Rossett News Update - 9 July 2021
Dear Parents/Carers
Please find below information regarding our end-of-term events and our outline plans for September opening.
Celebrations
The end of any year heralds a celebration of all that students, staff and the school have achieved during the three terms, and this year is no different. The Academic and Pastoral staff have worked hard and identified those students who have worked hard, given their best and achieved excellence in their learning and sporting endeavours. Our planned scheduled Rewards’ Assemblies for Years 7 to 10, and for Year 12, have had to move to remote events in the last week of term. Awards will be collected by students from their ‘bubble support’ rooms on the day, after an online assembly from myself and the Senior Team.
To confirm, our School Sports’ Day will now not be a whole school event, but the same element of competition and points’ awards will take place through scheduled activities in PE lessons, within each year group. Winners and points scores will be recorded and circulated by the Sports Studies’ team, with special mention made of any ‘school-best’ records. Our thanks go to Ms Fairbairn and the team, whose flexibility has allowed for a different way to get students competing at the end of the year.
We recently marked Mr Fenton’s forthcoming retirement with a testimonial football match, organised with Herculean effort and a degree of secrecy not seen since the Cold War, by Mr O’Sullivan and Mr Fell of Rossett Sports Studies and local footballing fame. More details of this to follow next week, but be assured it was an evening to remember with at least two very well-known sporting stars to complete the surprise line-up for Mr Fenton.
COVID Updates
We have been advised by Public Health (PHE) that we should continue with our ‘bubble model’ for each year group, and with face-coverings on transport, in the school, and specifically in classrooms, until the end of term. We are reviewing this advice with PHE on a weekly basis and will inform you of any changes to advice, if necessary.
It has been a challenging two weeks. As England, and especially North Yorkshire has opened up again to the wider public, we have seen an increase in local cases. Advice has been taken from PHE and linked Medical Consultants again this week. We are sorry for the frustration that many students and staff have felt in being identified as close contacts through the risk assessment process; we are directed to follow procedure and to that end, we have either had to send groups home, or manage the process whilst school has been in session.
Thank you to all parents who have supported our timetable of isolation and the subsequent remote learning
Our best advice for the next two weeks, is to ask parents to triage every gathering that they or their children attend. Any positive tests after the 19th July will be dealt with by the Track and Trace team. We would respectfully point out a reminder that you might like to consider how any social activity, and subsequent possible isolation advice, in the next two weeks may well impact on your holiday plans from the 22nd July.
Please keep up with the suggested twice-weekly testing regime until the end of term to allow for the prompt identification of any positive cases and report any such cases directly to the NHS and to the school at https://rossett.school/studentcovidreport.
Thank you for your support in this public health initiative.
September Return
There will be a Training day for all staff on the 6th September; the school will be closed to students on this day. There will be a staggered start to the week, from the 7th September, with Years 7 and 12 returning on this day. We will confirm the return date for all other students next week. Students will be tested at school with LFTs twice, during the first two weeks of term, and kits will be issued to students in September to allow for twice-weekly testing at home until the published date of the ‘end of September 2021’.
With every best wish for a restful weekend, and an England victory!
Helen Woodcock.
Sixth Form LeadershipTeam
Over recent weeks our Year 12 students have been invited to submit video entries to be elected to our Sixth Form Leadership Team. Fellow Year 12 students and Rossett staff have been extremely impressed with the high quality of each of the student manifestos expressing their qualities and suitability for these roles.
The results were announced this morning and are as follows:
| Arts Prefects | Hattie Black and Katie Martell |
| Sports Prefects | Issy Smith and Fern Hutchings |
| Environment and Sustainability Prefects | Ollie Nalder, Xi Chen and Daniel Jenking |
| Charity Prefects | Emma Duffy and Trinity Sadler |
| Equality and Diversity Prefects | Ashley Hancox and Vaani Sagoo |
| Student Welfare Prefects | Phoebe Ward and Byron Capitano |
Senior 5 |
|
|
Deputy Head Prefects Head Prefects |
Tom Muir, Harry Wilkinson and Niamh Cunningham Harvey Kennedy and Zoe Hopkins |
Congratulations to all of our new Student Leadership Team and I look forward to working with them over the coming year.
Ms Woodcock
Prestigious football scholarships for Rossett students
Two Rossett School students are set to go stateside after being accepted on to prestigious football scholarships. Vicky Naylor and Cameron Rushworth are heading to different colleges in the USA in September after completing their A Levels this year.
Vicky, who plays in goal for Harrogate Town Ladies, will be going to Goshen College in Indiana on a full tuition four-year scholarship, while Cameron, who plays across the defensive back line, will be spending two years at Parkland College, Illinois, on an elite athlete scholarship.
PE teacher Ricky O’Sullivan said: “We’re delighted for Vicky and Cam being able to focus on their sport and expand their talents. It’s definitely a pathway for them and they’ll be playing in front of up to 30,000 people, so a much bigger crowd and support than over here. They’ll also get to experience a different culture and way of life.”
Vicky and Cameron are following in the footsteps of former Rossett students Rachel Daly, Chloe Bellerby and Dan Nimmick. Houston Dash captain and England international Rachel moved to New York in 2012 to study on a football scholarship, while former Harrogate Town Ladies player and mental health champion Chloe is based in the USA after moving to New Jersey on a college scholarship in 2019. And Dan has just been signed by a Division 2 team in the States after taking up a scholarship there two years ago.
Well done to both students!
Covid Updates:
Thank you to everyone who is testing on Sundays and Wednesday at home. Public Health England would like us to really emphasise the continuing importance of testing and reporting positive results.
Testing continues to play an important role in the national and local approach to COVID. Additional latera
l flow testing kits were sent home with students last week and this will provide enough tests to allow students to continue to test (each Sunday and Wednesday) throughout the Summer holidays. We are grateful for your continued support in ensuring that your child completes a test twice a week.
Following the receipt of the results– whether positive, negative or void – reporting should be made to NHS Test and Trace, via the self-report option. The sites for the NHS and Rossett School reporting can be found at https://www.gov.uk/report-covid19-result and at: https://rossett.school/studentcovidreport.
Read @ Rossett
More new books have arrived in our Learning Resource Centre this week, just in time for summer reading. From a young adult love story from Renee Watson 'Love is a Revolution' to a teen thriller not for the faint-hearted 'I Know You Did It' by Sue Wallman, there really is something for everyone.
For our sport-mad students try the inspirational story of one of the world's best sprinters, Dina Asher-Smith, which follows her story from her primary school lunchtime running club to international glory. Thrilling, true-story lovers will love 'Noor-Un- Nissa Inayat Khan' which tells the story of British-Indian World War Two heroine Noor who signs up to become an undercover agent and helps with the war effort.
News from the PTA...
Your School Lottery
Don’t forget, if you want to have a chance of winning the weekly national prize of £25,000 you need to have a Your School Lottery ticket! Buy them online - https://www.yourschoollottery.co.uk/lottery/school/rossett-school and have a chance of winning the Jackpot. There is also a guaranteed winner of the school prize every week too!
This month, there is also a chance to win a years home fruit & vegetable delivery!
School Uniform Recycling
A reminder that the school uniform recycling scheme will remain open until the start of the summer break – check the PTA Website here and see what excellent items we have available. All items are FREE.
PTA Relaunch
At the start of the new school year in September, we intend to re-launch the PTA to allow the opportunity for new parents to the school to join in and take the organisation forward forward for another year. If anyone would like to help us, please drop us a line – info@rossettpta.co.uk
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 continue to have some concerns about their future, or anxieties about the continuing 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
Below is a reminder 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.
Lunch Menu
Well done to...
Well done Hari; we are extremely proud of your progress.
What's happening this term...
Tuesday 13th July
- CANCELLED - Year 12 Runswick Bay A Level Biology Field Trip.
Thursday 15th July
- Remote transition event - Year 6 parents/carers will receive a link to our on-line event
Tuesday 10th August
- A Level Results' Day - remote service, but in-school support
Thursday 12th August
- GCSE Results' Day - remote service, but in-school support
H Woodcock
Headteacher
