RTS Parents' Newsletter 28 May 2021

Head Teacher's Message

I have been incredibly proud of students across the school this half-term. Returning to a semblance of normality within school is a relief after so long. Students have been able to take part in inter-school sporting events, continued to participate in online challenges and online interviews with scientists, as well as continuing with their school day and the relaunch of enrichment.

The maturity of our Year 10s, who sat their first public style examinations this week, was an absolute pleasure to see after the disrupted first year of studying for their GCSEs.

During the half-term break I would kindly like to remind you of the importance of continuing to stay safe and, for those who are participating in the programme, to continue twice weekly LFD testing. With students no longer wearing masks in school, the relaxation of some social distancing rules and with the expected good weather after so long, it is critical that we remain cautious. During our final half-term please do not overlook any symptoms of coronavirus in any household members at home and do not send children in if this is the case. We have not had a single confirmed case in school this term and have not had to send any students home - other schools in the area have not been so fortunate.

Thank you for your continuing support - stay safe and have an enjoyable and restful half-term break.

Ms K Dooley

Round(ers)up!

Our summer of sport continued this week with both the Year 7 and Year 8 Girls participating in Rounders tournaments hosted by Orleans Park. Thankfully the Great British summer weather held out and we managed to play all of our games without getting soaked!

The Year 8 Girls were overall victors, winning on the amount of rounders scored, after tying with Orleans park for games won. Well done to Layla, who received two nominations, and Maggie who were voted players of the match by each of the opposition teams.

In what was their first competitive girls fixture for RTS, the Year 7 girls were fantastic ambassadors for the school. They showed excellent resilience, determination and positivity whilst playing with smiles on their faces all afternoon. Long may it continue!

Well done to all the girls involved.

Dates for the Diary

Half-term

  • School closed 31 May-04 June.

  • Back to school Monday 07 June at normal time - 08:20 for Years 7 &9 and 08:35 for Years 8 & 10.

Immunisations

  • Wednesday 09 June - Year 9: HPV1 (boys and girls)

AP6 - Year 7 and Year 8

  • Monday 14-Friday 25 June

Internal assessments will be taking place in school for all Year 7 & 8 students during this 2 week period.

An email was sent to all Year 7 & 8 parents/carers on Thursday 27 May containing the assessment schedule and details of topics and support to guide revision.

LFD Testing

LFD at Home Tests - Students

A further box of LFD tests were sent home to all participating students on Thursday. Please continue to take the tests on Sunday and Wednesday evenings during half-term and report the results as normal. We will not be able to send reminders over the break. Thank you for your ongoing support.

LFD at Home Tests - Parents/carers

You can now order/collect LFD tests free of charge from the following:

RTS Art Gallery

This week in celebration of Yayoi Kusama's successful exhibition at the Tate Modern the Year 7's have created their own versions of the spotted pumpkin!

The RTS Way

During Science Week in March, students took part in a series of live chats with scientists from a wide range of disciplines including: microbiology, cancer biology, robotics; and climate science. Students were able to ask any questions they liked about the scientists' jobs, research, hobbies or lives! 864 students from 26 schools across the UK logged in to take part in the event.

A huge congratulations to Jessica, 7BL who was voted for by scientists as the most engaged student who asked the best questions in the live scientist chat. Jessica was chosen as the winner out of all of the students who participated across the UK. She has received a certificate and a gift voucher for her fantastic contribution.

Well done from all of the Science Department at RTS!

Transition - Year 7 September 2021

We are regularly updating our dedicated RTS Transition website for our new Year 6-7 parents. If you have a query about enrolment, Summer School, school uniform, Induction Day, or anything else; please check on the Transition website in the first instance. There is also a wealth of information on the main RTS website.

Dates for your diary

  • Wednesday 16 June, 18:00-19:30 - New Y6-7 Parents Transition Evening (remote)

  • Monday 05 July, 09:00-13:45 - Induction Day for Y6-7 students

Humanities Designs

Year 7 have been exploring England’s relationship with other countries in the United Kingdom during the medieval period. During lessons students came to the conclusion that Wales does not have much visibility on the Union Jack flag so Ms Harding challenged them to design a new Union Jack which equally represented all four nations in the UK.

Here are some of their ideas:

Maths Challenge

Mr Roxburgh shares with us an update from the Junior Maths Challenge which took place at the end of April:

A big well done to all of the Year 7 and 8 students who took part in this year's Junior Maths Challenge. In total, 50 students have received a certificate: 36 bronze, 11 silver and 3 gold.

Congratulations to Matilda, 7MA, Evelyn, 7MA and Wabi, 8SE who received a gold certificate and have qualified for the Junior Kangaroo follow-on round.

This is a great achievement and a testament to the hard work and dedication of the students at RTS.

FoRTS News

FoRTS would like to wish you all a lovely half term. We hope you can relax and re-charge and enjoy some sunny weather!

The Big PTA Summer Raffle

The Big PTA summer raffle has now been launched! Tickets are limited, so don’t delay – you can buy tickets here. For £3 you will get one entry into each of the 12 draws - that’s 12 chances to win up to £5,000! More tickets equals more chances to win! Two draws will run daily from 12 July to the 17 July. We hope that you can support us in this fundraising event, and remember to share with family and friends!

AmazonSmile and easyfundraising

As a charity, we continue to raise funds from donations as people shop online. As you know, if you shop online and are signed up as a supporter of ‘Friends of RTS’ on easyfundraising and AmazonSmile, companies donate to us at no cost to yourself.

Amazon has donated £47.95 as a result of AmazonSmile programme activity between 1 January and 31 March 2021.

At the moment we have 46 supporters via AmazonSmile and 40 via easyfundraising – which is roughly 10% of the RTS parent population, so hopefully we can improve this. If you have not already signed up, we’d love to have your support!


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

Invitation to parents to complete survey for the Educational Psychology Service

Achieving for Children wants to hear the views of parents and carers across Kingston and Richmond about the type of information they would like to see online about their Educational Psychology Service so that they can ensure our website meets the needs of parents and carers in the boroughs. This survey has four parts and will take no longer than five minutes to complete.

This survey is optional, but completing it will help AfC to improve provision to meet the needs of children, young people and families.

You can access the survey here: https://forms.gle/62zre2enYXTAKe967

Deadline for response: Friday 18 June 2021

Young People Speak podcast

Young People in Kingston and Richmond have been planning and recording podcast episodes, based on topics and issues that interest them. The latest episode features three young people interviewing Ian Dodds (the Director of Children's Services for Kingston and Richmond).

The podcast can be accessed on Spotify here.

Richmond CVS

Richmond CVS supports all charity, community and voluntary activity in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In place of their annual in-person Volunteer Fair, this year they have scheduled a free online volunteering event for the community on 10 June.

Flyer - Volunteer Event June 2021 FINAL.pdf

Half term activities - Powerstation Youth Centre

PowerStation Youth Centre in Mortlake is running activities for young people aged 5-19 years old during the May half term. Online booking here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/afc-powerstation-youth-centre--30671500044

Activities range from cooking and multi-sports during the new ‘Just a Taste’ sessions to music, nature projects and much more.

Term Dates 2020-2021

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

  • Summer Half-Term break: 31 May-04 June 2021

  • Last day of Summer term for students: Friday 16 July 2021

Parents' Calendar