Newsletters

March 2020

This month has presented us with one of the biggest challenges to society that we have seen in recent times. We are now almost at the end of the third week of social distancing measures and second week of remote learning for students across England.

It is so important that we stay at home as much as is possible to really make an impact on slowing the COVID-19 virus down, so thank you to all Ribston families and staff for staying home and helping support the lockdown.

We are also very thankful to our Keyworker parents who are still going out to work to ensure we can keep essential services going and look after the sick and vulnerable.

Our students have been brilliant and have shown great maturity and responsibility over this last fortnight; we are very proud of the fact that many have kept to a routine and have been doing their schoolwork. For most, this has helped with their wellbeing and has provided them with normality during these worrying times. This will also help with ensuring students are in a good position with their knowledge and understanding when they return to school in the near future.

We do appreciate that some students might be facing challenges such as: illness, poor Internet connection, sharing IT with several other people in the household or supporting looking after younger siblings etc. 

Please remember that we have advice and guidance on our website to support our young people (and their families) as well as things that you can do with your children to keep them busy. Please see our website page by clicking on the link for more information here.  Our lines of communication are open so please do not hesitate to contact us if you need anything. 

Ribston is sharing school provision with The Crypt over the Easter holidays to support Keyworker parents and vulnerable children. We have already contacted parents who made us aware that they wanted to use this provision but if your child is eligible and you need to book a place unexpectedly, please contact me on Head@ribstonhall.gloucs.sch.uk to advise us. 

Please have a look at our first Ribston Roar during Lockdown. We have shared all of the things students have been doing whilst working from home as well as things before lockdown so please enjoy the read. 

As ever, please remember to stay safe and look after each other. Sending our thoughts and best wishes to everyone within our precious Ribston community. 

Sarah Colombini 

Headteacher

World Book Day & Book Fair

To celebrate World Book Day this year, we invited students to dress up as literary characters or as a theme/genre, on Friday 6^th March.  We requested a silver coin from participants to be split between the library and Cats Protection, the library’s chosen charity this year. 

Our students and staff rose to the challenge and showed off some very creative and clever costumes, representing fiction past and present.  Here are some photos from the day for you to enjoy:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also hosted a travelling book fair in the school for a week, with commission from this going directly towards new books for the library. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall, we raised just over £340 from these events and we are hoping to develop a “quick reads” section in the library to encourage those that find reading challenging (or who are short on time) to dip into a book.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also ran a detective competition for super sleuth students: “The Case of the Mysterious Missing Moniker”.  Staff members displayed info about their favourite books on their doors for students to try and work out the ‘stolen’ title and author.  The winners of this were Kaitlyn Smith (12SF2) and Zainab Lulat (8B) – well done Detectives, this was no easy crime to unpick!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would like to thank the Literacy Ambassadors, Subject Captains, Librarians, Library Captains and Mrs Fisher for their help in setting up and running these events.

Ms L Haines  Careers Adviser/School Librarian

U13 Rugby Match

We were lucky to be able to play a contact rugby fixture v St Peters High School at the start of this month. The girls played with strength and speed, scoring some fantastic tries, being quick in support and losing some skin from their knees in the process.

The photo says it all – here we have teamwork at it’s best! Helena Fuller (Year 10) is pictured giving the team a motivational talk, drawing on the positives from the game and questioning what could be improved upon. The sun was shining, the girls were happy and there was contact. When they go out on the pitch again, they will be stronger, more determined and more resilient, I have no doubt!

Mrs Pitman

Sports Leadership Opportunities:

On Tuesday 3^rd March, the annual Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Swimming Gala took place at GL1. This event is run by the Gloucester School Sports Network and is attended by many children from Gloucester Primary Schools. Once again, Ribston students were given the opportunity to volunteer to help lead at the event. Whether we were time keeping or assisting them in the pool, it was a rewarding event to be a part of.  As well as it being a great opportunity for us, the best part of all was seeing the smiles on the children’s faces and to see them become more comfortable and confident in the water.

Sennen Cronin, 9B

Stress Awareness Month

Stress Awareness Month has been held every April, since 1992 to increase public awareness about both the causes and cures for our modern stress epidemic. According to the Mental Health Foundation, 74% of UK adults have felt so stressed at some point over the last year they felt overwhelmed or unable to cope. Now more than ever, with the constant newsfeeds about COVID-19 and the major changes to our normal way of life, having coping mechanisms to reduce stress is something that is incredibly important for us all during these challenging times.

For further information, please visit our Wellbeing Calendar which can be found on the Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing pages on our website. By clicking on the April hyperlink you will be taken directly to the Stress Awareness Month website which contains many useful resources and guides.

Year 7 Daily Challenges

During these unprecedented times it is important that we stay connected. With this in mind I have been e mailing Yr 7 Daily Challenges. These are not compulsory but have been a fun way for me to stay in touch, I do really miss the daily contact with Year 7!

I have been sending through the challenges in the morning, normally with a picture of myself and my children completing them the previous day. Some challenges have been more popular than others, I will have to get my thinking cap on for after Easter. I have loved seeing some of the creations, keep sending them through. Stay safe and well (at home!)

Mrs Hay

Year 8 have been invited to complete daily mindfulness challenges whilst they are at home,

Miss Nicklin asked her students to tell her or show her what they have done.  A selection of these are shown below:

Day 3: Call a relative or friend who is far away and have a chat with them.

Nell Pickering, 8S: Hi Mrs Nicklin. I just wanted to let you know that as part of my daily tasks I have been video calling my Grandad who lives 100 miles away and is social distancing because he is over 70. As a family we had a long video call with him yesterday because it was my brother's birthday and he couldn't come down to visit. Hope you are well, Nell.

Mia Cecchi, 8R: Just to let you know for the daily challenges I have stayed in touch regularly with both my mam-gu and auntie and cousins in Wales via many WhatsApp calls and videos as they are all in isolation!! My little cousin is only 3 but has Cerebral Palsy and must remain isolated for 3 months and I am ensuring that we have some fun video calls to keep her amused!

Day 4: Write a message of kindness and support to our NHS workers and post it on social media or send it to a local radio station.

And Year 8 also has a weekly current affairs quiz

Miss Nicklin was innundated with entries for the current affairs quiz, which Y8 usually do in teams in tutor time each week.  I will select a weekly winner at random from each tutor group.  This week’s winners are: 8B - Alice Holder, 8D - Mette Major-Styra, 8R - Bella Hart, 8S - Lindsay van der Westhuizen. Well done!

Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award attained - Well done Ellena!

I have recently completed my Gold Duke of Edinburgh award. I went on two 4-day canoeing expeditions one along the Severn and Avon and one along the river wye. We canoed for about 30km a day, but still managed to fit in plenty of time for swimming in the river! In addition to this I spent 12 months volunteering as a young leader for a Guide group, 12 months swimming and 6 months learning to drive. I also attended a 5-day residential as a member of the service team on a camp. I have really enjoyed completing my Bronze, Silver and Gold awards and would encourage as many students as possible to give it a go. 

Food Technology - In the Community

Imagine opening your front door and finding a box of home-made cookies, some cakes or even your evening meal on your doorstep. It is really important that we build our community spirit at this time and look after our neighbours, particularly those who are elderly and vulnerable and may not be able to get out.

Here are some examples of what students have made for people in the local community:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jasmine Marshall 9D

I decided to make Viennese biscuits for my food project, this time I decided to add buttercream and jam to the middle of the biscuits to make Viennese whirl biscuits; I really enjoyed making them and they were delicious to eat. This term I have really enjoyed food tech because I love learning new skills and I really enjoyed learning how to cook and bake new recipes, I now love trying out new bakes at home.

Artwork and Photography

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two beautiful photographs taken by Maisie Potter in 9B 'I took my dog for a nice walk to get some fresh air after finishing all my classes of the day. It was a great time of day to take a few photos. '                  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Success at Crufts

This year I took my two wire fox terriers to the International competition, Crufts 2020, in the breed classes my dog, Zephyr, came second in Limit and won his Good Citizens class. Then I took Lulu into Post Graduate Bitch and she got 3rd out of 10 dogs.

After our breed classes, a couple of my friends asked me to handle their Welsh Terrier, Sassy, who won her large Post Graduate class, after this I had to run back to the Fox Terrier ring to take in a Smooth Fox Terrier named Chase who got 3rd in his Puppy class.

We then had a break to recover before the Young Kennel Club Terrier stakes. 

To qualify for these stakes you have to have achieved 30 points in YKC stakes the rest of the year either by getting 1st with 30 points, 2nd with 15 points or 3rd with 10 points. This years judge was a Swiss Best In Show judge meaning she is qualified to judge any breed, this made me a little nervous. I took my wire fox, Zephyr in who qualified at Paignton Champ show. He performed really well, however there was some stiff competition, so I didn’t expect anything, which meant I was very surprised when the Judge handed me the first place rosette!

This meant that we would have to go into the main arena which was very nerve racking. However, I knew that as long as he performed well it didn’t matter how he placed.

As I took him round the ring I was surprised to find it was actually smaller than it looked on television. I was very proud to stack him in front of the Terrier group board.

Poppy Wynter 11D