Sixth form bulletin friday 25th november 2016 to send

RMS Sixth Form Bulletin Edition 25: 25th November 2016

Message from Mrs Freeman It is starting to feel a bit Christmassy! I'm deciding that this is allowed during November in school, as we finish halfway through December, so I am encouraging the girls to get into the Christmas spirit by decorating their classrooms and the common room and by attending the Advent Service on Sunday of next week; it is always a lovely occasion and really gets everyone into the festive mood. The following week is the Christmas fair (3rd December) which I love (the smell of mulled wine always gets me excited!). Please if you have any spare bottles of wine, boxes of chocolates or anything else for the raffle, bring them to the NMH. Last night saw the start of the L.E.A.D. £1 challenge whereby students have a seed of £1 which they need to grow. I have already heard lots of good ideas and look forward to seeing how much the girls can make by the end of February half term. As always there is a packed end to the term, made all the more momentous (and sad) that this will be Mrs Rose's last. I know that the girls have some ideas planned, but I would like to encourage them and parents to take this last opportunity to thank Mrs Rose for all she has done; she has been an excellent Head who has set in place a core and unique ethos at the school which has become engrained in staff and students alike, and I for one am very glad that my daughter is a part of that.

Have a good week everyone.

Message from Fenella Watkins-Hale It seems we are all completely back in the swing of things after half term (which feels like months ago now!) Hind House continue to plough through their usual heavy work load plus many extracurricular activities. And on that note, huge congratulations to the cast and crew of A Midsummer Night’s Dream – it was a great success, and I’m happy to hear you received so much praise for your hard work and creativity. Additionally, Year 13 are carrying on organising Sixth Form Entertainment, and are brain-storming a lot of crazy, fun and innovative ideas to make sure Mrs Rose’s last House Day is something to remember.

Have a lovely weekend, everyone!

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Important Information Useful Contacts in the Sixth Form Below are useful contact email addresses for key members of Sixth Form staff.

Mrs Freeman (Head of Sixth Form) cfreeman@royalmasonic.herts.sch.uk Dr Esland (Assistant Head of Sixth Form) kesland@royalmasonic.herts.sch.uk Miss Solomons (Enrichment and Mentoring Co-ordinator) ssolomons@royalmasonic.herts.sch.uk Mr Young (Oxbridge Co-ordinator) nyoung@royalmasonic.herts.sch.uk Mrs Sears (Medicine/Dentistry/Veterinary Science Application Co-ordinator) zsears@royalmasonic.herts.sch.uk Mrs Isherwood (Careers Advisor and Volunteering Co-ordinator) nisherwood@royalmasonic.herts.sch.uk Mrs Eccles (EPQ co-ordinator) heccles@royalmasonic.herts.sch.uk

What are we doing next week?

Monday

Tuesday

Year 13:

Report Reading

Year 12:

Investigating post A Level Options (University courses etc)

Everyone to the New Mark Hall for an “Outside the Bubble” talk by Mrs Kingston on “Women and Positivity”

Wednesday

Chapel

Thursday

Year Assembly with “guest appearance” by Mrs Rose, talking about “Life Beyond RMS” 4.15pm Year 12 “At Home”

Friday

Whole School Assembly

Have a lovely weekend everyone and see you Monday!

Dr Esland

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CHARITY NEWS This week has been another busy and productive week for the Charity…

Cake Sale: On Tuesday, our Sixth Form Committee held a cake sale during break time, for Years 7 to 11. Many of our Committee members baked their own cupcakes, crispy bites, flapjacks and brownies galore!

By the look of the empty table at the end, it would appear that the cake sale was was very popular!

We are pleased to say that we managed to raise a great total of £231.85!

Pizza raffle winner!

For the last few weeks, we have been selling pizza raffle tickets. This have offered people the chance to win a delicious pizza lunch, for the winner to share with her form. This has proven extremely popular and we have been really impressed with the amount of interest that it has received, with some forms feeling particularly competitive which was nice to see! In Great Hall Assembly today, Mrs Rose had the honour of pulling a name out of a hat and the winner was…

Annabelle in Year 7! Congratulations and we will get in touch with your form tutor next week, so that we can organise when and where to hold your pizza lunch!

Christmas Fair Stall: We are going to be running our very own stall at the Christmas Fair, to raise money for Sparks.

Please come along and support us. We will be in the dining room, with an array of exciting activities and items on offer. There will be a lucky dip, cookie decorating, personalised baubles, 'pin the nose on Rudolph the reindeer', face painting, glitter tattoos, a hair salon, a photo booth and lots more, as well as our usual Sparks merchandise, including badges, lanyards, pens and our new addition Sparks Christmas cards!

If this 'sparks' your interest, then come along and help us spread the Christmas cheer. We ho ho hope to see you lots of you there! Merry Christmas!

Advent service donations: We will be collecting money in our buckets at the Advent Service this Sunday. We would really appreciate any donations that can be made. Thank you for your generosity and we look forward to seeing many of you there, for what promises to be both a wonderful service and start to the Christmas season!

Katie and Hannah

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Future Learn Courses

10 courses to start in the next 3 weeks

The Power of Social Media—University of Southampton Explore the impact of social media on the world and learn how to put it to good use in everyday life.

Cyber Security for Small and Medium Enterprises: Identifying Threats and Preventing Attacks—Deakin University Discover and prevent common cyber threats.

Understanding NHS Values: Becoming a Nurse or Midwife King's College London Prepare for an NHS career in nursing or midwifery.

Preventing the Zika Virus: Understanding and Controlling the Aedes Mosquito London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Understand the science behind the Zika outbreak, how it is spread and how it can be controlled.

The Diabetes Epidemic: a Patient-Centred Approach—University of Dundee Find out why type 2 diabetes is becoming so prevalent, and what we can do to prevent and treat it.

Disaster Management: Introduction to Humanitarian Aid—Deakin University Understand the basic principles and approaches to responding to humanitarian emergencies.

View all the courses here

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Important Information: Winter Driving

The party season and winter is fast approaching. Below some really helpful tips to keep ALL young drivers safe, ones which could make ALL the difference between a journey ended well or badly. All this and more information can be found at www.driveiq.co.uk CHECK YOUR CAR: Tyres - Ensure tyres are inflated correctly. Check your handbook or ask the manufacturer. Tread should be at least to 3mm to cope with wet conditions. Consider investing in winter tyres.

Find out more here

Oil - Check the oil is at the correct level. Use the right type of oil for your engine.

Check your

handbook or ask the manufacturer. Over filling can cause problems.

Battery - Will run down quicker in winter. Problem starting? Turn off all non-essential electricals like lights, heaters, wipers etc. Start in short 5 second bursts.

Leave 30 seconds between at-

tempts to allow battery to recover. Regular long journeys make it last longer.

Wipers – Check and replace if necessary. Wipers - If they freeze on the windscreen you might burn out the wiper motor or rip the rubbers when you start the engine. Screen Wash – make sure you have it topped up and add an anti-freeze.

Antifreeze - Protects your engine against extreme cold. Most modern cars have this checked during regular services. Important to use the right type. Check your handbook or ask the manufacturer.

Lights - Make sure everyone can see you by ensuring they are all working and are on the correct setting as you drive. Don’t make yourself a hazard!

Controls - Recap on where everything is. You might need fog lights suddenly and haven’t used them for a while.

Warning Lights – understand what they mean so you don’t panic if one comes on.

Defrosting your windscreen Spray de-icer and use a proper scraper to wipe away excess ice/water. Remember to clean off any snow from the roof and bonnet, as it can blow away as you move, obscuring your vision and endangering other road users, especially cyclists & motorcyclists.

Use the heater correctly by turning on cold briefly. Have air con on at the same time to keep the atmosphere in the car dry. If you don’t have air con, opening the windows a little will help.

Wait – Don’t move off until front, rear, side windows, lights and side mirrors are clear. It’s not just dangerous, it’s illegal

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Winter Driving continued

Driving in Snow & Ice Reduce wheel spin - Pull away in a higher gear, keep revs low and release the clutch gently.

Speed – drive at the correct speed for your limited vision and be prepared to keep your speed down.

Stopping - Leave a safe following distance as it can take 10 times longer to stop. Avoid harsh acceleration, steering or braking.

Overtaking – Is this necessary? Take extra care as your visibility can be reduced, avoid if possible.

Black Ice – It’s invisible, so beware. If you hit a patch your steering will suddenly feel very light, ease off the accelerator, don’t brake, just let your speed reduce as you regain control.

Driving at Night Headlights only cover limited areas on the road and road sides. This means you have less information about what is happening around you. If your full beam is on, remember to dip early to avoid dazzling oncoming drivers.

Driving in Rain Stopping – The Highway Code states stopping distances will be at least double in wet weather as your tyres have less grip on the road.

Speed – Slow down and stay well back from the vehicle in front. There should be about a 4 second time gap. Watch out for fast moving vehicles creating spray.

Flooding – Don’t attempt to drive through deep water if you don’t know the depth as this is seriously dangerous and can cause major damage to your car. Deepest water is usually nearer the kerb.

Driving in Fog Driving in fog is hazardous as it reduces your ability to see others and their ability to see you!

Reduce your speed and have a following distance of at least 6 seconds.

If you cannot see more than 100m find a safe place to stop and wait for it to clear. ! Make sure you can stop in the distance you can see !

Be aware other drivers may not be as cautious as you. Stay alert and stay aware of drivers in front and behind you. If you cannot see more than 100m find a safe place to stop and wait for it to clear. Be aware fog can be patchy and come and go.

Freezing Fog – Water in the air cools on surface contact, so suddenly your windscreen could freeze over.

Don’t use your full beam as fog reflects the light back reducing visibility even further.

Driving in High Winds Crosswinds – could cause other road users including cyclists, motorcyclists and high-sided vehicles to swerve. Keep this in mind when considering overtaking. Take extra care on bridges and open stretches of road.

Take extra care on bridges and open stretches of road.

Driving in Winter Sunshine Low, bright sunshine can seriously reduce your ability to see. If the glare is impeding your ability to see, reduce your speed and pull over as soon as it is safe. But remember don’t make yourself a hazard. Car visor and UV sunglasses may reduce glare.

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Important Information: Winter Driving CONCENTRATION It’s not just about keeping your eyes on the road, your mental concentration is key too.

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Keep distractions in check – phones, passengers, music, day dreaming etc.

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Plan your journey

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Check your route is clear & have a back-up plan

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Check the weather, it may be worse where you are headed

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Do you have enough fuel? Being stranded in the cold can be dangerous

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Do you have the right shoes to drive in?

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Tell friends/family your route and expected time of arrival

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Allow extra time for your journey & stick to major routes, if possible

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Do you know where you will park when you get there? Avoid hills, as starting the car later with ice could be an issue.

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SAFETY ABOVE PUNCTUALITY

Ultimate Winter Car Kit: 

Ice scraper/de-icer

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Warm clothes – coat, hat, gloves & sensible shoes in case you have to get out of the car

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Blanket

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Shovel

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Fully charged mobile phone

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Food & water

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Torch

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Sunglasses

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Tow rope

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Hi vis jacket

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Warning Triangle

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