RTS Parents' Newsletter

RTS Parents' Newsletter 19 November 2021

Head Teacher's Message

I had the great pleasure of hosting two Achievement Celebration Afternoon Teas this week. Once again, congratulations on their achievement at being in the top 10% of their year group. It was lovely to speak with the students in a relaxed environment and to find out more about them. I spoke to groups from subjects ranging from the requests to spend more time with their tutors, to feedback on the assessment timetables, to West End Musicals and next year's school production of The Lion King and the auditions that took place this week.

I am very much looking forward to hearing which students will be taking part - it is going to be such an exciting production! We have such a diverse and, I may be biased here, talented range of students here at RTS and I cannot say it enough - but it is a real delight to see students being able to socialise and take part in curricular and extra-curricular activities again. The last 18 months have been really challenging for students on many levels and I really feel that they are starting to flourish again. The atmosphere around school this week has been tremendously positive and full of potential.

The two Year 11 trips to Stratford Olympic Park this week were a huge success and apparently Ms Dunningham was so engrossed in conducting the environmental surveys with the students that it was hard to get her to leave!

Looking ahead, I will be holding my next Head Teacher's Surgery on Wednesday 01 December 2021. This will be held remotely and details of how to book will be shared by email to you all shortly.

Ms K Dooley

Dates for the diary

Monday 22 November
- Year 11 Mock GCSE English Literature Exam
Tuesday 23 November-Friday 03 December
- Years 7, 8,9 and 10 - AP3 Assessments
Wednesday 24 November
- Year 10 & Year 11 Drama students - Theatre Trip (12:30-18:00)
Wednesday 01 December
- Head Teacher's Surgery - Details to follow by email

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: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/testing/regular-rapid-coronavirus-tests-if-you-do-not-have-symptoms/

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 this week and next are as follows:

Tackling Bias and Inequality
British Vales - Democracy

RTS Art Gallery

This week the Year 9s have blown us all away with their wonderful pencil drawings of eyes as part of the unit on portraiture.

I have had teachers ask for copies of these lovely drawings to hang on their office and classroom walls!

Well done Year 9!! I'm looking forward to having discussions with this talented group about taking art for GCSE.

School Street

A polite reminder that RTS has a School Street in operation. This means that part of Egerton Road (up until the junction with Heathfield North) is temporarily closed to most vehicular traffic at the following times:

Monday-Friday
- 08:15-09:45
- 13:30-16:00

A School Street aims to make the journey to and from school safer for students, reduce congestion, improve air quality, and promote increased physical activity.

We must all be mindful that the school is located adjacent to a residential street and that we respect our neighbours and their property (walls, driveways etc.). We have unfortunately received a report of verbal abuse from a parent/carer towards a resident and this was escalated to the local MP by the resident.

The School Street is operational whilst the signage is visible, even if no staff or barriers are present. We have been informed that there will be increased traffic enforcement in the area over the next few weeks to support the operation of the School Street.

If you wish to read more about School Streets, please visit the council's website: https://richmond.gov.uk/services/roads_and_transport/transport_planning/school_streets

Richmond Rugby Event

We had a fantastic turn out at the Richmond Rugby training session last Sunday - thank you to all the girls who came along for a strong representation from RTS. It was a great event and a fun afternoon.

National Archives Visit

Last week, Ms Harding took a small group of students from the Enrichment Group 'History Makers' to visit the National Archives in Kew. We are incredibly privileged to have this facility on our doorstep - they are the official archive and publisher for the UK Government, and for England and Wales and it is staggering to comprehend that they are the guardians of over a thousand years of iconic national documents.

FoRTS News

Christmas Raffle

Thank you to everyone who has already bought tickets for the Big PTA Christmas Raffle. There will be 12 draws over 6 days, two draws per day, between 13-18 December. For £3 you will have a ticket entered in all 12 draws. Every draw will give you the chance to win up to £5,000 - and FoRTS receives 50% of ticket sales. Every ticket sold helps towards FoRTS qualifying for a special PTA draw with the chance to win up to £2,500 or one of five prizes of £500. Good luck everyone and thank you for your support. Please share with friends and family, and don’t forget to buy your tickets now!

Rugby Parking – Saturday 20 & 27 November

Fantastic work again from the rugby marshal team last Saturday earning a phenomenal £1,515! All this money will go directly to projects at the school to benefit all students. Can you help at one of the next matches? There are only three more this year – 20 & 27 November and 27 December. Please email FoRTS if you can, or if you’d like any further information. We are so lucky to have this opportunity to raise funds, and even luckier to have such great people volunteering their time. Thank you! Below are some of our fantastic rugby parking marshals volunteering at the England v Australia match".

Easyfundraising – Spin to Win!

Already supporting FoRTS through easyfundraising? If so, don’t forget to spin to win! Play every day throughout November, and FoRTS has the opportunity to win a donation between 10p and £50. It’s guaranteed that one in ten plays will win. If you’re not already registered with easyfundraising, you can do so quickly now! Whilst you are there, please sign up to AmazonSmile and FoRTS will receive even more donations at no cost to you!

Second Hand Uniform Sales

We don’t currently have a team working on second hand uniform sales, so if you think you could help work on this, please get in touch. If the meantime, if you would like to buy or donate any uniform, please email us. Thank you.

Your FoRTS Team,

Vanessa (Chair), Mark (Treasurer) and Carey (Secretary)

To contact FoRTS at any time, please email forts@rts.richmond.sch.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

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)

Children Online - Setting Parental Controls

This is the time of year parents and carers will be buying devices that access the internet for their children and so we would like to highlight the importance of setting parental controls before giving the devices to children:

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

Volunteer police cadets

The Met Police are looking for new police cadets aged 10-18.

Why should your child become a police cadet? First and foremost, because it's really good fun. But there are lots of other reasons too:

Make new friends: Become part of the policing family and build friendships that will last a lifetime
Learn new skills: Build confidence, team work and leadership abilities whilst learning new skills
Become a community champion: Help the local community by taking part in policing operations and crime prevention initiatives
Duke of Edinburgh's Award: An award universally recognised by employers
Enhance their CV: Whether they want to go to college or university or go straight into work, this will provide a unique experience to talk about in interviews.

Go to: https://www.met.police.uk/car/careers/met/police-volunteer-roles/volunteer-police-cadets/overview/

Richmond Parent Carer Forum

Richmond Parent Carer Forum is turning 2 years old this month!

To celebrate we’re holding an informal celebration where parents of children with SEND can learn more about what the PCF does and connect with other parent carers. Join us on Thursday 25th November in the Winchester Room of the Turk’s Head, Winchester Road, St Margaret’s, TW1 1LF.

We’ll hold our members only AGM earlier in the evening, but all are welcome after 8pm to join us for food, drink, giveaways and prizes. To book your place please complete the booking form here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/RichmondPCFAGM If you have any difficulty using this form then please email us on information@richmondpcf.org.uk

Not a Richmond PCF member yet? Membership is FREE for parents of children aged 0-25 years who have a Special Educational Need or Disability (SEND) and live or access services in Richmond. Sign up here: https://www.richmondpcf.org.uk/membership/

PCF Non Member Invite.pdf

Richmond upon Thames Monopoly!

An official Richmond upon Thames version of the world’s most popular and famous family gaming brand has just hit the shops in time for Christmas.

In the game all the famous multi-coloured Monopoly property squares like Mayfair and Park Lane are occupied by leading landmarks from Richmond upon Thames.

Several charities get to feature in the game as well, following a public vote. They include SPEAR and Animal Rescue and Care.

Cllr Geoff Acton, Mayor of Richmond upon Thames, said:

'It was a borough-wide effort to vote on the local landmarks and charities that feature on our very own Monopoly board. Our borough has so much to offer and I’m looking forward to seeing this represented on the new official board. I am looking forward to playing the game at Christmas!'

The game is on sale now at Asda, Ryman, Waterstones, WHSmith and The Works – as well as extensively online, including on Amazon.

Christmas Carol Concert

Off The Record Twickenham are hosting a Christmas Carol Concert with readings and performances from young people in St Mary’s Church, Twickenham on Tuesday 14 December at 18:30.

Please see the flyer for full details, including where to buy tickets (online in advance or on the door). All funds raised go towards supporting Off The Record’s counselling service for young people.

Bereavement Resources

Sadly, many more families that usual have been affected by bereavement over the last 18 months of the pandemic. We felt that it was important that we share resources with you, so that you are aware of services that are available for young people:

Grief Encounter - an organisation that supports bereaved children and young people. They provide e-counselling services for young people from the age of 14 years old - https://www.griefencounter.org.uk/ and 0808 802 0111
Cruse Bereavement Care: https://www.cruse.org.uk/ and 0808 808 1677

'Skills in STEM' webinars for 14-18 year olds: 11 November-09 December

STEM Learning is hosting STEM Ambassadors from across five different sectors in a series of online webinars taking place from November to December.

Schedule: 4.30pm - 5.30pm

Thu 25 November- Intellectual Property
Thu 02 December - Marketing and PR
Thu 09 December - Logistics

In this series of webinars, STEM Ambassadors from a range of industries working in areas such as project management, communications and logistics, for example, will share what they do within the STEM industry and talk about their skills and experiences.

The webinars are designed for pupils aged 14-18 and will be delivered using Zoom with safeguarding settings in place (no cameras, no microphones, interactions will be kept to the Q&A function which will be monitored by a STEM Ambassador Hub employee). Webinars will not be recorded. More information can be found here.

Youth Football

The U15 Youth Football team at NPL Teddington (FA Charter Standard Youth Club) are looking for football players in Year 10 or even Year 9. Please see the flyer for more details.

London Irish Coaching Clinic

On Sunday 19 December London Irish will be holding a Coaching Clinic with London Irish Players. Anyone age 10 and above is welcome to join them at Gunnersbury Park; and additional tickets may also be purchased (Adult - £15 and Child & Junior (£5). Please read the flyer for more exciting details and contact Community@london-irish.com to book your place.

Term Dates 2021-2022

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

Christmas break: 16 December 2021 - 04 January 2022

Parents' Calendar

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