RVHS Parent Bulletin Aspiration
Respect Endeavour
Week ending: Friday 6th July 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 was a delight to meet the new Year 7 parents and children last night. It was a very successful evening with over 300 parents plus their children on site. The PTA organised a BBQ before the talk which allowed the teachers, parents and children to mingle in an informal setting. The BBQ was kindly manned by Mr Naidoo and Mr Vermaak - both very efficient on the barbie! The students who spoke were a real credit to the school. Well done to Ruby Coyte, Frankie Tucker and Henry Twyford, all current Year 7 students. Our Head Boy, Harry Boyd-Walker and Head Girl, Grace Cain were confident and spoke of the 7 Year journey that students can now expect at RVHS. The PTA was delighted with the sales of uniform and burgers and they raised over £1,100 for the school. This money will be spent on visualizers, a teaching and learning tool for the classrooms which will support the progress of all students. The PTA are a small group of committed parents whose support for the school is invaluable, especially with the ongoing funding issues that schools are experiencing. I hope that they will secure some new recruits, for further details or if you think you could get involved please contact: nsellears@rodingvalley.net. We look forward to welcoming all the students back on Tuesday for their Transition Day in school. The Year 13 Prom was on Tuesday night, it was a wonderful, glamorous event at the Prince Regent but it did get hi-jacked by the football. We are glad England won as the boys were then happy to celebrate afterwards!! We will miss them as a cohort of students as they have been an amazing group of young people. I wish them luck on their next adventure, many to university but many into higher level apprenticeships. The Year 10s have started their activities for their careers week. On Thursday they were all out at the ‘Big Bang’ fair at Hertfordshire University, next week they have a day at work, practice interviews with employers and various employability workshops.
This week I had the pleasure of attending an event to celebrate 10 years of the Epping Forest Youth Council. The event was held at the offices of the Houses of Parliament and it was wonderful to see such great representation from our students both past and present. Of the 5 chosen speakers, 3 were from RVHS. The event was hosted by Rt. Hon. Dame Eleanor Laing MP. Many students had a great time out today at the Science STEM fair at the Queen Elizabeth Park today. It continues to be very hot here in school and whilst these high temperatures continue, students will not be expected to wear blazers in and around school. They are welcome to leave them at home but I appreciate that many still like to wear them. Please ensure that your child has plenty of water with them but water is always available in the canteen or from the water fountain in the sports facilities. Many students are finding the temperatures quite uncomfortable so can I please remind parents of the school policy if your child should feel ill during the day. Students should in the first instance; report to Student Reception where the staff will assess them. Should a call be needed for parents to collect, the staff will contact the parent/guardian directly. Students should not be contacting parents directly. I would appreciate your support with this policy. I hope that you will all be able to enjoy the sunshine over the weekend and ‘Good Luck to England’.
We can but hope!! Sharon Jenner For regular updates on activities at school please follow us on twitter @RodingValleyHS
Monday 9th July 2018
Year 8 Residential Trip to Skern Lodge Year 10 Careers Drop Down Day Year 7 Reward Trip to Thorpe Park
Tuesday 10th July
Year 10 Take Your Child to Work Day Year 6 Transition Day
Wednesday 11th July
KS3 Science Reward Trip Year 10 Mock Interviews
Thursday 12th July
Year 7 & 8 French Trip to Le Touquet Year 10 Barclays Life Skills
Friday 13th July
Year 9/10 Digital Careers Event Year 10 Reward Trip to Thorpe Park
In Years 7 to 9; our students “Drop Everything and Read” for 20 minutes in every school day. Strong literacy is key to success in all subject areas and reading each day promotes this. Reading regularly improves spelling, punctuation and grammar, all of which are assessed in a number of subject areas on the new 9-1 specifications. We also want to encourage a love of reading for pleasure and have asked our Year 7s to write book reviews to share with you what they are reading during DEAR Time. This week we feature 3 reviews from 7R. Enjoy!
Dear DEAR Time, I have been reading Billy Bonkers by Giles Andreae. This book is about a kid called Billy Bonkers, who has a family member that lives in Rio, but the World Cup is at Rio so they arrange to swap houses for a bit and watch the World Cup. England made it to the final and Billy was trying his hardest to get a ticket. He found a shop that was selling tickets, but what he did not know was that they were fake. Mr Bonkers comes into the house and tells everyone that they were watching the game and made an Air Balloon, so that they could watch it from above. Suddenly the fuel in the balloon started to wear down and Mr Bonkers told Billy and his sister to put on their parachutes. When they pulled out their Parachutes, Billy realises that he a massive inflatable thing on, in the end England won the World Cup. I enjoyed this book because I love Football and it’s a very good story. I would give this book a 4.5 /5. Written by Tobi Blake 7R
Dear DEAR Time, I have been reading ‘Wonder’ by R.J. Palicio. This book is about a little boy called August Pullman (Who has a deformed face), who finally decides to go to school. He finds it very difficult to fit in, but after a while he makes lots of friends and is even brave enough to go on a school activity trip. Whilst he is there, they meet some 7th Graders, who break August’s expensive hearing Aid, but his friends Jack, Henry, Miles and Amos were there to help. I enjoyed this book as it relates to some new kids at school and why you should never judge someone by what they look like. Written by Emma Flowers 7R
Dear DEAR Time, ‘I have been reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. This book is about a boy with Autism and he saw a dog in his neighbour’s garden, which had been stabbed with a garden fork. This is a very interesting read, because this boy goes on lots of adventures trying to find out who did it. Until he comes to a surprise... Everyone blames him. I enjoyed this book because it has a lot of emotion and mystery in it. I also liked it because it is written in first person, so you can get his point of view. I would give it a 4.5 / 5; I recommend it to people aged 12+ Written by Alice Richards 7R
Dear DEAR Time, During DEAR Time I have been reading the book Alex Rider: Snakehead by Anthony Horowitz. I enjoyed this book because it is full of action and is very enjoyable. It has dramatic chases and problems and funny puns throughout the book as well. It’s about a fourteen year old boy, who gets recruited by MI6, but does not want to go and work for them, as he nearly gets killed and does not get paid. Snakehead is the eighth book in the series and is my personal favourite, so far. I would rate this book probably 3 out of 5 just because I have not completed the book yet, so I am marking it on what has happened up to where I am now, and plus I am not going to spoil anything if you want to read it. Written by Harry Atherton 7R
Last Friday, our Year 8 students attended the PiXL Edge Ceremony, competing five other schools at the PiXL edge ceremony today; our students won 5 out of the 10 awards. The organiser of this event said that this level of success from one school is unheard of What a fantastic display of our student’s hard work and achievement. Well done!!
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Sophia Barrett: The Culture Award
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Hannah Ward: The Communication Award
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Rory Langdell: The Intuitive award
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Reece Brown: The Leadership Award
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Daniel Mehr: The Apprentice of the Year which is the overall PiXL Edge Award for all students.
Congratulations to our Young Sport Leaders who this week provided support to our local School Staples Road Primary with the Field and Track Events at their Sports Day. Ms Grimshaw said that they could have run the successful event without them and our students were excellent communicators, engaged, polite and took roles of responsibility in leading some of the activities. The staff were impressed that they were natural leaders and the parents commented on pupils being ‘a credit to the school’ ‘smartly presented’ and ‘well mannered’. The primary children felt ‘supported’, ‘happy to have older children explaining and running the activities’ and ‘they could have a laugh with them. Their commitment went above and beyond.
Our Sports Leaders: Year 9 Students
Year 10 Students
• Isabella Marcus
• Frankie Bullock
• Brogan Skiverton
• Daniel Parrett
• Jada Ali
• Judd Selby
• Mia Ali
• Dilan Osman
• Sarah Cockram
• Beth Kelly
• Chloe Slatford • Nathan Walters • Alfie Sargent • George Taylor • Tom Callagher • Edward Johnstone • Dylan O'Brien • Teddy Gipson • Elizabeth Wheeler • Ryan Donnelly • Bobbi Tucker
Mrs Jenner and Miss Dyer were both delighted to be invited to Westminster’s Portcullis House to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the Epping Forest Youth Council. Miss Dyer said it was such a pleasure to spend time with ex-students who were part of the original 2008 youth council team, alongside our 4 current youth councillors and numerous other students from Roding Valley who have been youth councillors over the last 10 years.
It was a very prestigious event attended by the Right Honourable Dame Laing, the Sheriff of Epping Forest and numerous other people who have played a part in the youth council over the years. It was a fantastic evening of celebrating Student Leadership.
Today our Year 7 students visited the Queen Elizabeth Park for a STEM Trip hosted by Shell, called ‘Make the Future Live’. This event displayed the endless opportunities in making an ecofriendly world. Some of the activities involved capturing carbon, designing an eco-marathon car and taking part in an energy quiz. A great inspiring day!
Today, Friday 6th July has been so brilliant! I have learnt so much throughout the day and I have been so inspired. The tasks we did were so interesting and I was occupied every minute due to the exciting facts and science themed things we were learning. Mrs Patel and Mr Ibrahim have been so much fun to be with and I’d like to thank them for such an engaging experience! Everything I have learnt has really made me want to help us become a cleaner, eco-friendly planet, and I cannot wait to share my facts with others! Bronya Overington- Form 7V I had a brilliant experience at the Olympic park Stem Fayre on Friday 6th July We experienced many amazing Inventions and ideas being developed of a cleaner, brighter future for our world, decreasing carbon emissions. I really feel that people put so much time and effort to teach us of how to make the world a better place, and I feel encouraged to do the best that I can to help. Thank you Mrs Patel and Mr Ibrahim! Written by Ruby Coyte 7T
'RVHS Exposed' School Magazine are recruiting for our 2018/19 academic year. If you would like to be a Writer, Editor or Photographer, please take a look at the roles detailed on the school website and answer the questions below. How to Apply: Email Miss Bingham (kbingham@rodingvalley.net) answering the two questions below: Question 1: What role are you applying for? Question 2: Why are you applying for this role?
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Dear Parent / Carers We are delighted to share our exciting plans with you - all of which can be found on our dedicated website: https://toolkit.edwindoran.com/tour/view/rdv15812-2 Our aim is to travel with 32 boys/girls from 2019/2020 Year 9-11 (current year 7-9) cohort on a 9 day tour departing on 17/10/2019. Full details of the planned itinerary, as it currently stands, can be found by clicking on the corresponding tab above. The trip aims to strike a balance between offering first class training opportunities, competitive fixtures and a truly fantastic cultural experience - a once in a lifetime opportunity that students will never forget! If you would be interested in this trip, please contact Miss C Edwards: cedwards@rodingvalley.net
Departing: 17 Oct 2019 Duration: 8 Nights Returning: 25 Oct 2019 Transport: Flight Price per person: £1860 Tour valid until 30 Sep 2018
This week our top 40 Year 9 Students had their Rewards Trip to Thorpe Park. The places have been offered to those students with the highest number of ‘Progress Points’ - we also factored attendance and punctuality into the decision.
At RVHS, we use Show My Homework; an account has been created for you to keep up to date with your child’s homework progress from home.
What is ‘Show My Homework’? Show my Homework is a simple online solution for students and parents to view homework details and upcoming deadlines. Mobile apps and notifications ensure you always know what homework your child has and when it’s due. How to Log In? • Go to www.showmyhomework.co.uk/pin What are PINs? PINs are unique codes that ‘Show My Homework’ has assigned to each parent that allow us to confirm their identity on initial login. After logging in for the first time users will be asked to provide more memorable login details for future use. PINs are then only be used as a backup in case you forget these logins.
• Or you can download the app. • Enter your PIN details that you have been given in the letter provided by your school. • Click ‘Log in’ • Create a memorable password and enter your email address then click ‘Update you details’.
Students do not need a pin to be able to access their homework. They can gain access to their Show My Homework account though their Gmail account.
You are now able to access your account and view all the homework that has been set for your child. If yourself or your child experience any difficulties with using ‘Show my Homework’ or you no longer have your pin, please contact Mrs. Hodges: jhodges@rodingvalley.net
What is DODDLE? Doddle provides students with access to thousands of engaging, formative resources and guides students through the curriculum. Doddle Progress automatically tracks student attainment in key curriculum skills. Parents can see student attainment and progress through our easy-to-use Doddle Parent feature. Skills within Doddle are rated as red, amber or green. These ratings give a clear indication of how much progress a child has made and highlight the weaker areas to be targeted with revision.
Each student has a personal Doddle account where they can access their homework to-do lists and families can view the work their child has been assigned. These accounts enable parents to view their child's results and encourage them to better their scores by using Doddle's revision resources.
Find out how to create a Doddle Parent account and then link that account to your child with this short video:
We have also included a link to a very useful guide on how to view your child's due and submitted homework:
Find out how our school uses Doddle Progress by watching our short video to find out how Progress works.
We have also included a link to a very useful guide on how Progress works and how you can use it to help your child's learning.
This is a valuable resource that will assist parents in supporting their child’s progression. Please use the following link to the log in:
Find out how to view and track your child's homework with this short video. .
We have also included a link to a very useful guide on Troubleshooting.
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.
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.