Principal's Message: Lest We Forget....
This Thursday, on Armistice Day, we reflected on those that lost their lives during the First World War and conflicts thereafter. Our Assembly with students provided them with an opportunity to reflect on why it is important to be silent and still for two minutes in honour of those that lost their lives. We were fortunate to have Mr Maddern from the Salvation Army in school to play the Last Post which made the whole event even more poignant.
Our Year 8 once again had a very enriching STEM day. Amazon Web Services (AWS), an Amazon company were in with us this week. AWS GetIT is an initiative designed by Amazon Web Services (AWS) to encourage girls aged 12-13 to consider a career in technology – challenging long-standing gender stereotypes, something we like to do at RGS. Namrata Das from AWS supported the girls, in groups, in an app building competition, which solves issues faced in schools. We await to see the great ideas our students will have.
Next Week is anti-bullying week and students are invited to wear odd socks on Monday. This is a small reminder that we all have the right to be different, free from any intimidation. Students will participate in a number of activities during the week.
On occasions schools have to say farewell to members of staff, and we do so this week. I send my farewells to Ms Van Wyngaardt who has had to leave us due to unforeseen circumstances. We wish to welcome Mr Murphy who will be teaching Computer Science and Ms Omole who will be teaching Business Studies.
Marika Farrugia, Principal
Word of the Week
Every week in school we share a Word of the Week. Pupils are given the definition and etymology of the word, synonyms for the word and examples of sentences using the word. The aim is to expand the girls’ vocabulary and they are rewarded with a Word of the Week token if they use the word in their writing or speaking. Please do discuss this word at home...This week word of the week is.....
Get girls into IT! This week, we were our own inspirational women!
Amazon Web Services (AWS), an Amazon company were in with us this week in partnership with a new organisation we are working with called Future Foundations. AWS GetIT is an initiative to encourage girls aged 12-13 to consider a career in technology.
AWS GetIT invites teams from different schools to an app-building competition to solve real issues faced by their school or community. Along the way, the girls learn practical digital and IT skills, experience working as a team, and gain self-confidence by presenting ideas to wider audiences – all while being exposed to IT as a potential career.
This national competition runs throughout the academic year and the semi-finals will take place this summer. The winning team will get prizes including Amazon vouchers, VIP trips to London and national recognition for their prize-winning idea.
Our girls were enthralled to learn about one of the female intellectual giants of the 20th Century, Katherine Johnson, who was an American mathematician. Her calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights was talked about by Namrata in the morning and so we added a film about her to our STEM day.
In the afternoon the girls watched the film: Hidden Figures, where behind the scenes of one of the greatest operations in U.S. history, where a group of American women (played by Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae) teamed up to solve mathematical equations for NASA.
The film was a fitting end to a wonderful day full of challenge and potential where Year 8 learned wherever they go, like those who came before them, they too are nanos gigantium humeris insidentes!
Friday 19th November - Children in Need Day
To celebrate Children in Need Day, we will be asking you to wear clothes you feel comfortable in and that express who you are. School rules will still apply (no ripped jeans, crop tops...) and remember to bring your PE kit if you have PE or dance.
Don't forget to bring your £1 donation to Children in Need with you next Friday!!
Free theatre tickets for young people
RABBLE Theatre, a professional theatre company in Reading, are offering free tickets to their next production of Who Killed Alfred Oliver? to young people under the age of 25. The production runs from 4 to 20 November at Reading Minster in the centre of Reading.
Our hope is to offer tickets to teenagers and young people who haven’t had much access to live theatre. If you are under 25 and would like to see our production this November, please get in touch with tash@rabbletheatre.com. We look forward to hearing from you!
At Home Testing
As the number of Covid-19 cases continues to increase in the local community, we continue to be vigilant. We continue to request that your child takes a Laterel Flow test twice a week - every Wednesday and Sunday and report the results using the link below.
In addition, if they test positive, they are to take an immediate PCR test and they should NOT return to school while they are waiting for the test results. Returning simply increases the risk of community transmission. You will be aware that we offer our hybrid classrooms to girls at home who have to self-isolate, but only following a positive PCR result, so that they can access their lessons and join their classmates in group work.
Here is a reminder of where you can report your test result to school.
Increasing Student Participation
“Talking Tokens”
Talking Tokens are issued by the classroom teacher and/or teaching assistant to pupils who participate to questions and/or ask questions during lessons. Pupils are encouraged to write their name and year group on the back of the 'Talking Token' and place them into the relevant 'Talking Token' collection box for their year group. At the end of each term, all 'Talking Tokens' are placed together and a pupil is selected at random. The more 'Talking Tokens' a pupil collects for contributing answers to questions in class, the more chances they have to win a prize.
At the end of this week the following number of 'Talking Tokens' collected across the whole school are 503. Well done to all those who received a token for their contribution in their lessons. We are currently on a grand total of 4501.
“Has your lesson been REAL (Relevant, Engaging, Active Learning)?”
Using REAL tokens students have the opportunity to give instant feedback to staff about their experiences within the lesson.
Students are provided with a token and at the end of the lesson, are asked if their lesson has been R.E.A.L. (Relevant, Engaging, Active Learning). Students then place their token into the 'Yes' or 'No' box, which is in every teaching classroom. Staff then uses this information to make any modification to their delivery of their lesson. These tokens are then collected in at the end of every week and counted.
Results for this week:
- YES – 2184
- No – 194 tokens
Many of you will be aware that the RGS car park is busy this year and this is of course due to the continued growth of the school. Maximum speed limit is 5mph. Please ensure that you are not driving any faster than this as you enter, during and when you exit the car park. Parents who do not comply with this speed limit will be asked not to drive through the car park.
How can we all help with the congestion at the beginning and end of the school day?
- Where possible girls to walk/ cycle to school
- Parents to team up and run car shares so that less cars are coming to RGS, in addition to helping the environment!
- Any cars who do have to come to RGS will be required to TURN LEFT out of the school carpark from MONDAY 13th SEPTEMBER
A reminder that it is also not permitted to stop on the very busy Northumberland Avenue.
We are delighted to be launching a second-hand uniform shop at RGS. Please send in any good quality uniform you no longer need. Mrs Emmett will be awaiting your deliveries! For further information please email selliott@readinggirlsschool.net