RTS Parents' Newsletter 10 March 2023

Head Teacher's Message

I know that it is a cliché - but what a week of weather! From snow to sunshine, rain to wind! March is certainly keeping us on our toes in school with fixtures being cancelled or postponed; and also accommodating students inside for wet breaks whilst exams are also going on. As always our students are so adaptable at short notice, as are staff. 

We had a videography team on site on Tuesday filming content for a planned website refresh and their drone did not appreciate the contestant changes in weather either! Life in school is certainly varied.

Despite the weather there have been many sucessful trips and events this week and we are delighted to share some updates with you below. 

Wishing you a good weekend.

Ms K Dooley 

Dates for the diary

Contacting the School

If you wish to contact the school, the School Office is open (term time only):

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 Community

Turkey-Syria Earthquake

Thank you to everyone who was able to support our appeal for donations following the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Although there are many small organisations locally that are offering support, it was felt that donating to the Disasters Emergency Committee would be the most approriate place for RTS to send our donations. 

The Disasters Emergency Committee brings together 15 leading UK aid charities, raising funds to quickly and effectively respond to overseas disasters. In respect of the Turkey-Syria appeal these include British Red Cross, Islamic Relief UK, Save the Children UK, Action Against Hunger UK, Age International - and their local partners.

Thank you again - together we raised £646.

Our thoughts continue to be with our Turkish students and their families.

RTS Achievements

Last weekend Nate, Year 9, was an honorary ball boy for London Scottish Lions. It was an important match for them and they secured promotion - perhaps he should be their lucky mascot!

The same weekend he and his team took part in the Surrey league. Nate plays for London Scottish U14's and the write up of the game is quite impressive. This was their first win in the league this season, against a strong Dorking side, "Also at flanker was Nate, who in the second half made another tackle that was contender for stop of the match". 

Well done Nate! What a weekend of rugby to celebrate!

Meanwhile, back in school, congratulations to the 150 Year 9 and Year 10 students who competed in the Intermediate Maths Challenge back in February. The challenge is a 60-minute, multiple-choice challenge which encourages mathematical reasoning, precision of thought, and fluency in using basic mathematical techniques to solve interesting problems. The problems on the Intermediate Mathematical Challenge are designed to make students think. Most are accessible, yet still challenge those with more experience. 


Our students love taking part in these challenges and we are pleased to announce that as a school we were rewarded with 31 certificates! Well done to all who took part.

Newsletter Performance - A Monster Calls .pdf

RTS Events - PSHE Curriculum

On Tuesday, Year 9 had a visit from Loudmouth. This term students are learning about 'Consent' in their PSHE lessons. Year 9 had the fantastic opportunity to work alongside Loudmouth representatives. The day consisted of students watching a play 'Calling it out', which addresses topics such as sexual abuse, sexual harassment and misogyny. The students also took part in workshops throughout the day talking about how to be  aware of issues such as: everyday sexism, misogyny, homophobia, gender stereotypes; and how to take positive action to build a culture where these are not tolerated and any occurrences are identified and tackled.

Chloe, Year 9: 'I think this was very important as they helped us explore harmful topics which we normally don't talk about and how to be aware of them' 

Year 9 students were also joined by Year 8 students this week at another session to learn more about 'Consent'. In order to introduce this topic to the students RTS arranged for Talkconsent come in to deliver the session to both year groups. This was a very useful and informative session for all students and some staff members. Students learnt the meaning of consent and why is it very important, they also explored some laws regarding when consent is not given.

Mr Jones, Deputy Head and Designated Safeguarding Lead: There were some great reviews about how impactful the session was from staff members'.

RTS Trips - English

Y9 Trip to Black Cultural Archives

Last week 60 students from Year 9 went on a trip to Brixton to visit the Black Cultural Archives.  Students are currently studying the Windrush migration as part of their English unit, 'Songs of Myself', and had the opportunity to take part in a workshop, hear first person accounts and explore archive materials.  

What students said they enjoyed about the trip:

'Being able to learn about something so important with friends'

'I enjoyed the trip at the archives as it involved insightful information about the Windrush generation and why they came. I also liked the interactive parts to it. It was probably one of my favourite trips'

World Book Day

On Wednesday 08 March, RTS celebrated World Book Day.  A special assembly highlighted why RTS loves to read, including staff favourites ,and our KS3 book club talking about their favourite books.  The theme for the day was 'Crime and Murder Mysteries' and lessons began with a range of activities where students read extracts from crime novels, discussed book to film adaptations, wrote their own mystery 'tanka' poem and investigated the enduring characters of Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot.  

For more reading inspiration, take a look at the KS3 and KS4 reading lists, each with their own 'Crime and Murder Mystery' sections!

FORTS NEWS

Quiz and Curry night - Friday 24 March, 7-10pm (Parents / carers / staff only)

Tickets are now on sale for the popular quiz and curry night (meat and vegetarian options). £12 per person to include entry, food and ticket in the raffle. There is just no cheaper night out and there’s a chance to win a prize!

If you would like to join but don’t have a team, we can put one together for you. The raffle will be drawn at the end of the evening.

We only have 96 tickets - so please book your tickets early to avoid disappointment. Let’s fill the hall!

See the flyer for full details and to book your ticket - Deadline to purchase is next Friday 17 March.

FoRTS Recruitment

We are still looking for committee members to join our small team, especially a Treasurer to start in September and an immediate vacancy for a Secretary.

We only have 3 main events in a year: Christmas Fair, Quiz night and the Creative Extravaganza in conjunction with the school.  We also have a fantastic team involved in running the rugby parking activities.

If you have basic bookkeeping skills, can take minutes, have some marketing knowledge, or just bags of enthusiasm, please contact us as below for more information.

These really are rewarding roles which help us to raise money for opportunities for our children. So far this year we have raised around £17,000!! This is incredible amount - which goes to benefit your children.

We're delighted to share with you some photos and updates from school on just a few of the items that FoRTS has contributed towards over the past months. 

Your FoRTS team,

Carmelle (Chair & Secretary), Mark (Treasurer) 

General: forts@rts.richmond.sch.uk

Uniform: fortsuniform@rts.richmond.sch.uk

Parking: fortsparking@rts.richmond.sch.uk

Voluntary donations: Peoples Fundraising

Curry Flyer 2023.pdf

FoRTS Autumn Term bids

In Design & Technology, students have been designing and making a tea light holder, using a range of different types of wood. 

Thank you so much to FoRTS - this piece of machinery (belt sander) has made a huge impact in our schemes of work and the students are really enjoying using it. 

The Music Department were also delighted to receive a huge array of new percussion equipment for the students to experiment with. Here we have Adela, Alfie S., Lucio, Ibraheem; and Nathan playing just a few of the instruments.

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: 

Hounslow Early Help Assessment

NSPCC:

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

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

"I love you Mum, I promise I won't die" - Monday 20 March, 18:00 at Waldegrave School

You are invited to a free performance of 'I Love You, Mum – I Promise I Won’t Die'- a powerful verbatim play by award-winning playwright Mark Wheeller, commissioned by the DSM Foundation to tell the story of Dan’s joyful life and tragic death, as part of the range of drug education resources and support they have developed. Published by Bloomsbury, it has been studied and performed in schools, colleges and theatres across the UK and around the world, and has been touring schools as a professional Theatre in Education production since 2017. Since September 2022 it has been a GCSE Drama set text in England and Wales.

This event is hosted by drug education charity The Daniel Spargo-Mabbs Foundation and funded by the Richmond Voluntary Fund. The play is being performed by Wizard Theatre to schools in Richmond as part of a seven-week London wide Theatre in Education tour - this community performance is an opportunity for parents and community leaders to see its powerful story.

Click here to read on: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Td2DHqKcOLaDPuKEasJA-LT47OqmKkYY/view?usp=sharing

Booking here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/richmond-community-performance-of-i-love-you-mum-i-promise-i-wont-die-registration-514171830787 

Supporting Exam Stress - Flyer.pdf

Dramacube: Easter Workshops and May Show!

Bursting with much-loved songs, memorable moments and colourful characters - Oliver Jr is a wonderful musical all the family will enjoy!

Based on the classic novel Oliver Twist and Lionel Bart's stage show Oliver, this official production is performed by a talented cast of local children.

Come support them on stage at The Cecil Hepworth Playhouse on 19th March or Hampton Hill Theatre between 5th – 7th May.

Book tickets at https://www.dramacubeproductions.co.uk/tickets/ 

DC-Easter-Workshops-23-A5-Flyer-2 (1).pdf
Parent_and_Carers_Infographic.pdf

Term Dates 2022-2023

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

Parents' Calendar