RTS Parents' Newsletter 11 February 2022
Head Teacher's Message
It's hard to believe we are already halfway through the school year. Today, on International Women in Science Day, we were able to welcome (remotely) local women working in science from their laboratories and offices in the National Physical Laboratory, Teddington. We would like to thank our guest speakers - Perdi Williams and Jean Morris - for sharing their experiences with us.
This week students in Year 11 received more information to help them target their revision for the forthcoming summer exams. Although the examination boards have confirmed that grade boundaries will be more generous, at a midway point between 2019 and 2021 (see the information from Ofqual here) students are still working hard with their teachers to achieve their very best.
We have had an incredibly busy end to term - and, after the last 2 years, it is such a pleasure to share our achievements and activities with you! So I make no apology for this being a bumper newsletter!
Ms K Dooley
Dates for the diary
Monday 14-Friday 18 February - Half-term break
Monday 21 and Tuesday 22 February - INSET Days (school closed to students)
Wednesday 23 February
Early finish at 14:05 due to Year 9 Subject Teacher Consultation Evening
Year 9 Subject Teacher Consultation Evening, 14:30-19:30 (Remote)
SEND Information Evening, 16:00-18:00 (on site)
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.
Assembly Topics
Assemblies for the coming week and next are as follows:
Good Mental Health
Women's History Month
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.
Remember that if at anytime you need additional kits you can order them free of charge via the following link.
RTS Art Gallery
This week the Y11 Art students were invited to view the art exhibition by the A-Level students at Richmond Upon Thames College. This was followed by a tour of their excellent facilities. Students thoroughly enjoyed their trip and were inspired by the courses on offer. Students said "I can't believe all these amazing facilities are on our doorstep"! Students that are interested in studying any of the art subjects should speak to Ms Williams.
Be Internet Citizens
Safer Internet Day was on Wednesday 09 February and we were delighted to celebrate it a few days beforehand on Friday 04 February. Our Year 9 students enjoyed a drop-down day learning to 'Be Internet Citizens'. Over 15 external visitors joined the year group from companies such as You Tube, Google and Parent Zone, to facilitate all day workshops, presentations, team working, and sessions on safer internet use. The buzz around this event was great to see and hear and we hope that students will take what they learnt and utilise it in their internet use. Thank you to the students for engaging so wholeheartedly and responsibly in the day and for sharing their feedback with us.
InShot_20220208_114444086.mp4Mini 'French' Trip
Whilst travel is still proving difficult for school groups, we have worked hard at ensuring that students have alternative opportunities to experience linguistic events. This week a group of Year 9 students visited the Institut Français in South Kensington. Mme Fossey reported:
Students spent the morning doing different linguistic activities linked to the amazing world of comic books in France and Belgium, or as they are known 'BD'. In the afternoon we watched Les Aventures de Spirou et Fantasio - this is a comedy adventure adapted from the comic. We had a lot of fun and felt very spoilt with our very own private cinema! We soon hope to run this trip again for other year groups.
The RTS Way
Congratulations to Ioel (7MA), Sophia (8BL), Bartosz (9BL ), Sasha (10SE) and Selena (11SE) for winning the attendance prize draw from their year group! Attendance is a vital element of a students educational journey. A great amount of students successfully achieved an attendance of 97% - 100% throughout this half term, giving them a chance to win a £15 gift voucher for Odeon Cinema. These 5 students were our lucky winners! There will be plenty more opportunities to be in with a chance to win some more great prizes next half-term and beyond!
RTS Library Corner
ILZ 2 - ACCESSIT.pdfInternational Women in Science Day
Today we celebrated International Women in Science Day. Year 10 girls received a remote talk from Perdi Williams and Jean Morris - two research scientists from the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) who have one of their sites in Teddington. Perdi and Jean kindly shared their experiences and journey to their careers in STEM. The talks were extremely engaging and thought provoking in opening students' eyes to alternative possibilities and that science can be many, many things!
RTS Sport
Today Year 7 headed off to Lady Eleanor Holles School for their postponed netball tournament. Thankfully the weather was much kinder today than it was last week when the event had to be postponed due to torrential rain!
Ms Sloman and the team have worked really hard on their netball skills this term and they have improved immensely! Well done girls!
RTS Production
Ms Charles has another sneak peak for us of behind the scenes at The Lion King! This week she shares with us a look at the creative crew and what they have been creating for the costumes! It is so exciting when a vision comes to life. Watch this space… it will be a showstopper performance. Keep an eye out for when tickets go on sale!
School Street
Richmond Council is pleased to inform you that The Richmond upon Thames School Street was approved to be made permanent at the September 2021 Transport and Air Quality Committee and is now in the final stages of introducing the suggested amendments.
As part of that decision, the following changes are being introduced:
Times have been revisited and amended. The revised School Street operational hours are 08:00 -09:00 and 13:30-16:30, term time only. These times will apply when the signs are installed and visible (or open).
New signs are being installed. When they are closed the School Street is not in operation.
The extent of the School Street will not change - See details and street map here
For School Streets queries, please visit https://www.richmond.gov.uk/school_streets or email schoolstreets@richmond.gov.uk if you have questions that aren’t covered in the ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ section online.
LGBTQ+
This week, as part of our celebration of LGBTQ+ History Month, we had online live assemblies from ambassadors of the charity Just Like Us for years 7, 8 and 9. Just Like Us is an anti-bullying charity that works with schools to encourage the acceptance and inclusion of LGBTQ+ people. Our students listened amazingly and asked incredibly thoughtful questions in class discussion after the assemblies - it was lovely to see such kindness and compassion from our young people!
FORTS NEWS
FoRTS Funding of Subject Leader Termly Bids
We’re pleased to be able to share with you a picture of items that have been bought with funding from FoRTS – the money that you help raise. Last term some of the items we purchased for the school were volleyball posts and nets. Some further PE equipment is on its way which should be available after half-term. FoRTS also paid for coach trips to various rugby inter-school competitions and funding for the “Be Her Lead” programme. Thank you for your continued contribution, we hope that you can see how the money you help raise is fed back into the school, benefitting all of the students.
Rugby Parking
After the huge success at the end of last year, rugby parking is back! We already have lots of pre-bookings, and help is needed on 26 February (England v Wales), 12 March (England v Ireland) and 02 April (Varsity matches). Please get in touch if you can help – we usually book volunteers in for a 2-hour slot and aim to have at least 2 marshals at any one time.
Continued Support
You can continue to support us by shopping through easyfundraising and AmazonSmile and our donations website is Peoples Fundraising. Even better, we can now accept Gift Aid on donations from UK taxpayers, increasing every £1 donated by 25p.
FoRTS General Meeting
Just a reminder that the next FoRTS meeting will be held remotely on Wednesday 02 March at 7.30pm. Meeting invite to follow.
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
The Wild Mind
The Wild Mind Project is offering FREE emotional and mental wellbeing support in a confidential and safe green space, for the young LGBTQ+ community (aged 16-25).
During a typical session we will include conservation work or gardening, followed by a creative activity such as painting, weaving, lino-cutting or cooking on an open fire. We use this opportunity to chat and share.
“The concept is amazing, the activities are really enriching and really well thought out. The mixture of learning, creating and then sharing was really stimulating to engage my anxious mind”, a young person who attended our programme.
Importantly, the group form a supportive network of new friends that last beyond the programme.
Twickenham: The programme starts on Sun 13 February and runs for 5 weeks from 10.30am-12.30pm at Heatham House (a minutes walk from Twickenham station).
For further information please see visit our website, contact us by email or phone 01273 230102.
Young people can book a place on the programme by completing our online Booking Form or there is a Referral Form available.
LGBTQ_Twickenham_v1_22_02_2.pdfWe Make Footballers
We Make Footballers are delighted to offer girls only weekly football sessions. These engaging sessions are full of fun and enthusiasm from our all female coaching team aiming to coach and inspire the next generation of female footballers. These run on Wednesdays between 6pm-7pm at Orleans Park School in Twickenham and are open to any female footballer, of any ability between the ages of 5 and 13 years old. We value the safety of our players and with the passion we bring to our coaching allow for an environment of fun and development.
We offer a FREE session to anyone wanting to join our girls only football community so encourage everyone to come and see how we create such a positive impact amongst our current players.
WEEKLY TRAINING LEAFLET GIRLS CLASS (2).pdfHampton & Richmond Borough Football
HRBFC currently have vacancies in their U14 boys football team and would like to extend this opportunity to boys in the local community - please see the flyer below.
HRBYFC 2021 Recruitment[21217] U14Colts (1).pdfTerm Dates 2021-2022
Full term dates and Inset day information is available on the website:
Half Term - Monday 14-Friday 18 February 2022
Inset Days - Monday 21-Tuesday 22 February 2022
End of Spring Term: Friday 31 March
Easter Break - Friday 01 April-Monday 18 April