Message from the governors As you are aware our headteacher, Mr Luck, has been on compassionate leave since last term due to the illness of his son. I wanted to let you know that I am in contact with Mr Luck and his son is making progress. However Mr Luck remains on compassionate leave for the time being. Mrs Jenner will continue as acting headteacher, she continues to have the support of the senior team and the entire staff. Essex County Council have arranged for additional support from senior staff. Mrs Jenner and her team have risen to the challenge and are enabling the school, and it’s students, to make progress and we congratulate them. We would like to thank you for your continued support and understanding during this time. I will provide a further update as soon as possible but please do not hesitate to contact me if needs be via the Clerk to the Governors, Sharon Jones on sjones@rodingvalley.net. Paul Wershof Chair of governors 24.2.17
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Another busy week here at Roding valley High School, we survived Doris ! I trust that everyone had a good half term, the students returned rested, keen and ready to go. I would like to thank the staff who took a group of students skiing to Italy over half term. They had an amazing time. There was also a very successful Maths trip to Paris, this was also greatly enjoyed by all involved. Thank you to the parents who attended the Year 7 Parents’ Evening last night, it was a very positive evening and the feedback from both staff and students was excellent. Can I remind parents of Year 9 students that the deadline for the return of option forms is Friday, 3rd March 2017. If you need any further support with these important choices please do not hesitate to contact the school. Year 11 students will be receiving their Pre Public Examination (PPEs) results next week. This is followed by the Parents’ Evening on Thursday the 2nd March, please make sure that your son or daughter is making those important appointments with their teachers. This is a great opportunity to discuss their results and what they can do to maximise their potential. Teachers will be able to provide clear guidance on how they can improve and advice on supporting your child at home through the upcoming exam season. We are currently conducting interviews for the 6th Form. The Year 11 Football team beat Clacton County High in the Quarter-final of the Essex Cup. It was 0-0 at full time but Roding Valley High School won 6-5 on penalties. They now go on to play Harris Academy Chafford Hundred in the Semi-final on Thursday 9th March at home. Good Luck Boys! S Jenner Acting Headteacher
PANCAKE SALE TUESDAY 28 FEBRUARY 2017 ALL YEARS WELCOME BREAK TIME IN T1 50p PER PANCAKE
Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11
Highest Attendance
7V
Form with the highest Honours
7Q
Student with the highest Honours
Freya Dinsley 7W
Class of the week
Highest Attendance
8U
Form with the highest Honours
8X
Student with the highest Honours
Joel McManus 8U
Highest Attendance
9U
Form with the highest Honours
9X
Student with the highest Honours
Conor Briggs 9X
Highest Attendance
10Q
Form with the highest Honours
10W
Student with the highest Honours
Liam Savage 10R
Highest Attendance
11Q
Form with the highest Honours
11S
7A/En2 nominated by Mrs Lafferty for being a brilliant team spirited class – great attitude!
Art Department We have recently taken part in the ‘Loughton Young Artists’ exhibition at the Loughton Arts Centre on the High Street. Each secondary school in the area and Epping Forest College exhibited a range of their work for one week each. This year we selected work from Year 9 and year 11 artists. I’m pleased to say, that at the prize giving evening this week we had 4 students who were awarded certificates and a cash prize, generously donated by Epping Forest District Council.
First Prize was awarded to Hazel Adams and her work ‘Scopophobia’ Second prize was given to Patsy Stow (year 9) for the ceramics work she has completed in extra curricular ‘Clay Club’ with Mr. Baidoo
Olivia Biddle and Lana Roberts were awarded ‘Highly Commended’ prizes. The overall prize went to 6th former Molly Swift, a former GCSE student at Roding Valley who is about to start a foundation course in art at Loughborough University.
Congratulations to all of our hugely talented and motivated artists, in particular these successful prize winners!
YEAR 10 PARENTS Please see below the generic timetable for the forthcoming Year 10 Examination Week Timetable. These examinations will take place under formal conditions for every subject area. Your son/ daughter will receive an individual timetable from their Form Tutor during registration next week. Individual timetables will be printed on YELLOW paper. A further copy will also be emailed to all students and parents. Student's individual timetables hold vital information relevant to them personally, please encourage your son/daughter to take responsibility and look after their timetables. If timetables are lost, student’s can refer to the seating plans pinned up on the door at the Science Playground or alternatively, refer to the emailed version. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. J Draper Examinations Officer
Yr11 football team beat Clacton County High School in the Quarter Final of the Essex Cup. 0-0 at full time 0-0 at extra time - RVHS won 6-5 on penalties. We play Harris Academy Chafford Hundred in the Semi final on Thursday 9th March, 2.30pm KO @ Home.
Come up to Homework Club Monday after school to become a times tables expert. Time: 3.05pm - 3.40pm Place: Learning Zone ACHIEVEMENT CERTIFICATE GIVEN EVERY TIME!
KS4 Computer Science revision/ intervention sessions are running in IT4 on Thursday lunchtimes.
After school sessions mainly targeted at Year 11s (but any student from all key stages KS3, KS4 and KS5 are welcome) in order to help support students to close the gap in either coursework or homework/classwork. Friday after school 3:05 - 4:05pm
Come and join us and have some fun. Roding Valley High School Quiz Night Friday 24th March 2017 Arrive from 7.00pm for a prompt start 7.30pm. Please bring your own drink, nibbles £8.00 per person with food (please choose food below) OR £4.00 per person without food. Payment either by cash or cheque, to RVHS. Organised by the Parents Association of RVHS. Please contact us at admin@rodingvalleypta.net for more details. ___________________________________________________________________ Return to student reception by Friday 17th March 2017 Name and mobile:_______________________________________ Student name and form___________________________________ Number of tickets ________________________________________ Food option (please select) Cod and chips ___________________________________________ Chicken and chips ________________________________________ Hummus in pitta and chips ____________________________ NO food ________________________________________________ All supplied fresh by a local fish n’ chip shop
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
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT CHANGES TO LOCAL BUS ROUTES Debden and Loughton in Essex are currently linked to North East London by TfL bus routes 20, 167, 397 and 549. Essex County Council provided funding towards the operation of routes 20 and 167, however this stopped in April 2016. During June and July 2016 we consulted on proposed changes to bus route 167 in response to this loss of funding. We have now analysed these responses. We received 743 responses from members of the public and 15 responses from stakeholders. We also received a petition opposing the proposals which was signed by 2,547 people. From 11 March 2017, we will introduce the following changes:
Route 167 will no longer run between Loughton station and Debden station
A new route 677 will be introduced providing a limited stop service between Ilford and schools in Debden using double deck buses. On school day mornings this will stop at all existing bus stops from Ilford to Buckhurst Hill station. After Buckhurst Hill station it will operate on an express basis, stopping only at Loughton station (for Roding Valley High School), Davenant Foundation School, Debden Park High School and Debden station. There will be one journey from Ilford to Debden on schoolday mornings and a return journey in the afternoon to Ilford making the same stops.
No changes are proposed to route 20, which will continue to serve the section of route between Loughton station and Debden station. Further information For further details of the above changes, a summary of the consultation responses, and our responses to issues raised, please go to https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/buses/167/ Liaison with schools We do appreciate your concerns about the changes which were included in the consultation summary. We considered these in our response to issues raised report. We will liaise with the three main schools affected on the most appropriate timings for the new 677 service which works best for all. We will also liaise with them to provide advance notice and publicity of the changes. Yours sincerely
Darek Podwiazka, Senior Consultation Manager, Transport for London
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.
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.
Piano Lessons: To book piano lessons please contact rosswall@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 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 Rachel Espeute on racheleds@hotmail.co.uk if you are interested.