Ripon Cathedral School Update

We were delighted to welcome Mrs Francis into school this morning as the special guest of our librarians. Mrs Francis’s husband, Ashford, was a volunteer reading helper who spent many years supporting children across the school with the development of their reading skills. The children loved reading with Mr Francis, not only spending time learning the words in the books, but also listening to him explain about some of the topics and places they read about and tapping into his wisdom to develop their love of reading. In his memory, Mrs Francis unveiled a plaque in our school library so that we will always remember her husband’s great contribution to the school. Mrs Francis also presented the ‘Mr Francis Reading Award’ to Natasza in Year 4, the proud recipient of the award from 2024/25. We were very pleased to see so many children receiving their ‘Reading Monster’ challenge awards this morning, who are well on their way towards being in contention for the trophy this year. We are so pleased that the legacy of Mr Francis will live on through this award and the library’s dedication to him.

This morning, we welcomed Sherrie Hunt, formerly co-chair of the Friends of the School group into our Celebration Worship so that we could say a big THANK YOU for all her hard work with the Friends, organising events and raising vital funds for school. Now that her daughter has moved onto secondary school, we are grateful to Mr Hasson for continuing to chair the Friends this school year.

Many of your children will have attended the discos, Summer/Christmas fairs, duck races and other exciting events that have taken place throughout the school years, but do you know about the work that goes on behind the scenes to help to put these events on? Sherrie, Wayne and the team worked tirelessly in preparation for the events and we are extremely grateful to Sherrie for the time she has given during her daughter's attendance in our school. In worship, we presented Sherrie with some flowers to say thank you as she hands on the baton to the other members of the team. The Friends are very keen to welcome new members, so please do get in touch if you can spare any time to attend a meeting, help at an event or put forward a fundraising idea rcpsfriends@gmail.com

On Wednesday, a group of Year 4's went to a football tournament at Outwood. They competed in a league against other schools and put in an amazing performance. After winning all the league games, they got through to the final! The score in the final ended 1-1, so it went to sudden death penalties, where they were just beaten at the end. It was an excellent performance by the whole team! Well done to Archie for receiving a certificate for his determination.

Congratulations to our Stars of the Week celebrated in today's worship:

Nursery - Millie for always trying her best, and always making the right choices.

Reception - Ezra for showing amazing listening skills during our carpet sessions. he has been able to speak confidently about fire safety and has worked so hard to make a fabulous fire safety poster.

Year 1 - Olivia S for always doing the right thing and constantly giving 100% in everything she does. She consistently shows our 3Bs and has a fantastic attitude to learning. We've been especially impressed with her brilliant teamwork skills in PE.

Year 2 - Adith for trying hard to participate in maths and listening carefully to instructions. He has also tried hard to work more independently in English and history.

Year 3 - Cleo for putting thought and detail into her work, showing a love of learning and creativity in all lessons.

Year 4 - George W for a great start to Autumn 2, showing our 3Bs and being an excellent role model and friend to others.

Year 5 - Stanley for really good teamwork during maths this week and always being on task.

Year 6 - Arlo for accepting all challenges and for having a positive attitude to all his learning.

Before the half-term break, our Year 1 class presented a worship to the school and their parents. The worship was all about sharing in our community. They told the story of the 'Stone Soup' and acted it out. The children sang 'with a little help from our friends' and explained that Year 1's courageous advocacy focus will be for Ripon Community House Foodbank.

Next Friday 14th November, our school will be taking part in a fun-filled day to raise money for BBC Children in Need!

This year, we’ll be joining in the “25 for 2025 Challenge”, where children will take part in activities based around the number 25. Each class will choose their own challenge - it could be completing 25 circuits of activities, dancing for 25 minutes, or even creating 25 pieces of artwork!

We are asking parents to sponsor their child £2.50 to take part in the challenge. If every child joins in, we could raise over £500 to support this fantastic cause and help children across the UK. ParentPay has been set up so you can make your donation online.

Children are invited to come to school in non-uniform on the day, and they are welcome to wear something spotty - just like Pudsey Bear - if they wish!

Thank you for your support in helping us make a difference for Children in Need 2025.

We are delighted to be participating in Positive Noticing Day this year on Wednesday 12th November!

We will be spending some time during the day thinking about the power of positive noticing. It is simple, practical, and highly effective. Being positively noticed by others builds self-esteem, supports behaviour and promotes good mental health.

We will be encouraging pupils (and staff!) to positively notice one another.

We encourage families to join in at home too. You can write positive notes for family members on luggage labels, post it notes or pieces of paper. We know that children who are positively noticed by their parents/carers are happier, healthier and more resilient and secure.

You may wish to use Positive Noticing Day as an opportunity to start daily positive noticing in your home. You can create and share positive labels as a family and save them - stick them on the fridge, the back of the door or put them in an old picture frame.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

● ‘I noticed that you put your plate by the sink, that’s really helped me this morning, you are very thoughtful, thank you’

● ‘Doing your homework without me asking shows real independence. I love the determination you are showing’

● ‘You are so good at sharing with your sister/brother. You are such a kind person.’

● ‘I noticed that you were really kind to X at school today. That made me really proud of you’

● ‘Thank you for putting your clothes in the washing basket. I notice that you are following the routine and remembering it perfectly. You are really trying and I appreciate it.'

We hope you enjoy the day, and we want to say that ‘we notice you’ and the effort you make to support your children, engage them in learning and enrich our school community! Thank you.

You can find out more about positive noticing and Positive Noticing Day at https://www.positivenoticingday.com/homeadults

w/c Monday 10th November - Anti-bullying Week

Tuesday 11th November - 10.30am Remembrance Worship led by Year 5

Wednesday 12th November - Positive Noticing Day

Thursday 13th November - Friends' meeting 7pm in the Claro Lounge

Friday 14th November - Children in Need Day

w/c Monday 17th November - Road Safety Week

Tuesday 18th November - School Photographs

Friday 21st November - School Disco

Tuesday 2nd December - 9am EYFS and KS1 Superstars Assembly

Wednesday 3rd December - 9am KS2 Superstars Assembly

Thursday 4th December pm - Christmas Fair

Wednesday 10th December - 2pm Christingle Service at the Cathedral – KS2

Monday 15th December - 1.30pm Nativity Performance 1 at the Cathedral – EYFS and KS1

Monday 15th December - 4pm Nativity Performance 2 at the Cathedral – EYFS and KS1

Wednesday 17th December - School Christmas Lunch

Friday 19th December - School closes for Christmas holidays

There is a Friends' get together on Thursday 13th November at 7pm in the Claro Lounge. It's a child friendly place with suitable board games, so don't hesitate to come along even if you don't have childcare! The main purpose of the meeting is to make sure everything is planned for the disco and Christmas fair. Even if you cannot make the meeting, it would be great to have plenty of volunteers for both the disco and fair, please. If you are happy to be in the Friends' WhatsApp group, please email your mobile number to rcpsfriends@gmail.com, thank you.

We have been asked to share this link with our families should you wish to check the latest school admissions consultation Proposed school admission arrangements for community and voluntary controlled schools 2027 to 2028 | North Yorkshire Council There is also a survey link Proposed School Admission Arrangements 2027/2028 which is due by Monday 24th November.

Email: admin@riponcathedral.n-yorks.sch.uk
Website: www.riponcathedralschool.org.uk
Location: HG41LT, United Kingdom
Phone: 01765 602355
Facebook: facebook.com/riponcathschool