Rossett News Update - Friday 13 November 2020
Remembrance Day
We endeavoured to run our Remembrance Day commemorations as closely to our traditional event as possible but this year, we were forced to make some modifications in order to maintain our 'bubble' model. Ms Woodcock presented an assembly via Teams with particular emphasis on informing our new Year 7 students how, in previous years, the Remembrance Day and two-minute silence were observed.
Following this assembly, during PSHE lessons, Mr Saunders (Associate Deputy Headteacher) reminded students, again via Teams, why we commemorate Armistice Day and to remember those who died or were injured in the pursuit of securing the freedoms we enjoy today. This was followed by Mr James, our peripatetic teacher, playing the Last Post and then a very eloquent reading of 'For the Fallen' by Head Girl, Sophie Jones. To conclude this year's remote Remembrance event, all staff and students from their classrooms observed a two-minute silence, the end of which was signalled by the playing of the Reveille.
We recognise the importance of passing this message on to our students to ensure they understand the significance of Remembrance; we take seriously our expectation that they will carry this responsibility into the future. Well done to all of our students who bought a poppy throughout this week, helping to raise funds for the Royal British Legion. Thank you to our Technology Department for the decorative memorial in our Reception area where silhouettes of soldiers and poppies act as a timely reminder of the time of year.
Devices supplied by the Department of Education
Rossett School has received further technology equipment from the DfE in order to continue to support our students to access home learning when required. This is the second consignment of devices we have successfully applied for. Students who meet the necessary criteria receive support with their learning and can gain access to Wi-fi dongles and laptops if they have an un-met need. Please contact your child's Year Team to discuss eligibility, if you have not already done so.
Rewards and Recognition
We continue to celebrate the many wonderful achievements of our students via our weekly 'Friday 5' Headteacher's Awards. Whilst our students are currently unable to meet with the Headteacher each Friday afternoon as previously, our Year Teams continue to nominate those students that they feel have gone 'above and beyond' in their attitude to learning or who have achieved success in other ways. Students receive letters of congratulation - sent to them at home so that they can share their recognition with their families.
Our new parent app, ClassCharts continues to be a success with students receiving rewards points from their teachers for excellent effort and good behaviour in the classroom. A number of students are on target to receive their bronze certificate at the end of term - this is achieved by gaining 100 or more ClassChart points. To monitor your child's progress, Class Charts for parents can be accessed via the website here, or through the iOS and Android app. Again, please contact your child's Year Team if you are having any difficulties.
External Examinations
We have continued to successfully run our external examinations for small groups of candidates over recent weeks and were pleased to offer exam access support where necessary. Thank you to our examinations' team for their continued efforts in ensuring the effective delivery of these examinations in challenging times.
Parents' Evenings
To date, this academic year, we have successfully hosted a number of new remote Parents' Evenings via our legacy Parents' Evening booking system. Last night, Year 12 and 13 parents had the opportunity to discuss their child's progress with teachers and also to speak to the Head of Sixth Form, Dr Reed and our Sixth Form Student Support Officer, Miss Higgins.
Our final Parents' Evening of the year for Year 10 parents/carers will be held on Thursday 19th November.
Following this final Parents' Evening of the calendar year, we will be sending out a feedback form to find out from you, as parents, how we can further enhance and improve this remote provision.
Covid-19: Reporting
Thank you for your understanding and assistance with the reporting of Covid-19 cases within family groups over recent weeks.
If your child has any of the symptoms described in the attached parental letter from Public Health England here, they must stay at home and arrangements need to be made to have a test. You must call the school absence line (01423 564 444) and leave a voicemail informing us about the situation and the reason your child is not in school.
We would remind you that you should only book a test if your child has any of these three coronavirus symptoms:
- A high temperature: any new high temperature where your child feels hot to touch on their chest or back (you do not need to measure the temperature);
- A new continuous cough: coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours;
- A loss of, or change in, sense of smell or taste: a noticeable loss of smell or taste or things smell and taste different to normal.
If your child has been off school for a reason related to Covid-19, it is vital that you contact us before they return and give us the reason they are returning e.g. a negative test result.
- Public Health England has asked us to emphasise with our parents/carers that the NHS Track and Trace App is not applicable to students under the age of 16, and therefore should not be installed on the phones of students who are under 16. If any parent has to inform the school regarding a positive Covid case please.
Influenza vaccination for Year 7 students
The nasal influenza vaccination is being offered to all children nationally, from Reception to Year 7. If your child is in our Year 7 you will have received an NHS letter this week which further outlines this NHS process. Please complete the required consent forms online as detailed in the letter by 22 November 2020.
Thank you to Fodder and the Harrogate Lions
We would like to express our thanks to Fodder for their kind donation of bananas and oranges to the school via the Harrogate Lions. These were distributed to students today and were gratefully received.
Don’t Forget to Bring Your Brain to School
As part of their Cognitive Psychology Unit, Dr Reed tasked Year 12 students to produce their own models of the brain. The students rose to the creative challenge producing brains in a wide range of mediums including clay, jelly and even cake! With excellent labelling and wider reading, students clearly demonstrated their understanding of cerebral structures and functions. Issy Smith receives particular praise for her red velvet cake brain, complete with fondant and jam 'sulci' and 'gyri'. Well done Year 12 Psychology!
Supporting Revision Guide
Our Year 11 'Supporting Your Child Evening' provided vital information for parents/carers in readiness for their child's GCSE examinations next year. Following this, we would like to remind you where to find our Rossett School Revision Guide. Thorough revision is essential for success in examinations and revision should be done over an extended period of time to give the best possible outcomes. The Rossett School Revision Guide (which can be found here) gives useful advice about the best ways for students to revise, along with helpful tips and information for parents.
Face Coverings
We would like to remind you that students are now required to wear a face covering in all communal areas of the school as detailed in Rossett News last week.
We have seen, in particular, that students tend to forget to bring their face covering with them when they are dressed for the full day in their PE kit. We would ask for your support in reminding your child to bring their face covering to school each day, every day. Our students have been fantastic in remembering this, with very few needing a reminder during the day, but we have noticed that 'PE days' can cause amnesia!
Message from Rossett PTA
The new PTA Rossett Uniform Exchange has now been launched. We have had a great response so far! Due to the current lockdown we are not able to accept donations at present, however, you are still able to reserve items from the website – www.rossettpta.co.uk . We will be fully up and running again as soon as we can - we will let you know when, through the School Newsletter and the PTA Facebook Page facebook.com/rossettschoolpta.
Thank you to everyone who has supported us so far.
The PTA are still looking for someone to assist the group with the role of Treasurer, currently vacant. The PTA Chair temporarily stepped into this position but we do need someone to take on the role going forward. We would like to hear from anyone who feels they could assist in taking on this small but essential role. The PTA carry out events every year raising monies for the school. Please contact info@rossettpta.co.uk if you would like more information about this role or any other work we do.
Mental Health and Wellbeing
To further support our students' mental health, the pastoral teams continue to provide a high level of daily support, enhanced by the updated additional staff training they receive. The following links may be helpful in signposting your child to further support should they need it outside of school hours.
The Go-To – www.thegoto.org.uk – is a portal or ‘single point of information’ for the wide range of mental health support services available to help children and young people in the county address their social and emotional health needs.
https://www.kooth.com/ https://www.minded.org.uk/
Important Diary Dates
Thursday 19th November
- Year 10 Parents' Evening, 4.30pm - 7.00pm - meetings will be held remotely and further information regarding how to book and participate will be issued to parents/carers nearer the time.
Monday 23rd November
- Staff Training Day - school closed to all students.
Thursday 26th November
- Presentation Evening - details to be confirmed.
Thursday 3rd December
- Sixth Form Information Evening, 7.00pm-8.30pm - further details to be confirmed for this online event.
Friday 18th December
- School closes for the Christmas Holidays.
Monday 4th January 2021
- School re-opens for all students.
H Woodcock
Headteacher
