Parent Bulletin Week ending Friday 11th January 2019 by Roding Valley High School

RVHS Parent Bulletin Aspiration Respect Endeavour Week ending: Friday 11th 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

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Happy New Year to everyone in our Roding Valley Community! Assemblies this week have focused on new beginnings and resolutions, a time to reflect on the past and focus on the future. We are all encouraged to make small changes to our lifestyles, learning habits and marginal gains for 2019! It has been a very positive start to the New Year and thank you to all the parents who have returned their children in excellent school uniform and fully equipped. All students should have a reading book and a scientific calculator as part of their equipment. We have also asked that Year 11’s have highlighters and Cue cards to support their in class revision, these items would be expected in sixth form for note taking. The wearing of the House tie is now a compulsory part of the school uniform, please ensure that your child has the correct colour tie. The old striped ties are no longer acceptable. Can I also reiterate that students must wear black leather shoes, not trainers. Thank you for your parental support, our uniform is part of the school’s positive image in the community and the overriding majority of our students wear it with pride and look incredibly smart. I am delighted to welcome and introduce to you our new Assistant Headteacher Paige Larkin, Paige Larkin is a highly experienced History Lead teacher and will be working to support Teaching and Learning across the entire school. If you are a Year 11 parent, please do note that the Parents Evening is on Thursday 17th January. This is your opportunity to come and discuss your child’s progress with their individual teachers. The Director of Sixth Form, Anjuli Wheaton, will also be on hand to discuss all Sixth Form opportunities or any concerns you may have. The deadline for applications to our Sixth Form is 18th January. I am delighted that so many students have already applied to secure their place. If your child has not applied yet, then please encourage them to do so over the weekend. The application can be found on the school website.

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I would like to take the opportunity to invite all parents to our Parent Forum on Monday 4th February at 6pm, this will be held in the Brook Library (new Brook Building), and the focus for this forum will be on student study skills and provide practical examples of how parents can support their child to revise at home. Attendance and punctuality are incredibly important; there is a direct correlation between attendance and student outcomes, with punctuality being an important life skill and attribute of a successful individual. At RVHS, any student that is late to school is expected to serve a detention at lunch time. To aid our punctuality drive, Sainsburys are no longer serving students in our uniform after 8.35am, unless accompanied by their parent. This arrangement started back in December and has worked well for both parties; we will also be rewarding ten Progress Points at the start of each term to all students with no late marks for the previous half term. Positive behaviour of our students is expected at all times and this includes on their journeys to and from school. My Senior Team do patrol the station area at the end of the school day to ensure that students travel away from the area safely. However, after 3.30pm, it is the parentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; responsibility to ensure that their child is on their way home and not hanging around this area. I can only reiterate that this not the place to congregate, especially in the dark evenings. Students can be vulnerable to the dangers around the area but they can also create tension in the community when congregating in large groups. The majority are purely meeting up with friends but large groups of teenagers can appear intimidating. Any identified poor behaviour in the community which brings the school into disrepute will be sanctioned under our Behaviour Policy. I would like to take the opportunity to highlight the wonderful volunteer work some of our staff did over the Christmas break. Mrs Barron spent her time in Cambodia, teaching students in the morning and then travelling to remote villages to enrol older children on to Tourism and Hospitality courses. Thank you to all students that raised money through a Bake Sale to buy two computers and desks for the school. Some of our staff supported Crisis, helping to ensure that the homeless and disadvantaged had warm food and accommodation over the holiday period. Please be aware that our Term Dates for the academic year 2019 - 2020 will be available on our school website and are detailed further on in this week's bulletin. Finally, congratulations to the Year 7/8 Girls Football team who have secured a place in the final 16 of the National Cup, absolutely brilliant! Have a lovely weekend! Mrs S Jenner Head of School

Date

Event

Thursday 17th January

Year 11 Trip to Macbeth

Thursday 17 January

Year 11 Parents Evening

Monday 21st January

Year 10 Sex Education Event

Tuesday 22 January

Year 12 and 13 Politics Trip to Parliament

Tuesday 22 January

Yes Conference

Wednesday 23 January

Year 8 Sex Education

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 Parents are invited to the events that are highlighted blue.

You are our Number One Priority It’s your life, your future, and we do everything we can to make sure you get where you want to be. Roding Valley should be your seven year educational journey. At RVHS there’s always someone available to discuss the options available to you and at every stage of your sixth form career we are here to listen, advise and support you in your choices. Everything we offer in our Sixth Form is to help you stand out from the crowd and become top of your chosen field. Just ask any of the team; Mrs. Jenner, Mr. Cheema, Miss Wheaton, Mrs. Mason and Mrs. Sellears.

Lots of Subject Choice We offer an extensive range of A Levels on offer, (see the school website and sixth form prospectus for more detail). Due to demand we have just extended our offer to include A-Level Further Mathematics alongside the standard A Level which will give you the option of achieving a double A Level in Mathematics. We will also be offering BTECs in IT and Sport. Furthermore, we will extending the offer of the Extended Project Qualification, (EPQ - worth ½ an A-level). The EPQ gives A-level students excellent preparation for university-level study and may help boost their UCAS application. We will be extending our Duke of Edinburgh Provision and encouraging as many students to apply as possible. The DofE helps you develop crucial skills like leadership, teamwork and resilience, which are sought after in today’s job market. Young people overcome a number of challenges to earn a DofE Award and employers are keen to hear more about how your DofE experiences translate into work ready attributes.

The Best Teaching Subject teachers will stretch and challenge you and you are expected to work hard in return. Our teaching staff will go that extra mile to support you outside of your lessons, meeting with you in study periods, at lunchtimes and after school to reinforce your learning.

Volunteering and Student Mentoring We believe that Sixth Form life should broaden your horizons so you will have access to academic enrichment with events such as our Peer Mentoring Programme, subject-related trips and student-run clubs like our the School Magazine, Chess Club, Debating and Drama productions. We also invite internationally recognised speakers to share their experiences with you. Follow us on: @rodingvalleyHS @humsrvhs @rodingvalleyPE RODING VALLEY DRAMA@rodingdrama

A Guaranteed Great Time!

We have numerous clubs for you to join. There's also the huge number of trips that you can take part in. Many of these are linked to your subject courses and give you the chance to go on trips both in the UK and overseas! Up and coming trips include France and the New York.

Leaders of the future

We offer lots of ways for students to develop their leadership skills. You might want to stand for Head Boy or Head Girl or join the student leadership team in another capacity. Our students Sixth Form Leadership Committee are responsible for our charity fundraising, organising events and coordinating charity days.

An Excellent Place to Learn We will shortly be launching our new House System at Roding Valley, and so there will be more opportunities than ever before for student leadership, including House Captains. You will be joining the Sixth Form in order to maximise your academic potential and we are passionate about helping to ensure this. Your teachers will all be experts in their respective fields, sharing their knowledge with you through innovative and inspiring lessons. You will be encouraged to discover things for yourself and ask questions to deepen your learning. With our own Study Centre, Learning Resource Centre, social spaces within the canteen for Year 12 and 13 and dedicated subject facilities such as our Media Suite and Post 16 Art Gallery, along with our new Brook building, you can be sure that you’ll have all the resources you need to help you excel in your studies. .

You’ll Get Where You Want to Be We don’t want anything to come between you and your ambitions. All students have regular careers interviews and a careers action plan, our outstanding careers provision will help ensure you get where you want to be!. You can be sure of a CV or UCAS personal statement that will help you go places. We have an exceptional success rate when it comes to getting students into their chosen universities – in fact 95% of our students headed to their first choice university! Do not worry if university isn’t your thing as we also help many of our students head off on the higher level apprentice route?

It has been a great start to the 2019 for the Food & Nutrition Department, who hosted the first round of the Rotary Young Chef Competition on Wednesday9th January. Thank you to Mr Stewart, Miss Dyson and Mr Murray for their judging skills, which must have been an incredibly hard job with so many great dishes to taste and judge. The winner was Laiba Batool Bokhari (7R), with Lola Collings (8Q) runner up - both students will now go through to the next round on 21st January at New City College. A big well done to all participants and thanks once again to all parents/carers for your continued support.

Message from Mr. Dobson I hope everyone had an enjoyable and safe Christmas break. The students have certainly come back this week very happy and motivated to work hard in lessons. I have set out below some of the key dates for this year. Subject teachers will be providing details of the preparation required for their first formal assessments in January. Please continue to monitor ‘Show my Homework’.

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

Please keep your eye out for details about the Year 7 Residential Trip; this Trip will be happening in July 2019.

Attention All Parents and Students!

Year 7 Football The most anticipated football match of the year so far, the boy’s vs girl’s match was full of technical skills and tactical prowess. Some impressive goals scored by Alfie Padington and Albie Oliver! Well done and congratulations to the girl's captain Rhea Ellerby and new boy's captain Alfie Padington. Captains will pick players for next Friday's match. If you're interested, please see your captains or Miss Garip!

All students, who have had No Late Marks over the last half term, will be FREE PROGRESS awarded Ten POINTS UP FOR Progress Points each. GRABS These Points will be awarded to all qualifying students at the beginning of every half term for the rest of the school Year. Follow us on: @rodingvalleyHS @humsrvhs @rodingvalleyPE RODING VALLEY DRAMA@rodingdrama

Message from Miss Williams Happy New Year and welcome back! Last year was a great success for our Year 8 students as there have been many individual and whole cohort achievements. This year promises to be a year filled with many opportunities for all our students as we strive to find ways that we can accomplish even more than last year. This will be a year of engaging, meaningful and rigorous work in our classrooms. This combined with trips, events, and extracurricular clubs and activities are planned to encourage our students to be involved and stay motivated and determined throughout. The start of the school year provides us all with new opportunities and possibilities and we remain committed to our vision and values ‘Aspiration, Respect and Endeavour’. I would therefore like to encourage all of our Year 8 students to ensure that they working to the best of their ability and to take advantage of the many activities and opportunities that are available to them in order to receive the wide-ranging and broad education we offer our students. We have our all important Year 8 Exam Week beginning on Monday 4th February and as all assessments set are rigorous in nature and replicate the revised GCSEs; students should start to plan their revision schedules focusing on recall, reading and problem solving. Please speak to your teachers on how to best revise for their subject area. We are a school that sets ourselves high expectations in all areas and attendance is no exception. Attending school is extremely important for our student’s development and we know that students who miss time at school can suffer in the long term from gaps in their learning. We need your continued support to ensure that education is not affected through missing time from school. I hope we can continue year 8 positively, celebrating many successes along the way.

Congratulations to our Year 7/ 8 Girls Football Team who are through to the Quarter Final of the Essex Cup! Good luck for Mondays match against Eastwood Academy. Maddie Manou

Faith Mensah

Carys Gooding

Makayla Steele

Jasmine Heatley

Savannah Jesson

Hannah Luxton

Ruby Curtis

Rhea Ellerby

Laycee Jesson

Lene Lawrence

Grace Craven

Message from Mr Ryan I would like to welcome everyone back after the holidays. I hope everyone enjoyed it. As people make New Year's resolutions at this time of year; it is wonderful to see how many students in year 9 have started 2019 with a positive attitude and are ready for the challenges that lie ahead. For our students, Year 9 is the year where the most change happens and it’s also when we ask students to make decisions which could have an effect on the rest of their lives. In assembly this week, Mr Jones spoke about ‘Making Choices’ and how we have to learn from our achievements and disappointments, but never give up. The focus for Year 9 this term is to think about where they see themselves in the future. There are so many different opportunities/pathways out there and we need to ensure that the year group are as informed as possible. Having spoken to a number of students about where they see themselves in the future, it is really positive to see how many would like to work in the public sector or working with those less fortunate than them.

A few dates for your diary are as follows;  Parents Evening: Thursday 24th January  Careers Fest: Thursday 31st January

Olivia Bird

 Options Information Evening: Thursday 7th February  Deadline for Completed Option Forms: Friday 1st March

Message from Miss Reed Welcome back to the Spring Term and Happy New Year to all Year 10 students and parents/carers. School reports for Year 10 have gone out to parents today; where I as a Year Progress Leader will be looking to put interventions in place to support students moving forwards so that they reach their full potential. I am looking forward to the term ahead and would encourage all pupils to take part in as many extra-curricular clubs and house events as possible. Students should also be starting to think about their Career Pathway and 7 Year Journey with us here at Roding Valley. Careers Fest takes place on Thursday 31st January at Epping Forest College, this is a fantastic opportunity for students to gather information about the careers and educational routes on offer to them post 16.

A few Year 10 dates for your diary are as follows: ď&#x192;ź Careers Fest: Thursday 31st January ď&#x192;ź Year 10 Parents Evening: Thursday 4th April

Ski Trip 2019 Information Evening: Thursday 31st January@6pm Please could students going on this trip remember to bring a photocopy of their passport and EHIC card as soon as possible. Thank you Miss Reed

Limited Spaces Available

Message from Mr Price Welcome back to all of our Year 11’s and I hope they had a good Christmas, a Happy New Year and are fully rested for a busy term ahead. This term there will be lots of content being covered in all subjects as well as an important focus on revision and techniques that our pupils can use. With the external GCSE Exams fast approaching, I would like to remind our Year 11 students that organisation is key to success in your PPE’s and Exams. Our students will be learning important revision tips in their lessons and they will need to ensure that they complete their Learning Checklist and they have planned their Revision Timetable. Next Thursday is our Year 11 Parents Evening; all pupils will have received appointment letters via their form folders. It is expected that all pupils will ask their subject teachers for appointment times. Interventions

Important dates for your diary are as follows:

There has been a targeted intervention timetable designed for Year 11, this has been emailed home to all parents. Also the students have received a printed copy of this document in their registration bags this morning.

 Year 11 Parents Evening: Thursday 17th January@4:30pm  Year 11 PPE’s: 25th February  External Exams Begin: Monday 13th May

Please note that these intervention sessions are compulsory and all students (if invited) are expected to attend.

All year 11 students will also be placed in new form groups for this term focusing on Maths, English or Science. Their form tutors will be specialist teachers in the chosen subject and will assist with revision.

How to Apply: Application Forms are available on the school website. The DEADLINE for Applications is: Friday 18th January 2019

College Information Events at Writtle University College Hosted on our stunning 550-acre estate, College Information Events are a fantastic way to find out about our college courses and apprenticeships. Be inspired by our specialist academics, tour our impressive teaching facilities and discover the support we can offer our students. 

Saturday 19th January 2019

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Saturday 27th April 2019

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Wednesday 19th June 2019

Book Online: https://writtle.ac.uk/Information-Evening-Application

University Open Days at Writtle University College Turn your passion into your career and discover the range of Sport, Animal, Business and Environment degrees of offer at WUC. Our University Open Days allow students to meet with expert teaching and support staff, view superb teaching facilities and meet some of our current students.  Saturday 26th January 2019  Saturday 6th April 2019  Saturday 6th July 2019 Book Online: www.writtle.ac.uk/HE-Open-Day/

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