0pts 1st
800pts
0pts 5th 510pts
3rd 610pts
0pts
4th 550pts 0pts
2nd 630pts
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Message from the Headteacher Dear Parents and Carers It has been a very busy week in school but today, the entire school community paused to reflect on the word of the week, solidarity, and to engage in a whole school assembly on ‘ordinary people’ which is the theme of Holocaust Memorial Day 2023. It continues to be important that our students understand and appreciate the British Values of democracy, respect & tolerance, rule of law and individual liberty. These values underpin what it means to be a citizen in a modern and diverse Great Britain but also, apply to the way we value the Roding Valley community and do not condone discrimination of any kind. Our assembly reflected on the roles of ‘ordinary people’ around the horrific treatment of Jewish people by the Nazi’s and their collaborators. Not only that ‘ordinary people’ were those who were persecuted but also that it was ‘ordinary people’ who perpetrated, witnessed, and fought the oppression and atrocities of the Holocaust. Our minute of collective reflection at the end was based around the quote “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” It is also very unfortunate but I have to inform you that another student has been robbed on their way home from school in the local community. The police have been informed and are working with the family. Please do refer to the Safety Letter Miss Dyer (Deputy Headteacher) sent out earlier this month for advice and guidance to give your sons and daughters. So far this week, I have sent two different communications regarding the planned Industrial action. You will find the letter from the local authority here and the subsequent communication I sent here. I would like to remind parents and carers the strike is happening because of a national dispute between the unions and the government over the lack of school funding, teachers’ pay, the current recruitment and retention crisis and the impact this is having now, and the devastating impact that this will have in the future. The national recruitment crisis is part of the bigger issue that there are less graduates entering the profession and being trained nationally, especially in key subjects such as Maths, Science and Geography. On a more positive note, last week our period 1 sessions were devoted to our house system and vertical tutoring. The focus was on students developing their sense of future and aspiration, one of our core values at Roding Valley. Our Year 13 House Captains and Year 12 Deputy House Captains also led assemblies for their houses on the theme of the week ‘futures’. It proved to be a successful week for students to take time to reflect on their goals, build resilience and continue to strive towards success.