Rossett News Update - 28 November 2020

Presentation Evening 2020

Our annual Year 11 Presentation Evening, which celebrates the achievements of the previous year's GCSE students, was held online for the first time last night.  The event is usually hosted in school but this year, due to national restrictions, we took the decision to celebrate virtually.  It is more important than ever to focus on the positives and continue holding our annual events, albeit in a different form, as they are  key elements of our school life.

The virtual event included a speech from Ms Woodcock and the presentation of subject awards and special trophies for outstanding academic performance in individual subjects.  Accolades were also given to students who had shown exceptional achievement in academic progress, citizenship, core values and overall contribution to the life of the school.   Students and teachers then shared their memories and highlights of their five years together at the school.

Congratulations and well done to all of our resilient students.

Live Lessons for self-isolating students in Years 10-11

From Monday, students in Year 10 or Year 11, that are self-isolating at home, will be able to join in with live lessons that are streamed from school by their teachers.  These lessons will be streamed from the classroom during the normal lesson time, where the teacher will be delivering the lesson to students that are in school.  Our Year 12 and 13 students have had this provision for some time, and we are now in a position for our Key Stage 4 students to also access it.  Students who are isolating for an extended period of time should expect a minimum of one live lesson, per subject, per week, with assignments set on Teams in the usual way for any lessons that aren’t live.  Please find below links to:

Document One: ‘Student/Parent Protocols for Live lessons’ which includes the rationale, the protocols and the responsibilities of students and parents/carers, such as GDPR & safeguarding.

Document Two: ‘A Student Guide to Attending a Lesson Live on Teams’ which includes a detailed step by explanation from Mr Otway (e-Learning Co-ordinator) on how to access and participate in 'live lessons’ and ‘live events.’ 

 

Rossett School Sixth Form 'Virtual' Information Evening

We are delighted to invite Parents/Carers of students in Year 11 to our Sixth Form Information Evening, which is taking place on Thursday 3rd December at 6.00pm.  Find out more about our fantastic Sixth Form and how many of our alumni used the courses on offer to get to Oxbridge and beyond via a variety of on-line presentations from our Sixth Form Team. 

Our new Head of Sixth Form, Dr Reed will speak about our offer; our Deputy Head of Sixth Form, Mr Keyworth will be presenting a window on Sixth Form life; and Pastoral Care and welfare support are explained by Miss Higgins, our Student Support Officer. You can also meet existing Year 12 and Year 13 students who present answers to frequently asked questions - and much more! The event will 'go live' at 6.00pm so join us from the comfort of your armchair and learn more about what Rossett School Sixth Form has to offer your child.

News from the Learning Resource Centre

The Click and Deliver system of borrowing library books  is going well. Our most avid readers so far are the form groups 7ARZ and 8SLG who are receiving regular deliveries to their form rooms.

If any student has yet to log in to 'Accessit ' to  try it, here is the QR code which will take them to the home page where you can search our catalogue. Log in using Single Sign On (SSO) to reserve books via this QR code.

 

 

 

Bookbuzz

Year 7 students have been discussing reading and have chosen which book they would like from the Bookbuzz selection. Our Bookbuzz order has been placed and we hope the books will arrive before Christmas. The most popular choice of book to be ordered by far was Crater Lake by Jennifer Killick, a scary suspenseful mystery. All of the books ordered will be available to borrow from the LRC so students will be able to read all of the titles that have been chosen specifically by the students.

 

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.

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 3rd December

• Sixth Form Information Evening, 6.00pm onwards  -  online event.

Friday 18th December - School closes for the Christmas Holidays.

Monday 4th January 2021 - School re-opens for all students.

H Woodcock

Headteacher