At the end of the year it is a good time to reflect on what we have achieved over the last twelve months. It has certainly been a busy year and a great deal has been accomplished. We wait in anticipation to see how well the Year 11s have done in their GCSEs and we all wish them luck as the 20th August Results Day looms closer. Our preparations for the new Sixth Form have been keeping us busy and the staff and students are looking forward to getting stuck in to the AS Levels come September. This is such an exciting addition to the school and I am delighted that it has finally become possible for Roding Valley to host Post 16 studies. The lower years have also been working hard over the course of the year and the reports demonstrate that our students have been making pleasing progress across the range of subjects. In addition to this there have been a huge number of extra-curricular opportunities for our learners. We have had drama productions, concerts. art exhibitions, debates, sporting fixtures to numerous to mention, and academic challenges. I have never seen a school run as many trips as we have done this year and I am so impressed with the commitment of the staff to run all of these activities in their own time to make the experiences of our students so memorable. I would like to give a special note of congratulations to the Art & Photography departments as the "My Art Summer Exhibition" was a roaring success for the school. It was tremendous to see our students being rewarded for their hard work and talent and the fact that no other school came close to matching Roding Valley's achievements in this respect bodes very well for A Level next year. Very well done to all concerned but Beau Hunt and Florence Cope deserve particular mention for their fantastic work. As a final point I would like to thank those staff who are leaving us at the end of the term for all of their hard work. Mr Fitch is retiring and we wish him well on the golf course. Miss Darabasz is going to be an Assistant Headteacher so we wish her every success. A number of other teachers are moving on but I would like to make special mention of Mr Dixon who is leaving us to become Headteacher of Abbs Cross School in Havering. I know better than most that moving to Headship is a significant step in any career and I have every expectation that Mr Dixon will be an excellent Headteacher and I would like to wish him Good Luck on behalf of the school. I hope that you have a restful and enjoyable summer and look forward to the new school year in September. J Luck Headteacher
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We held our final Governors’ meeting of the academic year on 9th July, during which we received presentations on the progress of the introduction of the Sixth Form and the development of SEN provision. We were also very pleased to be assured that the school would be fully staffed from September. We began our planning for the new academic year, approving dates for meetings, arrangements for monitoring visits and items for discussion at our planning meeting early next term. September updates for the Governors’ pages on the school website were also approved. The Governors are working closely with the Roding Valley High School PTA and look forward to joining parents at the PTA Quiz Evening on Friday 25 September. We would like to thank students and staff for their very hard work during this school year and thank you, our parents/guardians, for your support. We wish our Year 11 students the very best as they receive their GCSE results and look forward to welcoming many back to our Sixth Form. 2015-16 will be a very exciting year for Roding Valley High School. All good wishes for a very enjoyable summer. Paul Wershof Chair of Governors A message from the Food Technology Department: We would like to congratulate your son/daughter on successfully completing their Task 1 Practical Assessment. All students worked extremely hard and the standard of food was excellent. Thank you to all parents/guardians who helped with the provision and organisation of ingredients and equipment needed and thank you for your continued support. Food Technology & Catering
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.
At the opening ceremony of the My Art summer show on Friday 10th July, students from Roding Valley High school were celebrating winning 5 prizes in the senior section of the show, including 1st prize overall and the Sue Kreitzman artist Beau Hunt award. 1st Prize (seniors)
Georgina Pollard was commended for her clay piece ‘Unicorn 99’, as was Montana Bennett for her large, soft pastel abstract drawing of Epping Forest. 3rd prize (seniors) was awarded to Amy Xenofondos for her layered photograph Amy Xenofondos 3rd Prize (seniors) titled ‘Pouring Away’ and st 1 prize overall went to Beau Hunt for her amazing piece of claywork titled ‘Golden Crocodile’. In addition Florence Cope was awarded the Sue Kreitzman award for her watercolour and embroidery work ‘Two Becomes One’, a sensitive but provocative piece of portraiture. David Tisdale, Head of Art at Roding Valley High School, received the awards on behalf of the students and said ‘There are some incredible pieces of artwork on display in this exhibition from a huge range of local schools, and we are extremely proud that the work from Roding Valley High School has been recognised so many times for its excellence’ Roding Valley High School, alongside Epping St. John’s and Debden Park High School, will be opening their doors to A’ Level students from September and Mr. Tisdale said ‘These awards show us how talented our year 11 students are and, when taught well, capable of producing the highest quality work. The work we’ve displayed wouldn’t look out of place in an A’ Level exhibition so we’re really excited about what they will be producing next year!’ Montana Bennett
Commended
‘Many thanks to Epping Rotary Club for organising the event and giving us the chance to show off our superb work to a wider audience’
GET CAUGHT READING THIS SUMMER! I am challenging all Roding Valley High School students, and staff, to get photos of themselves reading a book in an strange, exotic or funny location during the summer holidays. The photos will be shared via a Twitter account with the following links: @RVgetcaughtreading or @RVsummerreads These accounts can be accessed via Roding Valley High School’s main Twitter account. All photos should be emailed to me at the following email address: jmartin@rodingvalley.net Other family members are welcome to appear in the photos if they wish! There will be prizes awarded for the best photos received. So grab your cameras and your selfie sticks and let us see where you get caught reading. Wishing you all a relaxing summer break. Mrs Martin, School Librarian
Week ending 10th July 2015 Year 7 Highest Attendance*
7Q
Class of the Week
7qt/Ma3 nominated by Mr Crabbe for working really hard for the last few weeks, displaying excellent enthusiasm and responsibility for their own learning 7ux/En2 nominated by Mr Dowd for outstanding effort and engagement in English lessons 7ux/En1 nominated by Ms Ahmad for impressing with their brilliant classwork and displaying excellent English skills
Student of the week
Madison Holden Ettridge 7U nominated by Mr Hussain for contribution to class discussions and creating some superb work beyond target level. Madison always gets involved and helps others nearby. She is a credit to her form! Archie Marney 7S nominated by Mr Crabbe for consistently completing homework on time from the start of the academic year and for making the most progress Sadie Woodland 7R & Ivy Prutton 7S nominated by MrCrabbe for consistently completing homework on time from the start of the academic year
Year 8 Highest Attendance*
8X
Year 9 Highest Attendance*
9T
Year 10 Highest Attendance*
10Q
Student of the week
Sena Demiryaban 10W nominated by Ms Draper for being extremely helpful during sports days and showing dedication by turning up very early to help staff prepare for the day Jake Forecast 10R nominated by Mrs Abbott for all his help with setting up the Health & Social Care website and also for his presentation for Healthy Eating Week Isabella Agombar & Danny Benattar 10Q nominated by Mr Vermaak for excellent effort doing statistics coursework in Maths Georgia Lewis 10X nominated by Mr Patel for coming back from work experience and working very hard in lessons Alanya Lewin 10X nominated by Ms Parry for her confidence, organisation, maturity and enthusiasm for successfully managing the tug of war competitions Hasna Bramble 10X nominated by Mr Dowd for outstanding work ethic in class and improved results in her exams Thomas Sugg 10U nominated by Mr Poovilingham for his hard work and achievement in his Science PPE Joe Reynolds 10V nominated by Mr Naidoo for a massive improvement in attitude and work ethic, achieving an A in his maths exam and being an all-round better student Ben Broder 10S nominated by Ms King for his commitment to learning his speaking & listening passage and for coming to find me in his own time to practice. Also for effort in improving his literacy/reading with me during form time. Brilliant attitude towards learning! Sienna Baki 10U nominated by Mr Crabbe for her excellent attitude to learning.
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
Has your child lost any property over the last academic year? If so please ask them to check at Student reception before we break up on Wednesday 22nd July. We have many items here from oyster cards to a pink bunny! Also many items of uniform such as blazers, coats etc..........
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. Quiz Night, Friday 25th September 2015 Halloween Disco, Friday 23rd October 2015 (Yr8+9) Yr7 Christmas Disco, Friday 11th December 2015
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 10-11am Wednesdays 1011am Thursdays 2.15-3pm Please email me to book one of these times, or an alternative time if these are inconvenient, at asmith@rodingvalley.net
Supported Homework Club Learning Zone Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday 3.05pm - 3.40pm Everyone welcome A drink and biscuit are provided
Sports Day Updates Congratulations to all of year 7, 8 and 9 for three great days of competition. Some excellent teamwork and indeed individual performances. The results were as follows:
Year 7 - 2nd July 2015
Winners 7T
1st 7T 2nd 7U 3rd 7Q 4th 7V 5th 7S 6th 7W 7th 7R 8th 7X
Winners 8X Year 8 - 8th July 2015 1st 8X 2nd 8T 3rd 8V 4th 8W 5th 8R 6th 8U 7th 8Q & 8S
Year 9 - 7th July 2015 1st 9R 2nd 9Q 3rd 9V 4th 9W 5th 9U 6th 9X 7th 9S 8th 9T
Winners 9R
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.
New term dates for September 2015 Thursday 3rd September: INSET DAY (school closed to students) Friday 4th September: Start of term for Year 7 and Year 12 students only Monday 7th September: Start of term for Year 8, Year 9, Year 10 and Year 11 students
Message from the PE Department Please remember that the PE department has a no jewellery policy. If your child is going to have their ears pierced during the summer break this should be done at the very start of the summer holidays as they are not allowed to wear them for PE lessons and will be asked to remove them ICT Coursework Sessions Every Friday Lunchtime With Miss Wilson in ICT4
Maths Support Monday, Wednesday & Friday After school M5 Maths Club Tuesday & Thursday Lunchtime M3
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
Students are regularly coming into school with cheques with the payee being left blank Can you please ensure that all cheques are made payable to
Roding Valley High School The school cannot be held responsible for any cheques which go missing and are then cashed elsewhere
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. Julia Martin / Stephen Murray
School Shop Opening Times Before School: 8.30am - 9.00am Break: 11.00am - 11.20am
Singing Lessons
Lunch: 1.20pm - 2.05pm
Private singing lessons are now available. Please contact Gemma Kirk for more details and to book your slot.
After School: 3.05pm - 4.00pm
email: g.kirk_88@hotmail.com
STUDENTS WILL NOT BE SERVED OUTSIDE THESE HOURS
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