Parent Bulletin 14Th February 2020 Excellence Every Day
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Parent Bulletin 14th February 2020 Excellence every day Thought for the week Lent Word of the week (Any student using the word of the week correctly will receive an achievement point). Algorithm - A process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations, especially by a computer. Book of the week from Mrs Bennett Can You See Me? by Libby Scott & Rebecca Westcott Dear Families, Bon voyage to Mrs Abrahams and everyone who is going on the RMS Ski Trip this evening. We hope you have a safe and enjoyable time. Well done to Mr Cain and our Engineering students who won the Fluor Challenge! There’s an article about this below. Year 9 options interviews have been progressing well- many superb conversations have been taking place, and we can see that there is a great deal of talent in the year group. Thank you to all the parents and carers who have made time to come in and discuss their children’s exciting course choices. Discussions about future sixth form colleges, universities, degree courses and next destinations in general have been superb. We’re looking forward to the next steps. The Chair of our Trust, Mr Reader, asked me to thank you for your responses to the single question survey that was sent out a couple of weeks ago. Trustees, with senior leaders, had a discussion and debate session on Monday night when they took the opportunity to study responses from all our stakeholders, with a view to starting to shape the future strategic direction of the school. Once we have some more concrete vision/aims statements we will start to map out the direction of travel. After that we will be consulting again and inviting parental contributions for a second time. Coronavirus (2019 nCoV aka CoViD19) - Advice for everyone Public Health England are saying this: you should not be unduly worried about the possibility of catching the Coronavirus. A UK wide campaign has been launched to provide clear advice on how to slow the spread of Coronavirus. Please help to support the campaign which promotes basic hygiene practices, such as regularly washing hands and always sneezing/coughing into a tissue, to stem the spread of viruses. We recognise that some families may be planning to travel during the forthcoming half term period. If so, please refer to the FCO’s latest travel advice via this link https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus. If you are planning to travel to a likely Coronavirus destination such as those listed below please follow the instructions on https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/ when you return to the UK. ● Wuhan or Hubei Province in China in the last 14 days (even if you do not have symptoms) ● other parts of China, including Macau and Hong Kong, in the last 14 days and have a cough, high temperature or shortness of breath (even if it's mild) ● Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Republic of Korea or Malaysia in the last 14 days and have a cough, high temperature or shortness of breath (even if it's mild) ● in close contact with someone with confirmed coronavirus ● Do not go to a GP surgery or hospital. Call 111, stay indoors and avoid close contact with other people. ● Tell 111 about any recent travel and any symptoms you have. RMS Challenge announcement updates! Mrs Robinson says: We have made it 59% of the way to Siberia which is the first race that Jordan Wylie did. We are hoping to follow his path BUT at the moment he is at least one extra race ahead of us. Stats below as of 13/2/2020 If you would like to support staff efforts and help us to run, cycle, ride, row, swim and walk further and harder, please visit our fundraising site: https://givepenny.com/round-the-world-challenge All funds will go straight to completing the building of Jordan Wylie’s School in Djibouti. Hampshire CC proposals to make a walking route from Hook to Robert May’s School / removing free school bus service The second of three public engagement meetings took place in Hook J S on Wednesday night, concerning the walking to school route proposed by HCC officers. We are aware that many people in Hook are very grateful to Mrs S Vinten and her colleagues in PAACT (positive Action Against Transport Cuts) who have led the challenges to this scheme. If you wish to write to complain to the county council about the potential removal of free school buses from Hook to RMS, please send them to [email protected] . There is a final public exhibition of the plans which is to be held on 25th February from 3pm-8pm in Hook Community Centre. Have a lovely break. Joanna C West Notices and news: CONTACTING THE SCHOOL Robert May’s School aims to ensure that all students have access to the best possible educational experience, in order that your children - our young people -leave us as well-qualified, accomplished, rounded people who are able and willing to make a positive contribution to others’ lives, in the locality, the country and the world. We support our aims by asking our students to follow the Robert May’s Way. The three key pillars of the Robert May’s Way are Respect, Manage and Support. We ask everyone to respect each other and respect the hard work that is going on to enable students to lead fulfilling lives in the future. We invite all to manage themselves, their work and their behaviour so that relationships are harmonious and all activities lead to fruitful outcomes for our young people. We ask everyone to support each other, so that no-one is left behind or left out. We are asking parents, carers and all adult visitors to adhere to the Robert May’s Way when dealing with the school and its staff, and to be aware of the following points: ● All staff working at the school have the right to work in a safe and positive environment. They are expected to be good role models for our students. The same is expected of visiting adults and parents/carers. ● Staff should not be expected to deal with matters that cannot be resolved sensibly and calmly. The school will not tolerate rudeness, threats or aggression of any kind from visiting adults/parents/carers. It is not appropriate, for example, to demand to meet with a member of staff instantly without an appointment, or to remain on-site without an invitation. The school has powers to bar adults who behave unacceptably. Between 8.25am and 2.25pm our teachers, team leaders and tutors are teaching. If you need to get in touch over an academic or pastoral matter directly related to your child, the best way to begin is to email [email protected] and make sure that the name of the teacher you wish to contact is in the message heading. ● Teachers will not be able to respond during the normal school day, but they will do their best to respond as soon as they can, once students have left the site and any relevant meetings and training sessions have taken place. ● Funding for schools has been uncomfortably tight for a number of years. Staffing has been cut over the last 3 years in order to try and maintain a prudent and balanced budget each year. This means that all staff in school are working to maximum capacity and are very time-constrained. Their main focus is always going to be the learning and well-being of the children and young people who are on roll at RMS. All staff have been directed not to answer emails between 5pm and 8am on weekdays, during weekends or designated holidays. This is in compliance with the government's initiative to reduce teachers’ workload and also to allow our staff to exercise their right to a family life. Thank you for respecting our approach to face-to-face and online communications, and thank you for your continuing support. MUSIC DEPARTMENT DATES 4th - 6th March - GCSE Performance Exams. All year 11 students have been given their individual date and time slot for this exam Saturday 7th March - Mayor's concert 7pm. Chamber choir and Acapella group to meet at the Anvil backstage door at 4.30pm. Tickets available from the Anvil box office Thursday 19th March - GCSE Concert 7pm. All year 10 GCSE music students will be performing in this concert. This is also an opportunity for the Year 11's to perform their exam pieces. Link to tickets for GCSE Concert on 19th March Tuesday 31st March - Spring Concert 7pm. All extra curricular music groups will be showcasing their talent in this end of term concert. Link to tickets for Spring Concert on 31st March CHAMBER CHOIR AND ACAPELLA GROUP We will be performing at the Anvil theatre in Basingstoke on Saturday 7th March in the Mayor's concert. The concert will take place in the evening and there will be a rehearsal in the afternoon. As soon as I have more details I will pass these on to parents but please can I ask you to keep this date free. Tickets are available from the Anvil website. PERIOD PRODUCT SCHEME Robert May’s have been providing free period products to students for a number of years, for example, if a student has forgotten to bring products in or if their period starts unexpectedly. These products were previously provided as free samples from commercial companies and by charities.