It is the last Friday of September – can you believe that Year 7 have been Rosebery students for almost a whole month? Miss Godsave and I have been so impressed by how the students have slotted in so neatly to Rosebery life. As I mentioned at Information Evening, they are taking things in their stride and usually have a good idea of where they can go to find answers to questions they are unsure about. 

The countdown is also beginning now for our PGL residential trip to Osmington Bay on Friday 17 October. We are so excited that so many of Year 7 are coming along, and we can’t wait to see how they try new things and make new friends along the way. With this in mind, we would like to invite you to our Virtual Information Evening on Tuesday 30 September. In this meeting, we aim to give you all the information you need to know, from logistics to wellbeing, based on our knowledge of FAQs accumulated over many years of running this trip. Please see your emails for the link to join as well as the medical details form. 

Finally, may I repeat my thanks for all your support so far with helping Year 7 transition to secondary school life. It has been such a help that you are using the ‘Contact Us’ form on our website to best direct your enquiries and that you are supporting students so well at home. We couldn’t do it without you! 

Celebrating Languages Week was a huge success as Year 8 truly embraced the opportunity to explore different cultures and languages from around the world. Whether it was through interactive activities, quizzes, or creative challenges, the students demonstrated curiosity, enthusiasm, and a real appreciation for linguistic diversity. It’s been a joy to see them so engaged!  

Year 8 have reached an incredible milestone by collectively achieving 8000 house points together since the start of September! This is a true reflection of their intellectual curiosity during lessons, hard work and positive attitudes. To maintain this momentum, please encourage your daughter to take part in our wide range of enrichment activities. Whether it’s sports, music, drama, coding, debate club or one of our many cultural or academic groups, these activities are a brilliant way for students to develop new skills, boost their confidence and manufacture new friendships. The enrichment calendar is available HERE to help structure your conversations around signing up on ePraise!  

As you will already know, the importance of attendance is paramount to your daughter's success both socially and academically, so I am thrilled that over 180 of our students' attendance sits at an impressive 100%, with our year group's totality being just over 97%. To improve and maintain positive attendance, I am grateful for your words of encouragement during the cold mornings ahead to support your daughter's attendance increasing.  

Next week, we have our Senior Prefects delivering an assembly to Year 8, launching our upcoming RAG (Raising and Giving) Week. This will include a look ahead to the legendary Teachers' Top of the Pops and outlining our charities for this years events. I also look forward to seeing our SIX rehearsals next week, which I am so proud of Year 8 for getting involved in. A special shoutout to Florence D 8PX, Hannah C 8EX and Lia R 8MX for their amazing vocals during their auditions!  

#ProgressNotPerfection #Year8AndProud 

🏆 WEEKLY WINS 🏆

8CX: for demonstrating full engagement, a positive attitude and lots of excitement whilst playing The Blues in their Music lesson with Mrs McKay! 

8CY: for being more active this week in improving their physical and mental wellbeing with some achieving more than 10,000 steps over the weekend!  

8EX: for improving their uniform before crossing the threshold of form time, showing positive routines and healthy habits.

8EY: for excellent participation in the Languages Week form time activities.  

8MX: for improving their kindness and empathy towards each other by helping each other out in form time.  

8MY: for their positive contributions during their lessons, especially during their Geography lesson with Miss Godsave! 

8PX: for strengthening their sense of belonging through increasing their participation with enrichment activities.

8PY: for their excellent contributions in their Languages Week discussions and for sharing each others experiences and cultures. 

1:1 Coaching Opportunity
This week, Year 9 attended an assembly led by Ms Coombes about the opportunity to sign up for 1:1 Coaching. This initiative provides students with a non-judgemental listening ear, offering a space to share their thoughts and explore where they are now, where they would like to be, and how they can find their own solutions to reach their full potential.

Students are encouraged to think of a specific goal they would like to focus on—for example, organisation, study habits, or self-confidence—and complete the self-referral form available on the Year 9 Google Classroom. For those keen to get started straight away, the deadline to sign up for coaching this half term is Wednesday 1 October. However, the referral form will remain open throughout the academic year, allowing students to join at any point. There is also the option to sign up with a partner, provided both students share the same focus and complete the form individually.

Parents and carers are warmly invited to contact the Year 9 pastoral team via the enquiry form on the Rosebery website if you have any questions about coaching or feel it would benefit your daughter.

Celebrating Attendance
As Mr Harvey highlighted at last week’s Information Evening, good attendance is vital. Absences from school can have a significant impact on progress and outcomes later in students’ education. We are delighted that nearly 150 Year 9 students currently have 100% attendance—a fantastic achievement. A random selection of these students received a donut from the Year 9 team this week, along with an accolade to spend in the ePraise shop. Congratulations to them, and we look forward to celebrating a new set of students next week!

The Music and Drama departments have been buzzing since the auditions began for SIX, sharing stories of Year 9 students’ performances, including their pitch accuracy, character and vocal control in singing, and how their dramatic performances embodied character and showed enthusiasm as well as confidence. Year 9s who auditioned for SIX were invited to Thank You Friday this week, and a special shout out goes to Amber Collins, Aimee Lewis and Molly Upcott for being given the part of Queens. We can’t wait to see your performances!

#AdventureIsOutThere

 
⭐ STARS OF THE WEEK ⭐

9CX: Sandu K-P - for always offering to help with activities during form time, and for always being so kind and polite.

9CY: Annabelle P - for showing kindness towards everyone, and for always starting the day with a positive attitude and a smile.

9EX: Ella H - for being resilent and embracing the opportunities Year 9 has offered so far.

9EY: Maizy M - for raising over £1000 with her family last weekend for Macmillan at their charity bake sale and raffle.

9MX: Laura O - for representing Rosebery at District Netball and for amassing over 50 points already.

9MY: Scarlett S and Lily S - for being a supportive buddy to a new member of the form.

9PX: Chloe D - for the confidence she has shown in school, particularly in Sociology.

9PY: Thea W - for being so kind, supportive, and having a positive attitude during form time activities.

In a week with many highlights for Year 10, our Information Evening was a particular standout. It was a real joy to welcome so many of our Year 10 families into school, all united by the shared goal of helping your daughters make the most of their time at Rosebery.

I had the pleasure of speaking with many of you directly, which was a powerful reminder of how strong—and how crucial—the partnership between school and home has been over the past two years in my role as Head of Year. I am truly grateful for your efforts and enthusiasm in supporting your daughters to make the best possible start to Year 10. This continued collaboration will undoubtedly pay dividends as they move into Year 11.

As ever, there may be challenges along the way, but these are part of the journey. Increasingly, we want our students to trust the process and focus on doing the right things for themselves.

A few key reminders from the evening:

• Look out for target setting, and begin conversations at home with your daughter about her aspirations.

• Check parental controls on devices.

• Download our recommended revision guide list.

• Ensure you have access to your ePraise account.

U15 Football Success
I also had the pleasure of accompanying the U15 football team to their first-round English Schools Cup match at Oaks Park yesterday. More details can be found in the PE updates, but it was fantastic to witness such a high level of competition—and even more exciting to celebrate a Rosebery win! We now look forward to the next round.

Finally, today has marked our first ‘Thank You Friday’ of the year, and while there are many students who I could (and will soon) pick, this week I invited Quinn H, Abby B, Emma E (all 10PX) Fearne L, Florence H, Maisy R, Sophie-Anne B (10EX) Sofia H and Mabel F-T (10CX) for their excellent starts to the year, which has been reflected in both points on ePraise, but also my own lesson visits, and more importantly, the direct feedback I’ve been given by teachers.  I am so proud of you all for your consistent efforts both in and out of the classroom.

⭐ STARS OF THE WEEK ⭐

10CX: Jade V - for the most amount of merits in the form!

10CY: Emmy S - for such a determined start to Year 10 and excellent contributions and effort in lessons.

10EX: Fearne L, Rebecca D and Maisy R - for brilliantly representing Rosebery last week in the in the District Netball Tournament.

10EY: Abi L and Tara N - for their excellent work on their homework timetables in form time this week.

10MX: Annabelle B - in recognition of her outstanding achievement of gaining a Distinction in her dance exam. Congratulations!

10MY: Natalia O - for her incredible aspirations for language learning - aiming for 7 languages eventually!

10PX: Matilda D - for her positivity, kindness and excellent effort in all her lessons, especially Maths!

10PY: Jasmine T - for her fantastic effort in lessons so far this term - great work Jasmine!

Year 11 continue to impress as they go from strength to strength both in and out of lessons. This week, students began Science intervention, with some invited to 1:1 breakfast sessions led by our Sixth Form students, followed by Chemistry revision after school.

In lessons, students are asking thought-provoking questions and making detailed notes. A reminder to parents and carers to please check that your daughter has the correct equipment for lessons and is completing homework on time and in full. This week, the majority of our year group’s demerits were for incomplete homework and lateness to lessons. I will be addressing this with students in our next assembly, and your support at home is much appreciated.

Languages Week
This week we also celebrated Languages Week with a special edition of tutor time activities. Why not ask your daughter this weekend why speaking a range of languages is so valuable, and how it helps the brain to learn and engage?

Remarkable Student Highlight
Congratulations to Tila F 11CY, who competed at the South East Regional Championships last weekend with outstanding results:

• 2nd overall

• 1st on bars

• 1st on floor

• Team 1st place

These results mean she has qualified for the National Finals in a few months’ time, where she will represent the South East region. We are truly proud of her achievement—well done, Tila!

We’re now a month into the new academic year and it’s been a strong start for both Year 12 and Year 13 students. They have begun to settle into their routines, demonstrating punctuality to lessons and a clear commitment to their subjects - something we are very pleased to see.

As we move forward, here are a few key reminders:

• Attendance should remain above 95%. We ask that all absences are reported by parents on the morning of the day your child is not in school.

• Mrs Boundy and Miss Nejad are now closely monitoring both attendance and punctuality on a weekly basis.

• Students who are late to lessons may be required to attend after-school detentions, so please do remind your child of the importance of arriving on time.

Students in both year groups should now have selected their Directed Study sessions - either 3 or 4 hours per fortnight, depending on how many A Levels they are studying. These sessions are registered and form part of their overall attendance record. However, it's important to note that this is the minimum amount of independent study expected. This has been a topic of discussion in Year 12 PDC lessons, and Mrs Boundy has been impressed with the level of engagement shown so far.

As part of the PDC programme, Year 12 will now begin to explore topics related to physical and emotional wellbeing, helping them to manage the demands of Sixth Form life.

Meanwhile, Year 13 students are now able to book their individual UCAS meetings with Mr Phillips. These conversations are a key part of their journey beyond school, and we hope they’ll lead to some exciting discussions around the dinner table in the weeks ahead!

A big thank you to those who have signed up for our Sixth Form trip to see Moulin Rouge on 9 October. Further details about the trip will be shared next week.

Finally, congratulations to our top ePraise points winners in Sixth Form, Nicole BR 12TEA and Emma G 13AJB 

Thank you, as always, for your continued support.