RTS Parents' Newsletter 20 November 2020
Head Teacher's Message
Thank you to Year 8 parents/carers who were able to join us (remotely) for their Parent/Tutor consultation evening. We hope that you found the conversations and feedback useful.
Next week, on Wednesday 25 November, we will host the Year 9 Parent and Tutor Consultation Evening (Remote). School will close at 14.45 for Years 7 & 9 and 15.00 for Years 8 & 10.
We have had over 60 members of the school community (students and staff) self-isolating at home over the last 2 weeks and we thank you for your understanding and cooperation during this time in ensuring that we all stay safe; and for your support and encouragement with remote learning. Please double check any letters/emails sent home to ensure that students are returning to school on the correct date.
Ms K Dooley
RTS Science Gallery
This week we are delighted to share with you some examples of the Year 7 Science half-term project on cells.
School Council Update
School Council representatives for 2019/20 had their final meeting with Mr Parfitt last term. This meeting enabled them to make final contributions to school life and round up their time on school council.
In the week commencing 23 November, Academic tutors will lead their tutor groups through the nomination process for our new School Council representatives for 2020/21. In the same session all students will be provided with an opportunity to vote on the most important topics for the UK Youth parliament to debate in ‘Make your mark’.
We look forward to welcoming and working with our new school council representatives.
Golden Ticket
We are pleased to update everyone that the prizes for the Golden ticket draw have been dispatched and are on their way to school. Remember the MORE golden tickets you have the more chance you stand of winning a prize!
Assessment Point 3 (AP3)
We have sent out emails to all parents/carers today regarding AP3. These assessments will take place during timetabled lessons between 30 November 2020 and 04 December 2020. All students have been informed of the upcoming assessments and will be set appropriate pre-learning tasks which will guide their revision. Some subjects will involve assessments during the week beginning 23 November. These are mostly creative subjects which do not require as much revision as others.
School Library
This week we would like to draw your attention to the school library reading app on your child’s iPad. On the iPad you will see an app called: RTS Library.
Here you will find lots of recommended reading, specific lists for different Key Stages and featured genres. At the moment the homepage shows our GCSE recommended reading list and our featured genre is verse novels!
In year 7 we are also starting our first Google Meets book club with Ms Benson our Reading Lead! The first book will be The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson.
Art Gallery
This week we are excited to share with you some wonderful studies of Converse Trainers for a Pop Art theme in Year 8. We hope that they brighten your day!
School Uniform
A reminder for all students that as we enter the colder months students must be wearing both their jumpers AND their blazers as part of their full school uniform. With windows and doors to classrooms being kept open to increase ventilation, it is important that students are dressed appropriately and warmly. Please remember to add name labels to all coats.
Face Coverings
All students have adapted exceptionally well to using a face-covering in lessons and the change has received overwhelming support from parents and carers.
Staff ensure their face-covering does not negatively impact the quality of communication or the overall teaching delivery. Students do not need to wear a face covering during their PE or Games lessons or when they are outside at break or lunchtime.
Please remember that students are required to wear their face-covering in all communal areas of the school so they must have their face-covering with them at all times. Unfortunately, from Monday 23 November, we will be charging students 50p per disposable face covering that they request from their Head of Year. Issuing disposable face coverings is not sustainable for the school, nor is it environmentally friendly. Any charge will be applied via WisePay.
Attendance Focus
A huge congratulations to the following Houses for their attendance percentage. A special mention to Year 7 House Madiba for holding the highest percentage in the school!
Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10
Madiba Berners-Lee Stoop StoopBerners-Lee Anderson Anderson AndersonAndersonStoopShakespeareIt remains very important that all students attend school to provide them with every opportunity to learn and develop.
If you require any support with the attendance of your child please contact the school.
Staff Update
Please note, a number of school staff are self-isolating due to COVID-19, so responses may take longer than expected.
Merit Milestones
Congratulations to the a great number of students for reaching the following merit milestones: over 50, over 100 and we have 13 students who have achieved over 150 merits since the beginning of term! Well done to all of those students for their exceptional effort - an email has been sent home to all those who have achieved these milestones.
FoRTS News
Please see this week's newsletter from FoRTS with information about this Sunday's family enrichment event.
FoRTS Newsletter 20201120.pdfAfter-School Sport Programme
Starting Monday 23 November we will begin our after school sport programme. This will be run entirely by the RTS PE department and will adhere to all COVID guidelines both from the DfE and also sporting national governing bodies. Please be aware that should guidance change, or staff absence affect us, we may have to amend the programme at short notice; this will be communicated to students either verbally or via their Year Group Notices in Google Classroom.
The three sports on offer to any gender will be Netball, Handball and Basketball to begin with. These sports are open to ALL students. Whilst some may want to be more competitive, the initial emphasis will be on participation, not performance. On evenings where it is cloudy and as we move towards the last day of term (18 December), there may be nights where we are only able to play for 20/25 minutes. Next term, as the days get longer and hopefully with a relaxation of restrictions, we hope that our more traditional delivery of rugby and football will return, alongside longer sessions.
Mondays, 14:25-15:30
Year 7 - Netball, Handball and Basketball
Tuesdays, 16:00-17:00 (or when light fades)
Year 8 - Netball, Handball and Basketball
Wednesdays, 15:45-16:45 (or when light fades)
Year 9 - Netball, Handball and Basketball
Thursdays, 16:00-17:00 (or when light fades)
Year 10 - Netball, Handball and Basketball
We ask that parents complete this Google form to give permission for their son/daughter to be able to attend the sports programme.
Should you have any questions please email the School Office, with the subject line - FAO Mr Roberts - After-School Programme
Local News - Please note RTS does not endorse items included as Local News
Kingston Climate Emergency Youth Survey is now live!
This survey has been created by the Kingston and Richmond Youth Council (KRYC), who are working in partnership with Achieving for Children and Kingston Council.
Their aim is to find out how important you think climate change is, the actions you are taking, and what else you, your family or your school could do to tackle it. This survey was made by young people, for young people, and will take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Your response to this survey will be used to help develop an action plan for Kingston young people to support them in tackling the climate emergency. Young people will be invited to take part in a focus group, facilitated by the Kingston and Richmond Youth Council to help us shape an action plan.
The survey can be completed at this link.
Richmond Lit Fest: 1-27 Nov 2020
Join in this autumn for a festival of books and words, tales, talks and ideas taking place in venues across the borough.
The festival has an exciting programme for adults and children. Highlights include:
Two of the most talked about voices in contemporary YA fiction - Alice Oseman & Lauren E James
Dr Pragya Agarwal unravels unconscious bias in her latest book Sway
Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason talks about raising classical musicians the Kanneh-Masons in House of Music
For full details of the programme and to purchase tickets, visit the website: www.richmondliterature.com
For the latest news follow on Twitter @richmondlitfest #RichLitFest