RVHS Bulletin 30-09-2022

Dear Parents & Carers,

It has been such a busy & exciting couple of weeks for us here at Roding Valley! The academic year of 2022 2023 has started in such a positive way & we have lots to share with you throughout this bulletin.

Last Saturday we opened our doors to over one thousand visitors to come and take a look at our fantastic site, meet our brilliant staff & speak to our wonderful students. It was incredible to see so many prospective parents & students, who joined us for a guided tour & Head Teacher’s talk. Our student volunteers were a credit to our school & I wanted to say a massive thank you to all those students that gave up their Saturday to support their school. You can view the recording of the Head Teacher’s talk by clicking here. We also shared a copy of our new ‘Year in the Life of Roding Valley High School’ 2022 edition with visiting parents; I also wanted to share this with current parents. Please click here to view it.

You may also be aware that we welcomed OFSTED into our school at the beginning of last week. They visited lots of lessons, spoke to many of our staff & met with a large number of our students. I am very much looking forward to sharing the outcome of this visit with our parents, carers & wider community but will only be able to do so once the judgements have been moderated; which will hopefully be just after the half term break. I also wanted to say thank you to any parents/ carers that took the time to complete the parent survey.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to remind Year 11 parents & students that our Pre Public examinations series 1 are on the horizon. These PPEs will start on Tuesday 1st November your son/daughter have received their individual exam timetables that contain the specific subjects & papers that feature on each day. All year 11s will experience a revision workshop over the next 2 weeks & will also be practising our RVHS Tried & Tested revision techniques during their personal development sessions, to make sure that they feel prepared for this stage in their year 11 journey. I wanted to remind all parents/ carers that we have a fantastic GCSE Revision microsite that is on our school website on the Revision Resources page. You can also find it by clicking here.

Message from the Headteacher

This is also a great opportunity to remind you all about our high expectations when it comes to our uniform at Roding Valley. As the cold weather approaches, please do remember that our standards still remain high. Students are not permitted to wear coats/hoodies inside the building & will be asked to remove them. Students must also be wearing a blazer at all times. Secondly, please note our recent communication regarding the dangers of vape pens. We will once again be addressing this with all our students during the assemblies next week.

You will also see, later on this bulletin, that our Duke of Edinburgh team have been out on their Gold expedition to the Brecon Beacons. It was fantastic to see our students being so independent & working together in teams to work towards achieving their Gold aware.

Lastly, an advance warning that our 6th Form Open Evening will be taking place on Wednesday 23rd. This will be an excellent opportunity for prospective A Level students to speak to subject teachers & think closely about their next steps. I also wanted to remind all parents that we break up for half term on Thursday 20th October at normal time & we return on Tuesday 1st November.

There are plenty of student successes to celebrate in this bulletin & I invite you to take a look at them.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support.

Sharon Jenner

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

Messages from Our Year Progress Team 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: Miss Reed

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

Year 8: Mr Ryan

To contact Mr Ryan, please email fryan@rodingvalley.net

Year 9: Miss Fazakerley

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

Year 10: Mr Dobson

To contact Mr Dobson, please email cdobson@rodingvalley.net

Year 11: Mr Fletcher

To contact Mr Fletcher, please email mfletcher@rodingvalley.net

Year 7 News

Message from Miss Reed

It has been great to see Year 7 settle into secondary school life over the past four weeks. I have been so impressed with the way they have transitioned showing a fantastic attitude to learning. I would like to thank all of the students who assisted in subject areas for our open morning last Saturday. They were a credit to both themselves and the school.

Y7 Digital Week This week has seen our first digital week where students have been completing technology tasks in all subjects; it has been great to see students making use of their chrome book for these tasks.

A reminder that extra curricular clubs continue. Students can speak to specific subject areas about the clubs that are running. Our extra curricular timetable can also be found on the school website. Every lunchtime there is a homework club in S2 that students are also able to attend.

I would like to wish everyone a lovely weekend and please feel free to contact your child’s academic mentor or myself if you have any queries. hreed@rodingvalley.net

7aDr5

Nominated by Mr Wilson. Students all responded amazingly to targets and I had one of the most focused sessions of rehearsal I’ve ever seen!

Isabella McLoughlin

Jamie Carter

Saif BaigSienna Chudasama

Year 8 News

Message from Mr Ryan

It is safe to say that Autumn is here. The weather is beginning to change and it is starting to get cold. With that in mind, I would like to remind you of the school uniform policy. Although students come to school in their PE kits (on PE days) they still have to wear their blazer. Should a young lady feel the cold whilst wearing her skort, she can wear leggings. All students on PE days should be wearing white socks, or the school ones. As the weather is colder students can wear the school, black jumper. They wear this as well as their blazer. School shoes should be plain black leather with no logos.

As you know the students get the opportunity to play on the Astro at lunch. They are now the role models and for the year 7 students. Therefore, I would ask that you have a chat with your son or daughter to remind them that the Astro Turf at lunch is for a friendly kick about and not meant for aggressive play.

We are focussing on punctuality. If your child is late to school, then they will have to sit a 20 minute detention at lunch. if they are late to three or more lessons they will also have to sit detention. The aim is that the minority of students who are late to lessons catch up with the students who are on time and ready to learn.

Please keep an eye out for any information about school trips that has been shared with you. Remember all our information is shared with you via email.

Take care and have a good weekend.

Year 9 News

Message from Miss Fazakerley

It has been such a brilliant start back at Roding Valley, welcoming the year 9s so positively. With the weather taking a turn please remember that all students must still wear their blazers with their coats.

As a school we are focusing on punctuality, please ensure that students are arriving on time to school as well as to their lessons. If there is a reason your child is late please contact the school so we are aware.

Now we are back into the swing of school we are always on the lookout for achievements, please let us know if your child has achieved anything outside of school so we can celebrate with them.

Year 9

Class of the Week

Miss Hodges had a fantastic lesson on diffusion with her Year 9 class. Well done!

Year 10 News

Message from Mr Dobson

Another interesting and eventful couple weeks. The Chinese proverb 'May we live in interesting times' is surely very apt at this moment, however within the community of Year 10 and the school things are looking very positive and focussed.

I have listed below some key dates for your diary:



Week beginning 12/12/2022 Year 10 Concern Evening

Week beginning: 20/03/2023 Year 10 Report are sent home

Week beginning: 17/04/23 Year 10 Parents Evening

May I remind you that dates could be changed due to unforeseen circumstances

May I also say thanks for the excellent uniform the vast majority of students display each day but please make sure they are wearing appropriate shoes for the school day. The good news is that students can now come into school on PE lesson days wearing PE kits. Can I ask parents and careers to monitor this so their children only arrive in PE kit on PE lesson days.

Please remember that if you do have any queries then you can contact your child's Academic Mentor who will be pleased to help.

Year 10 Academic Men

Argon Miss Walker and Mrs Cain lwalker@rodingvalley.net and mcain@rodingvalley.net

Beryllium Mrs Thompson cthompson@rodingvalley.net

Carbon Mr Allen callen@rodingvalley.net

Fluorine Miss Woods cwoods@rodingvalley.net

Lithium Mr Huxford mhuxford@rodingvalley.net

Magnesium Mr Perera cperera@rodingvalley.net

Neon Ms Preston tpreston@rodingvalley.net

Oxygen Mr Farrell hfarrell@rodingvalley.net

RVHS

Open Morning 2022

On Saturday 24th September, we held our 2022 Open Morning, welcoming almost 1100 prospective Parents and students to our School. It was an amazing day. We also welcomed a further 250 parents and prospective students the following week to see our school in action during our Morning Tours. We would like to send a special thank you to all of our staff and students who took part and made the events such a fantastic success

Please do use this link if you would like to view out Headteacher’s presentation from our Open Morning 2022.

YEAR 7 TOP TIPS FOR 2023

Joining a new school is hard, especially when it is secondary!

Here are some tips that could help you through your journey!

1. My first time was hard, especially when finding your way around the school! But there are lots of teachers willing to help you on your journey, if there are any problems then your academic mentor can also help you with anything! Your timetable can also be frustrating the first time you get it because it just looks like a bunch of random words and letters! But if you ever lose it or it gets complicated, ask a member of staff or if you lose it, you can go to student reception for another spare.

2. You can also share a timetable with a friend who remembered it or ask for permission on Edulink to see your timetable on your phone BUT ASK A TEACHER!!!! Don’t want detention on your first week!

3. Get google classroom (on a Chromebook, iPad or phone) to do homework! You will learn more about google classroom in your first week and teachers will set you homework with a due date!

There is so much more to learn and we hope to see some new faces at RVHS in 2023 new year. Aspiration Respect and Endeavour your way through!

See you at Roding!

Top Tips for Yr. 7’s!!

1. Always organise your books for the day’s lesson the previous day (this will ensure that you do not forgot your book, there would be punishments for this)

2. ALWAYS address teachers by either Sir/Miss or by their surname.

3. Arrive to lessons ON TIME. If this rule is not fulfilled detentions will occur.

4. Always TRY YOUR BEST in lessons and don’t be scared to ask for help.

5. Be POLITE to staff and your peers.

6. Stand SENSIBLY when waiting in a lunch queue and wait patiently till a TEACHER can say you can go.

7. DO NOT going from languages to humanities use the Headteacher’s office as a shortcut. Only go in when you are invited to.

8. Complete home learning ON TIME. Remember the work on your classroom is there to aid you throughout your education.

9. HAVE FUN!!! MAKE NEW FRIENDS!!! BE YOURSELF!!!!

If you are struggling with anything you can always go to your Year Progress Leader, The Hub and any trustworthy member of staff. They will do the best to help you.

After Open Day, our students wanted to pass on some top tips to any Year 6 children who are thinking about coming to Roding Valley High School next September!

Phoebe Glen, Year 7

Aneta Charvatova, Year 8

Congratulations to the following students for their fantastic work in Literacy and during Drop Everything and Write (DEAW)

Oliver Gregory Year 8

Alex Diaconescu Year 8

Sara Akhazzan Year 7

Georgia Edwards Year 7

Noahm Wainer Year 7

Kevin Kaw Year 7

Over the course of last year, our students had been reading and quizzing in order to accumulate as many words as possible. Some students were so successful in their reading they are now our ‘Millionaire Readers’ This means they have read over one million words in one academic year which is incredible! To celebrate their hard work, we went on a special reward trip to celebrate their excellent effort.

Student Comment:

As millionaire readers, we went to Madame Tussaud’s to celebrate reading. We saw lots of famous people; some were fictional characters too. There was for example: The Rock, The Royal Family, The Hulk, Spider man, and Taylor Swift. We took loads and loads of pictures there and then we made our way to a park by the lake. There we had lunch and there were lots and lots of pigeons. Then we made our way back on the tube the same way we got there. I would recommend this to other people because it’s really fun. And if you want to go on a trip like that keep reading and submit your books on accelerated reader. Francesca Hussain, Year 8

Our Year 11 triple students really enjoyed their forensics workshop. They were given DNA samples from a crime science and the DNA from 5 suspects and had to process this to work out who the murderer was. It gave them an insight to what it is like working in a lab and gave them the opportunity to use equipment that would normally only be used once they got to university. They also got to talk to a researcher about her work on the effects of climate change on penguins.

On Thursday 29th September, our Year 7 students were given an important road safety message through ‘The Riot Act’. It is a great show with fantastic actors who present a serious topic in a fun way

On Wednesday 28th September, our Year 9 students participated in the real life learning experience ‘Prison Me No Way’. The No Way Trust raises awareness on the causes, consequences, penalties and impact of crime. Helping to reduce risky behaviour and prevent young people from becoming involved in crime and to think carefully about the decisions they make throughout their lives and stay safe.

Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award Expedition

Our Year 13 students have had a great time in Wales on their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Expedition earlier this term

Year 12 Teambuilding Day

Yr12 students have enjoyed a day in the great outdoors team building. Lots of fun activities for them to enjoy

Year 7 Science

Our Year 7 students were very proud of the crystals they’ve been growing over the last week.

STEM Trip to Thorpe Park

Our Year 9 Students had amazing time learning about Rollercoasters at Thorpe Park.

Year 7 Star Reading Tests

Year 7 did a fanatic job completing their STAR Reader tests to start quizzing on all their fantastic books they have been reading in DEAR time!

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 7 and 8 Road Safety

On 12th September, Year 7 and 8 are heard a message from EFDC and Arc Theatre discussing ‘Stop and Think.’ A message about stop and search, their rights and reasons for it.

It was lovely to see our older and younger students mixing together earlier this term for their Personal Development activities in their vertical House forms during Vertical Form week.

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.

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/parental controls/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 young people 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’.

Requires iOS 8.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch

Requires Android 4.4 and up.

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

Behaviour: You will be able to see all behaviour points given to you child and any sanctions given to your child including detentions.

Medical Information: In this section you can see all of the medical information that we have on file for 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 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 to view and track your child's homework with this short video.

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 child’s progression. Please use the following link to the log in:

We have also included a link to a very useful guide on Troubleshooting

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.

How to Access Seneca?

Students will need to go to https://www.senecalearning.com/, click try for free and create a log in with their school email address.

Once Logged in

Once they are logged in, students are able to search for different subject areas and learn about their chosen topic. At the end of each subject presentation there will be a quiz on the presentation

This Online tool will enable our students to stay on top of their home learning.

Year Progress Leaders

Year 7: Miss Reed hreed@rodingvalley.net

Year 8: Mr Ryan fryan@rodingvalley.net

Year 9: Miss Fazakerley jfazakerley@rodingvalley.net

Year 10: Mr Dobson cdobson@rodingvalley.net

Year 11: Mr Fletcher mfletcher@rodingvalley.net

Sixth Form: Miss Wheaton awheaton@rodingvalley.net

Heads of Faculty

Creative Arts: Mr Tisdale dtisdale@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

Science: Mr Poovillingham - npoovillingham@rodingvalley.net

Sports & Nutrition: Mr Jones ljones@rodingvalley.net

SENDco: Mr T Taylor ttaylor@rodingvalley.net

office@rodingvalley.net

sixthformoffice@rodingvalley.net