Rossett News Update - 3 May 2019
Congratulations to Katie Ridley
Katie Ridley (Year 12) 'smashed' her fundraising target of £1,000 and has currently raised £1,500 for Saint Michael's Hospice and MIND. Katie was the youngest entrant in this year's event and completed the marathon in 5 hours - a truly outstanding achievement.
Katie said, "The best part of the day was definitely crossing the finish line (after all those hours of running) and receiving my medal; that feeling will never ever be beaten! Meeting all the celebrities at the start line and being interviewed on television was incredible too - I am so grateful for that experience. The hardest part for me was mile 23 as that was when I hit the wall; I found it very challenging mentally at that stage. However, the atmosphere was amazing and the crowds shouting my name helped so much. There wasn't a moment in the whole route where there weren't hundreds of supporters there cheering. Although the whole experience was incredible, it was by far the hardest thing I have ever done, yet definitely the best".
You can still support Katie and donate to her chosen local charities by following the link to her fundraising page //https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/KatieRidley3
Battlefields Trip
Our Year 9 and Year 10 students had a fantastic visit, at the start of the Easter break, to see the sights of the battlefields of the First World War. They visited British, French and German cemeteries; huge mine craters that were exploded under German trenches; and went through underground tunnels dug by the army for shelter. The students were extremely well-behaved and really made their teachers proud by being so thoughtful and passionate about remembering those who fought in the Great War.
As always we encourage our students to identify members of their family from generations past who are remembered in the cemeteries. A number of students made personal pilgrimages to lay tributes of poppies at specific sites.
On the way home, students commented that the trip had been life-changing. You can hear the thoughts of our students, including some recordings taken from our visits to First World War sites on ‘The History Teacher Podcast’ which can be found on iTunes and Podbean:
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-history-teacher-podcast/id1451425087?i=1000436932465
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-tcr5i-afb6df
External Examinations 2019
Revision and preparation is well underway for our students as the start of the external examinations approaches on Monday 13th May 2019.
We would like to take this opportunity to remind parents of the following information that has already been communicated to students:
- Students should arrive at school in full school uniform;
- Mobile phones, or any electronic device that can connect to the internet (including smart watches) should not be brought into the exam, even if it is turned to silent/off;
- Possession of an unauthorised item is a serious offence and could result in disqualification from the particular examination, overall qualification or the entire series of examinations;
- Morning examinations start at 9.30am and afternoon examinations start at 1.15pm;
- Students are allowed to bring water, in a clear plastic bottle - the label must be removed;
- No food is allowed in the examination room;
- Calculators - if they are allowed - must be cleared of any stored data in the memory. All covers must be removed and placed on the floor of the examination hall;
- Pencil cases should be clear plastic and black pens should be used;
- Students must attend the pre-examination revision sessions, with the full timetable found in the link below.
As in previous years the whole school will be moving to early lunch (12.25pm-1.10pm) from 13th May - 14th June 2019. Additional examination information - including the full examination timetable that has already been sent to parents and students - can be found on the school website here. The letter sent out to parents with full details about the examination and study period and the pre-examination revision sessions can be found here.
Year 11 Celebration Lunch and Celebration Assembly
On Friday 10th May, Year 11 students will attend a Celebration Lunch in the Main Hall, followed by a Celebration Assembly during Period 5. To allow this to happen, Year 10 will have an early lunch with the rest of the school on this day.
Duke of Edinburgh Expeditions
It has been a busy time for our DofE organising team who led the final Silver Assessed Expedition and the Gold Practice Expedition during the last weekend of the Easter holidays. The Silver Award students began their final assessment in Dalby Forest, camping at the White Swan in Newton upon Rawcliffe. Their second day took them to Goathland, where the steam trains came right over the bridge in the campsite! The Gold Practice students started in Hutton-le-Hole, camped in Newton on Rawcliffe and Abbots House in Goathland, and finished at Fylingthorpe, with breath-taking views of Robin Hood's Bay. All students were a credit to the school, working well in their teams and were impeccably behaved! They enjoyed a very well-deserved fish and chip supper on the way home to celebrate their success.
On Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th May our largest ever group of DofE Bronze students will undertake their practice expedition at Bewerley Park, near Pateley Bridge in readiness for their final expedition which will take place in Nidderdale on the 29th and 30th June this year. The Gold Final Expedition takes place in the Lake District between Thursday 11th and Tuesday 16th July.
Thank you to all of the staff involved in organising these events which involved a considerable amount of their personal time over a number of weekends.
Sainsbury's Visit
A group of Year 11 and Year 13 Food Technology students had the opportunity to find out about careers at Sainsbury's and to see what happens behind the scenes in the local store on Tuesday.
After being challenged to make pizza in under three minutes, make barista style coffee and learn about how the company sources food, they were given information on the journey from 'field to fork'. They also had the opportunity to discuss different careers and routes into working for the Sainsbury's team and the different job roles within the company.
Art and Design Technology Exhibition
We are delighted to invite you to our annual Art, Design and Technology Exhibition on Thursday 16th May from 5pm-7pm in the Art and Design Technology Department in school. Please come and celebrate the fantastic work that the GCSE and A Level students have completed this year for their final examinations.
The staff from the Art and Design and Technology Departments look forward to seeing you there and refreshments will be provided.
Ramadan
This year Ramadan starts around 7th May and will end around 6th June, followed by the Eid and al-Fitr festivities. With the prospect of possible higher temperatures and the start of the important examination period, we would like to extend a warm welcome to any parent to contact school to discuss our support for any religious observance.
2019-2020 Term Dates
The 2019-2020 school term dates are now available on our website here. Parents are reminded to adhere to these term dates when booking family holidays.
Parking, drop-off and collection of students
We would like to remind you to park with consideration to our neighbours when collecting and dropping off your children. Congestion in the locality is an increasing problem and we are concerned for the safety of our students and those children at other schools in the vicinity. Please also remember to turn off your engine whilst waiting to minimise the risk of pollution to pedestrians passing by. Thank you for your support.
Congratulations to...
- Congratulations to Jack Thompson, Luca Grant, Issy Smith, Ibby Mohammed and Leo Georgallis who have qualified to represent the Harrogate and Craven Athletics Team on Saturday 8th June at the North Yorkshire Schools Athletics Championships.
What's happening next week...
Monday 6 May
- Bank Holiday: school closed to staff and students.
Wednesday 8 May
- A Level MFL oral examinations: all day (Year 13)
Thursday 9 May
- English Schools' Cup Athletics: all day.
Friday 10 May
- Year 11 Celebration Lunch: Main Hall (1.25pm-2.25pm);
- Year 11 Celebration Assembly: Main Hall (Period 5);
- BTEC Drama Practical Examinations: Year 10.
H Woodcock
Headteacher
