RTS Parents' Newsletter

What a week this has been! The weather has certainly kept us all on our toes - experiencing glorious sunshine to torrential rain and all in the space of an hour. Wet break and wet lunchtimes are challenging for all as we are conscious that the students (and staff) need fresh air and, especially for some, a chance to expel some energy.

We were fortunate however that the weather held for us on Wednesday evening for our annual Open Event aimed at Year 5 and 6 families looking to put RTS on their secondary school application forms. As ever, staff and student ambassadors worked extremely hard to showcase the school at its very best. We are rightly proud of our students and we have received such fantastic feedback about their engagement with families. They are a true credit to you as parents and us as a school and embody our value of being a positive member of the community.

Please do keep checking in with the RTS Parents' Calendar to see what events are coming up in school; and a reminder that we will have an early finish at 15:00 on Wednesday 02 October for the Y11 Subject Teacher consultations.

Some of your children may have worked with Paul Nunn, Learning Mentor (Inclusion Team) at some point over the past four years. He leaves RTS on Friday 04 October, for pastures new. We wish him all the very best in the next chapter of his career.

I hope that you have a lovely weekend.

~Ms K Dooley | Head Teacher

Earlier this week the Year 8 boy's rugby team were winners against Teddington with a massive 45-10!

Despite the weather throwing everything at them, with four seasons in one game, and only have one sub; the boys put in a massive shift and were dominant when they had the ball in hand.

Forward of the match: Stanley S

Back of the match: Finley G

This week, as representatives of the RTS community, Year 10 and 11 GCSE Spanish students have experienced vast amounts of entertainment and fun in Malaga. For example, adventurous promenades around the town of Benalmádena, experiencing live flamenco dancing; and authentic paella making as well as tapas tasting and a cooling beach trip. Furthermore, accommodation consisted of an all inclusive breakfast and dinner buffet, refreshing pool dips and comfy and spacious rooms. Overall, despite there being some linguistic challenges along the way during the Spanish lessons, everyone as a whole has drastically improved their Spanish speaking skills and have loved the Andalusian experience and can’t wait to share their stories when they return home and to school.

Thanks to Suki for sharing her experiences.

Being a trustee can be a truly rewarding experience, and RTS has one parent trustee vacancy on the Trust Board.

The role is to contribute to the work of the governing body in ensuring high standards of achievement for all children in the school. We encourage applicants from a range of different backgrounds, skill sets and experience .

A letter will be sent out via Arbor on Monday detailing how you can nominate yourself. If you don’t receive emails from Arbor, please contact the clerk to arrange a paper copy (clerk@rts.richmond.sch.uk) or via the school office on 0208 891 2985). We look forward to hearing from you!

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)

FoRTS Volunteers

If you can spare an hour or two in the new academic year to support the fundraising events for the school to enrich our children’s learning please click this link.

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.

RTS car parking marshalling

With the Autumn Internationals starting in a matter of weeks, we invite you to donate two hours of your time to support the marshalling efforts alongside other enthusiastic and like-minded parents.

If you are available to assist with this or future events, please contact the parking team at fortsparking@rts.richmond.sch.uk.

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

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

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

• Wednesday 02 October: Early finish for all students at 15:00

• INSET Day: Friday 11 October

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

Nuffield Health have created a programme - Move Together aimed at girls aged 11-16. Classes take place at Nuffield Twickenham on Wednesdays at 16:30. Enrol now for free weekly fitness classes, exclusively for girls aged 11-16.

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.

Limited Places Remaining!

We can't wait to start rehearsals for Disney's Beauty & The Beast JR in Walton on Thames, Teddington, Twickenham and Hampton Hill.

Come join our award-winning casts where every child has a part to play - regardless of their experience.

YOUTH THEATRE (13-18 YRS)
YOUNG PERFORMERS (8-12 YRS)
MINI MUSICALS (5-7 YRS)

• Spaces still available on Kingston Adult Education courses starting in coming weeks

• English, maths, digital skills, childcare, vocational, wellbeing, arts & crafts, language, history and creative writing courses offered

• Plus Job Search Programme providing practical advice to people wanting to return to work after a break or looking to change careers

• FREE and discounted courses offered

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

Furthermore a number of their courses are government funded, therefore free or offered at reduced rates to eligible learners.

Places are still available on courses starting this month. See their latest prospectus for a full listing of available courses: bit.ly/KAE-2425prospectus

To enrol, click on the relevant link in the prospectus or contact them directly on 020 8547 6700 or at adult.education@kingston.gov.uk

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

Barracuda's have October half term camps available locally!

We’re pleased to offer you an exclusive discount code. We’re offering parents £20 off your local camp with the code SCHOOL20.

We also have our Early Booking Offer available up to 22nd September so parents can save up to £85 with our discounted rates and your exclusive code if they book now!

Just a reminder, as we're Ofsted registered, we also accept ALL Childcare Vouchers and Tax-Free Childcare.

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