I would like to start by thanking all students and parents who attended the Sixth Form Open Evening on Tuesday this week. There was an excellent turn out and it is always reassuring for me to be speaking to a packed School Hall. I am delighted with the start that our current Year 12s have made and we are certainly looking to build on this for next year. I've spoken to a number of the Year 11s who have already made their subject choices having discussed the issue with the Heads of Faculty and other teaching staff. However, there will be many students who will need more advice and guidance on their options so we will be putting in lots of opportunities for them to enjoy taster sessions across a range of A Level subjects as well as providing meetings with current Year 12s and teachers to discuss the best ways forward for them. We appreciate that this is a decision that could well have far reaching consequences in terms of career aspirations so we want to provide every support so that they choose wisely. Thanks also to the parents who came along to the Parents' Forum on Monday evening. The subject matter was Child Sexual Exploitation and Radicalisation; two tough subjects but it was clear from the responses of those present that we need to keep parents fully updated with these issues. Several parents commented that they were very grateful for the hard work that the school is doing to keep the students safe both in and out of school but we must remember that vigilance is the key. If anyone has any concerns with regard to these aspects of Child Protection or any other more general concerns about the safety of our young people please do not hesitate to contact the school. Our Child Protection leads are June Cordwell, Sam Dyer and Jeanette Low. This morning at 4.45am 35 students and 4 staff mustered to go on the football trip to Valencia. I am sure that the players will do Roding Valley High School proud both on and off the field and I wish them every success as the standard of matches will be very high. They were certainly excited with this opportunity and Mr Jones has put together an excellent itinerary. Finally I would like to mention the Year 7 Boys rugby team who I had the pleasure of watching this week. On Thursday afternoon they took on the local rivals from Debden Park and were very impressive victors. The team played with real spirit and their tackling and rucking was fearsome. There was also some superb elusive running from the backs and I very much hope that this is the start of things to come from our Rugby teams. As a Rugby man myself I am very keen for us to develop the sport at Roding Valley High School as I think that the "play hard but play fair" ethos is something that we should be promoting. The boys clearly enjoyed their first game and I think we've got a squad in Year 7 who could be very competitive for years to come. May I wish you all an enjoyable half term. J Luck Headteacher
Zambia non-uniform day has so far raised a grand total of:
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Week ending 23rd October 2015 Year 7 Highest Attendance
7V
Form with the Highest Honours
7W
Student with the Highest Honours
Daniel Famiglietti 7W
Year 8 Highest Attendance
8Q
Form with the Highest Honours
8U
Student with the Highest Honours
Clara Rodriguez 8W
Class of the week
8R/Gg1 nominated by Mrs Barron for working hard and producing some good work.
Year 9 Highest Attendance
9U
Form with the Highest Honours
9R
Student with the Highest Honours
Bronwyn Glover 9R
Student of the week
Class of the week
Jermaine Bosompra 9V nominated by Ms Williams for showing a very mature and conscientious attitude in class Destiny Binet 9R nominated by Ms Ahmad for brilliant contributions in lessons and being actively involved and trying really hard. 9U/Gg1 nominated by Ms Stockings for being super focused and engaged in the lesson 9qs/En2 nominated by Ms Ahmad for their excellent behaviour and analysis in class 9qs/Sc1 nominated by Ms Wybrant for greatly improving since they started in both behaviour and attitude towards learning
Year 10 Highest Attendance
10W
Form with the Highest Honours
10T
Student with the Highest Honours
Jessica Weaver 10R
Class of the week
10D/Rs2 nominated by Mrs Bentley for being fabulous all of this half term and hard working in lessons
Year 11 Highest Attendance
11T
Form with the Highest Honours
11S
Class of the week
11a/ScA1 nominated by Mr Poovilingham for their outstanding achievement in their recent Biology assessment.
Future Chef 2015/2016 Yesterday saw Food Technology hold the first of their cooking competitions, Future Chef, which had a great turnout. The food was excellent and the standard was high. This year 2 students are going through to the next round so well done to Ella Margetts 8U and Ellie Blundy 8U. The 2 runners up were Sarah Bagshaw 8Q and Abigail Ward 9S. Thank you to all parents/guardians for their continued support. Thank you to our 3 judges, Mrs Salmons, Mrs Sabin and Mrs Sargent.
* 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
Maths Support Monday & Friday After school in M5 Maths Club Tuesday & Thursday Lunchtime in M3
Message from the PE Department 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.
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
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. 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.
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.
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
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.
College Open Days coming up for Year 11
Harlow College Wednesday 4th November 4-7pm Epping Forest College Monday 9th November 6-8pm Barking & Dagenham College Wednesday 11th November 4.30-7pm Waltham Forest College Thursday 12th November 4.30-7.30pm Writtle College Saturday 14th November 10-2pm
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/
Essex Primary Health Care Careers Fair Essex Primary Care Careers Fair on Saturday 14th November 9.30am-4.30pm 2015 at Hylands House, Chelmsford. Roding Valley Students from year 9 – 11 and sixth form students who may be considering a career within the Primary Health Care sector, such as a GP, Practice Nurse or Clinical or Community Pharmacist are invited to attend the fair. There will be a number of professionals and trainees at the event available to talk about their career, what their dayto-day role involves and the course they took to attain their qualifications in order to pursue their career. There will also be various organisations at the event exhibiting including Anglia Ruskin University and The University of Essex. To book your free place please email: info@epic-wd.org.uk Kind regards Mrs Mason Careers Development Manager dmason@rodingvalley.net
Guitar Lessons Lessons slots are available on Mondays with lessons priced at £12 per half hour. Please contact Steve van Niekerk on vn.steve.vn@gmail.com if you are interested.
Drum Lessons One to One, Two to One and Small Group lessons available. Learn with your friends! Contact: marksevel@hotmail.com
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