Rossett News - 19 March 2021
It has been a fantastic second week back at Rossett. We have been pleased to begin a rigorous programme of taught lessons in each of our year group ‘bubbles’ whilst the remainder of the testing appointments were concluded.
Our students have shown real respect in following the rules and regulations that still apply in relation to health and safety. Remote assemblies and tutor presentations have been in place to remind all students of the Rossett Basics this week and next. We appreciate that this has been a time of real re-adjustment for our students and staff who have moved, mid-term from learning at home, in literal and metaphorical isolation, to the reality of early mornings, travel plans and larger numbers of students in classes. It has required an enormous effort from all our students and they certainly looked tired at the end of this week! Nevertheless, each and every student has risen to the challenge - we are proud of their resilience.
Next week, the pastoral team are preparing students to focus on the learning demands of the programmes of assessment after the Easter holidays; Years 11 and 13 will have revision guidance for their self-study schedules.
I would like to finish by expressing my appreciation for all our parents/carers who have supported their children back to school in the last two weeks. As a parent myself, the task of coordinating homework, sports’ kit, packed lunches, bus fares and consent forms whilst re-opening the school, has reminded me once again of the mammoth feat of organisation completed by you in the last few weeks. Thank you for all that you are doing to return our community from remote education to a face-to-face setting.
With every best wish for a restful weekend.
Ms Woodcock
Lateral Flow Testing and Home Testing Kits
This week saw the conclusion of our final round of in-school testing; we were delighted with the mature and positive attitude of all students towards this testing programme. The purpose of these last two weeks has been to give students the practical skills to administer LFTs from home.
On Wednesday afternoon, students were issued with their home testing kits and our Parents/Carers received a letter with further advice and information regarding the home testing regime. If you have any additional questions about this LTF programme please contact your child's Student Support Officer, in the first instance.
Updated guidance for parents about the return to school of students
Grade Booster Sessions
Further to the information in last week's Rossett News regarding additional help and support for students sitting final year qualifications this year at Rossett, please see below our timetable for additional support sessions:
In order for your child to attend these sessions, you will need to confirm permission by completing the following form here. Permission only needs to be granted once to attend the various sessions available after school. For more information regarding specific days and location of sessions, please liaise directly with your child's class teacher.
Note: The Leeds Late Bus leaves school at 4.40pm each Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Uniform
We have allowed some time for students to readjust to a return to school in the last two weeks. With Easter just one week away we would ask that you consider what, if any, changes are needed to your child's uniform and equipment to allow them to meet our expectations for school uniform, especially clothing, hair and footwear.
Whilst we understand that there have been difficulties for a minority of students to come to school in the correct attire, we will be contacting families to discuss any extremes of variance in the next week. Our expectation is that all students will be in the correct uniform as soon as possible.
Reminder:
- Students must not wear jeans, corded jeans, tight trousers, jeggings or leggings, denim jackets or clothes made from any distinctive material either in school or anywhere on the school site.
- Shirts must be tucked in, collars buttoned up and ties must meet the collar.
- Plain black shoes, which complement the school uniform, should be worn. Trainers are not acceptable and should not be worn at any point throughout the school day, with the exception of PE.
- No hoodies/sports sweatshirts (sports hoodies can be worn for PE only)
- Students should also note the rules on hair colour, jewellery, mobile phones and earphones.
- Extremes of fashion are unacceptable.
If you need support with procuring uniform please contact your child's SSO.
Year 9 Options Process
On Tuesday 16th March detailed information was shared with students and parents about this year's Year 9 Options process.. A full timeline of option events can be found below as a reminder.:
- Tuesday 16th March – Year 9 Assembly, which explains the options process;
- Tuesday 16th March – Students and Parents receive an e-mail with links to the Options Booklet, Subject Information videos and an example Options Form;
- Tuesday 16th March – Thursday 25th March – Students will receive a GCSE Style lesson in each of their subjects to give them a flavour of what Key Stage 4 will be like;
- Tuesday 16th March – Thursday 25th March – Individual student meeting with member of SLT to give support and guidance around options process and choices;
- Wednesday 17th March – PSHE lesson with an options focus;
- Thursday 18th March – A nominal options evening giving parents time to review the options information. This is not a separate event – all information will be pre-recorded and available from Tuesday 16th March;
- Thursday 25th March – Remote Year 9 Parents' Evening – An Opportunity for parents and students to discuss their options with their subject teachers;
- Friday 26th March – The official options form will be e-mailed to students for completion;
- Wednesday 14th April – 10am – deadline for return of option choices from students;
- By 30th April – Confirmation of final options sent to students/parents.
Rossett Reading
This week's recommendations from the Learning Resource Centre focus on publications that can help with various issues surrounding our students mental well-being. Mrs Huett has suggested lots of books which can provide support and guidance in the face of a number of issues that affect young people today.
HPV Immunisations
The annual scheduled HPV immunisations will be taking place in school shortly. These are offered as part of the NHS childhood immunisations service; information about school immunisations and consent forms can be found at:
hdft.childhood.immunisations@nhs.net
Please visit the website to read the information provided and to give your consent for this vaccination by visiting:
If you would like your child to receive this vaccination you need to provide consent by Thursday 18th March to be included in the Year 8 immunisations.
- Year 8 First immunisation will take place on Thursday 25th March 2021.
- Year 9 Second immunisation will take place on Wednesday 14th April 2021.
Please direct any enquiries 01423 553115 Harrogate District Childhood Immunisations Team.
The School Code 136896
Collecting Students from Sports' Centre Car Park
If you are collecting your child from the Sports' Centre car park, please could we ask that you park in an available bay rather than waiting in the flow of traffic around the parked cars. This 'stacked' waiting causes particular problems for pedestrians, reversing cars and the entry and exit flow to the car park. We will be monitoring the car park via CCTV after Easter to review the use of this area.
Wonderful Work
As part of his Prince's Trust qualification, Year 9 student Malachy Goundry has been utilising his exceptional photography skills to create a series of images that capture the hidden beauty of the school site.
Malachy's eye for constructing stunning images is clear and his portfolio is growing in sophistication. Mr McKenzie one of our Teaching Assistants is working with Malachy to develop his expertise in advanced techniques. We are excited to see where Malachy's talent may take him in the future.
Mental Health and Wellbeing
We would like to remind you of the support groups, websites and text-based helplines that exist to help our students combat any feelings of anxiety. We know that many students have some concerns about their future examinations or the current national coverage of the pandemic.
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/
Covid-19: Reporting
Now that all students have returned to school we would like to remind you of the reporting procedures and symptom checker before attending each day:
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 email https://rossett.school/positive and complete the form.
