RVHS Bulletin No.1 w/e 15/09/2023

Message from the Headteacher

Dear Parents/ Carers,

It is with great pleasure that I write my first newsletter as headteacher of Roding Valley High School. Before I joined the school, I was told about the wonderful school community and how unique it is. Now, almost two weeks in, I have experienced this first hand. In my letters to parents and carers about the impact of RAAC I have referenced the fantastic support that we have received from you as we navigate through this difficult situation. I would like to thank each and every person who has taken the time to get in touch with us. Your feedback has been crucial in helping to shape our next steps. My most recent letters to parents and carers can be found here.

While it has been important to communicate with you about changes to arrangements for the first weeks of term, I would now like to take the opportunity to properly introduce myself. I have been a teacher of psychology for 16 years and have held senior leadership positions in a number of London schools for 12 years. My roles have included head of social science, head of sixth form, assistant and vice principal. I have also taken a lead on behaviour and attendance in schools and understand the fundamental importance of this in students’ academic success. Most recently I was Vice Principal at City of London Academy in Highbury Grove.

I believe that a school should be at the very heart of its community and that our staff and students should all feel proud to work and study here and to uphold the school’s values of aspiration, respect and endeavour.

I am passionate about education and committed to building on our school’s fantastic academic results, while actively working with our local partners and pursuing our school’s vision 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’. I would also like to welcome the new year 7 and 12 students who officially enrolled as the newest members of the Roding Valley family on Wednesday 6th September, and to our new members of staff. They have made an outstanding start to life at Roding Valley and have settled in exceptionally quickly, demonstrating our values of aspiration, respect and endeavour in abundance.

In July, parents were informed that as of September all students would revert to wearing a full school uniform to school - having previously been allowed to wear PE kits on days which students had a PE lesson. School uniform plays a crucial role in promoting pride, self-confidence, and a feeling of belonging within the student body. These factors contribute to our students’ wellbeing, removing the additional pressure of deciding what to wear and the added stress of meeting the expectations of their peers. Uniform also removes the points of difference between students, uniting the student body and providing a greater focus on academic work. At this time of uncertainty for some of our students, building routines and promoting consistency is very important, and I hope that you are able to support the school in its decision to revert back to the pre-Covid uniform policy.

I have been incredibly impressed by the resilience shown by all of our students since they returned to school and thank them for their exemplary behaviour and attitude towards learning. I am looking forward to meeting and getting to know all of our students and yourselves in the coming weeks and months.

Have a restful weekend.

Kind regards

Mr Charlton Headteacher

Messages from Our Year Progress Leaders

Our team is proud to be your child’s Year Progress Leader and very much looking forward to supporting your child and with such a great cohort of students, we are sure it will be a great half term. To ensure that you are aware of who your child’s Year Progress Leader is and who to contact, please refer to their details below:

Year 7: Ms Hegerty

To contact Ms Hegerty, please email chegerty@rodingvalley.net

Year 8: Miss Reed

To contact Miss Reed, please email hreed@rodingvalley.net

Year 9: Mr Ryan

To contact Miss Fazakerley, please email fryan@rodingvalley.net

Year 10: Mrs Wills

To contact Mrs Wills, please email rwills@rodingvalley.net

Year 11: Pinches

To contact Miss Pinches, please email tpinches@rodingvalley.net

Year 7 News

Message from Ms Hegerty

Year 7 has got off to a flying start at RVHS this past week - I am so proud of them!

We have had some glowing reports from teachers already praising the effort and attainment of numerous students in our year group! It has been lovely to see students in Year 7 helping one another in different ways such as doing each other's ties, checking their equipment and showing each other rooms for their lessons. This is fantastic when considering Year 7 have transitioned to RVHS in challenging circumstances for our school - keep it up!

I have had lots of questions regarding logins and timetables and I want to take this opportunity to remind parents that we have a brilliant Year 7 team of Academic Mentors who are your first port of call if you have any questions or concerns.

Please can I remind Year 7 students that they must carry a reading book with their Reading Passport at all times so they can participate in DEAR time which happens four times a week in lessons.

Well done for getting through your first couple of weeks at secondary school Year 7 - it’s only up from here!

LOST PROPERTY

To report any property lost, please email: lostproperty@rodingvalley.net

We ask if you could provide a detailed description of the item you have lost so that we can reunite you with your missing property.

Year 8 News Message from Miss Reed

I would like to welcome all Year 8 parents and students back to the Autumn term in unfortunately these unforeseen circumstances. The school and trust are working extremely hard in the background to ensure students return back to learning on site as soon as possible. Mr Charlton is regularly updating parents as and when he has further updates. A reminder that Year 8 should be back on site Monday 18th September where they will receive a new timetable.

Live Lessons

Should students have any issues with logging into classes, please ensure you contact your son/daughters academic mentor in the first instance or the class teacher. Please see the table at the bottom of this page.

Uniform and Equipment:

A reminder that students should be attending school in full uniform with all the equipment they require which should include a reading book for the DEAR time that occurs daily. Students should ensure they carry their PE kit with them on PE days as students are now required to get changed for PE.

Extra-curricular:

Extra-curricular clubs are back up and running; in particular the PE timetable has been shared with students this week in their Period 1 lesson which students will be able to attend next week when on site. A whole school extra-curricular timetable is currently being put together which will be shared with students and parents very soon!

Star Liver Learner of the Week: Congratulations to the following students who have been nominated by teachers

I would like to wish everyone a lovely weekend and I look forward to seeing Year 8 in school on Monday – Miss Reed

Year 9 News Message from Mr Ryan

Welcome back after what I hope has been a lovely and relaxing summer holidays. It is lovely to see the whole year group ready to learn and eager to get on with the year. I know that we are currently in a difficult situation with one of the school buildings out of action and that we are back to lessons online but there is light at the end of the tunnel.

In relation to online lessons. Students will be sent an invitation to their lessons by their teachers. They will only be allowed to enter the lesson if they log on with their school email. If there are any issues with accessing these lessons, please let me know.

When we are in school, students are expected to wear the correct uniform and follow the school rules. This is just a reminder that on days when students are supposed to have PE they will need to come in, in their normal uniform and change. This is the same for if they are participating in a match/club.

As always, thank you for your support and if there are concerns or issues, please feel free to contact me or your child’s Academic Mentor.

In England, a Free School Meal (FSM) is a statutory benefit available to school aged children from families who receive other qualifying benefits and who have been through the relevant registration process. Recently, the process of applying for Free School Meals at Roding Valley High School has changed to an online application in order to improve speed and reduce the burden of paperwork for parents. For more information on the qualifying benefits and for more information, please visit our Free School Meals page on our school website.

It is important that parents register their children for free school meals if they are entitled as the school receives additional funding known as the Pupil Premium to support the children’s learning. The use of the pupil premium is personalised to meet the needs of the children who are entitled to support, such as 1-1 tuition, additional LSA support and intervention groups, access to school visits, Learning Mentor, speech and language assistants, Family Support and counselling. If you believe that your child is eligible for Free School Meals, please click here to use our Free School Meals Checker. Your Certificate of Eligibility will then need to be emailed to finance@rodingvalley.net

Year 10 News

Message from Mrs Wills

Welcome to Year 10 and a short introduction from myself, the new Year Progress Leader for the year group. It has not been the start we expected but I have been impressed with the resilience of students given the current situation and know that many have been engaging well with the online learning.

Thank you to those of you who have already contacted me via e-mail and for your well wishes as we embark together on supporting your child as they work towards successfully completing their GCSE courses.

We hope to equip your child with the skills needed to be successful learners and in order to do that have high expectations. All students are required to be in school on time, in correct uniform, with the necessary equipment ready to learn. PE kit should no longer be worn to school and there should be no trainers.

Please use this link for an up to date uniform list https://rodingvalley.net/high-school/uniform/

Whilst we are working with the RAAC situation it is vital that all Year 10 students are attending online lessons in order to not miss any key content from their GCSE course. This includes P1 sessions, as this is where any key information and changes will be communicated. The vast majority of students have managed to successfully log on, however if there are any concerns then your child should communicate with their academic mentor in the first instance. Please find a list of the academic mentors and their contact details at the bottom of this page.

Year 10 Information Evening

The information evening for Year 10 will be livestreamed on Thursday 21st September, 6-6:45pm. This will be a chance for you to hear from Mr Charlton and multiple members of the Senior Leadership Team who support Year 10 day to day. We will cover curriculum, behaviour, attendance and the support in place for Year 10 on the road to their GCSE’s. A link for the livestream will be sent separately.

Excellent work in Sociology

 Macey O’Brien

 Evie Ward

 Toby Hedges

 Zoe Hedges

 Sapphire Fyffe

 Lucy Compton

Online Engagement

 Ruby Borg

 Jaden Fyffe

 Jonah Harris

 Toby Hedges

 Jenade Rayment

 Lily Rochester

 Catalina Sclifos

 Ruby Sharman

 Ronnie Swaby

Excellent work in History

 Freddie Pike

 Leah Ochiltree

 Billy Kiff

 Ecehavin Yuksel

 Emre Bozkus

Excellent work in Geography

 Malika Weekes

 Ethan Mutokonya

10 Lithium Mr Bedi/Mrs Lasfer vbedi@rodingvalley.net klasfer@rodingvalley.net

10 Magnesium Ms Furtado efurtado@rodingvalley.net

10 Neon Mr Huxford mhuxford2@rodingvalley.net

10 Oxygen Miss Michaud smichaud@rodingvalley.net

Year 11 News Message from Miss Pinches

Firstly, I would like to welcome everyone back to another year, and a very important year at that! There is a lot happening for Year 11 over the coming term so it is vital we are all on the same page.

I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate our Roding Valley expectations around uniform, attendance and punctuality. Attendance and punctuality are vital to success at RVHS. Every lesson for Year 11 is designed to prepare them for their exam season and is essential to them feeling prepared for this year.

Our Period 1 lessons are now additional Subject intervention lessons which provides an important opportunity for extra revision prior to our first round of PPE’s in October. As such, punctuality to school is more important than ever.

I would also like to remind parents of the importance of our RVHS uniform. PE kit is no longer worn during the school day, but should be brought to school to change into for their practical lesson. I have also seen an increase in the wearing of trainers to school which is not acceptable. Any temporary issues with a student’s uniform should be communicated to their Academic Mentor or myself prior to them arriving at school.

Below are some key dates for your diary:

Information Evening: Monday 18th September 2023

Parents Evening: Thursday 28th September 2023

PPE 1: Week beginning 30th October 2023

PPE 2: Week beginning 5th February 2024

I would also like to make you aware of our Academic Mentor team for Year 11. Any questions you may have should be directed to them in the first instance.

As always, please reach out if you have any questions or concerns – Miss Pinches

6th Form News

Message from Mrs Curling

Welcome to autumn term at Roding Valley Sixth Form.

We have welcomed 125 students into year 12 and now have a large and vibrant community of 260 sixth formers.

Work experience

In summer term, year 13 completed their work experience week. We asked some students to write up a summary of their experience to share with you. Some of these are below.

NHS - The Royal London Hospital - I did my work experience at the Royal London Hospital, getting to see the air ambulance helicopter and having the opportunity to shadow the trauma team throughout the wards. Such a large hospital had a really intricate system to run it as efficiently as possible, but it was inspiring to see that the first priority of the doctors was always the well-being of their patients. I’ve been able to see what the NHS is like, and I can’t wait to see what it will be like in the future - Efe

MeiraGTX - I worked in a biotechnology company in London for a week. I got to consider whether this was an industry I'd enjoy working in after University. It has also been incredibly useful to network with several scientists who gave me lots of advice - Tuna

Imperial Bird of Prey Academy - For my work experience, I spent a week with the Imperial Bird of Prey Academy as part of a longer voluntary placement. Along with getting to experience a work environment and meeting other volunteers from a wide range of backgrounds, I was able to learn new bird handling skills including picking up, weighing and feeding kestrels; helping to fly hawks and vultures and holding an emu chick. The pairing of handling with food prep and cleaning jobs gave me a new perspective on what it’s like to work with animals beyond what you see when attending bird shows or experiences. As someone who has always been fascinated by birds, it was an amazing opportunity to spend time with and learn more about them and what it would be like to work with them in the future - Skye

Haslers - My experience working at the accounting and auditing firm, Haslers, was extremely beneficial to gauge the direction of my career path, and also provided me with an extremely useful insight into the world of accounting and finance.

Haslers offered me an internship for the entirety of August. During this time, I was taught a range of invaluable information regarding the world of accounting and what it is like to work within the financial field, and I was also trained in the softwares the firm used allowing me to gain extra qualifications for my CV, such as being trained to operate accounting systems and also in-depth account analysis of their clients. Working at Haslers also allowed me to experience firsthand the experience of working in an office, working 9-5 and being paid for my work. Overall, my time with Haslers has proved to be invaluable and has allowed me to gain an insight into the world of finance - Eesha

6th Form News

American University experience - I went to 4 different officials to different Ivy league universities in 2023 including Columbia, Princeton, Yale and Harvard University. Each visit was limited to 48 hours and everything was paid for as a result of them recruiting for a position in a sports team and being recruited as a student athlete.

On my visit at each university, I met the coaches and the entire team of players for the team. They sorted out university lectures for me to attend and see what life is like there. I attended these lessons and also was able to explore the night life. At the time in Columbia it was particularly different since the final of the Super Bowl was being played and I got to go inside a fraternity and see what it was like to really be a part of the culture there. On top of this, I slept in real student dorms and was allowed access into dining halls too to eat.

I was given tours of the entire university, being shown different ’housing colleges’ and different subject department buildings, athletic centres and so on. Yale in particular, gave me and a friend an official tour guide who would show us around the entire university and teach us about the very rich history of the buildings and some of the university's historical artefacts/structures

Year 12 Team Building Day - Lambourne End - 11th September 2023

On Monday 11th September we took all of our new year 12s to Lambourne End for a team building day. The students gave us really positive feedback about their enjoyment of the day, but the staff at the centre also commended them on being an absolute pleasure to host for the day. They described our students as being very engaged and polite and we were very proud of them for their exemplary participation and behaviour.

6th Form News

UCAS is open and all year 13 students have been encouraged to register. Some important dates for your diary are:

● 29th September - Deadline for registration for entrance exams (please email kjohal@rodingvalley.net if you have any queries)

● 16th October - Deadline for early applications (Oxbridge, Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary)

● 31st January - Main UCAS deadline

If your child is an early applicant and hasn’t yet made us aware, please ensure they do so as soon as possible.

We are delighted to have the support of Stephen Murray, who is continuing to support RVHS but now it is as a dedicated member of staff to support the UCAS process.

Thank you

Thank you for bearing with us while we cope with the unexpected challenge of RAAC. We have been touched by the messages of praise we have received and cannot thank you enough for your support during this difficult time. At RVHS and at the Trust-level, we are working around the clock to get all students back in school as quickly as possible. Thank you so much for your patience and understanding. In the meantime, the biggest help you can give us is to ensure your child attends all online learning sessions at present, so we can minimise lost learning.

For our latest 6th Form Bulletin please click here.

Brooke

Barzillai Agbodeka-Manasseh– 9Ca

Ty Dilmohammad – 9Ar

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

The school does not authorise any holidays during term time except if the Headteacher deems it an exceptional circumstances. A ‘Leave of Absence’ form must be completed (these are available at Student Reception) detailing your exceptional circumstances.

Please be aware if the absence is not authorised and the holiday is taken, the case will be referred to the Local Authority 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 here.

Who to contact

Should you have any concerns about your child’s attendance or punctuality please contact your child’s Year Progress Leader or our Attendance Officer Ms A Parsley (aparsley@rodingvalley.net)

Explore together: Ask your child to show you their favourite websites and apps and what they do on them. Listen, show interest and encourage them to teach you the basics of the site or app. 1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Chat about online safety little and often: Young people are likely to want to explore new apps and websites this month, whether that is for learning or for fun. Take this opportunity to talk to them about how to stay safe on these new services, and in general. Ask if anything ever worries them while they are online. Make sure they know that if they ever feel worried, they can get help by talking to you or another adult they trust.

Help your child identify trusted adults who can help them if they are worried: This includes you and other adults at home, as well as adults from wider family, school or other support services who they are able to contact at this time. Encourage them to draw a picture or write a list of their trusted adults.

Be non-judgemental: Explain that you would never blame them for anything that might happen online, and you will always give them calm, loving support.

Talk about how their online actions can affect others: If your child is engaging with others online, remind them to consider how someone else might feel before they post or share something. If they are considering sharing a photo/video of somebody else, they should always ask permission first.

Parental controls: Make use of the parental controls available on your home broadband and any internet enabled device in your home. You can find out more about how to use parental controls by visiting your broadband provider’s website.

Direct your child to age appropriate information about relationships and sex: It’s natural for young people to start exploring their sexual feelings online and adolescents are more inclined to take risks. It’s important to understand this and to talk to your child in a positive way. Thinkuknow, Brook, The Mix and Childline all provide age appropriate information about relationships and sex that you can signpost your child to.

Make sure they know about CEOP: Young people can report a concern about grooming or sexual abuse to CEOP at www.ceop.police.uk/safety-centre/ and get support from a specialist Child Protection Advisor.

Support your child with Thinkuknow websites

The age appropriate Thinkuknow websites are a great way to start and continue chats about online safety.

 11-13yrs Thinkuknow website: https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/11_13/  14yrs + Thinkuknow website – https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/14_plus/

Our websites provide open and honest guidance for young people on friends, relationships and the internet, covering topics like dealing with pressure; consent; and getting support when you are worried.

You will find lots more advice on keeping your child safe online at www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents.

If you are worried that a child or young person is at risk of harm online, you should call the police. Young people can make a report to CEOP at https://www.ceop.police.uk/safety-centre/

Other Recommended Resources

Parent Info: Expert information for parents about building their child’s resilience both online and off. Produced by NCA-CEOP and Parent Zone. This free service can be embedded on to your child’s school website. www.parentinfo.org

Brook: Information and advice for young people on sexual health and wellbeing, including staying safe online. https://www.brook.org.uk

The Mix: Support service for young people with information and advice on sex and relationships. https://www.themix.org.uk

Internet Matters: A useful tool showing how to set parental controls across a range of devices and websites. http://www.internetmatters.org/parentalcontrols/interactive-guide/

NSPCC Net Aware: Provides reviews and guidance on the most popular social networks, apps and games that children use. https://www.net-aware.org.uk/

Childnet – Information and advice for parents and carers on supporting people online. https://www.childnet.com/reso urces/supporting-youngpeople-online

How Can I Access Edulink?

EduLink can be accessed on any device – PC, laptop, tablet or mobile device – via the web browser or via the EduLink app. The link to access the EduLink login page on a web browser is www.edulinkone.com

Alternatively, you can download the EduLink App which is available to download for free on Apple or on Android.

Both the App and the web browser will display this log-in screen.

The School ID is ‘Roding’.

Parents/Carers will need to enter the Username and Password they have been provided with and click ‘Log in’.

The displayed is dependant of the platform you are logged in to:

• Via Web Browser

• Via the EduLink App

Navigating Edulink

You are able to navigate each of the following areas in EduLink:

• Achievement: You van view all positive achievements that have been awarded to your child

• Account Information: In this section you can view the current address we have for your child on file, your child’s Year group and the name of their Form tutor

• Timetable: In this section you can view your child’s daily timetable

• Absence Reporting: This feature will allow you to send a direct message to our Attendance Officer, to notify us of any absence for your child

• Linked Resources: This section contains links to all the schools learning resources available to your child both at school and at home

• Update Information: This section shows all of the contact information we hold for yourself and your child. You can review and update this information with any changes that may occur

• Exams: You can see all of your child upcoming exams; your child can also access this information so they can manage their own exam schedule

• Documents: In this section you can view your child’s reports

Parents can access information on all their children currently admitted to Roding Valley High School. If you require any assistance, please contact Mr Vermaak or Miss Stewart (mvermaak@rodingvalley.net or lstewart@rodingvalley.net )

Classroom

How to Log on to Google Classroom?

Students can log into their Gmail using their school email address and their password. Their school email will be the year they started at RVHS started plus their first initial and surname @rodingvalley.net (example- 19plarkin@rodingvalley.net).

Once your child has have logged in, they will need to click on the google apps button and then select ‘Google Classroom’

Your child will then be able to see all of the classes they belong to. They will then need to click on the class they want to use resources for and take a look at everything that their class teacher has posted for them to work on. They will be able to download items and make comments on them. Teachers will be regularly posting new work on their Google Classrooms.

What to Do if your child is a Missing a Subject their Google Classroom?

If your child is missing a Google Classroom for one of their subjects, they will need to click on the addition symbol, followed by ‘Join Class’ and then enter the Class Code for their missing subject. Class Codes are available from their subject teacher.

Top Tips for Our Students

 Students must keep up to date with their lessons by using Google Classroom every day.

 Use their workbooks to complete the work shown on their Google Classroom.

 Don’t slack on presentation! Keep their notes in order of the lessons on the Google Classroom.

 Year 11 and 13 Students: There will be revision materials available on Google Classroom. Please use them.

What is Seneca?

Seneca is a free home learning & revision platform that is very popular with our students. It is based on cognitive science, has adaptive learning and can be accessed by our students via their phones!

What Content is available to our Students through Seneca?

Seneca has resources available for KS3, KS4 and KS5 students that has been supplied to them from AQA, OCR, EdExcel Pearson and IGCSE.

Our students will be able to access content designed for each of their subjects and also for their specific courses. There is so much to choose from.

Some areas are even linked to the Exam Boards Course Specifications.

Year Progress Leaders

 Year 7: Ms Hegerty – chegerty@rodingvalley.net

 Year 8: Miss Reed - hreed@rodingvalley.net

 Year 9: Mr Ryan – fryan@rodingvalley.net

 Year 10: Mrs Wills – rwills@rodingvalley.net

 Year 11: Miss Pinches – cpinches@rodingvalley.net

 Sixth Form: Ms Curling – lcurling@rodingvalley.net

Heads of Faculty

 Creative Arts: Mrs Bastienne – lbastienne-andrews@rodingvalley.net

 English: Mrs Routledge – lroutledge@rodingvalley.net

 Humanities: Mr Cocker – mcocker@rodingvalley.net

 IT/Business: Mr Hussain – ohussain@rodingvalley.net

 Maths: Mr Edeko – oedeko@rodingvalley.net

 MFL: Mr P Melvin – pmelvin@rodingvalley.net

 Personal Development: Ms Preston – tpreston@rodingvalley.net

 Science: Mr Poovillingham - npoovillingham@rodingvalley.net

 Sports & Nutrition: Mr Jones – ljones@rodingvalley.net

 SENDco: Mr T Taylor– ttaylor@rodingvalley.net

General Enquiries

 office@rodingvalley.net

Sixth Form Enquiries

 sixthformoffice@rodingvalley.net

Finance

 finance@rodingvalley.net

Safeguarding:

 safeguarding@rodingvalley.net

How to contact any member of staff at Roding Valley High School: Initial + surname+@rodingvalley.net