RTS Parents' Newsletter 02 July 2021

Head Teacher's Message

I am very thankful that this week has seen a return to stability with all students either returning to school after a period of remote learning due to staff shortages, or due to self-isolation.

Sadly though, the decision was made to return to compulsory wearing of face coverings for all students when moving around the corridors or in communal areas. This was reintroduced on Thursday 01 July as per our email of 30 June 2021 to you. This advice to local secondary schools came from both Achieving for Children (AfC) and Public Health England (PHE) and was due to the marked increase of reported positive cases in Richmond and neighbouring boroughs. The groups most affected currently (in the 7 days up to 30 June) were the 10-14, 15-19 and 20-24 age groups.

As we enter the last two weeks of the Academic Year I cannot stress enough how important it is for the safety of the whole school community that we all continue to follow the government guidelines.

I for one am looking forward to Sports Week next week and will enjoy seeing all of the students taking part in activities out on the playing fields. The PE Department have put a lot of time and effort into planning this week and we all need to keep our fingers crossed for the weather! There are also several trips and visits planned, including The Globe and Tate Modern and Horse riding.

Thank you for your continuing support, it is much appreciated and valued.

Ms K Dooley

RTS Art Gallery

This week Ms Williams has made a short video to share with you some wonderful art work from our Year 10 GCSE Art Sketchbooks. I am sure you will agree that the standard of work is incredible.

GCSE Art Sketchbooks.mov

Y8 trip to Shakespeare’s Globe

On Friday 09 July, all Year 8 students will be going on a trip to Shakespeare’s Globe, where they will enjoy a tour of the theatre and experience a ‘Lively Action’ workshop with actors from the theatre. Students will also take part in a walking tour and scavenger hunt of Bankside and Southwark themed around Shakespeare’s London. A quick reminder of the details:

  • Transport details: students will travel by coach from school

  • Timings: students should arrive at school promptly at the normal time, 8:35am for a 8:45am departure. We plan to return to Egerton road for a pick up time of 15:00

  • Pick-up: students should travel home from the school site as per their usual arrangements

  • Dress-code: Students need to attend dressed in full-school uniform. If the weather is hot, jumpers will not be required, but blazers must be worn. Students are permitted to wear trainers. Please ensure that they are dressed appropriately for the weather, as Shakespeare’s Globe has a partly open roof

  • Face coverings: Students will be required to wear a face covering during the workshop at Shakespeare’s Globe

  • Food and Drink: Please provide your child with a packed lunch. If your child receives Free School Meals then they will be provided with a packed lunch on the day.

Alice in Wonderland

Ms Mears has shared some more wonderful Alice in Wonderland art work in advance of the virtual production due to be streamed from Wednesday 14 to Friday 16 July. The link will be shared nearer the time and you will be able to watch the stream at any time during those 3 days.

Dates for the Diary

Immunisations

  • Wednesday 07 July - Year 8: HPV1 (boys and girls)

  • Wednesday 07 July - Year 10 HPV2 (girls only)

School Visits and Trips

  • Thursday 08 July - Y7 Enrichment to Park Lane Stables

  • Friday 09 July - Year 8 Trip to Tate Modern and Globe Theatre

WisePay Update

We will be moving from WisePay to ParentPay during the summer holidays in preparation for the start of the new academic year. Any balances on your WisePay account at the time of transfer will automatically be transferred over to your ParentPay account. You will receive further communication and information on how to sign up before the end of July.

LFD and PCR Testing

LFD at Home Tests - Students

Please continue to take the tests on Sunday and Wednesday evenings and report the results as normal. Thank you for your ongoing support.

LFD at Home Tests - Parents/carers

You can now order/collect LFD tests free of charge from the following:

PCR Tests

If you have been in contact with someone who has tested positive (identified as a close contact) you are now advised to seek a PCR even if you are not displaying symptoms. These can now be ordered free of charge from:

RTS Sports Week

The PE department is delighted to remind you that next week is our RTS Sports Week!

Due to current Coronavirus restrictions we are unable to travel to St Mary's University to use their facilities, so instead the athletics track has travelled to our playing fields.

Monday through to Thursday we are going to be hosting 4 mini sports days where all students, in their year group bubbles, will be competing and participating in both athletic and team based events.

The weather isn't looking on our side at the time of writing so please ensure students bring in their studded boots on the day they usually have 'Games', as this is also the same day as their sports day.

As a department we look forward to seeing our core guiding values of community, participation, confidence, readiness, kindness and the power of effort all on show throughout the week. We hope that you'll both motivate your child on the morning of their sports day, and also ask what they participated in and how they got on when they return home.

All students have been informed of the plan for the day, what they will be doing, and what they will need; however should you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact the PE department!

We look forward to an amazing week!

RTS PE department

TikTok app safety

With the Summer break approaching, we would like to share with you some information about TikTok and what parents need to know. TikTok is a social networking app that gives users the ability to watch and create short clips of up to 60 seconds.

The link takes you to an article posted by Internet Matters. Internet Matters works collaboratively across industry, government and with schools to reach UK families with tools, tips and resources to help children benefit from connected technology smartly and safely. The article contains a wealth of useful information both about the app and how children can use it safely, including:

Music News

If you are interested in playing the piano but want to learn it by yourself, RTS has access to the piano lessons of Jonny May for anyone to use (either in or outside school). Jonny was a Main Street Disneyland pianist for 9 years. Mr Paoli has shared log in information via Music Classrooms.

Richmond Music Trust

As we approach the end of the term and start to plan for the next academic year, we wanted to let you know that Richmond Music Trust now have a new website.

Please use the updated link: https://www.richmondmusictrust.org.uk/site/tuition/learn-with-us/apply-now/

Transition - Year 7 September 2021

We are regularly updating our dedicated RTS Transition website for our new Year 6-7 parents. If you have a query about enrolment, Summer School, school uniform, Induction Day, or anything else; please check on the Transition website in the first instance. There is also a wealth of information on the main RTS website.

Dates for your diary

  • *Reminder* Monday 05 July - Transition Day - No longer onsite at RTS - Activity Booklet here

  • Mini Transition Tours - Friday 02 July, Saturday 03 July, Friday 09 July and Saturday 10 July - Booking is essential, please see email sent on 29 June for details

  • Monday 02-Friday 06 August - Summer School, details will be emailed out to all those who have signed up soon

FoRTS News

Staff End of Year Collection

It’s been a really tough year for us all. Some of us have been lucky enough to be able to work at home, others have had to continue to go to their workplace and juggle childcare and home schooling, others have lost their jobs to the pandemic. Key workers have earned our praise through all of this and many of you have asked us how you can thank the RTS staff for their continued hard work this academic year. As such, we’ve set up a page where you can make a donation and leave a message to staff to thank them. If you wish to make a donation, please visit the RTS staff collection page. Staff will put any money donated towards a coffee machine for the staff room!

The Big PTA Summer Raffle

We are so close to reaching our ticket sales target, the countdown is on! 11 days can make all the difference. With up to £60,000 in cash prizes, anyone can buy a ticket for the Big PTA Summer Raffle 2021 not just members of our school community, so please share! Tickets cost £3, and for each ticket you will get one entry into each of the 12 draws. FoRTS receives 50% of the ticket price. Thank you, and good luck!

AmazonSmile, easyfundraising and Virgin Money Giving

You can continue to support FoRTS with free donations as you do your online shopping at easyfundraising and AmazonSmile. You can also make direct donations via our Virgin Money Giving page, or use the “Just Giving” button on the RTS website.

Look out for our end of year newsletter coming soon to find out how much money we’ve raised over the year, and what that has funded for the students.

Have a great week!

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

PowerStation Summer Programme

PowerStation Youth Centre in Mortlake is running a five week summer programme seven days a week for young people aged 5-19 years old. Activities range from cooking, Makaton, art, MMA, Golf and much more.

Book your space on Eventbrite, or if your child is on free school meals, contact Danielle Hutchinson direct to book these reserved spots.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/afc-powerstation-youth-centre--30671500044

For more information contact Danielle Hutchinson on 07864 615077 danielle.hutchinson@achievingforchildren.org.uk

Richmond Dyslexia Association

Parents Coffee Morning, at 9am 09 July 2021 at: Tide Tables Cafe, 2 The Arches, Richmond, TW9 1TH Call: 07495648025.

If you would like to know more about how to support your dyslexic child, or if you think your child may be dyslexic, come and join us. Experienced parents and professionals will be available to answer any questions you may have.

Ham Youth Centre Summer University

Welcome to the Ham Youth Centre Summer University 2021. We are running a packed programme to keep young people engaged and active this summer.

Choose from a wide range of exciting courses and activities designed for 10-19 year olds.

All activities are free and run by qualified youth workers and coaches. Most courses run Monday to Thursday each week. Please book as soon as possible as places are limited.

No Straight Answer LGBTQI+ Support Session For YP

No Straight Answer is Achieving for Children's weekly support session for YP aged 11 - 19 from the LGBTQI+ community. This is held every week at Heatham House Youth Centre, Twickenham. The session is really cool with trained staff providing access to all of our activities including sport, music, cooking, and art. LGBTQ+ is incorporated into every element of the session with discussions, projects, and trips too, however, we don't always feel we have to go into deeper LGBTQ+ specific bits if young people just want to hang out and have fun. We have a growing group of around 20 members. This consists of a burgeoning set of 11-14 year-olds attending as well as older young people aged 15-18. This tends to work really well as there is a lot of peer-to-peer support available for younger members alongside the guidance provided by the staff. We also have monthly access to gender counselling within the session as well as LGBTQI+ specific sexual health support where age-appropriate.

All in all, it's a wonderful session in a safe and fun environment. Come and join our family!

For more information on the session, including how to join in, please see the attached flyers or contact Justin Johnson on:

E: justin.johnson@achievingforchildren.org.uk

T: 0208 288 0950

NSA Flyer 1.pdf

Term Dates 2020-2021

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

  • Last day of Summer term for students: Friday 16 July 2021

Parents' Calendar