Parent Bulletin 9 9 16

Welcome back to the new academic year. It was a pleasure to welcome our new Year 7 students into school last Friday and I am very pleased that they have made such a positive start and settled in to life at Roding Valley High School with apparent ease.

Mr Hudgell, Year 7 Progress Leader, and his team of tutors have made every effort to ensure that all the students have been supported in getting to know their form groups and make new friends. I have spoken to lots of the year group and I have been very impressed with their maturity and politeness. I think that we can expect great things from them in the years to come.

This summer saw our first cohort of Year 12s sit their AS examinations. Results Day in August is always a time when there are some nerves but it was lovely to see so many happy faces when the envelopes were opened. It was great to see lots of students achieving A and B grades across the range of subjects. Our overall ALPS score of 4 means that our students achieved above expected levels of progress which is a tremendous achievement in our first year of delivering Post 16 courses. I would like to thank all of the staff who supported the students through this first year as it has taken a vast amount of work, but the outcomes demonstrate that this time has been spent wisely. Very well done to Sophie Humphreys who achieved two As and two B grades as well as Olivia Tinker and Natasha Meunier-McVey who both achieved two As and 1 B. I wish the year group every success as they embark on Year 13.

At GCSE there were also lots of success stories and the results showed an improvement on last year. Our positive Progress 8 score of 0.17 means that our students have made above expected progress across their best 8 subjects which is very pleasing. 66% of our students achieved A*-C grades in Maths and English and with 73% of students achieving at least a C grade in English and 72% in Maths. I am delighted to say that 17 students achieved 8 or more A* - A grades across their subjects. Very well done to Doncho Atanassov, Sienna Baki, Thisbe Barnett, Isabella Bramley, Samantha Cockram, Lizzie Cushion, Isobel Hooper, Chloe Humphries, Toby Parsons, Lucy Raymond, Giedre Sulcaite, Matthew Tinker, Jade Tucker, Emily Willis and Tegan Wrate who all managed this superb feat. I am delighted that as a consequence of our pleasing GCSE results we have been able to recruit 86 students into our Year 12 this year. It is wonderful to see so many of our highest achieving students choosing to stay at Roding Valley for their A Levels and we have also attracted students from other local schools. The Sixth Formers have made a great start to the year and I would like to thank Mr Harris and his team for ensuring such a positive atmosphere.

May I just mention that the Year 10 Parents’ Information Evening is taking place next Thursday evening,15th September 2016. If you are the parent of a child in Year 10 please make every effort to attend as the evening is designed to support you as parents to help your child achieve highly in their GCSEs. We realise that this can be a stressful time for parents as well as the students, so we want to arm you with everything that you need to know to make the next two years as productive as possible. Since there are so many changes to the GCSEs it makes it even more important that you as parents attend the presentation. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible on the night.

Have a lovely weekend James Luck Headteacher You can follow us at www.rodingvalley.net , on Facebook at the ‘Roding Valley High School Official’ page or on Twitter (@RodingValleyHS). You can also sign up to our free electronic media release service at rodingvalleymedia@gmail.com

Students at Roding Valley High School celebrate “impressive” GCSE results The headteacher of Roding Valley High School has congratulated students on an “impressive” set of GCSE results.

Jim Luck said: “We are very pleased that 66 per cent of our students secured A*-C in English and Maths and we are delighted that 75 per cent of our students have exceeded expectations in terms of the government’s progress measure.

“As such the vast majority of our students are making progress above that which is expected on entering the school.

Top students were: Doncho Atanassov, Sienna Baki, Thisbe Barnett, Isabella Bramley, Samantha Cockram, Lizzie Cushion, Isobel Hooper, Chloe Humphries, Lauren Humphries, Kathleen McGlynn, Toby Parsons, Lucy Raymond, Giedre Sulcaite, Matthew Tinker, Jade Tucker, Emily Willis and Tegan Wrate who each achieved eight or more A* to A grades across their subjects.

Mr Luck added: “This is a fantastic achievement and very well done to them all. Given these achievements it has enabled us to enrol a record number of students into our Sixth Form.

“It has been wonderful that so many students were able to meet our stringent entry requirements and we look forward to an excellent set of A-Level results in two years’ time.

“We are proud of the achievements of our students and this set of results reflects an enormous amount of hard work and dedication.

“There is no doubting the commitment and determination of our students who have performed to a very high standard across a broad range of disciplines.

“I would like to thank the staff for their unstinting support of the students and would also like to thank the parents whose role in this success should not be underestimated.”

Matthew Tinker (six A*s and six As) and Thisbe Barnett (five A*s and five As)

RODING VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL SUPPORTING MACMILLAN COFFEE MORNING FRIDAY 30 SEPTEMBER 2016 T1 AT BREAK TIME ALL REFRESHMENTS & CAKE 50p each.

ALL STUDENTS WELCOME—COME ALONG AND SHOW YOUR SUPPORT

Piano Lessons: To book piano lessons please contact rosswall@gmail.com

Singing Lessons: Private singing lessons are now available. Please contact Alex Larke for more details and to book your slot. email: alex@thevocaltutor.com Drum Lessons: One to One, Two to One and Small Group lessons available. Learn with your friends! Contact: marksevel@hotmail.com Guitar Lessons: Lessons slots are available on Mondays with lessons priced at £12 per half hour. Please contact Steve van Niekerk on vn.steve.vn@gmail.com if you are interested.

The PTA's 1st meeting of this academic year is next Monday, 12th September, at 7.00pm—we meet in the Main reception. We are only a small group and would love to see some new faces!!

Dear Parent/Guardian As you may be aware, ParentPay have now changed their website, but with this comes an extra step that needs to be completed in order to update your child’s online School Meals & Trips Account.

Once you have uploaded an amount to “your account” you then need to complete the following steps: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Once you are on your home screen it should appear in the top right hand corner “your account” with the value that you have just topped up Under your child’s name, select “pay for items” It will then give you a list of all items you are able to pay for. Please click “view details and pay” next to your chosen item A box will then appear and in the “edit amount” box please enter the value you would like to add to your child’s lunch/trip account

Please be advised that if the above steps are not completed the money will not appear on your child’s account.

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact the finance office who will be pleased to help you with your query.

Kind Regards Karen Salmons finance@rodingvalley.net 02085081173 Finance option 3

PE Twitter Account The PE department have activated a Twitter account where regular PE updates, extra-curricular news and curriculum information will be regularly published. Follow @RodingValleyPE to keep up to date with our department.

Mr Hudgell The Humanities Faculty has a Twitter account designed to promote sites of interest, pre-reading, revision, humanities information, news and general humanities support.

It is aimed at all KS3, KS4 and A-level Humanities Students and can be followed @humsrvhs

You can follow us at www.rodingvalley.net and on Facebook at the ‘Roding Valley High School Official’ page.

Our Twitter (@RodingValleyHS) account is a great place to keep up to date with some of the latest news and activities in school.

You can also sign up to our free electronic media release service at rodingvalleymedia@gmail.com

ATTENDANCE MATTERS…..

Student Absence If your child is unable to attend School for any reason then please report their absence by phoning the school number by 9.30am, you must also ring in each day of your child’s absence.

020 8508 1173 On their return to School please ensure your child brings with them a letter or medical evidence if requested explaining the reason for the absence for our records.

Medical Appointments When possible please make sure you make any medical or dental appointments outside of school time. If this is not possible then please try to ensure that your child attends before and/or after their appointment Holidays in Term Time It is not school policy to authorise any holidays during term time except in exceptional circumstances. If you put in a holiday request a ‘Leave of Absence’ form must be completed (these are available at Student Reception).

Please be aware if the absence is not authorised and the holiday is taken, the case may be referred to the Education Welfare Service who may issue a Penalty Notice for £120 (or £60 if paid within 21 days) to each parent for each child taken out of school.

For full details regarding attendance please see our Attendance Policy which can be found in the ‘Parents’ section on our website or contact Mrs Jeanette Low our Attendance Officer on the school number.

Guidance for Common Ailments Please see, on the following page, guidance from the NHS of common childhood illnesses; this advises what type of illness requires time off from school and what does not. Should you require further guidance please contact the school.

Access to Water in School Parents, please be aware that the canteen has jugs of water available both during lunchtime and break time for all students to access.

Bottled water is sold at all outlets Large bottle 50p Small bottle 25p If a student is overdrawn or has no money on their lunch account, they will always be sold water.