Weekly News Bulletin Friday 6 September 2019 Headmaster's Roundup It is an absolute joy to have the children back in school. Although we get a lot done during the holidays when rooms are empty, the school comes alive again when the children return and what a great first two days they have had. The excitement on their faces as they met up with old friends, were introduced to their new teachers and enjoyed the new equipment and play space was a pleasure to see and there is a great positive buzz around the whole school. Thank you to FOSMA who kindly donated the new trim trail in the playground that the children have been enjoying - there is a constant queue! We have three new members of staff this term and a new appointment which you will already be aware of. Miss Alex Brotzel and Mr Felix Tiley join us as GAP students and Mrs Rachel Faulkner joins the marketing team. Mr Hollands has now retired and Miss 'Maria' Ibaceta has joined the teaching staff as our MFL Coordinator and teacher for children right down to the Early Years. During the holidays you will have received a communication from me sharing with you how well our senior school students had done in their public examinations. I am delighted that our former RSM pupils successfully performed slightly better than the very high average RGS student. At GCSE, 85% of their grades were 9-7 (Formerly A** - A) and at A Level, 65% of their grades were A* or A. It is nice to confirm once again that our typical RSM cohort more than hold their own at our senior school, reassuring us that the foundations t we put in place at RSM really do prepare them for both secondary schooling and beyond. On Monday 30th September we have the fantastic Dick Moore coming to speak to us about emotional well-being amongst young people. Every parent will be aware that mental health issues in the teenage years are at epidemic levels in the UK and research has shown that for positive adult life satisfaction, the emotional health of young people at the age of 16 is the single most important factor. This eclipses qualifications or any other factors and therefore understanding how to support our children and keep them mentally healthy throughout childhood and the teenage years is perhaps one of the most important things we can do. I would therefore strongly encourage as many of you as possible to join us for this event. This academic year the Bulletin will be issued on a Friday. Marcus Culverwell Reigate Grammar School's Record Breaking Exam Results GCSE Two thirds of all grades received this year are at 9 or 8 (A* equivalent) – the best ever Nearly nine in ten are 9-7 (A*- A equivalent) – the best ever 68 students have ten GCSEs entirely at 8 or 9 – the best ever The typical grade profile of a Reigatian in 2019 is nine or ten 8s A Level Two thirds of RGS students’ grades are at A* and A, and 90% of all grades are at A*-B. The average grade profile of a Reigatian is AAA, and we are delighted to see that this year’s value-added progress scores set a record for RGS. The Class of 2019 leaves to go on to the ‘best-ever’ set of UK and international university destinations, with over 95% of the students receiving Russell Group, Oxbridge or Medical School offers. For the 20th year in a row the pass rate was 100% - amazing! Reigate Grammar School GCSE Reigate Grammar School A Level Results 2019 Results 2019 RSM Summer Holiday Clubs What fun we have had our Holiday Clubs this summer! The summer went by in a flash whilst we entertained up to 50 RSM children each day at both our RSM Holiday Club (Reception to Year 6) and our RSM Early Years Holiday Club (Green Shoots and Kindergarten). The weather was super and the new activities such as Footgolf and a visit to Hobbledown, on top of the already varied programme of activities and visits, were extremely successful. Staff enjoyed leading the onsite activities including Sphero robots, Archery, Tennis and Art & Crafts. We were very impressed with the children’s non-stop energy, enthusiasm and empathy for their friends, it was highly contagious and much appreciated. Thank you to all those children who attended for making our Holiday Club such a pleasure to run and the success that it was! A massive thank you to the staff involved, without your time, energy and enthusiasm it just would not work. We look forward to seeing lots of you in the first week of the October half term to continue where we left off! During one of our art & craft activities, our younger children read Sue Hendra’s story ‘Supertato’. The children were then tasked with recreating ‘Supertato’ and made lovely models. This photograph was sent to the book's publishers and the children received a wonderful response from them saying how much they had enjoyed seeing the fantastic creations. Future Holiday Club Dates October Half Term 2019 RSM Holiday Club – Monday 21st October to Friday 25th October 2019 RSM Early Years Holiday Club (Age 2-4 years) - Monday 21st October to Friday 1st November 2019 Ultimate Activity – Monday 28th October to Friday 1st November 2019 Christmas 2019 RSM Holiday Club – Thursday 19th December to Monday 23rd December 2019 RSM Early Years Holiday Club (Age 2-4 years) - Thursday 19th December to Monday 23rd December 2019 February Half Term – no holiday clubs Easter Holidays 2020 RSM Holiday Club – Wednesday 1st April to Friday 3rd April 2020 RSM Early Years Holiday Club (Age 2-4 years) - Wednesday 1st April to Friday 17th April 2020 Ultimate Activity - Monday 6th April to Friday 17th April 2020 Summer Holidays 2020 RSM Holiday Club – Friday 3rd July to Friday 24th July 2020 RSM Early Years Holiday Club (Age 2-4 years) – Friday 3rd July to Friday 28th August 2020 Ultimate Activity – Monday 27th July to Friday 21st August 2020 Playground Update We are delighted how quickly all the pupils have settled back to school and they have thoroughly enjoyed exploring the updated playground areas. New Staff We would like to welcome the following new staff to our team this term: Miss Maria - MFL Teacher Mrs Faulkner - Marketing Assistant Miss Brotzel - GAP Student Mr Tiley - GAP Student Normandy Trip In August Mr Hollands took 21 children to Normandy for an exciting week of activities, including a day out to a French market and goat farm. The children improved their French over the week, as they completed exercises before their activities and were encouraged by the chateau staff to speak in French. After a fun filled week the children returned happy, safe and also a little tired!! Chateau Team Music Individual Music Lessons at RSM If you would like to take up an instrument this term, please contact Mrs Johnson. We currently have vacancies for all instruments. If you are interested please click here for additional information and a form. Key Dates Lower School Curriculum Evening - Wednesday 11th September Upper School Curriculum Evening – Thursday 12th September Please RSVP via Eventbrite here. Managing Children's Mental Health - An evening with Dick Moore Please RSVP via Eventbrite here. Term Dates up to Summer 2021 For RSM Term dates please click here Holiday Club dates up to Summer 2020 RSM Holiday Club and Ultimate Activity dates are available here For Information: Bank Holiday May 2020 will be on Friday 8 May 2020. Sports Update Welcome back. We hope you enjoyed your summer holidays. As many of you will know we have a sports website, which you can see via the address below. Here you will find the latest fixtures, results and team sheets. Team sheets will usually be published on a Friday afternoon. There will also be copies in the classrooms and on the display board outside the Sports Hall foyer. You can also follow us on Twitter here. Fixtures will be starting next week so please be sure to check the sports website for all details. It is worth noting that there are also small number of Saturday fixtures (the first being Saturday 14th September) so please make sure you check the fixture list. Our sports website is www.rsmsports.org. Upper School Games days are as follows: Tuesday afternoons – Year 3 and 4 Wednesday afternoons – Year 5 and 6 Thursday afternoons – Year 3 and 4 Friday mornings – Year 5 and 6 Please could we ask that all Year 5 and 6 girls come to school dressed in Games kit on Friday mornings. All Year 4 girls should come to school dressed in Games kit on a Tuesday and Thursday. Finally, to start the new term, please can you ensure that all your child’s kit has been clearly labelled. Have a great weekend Mr Forsyth RSM Sport Website FOSMA We hope you all enjoyed the lovely long summer holidays and the children didn’t drive you too crazy! FOSMA have lots of great events this term so it gives you plenty of opportunities to get involved. We also have our AGM at the start of October and a FOSMA launch evening with the date to be confirmed. Please remember we are always in need of help, just a few hours a year or a full commitment to the core team, any minutes you can spare are valuable to us. With your help we can provide more of the added extras for the children to enjoy, books for the library, visits from theatre groups, playground toys (did they all love the new monkey bars?) the list is endless.