Over the last week and a half it has been my privilege to visit a number of primary schools in the local area. It has been lovely speaking to the students and their parents about Roding Valley High School and about the work that we are doing here. It has been wonderful to hear from so many Year 5s and 6s saying that they are looking forward to coming here and it is clear that the school's reputation is very strong in the community. I have been accompanied on these visits by current students who are in an excellent position to tell the younger ones just what it is like at the school and I must say that they have been fabulous ambassadors for RVHS. We work very hard to ensure that the transition between primary and secondary is as smooth as possible so that when the Year 7s start in September they are able to get down to work and make rapid progress from day one. Last Friday was the annual Governors' Day in school. The full Governing Body were in school for the whole of the working day and spent time in lessons and in faculties speaking to the students and the staff. I had a meeting with the Governors at the end of the day and they were full of praise for the lessons that they had been in throughout the range of subjects. They complimented the attitude and work rate of the students and the calm and confident approach of the teaching staff. They also enjoyed the MacMillan coffee morning that was run by Mrs Abbot, Mrs Goosen and Mrs Collings which was very well attended with some superb cakes on sale to raise money for such a worthy charity. Overall the feeling was that the school looks great and it is a very positive place to be. This was echoed by the dozens of prospective parents who have attended our Open Mornings this week. They couldn't have been more complimentary about the school, the teachers and the students. It has been wonderful to see so many of our students engaged in sporting fixtures this half term and it really has been full steam ahead for the PE department. This week a group of Year 7 and 8 students represented the school at the district hockey competition at Lee Valley Stadium, an arena used during the 2012 Olympics. As part of the day they were also privileged to meet Ashley Jackson, a male Team GB Hockey player who represented Team GB at Rio 2016. In addition to this we have lots of fixtures in rugby, football and netball. One highlight thus far must be the Year 8 football team. Over the last two weeks they have won three matches with a goal difference of "goals for—28, goals against—0". Impressive stuff. I would also like to add a further reminder that we are closing the school early at 12.20pm on Wednesday the 12th October next week so that we can prepare for our Open Evening. I am expecting a very good turn out from prospective parents and their sons and daughters and I would like to thank in advance all of the staff and students who will work so hard to make the evening a success. We will then be starting school later thank normal the following day with students registering in their forms at 11am and lessons starting at 11.20am on the Thursday 13th October. Have a lovely weekend. 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
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 Steve van Niekerk on vn.steve.vn@gmail.com if you are interested.
This Tuesday all of the Y7 boys took part in an exciting day of dance workshops. The boys experienced break dance, contemporary, commercial street and musical theatre. The day culminated with each group performing. A great day which was challenging and engaging.
North London and Essex Hockey Festival for Years 7 and 8 On Wednesday 5th October, 12 boys from years 7 and 8 represented the school in the North London and Essex Schools Hockey festival at Lee Valley Hockey centre in the Olympic Park, Stratford. The boys played a total of 7 games throughout the day winning three, drawing two and losing two. All the matches were played on international hockey pitches used during the 2012 London Olympics, with the morning spent on the outside pitch and the afternoon games in the stadium. At lunchtime the boys had the opportunity to meet and ask questions to a current Team GB male hockey player Ashley Jackson, who also posed for a picture with the squad assembled for the day. It was a fantastic experience for all the boys involved to sample playing in world class facilities and something they will remember for a very long time. They were a credit to the school.
Educational visits We would like to inform you that the school has now moved to an on-line procedure for medical and consent forms for all educational visits. (apart from P.E fixtures). If your child is successful in gaining a place on a visit, an email will be sent to you from a company called Evolve (a national company that helps schools administer educational visits), along with our school form, that requests consent, medical details etc. This information is then sent directly to the school, where we are governed by data protection. Please ensure that these digital forms are promptly returned and accurately completed, as failure to do so may compromise your child's place on the trip. It is vitally important that the school holds current email addresses for parents/guardians. If you need to update or provide an email address, please inform the school office.
Many thanks once again for all students', teachers' and governors' contributions to last week's MacMillan Coffee Morning in the Food & Nutrition Department. A great success, raising a final total of ÂŁ206.89 for this charity. Thanks to all parents and guardians for the continuing support.
YEAR 11 PARENTS Please see below the generic timetable for the forthcoming Year 11 Examination Week along with a letter from Mr Quirk and Miss Dyer on the following page. 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. This sheet of information is very important, 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. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Miss J Draper Exams Officer
Roding Valley High School
Open Evening 2016 Wednesday 12th October 2016 from 5.30pm
We would like to invite all prospective parents to visit the school on our Open Evening and Open Morning tours. The school is extremely popular, successful and benefits from outstanding facilities. This is a wonderful school with traditional expectations and a true sense of community. We offer our students the highest standard of education and focus on supporting every child to achieve their very best. Our most recent OFSTED inspection judged us to be a Good School with Outstanding Features and we are confident that this will be recognized as an Oustanding school in the near future. The Headteacher, James Luck, will be speaking to parents at 6.15pm and 7.30pm on Open Evening this year. We will also be running our extremely popular ‘Open Morning’ tours once again this year so that parents have the opportunity to experience the school on a normal day.
Tours run on Monday 26th, Tuesday 27th, Wednesday 28th, Thursday 29th and Friday 30th September 2016. No appointment is necessary and parents should arrive at the school reception for tours to start at 9.15am.
Behaviour is outstanding. Students are polite and committed to their work. They feel safe and valued and their exemplary conduct contributes well to rapidly improving outcomes.” OFSTED 2013
Alderton Hill, Loughton, Essex Ig10 3JA t: 020 8508 1173 e: office@rodingvalley.net www.rodingvalley.net
College Open Days coming up for Year 11 Epping Forest College Saturday 15th October 10am‐12 Harlow College Wednesday 3rd November 5.30-7.30pm Students in Year 11 can apply to any college of their choice. All websites, contact details and open days for colleges are detailed in the FE Booklet given to Year 11 students last week. Kind regards Mrs Mason Careers Development Manager dmason@rodingvalley.net Twitter: Follow @RVHS_Careers to keep up to date with our department.
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
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.
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
Year 7
Highest Attendance
7S & Y
Form with the highest Honours
7Q & S
Student with the highest Honours
Daisy Smith 7Q
Student of the week
Adam Ghounbaz 7T nominated by Mrs Humphreys for his excellent manners and quality of homework
Class of the week
7a/En1 nominated by Miss Bates for their constant hard work, effort and focus – have been so impressive! 7a/Hu5 nominated by Mrs Humphreys for their hard work in Humanities – Well Done!
Year 8 Year 9 Year 10
Year 11
Highest Attendance
8R
Form with the highest Honours
8V
Student with the highest Honours
Arin Ozerin 8Q
Student of the week
Jamie Thomas 8R nominated by Mrs Musker for consistent and positive attitude to lesson – such a positive influence on the class
Class of the week
8B/Fr1 nominated by Ms Langlet for outstanding work using the perfect tense
Highest Attendance
9R
Form with the highest Honours
9Q & U
Student with the highest Honours
Isobel Bonning 9S
Highest Attendance
10S
Form with the highest Honours
10V
Student with the highest Honours
Chloe Abbott 10V
Highest Attendance
11V
Form with the highest Honours
11X
Student with the highest Honours
Tilly Matthews 11R
Class of the week
Alex Barclay 11W nominated by Mr McManners for showing a great level of maturity in his studies and scoring very highly in his recent test.
Fancy trying something new? Spending time with friends and making new ones? Do you like to do adventurous activities like Zorbing, Abseiling or Camping? Why not try Guides? 7th Loughton Guides currently have a few spaces, so if you are a girl aged 10+ and answered yes to any of the above, please contact us by email on 7thloughtonsouthguideunit@gmail.com
If your son/daughter is in years 8 to 10, and interested in cooking, can you please let them know that our Future Chef Competition is being held on Monday 17th October, 3.30pm—5.15pm. Come along to T2 and sign up.
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.