What a week it has been. Firstly I would like to thank all the parents and students who attended the Sixth Form Consortium Launch evening last night. I was delighted that the turn out was so high and the feedback from students and parents was enormously positive. Large numbers of students expressed their desire to stay on to complete their A Levels at Roding Valley which is clearly a ringing endorsement for the school. So many students referred to the positive relationships that they have developed with their teachers and stated that their teachers go above and beyond the call of duty to support them with their studies. We were joined on Thursday evening by the Headteachers from Debden Park and Epping St John as these schools are forming the Consortium along with Roding Valley. Both Headteachers said how impressed they were with the turn out on the night but also on the way that current and former students spoke with such passion about the school. Head Girl Carina Sander and Head Boy Naru George spoke from the stage and were fulsome in their praise of the teachers' energy and efforts to support all students and were fantastic ambassadors for the school. We also welcomed back Jess Hayden, Patrick Haslam and Jonathan Schroder, all former pupils who had to go elsewhere for their Sixth Form experience. I was hugely impressed with their speeches. Not only did they speak from the heart about how much they would have relished the chance to stay on at Roding Valley, they also spoke eloquently and confidently about their own experience of Sixth Form life at other schools. I know that their powerful arguments were warmly received by those in the Hall. All in all the evening was a roaring success but is only the first stage in our preparation to get everything in place for the new Sixth Form in September 2015. Please do watch this space for the Taster workshops and the Subject Focus evenings that are coming up. In addition to this, we have also invited a group of professional dancers in today to lead the Year 7 Boys' Day of Dance. I was lucky enough to spend some time going round the different sessions and saw our boys rising to the challenge and making fantastic progress in a short space of time. The boys informed me that they have had a really enjoyable day and I'm looking forward to seeing the photos and videos up around the school. It was lovely to hear from the dancers leading the sessions, all of whom praised our students for their politeness and their willingness to give it a go. One of the dancers said that they had been into schools regularly for the last 2 years and he had never come across such a lovely group of students. Clearly great ambassadors for the school and for you as parents. I hope that you all have an enjoyable weekend. Mr J 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
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.
ICT Coursework Sessions Every Friday Lunchtime With Miss Wilson in ICT4
Supported Homework Club Learning Zone Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday 3.05pm - 3.40pm Everyone welcome A drink and biscuit are provided
We are again collecting the Morrisons Let’s Grow vouchers. Please send your vouchers into the school so that we can claim free gardening and cooking equipment.
Drop in times for Students with Special Educational Needs This year we are trialling some drop in times for parents of SEN students to enable you to discuss your son/ daughter's progress in detail. We will be available at the following times: Mondays 9-10am
Wednesdays 10-11am
Thursdays 2.15-3pm
Please email me to book one of these times, or an alternative time if these are inconvenient, at mwilson@rodingvalley.net
PE Kit The boys PE kit is now back in stock at Forest Casuals along with the girls skort and fleece. The girls polo shirts will be available next week. PLEASE NOTE It is not compulsory for student’s to have their name embroidered onto the PE kit.
GCSE MATHEMATICS ASSESSMENTS THURSDAY 9TH OCTOBER 2014 GCSE Mathematics Assessments are scheduled to take place on Thursday 9 October 2014 at 9am. These Assessments will form part of predicted grades and will be used for Sixth Form and College applications. The Assessments will take place under exam conditions. Students will be issued with their individual examination timetables shortly via Form Tutors, all rules and regulations will be printed on the back and we would advise students to ensure they read and understand these expectations. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Jenny Draper Exams Officer
Team:
Jack Stone - Captain Jack Beddall Joe Busby Harry Carter Lewis Crowe Jake Honeywood Jack Kibblewhite Henry Moorcroft Harry Oliver Daniel Prime Jake Smith Joe Tinsley Callum Thurgood Dru Yearwood
Two hours after our original kick-off time, we finished our first round game of the Essex Cup. The match saw us go ahead five times with Walthamstow responding five times. 5-5 was the result at full time. Some major errors allowed Walthamstow to be in this match. Extra time saw Walthamstow take the lead for the first time. Fortunately we responded to make it 6-6. Penalties now take place. We missed the first, they scored! We scored the next two, they missed both but added a second goal with the forth taken penalty! Dry Yearwood then scored to win the game 4-2 on penalties. Entertaining - Yes. But not a good performance P Fitch
Year 8 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th
Boys Max Wintle Adan Mohamed Max Collings Jack Thomas William Fairhead Jack Albertson Tariq Riaz Joseph Salmon Ben Stone Charlie Fitzsimons
8U 8W 8Q 8U 8T 8U 8U 8X 8V 8R
Girls 6.40 1st Mia Anthony 7.22 2nd Daisy Kelly 7.23 3rd Saffron Blenman 7.34 4th Tyne Brownlie 7.35 5th Bronwyn Glover 7.39 6th Montana Saunders 7.40 7th Neve Bowden 7.41 8th Olivia Marks‐Micheli 7.55 9th Lydia Butcher 8.00 10th Shannon Higgs Inter‐Form Champions 8Q
8S 8R 8U 8X 8V 8T 8Q 8U 8Q 8Q
8.04 8.45 9.21 9.29 9.37 9.41 9.42 9.47 9.49 10.00
9R 9X 9X 9V 9V 9R 9S 9Q 9Q 9Q
7.04 8.50 8.50 8.52 8.52 9.28 10.23 10.44 11.00 11.36
Year 9 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th
Boys George Johnson Harry Barre George Ewing Harry Boyd‐Walker Brandon Hall Luke Carbin Timmy Moncur Jamie Ringwood Danny Fowler Sam Barre
9Q 9Q 9Q 9R 9W 9R 9X 9R 9X 9X
7.05 1st 7.09 2nd 7.28 3rd 7.30 4th 7.32 5th 7.33 6th 7.38 7th 7.40 8th 7.42 9th 7.42 10th Inter‐Form Champions 9Q
Girls Louise Gilbert Temitope Olusesan Hannah Rivers Olivia Biddle Kayley McCorkell Francesca Cavadino Shakkira Sikiru Daisy Bloor Sophia Filai s Maisie Fellerman
All those students who have been invited to represent the school in the inter-schools at Woodford on Thursday 2nd, 9th and 16th October, please return your letters to the PE Department as soon as possible even if you are unable to attend. P Fitch
Teacher Training at Roding Valley – Update Teacher Training is now a significant aspect of this school and not only do we train some of our own teachers but as a member of the West Essex School Direct Partnership of eight local schools, we share the responsibility in delivering an appropriate training experience for trainee teachers in this partnership. School Direct, with its focus on training in Schools and not through a university, is now the Governments’ preferred route into teaching. The scheme was piloted two years ago when we had five trainees in the West Essex Partnership. Last year this had grown to eleven – all of whom successfully completed in July of this year. Ten of these trainees are now teaching locally – thus mee ng, in a substan al way, the ra onale of training local teachers for local schools. This September the cohort has grown to 25 trainees who are based in 7 schools. We are about to commence the 2015 adver sing & recruitment period and our School Direct partnership has made a bid to train over 60 teachers which now extends to the primary phase as well as the exis ng secondary phase. Much publicity is being given to the fact that there will be a shortage of trained teachers over the next few years and currently Geography, Music, R.E & Technology has been added to the list of na onal shortages in Science, Maths, MFL & Compu ng (Secondary). If you are interested in finding out more about training to become a teacher, or know of someone else who has that interest, we have an Informa on Evening at Davenant Founda on School on Wednesday 12th November 2014 at 7.00 p.m. and there will be informa on on the schools website. All poten al applicants should have Maths and English at Grade C GCSE and a degree in the subject they wish to train to teach. If you like more informa on please contact Suzanne.Giles@davenant.org or Trevor.hounslow@davenant.org
Roding Valley –v– King Harold Year 7 RVHS won 19-1 Player of the Match: Maisie Mead Year 8 RVHS won 17-5 Player of the Match: Annabel Hoffman
Drum Lessons One to One, Two to One and Small Group lessons available. Learn with your friends! Learn to play the drums from as little as £5 per week Contact: jameswelsted@hotmail.co.uk
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.
www.jwdrums.co.uk 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 7.15 am – 8.30 am , break time , lunch times and after school for homework club 3.15 pm – 4.15 pm. Tuesday: Before school 7.15 am - 8.10 am , break time and lunch times. Access for early opening is via the door by resources.
School Shop Opening Times
Julia Martin / Stephen Murray
Before School: 8.30am - 9.00am Break: 11.00am - 11.20am Lunch: 1.20pm - 2.05pm After School: 3.05pm - 4.00pm PUPILS WILL NOT BE SERVED OUTSIDE THESE HOURS
Singing Lessons Private singing lessons are now available. Please contact Gemma Kirk for more details and to book your slot.
email: g.kirk_88@hotmail.com