 3) Examination Results Days Our Year 11 and Year 12 students have had information about how and when to collect examination results. Results for AS exams will be released on Thursday 18th August and GCSE results will be released on the 25th August. Both will be available for collection from 10.00am. Mr Harris will be on hand to support those Year 11 students who have applied to our Sixth Form on AS results day. 4) School Uniform Please can I remind parents/guardians that students must wear leather or leather effect shoes. As a result of our commitment to continue to raise standards, no trainers are permitted to be worn. Please refer to the Website where there are photographs of what is, and isn't, deemed acceptable. In answer to several parental queries, Kickers are permitted but only the shoe version. No boots may be worn. In addition to this it should be noted that girls' skirts must be below the knee. A number of girls have been reminded that they will need a new skirt for September as they have grown considerably since they were fitted for their skirt originally. Thank you for your support with this. It is much appreciated. 5) E-Safety Please do view the Website as we have updated our guidance with regard to E-Safety. It is critical that you keep yourselves up to date with developments in this area as it is an important part of Safeguarding. We will continue to inform you of best practice in overseeing your child's use of technology in this way. Can I remind parents that they should, by now, have signed the Acceptable Use ICT Policy to allow their son/daughter to be issued with an individual key and returned the signed agreement to the school. This key will give them access to the school’s internet from their own devices. I attach another copy of the letter and policy for your convenience. If you have not returned this form yet please can you do so as soon as possible? If you have any queries about any aspects of this letter please do not hesitate to contact the school. May I wish you and your family an enjoyable summer break. Yours faithfully
J Luck Headteacher
The winners of the summer draw are: 1st Prize: Mrs W White - £91.00 2nd Prize: Mrs S Flowers - £54.00 3rd Prize: Mrs K Boyle - £37.00 Sincere apologies to Tom Allsop in 7R who was unintentionally left off the list of students whose work received an award at the recent Challenge and Enrichment Celebration Evening. Tom was “Highly Commended” in the Insightful and Engaging Category and received his certificate with the other students. Well done Tom! Dear Parent/Guardian As you may be aware, ParentPay have now changed their website, but with this comes an extra step that needs to be completed in order to update your child’s online School Meals & Trips Account. Once you have uploaded an amount to “your account” you then need to complete the following steps: 1. 2. 3. 4.
Once you are on your home screen it should appear in the top right hand corner “your account” with the value that you have just topped up Under your child’s name, select “pay for items” It will then give you a list of all items you are able to pay for. Please click “view details and pay” next to your chosen item A box will then appear and in the “edit amount” box please enter the value you would like to add to your child’s lunch/trip account
Please be advised that if the above steps are not completed the money will not appear on your child’s account. If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact the finance office who will be pleased to help you with your query. Kind Regards Karen Salmons finance@rodingvalley.net 02085081173 Finance option 3
Follow the BFG Dream Jar Trails around London this summer and celebrate Roald Dahl’s centenary! What is The BFG Dream Jar Trail? The BFG Dream Jar Trail brings to life the long-held dreams of celebrities and artists with Dream Jars across London and beyond this summer. Each jar contains “splendiferous” sculptures based on dream stories from the likes of Steven Spielberg, Stephen Hawking, the Delevingne sisters and many more. You can discover The BFG Dream Jars in iconic spots such as Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace - see 32 Dream Jars from 9 July and a further 18 Dream Jars by 22 July, in time for the release of The BFG in UK cinemas. Get photos taken of you reading Roald Dahl’s The BFG, or any other book of your choice, at dream jars around the trail and email them to Mrs Martin, School Librarian at jmartin@rodingvalley.net and your photos will be uploaded to the school library’s Twitter feed: @Rvgetcaughtreading. For more information on the BFG Dream Jar Trail follow the link below: http://www.visitlondon.com/bfg Keep dreaming and have a great summer! Mrs Martin School Librarian
The summer holidays are nearly here so it’s time to
Get Caught Reading and see your photo on the school library’s Twitter feed! Simply: Get a photo of yourself reading a book on holiday, at home, or wherever you like. You can be on your own, with friends or pets - the choice is yours, and the more weird and wacky the location the better! Email your photo(s) to me at:
jmartin@rodingvalley.net and I shall upload them to the library’s
Twitter feed: @RVgetcaughtreading Prizes for the best entries! So don’t forget to
Get Caught Reading
during the holidays and have a great summer! Mrs Martin School Librarian
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 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
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
Singing Lessons 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
Access to Water in School Drum Lessons 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.
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.