RTS Parents' Newsletter 24 June 2022
Head Teacher's Message
We have had so many events and activities in school over the last week or so that we are running out of space to mention them all in the newsletter! Please do also hop over to the RTS social media channels where we also endeavour to keep you informed of all that goes on behind the scenes at RTS.
With 5 year groups to now talk about, I am afraid that I cannot apologise that today my focus is solely on our Year 11s - Our original cohort, our trail blazers.
Emotions were high on Thursday as they sat their final GCSE exam, returned text books, exercise books, locker keys, had their iPads reset and wiped; and filed into the hall for their final assembly. Their final rendition of the Haka was powerful and emotive. Senior staff, and those who have been at RTS since our beginnings in that small corridor at the college, shared their memories, we had video messages from former staff, wonderful speeches from our Head Students, Thy and Ana; and a positive celebration of achievement and friendship from Annabelle, representing Madiba. Stoop lifted the ceiling with their jubilation at becoming overall House Champions over the years 2017-2022, Ms Lang was presented with flowers by Hadassa and Aaliyah; and Ms Carrick-Steele caused a few eyes to leak with her beautiful original spoken word, written specifically for this group of wonderful young adults. They truly have led the way for the rest of the school and we are immensely proud of all that they have done and who they have become.
Year 11 tutors, members of the Wellbeing, Facilities and Business Support Teams, as well as the Senior Leadership, were privileged to form a guard of honour to clap and cheer our Year 11 students off-site for the last time. A milestone and an end of an era.
We are very much looking forward to celebrating this achievement with our Year 11 families at the Graduation Ceremony next week. It promises to be a wonderful evening. In the meantime, please enjoy just a few of the hundreds of photographs that were taken during Thursday afternoon!
Ms K Dooley
Dates for the diary
Monday 16 May-Tuesday 28 June
GCSE examinations
Tuesday 28 June
Year 11 Graduation Ceremony
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:
Mandela Day - Madiba House Assembly, Years 7-10
Creative Arts Show
We are excited to announce our first ever Creative Arts Show on Tuesday 05 July. All members of the RTS are community are welcome. Full details and an invitation will follow next week. In the meantime, please see details of our competition and encourage your children to enter!
Creative Arts Showcase Art Competition.pdfBOOK FAIR NEWSLETTER.pdfScholastic Book Fair
We are delighted that, after a two year absence, the Scholastic Book Fair is returning to RTS next week.
This is always a great opportunity to stock up your bookshelves and for students to discover something new or to share ideas with their friends. You can purchase gift vouchers in advance from the link above to send in with your child.
Plus, for every book bought, you help to earn free books for the school!
Student Achievements
It looks like we have another basketball star on our hands! Last weekend Patrick, Year 7, travelled up to Manchester and played for the London region against the North of England, the Midlands and the South. The tournament was part of the Basketball England pathway.
Patrick was playing a year up as he was in the U13 team. Unfortunately they lost narrowly in the final, but had a fantastic weekend. Such a great achievement - and action shot!
Enrichment
Whilst we don't have a recent photo of our weekly visits from our RTS dog, Mabel to brighten your weekend; we think that you will all agree that Daisy, Year 7, has made a fantastic likeness via the means of origami!
Daisy created 'Mabel' during her enrichment session. Ms Wright was delighted with this version - much less active and not constantly looking for food around school!
Ready, Set, Bake!
On Wednesday 29 June, there will be a bake sale for Years 7-9. The Taking Pride in RTS group will be running the bake sale, with a few of the year 10 prefects supporting.
The students have chosen to raise money for the charity The Albert Kennedy Trust, who support homeless youth in London and across the UK.
Any student who bakes and brings in cake for the sale will be awarded golden tickets and house points. For any home-baked goods the students bring in, they must write a list of ingredients to be displayed in front of their cakes, with their name and form on the back of the list, so that other students can be aware of any allergens, and we can count house points! Please note, all baked goods must be nut and orange peel free.
There will be collecting buckets at the bake sale, so students must remember to bring in cash to donate!
FORTS NEWS
Creative Arts Showcase – 5 July 5-6:30pm
The school will be holding their Creative Arts Showcase on Tuesday 5 July from 5-6.30pm. It’s going to be a wonderful celebration of students’ art pieces, with works on display throughout the evening and a mixture of music and drama pieces for all to enjoy. FoRTS will be there on the evening, with drinks available to purchase and a pre-loved uniform sale. Please come and say hello, and if you can help on the night, please email forts@rts.richmond.sch.uk.
School Uniform Donations
We want to support RTS families in any way we can. One way is to supply pre-loved uniform for sale. To enable us to do this, we rely on your generous donations. As the year comes to an end, and the first cohort move on after finishing their GCSEs, please consider donating any unwanted uniform – it can be left by students at the school reception. Thank you in advance.
Big PTA Summer Raffle
Please support us by buying a £3 ticket for the Big PTA Raffle. Each ticket gives you 12 chances to win, good luck!
Staff Thank You Collection
Parents have again contacted FoRTS asking us to set up a donations page for families to donate towards an end of year gift for the RTS staff. This is entirely voluntary, but if you would like to donate, please visit our Peoples Fundraising page. There is a separate page for Y11 families. You can leave a message with your donation, which I’m sure staff will enjoy reading.
Rugby Parking
Another hugely successful day on Saturday raising almost £2,000 for the school. As always, a huge thank you to all our excellent marshals for giving up their time.
FoRTS Fundraising Efforts
We have had an extremely successful year of fundraising and we always aim to put 60% of our annual fundraising back into the school during that academic year. This means your children benefit from your fundraising efforts straight away. As such we have made an additional £3,000 available to be allocated in this term’s Subject Leader Bids. We will of course let you know how this money has been spent as soon as we can.
Goodbye and Good Luck to all of our Y11 Families
Goodbye and good luck to all of the students leaving RTS after their GCSEs this year. You have done yourselves and the school proud, and we wish you good fortune in your future endeavours. Thank you to all families for your support over your time at the school.
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
Webcast for parents about unsupervised parties: alcohol, drugs and Harmful Sexual Behaviour
Message from the Kingston & Richmond Safeguarding Children Partnership: We have made a webcast for parents and carers around the issue of unsupervised parties/gatherings alcohol, drugs, and harmful sexual behaviour.
We want to capture parents and carers early before the children start drinking alcohol (which is usually in Year 8 but sometimes younger).
We want to create a sea change in the behaviours of young people and this webcast is part of the effort to engage parents and carers on this journey.
The information poster contains an embedded link to the webcast. For your convenience this is the standalone link to the webcast.
KRSCP resources for parents and carers to accompany webcast.pdfOut 'N' About - Pride
The Achieving for Children Youth Service is excited to announce that they will be running Richmond's first-ever cross-school LGBTQI+ Pride Celebration event for young people in KS3,4 & 5 aged 11-19.
Event Aims
This free event is geared up to be a celebration of all things LGBTQI+ and therefore this year it will take the form of a carnival/fair with rides, arts, music, and food. Our hope is that many schools and youth community groups from across the borough will join and they will be able to establish many new and long-lasting relationships for both young people and professionals alike. The day will be supported by Metro Charity, Spectra, Wild Minds, Free2Be, and The Metropolitan Police who will run stalls providing education, guidance, and links to community support structures available to young people. These include important pathways such as links to established youth support groups, LGBTQI+ specific sexual health services, mental health, trans support, and gender counseling. This is, in addition, to support from the No Straight Answer team. All of this should amount to a wealth of support and socialisation opportunities for young people to access that will allow a traditionally much-maligned community to utilise going forward to great reward.
Heatham House will play host to this event as it is an already well-established safe space for young people identifying as LGBTQI+.
Important Information
The event is starting at 2:30pm which is towards the end of the school day. This has been done deliberately. We are running Out N About at a time when students can attend but in an independent after-school capacity. This should enable those young people to take part as general members of the community.
Details
Heatham House Youth Centre, Whitton Road, Twickenham, TW1 1BH
Date: Friday 8th July, Time: 2:30 - 6:30pm
How to Take Part
Any further questions please contact justin.johnson@achievingforchildren.org.uk or alex.quenell@achievingforchildren.org.uk
Holiday Activity and Food - FUEL - Free programmes for children on FSM
The FUEL (Feed Ur Everyday Lives) programme, returns this summer to help support children on benefits-related Free School Meals, and will be on offer throughout the holidays.
After a successful Easter, There are over 18000 spaces available across Kingston and Richmond with holiday activity and food providers, and the programme continues to grow with new locations, providers, and activities available for children across the two boroughs.
As a reminder, the programme offers completely free access for children receiving benefits-related Free School Meals to attend holiday clubs, sports groups, play sessions and more. Children who are entitled to the programme have the opportunity to attend up to 16 sessions throughout the summer.
For further information on the programme and the providers that we will be working with, please visit our website or contact FUEL@Achievingforchildren.org.uk.
Harlequins Foundation's FUEL Programme
The Harlequins Foundation’s Healthy Holiday Programme, part of Achieving for Children’s FUEL Programme and funded by The Department of Education, offers young people, aged 8-11 and in receipt of benefit related free school meals access to a range of FREE activities delivered by our experienced team of staff.
Our programme is delivered for four hours each day for a total of four days (Monday – Thursday) this Summer. Activities will include:
Tag Rugby
Rugby Robots – Our world first coding experience
Kwik Cricket
Invasion Games
Team Building Activities
…and much more
The Harlequins Programme will be held at RTS - if you would like to book, please follow this link: https://eequ.org/experience/1560
FUEL Leaflet 22.pdfGirl's Football
In line with the FA, Brentford Football Club have launched the Wildcats and Squads sessions. The Wildcats target 5-11 year old girls and Squads target 12-14 year olds. Please see below for the details:
Wildcats
Gunnersbury Park, Popes Lane, W3 8LQ
5-6pm
Astro Turf
Ages 5-11 years old
£3 per week, £48 for 16 week block. First Session FREE
No prior football experience needed, All abilities welcome.
To Register: https://www.brentfordfccst.com/event/wildcats/
Squads
Gunnersbury Park, Popes Lane, W3 8LQ
6-7pm
Astro Turf
Ages 12-16 years old
£3 per week, £48 for 16 week block. First Session FREE
No prior football experience needed, All abilities welcome.
To Register: https://www.brentfordfccst.com/event/squads/
Wandsworth.pdfNetball Coach UK
My name is Hazel and I work for Netball Coach UK. An organisation run by netballers for netballers, aiming to develop and enhance netball provision across London.
We are running a summer netball camp at Burntwood School, SW17 0AQ on 25th, 26th and 27th of July which might be of interest to your pupils. We are also running a pre-season camp on 30th and 31st of August.
Join Netball Coach UK for a Summer & Pre-Season netball camp in Wandsworth!
Our camps are open to children in School Years 3-10 and are suitable for experienced and aspiring ballers, as well as those new to the game.
What to expect: Expert coaching by qualified coaches, skills development, Vitality Superleague athlete appearance by Kira Rothwell of London Pulse, the chance to make new friends and tons of match play!
When: 25th, 26th and 27th of July or 30th and 31st August
Where: Burntwood School, SW17 0AQ
Cost: £39.50 per session
Book at: https://netballcoachuk.com/camps
Enquiries: Email us with any questions – info@netballcoachuk.com
Netball Coach UK believes in the power of sport to elevate and inspire young people. Our company is run by netballers for netballers to provide high quality, fun and accessible netball provision across London.
flyer June 22.pdfHoliday Club
I am a local mum and run a boutique holiday club for tweens (age 10-13 years) offering very unusual and fun adventure days out in the school holidays. Not your average trip but exciting activities such as trampolining at the O2, graffiti painting in Shoreditch, chocolate making in Covent Garden and cable cars in Greenwich (to name a few!). Our mission is to get the post-pandemic tweens off their screens and out having fun safely in the real world. We have countless safe, fun and unusual boutique adventures for every taste. We are fully insured, checked, DBS compliant and trained in safeguarding, diversity, inclusion and belonging.
THE PRINCESS ALICE HOSPICE SUMMER FETE AND DOG SHOW IS BACK!
After a three-year break the Princess Alice Hospice Summer Fete and Dog Show is back, a much loved, much missed event for the local community and, of course, your furry friends!
The fete takes place at Princess Alice Hospice, West End Lane, Esher, KT10 8NA on Sunday 03 July, from 11am-3pm and there’ll be something for everyone: food and drinks, the renowned dog show, entertainment, Bollywood dancing, live music, stalls, displays and lots more besides!
Enter the pawsome Dog Show!
There are a range of categories for dogs to enter this year – and don’t worry, if you or your dog can’t make the date, your furry friend can still be entered into the online virtual Dog Show on Facebook. Why not enter your dog into the online event and for the show on the day, for more chances of being crowned the winning woofer?
Enter the Dog Show through the website. Advance online registration is £3 per category or £4 if you register on the day (entry will be limited on the day so to avoid disappointment please register online if you can).
2022-04-21_MARC_A5-Flyer_Fund_CEM_FINAL-1.pdfTerm Dates 2021-2022
Full term dates and Inset day information is available on the website:
Last day of Summer Term: Friday 15 July