We are already midway through the first half term of this academic year and so far, it’s been very productive and positive! This weekend we will be hosting our annual Open Morning, where we will welcome hundreds of prospective students and parents onto our school site. I wanted to thank, in advance, all of our student volunteers that are giving up their weekend to support us. I know that visitors are always so pleased to talk to our students and we are grateful for their enthusiasm. If you know of any parents that are wanting to join us on this day, they can still sign up to one of the tours and Headteacher talks by clicking the link here.
I know that many parents/carers of Year 11 students are already starting to contact teachers about upcoming PPEs, assessments and intervention sessions on offer. I wanted to draw your attention to a letter, sent by Ms Wills (Head of Year 11) and Mr Vermaak (Assistant Headteacher - Progress) earlier this week that highlights the importance of our intervention programme and support sessions. Please click here to view it. Parents will also be aware that our Year 11 Parents/Progress evening is fast approaching on Thursday 10th October. Parents will have received an email from Ms Wills that outlines how to book appointments via Edulink. Please note that all appointment bookings will close on Wednesday 9th October at 10.00pm.
This week I met with two students in year 10- Francesca Hussain and Isabella Kellett - who have produced a stunning piece of extra-curricular work. In year 9 students study An Inspector Calls. At the end of the book, Isabella and Francesca were challenged by their English teacher - Ms Woods - to write a sequel. Over the first few weeks of the summer holiday, they collaborated to produce an amazing sequel which they have called ‘An Inspector Returns’ The attention to detail and volume of work that has been put into this is exceptional- and we are so proud of them!
We are so impressed with their work that we are commissioning the production of a whole set of these books to be used by teachers with their classes as part of their curriculum in the future. Well done Isabella, Francesaca, Ms Woods - and Ms Woods dad! - for producing the first ever hardback copy of the book!
Lastly, I wanted to formally invite all Year 7 parents to the event below:
Roding Valley Foundation Year 7 Family & Friends Quiz Night 18/10/2024 7.00pm - tickets now available - click here for tickets
Stars of the Week!
Year Group
Year 7
Year 8
WC 16 Sept
Lilly Bennett- for being awarded so many achievement points by her teachers- including Star of the Lesson in RE!
Alfie Essl- for his many and varied contributions to to school life and an all round superstar at RVHS
WC 23 Sept
Gruff & Gwen Collischon- our wonderful new year 7s who will be speaking at open Morning!
Colette Lawlor- for fantastic engagement in her lessons including an excellent contribution in Art, and completion of Sparx homework in maths
Year 9
Year 10
Year 11
Year 12
Anakha Aneesh- for gaining achievement points in so many lessons for positive learning. English, Art and History to name but a few!
Sophie Mallander- for a excellent start to GCSEs in year 10- a special mention for her great work in English and physics
Chloe Jones- 54 achievement points and 0 behaviour points!
Aidan Risbrough- a brilliant start to year 12 including being the Star of the Form!
Year 13 Bianca Nedelcu- for a stunning personal statement
Kind Regards - Mr Charlton
As always, thank you for your continued support.
Louie Heath for producing some excellent work in Maths with Mr Brittain
Francesa Hussain & Isabella Kellett- for their amazing sequel to ‘An Inspector Calls’
Sara Chowdhury- 52 achievement points and 0 behaviour points!
Finn Nicholson- a brilliant start to year 12 including some great work in Business Studies
Louis James & Jasmine Singh- Oyr Head Prefects who this week have helped to guide and support the year 7 students
Messages from Our Heads of Year
Our team is proud to be your child’s Head of Year 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 Head of Year is and who to contact, please refer to their details below:
Year 7: Miss Aston
To contact Miss Aston, please email caston@rodingvalley.net
Year 8: Ms Hegerty
To contact Ms Hegerty, please email chegerty@rodingvalley.net
Year 9: Miss Reed
To contact Miss Reed, please email hreed@rodingvalley.net
Year 10: Mr Ryan
To contact Mr Ryan, please email fryan@rodingvalley.net
Year 11: Ms Wills
To contact Ms Wills, please email rwills@rodingvalley.net
Year 7 News
Message from Miss Aston
Year 7's are now into their 4th week of the School term and are smashing it!
We have had some fantastic reports from teachers about how the year 7's are getting on, and it has been great to hear about all of these successes.
A letter has now been sent out regarding the Year 7 Residential trip in June next year. This is a really exciting opportunity for the year 7's and the letter contains all of the useful information regarding this trip. You can find a copy of the letter here. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Please could I remind students to carry a reading book and their full pencil case every day. If incorrect equipment has been bought in, unfortunately form tutors will have to award negative behaviour points and detentions.
Also, please remember that our Chromebook day has changed to Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. It is compulsory that students bring in their chromebooks on this day.
I would also like to congratulate the following students who received the most ARE points since the beginning of the School Term - a huge well done!
Just a reminder that we have a superb Year 7 team of Form Tutors who are your first port of call if you have any questions or concerns.
Finally, please see the poster further on in this bulletin regarding the Roding Valley Foundation Year 7 Family & Friends Quiz Night on 18th October 2024 @7.00pm – tickets are now available to purchase!!
Mark N 7Ar Edjan O 7Fl
Year 8 News
Message from Ms Hegerty
Year 8 are back in full swing at RVHS and are making strides already this academic year!
We have had a number of assemblies and Personal Development sessions around the themes of unification, resilience and humanitarianism where key figures from history were explored along with their political and cultural significance. Year 8 were particularly impressive in assembly last week where they discussed events throughout history where humanitarianism has been present and Saros O 8Ox bravely spoke to our year group about how in times of war and conflict there has been great humility displayed between people - it was fantastic, well done Saros!
On Friday the 20th September some Year 8 students went on a trip to Boulogne-sur-Mer in France for a day of experiencing some highlights of French culture. Students took the Eurotunnel to the city on the coast of northern France and spent time in a traditional French bakery making croissants and baguettes, went to a French market and visited Nausicaa Aquarium. Students behaved beautifully and a great day was had by all! Thank you very much to the staff who accompanied the students on this day!
Please can Year 8 ensure that they are fully prepared for learning with the equipment they need for lessons and that they always have a reading book with them for DEAR time. We ask that Year 8 students bring their Chromebooks on Mondays and Thursdays to complete E-WSPD and Bedrock in tutor time - failure to do so will result in a 20-minute detention the following day.
Finally, a huge thank you to all Year 8 students who are helping out at our Open Morning on Saturday the 28th September either as tour guides or in faculties - we really appreciate you representing our school community!
Year 9 News
Message from Miss Reed
Year 9 are back in full swing to the term and continue to work hard during their lessons. I have had lots of positive feedback from staff regarding them.
I would to make a special mention to the Y9 sports leaders who attended their first Primary School event last Friday with Mr Martin. They attended a Primary school sports event and were extremely helpful with the event which included refereeing matches.
Well done to the Year 9 Netball team who competed in their first netball tournament of the season last week who finished 4th overall. There are lots more netball fixtures coming up over the coming weeks.
A reminder that students need to be bringing the correct equipment into school each day which includes a reading book as this is an important part of our Literacy curriculum.
I would like to thank all the Y9 students who are helping at Open morning with us this Saturday. I am confident they will shine and represent the school perfectly.
Well done to Zac CK, Ruby H and Francesca C, they have received the most rewards points so far this year. We are continually encouraging students to gain as many reward points as possible
Just a reminder that we have a superb Year 9 team of Form Tutors who are your first port of call if you have any questions or concerns.
9 Argon Mr Stewart mstewart@rodingvalley.net
9 Beryllium Mrs Barclay mbarclay@rodingvalley.net
9 Carbon Mr Iacono/Mr Savage liacono@rodingvalley.net / jsavage@rodingvalley.net
9 Fluorine Miss Joseph ajoseph@rodingvalley.net
9 Hydrogen Mr Brittain nbrittain@rodingvalley.net
9 Lithium Ms Gregori egregori@rodingvalley.net
9 Magnesium Mr Allen callen@rodingvalley.net
9 Neon Ms Furtado efurtado@rodingvalley.net
9 Oxygen Mrs Mian qmilan@rodingvalley.net
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.
Message from Mr Ryan Year 10 News
It has been a lovely start to the year. I can't explain how lovely it is to see so many students in perfect uniform and ready to learn. They really are an excellent reflection of the school. I was so impressed with the fact that so many students from year 10 have volunteered to either be tour guides or department assistants in our Open Morning. Students are talking about the next steps in their career paths and volunteering for these events, looks amazing on a CV.
Speaking of CVs and Careers: The Year 10 Careers Week will be w/b 30th June 2025. This is when they have their Post 16 options choices lessons, A Level Taster sessions, Take Your Child to Work Day, College Taster Day and Business Enterprise Day.
Well done to…
I would like to congratulate Matthew S for coming third in the Essex Closed Squash tournament over the weekend.
Please remember to contact your child's form tutor in the first instance should there be any concerns.
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 11 News
Message from Ms Wills
It has been an extremely busy, but productive beginning to the year and I have had a lot of positive feedback from all the Year 11 teachers about the focus of students in lessons. I want to thank you all for your support, especially with uniform as they are presenting as excellent role models to the younger students.
You will have received a letter about intervention and support this week. Please see here Letter
A lot of important information has also been covered on the Year 11 information evening, which can be viewed by clicking the following Link
Please note that moving forward all letters and resources will also be stored on the notice board section of Edulink, for easy access in the future. Look for the icon on your app.
Last week we were pleased to host several ambassadors from Emmanuel College Cambridge University. They spoke to around 45 students about university life and what is needed to apply as well as the student experience. All students who attended were inspired by what they heard and many want to now set their sights on Oxbridge.
A reminder that the Year 11 Parents Evening has been moved to 10th October. You should have now received information about making appointments. Please contact me if there are any issues.
11 Magnesium Mr SH Rahman/Ms Gouveia shrahman@rodingvalley.net mgouveia@rodingvalley.net
11 Neon Ms Stringer cstringer@rodingvalley.net
11 Oxygen Mr Dennis mdennis@rodingvalley.net
6th Form News
Message from Ms Wheaton & Mrs Curling
Year 12 Study Skills Presentation – with Mr Miah, Mr Cocker & Sydnae-Rose S 13S
The start of year 12 is such an important time to make sure you establish excellent study habits. The time you put in now organising your folders and making effective use of the amazing facilities we have in the Brook building, will pay dividends in year 13.
Remember to:
1. Ensure you have a folder for every subject you are studying and a folder to keep all the loose pieces of paper you don’t have time to file during the school day.
2. Highlight and annotate any reading you are given - the colour will help you find the key sections when you come to revise.
3. Email your teachers and ask for the PowerPoint if you have not got them already.
4. Make your revision manageable - interleaving
5. Make your own revision textbook - ask for an exercise book if you need one.
Your revision for your A Level exams starts now!
A link to the whole assembly presentation can be found here
Loughton Day – 21st September 2024
Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to play twice during the day in my band, "The Verdict" which is composed of Roding Valley students - who have now all gone separate ways. I even got to meet the Mayor of Loughton, Katie Valentine.
6th Form News
We played two half hour sets that had a bit of The Beatles, Elton John, Queen, Oasis, Blur and other classic crowd pleasers. Overall, the day was brilliant. I got to perform and then network by meeting people in the community who I plan to work with in the future - Anthony
Bancrofts visit for aspiring Oxbridge Mathematicians - Thursday 26th September 2024
We were invited by Bancroft to send some of our students who would like to study Maths at Cambridge University to their school to listen to an alumni student. Six of our current Sixth Form attended this talk. Their ex-student had gone on to study Mathematics at Cambridge University (2020-2024) and is about to start a DPhil in Machine Learning and Statistics at Oxford University. He will be talking to a select group of pupils who are interested in studying Mathematics at University about his experience of studying Maths at Cambridge as well as talking about an introduction to an area of Maths that he is interested in: Disease Modelling and in particular, the SIR (Susceptible, Infectious, Recovered) model.
Working hard is important, but so is a sense of balance. If you are concerned about your child feeling overwhelmed, or not coping well with the pressure of exams, please do get in touch with one of us. There are also some excellent resources for parents on how best to support your child on the NHS website, and from Young Minds
Students came along to the Science and Medicine Society on Friday 13th September to create Piggy Banks. The Piggy Banks they made were unconventional as they were made from recycled plastic bottles. The plastic bottles were converted into Piggy Banks, which the students decorated. The activity was to teach students the importance of recycling.
On Friday 20th September the idea of sustainability was continued where students constructed cars. They made the cars out of cardboard and skewers. Their cars had to roll on the ground and pass a mini crash test. Some were successful in their crash tests.
The Science and Medicine Society want to invite students from all year groups to come on Friday 4th October from 3:00pm in Room S2 where we will be creating terrariums. We hope to see you there!
w/e 27th September
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
Year 10
Year 11
Boys
Raffy K
Josh S
Archer R
Harry T
Lucas T
Tristan S
Callum F
Alfie W
Shay C
Harri C
PE Students of the Fortnight
Girls
Emily-Rose L
Helena A
Emily G
Leah C
Ruby F
Isobel M
Amy B
Fearne J
Zoe H
Emma W
To purchase tickets for this event please scan this QR code or click on this link.
Congratulations to the following students for their fantastic work in Literacy and during Drop Everything and Write (DEAW)
Na’ilah T – 7Ma
Tyler Q – 7Be
Matthew J – 8Be
Amelia S – 7Ca
Abhay S – 9Ca
Yussuf E – 7Ma
James S – 8Ne
Logan L – 8Li
Joe P – 8Fl
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
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.
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
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.
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 )
How to Log on to Google Classroom?
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.
Heads of Year
Year 7: Miss Aston – caston@rodingvalley.net
Year 8: Ms Hegerty – chegerty@rodingvalley.net
Year 9: Miss Reed – hreed@rodingvalley.net
Year 10: Mr Ryan – fryan@rodingvalley.net
Year 11: Ms Wills – rwills@rodingvalley.net
Sixth Form: Ms Wheaton & Ms Curling – lcurling@rodingvalley.net / awheaton@rodingvalley.net
