Parent Bulletin Week ending 14th September 2018 by Roding Valley High School

RVHS Parent Bulletin Aspiration

Respect

Endeavour

Week ending: Friday 14th September 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

We have had a fantastic start to the new school year; with a positive atmosphere around the school from both the staff and the students. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all of our New Year 7 students; it has been fantastic to see how quickly they have settled into secondary school life. Last Friday saw our new Year 12 students begin their journey into Sixth Form, it was great to see so many of our students returning to us after their GCSEs and how quickly they have settled in to their lessons. We have sent a separate letter to all Year 10 and Year 11 parents inviting them to our Parent Information Evening on Thursday 20th September. The Year 10 starts at 6pm and the Year 11 at 7pm. Included in the letters are some key revision resources and ways to help your child with their GCSEs. The talks will be held in the main hall and we would like to ask parents to use the Brook Road entrance on arrival. The new Brook Building is nearly complete and looking amazing but unfortunately, we will not be able to fully utilise the building for another couple of weeks. This is obviously very disappointing for us as a school community but it is beyond our control. We have been assured by the contractors that we can start using the building by the end of the month. At Roding Valley; our students publish their own school magazine as part of our Challenge and Enrichment programme. This is organised by Miss Bingham, please join me in congratulating all students who have secured ’jobs’ at the magazine this year, details are further on in this bulletin. All year groups are invited and encouraged to participate. Our wonderful PTA have organised a disco for the Year 7s to be held on Friday 28 September. The PTA does need more parent helpers to support these great events, so if you would like to become a member of our PTA, please contact Natalie Sellears, nsellears@rodingvalley.net or even if you could offer any time at this or future events. All money raised by the PTA is used to support the learning of all students. th

School clubs have all started this week; please do encourage your child to get involved. The current timetable of enrichment activities is attached with this bulletin.

The school will be open to all prospective Year 6 parents on Saturday 6 October from 9am to 12pm. We will be asking current students (in immaculate uniform) to support the school at this important event. Some students will be asked to act as guides and some will be supporting in the subject areas. There will be music, drama and sports being showcased and I thank you in advance for supporting the school. th

I have included the key school contacts within this bulletin for your information. I hope you have a lovely weekend. Mrs S Jenner Head of School

Date

Event

Tuesday 18th September

Rodingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Got Talent

Wednesday 19th September

Year 9 and 10 Stemnette Panel

Thursday 20th September

Year 10 (6pm to 7pm) and Year 11 (7pm to 8pm) Information Evening

Friday 21 September th

Monday 24 September th

Wednesday 26 September th

Thursday 27 September th

Friday 28 September

Whole School Study Skills Day Year 12 and 13 ATL begins Year 8 HPV Immunisations Silver D of E Expedition Year 7 PTA Disco McMillan Coffee Morning

Monday 1 October

Year 8 Assessments begin Year 7 Road Safety Event

Year 8 (6pm to 7pm) and Year 9 (6pm to 7pm) Transition Evening

Open Morning: 9am to 12pm

Thursday 4 October Saturday 6 October th

Year 12 Parent Concern Evening

Parent Tours of the School

Monday 8 October Tuesday 9 October

All Year Study Skills Day th

Wednesday 11 October

Parent Tours of the School

Thursday 12 October

Silver D of E Assessment Expedition MiLife Workshops Sports Awards Event Follow us on: @rodingvalleyHS, @rodingvalleyPE RODING VALLEY DRAMA@rodingdrama

Important Contact Details SLT Executive Headteacher

Mr Paul Banks

pbanks@rodingvalley.net

Head of School

Mrs Sharon Jenner

sjenner@rodingvalley.net

Deputy Headteacher – Progress and Curriculum

Mr Rob Mammen

rmammen@rodingvalley.net

Deputy Headteacher – Culture and Ethos

Mr Kulvinder Cheema

kcheema@rodingvalley.net

Assistant Headteacher – Student Welfare

Miss Sam Dyer

sdyer@rodingvalley.net

Assistant Headteacher – Teaching and Learning

Mr Kahil Ali

kali@rodingvalley.net

Assistant Headteacher – Raising Standards

Mr Marius Vermaak

mvermaak@rodingvalley.net

Director of Sixth Form

Miss Anjuli Wheaton

awheaton@rodingvalley.net

Lead Practitioner

Mr Kumers Naidoo

knaidoo@rodingvalley.net

Lead Practitioner

Mrs Judith Hodges

jhodges@rodingvalley.net

Business Manager

Mrs Karen Salmons

ksalmons@rodingvalley.net

Year 7

Mr Dobson

cdobson@rodingvalley.net

Year 8

Miss Williams

fwilliams@rodingvalley.net

Year 9

Mr Ryan

fryan@rodingvalley.net

Year 10

Miss Reed

hreed@rodingvalley.net

Year 11

Mr Price

tprice@rodingvalley.net

Miss Wheaton (Director of Sixth

awheaton@rodingvalley.net

Year Progress Leaders

Sixth Form

Form)

Mrs Sellears (Administrator)

nsellears@rodingvalley.net

English & Languages

Mrs L Routledge

lroutledge@rodingvalley.net

Maths

Mr Edeko

oedeko@rodingvalley.net

Science

Mr N Poovilingham

npoovillingham@rodingvalley.net

It/Business

Mr O Hussain

ohussain@rodingvalley.net

Sports, Creative Arts and Food

Miss L Ball

lball@rodingvalley.net

Humanities

Mrs T Preston

tpreston@rodingvalley.net

SENDco

Mrs R Laffety

rlafferty@rodingvalley.net

Head of Faculty

Please be aware that a full list of staff contact details is available on the school website

It is part of School Policy that communications are responded to within 48 hrs.

We would like to introduce the NEW 2018 / 2019 Magazine Editors:

Florence New

Editor

Jessica Okaka

Alexander Smith

Entertainment Editor

Travel and Community Editor

Amy Lewis

Photography Editor Follow us on: @rodingvalleyHS, @rodingvalleyPE RODING VALLEY DRAMA@rodingdrama

Annie Mills

History Editor

Joseph James

Sports Editor

Message from Mr Dobson Head of Year 7 New school year, new beginnings, new start... Solid foundations, dreams, goals and targets. New stationery, new uniform, new shoes, new teachers... renewed energy and focus. We would like to welcome to the New Year 7 students that have joined and have begun their journey with us. From all of us, we hope you have an amazing experience at RVHS. Throw yourself in to absolutely everything. Use the opportunities that you have to try new things. Be mindful of our expectations and Good luck.

Year 7 Cooking Club Please can all Year 7 students that have registered for Cooking Club attend a club meeting on Wednesday 19th September at 3:15pm- 4:15pm in Room T1 with Mrs Barclay and Mrs Abbott.

At RVHS, we offer lessons in Piano, Drums, Guitar and singing. If you are interested; please email the below contacts and full details will be sent to you:

Piano: To book piano lessons or find out more please contact rosswall@gmail.com

Singing: Private singing lessons are now available. Please contact Alex Larke for more details at alex@thevocaltutor.com

Drumming: The following lessons are available: One to One, Two to One and Small Group lessons. Contact: marksevel@hotmail.com

Guitar: To book lessons or find out more, please contact Rachel Espeute on racheleds@hotmail.co.uk if you are interested.

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 childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s progression. Please use the following link to the log in: Follow us on: @rodingvalleyHS, @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. Everyone will be able to see image to the left. But only parents of students in the school will be able to access this when clicking on the My Students tab. The MyEd app is available for both Apple iOS and Android devices and can be found using the links below: Step 1 - Go to your App Store Step 2 - Search for My Ed Step 3 - Download the Free app Apple iOS App Google Android App

Once you have installed and opened MyEd, search for Roding Valley High School and follow the simple instructions to identify yourself.

Please do not hesitate to contact the school if you are having any @rodingvalleyHS, problems and we will help you get set up. @rodingvalleyPE

RODING VALLEY DRAMA@rodingdrama

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