RTS Parents' Newsletter 06 May 2022
Head Teacher's Message
Thank you to those parents/carers who were able to attend the Parent Forum on Wednesday evening. We appreciate you taking the time out of your evening to come in to school. These events are important for us to continue to engage with parents/carers and enable us to share a range of topics and to explain processes at school or to explore new ideas and suggestions.
Our Year 11 GCSE students had their live practical exams today and I know that Ms Charles is exceptionally proud of how hard they have worked together to ensure their pieces were ready to perform. This is such an exciting period in the RTS journey and I look forward to sharing more updates with you over the coming weeks.
We look forward to hearing all about (and sharing) the adventures and experiences our Year 8 students will have next week (Monday and Tuesday) on their first RTS residential trip to Cuffley Camp. There is normally mud involved somewhere - although this year I think sunscreen and hats will be the essential items!
Wishing you all a relaxing weekend.
Ms K Dooley
Dates for the diary
Monday 16 May
INSET Day - School closed to students [except for those sitting a GCSE examination]
Monday 16 May
GCSE examinations begin
Tuesday 17 May-Friday 27 May
Year 9 AP6 assessments
Contacting the School
If you wish to contact the school, the School Office is open (term time only):
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.
Assembly Topics
Assemblies for next week:
Good Mental Health
RTS Art Gallery
The Year 10 Art students had the opportunity to attend a ceramics workshop at Richmond upon Thames College today; with some excellent results to include in their GCSE portfolio. We were also fortunate to have a whistle-stop tour of the Excellent Art and Design facilities whilst we were there.
Sports Hall update
Our new temporary sports hall is nearing completion. This is adjacent to the current playground and the two existing MUGAS; and will be a welcome addition to our facilities. Mabel went over this morning to check that the contractors were on track and to inspect the space. She very excitedly reported that the flooring has a very good tennis ball bounce and that there is a lot of space in which to run around!
Parent Forum
Thank you to those parents/carers who were able to attend on Wednesday evening. It was lovely as always to see familiar faces, and also new. We hope that you found the presentation on Assessment and Reporting from Mr Reynolds informative and useful (for those of you that weren't able to join us, please click on the link to view the presentation). Some of the team from the Harlequins Foundation were also able to join us and shared a snapshot of one of their programmes on mental health - Movember's Ahead of the Game. We are in an very privileged position to be able to work with the team over at Harlequins and are looking at other opportunities and seminars in the future to offer parents/carers.
Junior Maths Challenge
Last Thursday, 150 students across Year 7 and 8 took part in the UKMT Junior maths challenge. This would have been Year 7's first time taking part in a maths challenge. The concentration in the Hall during the challenge was intense - you could hear a pin drop! We are all looking forward to seeing the students with their certificates when we receive the results.
RTS Eats
This week saw the kitchen celebrating Eid. Eid al-Fitr - which means 'festival of the breaking of the fast - is celebrated at the end of Ramadan, a month when many Muslims fast. Fasting is important for Muslims during Ramadan as it allows them to devote themselves to their faith and come closer to Allah, or God. Students (and staff) have enjoyed a range of food inspired by the festival - vegetable skewers with crunchy salads, chicken shawarma, lamb keema, spinach, sweet potato and chickpea curry and sweet desserts such as nut free baklava and fresh fruit skewers.
FORTS NEWS
Army v Navy Rugby Event Parking
Another record-breaking day for the rugby parking team raising a staggering £1,695 on Saturday! It’s a great sum of money, and wouldn’t be possible without our fantastic team. A huge thank you for those of you giving up your time on event days to marshal the car park. FoRTS are meeting with the school later this month to look at how this money can be spent in addition to the termly department bids.
Second Hand Uniform – Donations Needed!
Thank you to everyone who bought uniform at the sale during the Parent Forum. We hope to be present at the next school event, so please continue to donate uniform if you can. You can always contact us on fortsuniform@rts.richmond.sch.uk if you have any queries or would like to help. Thank you in advance.
FoRTS General Meeting – 25 May, 6.30pm
Our next meeting will be held in school on 25 May from 6.30-8pm. It has been a very long time since we have been able to meet in person, so please do come along if you can. It will be a great opportunity to update you on FoRTS activities, and perhaps meet for the first time!
Your FoRTS Team,
Vanessa (Chair), Mark (Treasurer) and Carey (Secretary)
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
Telephone number: 020 8583 6600
Out of hours: 020 8583 2222
Email: earlyhelp@hounslow.gov.uk
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
Signvideo using British Sign Language (Mon - Fri, 9am - 6pm)
Local News - Please note RTS does not endorse items included as Local News
Middlesex Cricket
Please see the flyer for details of Middlesex Cricket youth membership offers. The offer ranges from 0-18 years; and includes a variety of different opportunities.
MIDDLESEX YOUTH MEMBERSHIPS_2.pdfIsleworthians Youth Football Club
Are a community orientated grass roots youth football club based in Isleworth with a local membership of approximately 250 boys and girls. This season volunteers ran 19 teams, with 'The Girls' team playing in the highly regarded all girls Surrey County Women and Girls league.
Our girls team was formed some 4 years ago after weekly open sessions were started and we continue to try and grow a little more each year. The club is currently in need of additional players and will hold an open trials session on Saturday 14 May. We hope this may be of interest to some of your current year 7 girls.
We are a Charter Standard Club affiliated to the Middlesex FA. This means that all of our Coaches hold a Level 1 [or higher] coaching badge; have undergone FA Safeguarding Children training, are enhanced DBS checked and qualified First Aiders.
Trials 2022_ALL.pdfTerm Dates 2021-2022
Full term dates and Inset day information is available on the website:
INSET Day: Monday 16 May
Half-Term: Monday 30 May-Friday 03 June