RTS Parents' Newsletter 15 January 2021
Head Teacher's Message
We are all settling back in to the rhythm of remote learning and juggling our jobs, home lives and parenting. We understand that the pressures on parents at the moment are overwhelming - many of our staff are also parents - please bear with us as we continue to navigate and balance essential remote learning with our pastoral and wellbeing duties. We appreciate that this week has been a 'communication-heavy' one and we are very conscious of improving this for you.
It was with great sadness that we must let you know that Elsie, our very own and first RTS dog, has passed away. She was very much part of the RTS community and we know how much the students (and staff) loved seeing her in and around school - even when she stole their lunches! She will be very much missed by us all.
Please continue to stay safe.
Ms K Dooley
RTS Art Gallery
This week we are sharing some mesmerising symmetry artwork from Year 7 students.
Humanities Students of the Week
A massive well done to Zahra in Year 7 who has produced a magnificent model of a Norman Castle whilst at home. Miss Harding commented, "This was such an excellent piece of work - I'm so impressed!". Isla, also in Year 7, produced an impressive Norman Shield.
In Year 8, Rayan is to be congratulated for his excellent contributions to lessons.
Activity Challenge!
The PE Department are running a whole school inter-house activity challenge. This has been posted to each Year Group Notices in Google Classroom.
Students are being asked to complete, in line with COVID-19 guidelines and their own health and safety, a form of physical activity. The challenge is to log the number of minutes of that activity they have completed in one session. The activity can be walking, jogging, cycling, circus activities...ANYTHING ACTIVE!
The deadline for entry is Friday 22 January. If students have any questions they can contact Mr Roberts via their Year Group Notices.
Half-term French Camp
Some exciting news from Ms Chung:
The Institut Français is running a fast-track, week-long immersion French camp. Fusing together French courses with exciting cultural activities, their half-term French camp will be an unforgettable online French immersion journey! The French camp is open to all students aged 8 to 15 years, from beginners to intermediate level. The camp runs from 15-19 February, 9:30-15:30 (ONLINE) and you can register here.
Year 7: Street Dance Competition
Mr Burchett has posted a street dance course for Year 7 students to follow on Year 7 Notices. Students will need to learn each 8-count instruction in order and eventually they will have a 'popping' routine which they can perform.
'Popping' is one form of street dance style. There are many others styles of street dance such as whacking, breakdancing, locking and hip hop.
Once they are ready, they can record their final performance (all 4 8-counts together as a single routine) and attach the video to the Street Dance Assignment.
The deadline to upload their performance is Monday 01 February. The best performance wins!
The whole family could get involved at home!
Year 9: Update
An update from Mr Kemp, Head of Year:
When I arrived at RTS back in September I quickly discovered what a superb bunch the Year 9s are. This period of remote learning has absolutely confirmed my opinion and I am so proud of the way that many of them are determined to continue their learning, albeit at home. In doing this they are making sure that they are digging and laying the strong foundations needed for the GCSE work that they will do in Year 10 and Year 11.
I am planning on running a weekly celebration assembly for these fantastic students and we had our first edition on Monday 11 January. Please do encourage your child to attend these assemblies on a weekly basis. I will post links for them on Year 9 Notices. Please also ask your child to keep an eye on the same classroom for details of some exciting upcoming competitions!
I must also commend my team of Year 9 form tutors who are doing a brilliant job of looking out for those in their groups. They miss seeing the students on a daily basis and are keen to keep in touch with them. You may get a call from your child’s tutor, or another member of the pastoral team just to touch base, say hi and see how your child is doing. Equally, please do reach out to us, via the usual channels if you would like a conversation regarding your Year 9 child.
Volunteers needed!
It is of vital importance that our young people are exposed as much as possible to the world of work. They need to learn about adult life and they will benefit from gleaning information from adults about their professional lives and the routes that have been taken to get to them. That is why we are asking for volunteers from our community to give up a bit of their time to share their experience with our students.
We are looking for a selection of volunteers from an extensive range of professional backgrounds to tell our students a bit about what they do, why they do it and how they got there. You will be asked a few simple questions on a recorded video call and the film will be shown to classes in the hope that it provides a starting point to get them thinking about their own career pathways.
Please email Mr Kemp via info@rts.richmond.sch.uk, with 'Careers Interview - Mr Kemp' in the subject line, to express an interest. Your time and expertise will be very gratefully received!
Term Dates 2020-2021
Full term dates and Inset day information is available on the website:
Spring Half-Term break: 15-19 February 2021
Easter break: 01-16 April 2021
Summer Half-Term break: 31 May-04 June 2021
Last day of Summer term for students: Friday 16 July 2021
Local News - Please note RTS does not endorse items included as Local News
Kingston Climate Emergency Youth Survey
Have you taken part yet?
The Kingston and Richmond Youth Council want to hear from you! Their aim is to find out how important you think climate change is, the actions you are taking, and what else you, your family or your school could do to tackle it.
By taking part in our survey you have the chance to win:
A £50 Amazon voucher and a climate change talk for your school by Dr Neil Jennings from Imperial College, London.
Closing date: Friday 22 January 2021. To complete the survey, go to:
https://surveys.achievingforchildren.org.uk/s/climate_emergency/
Children and young people have a wide range of different communication and information needs - A more accessible version of this survey can be found: