“Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned.”
Our latest newsletter celebrates the individual achievements of number of students who have not just thought about taking acton, they have actually translated their ideas into deeds. We all have ideas, thoughts, plans but actually doing something about them and taking the first steps is the most important thing and our Ryburn students have certainly reminded us of this in the past few weeks!
Speaking of taking action - there’s also an important reminder of the deadlines for bus passes and the links for both fare payable and free bus pass applications. Don’t leave it too late!
Banner Artwork: Cardboard masks by Year 9
Bus pass deadline approaching
For all students who catch school bus services, the deadline to apply for a pass for September is fast approaching.
Those students who are eligible for a free pass should apply to Calderdale Council - the deadline has been extended until 25 June. There is no guarantee that applications received after this deadline will be processed so make sure you get yours in on time and provide the required photograph with your application.
Fare payable passes are available from WY Metro, and the deadline for these is 11 July.
Important updates for Year 11 and 13
Did you spot the recent information sent to Year 11 and Year 13 families? We’ve produced a guide to Teacher Assessed Grades, including listing the evidence our teachers will use to determine your grades. We’ve also provided lots of home learning activities and resources for students to access whilst on ‘study leave’ or over the summer. These are designed to help prepare students for their next steps, whether that’s A-levels, university, apprenticeships or employment.
There’s also a highly important update and that is Prom! Due to the delay in restrictions lifting, these have been rescheduled for Year 11 to 22 July - please confirm here whether you can attend this new date. For Year 13’s prom has been rescheduled to 20 July. We’re keeping everything crossed that these can go ahead.
Keep Ryburn tidy
The Year 9 student council have been looking at how best to keep Ryburn tidy and litter free, as part of the Great Big School Clean with Keep Britain Tidy.
During the lockdown, more people have been out walking and noticing litter building up in local areas. Year 9 have started by looking at our own school site, cleaning up and identifying where the litter 'hot spots' are - they identified the back playground as the worst offender. Using this data, the group are not only collecting the litter, but thinking about initiatives to reduce future littering issue- a really difficult task.
Next the group plan to work with our local Rotary Club to spread into the Ryburn community and see what a difference we can make beyond our school gates.
iD Teamwork Challenge
Our unique iD curriculum provides experiences that help students develop different skills and qualities such as resilience and working with others.
Recently, Year 8 embarked on a ‘who could build the tallest free standing tower out of spaghetti and marshmallow’s’ challenge as part of their iD unit on Teamwork. The unit allows students to reflect on their ability to work as a team, study the different roles in a team and conclude what factors make effective teamwork. Check out how high their towers got! We love how the different teams came up with different solutions to the same problem.
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Not all superheroes wear capes
Once again Ryburn students have been making us us feel proud with their initiative, community spirit and big hearts!
During the Easter break, Evelyn Illstone and Grace Normanton-Aldridge, Y9, got their walking boots on and trekked a whole marathon in one go to raise funds for the mental health charity MIND. They started walking as a way to meet up during lockdown without breaking any rules. This quickly developed into an idea to raise funds for charity.
The girls started their hike in Warley, then down to Copley, along the canal to Hebden Bridge and over the moors finishing in Oxenhope and to date they have raised almost £700 - a fantastic achievement!
Elliot Dorr, Y9, has also been raising funds for his chosen charity Kirkwood Hospice in a very unusual way. Elliot is a talented artist and used his skills to paint miniature models for 24 hours in one go, no sleep! He completed the task over a live stream so friends, family and supporters could watch and cheer him on. The hospice looked after Elliot’s grandma when she needed care which inspired him to support them by raising funds.
Elliot has a JustGiving page and has currently raised an impressive £440. The page will be active for a few weeks yet so please donate and help Elliot reach his target of £500!
Finally, Cody Croft in Year 11 completed an astonishing 72 mile bike ride to raise funds for the Forget Me Not Hospice. Amazing!
A massive well done to all these students - their generous actions say a great deal about their character. Could you be inspired to do something you love to raise money for a good cause? You might have a charity that is close to you heart or a good cause that you really believe in? Why not set yourself a goal to raise even a small amount of money? Go for it!
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IMAGES: Cody Croft and his medal; Evelyn and Grace before and after their marathon; Elliot Dorr and his painted models
Manic minute of maths
On National Numeracy Day, we held our first ever ‘Manic Minute of Maths’, a moment in the day when the whole school paused what they were doing and joined in a fast paced Maths quiz, and the winner from each classroom received a prize. It was frantic fun!
If you’d like some fun ways to enjoy Maths together as a family, check out the Family Maths Toolkit (aimed at kids 13 and under). If you don’t feel confident in your own abilities with numbers, you can try the National Numeracy Challenge to brush up your skills.
Cadets war memorial competition
Congratulations to Poppy Lumb, Y10, who entered the cadets war memorial competition and won the West Yorkshire Police Force challenge.
Poppy was awarded a Certificate of Excellence by the National Volunteer Police Cadets for her stunning War Memorial design. Check out her prize-winning work!
Student showcased at Dean Clough
Well done to Chelsea S, Y9, whose fantastic photograph ‘Geometric Wave’ is currently part of the ‘Showcase’ exhibition at Dean Clough Gallery in Halifax. Chelsea studies photography at Ryburn and with the studio artists at Dean Clough.
“This photograph was taken in April 2021 on a family day out to the beach at Filey in North Yorkshire. I enjoy taking photographs in the landscape exploring themes of patterns, shapes, symmetry and textures.”
Game on!
A group of Year 8 students were given the chance to explore their potential as game designers and find out more about the creative industries.
The special creative careers day was part of our Aspire Programme which aims to raise career aspirations and confidence through creative arts and media and encourage students to consider a wider range of prospective job opportunities.
Read more.
CILIP Carnegie Medal 2021
The CILIP Carnegie Medal is the UK’s oldest book award for young people. It is awarded by children’s librarians for an outstanding book written in English for children and young people.
Why not read this year’s shortlist and choose your favourite? The winner was announced on 16 June.
All these shortlisted books are available to borrow from the library.
Apprentice of the Year
Well done to our Finance Apprentice (and former Ryburn student) Ben Kershaw, who has been named the Employers Choice Apprentice of the Year with Calderdale College, where he has been doing his AAT Qualifications. A very well deserved accolade!
Apprenticeships are a great way to start your career, developing skills and qualifications as you earn. We are currently looking for a creative and energetic Media and Communications Apprentice to join our team. Maybe you know someone who could be the next Apprentice of the Year?
Online Safety Newsletter
Check out this month’s online safety newsletter, featuring news on Youtube’s new ‘supervised experience’, and social network Omegle. You’ll also find information on developing a positive digital footprint and managing screen time.
Art Gallery
Students and staff in our Art and Photography lessons have been proving once again that creativity trumps Covid, turning out some incredible work despite the fact they are working within the limits of non-specialist classrooms. Check out the gallery.
Well done also to all the Year 11 and 13 students who mounted a fantastic final exhibition. Exam board rules mean that we cannot share their work here yet unfortunately.
Artwork: ‘Paper Bag Heads’ by Year 9, ‘Sowerby Bridge Geese’ in ink and clay by Year 7, silhouette projection photography by Year 10.
Key Dates
Fri 23 July - Last day of summer term
Mon 26 July - Summer holidays (school closed)
Tue 10 Aug - AS and A Level results day
Thu 12 Aug - GCSE results day
Tue 7 Sept - Start of autumn term for Year 7 and Year 12 (school closed to Year 8-11 and 13)
Wed 8 Sept - Start of autumn term for all years
(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.