Newsletters

July 2020

I am very hopeful that this is the last Ribston Roar that I will be writing without all of our students being in school. It has been really wonderful to see Years 10 and 12 in the building as well as Key Stage 3 in the last few weeks for some time with their tutors. I think the students have really enjoyed the interaction with the staff and their peers. There have been lots of smiles around the place for everyone as it has felt a bit more like we are getting back to normality. 

As we have now reached the last day of term, the time has come to say goodbye to our staff leavers. We are bidding a fond farewell to:

Mrs Diane Duxbury- Mathematics, Mr Martin Everitt, Curriculum Lead for Mathematics, Mrs Sarah Field- English, Mrs Kathryn Johnson, Acting Curriculum Lead for Mathematics, Mr Gerry Judd- MFL, Miss Samantha Leggett- Head of Sixth Form, Mrs Helen Moreby- Physics, Mrs Julie Price- Mathematics.

Please join me in thanking our departing staff for their contribution to Ribston Hall during their time with us. We wish all of them all the very best in the future.

We are delighted to welcome to Ribston Hall the following staff in September:

Ms Magdalena Castano- MFL, Mr Robert Goodwin, Assistant Headteacher in Charge of Sixth Form, Ms Toni Haigh-Psychology, Miss Samantha Hodges-Physics, Ms Adrienne Schneider-Mathematics, Ms Joanne Howell, Mathematics and Ms Nicola Walker, Curriculum Lead for Mathematics, 

We are also very excited to be welcoming Mr Andrew Sargent and Mr Robert Goodwin onto the Senior Leadership team. Mr Sargent is our new Assistant Headteacher in charge of Teaching and Learning and Mr Goodwin is our new Assistant Headteacher in charge of the Sixth Form. Mrs Lucy Brook will be replacing Mr Sargent as Curriculum Lead in charge of English. 

We are very much looking forward to them joining our Ribston team in September. 

I would like to wish you all a restful and relaxing summer break. We are looking forward to welcoming all of the students back in September. 

Sarah Colombini 

Headteacher

Ribston Hall Sixth Form

We have some exciting news about the development of our Sixth Form.  Following her maternity leave, Miss Leggett has decided to return to Devon to spend more time with her family. Starting in September we have a brand new team heading up the Sixth Form in September! 

I am delighted to introduce Mr Robert Goodwin as our new Assistant Headteacher in charge of the Sixth Form (Click to hear from Mr Goodwin).  He is an experienced school leader who is moving to the area from Surrey where he has had previously led significant improvements to outstanding outcomes in two Sixth Forms. We have also appointed Mrs Catriona Nicklin to Deputy Head of Sixth Form who is an A Level teacher and current Head of Year at Ribston.

Click here to watch our Sixth form Introduction

Who has won the House Cup this year?!

Click on this link to watch the House Captains reveal who has won the House Cup for this year! 

School Council 

Despite lockdown meaning we are no longer in school; the School Council have been meeting every week via a Microsoft Teams video call. This has helped us keep up to date and allowed us to bring forwards some exciting ideas as we move into the next academic year.

One key focus so far has been anti- bullying. We have had some fantastic discussions surrounding the topic; sharing ideas on what forms bullying can take, the impact it can have on those involved, and what we, as a school, can do to spread the anti- bullying message and to take care of our peers and those around us. We have also been discussing the recent Black Lives Matter movement, and decided to create a ‘Diversity Group’, where those looking to support the movement can get involved to share the message.

Another key point of discussion has been how we can get the whole school involved in the Council and give every student a voice. We decided that form room ‘suggestion boxes’ are to be introduced in September, where students from all years can leave suggestions anonymously for the council to discuss. We do not want the student voice to be limited only to those in the School Council, but to be opened up to students in all years. However, with most years absent from school at the moment, we are aware it may be difficult to put forward ideas from home. Therefore, until September rolls around and suggestion boxes are introduced, my email is open to any ideas, questions, or suggestions as to how we can help at home as well as in school. Please email any suggestions to Mr. Barnard at AB@ribstonhall.gloucs.sch.uk who will direct any emails to me for the council to discuss. I am really impressed with the brilliant start the School Council have made already this year. Despite times being uncertain, I am positive that we can bring a lot to the school and that we have an exciting year ahead of us!

By Meghan Riley, Head Girl in charge of the School Council

ICT & Computing

 

 

 

Way back in at the beginning of March this year, 10 students took part in the Oxford Computing Challenge, in their own time. They were invited to participate in this challenge as they were among the top 10% of the Bebras Challenge.  Although the results were available on March 16th, I did not see them due to being in self isolation.

I am now happy to congratulate the girls on their achievements in this very tough challenge.  It is the first time we have participated at Ribston Hall High School.  Some of them got 30 or more points which meant they solved more than half of the 12 tasks.

Heather Aylward 7.3 – Distinction           Shenise Beddall 9D – Merit         

Livvy Cowling 9R – Distinction                 Daisy Phillimore 7.4 – Participation        

Emily Tallents 9D – Distinction                 Vienna Thomas 7.4 – Participation          

Rachel Treadwell 7.3 – Distinction           Rose Whitehead 9D – Distinction           

Seren Williams 7.2 – Distinction               Delphine Wynter 9B – Distinction

Mrs Coverdale Teacher of ICT & Computing

Year 8 Creative Chemistry Challenge

Year 8 were given a task of Creating Chemistry Board games on the topics they had covered in Year 7 and 8. They were asked to be Creative and come up with Board games which can be played as a fun revision game. Some of the Board games the girls have come up with have not only been impressive but also commendable.

Mia Checchi 8R

 

 

 

 

 

Isabella Hart 8R

 

 

 

 

Katie Baldwin 8R

Sophie Fudge 8R

Grace Withers 8B

Hannah Brown 8B

Hope Hart 8R

 

 

 

 

 

Madeleine Wise 8R

 

Student Wellbeing

Wellbeing have tied the themes for July and August together. July is the Samaritans annual ‘Talk to Us’ campaign and August is the month to ‘Pay it forward’.

We have published some information on our virtual Wellbeing noticeboard regarding the Samaritans help line. We have also set the students the challenge of doing something kind over the summer or, whenever they can, to pay it forward.

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted” Aesop

The idea behind paying it forward is that you do something for someone without expecting anything in return, they then, instead of repaying you, do something for some one else. Spreading kindness can have a huge impact and not just for our friends and family.

Steve Mueller from Planet of Success says “By paying it forward, you can make quite an important difference in this world. Not only will you brighten another person’s mood, but you will also set a chain reaction in motion. If you pay it forward to three people, who again pay it forward to three others themselves, the entire planet could be transformed. Affecting change doesn’t take much. You don’t have to be rich, powerful or influential. Every ordinary person can help to make this world a better place, for instance by paying it forward.”

The Samaritans charity is a prime example of people who pay it forward. It is run by trained volunteers and is open day and night for people who are going through a tough time. It was initially set up as an emergency line for people who were contemplating suicide, now it also offers a drop-in service for face-to-face discussion, undertakes outreach at festivals and other outdoor events, trains prisoners as "Listeners" to provide support within prisons, and undertakes research into suicide and emotional health issues.         

Every July Samaritans runs a ‘talk to us’ campaign to raise awareness and remind people that they are there 24/7 to listen and provide support, without judgement or pressure. Calls to Samaritans are free and they have a self-help app so you can keep track of your feelings and to help you cope and feel better.

Remember, in a world where you can be anything, be kind.

Sharing Student Work - Mathematics Challenge

Year 7 and Year 8 have been applying their Mathematical skills in an enrichment challenge to create a zoo made from origami animals. Both year groups have produced some amazing creations, taking great care with accuracy while at the same time using lots of imagination. Here are some of the zoos produced by year 7 students.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sporting Achievements

As most of you will be aware around this time every year we hold our annual Sports awards to celebrate the achievements of our students. This year is no exception. The PE department had pre-recorded the awards and this was presented at the end of June.

Congratulation to all our students who received colours and cups.

The link for the sports awards is below:

https://clickv.ie/w/4S5n

I hope you enjoy the presentation

Dawn Barnett, Curriculum Lead – Performance Events Coordinator

Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award

I am proud to have recently completed my Gold Duke of Edinburgh award. The award involved a lot of hard work, including physical, skills, volunteering, residential and expedition sections. For me, the expedition was my most enjoyable, yet most challenging section of achieving the award. It involved two 5- day canoeing expeditions, the first being on the River Thames, and the second being on the River Severn and the River Wye. Each day required 7-9 hours of canoeing, travelling approximately 35Km, but always leaving enough time for the rope swings and swimming! These expeditions pushed me physically and mentally but were two of the most wonderful, memorable weeks. I really enjoyed meeting new people and being a member of two strong, supportive teams. It allowed me to create memories, meet people from various places across the country, learn skills I never thought I would pick up and to develop a passion for canoeing. A few of my other sections included running every day, volunteering as a performance captain within the school, and developing my musical skills.

Being an official Bronze, Silver and Gold Duke of Edinburgh award holder, I am so proud to have gone for the awards and to have come as far as I have since I started Bronze back in year 9. I would encourage any student considering the awards to give it a go and to get started.

Meg Riley 12-SF3

Sharing Student Work - Dance Challenge

Chloe Fry 7.2 -  won the House Dance competition and gained 25 House Points for the Britons! She recreated a solo that I set them as a task from their live lesson recently and sent in the video. Her performance was excellent, with very creative choreography included! Well done 

 

To see Chloe's performance click the link here

 

 

Sharing Student Work - Art & Design

 

 

 

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  Fantastic work during lockdown from Rosa Jolly 7.4 who created all of these stunning drawings!'

Mr Collins Art & Design Department

Ribston students entered the Gloucestershire School Games Competition with its theme being around photos taken in Lockdown - 3 of our students did really well considering 83 images were submitted.  Livvy Cowling 9R was in the top three for her 'My Dad as a sitting silhouette' image and Georgia Hall 11S 'What lurks in the water' and Ele Breeze 8D 'Light and Shadows' were in the highly commended category.

 

 

They will be receiving certificates and are part of the following link which showcases their work: Click Here

Really well done girls!

Sharing Student Work - Food Technology Challenges

Years 7/8/9 have been set a 'Fake-away' challenge...recipes that mimic take-away/restaurant meals.

Becky Chisholme 8D

I made cheese stuffed-crust pizza with pepper, mushroom, cheese and ham

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and "Nando’s"  for which I made rice with pepper mushroom peas and a variety of spices with, an unusual but tasty extra, of pork in the rice. I served the Nando’s with rice, chicken, peas and chips together with a spicy dip

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Erin Harper 7-REG5  Hoisin chicken stir fry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Freya Carroll 8B 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Natalie Cadman 8R

"Fake-away" food challenge. Indian night - I  made a Chicken Madras curry with Naan bread. We also had an Italian night. This included bruschetta, pasta with basil pesto & prawns, and basil & tomato pasta with bacon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amy Jenkins 7.2 

"Fake-away" food challenge. Here is my attempt at Chicken Chow Mein and Spring Rolls, our favourite family takeaway. It was very tasty!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zaina Ginwalla 9D

 

 

 

 

 

"Fake-away" food challenge - I made a fake Dominoes pizza for each person, a garlic bread pizza, fried chicken strips and cookie skillet for dessert.

Izzy Evans 7-REG1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Myrto Barling 8S

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Me and my sister made blue raspberry macaroons! We also created a box for them and named our brand Countryside Confectionery!

Support on the Summer Break

If you find yourselves struggling in the summer break, please know that there is support for you.

Young Minds Matter and Gloucestershire NHS have got together to set up helplines for both students and parents. Along with this, Anna Freud and the National Centre for Children and Families, has put together a #selfcareforsummer secondary pack. The pack teaches you all about self-care, some activities to do and advice on finding support.  All information can be found on the Wellbeing padlet, https://padlet.com/hao8/dj9rkqcjwpsb26a and the poster below.

 

Term Dates 2020-2021

Please click on the following link to see next year's term dates.