Parent Bulletin Week ending Friday 15th February 2019 by Roding Valley High School

RVHS Parent Bulletin Aspiration Respect Endeavour Week ending: Friday 15th February 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 I can’t believe it is half term already; it has been a very busy and productive time. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued support. We have some fantastic enrichment trips going out over half term. Sixty three of our students will visiting Disneyland in Paris, forty of our Year 10 students will be going Skiing in Bardonnechia, Italy and staying in the Olympic Village, whilst fifty of our KS4 and KS5 students will travelling to New York and visiting the Empire State Building, Radio City, Ellis and Liberty Islands and the 911 Memorial. I trust the will have a wonderful and enjoyable time and I thank my staff for arranging these opportunities. As a school we would like to support the Swimathon being held at Loughton Pool on Saturday 30th March in aid of cancer research. We would like to enter a team of Governors, parents, students and staff. Please see details further in the bulletin and if you would be interested in taking part then please contact our School Governor; Sharon Famiglietti: sfamiglietti@rodingvalley.net On a more sombre note; yesterday the school received the very sad news that the founding Headteacher of Roding Valley High School - Mrs Christine Manning had sadly passed away. Mrs Manning was Roding’s first ever Headteacher serving from 1989 to 2000, she steered the school through its formative years, following its formation from the amalgamation of three schools with very different traditions (Buckhurst Hill High School for Boys, Epping Forest High School a coeducational School and Loughton County High School for Girls), whilst weaving each school distinct traditions into a Roding Valley’s identity and ethos. Mr Stephen Murray - Loughton Town Mayor said “ Many hundreds of local school children are indebted to Mrs. Manning for her determined and caring leadership in the establishment of Roding Valley High School from three different schools with very different traditions, she laid the foundations for the great school Roding Valley is now”. The school sends their thoughts and condolences to her family. It was wonderful to see so many parents in attendance to our Year 12 and 13 Parents Evening this week, it was a great success and we hope the students have all the information they now need for them to be successful in their upcoming exams

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I would like to remind our Year 11 students that their Pre Public Exams (PPEs) are drawing close , they begin the first week back. These PPE’s will be closely followed by their final exams which begin in May. I would like to ask that they use their time over the coming week to take on board the advice their teachers have been giving them and to start putting together a revision plan for the upcoming months. We have included later within this bulletin some revision tips and help. May I remind parents that the school skirt should sit below the knee, lots of our girls appear to have had growth spurts and their skirts are sitting above the knee. If this is the case with your daughter, please may I ask that you purchase a new skirt over the half term break. I appreciate your support in this matter.

I am really proud of how hard our students have worked this half term and would like to remind you that school resumes on Monday 25th February. Please enjoy the rest of the bulletin and have a lovely half term break. Mrs Sharon Jenner Head of School

Date

Event th

Monday 18 February th

Monday 25 February th

Wednesday 27 February

Half Term Starts Year 11 PPE’s begin Year 7 and 8 Pancake Master class @3:05pm

Altered Ego Event – Year 9/10 Gang Awareness Workshop

As/A Level History Conference

Thursday 28 February Thursday 28 February st

Friday 1 March

Year 12 UK University and Apprenticeship Fair

Friday 1 March

Year 12 Emirates Visit

Year 10 Maths in Action Event

Year 8 & 9 Maths Challenge

Monday 4 March Tuesday 5 March th

Thursday 7 March

World Book Day

Thursday 7th March Monday 11th March

Year 7 Parents Evening Year 13 PPE ’s begin

Tuesday 12 March

Staff Inset Day – school closed to students

Parents are invited to the events that are highlighted blue. Follow us on: @rodingvalleyHS @humsrvhs @rodingvalleyPE RODING VALLEY DRAMA@rodingdrama

Have Fun and Raise Money for a Great Cause Can You Swim? On Saturday 30th March; there is a Swimathon to raise money for Cancer Research and Marie Curie and we need you to join our Roding Valley High School Swim Team. Maybe you have already shelved your New Year’s Resolution and need something to kick start you back into action, or you can’t wait to show off your Bondi Rescue/Baywatch skills or you just want to do something positive to beat cancer. Whatever the reason and whatever your ability we would love you to join us. There will be teams of five to cover a distance of 5km but we can split the distance according to ability. We would like Governors, staff, parents and pupils to get involved. The pool in Loughton will be the location not quite the above but don’t let that diminish your enthusiasm to take part in a great event.

Can’t swim but still want to get involved? Come and support us, offer us cake when we finish or get the world and his wife to sponsor us so we can really make a difference. If you work for a company that would match our fundraising I’d love to hear from you too.

To sponsor our team please visit: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/rodingvalleyhighschool Are you Inspired/ Interested? Parents / carers can contact Mrs Famiglietti at sfamiglietti@rodingvalley.net Or If you are a pupil please speak to Mr Jones or Miss Ball.

1st Place

2nd Place

3rd Place

Rosa Marshall

Kelisha Handley

Savannah Jesson

Best Attendance Best Punctuality

7X 7T

Saoirse Bloom

Arthur Maskell

Norman Dzonzie

Ayla Mellish

Jiya Digwa

Oliver Piper

Santiago Levy

Mikenaite Austeja

Amber Baxter

Athina Christofi

Harry Marney

Callum Hawkins

Callum Gower

Rhea Ellerby

Aleyna Tekbasti

Xixuan He

Pancake Master Class The Food & Nutrition Department will be holding a Pancake Master Class for Year 7s and Year 8s on Thursday 28th February. Please come along to see Mrs Blundy or Mrs Wilkes in T2 to sign up.

Year 7 Character and Culture In our Character and Culture lessons we have been learning about acts of Kindness. 7X have been exploring how best to solve conflicts and disagreements through kindness and peaceful measures. We have discussed the fine line between being nice and being kind and found the best way for each of us to solve a problem is to be considerate of each other. As we leave behind a very busy half term; we would like for us all to think about the following quote: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The wonderful things you learn in schools and colleges are the work of many generations produced by enthusiastic and infinite labour...â&#x20AC;? Albert Einstein Follow us on: @rodingvalleyHS @humsrvhs @rodingvalleyPE RODING VALLEY DRAMA@rodingdrama

Please join the Food & Nutrition department in wishing Laiba Batool (7R) and Lola Collings (8Q) good luck as they participate in the regional heat of the Rotary Club Young Chef Competition on Saturday 23rd February... they'll be cooking up a storm at New City College and we can't wait to hear how they get on.

Message from Miss Williams Congratulations to all of our year 8 students for working hard, showing resilience and being motivated whilst completing their exams. Exposure to exam conditions and actual exam paper questions is invaluable to students later success in their GCSE's and we are proud of how well our students behaved and responded during this time. Stretching and challenging the thinking of all our students is an essential part of school life here at Roding. I have therefore set up a Google Classroom which is a virtual space for year 8 students to access over the half term and throughout the year. There will be questions to get them thinking, exam advice and support, revision mats and a host of other things that they can use so that they will always have something they can be doing. Parents can also access this platform using the Google classroom code: sjs6meg Please visit the following website to access: https://classroom.google.com/u/0/h

Frank Bacchus

Charlotte Fox

Millie Williams

Zane Falconer

Chanelle Hayer

Maximus Knight

Sam Bonner

Almasi Mitau

Makayla Steele

Jed Fleming

Campbell Wilson

Zara Lewin

Tuna Parlar

Saul Grey

Monica Jaye

Sienna Moy

 Aamir Khan: For his excellent revision book, really dedicated and improving his behaviour; so proud of him!

 Frankie Locke: For a real

1st Place

2nd Place

improvement and doing well  Monica Jaye and Lauren Harper: For being great role models for the school and making visitors feel welcome. Nominated by Mrs Patel

3rd Place Best Attendance Best Punctuality

Lola Collings

Billie Smith Follow us on: @rodingvalleyHS @humsrvhs @rodingvalleyPE RODING VALLEY DRAMA@rodingdrama

Harry Wells

8V 8W

Message from Mr Ryan I would like to thank you for your support for this half term and for your on-going support for the rest of the year. It's hard to believe that we have made it through to the half-way point of the academic year already! It is lovely to see how the year group have really stepped up since Parents/Options evening. Every student I speak to at the moment is focused on either their English Anthologies or making decisions about their futures and this is great to see. Can I remind you all that the Options Sheet has to be in on the 1st March. As it is half term; I would like to encourage year 9 students to be safe over the next week. Although I would urge them to study; I do think that they need to take some time to recharge and relax. I know that some of the year group are going to Disneyland and others are going skiing in Italy and I look forward to hearing about it when they return. The Timeout website has loads of different activities that young people can take part in. Activities: https://www.timeout.com/london/kids/half-term-in-london I look forward to seeing everyone when we are back in school on the Monday 25th February.

Kevin Ciobanu

Lyla Fry

Charlie Lucas

Isabella Ruse

Eva Musaphia

Billy Rex

Ralph Marks

Amelia Martin

Harriet Tate

Loui Sofocli

Ellie Dennis

Anastasia Grytsai

Jamie Finnie

Stacie Sebuabey

Bobby Lawson

Charlotte Gadeke

2nd Place

1st Place

Emma Bracher

Felix Swindell

Lola Jacobs

3rd Place

Haval Yalcin

Best Attendance Best Punctuality

9S 9T

Congratulations to our Year 9 Football Team, who won 4-3 on Thursday against Debden Park in the League. This continues their unbeaten league campaign. Goals from Leon, Jeevan and two from Sohaib and an outstanding save from Finley in the closing minutes, helped to give Roding the win. Three wins from three games played and there are two games left to play, Davenant first up on Monday 26th February away.

Friday, our Year 9 sports leaders ventured to Alderton Infants School for the day with Mr Allen to help run multi skills events for years 1 and 2. The skills taught were indoor Kurling, Speed Bounce, Darts, Point Balancing, Multi Sport Dribbling and Indoor Athletics Hurdling. They were brilliant role models to the younger students and made these sessions really fun.

Max Lampey

Phoebe Boyle

Harry Coulson

Katie Feeney

Shingai Mawadzi James Myers Matthew Freedman Jakub Niedzielski Simay Ahmet Tom Scott

Best Attendance Best Punctuality

11Q 11Sci

James Murkett -Lamb Harri Woodhams Alana Cooper Freddie Hammerston Grace Alexander Isobel Kimpton

1st Place

2nd Place

Leighton

Sophie Jo Beman

Brooks

3rd Place Ryan Clark

Organisation

This one’s a bit of a no-brainer; if you approach your A-Level revision in an organised manner, you’re more likely going to smash it and get the grades you need to get into your preferred university. And that’s what it’s all about. From the offset, approach revision responsibly – no skiving, no excuses! No doubt your teachers have been banging on about this for what seems like forever, and now you’re probably bored of hearing it, but the best way to ensure you stay on top of that daunting A-Level revision is by making a revision timetable. Splitting your revision into tiny little chunks will make it look much less scary and more achievable. So, first, whack in all of your unavoidable commitments (to be honest, I’d put off as many as you can, for now) then timetable specific times each day – be realistic, don’t just cram all your revision into one whole day, it’ll kill you.

Tell Everybody After making your timetable, stick it up right where everyone can see it – on the fridge, on your blog, on Facebook – anywhere where people can see what you’re supposed to be doing, and when. It sounds weird, but knowing that everybody can see your commitments actually helps you to get down to it. Plus, it’s a great kick up the behind when someone reminds you you’re supposed to be revising Psychology rather than looking at funny cats on YouTube.

Give yourself plenty of Time

Start early. Start as early as you can – especially for the subjects that you find most difficult.

Assessment Objectives

Make it your goal to understand exam questions. Often, different questions are designed to test different skills so, a fantastic way to exercise your question answering dexterity, is to be aware of the assessment objectives. If you recognise the question type, you’re more likely to be able to give the markers exactly what they want. Assessment Objectives are available on the exam board websites (so you need to know which exam board exam you’ll be sitting). On top of this, a bright idea would be to look at past papers, lots of past papers. Do them and check the answers/get your teacher to mark them. You should also be able to find past papers on the exam board’s website. Follow us on: @rodingvalleyHS @humsrvhs @rodingvalleyPE RODING VALLEY DRAMA@rodingdrama

Go with the Flow Make flow charts, diagrams, posters, charts and mind-maps – that sort of thing – then post them everywhere. Try recreating them from memory. Another way to kick start the old grey matter is by defining a colour coding system – highlight important facts/dates and names. Also, put Post-it note everywhere with important facts.

Brain Foods

So, the popular saying goes, ‘you are what you eat’ and going by that, eating junk food when revising will turn your brain to well, junk! What you put into your body really does affect the mind. Don’t be a fool, get on the brain foods, be a brainiac and smash your A-Levels Memory Boosting Foods: Fish – fish being a ‘brain food’ may be a bit of a cliché, but there might be some truth in it; there’s been a lot of research, all of which points to fish, especially the oily kind, being awesome for memory. Ok, so fish is not to everyone’s liking – if you can’t think of anything worse than tucking into a huge plate of kippers then take Omega 3 supplements (you can even get vegetarian ones). Whole-grains – such as whole grain pasta, cereals (no, not Frosties) et al, will help boost short-term memory as they are bursting with Bvitamins. Other foods that’ll ensure your brain is firing as bright as a strip of burning magnesium are pumpkin seeds – which contain enough zinc to galvanize your garage – and eggs, brown rice, nuts and seeds which are great sources of vitamins. Eating these foods will give your memory the kick it needs

Energy Keeping with the food theme (I’m getting really hungry now) let’s talk about energy: Red Bull may very well give you wings, but the effects don’t last very long – pretty soon you’ll find yourself crashing down to earth. Alas, continued drinking will not grow you more wings – it’ll just make your head hurt. The best way to keep alert is by loading up on bananas – get peeling!

Take Breaks Don’t overwork your poor brain – take regular breaks – watch Jeremy Kyle, do a bit of Facebook trolling (no, don’t!), walk the dog – whatever. Taking time out allows your brain to process all of the information you’ve been stuffing into it. Follow us on: @rodingvalleyHS @humsrvhs @rodingvalleyPE RODING VALLEY DRAMA@rodingdrama

Go See Your Friends No, no! I’m not talking about skiving completely – start a group or invite a friend over to help you revise. It helps if they are doing the same A-Levels as you. Have a party, eat crisps, watch TV but share notes, test each other, and swap tips – and who knows, maybe a bit of laughter might help it all stick in your mind..

Turn Off Your Computer and Phone

Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and friends will not help you revise. That is all.

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 Miss Paige Larkin: plarkin@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

Girls Development Centre– An Introduction What is the Development Centre?  A talent-identification programme  An invitation-only player development centre for girls from Under 8 to Under 16 age groups What are its aims?  To nurture and retain advanced players  To offer appropriate progression pathways and exit routes for players to the Essex Regional Talent Club and appropriate senior clubs  To be the premier young player development programme for girls in Essex What type of players do we want to develop?  Excellent decision-makers  Technically sound  Creative  Flair  Responsible  Risk-takers How do players learn and develop?  By playing

 Making mistakes and learning from them (Self-correcting)  Making their OWN decisions How can development centre sessions encourage the above points? By…  Making them enjoyable  Having a structure to allow freedom  Catering for all learning styles (e.g. visual, kinaesthetic etc)  Allowing plenty of opportunities for player decision-making  Allowing players to work things out for themselves  Making them game-related/match-specific, therefore realistic  Challenging the players What do Development Centre coaches do to encourage learning and development?  Be positive and open minded  Be interactive and enthusiastic  Be organised  Be challenging  Have an understanding of WHY they are doing what they are doing  Ask the right questions at the right times