We are fast approaching the end of term and spring is in full flow with the clocks going forward by an hour this weekend and Easter just around the corner. Thank you to all the parents who attended the Parents’ Forum this week. It was really good for the school to be able to hear your concerns and I trust that the discussions about the school’s actions have helped to alleviate some of those concerns. I am extremely confident in the ability of the Senior Leadership team to continue to move the school forward in Mr Luck’s absence. The Local Education Authority (LEA) is aware of the situation and has been very supportive of us. Internal measures have been put in place to ensure that there is capacity within the leadership of the school and I am being ably supported by all. In addition, I have just seconded Mrs Hodges onto the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) to support the leadership of Teaching and Learning. Mrs Hodges is a very experienced teacher who currently leads our very successful teacher training programme and in-school CPD programme. Mr Naidoo who is a member of the SLT is currently leading the Year 10s. They will be taken over by Mr Quirk once the current Year 11s have left in the summer term. Mr Quirk is a highly experienced Progress Leader who has worked wonders with our current Year 11. For those who weren’t at the Parents’ Forum, you should know that one of the main issues raised was the recruitment of Science and English staff. This is a national issue and our situation is further exacerbated by our location on the borders of London, meaning that teachers are paid significantly higher salaries within just a few miles from us. In shortage areas we have had to prioritise our examination groups. The school is taking appropriate action to alleviate the impact on student progress. These actions include the hiring of subject specialist long term agency staff, rotation of teachers to ensure all classes have access to specialist teachers and a planned re write of the timetable to be put in place after Easter. We are also working in close liaison with Debden Park High School and Epping St Johns to effectively utilise teachers across the Consortium Sixth Form. We continue to actively recruit in these key areas. I would like thank the parents who have emailed in messages of support to the school; it is appreciated by the staff and the SLT. This week we had our Year 11 Celebration assembly where students were rewarded for their progress. It was a lovely positive event and many students are now members of the ‘Gold’ club. This club recognises achievement of aspirational targets, is symbolised by the wearing of gold badges and further incentivised by entry to a draw to win a donated ‘gold’ iPad mini. Our Sixth Form is now oversubscribed for next year and students are working hard to achieve their challenging targets for entry. We have had over 30 external applicants to date. We also celebrated students’ creative talents with the Key Stage 3 Creative Arts Evening yesterday—there were lots of wonderful pieces of art on display and some great performances given. Thank you to the Creative Arts Faculty for their hard work in putting on this successful evening. Staff and students are continuing their efforts to raise money for our Zambia project with Year 7 students organising weekly Bake Sales in the old Reception. Students and staff can buy delicious goodies at both break and lunchtimes on a Thursday. This week 7R raised £97.20. Our Sixth Form Geography students went off on a Field Trip to “sunny” Norfolk last weekend and a good time was had by all. A huge thank you to Miss Stockings and Miss Preston for leading the trip. Unfortunately, we have as a nation seen some very sad and worrying events happening in London this week. Because of this, the English Department’s trip to see Othello at the Globe Theatre had to be cancelled on Wednesday evening. The trip to the French Conference for the Y10 students went ahead yesterday which was really successful, we did take advice and made some adjustments to the travel arrangements. The trip to see Taming of the Shrew today has also gone ahead as planned. Understandably parents and students have been rather worried about the events and how this impacts on us all. To this end we have been sent some links which may be of use when talking to your sons and daughters about the events which have happened: NSPCC—for parents on talking to children about terrorism; https://www.nspcc.org.uk/what-we-do/news-opinion/childrencalling-childLine-fearing-terrorist-attacks/ Childline— “Worries about the world”; https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/your-feelings/anxiety-stress-panic/worries-about -the-world/ UK Gov-“Educate Against Hate”; http://educateagainsthate.com/ Miss Hanlon in the English Department organised our Speak Out Challege this week—yet another fantastic enrichment event that our staff have put on this term. Students in Years 11, 12 and 13 will be needing to revise over the holiday—please remind them to organise their time, remove distractions, keep mentally and physically fit, eat and sleep well and have a good balance between study and fun. I am, once again, grateful to staff for offering a targeted revision programme for both GCSE and A Level during the Easter Holidays. Timetable in the body of the bulletin. Our term finishes on Friday 31st March at 1.20pm—students will be released at the end of P4 and will be free to go home and get ready for two weeks of holiday. We return on Tuesday 18th April (Monday 17th being Bank Holiday) to a busy summer term. I hope you enjoy your weekend. Mrs Jenner Acting Headteacher
On Friday 17 March, our Year 12 Geographers set off for their AS Level fieldwork weekend in North Norfolk. They carried out fieldwork to investigate the variation in coastal defences at Cromer and Happisburgh as well as observe coastal features- bringing to life what we have been learning about in lessons. th
The students were fantastically well behaved and engaged in their fieldwork- taking the opportunity to gain important skills of data collection and analysis to aid them in their studies. The sessions at the beach saw us measuring pebbles, counting waves and calculating the angle of the beach but the cold winds meant that by the end, there was little feeling in many of our fingers. The weekend wasn’t all hard work however! Students took part in a competitive game of Laser Quest on Saturday evening and with the addition of Miss Preston and Miss Stockings to the their team- it was victory for the girls! Before returning home on Sunday, we also diverted via the seal colony at Horsey Gap and saw over 1000 grey seals on the beach. It was an amazing sight and we spent a while simply watching them roll around happily on the beach.
Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10
Highest Attendance
7T
Form with the highest Honours
7R
Student with the highest Honours
Sydney Campbell 7Q
Highest Attendance
8R
Form with the highest Honours
8X
Student with the highest Honours
Zara De-Heer 8U
Highest Attendance
9RS2
Form with the highest Honours
9RS3
Student with the highest Honours
Ruby Moody 9RS3
Student of the week
Tyler-Blue Kirby-Arif 9RS-4 nominated by Miss Stockings for exceptional effort on her poster about Globalisation.
Highest Attendance
10U
Form with the highest Honours
10V
Class of the week
10C/Hi1 nominated by Miss Preston for working amazingly on the ‘Prague Spring’ history lesson.
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Y11 English Revision Timetable The revision sessions will take place on the following dates over the next few weeks after
27/03/2017 Anthology Poetry EASTER EASTER 18/04/2017 Paper 1 Ques on 4 24/04/2017 Paper 2 Ques on 2 08/05/2017 Paper 2 Ques on 4 15/05/2017 Literature Paper 1 22/05/2017 Literature Paper 2
Y7 Bake Sales This week it was the turn of 7R to put on the Bake Sale in order to raise funds for the Zambia project.
GCSE ICT: Intervention sessions on Tuesday lunchtimes in IT3 with Mr Hussain
They put on an amazing spread— remember the goodies are available at break and lunch times in the old reception area on Thursdays.
A couple of updates and date confirmations: Year 12 and 13 PPEs : Monday 20th March until Friday 31st March - during this time both Year 12 and 13 will be off timetable and only expected in for their exams and other trips happening during that time. The formal study leave for Year 12 will commence on Monday 15th May. Year 12 students will return to lessons on Monday 12th June. The last school day for Year 13 will be Friday 26th May. Any afternoon exams that take place before this time will be supported with study leave for the morning session that precedes it. Mr Mammen Deputy Headteacher. rmammen@rodingvalley.net
YEAR 12 & YEAR 13 PPEs Find below a copy of the timetable for the forthcoming Year 12 and Year 13 PPE Examinations. Students have received their individual timetables via their Form Tutor, timetables have been printed on BRIGHT PINK paper. Students/Parents/Guardians have also been emailed a copy of both via email. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Jenny Draper Examinations Officer
Speak Out Challenge On Tuesday 21st March, 23 students from year 10 took part in the first round of the Jack Petchey Speak Out challenge. It was a brilliant day and all of the year 10s who took part in the workshop day did the school proud, really making the most of the opportunity. The winners from the 1st competition round, who will be going on to the assembly competition to battle it out for a place at regionals, are Joe Pollard, Aliya Silverstone, Ben Hammid and Layla Newland. Highly commended awards also went to Imogen Brannon-Brown and Mashrur Khondokar. One student commented, “I have anxiety and it helped a lot with my fear of speaking, as well as most likely helping prepare me for the future”, showing how much of a valuable experience it was. Another student commented “Not only has this program helped me with public speaking, but it has been a great social experience. I have had a fantastic day laughing with my friends whilst gaining new knowledge.” Well done year 10!
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.
In a special assembly on Thursday 23rd March, Year 11 celebrated their fantastic achievements, in terms of Progress and Attitude to Learning, based on data from their recent Pre Public Examinations. Mr Quirk, Year 11 Progress Leader commented "It was great to be able to formally recognise the hard work a large proportion of the year group had put in. I look forward to celebrating even more success stories on GCSE results day in August"
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.
KS3 Creative Arts Evening Thank you to the Creative Arts Faculty for a thoroughly enjoyable evening watching a variety of different performances. The art and pottery displays were excellent and the individual and group performances of music and drama were just fabulous. So nice to see so many students involved and demonstrating the confidence to get up on stage and do their thing. Great team effort. Well done and thank you to everyone involved
KS4 Computer Science revision/ intervention sessions are running in IT4 on Thursday lunchtimes 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!
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
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
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
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.