RTS Parents' Newsletter 24 September 2021

Head Teacher's Message

This week saw the school photographer in school to take pictures of Years 7, 9 and 11 - and any siblings. Students looked extremely smart and their behaviour was impeccable, which meant that the photographer could work efficiently and quickly. Hopefully the photographs reflect this attitude.

Thank you to those Year 7 families and other in-year admission families who joined Ms Grewal remotely for a Technology session on Wednesday night - there will be another opportunity to attend on Wednesday 06 October if you were unable to make it. We have also shared with all families today the latest Curriculum Guides, presentations from the recent Parent Information Evenings, pre-learning timetables and also Google Classroom Codes.

Next week we look forward to celebrating the European Day of Languages with students and will share photographs and updates with you next Friday. We also regularly post updates on Twitter of activities around the school - please do follow us to see what happens in Enrichment, practical lessons, fixtures, booster sessions, and more!

A quick reminder that as per the RTS Parent's Calendar (see below), the school will close early on Thursday 30 September in order for staff to prepare for an online event. Students will be dismissed after lunch at 14:00 and there will be no period 5 or 6.

Ms K Dooley

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.

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.

Year 7 and Year 8 students (who have consented to the programme) have been issued with LFD kits today.

RTS Art Gallery

This week Ms Williams shares with us a fine selection of observational drawings from our Year 11 Art students. The theme this term is Natural Forms.

Food Preparation & Nutrition

If you need inspiration for a weekend meal, look no further than this tasty suggestion from Ms Mears and Year 11 - they mastered ricotta and lemon ravioli made from scratch, served with a garlic butter sauce.

School Meals

School meals at break and lunch-time should still be pre-ordered by students for the foreseeable future. Google Forms have been shared on all Google Classroom Year Groups for students to make their selections in advance. Tutors will assist any students experiencing issues using the forms next week. Please ensure that all ParentPay accounts are topped up in advance.

Careers Corner

University College London (UCL) are offering students aged 12-18 weekend experiences in 13 different STEM and Medicine-related careers. Students can attend in-person or online. Please click on this link for more details - please note that interest for places is high, so book sooner rather than later.

This information has also been shared with students via their Year notices on Google Classroom.

PE/Games update

It has been another busy week for fixtures with the following results:

  • On Tuesday, the Year 11 boys rugby team beat Teddington School: 39-19

  • On Wednesday, the Year 8 boys rugby team beat Turing House School: 45-20 (see picture below)

Well done to all boys who participated - what excellent results!

We are also looking forward to the Year 9 boys rugby team playing against Teddington School on Friday; and then Year 8, 9 and 11 boys playing Isleworth & Syon School on Saturday morning - Good luck!

Positive Parent Project

This months' newsletter from Positive Parenting Project explores the topic of 'What children need to know about body boundaries'.

Urgent call for any Lego

Mr Livermore (Teacher of Computer Science & Maths) writes:

We have recently started an enrichment program based on building and programming Lego Robots to enter an international competition focused on students creating and innovating ways to deal with issues associated with global transportation and sustainability.

As I’m sure you can understand, this is a growing concern that we need to come together with as a planet. Allowing children at RTS the opportunity to work towards potential solutions whilst learning about construction, engineering, programming and teamwork is something we can all get behind.

“How can I help with this?” I hear you ask. Well, unsurprisingly, there has been a large amount of interest in this enrichment programme at RTS and we are therefore looking for more Lego for students to work with within these sessions. We are asking if you could look in your attics, under beds, at the back of cupboards, in the shed or garage for any collections of Lego that may be gathering dust, or are no longer played with. We would appreciate any donations so that we can give the students of these enrichment sessions the best opportunity to develop their skills prior to the competition in December.

Students can drop any Lego donations to the School Office. Feel free to contact me through info@rts.richmond.sch.uk if you have any questions relating to this or the enrichment programme itself.

Thank you in advance and I look forward to sharing the progress we make in future newsletters.

FoRTS News

Rugby Parking – Harlequins Rugby

We are trialling opening the school car park for selected Harlequins matches, in addition to the international fixtures at Twickenham. If successful, this will increase funding available to the school to enhance students learning. We are opening the car park this Saturday, along with the fixtures at Twickenham stadium on 6, 13 & 20 November. Since our last newsletter, lots of you have been in contact to volunteer as marshals, THANK YOU! If you’re still considering it, please do get in touch by emailing FoRTS.

easyfundraising – Competition Time!

When you become a supporter of Friends of RTS on easyfundraising or AmazonSmile, our school receives free donations every time you shop online. easyfundraising hosts thousands of well-known retailers like M&S, Deliveroo, Clarks, Very, ASOS, TUI, Morrisons - the list is endless. It’s free to use and easy to set up and is an ideal way for you to support our school from the comfort of your own home. These donations really mount up and will make a huge difference to our school. If you register before 23:59 on 30 September, you’ll enter us into a prize draw to win £500 worth of books!

You can also make direct donations, including Gift Aid, via our Virgin Money Giving page, or use the “Just Giving” button on the RTS website.

FoRTS AGM – 13 October 2021, 7:30pm

A reminder that the FoRTS AGM will be held virtually on Wednesday 13 October at 7.30pm, with agenda and meeting invite to be sent nearer the date. Details on roles such as Chair, Treasurer, Secretary and Committee Member have been emailed out by the school. Please contact FoRTS for any further information. We are also looking for volunteers for Rugby Parking Co-Ordinator as well as marshals and helpers for school uniform sales.

Have a great weekend, your FoRTS Team,

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


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

Second Hand Uniform Donations email fortsuniform@rts.richmond.sch.uk

Second Hand Uniform Sales oldschooluniform.co.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

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 or

  • Signvideo using British Sign Language (Mon - Fri, 9am - 6pm)

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

Autumn Term at Heatham House

The summer's over, and after welcoming over 500 young people into Heatham House this summer for their free summer activities, residential and trips they are now getting back into the swing of things for the beginning of the academic year. It's another exciting year at Heatham House and this Autumn sees the opening of an outdoor coffee stall, gym, and animal coup area for chickens. This is in addition to all of their usual weekly activities. Please see the attached flyer including all of the free activities at Heatham House Youth Centre. Particular sessions to highlight include:

Inters Club

  • Who: Years 7, 8 & 9

  • When: Mondays and Wednesdays

  • Time: 3:30pm - 5:30pm

  • What: An afterschool club for years 7-9 including football on our 3G pitch, basketball, skatepark, music studio recording, street dance, and much more.

No Straight Answer

  • Who: Young people identifying as LGBTQI+ in years 7 - 13

  • When: Every Friday

  • Time: email justin.johnson@achievingforchildren.org.uk for session times

  • What: A bespoke support group for young people aged 11 - 19 identifying as LGBTQI+. Sessions include access to all of our fun activities as well as support on LGBTQI+ issues impacting the community.

Lighthouse

  • Who: Young people aged 12 - 24 with ASC and/or ADHD

  • When: Every Thursday

  • Time: 6.30pm - 8.30pm

  • What: A fun exclusive youth club for young people aged 12 - 24 with ASC and/or ADHD. Different activities each week including cooking, sports, music and games. Contact Meg.Scott@achievingforchildren.org.uk for a referral form and more information.

These sessions are just a taste of what they offer so please see the flyer with all of the sessions.

HH Term-Time Timetable (1).pdf

Richmond Carers Centre – Young Carers Service

This service currently supports 481 young carers in Richmond upon Thames aged between 5 – 18 years old. They provide a range of tailored support services including:

  • Confidential information, advice and support

  • Emotional support

  • Mentoring programme in schools

  • 1-2-1 support

  • After school groups

  • Holiday activities and events

  • Signposting and referrals to other specialised support services

  • Digital support delivered during the pandemic includes: Mentoring support, welcome sessions for newly registered young carers, family check-in calls, peer support groups and bespoke activity groups

You can access their service here.

Term Dates 2021-2022

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

  • Half-Term: 25 October 2021 - 05 November 2021

  • Christmas break: 16 December 2021 - 04 January 2022

Parents' Calendar