Parent news friday 21st october 2016 to email

The Royal Masonic School For Girls Senior School Weekly News Update

Friday 21st October 2016

SENIOR SCHOOL NEWS UPDATE Friday 21st October 2016 This Term’s Events at a Glance Here are just a few important

RMS Year 11 Work Experience— Plea for Help!

forthcoming events coming up after Half Term...

We run a very successful Work Experience programme for the students in Year 11, (26th

For our full calendar, click here

June - 30th June 2017). The providers that

Wednesday 2nd November

give the students this very valuable

Campaign for Excellence Reception

opportunity come largely from the RMS

Friday 4th November

community. We do not any longer have

FORMS Fireworks

access to an organised provider and so I am

Science trip to Brian Cox, Watford

wondering if you would be able to offer a

Tuesday 8th -Thursday 10th November A Midsummer Night’s Dream

placement at your place of work, or if you might know of someone who could help.

Our students are always extremely highly

FORMS Meeting

thought of - many of our providers comment

Thursday 10th November

that they always consider the experience to be

WITTY Dinner

as positive for the company as for the

Saturday 12th November

students. The placing of the students is taken

Class of 2016 Certificate Presentation

very seriously to ensure that the most

Sunday 13th November

appropriate match is made.

Remembrance Chapel Service

If you would like any further information, or

Monday 14th November

think you might be able to help (or know

Life Skills Evening for Parents

someone who can!), please get in touch with Mrs Isherwood, Head of Careers, via email

Tuesday 15th November

nisherwood@royalmasonic.herts.sch.uk

Year 8 Enterprise Day Australia Social Evening Friday 18th—Sunday 20th November Exeat Weekend Tues 22nd and Weds 23rd November Year 7 “Meet the Tutor” sessions Thursday 24th November Astronomy Extravaganza Sunday 27th November Advent Service

www.royalmasonic.herts.sch.uk

www.twitter.com/RMSforGirls

www.facebook.com/RMSforGirls

SCHOOL INFORMATION Emails Sent this week If you have not received any of the emails listed below, please contact Pippa Hopkins via email phopkins@royalmasonic.herts.sch.uk Whole School

Online Safety Advice from Hertfordshire Constabulary

Year 12/13 History/Politics

Christmas Outing

Whole School

Message from Accounts re Fees Refund Scheme

Parent Portal queries & updating contact details To advise us of any changes to your contact details, change of boarding status etc., please contact changeofdetails@royalmasonic.herts.sch.uk . This is a group email address and your communication will be sent to all the relevant parties within the School. If you have any other questions relating to the Parent Portal, please contact our Data Systems team on data support@royalmasonic.herts.sch.uk

STEAM lectures at RMS 2016-17 for Years 10-13 We have one more exciting lecture this term: on 21st November, we will be joined by Professor Gerry Thomas, a senior academic specialising in the molecular pathology of cancer. Her team’s main research focus centres on the molecular biology of thyroid cancer, in particular radiation associated thyroid cancer. However, they also collaborate with others in projects looking to identify biomarkers for cancer prediction and prognosis.

PLEASE NOTE: This lecture will start earlier than previously advertised, at 4.30pm so we hope that lots of the students will be able to join us in the NMH. We recommend these lectures to all students to give them an insight into different career paths and to encourage them to pursue a STEAM related future. Students from other schools are also welcome to attend, so please so share with friends and family

Life Skills Evening (for parents/guardians of girls in Years 6 to 11) Don’t forget our next Life Skills Evening which will take place on Monday 14th November at 7.00pm.

School Counsellor, Nikki Bennett will talk about “Managing Friendships”. Please note this session is for parents/guardians only and it is not appropriate to bring your daughter/ward with you. If you would like to attend, please email Pippa Hopkins to confirm (phopkins@royalmasonic.herts.sch.uk)

www.royalmasonic.herts.sch.uk

www.twitter.com/RMSforGirls

www.facebook.com/RMSforGirls

SCHOOL NEWS Next WITTY Dinner After the great success of last year's WITTY Dinners, we now invite RMS students to apply to attend the next STEAM event planned for Thursday 10th November from 6.00pm to 8.30pm.

The event is intended to let RMS Senior School students from all year groups meet and talk with special guests in a slightly formal, yet fun setting. Our guests are women who have made a name for themselves in one or more STEAM field, and we have named the events Women In Technology Talking to Young (WITTY) Girl Dinners.

The next event focuses on Social Media, and we are fortunate in welcoming three young experts in this field: Vikki Chowney, Kirsty Marrins and Jamie Klinger.

Vikki Chowney is Director of Content and Publishing Strategy for advertising agency H&K Strategies. You can find out more about here here: www.vikkichowney.com Kirsty Marrins is a Digital Communications freelancer and has been working in Communications and Marketing for the charity sector since 2007. She has presented at a number of conferences and is a trainer for Media Trust and Platypus Digital. She is a proud trustee of the Small Charities Coalition and a CharityComms mentor. You can find out more about here here: www.kirstymarrins.com Jamie Klingler is Head of Publishing Operations at Shortlist Media, "mother" of @mcnultypup (an animal celebrity!), creator of Mr Hyde's National Burger Day and founder of #londonbookclub. You can find out more about here here: www.twitter.com/ jamieklingler This event is open to ALL girls in the Senior School. If you are interested in attending, then we ask you to do some research on each of the speakers, then complete the application form online using your school account (bit.ly/WITTYDinnerF) by 12.00noon on Monday 7th November. Successful applicants will be notified by 4.00pm on Monday 7th November.

If you have any questions, please contact Mr Buddie!

www.royalmasonic.herts.sch.uk

www.twitter.com/RMSforGirls

www.facebook.com/RMSforGirls

SCHOOL NEWS Astronomy Extravaganza Thursday 24th November, 7.00pm Building on the interest created by our recent ESTEAM Focus day and the February live radio link with Major Tim Peake, we are delighted to announce that we have been successful in borrowing some moon rock and soil that were brought back to Earth by NASA's Apollo astronauts, as well as some rare meteorites. These will be showcased in lessons and in an evening demonstration on Thursday 24th November (please note that a separate event will be held for Cadogan House pupils and parents on Wednesday 23rd November) The evening will start at 7.00pm with Dr Sarah Hutton, astrophysicist and Outreach Co-ordinator at University College London, giving a talk on ‘Galaxy Quest: Finding hidden objects in the universe.’ Following on from this talk, there will be an opportunity to take part in different sessions including: 

a Planetarium presentation;



an Observatory demonstration;



a workshop of making spectroscopes;



a talk by Hania Mohiuddin, an engineer at Martin-Baker Aircraft Co Ltd



getting close to the rare artefacts.

This is a FREE event and we hope to welcome as many of you as possible on the day; information on how to secure your tickets on the night will follow shortly.

We are hoping to hold a similar event in the next few years for those of you that are busy on this day or unsuccessful in gaining entry tickets.

We hope to inspire the next generation by giving you all the chance to hold a real rock from space! So please save the date.

www.royalmasonic.herts.sch.uk

www.twitter.com/RMSforGirls

www.facebook.com/RMSforGirls

SCHOOL NEWS RMS to host TEDx Event in December We are delighted to announce that RMS will be hosting a TEDx event at School on Sunday 11th December from 1.00-4.00pm

Background TED is a non-profit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 25 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. The annual TED Conference invites the world’s leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes. Their talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Philippe Starck, Isabel Allende and former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The annual TED Conference takes place in Long Beach, California; TEDGlobal is held each year in Oxford, UK, and this November, the TEDIndia Conference will be held in Mysore, India.

TEDx Youth@RMS The RMS TEDx’s theme is RESILIENCE and we have already confirmed a number of outstanding speakers who will attend the event, including Dr Manrutt Wonkaew (art director, stylist and choreographer), Liz Atkin (visual artist), Tom Fox (experimental instrument maker), Lee Cox (London cabbie and aspiring teacher), Peter Jukes (news curator and podcaster) and former TV Presenter Gail Porter (now a motivational speaker). For more information, visit bit.ly/tedxrmsinfo (this website will be constantly updated as other speakers confirm) Tickets for the event are entirely FREE and will be available to students, members of their families, staff members and the general public. We want to encourage whole families attending and so the ticketing facility will allow Group Booking. We are releasing tickets gradually in batches and full information about the schedule can be found here bit.ly/tedxrmstickets— the first batch will be available after 7.00pm on Saturday 22nd October.

www.royalmasonic.herts.sch.uk

www.twitter.com/RMSforGirls

www.facebook.com/RMSforGirls

SCHOOL NEWS “RMS Works on Paper” Art and Textiles Exhibition at Watersmeet, Rickmansworth ‘RMS Works on Paper’ is an exhibition by our students, featuring a piece of work from each girl who is currently working towards a GCSE or A Level in Fine Art or Textile Design. The exhibition aims to showcase the outstanding preparatory drawings, prints, embroidery, models and photographs that often hide within the pages of lovingly crafted sketchbooks and folders.

Each girl has thoughtfully selected a piece of work that exhibits her talents, observations and interests. The celebratory exhibition launch is on Wednesday 9th November 5.00pm – 7.00pm, and you are invited to come along to celebrate the variety of work on display and the talents of the girls whose work is featured within the show.

Refreshments will be provided and everyone is welcome! For further information call 01923 776611 or email leisure@threerivers.gov.uk Artistsmeet at Watersmeet is open Monday to Friday 9.00am - 5.00pm, Saturday 10.00am - 2.00pm. Entry is free; High Street, Rickmansworth WD3 1EH www.facebook.com/artistsmeet

www.royalmasonic.herts.sch.uk

www.twitter.com/RMSforGirls

www.facebook.com/RMSforGirls

CHARITY NEWS Sparks updates The Deputy Head Girls of Charities, Katie and Hannah have been very busy this week, having held three committee meetings, as well as a cake sale, on Tuesday.

Cake Sale The cake sale was a great success. Many of our Sixth Form Committee members baked a contribution for the cake sale and there were brownies, cookies and cupcakes galore! This certainly made for a scrummy break time feast for the rest of the school and we managed to sell everything that we had made, raising a pleasing total of £235.20!

Drill fundraising On Tuesday evening, some of the Committee, who were in Drill, stood by the doors, collecting money in our Sparks buckets. Thank you to everyone who made a donation; we really appreciate it. On this night alone, we raised a staggering £204!

Badges To top off our week of fundraising, our badges seem to have 'sparked' a lot of interest, among pupils and teachers alike. Our Committee has been selling these every day during lunch times.

The badges have proven extremely popular, so much so that we have sold out of all 250 that Mrs Baron ordered! It is lovely to see so many wearing the Sparks signature star badge in the RMS corridors. However, don’t be disappointed if you did not manage to buy one, as we will be ordering more badges to sell during the first week back. So make sure that you get your hands on this trendy accessory before it's too late!

Halloween Disco Cancellation: Unfortunately, the Halloween Disco, for Years 7-8, has been cancelled, due to a lack of interest.

Those who have bought tickets will be able to get a refund by taking their ticket to centre doors during a lunch time in the first week back. Committee members will be there, selling badges, but they will have a list of who purchased a ticket. We apologise to those of you who did purchase a ticket and we hope that future events prove a bit more successful than this was has!

www.royalmasonic.herts.sch.uk

www.twitter.com/RMSforGirls

www.facebook.com/RMSforGirls

FORMS NEWS FIREWORKS NIGHT – 4TH NOVEMBER Tickets are selling fast for this event so make sure you don’t miss out and get your ticket soon. Please pre-order your food as there will be limited availability on the night. Also bring your ticket on the night for entry and to collect your food voucher otherwise you cannot enter or may have to pay again.

And if you are able to help in any way with set up, manning the BBQ/bar or clear down on this event please email our new volunteers co-ordinators, Maggie MacSwiney and Vic Paul on: forms.volunteers@gmail.com

BUYING A MICRO SCOOTER FOR CHRISTMAS? If so help raise money for FORMS too: Please flyer on main notice board but if are thinking of purchasing a Micro Scooter soon as a gift or for Christmas, please when ordering online use the Schools URN Code: 117641 and 10% of your order will go to FORMS. www.micro-scooters.co.uk

NEXT FORMS MEETING Please join us for the next FORMS meeting in the GDH on Tuesday 8 th November at 7.30pm, where we shall be electing our New Chair of FORMS. Everyone welcome!

www.royalmasonic.herts.sch.uk

www.twitter.com/RMSforGirls

www.facebook.com/RMSforGirls

FORMS NEWS

www.royalmasonic.herts.sch.uk

www.twitter.com/RMSforGirls

www.facebook.com/RMSforGirls