RTS Parents' Newsletter

I hope that you all enjoyed a relaxing Easter break - and managed to navigate the unpredictable weather.

Students have returned revitalised for the Summer Term and already have experienced extra-curricular activities this week - most notably with the entire cohort of Year 9 heading out to Richmond Park to complete a Duke of Edinburgh practice walk today. So far the weather has held out for them and we have received reports back from the members of staff accompanying them that all is going well.

Elsewhere in school, our Year 11 language students are 1 school day away from their live Oral GCSE examinations that start on Tuesday - we wish them all the best and know that they have worked extremely hard in preparation for these exams.

Wishing them, and all our other students and families, a restful weekend.

~Ms K Dooley | Head Teacher

An update on our incredible swimmer, Jack in Year 10. Jack felt incredibly proud to be chosen to represent London in the National ESSA competition and was thrilled to have made the podium in all three events that he was selected for (400 freestyle, 400 Individual Medley and 200 Individual Medley). Congratulations Jack, you are a real inspiration to the school.

On Saturday 16 March, 6 boys from years 7, 8 & 9 attended the First Lego League Challenge competition to compete against other schools with their robot that they had been working on since September. They came 7th in the competition out of 15 schools and walked away with the Judges Award for being considerate to and working with other teams (in other words, "Being Positive Members of their Community"). We, and especially Mr Livermore, are very proud of them and their achievements . Well done to Atiksh, Huw, Louis, Mustafa, Sam and Teddy.

Before Easter, Albina in Year 8, won the competition in Hands Down Interclub and achieved two medals! She won a gold medal for a point fight and a silver medal for a continuous fight.

Congratulations Albina on your achievement!

Last in our Trustee introductions, but by no means least, Gavin has been working in education for over 30 years. He started as a secondary school teacher and progressed to Sixth Form and FE Colleges where he taught A levels and BTEC’s for over 20 years. He has worked at Woking College and West Herts College, and has spent the last 15 years in senior leadership roles, mostly at Uxbridge College, where he has had experience of managing most areas of support and curriculum. He is most proud of the work he has been part of as designated safeguarding and SEND lead changing the lives of vulnerable young people. He was delighted to be appointed as Principal of Richmond upon Thames College in December 2022 and to see the College enter into its merger with both Harrow and Uxbridge Colleges to form the new HRUC college group.

Gavin sits on the board of Quality of Education and is the school's Behaviour/Anti-bullying link.

A gentle reminder that the school is in a heavily residential area and that surrounding areas are marked as Resident parking only. This includes the roads that run from the edge of the A316 to the stadium, eg. Chudleigh Road. Please be considerate to our neighbours if dropping off or collecting your child by car - do not block driveways or leave your engines running.

Egerton Road is a designated School Street and, as indicated by the signs, is a controlled zone during school start and finish times and therefore no cars (other than residents) are permitted.

Just before Easter, the PE Department were invited over to the sports hall construction site to take a look for themselves the progress on works. Fully kitted up in safety boots, hard hats and hi-vis jackets they were able to enter the site and take in the interior build so far. The first two photos are from the site; and the third photo is the view of the site as taken from the RTS roof. The team are very excited for the possibilities that the new building will offer to students and cannot wait for completion (due September 2024).

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:

• Summer Term 1: Monday 15 April-Friday 24 May 2024

• Bank Holiday: Monday 06 May 2024

• Half-Term break: Monday 27-Friday 31 May 2024

• Summer Term 2: Monday 03 June-Wednesday 17 July 2024

The Richmond May Fair returns on Saturday 11th May 2024 and promises to be another fun-filled community event for everyone!

Be Richmond proudly sponsor The Richmond May Fair, returning on Saturday 11 th May

2024 from 10am-5pm on Richmond Green. Everyone is welcome – please come & join in

the fun – check out the flyer attached!

Old favourites like the vintage funfair and dog show return, along with over 200 stalls, the

craft marquee and a variety of food and drink. Local bands, schools and various

performance groups will provide free entertainment throughout the day on the Riverside

Radio stage.

With charities, artisans, businesses and schools all represented, the May Fair is a showcase

for all that Richmond has to offer and plays an important role in helping local charities

promote their work and raise much-needed funds.

If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, stallholder, volunteer, or wish to enter your

dog in the ever-popular dog show – please visit the new May Fair website

www.richmondmayfair.co.uk and follow us on Instagram and X @richmondmayfair.

We are thrilled to have secured Disney’s full scale Moana Jr as our first ever Summer Term production.

And we'd love for your talented Demi-God to join us!

Courage, empathy and camaraderie are all central themes to this charming story….and we will be channelling this into our rehearsals as we set sail for production week. Each of our 5 Tribes (casts) will rehearse from April to June with our Musical Theatre Chiefs (Matt, Rory or Heather) before coming together with our other tribes to perform at Hampton Hill Theatre.

Just like it’s Broadway elder, our combined junior production means more children will have the opportunity to shine on stage as they share roles across 2 performances. This will be a special journey for everyone where - like Moana and Maui - they will make new friendships, challenge themselves, learn to collaborate and be inspired.

This feel good summer show will be filled with Musical Theatre magic so journey with us as we whisk you away to find the Heart of Te Fiti.

https://www.dramacubeproductions.co.uk/youth-company/moana-jr/

In April they are running KoothTalks training webinars specifically to help parents support young people sitting exams, especially if you are worried about their child’s anxiety

Here are the booking links for the free sessions:

Mon 22 Apr. 1-2pm

Thu 25 Apr. 6-7pm

The Mental Health Support Team for Richmond are running a series of online workshops for families, entitled ‘Helping Children with…’.

The last series was very popular and feedback was very positive. These workshops would be a great way to support your child at home if they are experiencing any difficulties in the areas covered.

Click on the first link to sign up; the second link is a follow up feedback form if you attend the session:

• Thursday 16 May: MHST workshop: Helping children with challenging behaviour / Parent feedback form
• Friday 17 May: MHST workshop: Helping children with challenging behaviour / Parent feedback form
• Wednesday 05 June: MHST workshop: Helping children with screen time / Parent feedback form
• Thursday 06 June: MHST workshop: Helping children with screen time / Parent feedback form
• Wednesday 26 June: MHST workshop: Helping children with sleep / Parent feedback form
• Friday 28 June: MHST workshop: Helping children with sleep / Parent feedback form

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