RTS Parents' Newsletter
22 March 2024
Head Teacher's Message
This week is a bumper newsletter to (nearly) end the Spring Term. We are delighted to share with you many of our students' achievements and their excellent endeavours outside of school. If you are looking for activities for over the Easter break we are also sharing a host of Easter Camps and things to do. There will be no newsletter next week as we end the Spring Term on Wednesday 27 March at noon.
Thank you to all those families that were able to attend this week's school production shows. I am sure you will agree that it was a fantastic version of Beauty and the Beast. I certainly know who my favourite character was, but each and every cast member was outstanding. The level of dedication that they have shown over the past few months has been incredible and they all deserved their many rounds of applause each evening - and also at the matinee that was shown to members of Clarendon School and the whole of Year 6 Archdeacon Cambridges' Primary School.
Easter can be a break of contrasts - either we still experience the tail end of winter and even snow, or it can be a welcome burst of sunshine and warmth. I'm definitely hoping for the latter and a chance to relax and enjoy nature bursting forth into Spring; that and, of course, copious amounts of chocolate eggs!
Whether you observe religious practices or days over this Easter time - or not, whether you embrace all things chocolate - or not; when it arrives, and however you spend it, I wish you all a restful and relaxing Easter break.
We look forward to seeing the students back on Monday 15 April, ready for a 09:45 start. I will be sending out my traditional start of term letter just before we return.
In the meantime, wishing you all a lovely weekend.
~Ms K Dooley | Head Teacher
Excellence through Endeavour
This week we have great pleasure in sharing a variety of wonderful achievements from our students. There is a huge amount of talent across many different sports/disciplines that our students participate in. The hard work and dedication that these students demonstrate is incredible and we are very proud of them.
Gymnastics
Aurelia, Year 8, has been extremely busy over the last month. Early on in March she finished in 5th place at the English Gymnastics Championships in Telford. This placing was out of an incredible 62 competitors and stood her in great stead for her next championship later on in the month - when she travelled to Liverpool for the British Gymnastics Championships.
During this competition, Aurelia scored a personal best which resulted in her finishing 4th in the all round competition; and qualifying for the Beam final where she scored a massive 13.5 points to take the title. Aurelia came away as the British beam champion and secured her place in the GB squad for another year. A massive congratulations to Aurelia, this is an incredible achievement and we continue to wish you all the best for the future.
Dance
At the beginning of March both Sophie, Year 11 and Summer, Year 8, took part in the Synergy Dance Championships Dance Competition.
Congratulations to both girls - as you will see below, they both performed exceptionally well!
Summer, representing The Dance Company, Teddington, won 6 Gold & 1 Silver medal.
She has been scouted to form part of the under 12s England Squad and will represent her country in the Dance Cup World 2024 in Prague.
Jujitsu
Iestyn, Year 7, came 1st in his weight category at the Compnet European Championships, held at the University of East London in mid-March.
What an impressive achievement and we are sure that there is more to come - well done!
Football
At the beginning of March Soufiane, Year 9, travelled to the Algarve to take part in the Algarve U14 Elite Cup 2024 international football tournament. He had a great opportunity to play against the best European football academies - including AFC Ajax; SL Benfica; PSG; Birmingham City and others.
Soufiane is determined to develop and achieve much more within the sport and we know that he will continue to show that dedication.
Meet our Trustees
Sarah Scammell
Sarah was born in central London, where she lived until moving to Richmond 12 years ago. She has one child who attends a local Twickenham primary school.
A qualified accountant with over 25 years in commercial finance within Blue Chip companies such as Diageo, Allied Domecq & Costa Coffee, she has also held divisional finance director roles at Red Bull, Weight Watchers and Birds Eye, and more recently as Group Finance and Commercial Director at Harlequins Rugby Club. Specialising in commercial finance and strategy, Sarah has worked in many of the great cities of the world from as far afield as Sydney, New York and Mexico City, as well as many of the capital cities of our European neighbours. She brings a wide range of commercial, leadership and business skills, having run large cross-functional teams in a number of these corporations.
Sarah also has a particular interest in SEND. Undiagnosed with dyslexia until she was in her mid 20s, she is acutely aware of the difficulties faced by those with learning needs and the lifelong challenges they face. She is excited to support the school and its pupils on their journey of growth, through using both her skill and training as well as her own life experiences.
Sarah sits on the Students, Parents & Community Committee and is also the Safeguarding and LAC link.
Safeguarding
If you have concerns in relation to a student at RTS or indeed with regards to your own child, you may want to contact Single Point of Access (SPA) which acts as a central information hub for all professional agencies in Kingston and Richmond.
Richmond and Kingston SPA
The SPA phone lines are now open as follows:
Monday-Thursday 08.00-17.15 and Friday 08.00-17.00 - the phone number during these times is 020 8547 5008
Out of hours: 020 8770 5000
Hounslow Early Help Assessment
Telephone number: 020 8583 6600
Out of hours: 020 8583 2222
Email: earlyhelp@hounslow.gov.uk
NSPCC:
Speak to a counsellor 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Telephone number: 0808 800 5000, or text 88858
Email: help@nspcc.org.uk
Signvideo using British Sign Language (Mon - Fri, 9am - 6pm)
Friends of RTS (FoRTS)
RTS school production - a THANK YOU!
Many of you enjoyed this week’s fantastic school production of Beauty & the Beast. Well done to all the cast and crew who worked so hard.
FoRTS provided refreshments and we would like to thank the volunteers who helped this week: Maria, Justine, Ruby, Tami. Thank you so much! A big shout out to the RTS Facilities Team (Mr Pelton and Mr Dale) for helping also.
If you would like to help in the future, please email Carmelle at the general email address below. It’s a lovely way to meet new people and have a little fun.
Following on from the success of our last sale in February, we will be running two more sales after Easter. This will give you a chance over the break to check how much your children have out grown their current uniform! We will be running sales on Wednesday 24 April and Wednesday 01 May. Timings to be confirmed in the next newsletter.
FoRTS Volunteering
Would you like to become a member of the Committee?
We are looking for a Secretary.
There’s not much to it; send weekly newsletters to the school regarding FoRTS activities, take minutes and join in on some of the activities we do. It’s as simple as that! If you are interested please contact Carmelle at the general email address below.
Your FoRTS team,
Carmelle (Chair and Acting Secretary) and Jason & Somi (Treasurers)
General: forts@rts.richmond.sch.uk
Parking: fortsparking@rts.richmond.sch.ukTerms Dates 2023 - 2024
Full-term dates and Inset day information is available on the school's website:
Spring Term 2: Monday 19 February-Wednesday 27 March 2024
Easter Break: Thursday 28 March-Friday 12 April 2024
Summer Term 1: Monday 15 April-Friday 24 May 2024
Local News - Please note RTS does not endorse items included as Local News
Volunteer at Kingston Hospital
Kingston Hospital currently has around 300 volunteers at the hospital and in the community in a variety of roles (25 in total) from volunteer visitors, gardeners, welcomers, pets as therapy dog volunteers, community rehab volunteers to complimentary therapist for cancer patients.
Volunteering makes a huge difference to the lives of patients, their families, staff and to the volunteers themselves. It is very rewarding and most of volunteers stay with for year and some have 25+ years of volunteering!
They recruit six times a year and are keen to promote the service to as many people in the community as possible.
FUEL: Holiday Activity and Food programme - Easter bookings open
FUEL provides free activities and food for children and young people who are in reception up to Year 11 and who are receiving benefit related free school meals (this is different to the universal free school meals that all children now receive at primary school).
Young people who are eligible should have received a 17 digit FUEL code via email from school. You can use this to show that they are eligible when booking a club.
If you have your code, you can book a club now via our website: https://kr.afcinfo.org.uk/pages/community-information/information-and-advice/fuel-holiday-activities-and-food-programme
If you think your child may be eligible but you do not have your FUEL code, email the FUEL team at: fuel@achievingforchildren.org.uk. Limited discretionary places are available, please visit our website for further details.
St Mary’s Ukrainian Easter holiday programme
St Mary’s Supplementary school, in partnership with FUEL, will run two special Easter holiday clubs for Ukrainian pupils aged 5 to 16.
Clubs will run at St Richard's in Ham and from Lime Grove in New Malden from 8 to 12 April, 9.30am to 4.30pm. Clubs will offer a range of activities and meals will be provided on the day.
Click here for more information.
The Tween Tribe Easter Camps
The Tween Tribe is an alternative, excursion only kids club.
Proudly nominated as a finalist in two industry awards:
Small Business of The Year - National Recognition Business Awards 2024
Rising Star Award - Small Business Awards UK
Sparks - Movie Making
Sparks is a Movie Making School for kids operating in Richmond. Last year they came into RTS to run a day of workshops
They have an upcoming Easter Movie Camp.
RISE (Richmond upon Thames Inclusive Sport and Exercise) Open Day
Takes place on Saturday 23 March at Hampton Sport & Fitness Centre.
There will be dance, rugby, cycling, football and other activities too. The full timetable of the event will be on the website www.richmond.gov.uk/rise before the event. Participants can attend throughout the day, no booking required.
Details on our weekly RISE activities can be found on our website www.richmond.gov.uk/rise
EASTER NETBALL CAMPS 2024 - Richmond
Our netball camps are open to children from School years 3-10 and are suitable for experienced and aspiring ballers, as well as those new to the game.
Where: Greycourt School, Richmond Upon Thames TW10 7HN
When: 2nd, 3rd April & 8th,9th,10th April, 9.00am-12.00noon
What to expect: Expert coaching by qualified coaches, skills development, the chance to make new friends and have tons of fun. Guest appearance and coaching from current England netball player Emma Thacker
Book at www.netballcoachuk.com/camps
Easter Workshop - Make Believe Twickenham
Make Believe Twickenham are located right here at The Richmond upon Thames School. Along with their weekly classes, held on a Tuesday, they will run a Matilda Workshop this Easter. Please find details below.
Dramacube's Easter Holiday Workshops
We are delighted to announce bookings for Dramacube's Easter Holiday Workshops are now open!
Inspired by box office hit Wonka, 5-7 and 8-12 year olds will enjoy 3 delicious days filled with songs, routines and games plus perform in a scrumptious showcase.
Our Musical Directors and Choreographers will be running these popular musical theatre workshops in Hampton Hill, Walton on Thames and Twickenham.
Find out more and book at https://www.dramacubeproductions.co.uk/easter-holiday-workshops/
We look forward to seeing you there
Dramacube's Summer Term Production
We are thrilled to have secured Disney’s full scale Moana Jr as our first ever Summer Term production.
And we'd love for your talented Demi-God to join us!
Courage, empathy and camaraderie are all central themes to this charming story….and we will be channelling this into our rehearsals as we set sail for production week. Each of our 5 Tribes (casts) will rehearse from April to June with our Musical Theatre Chiefs (Matt, Rory or Heather) before coming together with our other tribes to perform at Hampton Hill Theatre.
Just like it’s Broadway elder, our combined junior production means more children will have the opportunity to shine on stage as they share roles across 2 performances. This will be a special journey for everyone where - like Moana and Maui - they will make new friendships, challenge themselves, learn to collaborate and be inspired.
This feel good summer show will be filled with Musical Theatre magic so journey with us as we whisk you away to find the Heart of Te Fiti.
Our summer term is slightly shorter so we've reduced the term fee to £260 and you can take advantage of our early bird discount and save a further 15% when you book before 31/3/24.
https://www.dramacubeproductions.co.uk/youth-company/moana-jr/
Barracuda's Holiday Camps
Our camps are experiencing high levels of bookings now, so we wanted to remind you of your school’s special discount code. We wouldn’t want your school parents to miss out on this exclusive offer and would really appreciate it if you could promote this in your newsletters.
Parents just need to add SCHOOL10 in the promotion box to receive an extra £10 off a full week booking. Please find the coded flyer below and attached.
Richmond Rugby - Easter Holiday Rugby Camps
Easter Holiday Rugby Camps. 2nd April – 5th April & 9th April – 11th April. Our camps run from 9 am - 3 pm for boys and girls aged 4 - 16. We accept all abilities from children who have never played before to children who have played through the years. We do not expect you to be a member of our club but someone who enjoys the outdoors and loves making new friends.
The camps offer fun, structured rugby-based sessions that help your child(ren) develop their fundamental movement skills, hand-eye coordination, and interactions with other kids. The children will learn how to kick, pass, ruck, tackle, and jackal safely. We aim to build strong foundations of the basics of rugby and to improve what has already been built.
We provided a unique experience where young people can challenge their abilities, learn new skills, set challenges for themselves, and achieve those challenges, improving their problem-solving and leadership skills. All while being in a safe and enjoyable environment.
Our coaches play the First team for the men's and women's teams of Richmond Rugby. Our coaches are DBS-checked and are all RFU level 2 qualified coaches. Please make sure your child brings appropriate outdoor clothes for all weather conditions and a packed lunch with a water bottle.
£35 for one day. £65 for two days. £90 for three days.
Please click here to book.
https://www.clubs-hub.com/richmond/index.cfm?event=event&eventId=65865
Marzamemi Festival
There is a new festival we are launching this July, on Old Deer Park.
Bringing the beautiful seaside town of Marzamemi, Sicily to Richmond for an epic 2 day festival.
Get ready for a Sicilian summer getaway on your doorstep with live music & DJs, Italian banquets & food stalls, innovative fashion & homeware brands and plenty of fun for the kids.
Premium but family friendly. Marzamemi is the ultimate day of indulgence and fun for all.
Mark your calendars and immerse yourself in the magic of Marzamemi!
KOOTH
In April we’re also running free webinars specifically to help parents and carers support children sitting exams.
Mental Health Support Team for Richmond
The Mental Health Support Team for Richmond are running a series of online workshops for families, entitled ‘Helping Children with…’.
The last series was very popular and feedback was very positive. These workshops would be a great way to support your child at home if they are experiencing any difficulties in the areas covered.
Click on the first link to sign up; the second link is a follow up feedback form if you attend the session:
- Thursday 18 April: MHST workshop: Helping children with friendships / Parent feedback form
- Friday 19 April: MHST workshop: Helping children with friendships / Parent feedback form
- Thursday 16 May: MHST workshop: Helping children with challenging behaviour / Parent feedback form
- Friday 17 May: MHST workshop: Helping children with challenging behaviour / Parent feedback form
- Wednesday 05 June: MHST workshop: Helping children with screen time / Parent feedback form
- Thursday 06 June: MHST workshop: Helping children with screen time / Parent feedback form
- Wednesday 26 June: MHST workshop: Helping children with sleep / Parent feedback form
- Friday 28 June: MHST workshop: Helping children with sleep / Parent feedback form
KickstART - The Art Project with a kick
Free weekly art sessions for young people to take part in at Heatham House. Activities range from tie dye, calligraphy, dream catcher making, candle making and more.
Young people will also receive AQA Accreditation for each session they attend.
Book your place on KickstART - go to our Linktree.
For more information contact Danielle Hutchinson.
Click here to view the Kick Start Booklet.