Spring is here. Brighter days are on the horizon.
Welcome back from the Easter break. We hope you all had a well earned rest and enjoyed the sunshine (and the snow!).
It was good to get a moment to look back on this year’s Spring Term, and to reflect on a full year of the global pandemic and what it has meant for our school community. So much has been lost - sadly many lives of course, along with jobs, celebrations, and countless opportunities and adventures. Still, what we have achieved as a school community is amazing. Last term once again our students made us so proud in so many ways, enduring the lateral flow testing with good humour and working really hard both from home and in school. We’re definitely feeling optimistic as we head into the summer term.
Here’s an update on our news from the last few weeks.
Ramadan Mubarak to all our Muslim families and staff!
Banner Artwork: Marcus Rossi, Year 13
Red Nose Day
From a simple non uniform day, to a chilled game of Rocket League and even some classic baking, our Ryburn students had smashing Red Nose Day. During their March iDay students were able to learn about different charities and plan their own fundraising events and they came up with some really innovative and effective ideas.
Our Ryburn Sixth held a Bake Off competition with some sweet treats on offer to raise some money too.
Thank you to everyone who got involved. We raised nearly £1,500 collectively and this total doesn’t include all the individual fundraising by students outside of school! Thank you so much for helping us make a difference.
Kindness in our community
As we head into a new term, the warmer weather and lighter evenings are helping us socialise outside a little more. May we remind our students that we expect your fantastic behaviour in school to continue when you are out and about too.
In particular, please make sure you are behaving appropriately in public spaces, local shops and in Tescos by avoiding shopping in groups, and being respectful of the rules around social distancing.
Please also ensure that your disposable masks always end up in a bin after use. They are becoming a real litter issue globally and are particularly harmful for wildlife.
World Book Day
This year's World Book Day was a fantastic success. Even though we weren't in school to enjoy the day with our usual classroom decorations and staff in fancy costumes, our staff and students definitely embraced this wonderful literary celebration. During their iDay, students took part in dedicated activities such as a live event with authors, book cover quizzes and even guessing which staff were hiding behind their favourite read.
Some students got super creative and showed us some unusual reading places!
We're looking forward to next year when we can celebrate our love of books in person.
World book day - book cover competition
Congratulations to Madison Hood and Grace Normanton-Aldridge who guessed all 20 book covers correctly for our book cover competition.
Read more.
KS4 Poetry Competition
Inspired by Amanda Gorman's brilliant inauguration poem, we asked our KS4 to write and submit their own poems. The students who entered talked about their hopes for the future and/or their own personal (or national) 'hill' to climb.
We were inundated with entries, and they were all very touching. So thank you to all those that entered. Ultimately we picked 5 overall winners. Well done Elias Dunn, Lois Dunkley, Rebekah Eastwood, Hollie Chenery and Thomas Ransley for your brilliant submissions.
You can read some highlights from these below.
Online Safety Newsletter
This month’s online safety newsletter gives you an in depth look into Instagram and gives you a critical update to how the app is used.
Learn all about popular apps you may not have come across Omegle, Honk and Watch Party and how to help your child protect themselves online if using them.
Also mentioned are the updates to some of the popular games amongst our students right now; Call of Duty and Fortnite.
Goldsmiths Award
We are so excited to have made it through to the final of the prestigious Goldsmiths’ Company Community Engagement Awards, in recognition of our students’ community work.
Our team of students gave a presentation to the judges about how they have been engaging with our community, and the impact this has on others, on the school and also personally. They also were brilliant on the spot in a Q&A session.
The judges were so impressed that we’ve been invited to the finals at the magnificent Goldsmiths’ Hall in London in November.
Read more.
Science Week - Home edition
Unable to host our beloved Science Week in school, our science department encouraged KS3 students to do some science experiments in their own kitchens! Bored during Easter? Raining outside? Brilliant news! Why not try some Science?
We’d love to see your results! Send any photographs / videos to Publish@RVHSchool.co.uk
A mighty hill to climb
Imagine walking for 10+ hours in snow and rain, taking on some fierce hills such as Norland Moor and Great Manshead Hill. That’s exactly what Fern and Sophia did in Year 10 a few months ago. They each planned half of the route each but the goal was to walk a marathon. After 10 hours they managed to walk 26 miles!
Their goal was predominantly to get outside and enjoy the challenge but they also managed to raise some money for Alzheimer’s Research in the process. WELL DONE GIRLS!
Year 10 Ebacc catch up
Monday - Thursday after school Mr Cleary has been running EBACC Catch Up and other general revision classes for our students. We’re so proud of Year 10s dedication and extremely hard work catching up on things they might have missed. Just to put it into perspective we have been averaging 50+ students each evening! That’s just FANTASTIC! Well done Year 10.
Letters
We are also sharing with you today a letter to parents and carers from Calderdale Public Health Team, and one to young people from Gavin Williamson, Secretary of State for Education.
Budding artists
Last term saw some outstanding work produced by our A-Level students despite the difficult circumstances. They have created amazing drawings, paintings, graphic design and photography.
We’re so proud to hear that several of our students have been given unconditional offers to do Illustration, Textiles and Fine Art at University.
Feast your eyes on these.
Key Dates
Wed 28 April - Y12 Higher Education Evening
Mon 3 May - May Day Bank Holiday (school closed)
Thu 6 May - Y8 Parents’ Evening
Tue 18 May - Virtual Art & Photography Show
Mon 31 May - Fri 4 June - Spring Bank Half Term (school closed)
(All events subject to change or cancellation)
If you have any feedback or suggestions for this newsletter, please feel free to email publish@rvhschool.co.uk.
You can also keep an eye on our social media channels for more frequent updates and stories.