RTS Parents' Newsletter

This first half of the Autumn term has positively whizzed by. The Year 7s have settled into their new routines incredibly well and are so confident around school - it feels like they have been here much longer than 7 weeks!

Over the past half-term, we welcomed over 1,000 visitors to the school, all of whom were incredibly impressed with our school and what we could potentially offer their children. You have been in their shoes and can appreciate the decision that they are about to make. Thank you for entrusting us with your children and for your children's support over the various open events - we have had incredible feedback about our student ambassadors and we are very proud of them.

Enjoy your weekend and gather your energy for the last week of this half-term.

~Ms K Dooley | Head Teacher

Year 9 tumbling gymnast Caitlyn Rowe put in a fantastic performance in the Age Group finals on Saturday to place 5th overall in her age category (13 to 14). It was a nailbiting competition where she held third place until the final three gymnasts had competed and she just missed out on the medals.

This solid performance secured her place in the British Championships on Sunday where she competed in the Junior Women’s category for gymnasts aged 13 to 16 years old.

She then scored a personal best for her tumbling run in the morning qualifier and made it to the top eight final in the afternoon, where she eventually finished 8th against the very best tumblers in the country.

She will take this success with her to the French Tumbling Cup in Paris in November when she competes for England in her age group against gymnasts from across the world.

It’s been a busy start to the term in History, particularly for our Year 9s. A small group of students visited the National Archives in September to explore historical documents relating to the Suffrage movement, which they went on to study in their lessons. Seeing, touching and examining 100 year old documents really brought the subject to life, and the students involved thoroughly enjoyed the visit!

You should have received an email from Choice Voting to take part in elections for the new parent trustee. You have until 12 noon on 24 October to vote. We are lucky to have such a supportive parent community and look forward to welcoming the new trustee, elected by you!

If you have any questions, or would like a paper ballot, please contact the Clerk to the Trust Board at clerk@rts.richmond.sch.uk or 0208 891 2985.

We have accumulated a large amount of lost property already in this first half-term - especially metal water bottles. Students have been reminded to check Reception next week, so if you are missing items at home, please remind them to do so. Without names on items we cannot return them and we do not have the space to store them. During the half-term break leftover items will either be donated to charity, added to the pre-loved uniform stock, or unfortunately binned.

Over half-term, please ensure that every item that comes into school is labelled with your child's name - from pencil cases to water bottles, mid-layers to ties.

FoRTS update

We held a pre-loved uniform sale at the school last week which raised an amazing £500.00 for the school and our children. Thank you to Nathalie, Sara and Jo for helping run this.

FoRTS cannot support the school unless we have volunteers; please click this link if you can spare an hour or two to support the fundraising events for the school to enrich our children’s learning.

We are seeking a Treasurer to shadow our current Treasurer this year, with a full-time start next academic year. If you are interested in learning more about this role, please contact Carmelle.

All processes are already in place, so there is no additional work involved. The responsibilities include totaling any money raised, sending it to the bank, and providing termly updates on funds raised and spent.

Volunteer Opportunity: Car Parking Marshalling at Twickenham Stadium

Next month, Twickenham Stadium will host four international rugby matches. At RTS, we utilize these events as a major source of fundraising by renting out car parking spaces and marshalling the parking from 11am until approximately 7pm.

We are seeking volunteers to assist with marshalling. If you are able to donate two hours of your time, please click the link below to join the FoRTS car parking team. You can sign up for available slots at times that suit your schedule.

Join the FoRTS Car Parking Team

Your support is invaluable and greatly appreciated.

Easyfundraising

Great news, we’ve registered Friends of Richmond upon Thames School with #easyfundraising, which means over 7,500 brands will now donate to us for FREE every time you use easyfundraising to shop with them. These donations will help SO MUCH, so please sign up to support us – it’s completely FREE and doesn’t take long. Sign up here: Easyfundraising

FoRTS Volunteering

We do have a lovely small team of volunteers and do have fun especially with the rugby parking marshalling. Join FoRTS by clicking here. It’s as simple as that!

Your FoRTS team,

Carmelle (Chair and Acting Secretary) and Jason & Somi (Treasurers)

General: forts@rts.richmond.sch.uk

Parking: fortsparking@rts.richmond.sch.uk

If you have concerns in relation to a student at RTS or indeed with regards to your own child, you may want to contact Single Point of Access (SPA) which acts as a central information hub for all professional agencies in Kingston and Richmond.

Richmond and Kingston SPA

The SPA phone lines are now open as follows:

• Monday-Thursday 08.00-17.15 and Friday 08.00-17.00 - the phone number during these times is 020 8547 5008

• Out of hours: 020 8770 5000

Hounslow Early Help Assessment

• Telephone number: 020 8583 6600

• Out of hours: 020 8583 2222

• Email: earlyhelp@hounslow.gov.uk

NSPCC:

Speak to a counsellor 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

• Telephone number: 0808 800 5000, or text 88858

• Email: help@nspcc.org.uk

• Signvideo using British Sign Language (Mon - Fri, 9am - 6pm)

Full-term dates and Inset day information is available on the school's website:

• Autumn Term: Tuesday 03 September - Friday 25 October 2024

Please find the Parent Calendar Summary for 2024-2025. Please check this regularly as some dates and times may be adjusted throughout the year.

Something Creepy & Kooky for Half Term!

Addams Family inspired Musical Theatre workshops for 5-7 and 8-12 year olds.

These spooktacular performing arts sessions will be running on the following dates during October Half Term.

30th Oct - Cecil Hepworth Playhouse - Walton on Thames

31st Oct - Hampton Hill Theatre - Hampton Hill

1st Nov - Peter & Paul Centre - Teddington

£25 per child. Sibling discounts available.

Book a place at https://www.dramacube.co.uk/october-half-term-workshops/

The Tween Tribe is an award winning kids club exclusively for tweens & young teens

Our mission is to get tweens off screens & safely exploring the real world.

With no fixed address we run adventure dates in London, departing from KINGSTON, TWICKENHAM & WATERLOO stations.

Please see the flyer for a discount code!

Netball Coach UK camps are open to children in School years 3-10 and are suitable for experienced and aspiring ballers, as well as those new to the game. Expert coaching, skills development and guest coaching from former England Player Lindsay Keable.*

WEEK 1: 24th & 25th October
WEEK 2: 28th, 29th* & 30th October

At Grey Court School, TW10 7HN

9.00am-12 noon

For school years 3-10 (split age groups)

Book at www.netballcoachuk.com/camps

We’re pleased to offer your school community an extra £20 off when booking a minimum of 2 days at our autumn half-term camps. What’s more, we still have discounted rates available, so they can get double savings with this code!

Our camps are a great way to keep children growing in the school holidays. With 6 sessions each day and a choice for every one, they’ll be sure to have an enjoyable and enriching experience with us this half term.

Please include your exclusive discount flyer (attached and below) in your newsletter/parent communications so they can benefit from additional savings.

As part of Kingston Council, Kingston Adult Education provides a range of courses to people aged 19 or over. A lot of their courses are free, and take place in school hours.

They have a number of 6-week courses starting after half term, including:

• Maths for Parents - aimed at parents with children moving into, or already at, secondary school so they can better support schoolwork

• Explore your business potential: a pathway to self employment - a 6-week course to consider how your skills can be used to make a successful business

• A range of wellbeing courses to teach you how to take better care of your mental health

• French and Italian courses - for those learners with basic or no previous knowledge of these languages.

Enrolment is also open for a range of qualification courses starting in January, including Bookkeeping; Childcare; Community Interpreting; Counselling; Information, Advice and Guidance; and Understanding Mental Health.

See their latest prospectus for further details about these courses as well as their wider offering: bit.ly/KAE-2425prospectus

Their classes take place both online and at centres across the Royal Borough of Kingston.

For further information, please contact Kingston Adult Education directly on 020 8547 6700 or at adult.education@kingston.gov.uk

The Girls U13 Hampton and Richmond Youth football team are currently looking for U13 girls to join our existing squad (school year 8). All ability levels welcome.

Contact details are in the flyer - the manager is a parent of an RTS alumni.

Barnes FC is the FA founding member and the sixth oldest football club in England, established in 1862. The club founded by Ebenezer Cobb Morley (founder of the FA rules) in 1862 and was run from 1926 to 1972 by Leslie Kilsby, from Stanton Road Barnes and two years ago the old club was revived.

As a not-for-profit organization, committed to providing healthy activities for adults and youth, we are actively seeking support from local schools.

Currently we are looking for children aged 12 and 13 for our U15 team and girls 16+ for our ladies team . Next year we hope to have more teams .

We train Wednesdays at 6.00pm -8pm at Barn Elms Sports Centre , (top) of Queen Elizabeth Walk, Barnes, SW13 ODG (youth teams) (with home matches on a Saturday) and the adult women team train and play at Quintin Hogg Riverside pitches in Chiswick on a Thursday evening (with home matches on a Sunday).

If you are interested, please contact:

Julie Burgess

Secretary, Barnes Football Club

07897506524

secretary@barnesfootballclub.co.uk

www.barnesfootballclub.co.uk

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