Parent Bulletin Week ending Friday 18th January 2019 by Roding Valley High School

RVHS Parent Bulletin Aspiration Respect Endeavour Week ending: Friday 18th January 2019 “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 really busy but exciting week here in school. Thank you to all the Year 11 parents who attended last night’s Parent Evening. There were record numbers in attendance and the evening was incredibly positive. Our current Year 11s are projected to achieve outstanding GCSE results and I am very grateful for the excellent parental support that is provided. Together, we can support these students to achieve their full potential. There is a full programme of support and interventions across all subjects and all students receive additional Maths and English during their period 1. I am pleased to report that to date, we have received over 200 applications for our Sixth Form for September 2019, this is testament to the improving A Level results and recognition of the support and teaching that our students receive during their journey with us. We have a significant number of external applications, which also provides evidence of our increasing positive reputation in the community. The published deadline for applications is today but if your child did want to apply; then please ensure that their application is lodged by 9am on Monday at the latest. Application forms can be found on the school website and include details of the entry requirements. We have record numbers applying to study Maths, Further Maths and the Sciences and students travel from our other consortium schools to study Maths here following our excellent results at A Level. For further information on our Sixth Form please contact the Director of Sixth Form, Miss Wheaton at awheaton@rodingvalley.net Our Year 13 students have now finalised all their UCAS applications to University, if this is their chosen path. Many of our students are securing offers from Russell Group Universities and Universities which are ranked the highest in their chosen subjects. I am absolutely delighted to announce that our Year 13 student, Igor Dasuzhan has been offered a place to study at Cambridge University, reading Natural Sciences Biological. This is an amazing achievement and we are immensely proud of him. Igor is currently studying Maths, Biology, Chemistry and Physics here at Roding Valley High School and is on course to attain at the very highest level in each A Level.

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Please can I invite all parents and students to attend the Careers Fest on 31st January at Epping Forest College, full details of this event are provided further on in the bulletin. I would like to invite all parents to our Parent Forum on Monday 4th February at 6pm in the Brook Library. Please enter the school by the Brook Road entrance and make your way to the new building. The evening will be hosted by Miss Larkin, our new Assistant Headteacher responsible for Teaching and Learning. The evening will focus on revision and study skills and how you can support your child. I look forward to seeing many of you there. I have included the Term Dates for 2019-2020 below. Please note that our Open Morning for perspective Year 6 parents will be on Saturday 5th October 2019 and these term dates can also be found on the school website. The weather is also taking a turn; we do have an Alternative Weather Protocol in operation. Should this need to be invoked, communication would be via the website. Under this protocol, school starts at 10am and finishes at 14:20pm; this is to allow everyone in the school community to travel safely in daylight. We would also provide live updates via our school twitter account. Please do follow us on twitter @RodingValleyHS, it is full of regular updates and information on events at the school. Can I also remind parents that we have the MyEd app and details on how to access this can be found in this bulletin. I would also like to reiterate our policy regarding mobile phone use. Students are not permitted to use their phones during the school day, if they are seen on their phones then the phone will be confiscated. If it is the first time that the phone has been removed, then the student will have it returned at the end of the school day. If it is the second time, then the parent is required to collect the phone from the School Office. Students are allowed to use their phones at the end of the school day but only once they are outside the school buildings. Please can you support the school and do not call them during the day. If it is important all students can call their parents from the school office. The only exception to these rules would be phone use under the direct supervision of a teacher in a learning environment, Year 11s in the Year 11 common room or Year 12/13 in the Sixth Form centre. Your support is greatly appreciated. Kind regards Mrs S Jenner Head of School

Date

Event st

Apprenticeship Workshop

Year 12 and 13 Politics Trip to Parliament

Monday 21 January Tuesday 22 January nd

Tuesday 22 January

Yes Conference

Wednesday 23 January

Year 12 Drop Down Day â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Beyond 18

Year 12 and 13 Art Exam

Year 9 Parents Evening

Thursday 24 January Thursday 24 January th

Friday 25 January

Year 12 Trip to Oxford

Monday 28 January

Year 12 Roadster Event

Wednesday 30 January st

Thursday 31 January

Amnesty International Talk Careers Fest @ Epping Forest College

Friday 1 February

Year 10 and 11 Spanish Conference Parents are invited to the events that are highlighted blue. Follow us on: @rodingvalleyHS @humsrvhs @rodingvalleyPE RODING VALLEY DRAMA@rodingdrama

SNAPCHAT SCAM It has been bought to my attention that there is a scam taking place on Snapchat, where people are pretending to have expensive gadgets for sale using stolen credit cards. 

When using Snapchat there no trail of documentation as text and images disappear instantly. Therefore little proof of conversations.

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These luxury Items at bargain prices e.g.. New iPhones for under £200.00, Ipods, iMacs. (Too good to be true)

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They will ask for payment using Paypal and it will be under £200.00.

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They will ask where they want it delivered so they then have your address or they will agree to send it to an Amazon locker, and they will advise it to be a two or three day wait whilst they order it and await delivery.

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By this time they have had the victims money for long enough to delete you from Snapchat and close all communication.

• This can leave the victim feeling very humiliated and upset for falling prey to this scam, to the point they don’t want to admit it to their friends or family. When you pay using PayPal students will not be aware that you need to pay for these items using the "Goods and Services" option to have any luck in getting their money back.

Snapchat Scam

On PayPal if you pay for items using the "Friends and Family" option the victim will have no chance in getting their money back!

Message from Mr. Dobson Christmas seems a long time ago but 2019 is promising to be a very exciting year for all students at RVHS. This week, you have been sent a letter regarding the Year 7 residential trip planned for July it is going to be a very exciting and challenging few days that will clearly enhance all students’ resilience. I have been part of trips to this location before and the students can expect a very rewarding experience - lets hope for some good weather. Can I remind you to log into SMHW on a regular basis and check for homework and revision material. The Year group have their first Assessments next week and good quality revision will reduce anxiety and stress. Can I also remind parents and careers that full school uniform must be adhered to at all times and if there is cause for a student to wear different shoes then please contact the school.

Year 7 Residential Trip to Mersea Island Essex This year our Year 7 Residential Trip will be to Mersea Island, the first trip will run on 1st July to 3rd July and the second trip will be on 8th July to 10th July. Mersea Island is an outstanding residential centre, providing a very high standard of activities, staff, food swimming and orienteering and accommodation. The exciting and challenging activities are provided and led by the trained centre staff. Activities on offer include high ropes, archery, and aerial runway, off-road biking, swimming and orienteering. If you would like your son/daughter to go on the trip, the cost will be £150 for the three days, which includes activities, accommodation, food and travel. Please return the completed Trip Form to Student Reception, no later than 25th January. Due to popular demand for this trip, places will be allocated via a ballot. You will be notified if your son/daughter has a place and asked to pay £50 deposit payment by 15th February.

Residential Website: https://www.essexoutdoors. com/mersea.php

To keep you informed; there will be the following formal opportunities in the school year to discuss your child’s progress. These are set out below and include other important dates:  Year 7 Assessment Week: 21st January – 25th January  Reports Sent Out: Week of 11th February 2019  Year 7 Parents Evening: 7th March 2019

Theme of the Week! Next week in Assembly, our students will be asked to consider the following theme:

Holocaust Memorial Day 2019: Torn from Home

In Years 7 to 9, pupils ‘Drop everything and Read’ for 20 minutes in every school day. Strong literacy is the 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. Enjoy!

Goodnight Mr Tom by Michelle Magorian Plot Summary Willie Beech is evacuated to the countryside during WW2. He meets Mister Tom. They begin to share a bond and become good friends, but when Willie’s mother brings him back to war torn London, will he come back? My Opinion of the Book I love this book because it is about World War Two, which is my favourite period in history. Also, it is full of surprises and friendships. My Recommendations: I would recommend this to children aged 11+ because there is violence and younger children may not get it. Written by Rafay Ahmad 7R

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling Plot Summary It is all about some wizards and witches in a magical school called Hogwarts. Lots of the book is from Harry Potters view. In this book also there are dragons and a villain called Voldemort. You are always in suspense with this book. My Opinion of the Book I think that the Harry Potter series of books is really good, since you are always on a cliff hanger. It is really good since I like all of the characters and their different personalities. This is the fourth book in the series and is all about Voldemort and dragons. My Recommendations: I recommend this book due to the series being so interesting. I think you should read it since the books are filled with suspense. I like all of the plots which make the story really good. I would recommend this to a friend since its one of the best series I have read. So get reading! Written by Amelia Bradley 7R

Boy in the Striped Pyjamas Written by John Boyne Plot Summary There is a kid called Bruno and one day they had to move houses, but the house that they lived in was beautiful, but they still had to move. Bruno was not happy about this but his sister did not mind. This was all because of his father. My Opinion of the Book I found the book very heart breaking, but I enjoyed it. It was very hard to put down. When I had been reading it for a long time, I just wanted to carry on reading. It was very heart breaking at the end, but I would still give the book a 10/10. My Recommendations: I would recommend this book to anyone who loves History and who has a strong heart. Written by Billy Stephenson 7R

Ottoline and the Yellow Cat written by Chris Riddell Plot Summary The story is about a girl called Ottoline, who loves adventures. Ottoline’s parents are always travelling the world and collecting lots and lots of strange things. One day when Ottoline’s parents were away, she discovered something very strange. If you want to know what she discovered, you can find this book in the Library and read it. My Opinion of the Book I think this book is brilliant. The illustrations in the book are beautiful. Once I started reading it, I could not stop; I actually read all of it in just one hour, because I could not stop. I have actually read the other four books as well and they are also amazing. My Recommendations: I would recommend this book to people who like adventure and fantasy. Also to someone who likes drawing to get ideas. Written by Taylor Sheill 7R

Dinosaur Trouble written by Dick King Smith Plot Summary The Tyrannosaurus Rex is scaring all of the dinosaur families on the Great Plain. Nosy, the little Pterodactyl and his friend Banty, the Apatosaurus agree that Rex has got to be stopped, but how? Luckily Nosy has a plan. My Opinion of the Book This book was one on the funniest books I have read and I really like the dinosaurs, my favourite is a Pterodactyl. It has also made me a more confident reader. I am going to read more books by Dick King-Smith. My Recommendations: I would recommend this book to anyone who likes dinosaurs and picture books. It has a lot of dinosaurs, but one is evil; the T-Rex. It’s great! Written by Frank Cullis 7R Follow us on: @rodingvalleyHS @humsrvhs @rodingvalleyPE RODING VALLEY DRAMA@rodingdrama

Message from Miss Williams This is the term when support with revision and exam preparation really begins. We teach a great range of revision strategies and employ many interventions to support our students accelerate their progress. However, the real difference to students’ confidence and understanding comes from the work they do outside of the classroom. Revision is a skill, which they will develop. There are however general rules, which should help:  Little and Often: Revising two subjects for 30 minutes each day from now on will make a huge difference by the time the exams start.  Targeted Revision: Revising must be specific. Ask your child specifically what they will achieve in the 30 minutes and help them avoid staring at a book with no purpose.  It Is All About Effort: Students cannot control what will be asked in the exam but they can control the effort they put in. If students genuinely try hard, the outcomes tend to be what they want.

Year 8 Revision Homework Our Year 8 students produced some amazing revision homework for their RE class with Miss Garip. The work produced by our students was of a fantastically high quality. Well done!

Cass Chapman “He has made such an improvement! Fantastic work- keep it up!” Nominated by Miss Errington.

Message from Mr Ryan As we are reaching one of the most important times in a student's life where we ask them to think about what they would like to do in the future; I thought I'd look into what particular habits make people successful. It would appear that all successful people have routines and do certain things to achieve their maximum potential. 1. Get up early 2. Read, a lot 3. 15-30 minutes of focused thinking 4. Make exercise a priority 5. Spend time with loved ones 6. Pursue their goals 7. Get enough sleep While I am aware that teenagers may find it difficult to fit all of these aspects into their lives it could help if they had a schedule where these elements were factored in. As well as studying and getting a good night's sleep; they should be spending time with friends and family and relaxing.

Well done to class 9a/En2 for winning Class of the week for all of their hard work and achievement!! Keep up the good work!! A few dates for your diary are as follows;  Parents Evening: Thursday 24th January  Careers Fest: Thursday 31st January  Options Information Evening: Thursday 7th February  Deadline for Completed Option Forms: Friday 1st March

Message from Miss Reed Parents and Carers should now have all received their son/daughter's school report, please ensure you contact me if you have not yet received it. I would like to remind students should now be taking the time to reflect on their school report and identify areas that have gone well for them and areas for improvement. There is a wide range of support in school across all subject areas. Students are encouraged to use this resource. If you have any queries regarding individual subjects, please contact the class teacher. We have some very pleasing current results from our year 10 students and I am looking forward to working with them over the coming months to ensure they reach their target grades and beyond.

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Billy Robinson 10S

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Harry Balmforth 10S

Tommy Grieve

Bella Carr

“For his effort in English”

“For her huge improvement to attitude during Form Time”

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Mitchell Pace 10U

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Brogan Skiverton 10S

Nominated by Ms Sargent

Nominated by Miss Edwards

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Ella Storrar 10S

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Aimee Giltnane 10S

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Emilie Buckley 10S

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Jack Briggs 10Q

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Elysia Filaitis 10S

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Hollie White 10S

10D/Gg1 “For their excellent work produced in their essays. Everyone was focused and motivated. Fantastic effort!” Nominated by Mrs Barron

Ski Trip 2019 Information Evening Reschedule: Tuesday 22nd January@6pm in the Main Hall Please could students going on this trip remember to bring a photocopy of their passport and EHIC card as soon as possible. Thank you

Sports News What is Futsal? Futsal is played between two teams of five players each. The game is played on a hard court surface limited by court markings. Futsal is also played with a smaller, harder, low-bounce ball. The surface, ball, and rules together favour ball control and passing in small spaces with the game's emphasis on improvisation, creativity and technique. Friday 11th January saw the Year 8 and Year 10 Futsal teams head to Passmores Academy for the chance to qualify for the Essex County FA Final. The two-year groups played five different schools in a round robin format. The overall winner of each year group would then go on to represent Group 2 in the finals at the University of Essex in February.

Year 8 This was the first ever competition for the Year 8 futsal team who gave a good account of themselves on the day. They played some good possession based football, creating many chances and learned a lot from their experience.

Year 10

Match Scores

For some of the team this was their third competition representing the school at futsal and the boys went into it with a clear idea of how they wanted to play. The boys did fantastically and won all five matches, showing resilience to win games despite being behind at times. They were a credit to the school and many members of staff at the competition; highlighted that they deserved to win overall due to the quality of the football that was played and the way they conducted themselves.

3 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 0 v St Martins 1 - 0 v Becket Keys 3 - 1 v Sandon 2 - 0 v St Marks 2 - 1 v Passmores Fantastic Achievement Boys!

The Year 10 team now go on to compete against three other schools at the University of Essex on Tuesday 26th February with a chance to being Essex County Futsal Champions.

Limited Spaces Available

Before School: 8:15am to 8:40am Break: 11:00am to 11:20am Lunch: 1:20pm to 2:05pm After School: 3:05pm to 3:30pm Please be aware that from Monday 12th November, students will not be served outside of these times.

HB Pencil Non-stop Pencil Biro (Black, Blue or Green) Handwriting Pen (Black or Blue) Gel Pen (Black or Blue) Gel Clear Pen (Black or Blue) Felt Tip Pens (pack) Coloured pencils (pack) Highlighter Pen Multi - Pen Rollerball Pen (Black, Blue or Red) RVHS Pen 15cm Ruler 30cm Ruler Eraser Sharpener Protractor Set Square Compass Calculator Scientific Calculator Small Pencil Case Large Pencil Case

10p 30p 10p 10p 40p 50p £2.00 £1.00 20p 60p 30p 50p 10p 20p 5p 10p 15p 15p 30p £1.70 £6.50 80p £1.00

Maths Set Maths Set with small pencil case Revision set Glue - Small Glue - Medium Glue - Large Post Its Card Document wallet Popper Folder – coloured Popper Folder - clear Display file - 20 Pockets Clip File Ring Binder Zip wallets (A5) Zip wallets (A4) Zip wallets (A3) 10 stage dividers A4 clear pockets Lever arch file Box File Data File Small Note Pad- Lined

90p £1.60 £1.80 30p 80p £1.00 20p 10p 40p 70p £2.00 60p 50p 20p 25p 30p 40p 5p £1.40 £2.20 20p 30p

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 https://www.showmyhomework.co.uk/login 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 Follow us on: @rodingvalleyHS @humsrvhs @rodingvalleyPE RODING VALLEY DRAMA@rodingdrama

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 childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s progression. Please use the following link to the log in: Follow us on: @rodingvalleyHS @humsrvhs @rodingvalleyPE RODING VALLEY DRAMA@rodingdrama

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 studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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.

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. 0208-508-1173 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 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 on 0208-508-1173