RTS Parents' Newsletter 01 October 2021

Head Teacher's Message

Next week sees the start of Black History Month and we will be sharing a variety of activities, assemblies and events across the school during this period. Elsewhere around the school we will be exploring World Space week and Dyslexia Awareness week.

We continue with our fourth Open Morning on Tuesday and have been delighted with the the feedback that we have received so far from prospective parents/carers.

Year 11 will shortly be beginning their mock exams in certain subjects and their attendance at the Breakfast Booster Sessions has been good to see.

Sporting fixtures continue with rugby matches taking place every day!

As you can see it is certainly never quiet in school, but we are not complaining nor taking these events for granted. It really is a great pleasure to see the students so involved in all aspects of the school community.

Ms K Dooley

Dates for the diary

  • Wednesday 06 October

    • Y7 Parent Technology Session (remote). Ms Grewal will host a second session for those who missed the first. Links will be shared on the day

  • Wednesday 13 October

    • Parent Forum. Spaces will be limited in school as we plan to hold this event in person; further details will be shared shortly

  • Wednesday 20 October

    • Years 7-11 Parent & Tutor Consultation Evening (remote). Further details will be shared shortly. Reminder that school will close early at 15:00 for this event

Contacting the School

If you wish to contact the school, the School Office is open:

  • Monday-Thursday - 08:15-16:30

  • Friday - 08:15-15:00

Telephone: 020 8891 2985

Email: info@rts.richmond.sch.uk

Please use the Parents Communications Summary for guidance on types of query and where advice may be found/who to direct your query to.

RTS Art Gallery

This week Ms Williams shares some wonderful chalk pastel drawings of eyes from our new Art GCSE students. The students are impressing us every day with their creativity and hard work!


LFD Testing

LFD at Home Tests - Students

Thank you for your ongoing support and cooperation in continuing to encourage your child/ren to take LFD tests on Wednesday and Sunday evenings and to report the results to school (via the app on their iPad). It is important to keep the school community protected and safe.

Year 7 and Year 8 students (who have consented to the programme) have been issued with LFD kits today.

School Meals

School meals at break and lunch-time should continue to be pre-ordered by students. Google Forms have been shared on all Google Classroom Year Groups for students to make their selections in advance. Tutors will assist any students experiencing issues using the forms next week. Please ensure that all ParentPay accounts are topped up in advance.

European Languages Day

Bonjour, Hola, Halo, Ciao!

Every year, 26 September is European Languages Day. It is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate all the different languages that are spoken by our students and their families, as well as from our teachers and staff.

In our community we have Russian, French, Serbian, Albanian, Bulgarian, Polish, Spanish, Turkish, and Portuguese speakers; and many more besides!

Our students had the opportunity to share their heritage with their peers in form this week and created some lovely art work around their home languages - please do take a look.

European Day of Languages is a fantastic opportunity to talk about the importance of languages and why we teach French and Spanish at RTS.

Did you know that nearly 80% of the world does not speak English at all? Or that 94% of employers consider foreign languages as a key skill? Or that the UK's top 40 universities are not likely to consider an applicant if they do not have GCSE in a foreign language?

Research has shown that language learners achieve significantly higher grades in Maths and English, as studying a language increases grammar skills and improves analytical and interpretive skills. Language learners are also more likely to exceed in artistic skills like playing a musical instrument.

Research has also proven that speaking two or more languages can keep dementia at bay.

At RTS we learn French, and now Spanish, from Year 8, this is because French is spoken all over the world by over 300 million speakers and Spanish is spoken in 20 countries and is one of the most spoken languages in the world.

There are many incredible career opportunities related to languages, if you would like to know more please follow this link.

Hasta Luego, Au revoir, Auf Wiedersehen!

FoRTS News

AmazonSmile, easyfundraising and Virgin Money Giving

The deadline has now passed for a chance to win a £500 books voucher for the library, but you can still become a supporter of Friends of RTS on easyfundraising. Once you’ve made a purchase, the retailer will make a small donation to our school to say ‘thank you’ for shopping with them. The donation per purchase will generally be between 0.5% and 10%. Some retailers - including insurance and broadband providers - will pay a flat fee which can be in the £100’s. An average online shopper can easily raise over £30 a year. The school also receives free donations every time you shop online on AmazonSmile.

You can also make direct donations, including Gift Aid, via our Virgin Money Giving page, or use the “Just Giving” button on the RTS website.

FoRTS AGM – 13 October 2021, 7:30pm

A reminder that the FoRTS AGM will be held virtually on Wednesday 13 October at 7.30pm, with agenda and meeting invite to be sent nearer the date. All roles are up for renewal, including Chair, Treasurer, Secretary and Committee Member, along with other roles such as Rugby Parking Co-Ordinator. We are also looking for a team to take over School Uniform Sales. Please contact FoRTS for any further information. Even if you don’t want to volunteer for a role, we would value your feedback and hope to answer any queries you may have.

Have a great weekend, your FoRTS Team,

Vanessa (Chair), Mark (Treasurer) and Carey (Secretary)


To contact FoRTS at any time, please email forts@rts.richmond.sch.uk

Second Hand Uniform Donations email fortsuniform@rts.richmond.sch.uk

Second Hand Uniform Sales oldschooluniform.co.uk

Safeguarding

If you have concerns in relation to a student at RTS or indeed with regards to your own child, you may want to contact Single Point of Access (SPA) which acts as a central information hub for all professional agencies in Kingston and Richmond.

Richmond and Kingston SPA

The SPA phone lines are now open as follows:

  • Monday-Thursday 08.00-17.15 and Friday 08.00-17.00 - the phone number during these times is 020 8547 5008

  • Out of hours: 020 8770 5000

Hounslow Early Help Assessment

NSPCC:

Speak to a counsellor 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

  • Telephone number: 0808 800 5000, or text 88858

  • Email: help@nspcc.org.uk or

  • Signvideo using British Sign Language (Mon - Fri, 9am - 6pm)

Local News - Please note RTS does not endorse items included as Local News

Richmond CVS Trustee Recruitment Event

On Thursday 14 October Richmond CVS are holding a free online trustee recruitment event for the community. Being a trustee is a specialised form of volunteering and fulfils a vital role in any charity. Richmond CVS’ friendly, informal event is one of the best ways to learn more about it, as well as hear directly from a range of local charities that you could get involved with right now, whether trusteeship is a completely new idea for you or you’re on the lookout for a new role.

The event is open to anyone aged over 18 years old and can be booked here. Please see the flyer for more information.

Term Dates 2021-2022

Full term dates and Inset day information is available on the website:

  • Half-Term: 25 October 2021 - 05 November 2021

  • Christmas break: 16 December 2021 - 04 January 2022

Parents' Calendar