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RVHS Parent Bulletin Aspiration Respect Endeavour Week ending: Friday 23rd February 2018 “Our vision is to be the school of choice for our local community, developing successful young people with high aspirations, who show respect for all and endeavour to become the very best that they can be.”
Message from the Head of School. It has been a very busy week in school which culminated today in a whole school Enrichment Day. It has been a brilliant day with all year groups participating in varying workshops appropriate for their age, need and challenge. Year 7s have participated in an Enterprise Day, Years 8 and 10 have been attending Study Skills workshops and Year 11s have benefited from Science Enrichment sessions to support their GCSE studies. The Year 9s have taken part in an ‘Enigma’ Day, a cross-curricular day organised by our Maths, English and History faculties. Finally, our Sixth Form have studied Economics and been invited to experience and be prepared for ‘Life after A levels’. I would like to thank the staff who worked really hard to plan such engaging activities and provided your sons / daughters with a different but enriched Friday experience. Thank you to all the Year 7 parents who attended the parents’ evening last night. It was a very positive evening and great to see and hear how well the year 7s have settled and are progressing. Please can I remind parents of Year 11 students that next Thursday 1st March is their opportunity to come into school and meet the teachers. Please do make sure that appointments have been made, this is a very important time now as they approach their GCSEs. Please note further support and advice offered in this bulletin. The weather has turned very cold; please do keep an eye on our website in case we have to invoke our alternate severe weather procedures. I would hope that this will not be necessary but please do make yourself aware of the late start / early finish arrangements should we get any extreme weather. Today, I sent a letter to all parents warning them of some criminal activity currently being orchestrated in this local area. The police have informed us that young people have been targeted and encouraged to launder money. Do be vigilant and do alert us at the school if you have any concerns.
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The school is very lucky to have a very supportive PTA, who has this year organised some very successful events including a fabulous Christmas market. All the money raised from this and other events goes to the benefit of all students in this school. They have just paid to install an additional water fountain and brought new outside furniture for the students use. They are a small and committed group but they need more support and greater numbers. The next meeting is on Monday 26th February at 7pm at the school, please arrive through the main entrance. If you would like to offer your support but cannot attend the meeting then please contact the Chair David Hilton, chair@rodingvalleypta.net Ms. S Jenner Head of School “Our vision is to be the school of choice for our local community, developing successful young people with high aspirations, who show respect for all and endeavour to become the very best that they can be.”
Date
Event th
Monday 26 February
Year 9 Reality Roadshow RVHS PTA Meeting: starts at 7pm
Wednesday 28th February
Maths in Action Trip
Thursday 1st March
Year 11 Parents Evening
Friday 2
nd
March
Monday 5th March
World Book Day Year 10 Assessment Week Year 11 MFL Mock Speaking Exams Year 11, 12 and 13 Photographs
Wednesday 7 March
Math’s Feast Trip
Thursday 8th March
Year 12 Biology in Action
th
Year 8 Stem Big Bang KS3 Creative Arts Evening Friday 9th March th
DoE Training Day
Saturday 10 March
DoE Silver Practice Expedition at Chiltern Hills
Monday 12th March
Year 11, 12 and 13 PPE’s
Tuesday 13th March
Maths Team Challenge
Wednesday 14th March
A Level Geography Revision Day at Pearson’s
Thursday 15th March
Year 10 Art and Photography Day Year 8 Parents Evening
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This week class 7b1 presented their ‘Motte and Bailey’ castle models. There were some fantastic creations and students showed their in-depth knowledge through their attention to detail. The students critique skills were also very impressive and demonstrated their understanding and enthusiasm of the task. Skye Salek Haddadi took first place in a student vote. Closely followed by Carys Gooding, Elan Wainer and Martin Turner, Emily Bagshaw, Charlotte Erescova, Sam Bonner and Harry Crookbaine.
The aim of today’s ‘Enrichment Day’ was to create an opportunity for students to develop transferable enterprise and employability skills to prepare them for the world of education and work. Our year 7 students challenge for this event was to design, create and present a new healthy eating food product to judges in an ‘Apprentice style’ competition. The day started with an outline the principle of business including advertisement. Students had to decide upon the product and ingredients and product name. Students were then able to cost their product including packaging and advertising costs. Students created their brand ready to market their product whilst being taught the importance of branding, colours, logos and slogan considering some of the world’s most successful and recognisable brands today. Our year 7’s were able to create fantastic digital multimedia adverts for their product using media software to understand how technology and advertising has power over the consumer in today’s world. Lastly everyone prepared a Power Point and pitch to sell their product. All students gave 100% effort, were motivated throughout and displayed great team work skills. The students thoroughly enjoyed the experience and it’s clear that we have more than a few budding entrepreneurs. The whole year group were a credit to the school and teachers were full of praise for the students’ attitude, behaviour and work ethic throughout the day. Well done year 7! The winning groups will be announced in next week’s newsletter.
Miss F Williams Year 7 YPL
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During the February half term, 42 Year 9 & 10 students headed to Bardonecchia in Turin, Italy for a week’s trip skiing. The group started their journey on Saturday afternoon arriving in good time at the resort on Sunday at 10am. The week started with a trip to the local town and then onto the ski fit centre to pick up boots and skis for the week ahead. On Monday the group started their full day of skiing on the slopes split into their different ability groups; from beginner to advance. The student’s day consisted of having a wakeup call in the morning at 7.00am ready for breakfast at 7.30am. The first session of skiing took place 9.00am until 12.00pm with a two-hour lunch break and then back on the slopes 2.00pm until 4.00pm giving them a total of 5 hour skiing each day with pupils took full advantage of. During the evening, a variety of activities were put on including an evening in the pool/table tennis room, an evening at the local Ice Cream Parlour, which was organised by the PGL representative and a quiz evening on the last night where awards for the week were handed out.
Anabel Felicio
Lily Knight
Olympia Barnett
Samuel James
All students had a thoroughly enjoyable week and made impressive progress with their skiing ability; some of which went as a beginner to completing the Olympic run by the end of the trip. A special mention to Drew Watts 9U who claimed overall skier of the week nominated by teachers who went on the trip with minimal experience, Drew started in the beginner group and progressed through to intermediates and ended the week skiing with our advanced students who were consistently flying down red and black runs at a very fast pace! Well done Drew! Miss H Reed Year 9 YPL
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Callum Say
Lucy Raven
For working extremely hard and focusing closely on revision. Using purple booklets constructively in exam preparation.
English interventions resume on Monday for those students who have been invited to focus on specific areas from their PPEs. Students should be referring to the pink and blue personal learning checklists in their English exercise books. They should be using them to identify areas they need to work on. They then need to use the purple booklets issued in class to practise their exam technique. English teachers are happy to support students if they bring their questions to them for marking and advice.
Khan Onay
Ella Cleary
On Monday 26th February, Year 11 start Macbeth revision. Students are reminded to bring their copies of Macbeth to their English lessons from next week. These links will help students refresh their memories on the play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzAuj yWpK_s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt13Fb L1xyw&t=1s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k46vD zUqPrg
ICT currently run on Monday’s after school, a Year 11 Coursework Catch-up from 3:05pm to 3:57pm and Thursday lunchtime. Speak to Mr. Hussain for more information. Mr. C Dobson Year 11 YPL
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Revision Workbooks:
,
These are easily available on Amazon at around (£4 per book). They contain all the content required for students to reach their target grade: • Target Grade 3 Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Mathematics Algebra and Shape Workbook • Target Grade 3 Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Mathematics Number and Statistics Workbook • Target Grade 5 Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Mathematics Shape and Statistics Workbook The majority of revision needs to • Target Grade 5 Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Mathematics Number and Algebra be completed outside of school. Workbook The Math’s Department runs a • Target Grade 7 Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Mathematics Number and Statistics drop-in session every Monday and Workbook Friday from 3.05pm to 4pm. • Target Grade 7 Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Mathematics Algebra and Shape Make use of the Math’s PiXL App Workbook for practice questions and for • Target Grade 9 Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Mathematics Algebra Workbook tutorials on different topics. This can • Target Grade 9 Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Mathematics Algebraic techniques, be used on the phone app or on the Shape and Statistics Workbook computer. For user logins and passwords please see their class Tutorial videos are also shared on Google drive with all students. teacher. The best way for students to prepare over the next few weeks is to ensure the practice papers are completed and they have covered the gaps identified from the last PPE exams. These topics have been identified for each student and they can use the QR codes for tutorials.
Period 6 on Tuesday and Thursdays in IT2. For Year 11 Students
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Matthew Tinker
Grace Cain
Kyle Johal
Alice Rednapp
Thank you to the students that provided their help and support with our Year 7 Parents Evening.
London University and Apprenticeships Fair Dear all, We have an exciting opportunity for those interested in University. We are working with the Access Officer at Emmanuel College in the University of Cambridge and they are organising an Access Bus in the Essex Area with a group of other student volunteers. The talks and visit will be taking place on the 21st and 22nd of March and should last around an hour, with a half hour presentation and half hour of answering questions. I actively encourage you to sign up and hear what Cambridge is really like.
Our Spring London Fair is the perfect way for students to choose which university or apprenticeship is right for them. This exciting and informative event will provide attendees with the opportunity to speak to a multitude of universities including; the University of Oxford, Russell Group, redbrick and modern institutions. A wide variety of the UK's best apprenticeship providers, HE colleges, specialist institutions, and studentrelated organisations will also be in attendance. When: Friday 2nd of March 2018 at the Emirates Stadium. Please sign up with Ms. Sellears if you are interested?
Email me (Mr. Harris) or speak to Ms. Sellears if you are interested.
Mr Harris lsharris@rodingvalley.net
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About the Programme Are you interested in exploring university life this summer? Do you want to see what being an undergraduate is really like? Attend a Sutton Trust Summer School and we’ll show you what a week in your future could look like! We understand the challenges students face when it comes to selecting courses and universities and navigating the application process. This is why we have dedicated the past 20 years to hosting Free, oneweek residential courses and we would like to invite you to join us this summer.
Applications for Our 2018 Summer Schools Are Now Open Applications will close at 17.00pm on Thursday 8th March 2018. https://www.apply.suttontrust.com/uk-summer/
20000+ Over 20,000 students have attended a Sutton Trust Summer School since 1997.
80% 80% of Sutton Trust Summer School attendees are more likely to achieve a 2:1 or higher in undergraduate degree than their peers.
53% 53% of Sutton Trust Summer School attendees are more likely to go on to leading universities than their peers. “My experiences on the Sutton Trust Summer School programme have made me realise that University is an extremely loving environment with incredibly compassionate and caring people. I feel more positive about my future prospects and I am excited about my journey to University.”
“From the personal statement workshop to living in university halls, the summer school has enabled me to make well informed decisions about my forthcoming university options. This opportunity provided me with an insight into life as a student which will hopefully better prepare me for the future. Overall, meeting different people and engaging in so many awesome activities has left me feeling less apprehensive and more excited for university life.”
“I had a fantastic time on the Sutton Trust Summer School of 2017. This experience has made me feel much more confident, excited and informed about applying to university. There were useful information sessions about student loans, bursaries, the university’s careers service and writing personal statements, and it was interesting to learn about the research currently going on at the university. It was great to make new friends and meet people from all over the UK. We were made to feel so welcome and kept so busy that I didn’t feel homesick for a second, and to top off a great week we had a summer school graduation party which was so fun!”
Apply, ahead of the competition! lsharris@rodingvalley.net
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Five revision no-nos you should drop right now…. Year 11, 12 and 13 TAKE NOTES!!! University students shares some harsh revision revelations that she’s learned the hard way whilst in Year 11 & Sixth Form…
One: Highlighting the Wrong Way A revision favourite, using coloured highlighters is a great way to draw attention to key words. However, the most effective revision is that which draws links between information, not isolating it. The more links you have joining different areas together, the more you have to help you recall something if your mind goes blank in an exam (It can happen). Highlighting lots of separate bits and not thinking about how they relate to each other can make it hard to get your mind round all the material you need to cover. Plus, drawing comparisons is a key exam skill that can grab you those top marks. This is why mind-maps or brain-storms are a good study technique as they encourage you to link ideas and structure your thinking.
Two: Just Reading Firstly, this technique is incredibly boring! Revision is already hard enough - don’t make it worse with passive reading for hours. In order to actually take in what you read, making (brief) notes to summarise large sections is important. By reading alone, it's unlikely that you'll transfer that information into your long-term memory (unless you have a photographic memory, which sadly does not apply to most of us). If notes really aren't your thing, you can record yourself reading aloud, and then play it back while doing the washing-up or tidying. You'll be surprised how much you can absorb unconsciously just by listening.
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Three: Copying Full Sentences Not only is this far more time-consuming than summarising, but it makes reading back through the notes even more of a chore than it already is. Detail is great, but not if it overwhelms you especially if it isn't relevant (in which case, you're just wasting your time by writing it out). I was once told by a teacher: 'When note-taking, imagine each word that you write costs you 5p and you will instantly be more frugal with your word choice.' Think like this to make your notes more succinct and get to the point quicker...
Four: Putting All Bets on Black Okay, so this might just be a personal preference; but I'm far more interested in reading notes that have a bit of colour to them, rather than all being in black ink. Yes, 'black is classic'; but writing your notes for every subject in one colour makes it hard for anything to really stand out. Even if you can't be bothered to use a myriad of colours (fair enough), studies show that you're apparently more likely to remember information that you have written down in blue ink than black ink. So, when it comes to your main note-taking pen, perhaps it's time to turn your back on black and go blue.
Five: Ignoring Technique for Content Perhaps the biggest no-no of them all. It's all well and good to know the content (names, dates, events, terms and so on) inside out; but if you don't know how to get that down on paper - in a way that hits the exam criteria - then it's pretty useless. The best way to avoid this is to practise past papers once you have learned this content. By marking yourself against an actual mark scheme, you can see the kind of thing examiners will look for, and adjust your future answers accordingly. Admittedly, this is harder to do in essay-based subjects. But even just practising how to plan essays is a good revision technique, so you can do this quickly in the exam and focus all your ideas to fit in your answer here (and the time you have to do it). Plus, it's far less gruelling than actually writing the essay...
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Check Past Papers Practice is key, so getting your hands on past paper questions and answers is very important. You're able to make connections between different areas of the syllabus. This is very important when it comes to A / A* questions.
So, put down those revision cards and mind-maps once you've learned them. There's no point going over something a million times; you need to be able to apply it. At least two weeks before exams, start concentrating on past papers. Do each one at least twice. With each one, trawl through the mark scheme and ensure you understand everything there. This gives you a better idea of how to think through an exam question.
Be Prepared If you're unsure what will come up in an exam, get a copy of the syllabus off the internet and literally tick off every single thing on the list.
Make It More Manageable Break down your subject into ordered sections. Breaking down the exam into lots of little sections makes revision less daunting, and you'll know exactly where you stand in terms of how much you've done. For my exams I broke down a module into 20 sections or topics. It meant it didn't seem like much of a chore to start the next one, as they didn't last long. Then, before I knew it, I'd whizzed through the module without it being much work.
Mr L Harris Head of Sixth Form
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Essex Schools Group Curling On Thursday 22nd February; five of our Year 7 boys went to the Essex School Games Kurling event at Basildon Sporting Village.
Football •
The boys did fantastically by finishing 3rd out of 8 schools that had entered from all over Essex especially playing against students who were 2 or 3 years older than themselves.
6th form lost 1:0 to Brampton Manor
This Weeks Fixtures
They topped their group with 2 wins and a defeat before being placed in the medal position final where they lost to the eventual winners and drew with the team that came 2nd.
Monday 26th February
Year 7 Girls National Cup Football v Royal Russell School 2pm KO Home. Year 9 and U-16 Netball v Debden Park 3.30 Away. Year 7 and 8 Netball v Debden Park 3.30 Home.
Wednesday 28th February
Mr. Allen
6th Form Football v Redbridge College. Essex Colleges league 2pm KO Away.
Clubs Timetable: Spring Term Day
8:30am to 8.20am
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
• Year 7/8/9 Basketball: Sports Hall with Mr Harrington • Year 7/8/9 Basketball: Sports Hall with Mr Harrington • Year 7 Trampolining: Gym with Miss Reed
1.20pm to 1.50pm
3.15pm to 4.30pm
• Sport Ability with Mr Allen Invite Only
• • •
Year 7/8 Football: Astro Turf with Mr Allen Year 9 boys football: with Mr Harrington Year 7/8/9/10 Netball: PG with Miss Reed / Miss Ball
• Dance: With Ms. Sargent
• Handball with Mr Allen
• Netball Fixtures: with Miss Reed /Miss Ball • 6th Form Football Fixtures: with Mr Jones
• KS4 Basketball: Sports Hall with Mr Jones
• Year 8/9/10 Trampolining: Gym with Miss Reed • All Years Boys Rugby: Astro with Mr Jones /Mr Allen /Mr Price • Girls Football: Astro Turf with Mr Harrington
Friday
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At RVHS, we offer lessons in Piano, Drums, Guitar and singing. If you are interested; please email the below contacts and full details will be sent to you:
Piano: To book piano lessons or find out more please contact rosswall@gmail.com
Singing: Private singing lessons are now available. Please contact Alex Larke for more details at alex@thevocaltutor.com
Drumming: The following lessons are available: One to One, Two to One and Small Group lessons. Contact: marksevel@hotmail.com
Guitar: To book lessons or find out more, please contact Rachel Espeute on racheleds@hotmail.co.uk if you are interested.
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RVHS Uniform Code At Roding Valley High School we like our students to be well presented when representing the school. Please remember that since September 2015, all students must adhere to our code of footwear, details are as follows:
Acceptable
Not Acceptable
Boys Uniform School Uniform Trousers: Black Tailored Blazer: Black (with school badge) to be worn at all times Shirt: plain white with no logos Tie – school tie Jumper (optional): Black ‘V-neck’ jumper with school badge or black sleeveless ‘V-neck’ with School badge. Only jumpers with the school badge can be worn. Shoes: Black, classic leather style shoes only. Boots, trainers, canvas shoes, backless shoes or sandals are not acceptable. No Jewellery except for a small stud, only one in each ear, and a wrist watch. Facial, or other body piercings, are not acceptable. Coats: Must be dark (black or dark blue) raincoat, overcoat or jacket (not denim or leather and without badges or slogans)
PE Uniform Navy and silver Rugby Shirt Navy and silver T-Shirt Navy and silver shorts Navy RVHS bottoms (optional) Navy RVHS waterproof jacket (optional) Football boots, training shoes or plimsolls and a towel Navy and silver Rugby Shirt
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Girls Uniform School Uniform Skirt or Trousers: Royal blue/black/white check skirt or black tailored trousers. Skirt must be worn below the knee (Skirts which are altered to an excessively short length are not permitted under any circumstances) Blazer: Black (with school badge) to be worn at all times Blouse: Plain white blouse with collar. (Blouses should have no ‘frills’ or patterns on them) Jumper (optional): Black ‘V-neck’ jumper with the School badge or black sleeveless ‘V-neck’ with the School badge. Only jumpers with the school badge are allowed to be worn. Shoes: Black, classic leather style shoes only. Boots, trainers, canvas shoes, backless shoes or sandals are not acceptable. Tights: Tights must be plain black or natural coloured. Patterned tights are not acceptable. Ankle socks may be worn: However knee length socks are not acceptable. No jewellery, except for a small stud, only one in each ear, and a wrist watch. Facial, or other body piercings, are not acceptable. Coats: Must be dark (black or dark blue) raincoat, overcoat or jacket (not denim or leather and without badges or slogans)
Girls who choose to wear the skirt need to ensure that the logo on the skirt is below knee level. A new skirt should be purchased if this is not the case. PE Uniform Navy and silver t-shirt Navy and silver skirt Navy RVHS tracksuit bottoms (optional) Navy RVHS jumper (optional) Navy RVHS waterproof jacket (optional) Navy socks with two white rings around the top Training shoes or plimsolls and a towel Optional items include a black or royal blue leotard and hockey boots
Uniform Stockist Our uniform stockist is conveniently located at:
Forest Casual and School Wear 144 High Road, Loughton, IG10 4BE Tel: 0208 508 2848
Please click to be taken to their Website
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. Student Absence If your child is unable to attend School for any reason please report their absence by phoning the school number by 9.30am at the latest, 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 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. A ‘Leave of Absence’ form must be completed (these are available at Student Reception) should you require leave for your child, a letter detailing your exceptional circumstances should accompany it. 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 on our website or contact Mrs Jeanette Low, our Attendance and Welfare Manager on the school number.
Guidance for Common Ailments Please see the following 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.
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School Communications: We have been communicating by email for over a year now in a bid to get information to you quicker and more cost effectively. We found, however, our previous parental communication system did not give the functionality that people expect from smart phone apps today. So the school has invested in a new communication system call RS Connect Ed and with this comes a shiny new App.
MyEd is the free parent app that gives you a multitude of communication and information features to stay in touch with what is going on at school. The app gives you direct access to your child's attendance, timetable, absence records, achievements, behaviour and much, much more. You will also see that we update and change the information in the app as the school year moves along. Click here to see a short video about the app We are able to send you messages directly to the MyEd app relating to important information about your child's education and to remind you of events that are taking place at school. We can also embed links to regularly used systems, for example ParentPay & Doddle so you can keep everything in one place. You will receive a notification if we send you a message and there is no charge for the messages you send to us. The App can be downloaded by anyone and they will have access to information also available on our website Only parents will be able to access their own student’s information as long as we have the email address and mobile number you are using to access the App. Everyone will be able to see image to the left. But only parents of students in the school will be able to access this when clicking on the My Students tab. The MyEd app is available for both Apple iOS and Android devices and can be found using the links below: Step 1 - Go to your App Store Step 2 - Search for My Ed Step 3 - Download the Free app Apple iOS App Google Android App Once you have installed and opened MyEd, search for Roding Valley High School and follow the simple instructions to identify yourself. Please do not hesitate to contact the school if you are having any problems and we will help you get set up.
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