Rossett News Update - 1 April 2022
Spotlight on Rossett Curriculum
Farewell to Mrs Saunders
Today staff and students said 'farewell' to Mrs Saunders (Student Support Officer: Year 11). Mrs Saunders is moving on to work for a children’s charity and will be sorely missed by all of our students and her colleagues.
From Monday 4th April, the following changes to the Year 11 pastoral team structure will apply:
- Safeguarding issues/concerns – Mr D Royles (Deputy Headteacher)- droyles@rossettschool.co.uk
- Attendance – Mrs S Ashman (Attendance Officer) - sashman@rossettschool.co.uk
- Year 11 queries/pastoral support – Mr Bulmer (Director of Learning) - bu@rossettschool.co.uk
- Year 11 academic support/intervention - Mr Bainbridge (Year 11 Academic Support Mentor) - tbainbridge@rossettschool.co.uk
- Year 11 exam queries/special considerations – Miss Allan (Exams Officer) - jallan@rossettschool.co.uk
The above team come with a range of experience and skills to support your child in their final weeks of Year 11. We wish Mrs Saunders well in her new role.
Students in Year 11 had the opportunity to enjoy a free ice cream today as a 'well done' from the year team for their hard work and excellent behaviours and attitude throughout their assessment week recently.
Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award: Practice Expedition
In true Duke of Edinburgh style, our intrepid Silver Award students set off on their practice expedition to the Yorkshire Dales this morning despite the rather chilly conditions! Accompanied by Miss Taswell, Mr Surtees and Mrs McQuigg, the students left Rossett at 9.30am this morning to be dropped off at Embsay, near Skipton
The students will be navigating their own route (further to lots of in-school training) from Embsay to Malham Tarn. Miss Taswell, Mr Surtees and Mrs McQuigg will be closely monitoring the group - from a distance - and will be on hand with plasters and a hot chocolate Thermos throughout the weekend. The group will spend the night camping in Barden and have taken lots of extra layers in readiness for the night-time temperatures. We wish them lots of luck and will share their highlights and photos with you next week.
A Level Geography Trip
As part of our students' A level Geography course, they are required to undertake four days of fieldwork in relation to processes in both physical and human geography. Students are also required to carry out an independent investigation which requires considerable fieldwork experience. Today the first of these fieldwork visits took place in Bridlington with further fieldwork opportunities planned for later in the course. Students and teachers alike are delighted that these invaluable curriculum trips can, once again, take place in large groups.
New Date for Year 7 PTA Disco
Rossett PTA are delighted to announce that the Year 7 Disco has been re-arranged for Thursday 19th May 2022 in the main school hall.
The event provides Year 7 students with an entertaining evening at the end of a busy term. Members of the PTA, Sixth Form students and teachers, will be present throughout the evening to supervise and to organise the entertainment. The PTA have secured DJ Dent, www.djdent.co.uk a former student, who will provide the music. This event has been successfully run for many years and is a 'carefully managed' environment for our students to socialise with their peers and have fun.
The disco will run from 6.00pm – 7.30pm. There will be a tuck shop supplying sweets and drinks in the Blue dining hall, so students are advised to bring a small amount of money - preferably no more than £5. Please click here for the more detailed letter and information on how to secure tickets.
Celebration Assemblies
As we near the end of term and look forward to our Easter break we are busy preparing for our end of term Celebration Assemblies. Students will be rewarded in these assemblies for attendance, Classchart points, punctuality to lessons and correct uniform.
We appreciate your support in ensuring the high standards expected of all students' appearance throughout the week and we look forward to celebrating success with our students and announcing the winners of our prize draw, next week.
Northumbria University Visit for Year 13 students
On Tuesday 5 April, representatives from Northumbria University will visit Rossett School Sixth Form. Students in Year 13 will attend this informative session during Period 1 to learn more about student finance and student life.
Our previous experience of these visits was that students find these visits both interesting and informative, inspiring them to do their very best in preparation for their forthcoming examinations and with their UCAS applications in mind.
Music Exams Success
As you will be aware we have a fantastic reputation for musical talent at Rossett School, supported by our brilliant team of peripatetic teachers. This week we congratulate the following students for their individual examination success:
- Aidan Rhall (Year 11) - Grade 5 Drums (Merit)
- Angharad Grabham (Year 9) - Grade 1 Drums (Merit)
- Tom Kirk (Year 8) - Grade 1 Piano
If your child is interested in taking up a musical instrument, Rossett Instrumental Tuition are pleased to be able to offer a block of discounted trial lessons running for five weeks between Easter and May half term. The lessons will be fifteen minute taster sessions and will cost £25 for the block of five lessons. We have spaces available in the following instruments: Voice, Drums, Piano, Flute, Saxophone, Clarinet, Trumpet, Trombone, and Violin. We also have instruments that we can lend your child for the duration of the trial. If, after the trial block has passed, you want your child to continue with lessons, you will have the option to sign up for the remainder of the Summer term.
Please email Mr Durbin at rdurbin@rossettschool.co.uk by Monday 4 April with your child's name, year group and preferred instrument.
LRC News: Mr Asker
I hope this finds you well and looking forward to the Easter holiday, which suddenly seems very close now.
This week we have started formal (and I hope fun!) library lessons for students in Year 7 and Year 8 which will continue after Easter and through the summer term.
Students will spend some dedicated time with me in the library learning specific skills to help them become better at accessing the LRC and all that it offers. We will be looking at a variety of skills helping to boost confidence and enjoyment in the library and with reading and the wonderful world of books.
We will be looking at:
- Finding preferred authors and accessing the fiction range;
- looking at different genres and styles of writing;
- finding books that represent ‘us’ and our interests and ideas;
- celebrating specific authors, their works and achievements;
- looking at nonfiction books and how to access the Dewey Decimal system;
- research, reading and reflection skills.
In these sessions I will also support students to develop “book talk” skills based on the work of Aidan Chambers so that they are able to talk formally and informally about books generally; the books they are reading specifically; and books that they like and dislike explaining their thoughts and feelings.
A quote I like from Albert Einstein is, “The only thing that you absolutely have to know is the location of the Library.” I would also add the ability, desire and confidence to engage with and access a library so that “knowing the location of the Library” opens doors and the imagination.
I remain delighted with the progress of the LRC and the love of reading that is so clearly evident in so many students. We will have some new titles soon in the LRC and I will write next week highlighting some of the new books on offer.
Have a great weekend when it comes and hopefully some time reading for the whole family.
Regards
Mr Asker
HPV Vaccinations
The North Yorkshire Childhood Immunisation Team visited Rossett School on Monday to administer the HPV vaccination to our Year 8 students. The team were, once again, very impressed with the maturity and responsibility of our students. The Immunisation Team will visit Rossett again on 6th June for follow-up HPV vaccinations for our Year 9 students.
Teaching Assistant Vacancy
We are looking to appoint a committed professional with the vision, drive and interpersonal skills to motivate students and enable them to access learning. The role includes assisting teachers with the learning and management of students in the classroom. This is an important role within the teaching and learning framework and the post-holder would be expected to contribute to the high-quality teaching and learning already on offer within the school. Please visit our website here for more information and application details.
Exam Invigilators Needed
Covid-19 Guidance
We would like to remind you of our current Covid-19 guidance. We continue to promote good hygiene and adequate ventilation in school;
- Anyone showing the main symptoms of COViD-19 should order a PCR test (https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test) and stay at home until they have a conclusive test result.
- Anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 should stay at home for a minimum of 5 days, testing from day 5 until they have two consecutive negative test results.
- Students can return to school on day 6, if they have had negative test results (on days 5 and 6) and they are not registering a high temperature.
- A positive test on either day 5 or 6 and a high temperature means that students should remain at home until two consecutive tests show negative up to Day 10. Students can return to school after Day 10 even if they are still testing positive. A reminder of the symptoms to look out for:
The main symptoms of COVID-19 are still a recent onset of any of the following:
- a new continuous cough
- a high temperature
- a loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia) National guidance and local Public Health advice asks parents to consider any ‘cold or flulike’ symptoms as a reason to book out a test.
Please note: Children and young people who usually attend an education or childcare setting and who live with someone who has COVID-19 should continue to attend the setting as normal.
What's happening this half term...
Thursday 7 April
- GCSE Drama trip to 'Blood Brothers' - Grand Opera House York, leaving at 1.20pm
- Year 12/Year 13 Parents' Evening: 4.30pm-7.00pm
Friday 8 April
- End of Term: Easter Break
H Woodcock
Headteacher
