Friday 9th October 2020

Dear Parents and Students,

I hope this newsletter finds you safe and well. Another busy week! Unfortunately, we continue to see an increase in students having to

self-isolate due to Covid19. This has the potential to disrupt education. All students must follow their timetable from home and where possible, remote into their timetabled class ‘live’ or complete the work set via Microsoft Teams to avoid lost learning. Given that we may be reliant on teacher assessments to some extent or entirely next summer, I cannot stress to you enough the importance of work completion to the highest standards.

Local restrictions mean that we cannot socialise in ‘normal ways’. To help keep children constructively occupied, there are plenty of activities to get involved in:

- An Inter-house Fine Art Competition - Maths Puzzle of the week - Ready Steady Read challenge

More details are further on in this Newsletter. Most positive cases at school have been linked to external contacts. If you are contacted via track and trace, or the school, it is important that you follow the guidance and self-isolate. If we send your child home due to contact in school and they show any symptoms whilst at home, we would ask parents not to delay and help minimise any child’s time out of school. We would also ask that you remind your child to bring a face mask to school and wear them when on corridors and in areas where social distancing is more difficult.

We are expecting news in the coming weeks of the GCSE and A-Level structure for

2020/21. As soon as I have any information, I will pass this on. If your Year 11 child missed out on having their photograph taken this week, there will be an opportunity later in the year to have them taken. We are expecting further local lockdown guidance for education over the coming days and I will communicate this to you as soon I am able to. These are and continue to be very challenging times. We must all seek to follow the guidelines and help keep each other safe. Mrs Thorogood, Headteacher

Inter-House Arts Competition (all week)

Dear Parent/Guardian,

We do have an increasing number of pupils that have been asked by school to self -isolate for a period of two weeks.

Currently, remote education continues to be provided throughout this period. What does Remote Education at Rainhill High School look like? On day one, pupils should be referring to their knowledge organisers and recapping prior learning. Work is set after this point by class teachers with clear instructions as to what to do. What is my child expected to do? Your child is expected to complete the tasks set and send it back, via teams or SMHW. Why is it important for my child to continue to work when they are off school? Our engagement levels are currently very low.

Last week, our teachers reported that engagement with the resources or lesson set was as low as 35% in Y 10 and only 46% in Y 11. Whilst Y7, Y8 & Y9 were stronger, the highest percentage engagement was still only around 60%.

Clearly, this will lead to further gaps in learning which, after we have all been through lockdown, will prove detrimental to their education.

For exam classes, we still do not have confirmation about what next year’s GCSE and A level examinations will look like. There may be an element of school assessed work considered… if this is the case, it is more important than ever that we have a range of evidence for your child to support a grade. This cannot happen if your child is not engaging with the work set.

It is therefore essential that your child completes work set and lets their teacher know, via Teams or SMHW, that they have completed the work – sending it back to them when it is done if possible. My child does not understand what has been set. What do I do? If your child does not understand what has been set, they must message their class teacher. This can be done on SMHW or on Teams. As your child’s teacher will be teaching during the day, it may be later on that they receive a reply – but we do expect our teachers to reply at the earliest possible time. Are there any plans for remote lessons? We are trialling live lessons with some Y11 and KS5 classes at the moment. This is where your child will remote in to a lesson being taught to their class in school. This will become more widely used over the next week. We will have to prioritise GCSE and A level classes with this initiative and I will let you know if we plan to change this at any point. If I, as a parent, have a question – where should this be directed to? In the first instance, your question should be directed to the class teacher. They will be best placed to answer any questions that arise. Mrs Segal, Deputy Headteacher.

A ‘contact’, according The Public Health England definition, is:

• People who spend significant time in the same household as a person who has tested positive for COVID-19.

• A person who has had face-to-face contact (within one metre), with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, including:

▪ being coughed on ▪ having a face-to-face conversation within one metre ▪ having skin-to-skin physical contact, or ▪ contact within one metre for one minute or longer without face-to-face contact

• A person who has been within 2 metres of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 for more than 15 minutes.

• A person who has travelled in a small vehicle with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 or in a large vehicle near someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

Just because somebody is in the same year group as you does not mean that you will be sent home if they test positive for COVID-19. Only ‘contacts’ will be sent home.

The school or NHS Test and Trace team will tell you if you have been identified as a ‘contact’ so please do not listen to rumours from others!

If you do get sent home, your parents/carers will receive a letter explaining the situation and work will be set for you via SMHW so that you don’t fall behind,

Remember… transmission rates from children (those aged under 18) to children are low compared with those from adults to adults, so try not to worry!

A person who has been close to someone who has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) anytime from 2 days before the person was symptomatic (or tested positive if asymptomatic) up to 7 days from the test or the onset of symptoms.

For example, a contact can be:

• People who spend significant time in the same household as a person who has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19).

• A person who has had face-to-face contact (within one metre), with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19), including: being coughed on, having a face-to-face conversation, within one metre, or having skin-to-skin physical contact, or any contact within one metre for one minute or longer without face-to-face contact.

• A person who has been within 2 metres of someone who has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) for more than 15 minutes.

• A person who has travelled in a small vehicle with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) or in a large vehicle or plane near someone who has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19).

If your child is identified as a contact and are told to self-isolate for 14 days, they must isolate for the full 14 days regardless if they have a test which is negative. Please do not send your child into school, they must remain at home for the full 14 days. You will be given a letter when you collect your child giving dates on when they can return.

If your child is sent home from school and a test is recommended due to them presenting with symptoms and they test negative, your child can return to school providing they are well and showing no symptoms. Please do not send your child into school whilst awaiting results, even if they are feeling better. You must get them tested if we advise you to do so. We assess every child individually in accordance with Public Health England / NHS / Department for Education guidance

Further guidance can be found by clicking the link below. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance

If you have had symptoms of COVID-19 or a positive test, then you may end your self-isolation after 10 days and return to your normal routine if you do not have symptoms other than cough or loss of sense of smell or taste. If you still have a high temperature, keep self-isolating until your temperature returns to normal and seek medical advice.

After 10 days, if you just have a cough or a loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia), you do not need to continue to self-isolate. This is because a cough or anosmia can last for several weeks once the infection has gone. The 10-day period starts from the day when you first became ill.

If you continue to feel unwell and have not already sought medical advice, you should use the NHS 111 online COVID-19 service. If you do not have internet access, call NHS 111. For a medical emergency dial 999.

If you have been identified as a ‘contact’ of someone who has tested positive for Coronavirus then you will need to self-isolate for 14 days from the when that person first had symptoms or, in the absence of symptoms, the date of their COVID test. If, after 14 days you do not have any symptoms then you may end your self-isolation. Further Information Mr Owens, Chief Operating Officer.

Someone you live with has COVID

symptoms

The person who has symptoms is sent home and gets a COVID test. Anybody who lives with

the person also needs to self-isolate until the test result is received.

If the person gets a positive test result

They need to isolate for 10 x days from when their symptom

started or, if they didn’t have symptoms, from the date of the

COVID test. Other household members need to isolate for 14 x days from when the person who test positive first had symptoms or, if they didn’t have symptoms, from the date of the COVID test.

If the person gets a negative test result

Everybody in the household can return to normal.

If the person who has symptoms cannot get a test

The household should isolate as if the person had tested

positive on the day they first had symptoms.

Someone you do not live with has COVID

symptoms (for example a friend)

The person who has symptoms is sent home and gets a COVID test. If you do not live with

the person then you do NOT need to isolate.

If the person gets a positive test

result

They need to isolate for 10 x days

from when their symptom

started or, if they didn’t have

symptoms, from the date of the

COVID test. ‘Contacts’ need to

isolate for 14 x days from when

the person who test positive first

had symptoms or, if they didn’t

have symptoms, from the date of

the COVID test.

If the person gets a positive

test result

They can return to school and

those in their household can

return to normal.

If the person who has

symptoms cannot get a

test

The household should

isolate as if the person had

tested positive on the day

they first had symptoms

but nobody else needs to

isolate.

The Daniel Fox Foundation will be working with the school this term delivering presentations on the consequences and impact of knife crime.

Many of you will know that Daniel lost his life to a knife crime incident in St Helens in September 2016.

The presentations are delivered by family members of Daniel’s family; therefore, their message is both very emotive and real. Knife crime is something that could affect any of us at some point in our lives. As a school, we have a responsibility to ensure that our students are educated around the dangers and the impact of knife crime.

Please speak to your child about the presentation, we will actively be encouraging your child to have this dialogue with you. At the end of each presentation, we will advise students that if they feel they need any support following the presentation, that they speak to their Form Tutor, YSM, YPL. Once the presentations complete, form tutors will spend time going through Knife Crime and its impact with students.

Wednesday 7th October Year 9

Tuesday 13th October Year 7 & 8

Wednesday 4th November Year 7 & 10

Tues 17th November Year 10 & 8

Wed 25th November Year 9 & Sixth Form

*Year 11 dates to be confirmed Further information can be found through the following links

• https://danielfoxfoundation.org.uk

• https://www.merseyside.police.uk/news/merseyside/news/2020/february/daniel -fox-foundation-receives-cash-boost-from-merseyside-police/

Mrs Munro, Deputy Headteacher.

Please see below the Extra Curricular Timetable which starts Monday 12th October 2020.

Y7 TABLE TENNIS Mr Rachi/Mr Buckley

Sports Hall 12:10pm - 12:45pm

Y10 DRAMA COMPANY Mrs Renison

D102

12:30pm - 1:10pm

Y7 MATHS COMPETITION CLUB

B102 12:10pm - 12:40pm

Y8 TABLE TENNIS Mr Rachi/Mr Buckley

Sports Hall 12:10pm – 12:45pm

Y8 DANCE

Maddie & Anna D104

Y9 TABLE TENNIS Mr Rachi/Mr Buckley

Sports Hall 12:10pm – 12:45pm

Y10 DANCE

Alisha D104

12:30pm - 1:10pm

Y7 PHILOSOPHY & ETHICS

DEBATE CLUB Miss Goss

S211 12:10pm - 12:40pm

Y10 TABLE TENNIS Mr Rachi/Mr Buckley

Sports Hall 12:30pm – 13:00pm

Y8 DANCE

Maddie & Anna D104

12:10pm - 12:50pm

Y7 DRAMA

Mia D102

12:10pm - 12:50pm

Y11 TABLE TENNIS Mr Rachi/Mr

Buckley Sports Hall

12:30pm – 13:00pm

Y7 DANCE

Alisha

D104 12:10pm - 12:50pm

Y7/8 BOYS RECREATIONAL

FOOTBALL Mr Rachi/ Mr Rachi/Mr

Buckley

Astro Turf 3:10pm - 4:15pm

Y7/8 GIRLS

RECREATIONAL

NETBALL Miss Sumner/Miss

Hunter Courts

3:10pm - 4:15pm

Y11 DANCE Miss Power

D103

3:10pm - 4:10pm

Y7 GEOGRAPHY CLUB Miss McSporran

A205

3:10pm - 4:10pm

SIXTH FORM BOYS FOOTBALL Mr Rachi Astro Turf

2:10pm - 5:00pm

Y9/10/11 GIRLS

RECREATIONAL NETBALL Miss Hunter/Miss Burgess

Courts

3:10pm - 4:15pm

KS3 GIRLS RECREATIONAL FOOTBALL

Miss Sumner Astro Turf

3:10pm - 4:15pm

Y11 DRAMA

Mrs Speers D101

3:10pm - 4:10pm

Y7 TRAMPOLINING (WEEK A) Miss Hunter/Miss Burgess

Gym 3:10pm - 4:00pm

Y8 BOYS TRAMPOLINING (WEEK A)

Miss Hunter/Miss Burgess Gym

4:00pm – 4:45pm

Y9 BOYS TRAMPOLINING (WEEK B)

Miss Hunter/Miss Burgess Gym

3:10pm - 4:00pm

Y10 BOYS TRAMPOLINING (WEEK B) Miss Hunter/Miss Burgess

Gym 4:00pm – 4:45pm

Y9 BOYS RECREATIONAL FOOTBALL Mr Rachi/ Mr Rachi/Mr Buckley

Astro Turf

3:10pm - 4:15pm

KS4 GIRLS RECREATIONAL FOOTBALL Miss Sumner

Astro Turf 3:10pm - 4:15pm

Y10 DANCE

Miss Power D103

3:10pm - 4:10pm

Y11 MEDIA Mrs Munyao

A208 3:10pm - 4:10pm

WHENEVER THERE IS NO CORE SESSION

Y9 FILM CLUB 3:10pm - 4:10pm

Y8 HISTORY FILM CLUB

Mr Proctor

A106 3:10pm - 4:10pm

COUCH 2 RUNNING

PROGRAMME Miss Hunter Sports Hall

3:10pm - 4:15pm

Y11 MATHS SURGERY Mr Roberts

B102 15:10pm - 16:00pm

Many students, as well as adults, fall into the trap of forgetting Africa had a history before slavery.

In the History department, we have been teaching Year

8 students about life in Africa before slavery, in particular, life in the Mali Empire.

We have examined the culture, the trade, the lifestyles and the fabulous wealth.

We have looked at the Emperor Mansa Musa, the

wealthiest man of the Middle ages and possibly of all time with wealth to vast to even be imagined.

It is important for students to see that Africa is a

continent with a rich history and culture, and that African history does not simply begin with the slave trade; a trap which all too often many people fall into.

Mr Procter, Head of History.

Please note that if any Y 11 student has missed having their photograph taken this week, there will be another date arranged in the future. Further details are to be confirmed.

Dear Y 7 & Y 8,

Thank you so much for your European Day of Languages posters and masks!

We are currently in the process of going through all the entries and photographing our finalists.

We’ll be in touch next week to announce the winners. Keep your eyes peeled on @RainhillMFL on Instagram to see some of the work our talented students put together.

Merci!

Miss D’Anna, Head of Languages.

We would like to commend students in both KS3 and KS4 who are, for the vast majority, demonstrating a huge amount of resilience. Students are facing such uncertainty and to continue to work with focus and determination is something they should be extremely proud of.

Mr Giles, Key Stage 4 Progress Leader.

Last week has seen our first ever virtual Open Evening. Our films are available through the school website. Please click the link below to view the video.

https://www.rainhillhighschool.org.uk/parents/virtual-open-evening

Starting this month, all form groups will be completing a 5-minute form time activity to encourage discussions around different careers. The activity will include a short clip and some questions to consider about the job role.

For October, we are starting with Sport Psychologist.

Please click the link below to watch ‘What is a Sport Psychologist?’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LVy1iWk54o&feature=youtu.be

Mrs Bryant, Head of Citizenship.

The school is using Class Charts to monitor student’s rewards and behaviour during this academic Y. It allows the staff to reward the overwhelming number of positive behaviours and contribution that students are making both in lessons and through the wider school community.

A parent app is available to enable parent/carers to monitor their child behaviours.

Y 8-11 parents were sent log in details last Y. If you have misplaced the log in details, please contact the school office.

Maths Puzzle of the Week #1

Below are three sequences of letters. Each sequence follows some sort of rule.

You must work out the rule and write down the next 3 letters in the sequence…

Sequence 1:

O T T F F S S E __ __ __

Rule: ____________________

Sequence 2:

A D C F E H G __ __ __

Rule: __________________

Sequence 3:

D N O S A J J __ __ __

Rule: ___________________

Complete the Maths puzzle and hand in to Miss Carson (B104) to win house points!

Name: ____________________________________

Y, tutor group and house: _______________________________

CALLING ALL STUDENTS

CALLING ALL PARENTS

Unfortunately, it is with regret that we cannot go ahead with the Prom in October due to

Government guidelines. It is not clear when current restraints will lift and we are unable to plan a

date further ahead.

We are planning for a virtual GCSE Presentation Evening on 26th November and will confirm how students will receive their A-Level and GCSE certificates in due course.

Each day, pupils take part in a Tutorial lesson which is a 20-minute lesson with their Form Tutor. The overview for each day is outlined below.

Tutorial Programme Focuses on developing the key skills needed in each Y group

Personal Development

• Informing students of events • House points/house system • Attendance/Punctuality checking • Rainhill Experience promoting and tracking • Informing of enrichment opportunities • Student Leadership • Opportunity to log and report any issues with e-learning/subject

specific difficulties • Announcements

Reading 1 &2 Form tutor reads a set text to their form during two tutorial lessons per week. Y 7 - Cogheart Peter Bunzl Y 8 - Coram Boy Jamila Gavin Y 9 - Noughts and Crosses Malorie Blackman Y 10 - If I was your Girl? Meredith Crusso Y 11 - Are we all Lemmings and Snowflakes? Holly Bourne

Assembly The assembly themes for Term 1 can be found below, assemblies are delivered by your child’s YPL and are currently been broadcasted remotely to your child’s form room. Topics link in with themes from the tutorial programme, they also focus on content missed in PSHE (Personal, Social, Health Education) during lockdown and other safeguarding/wellbeing themes that are important.

More information regarding the tutorial programme will be covered within the Parent Information Evenings that are taking place for all Y groups this term. Mrs Munro, Deputy Headteacher.

Polite reminder to parents that Main Reception will only be staffed between 8am-4:30pm Monday-Thursday and 8am-4pm Friday. If there are any concerns outside these times, please email the main school account mailmgr@rainhillhighschool.org.uk or leave a voicemail on one of our answer machine facilities.

Ideally, your first point of contact is your child's form teacher. Please email them directly by using the link below and clicking the teacher's name on the list. Please try to avoid phoning the school if possible, this should be only if all other contact methods have been tried first or in the case of a family emergency.

https://www.rainhillhighschool.org.uk/contact

Please see below the list of practical lessons planned in Catering/Food Preparation and Nutrition - week beginning Monday 12th October:

10M/Cg1 No ingredients required.

10J/Cg1 Students are making Choux Pastry on Monday period 2. Then on Thursday period 4 they will use their shortcrust pastry to make it into profiteroles.

11K/Cg1 No ingredients required. 11M/Cg1 No ingredients required.

Please see below list of dates for the Inter-House Competitions taking place in each faculty.

Date Subject

21/9/20 MFL

5/10/20 Geography

12/10/20 Art

9/11/20 DT

23/11/20 English writing

30/11/20 Maths

14/12/20 Sports

11/1/21 Photography

18/1/21 Science

25/1/21 History

8/2/21 Philosophy

1/3/21 Performing Arts

15/3/21 Textiles

29/3/21 Sports

17/5/21 Citizenship

21/6/21 Food Technology

A feature is available on the Edulink One App. All parents will have the ability to update their own personal details. The submission will be verified, checked and updated on SIMS.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions for us, please don't hesitate to get in touch! Our phones are open from 8.30am - 6.00pm Monday to Thursday and 8.30am - 4.30pm on Fridays.

Contact Us Phone: 020 7197 9550 Twitter: @showmyhomework Facebook: like us here Skype: showmyhomework Email: Send us an email help@showmyhomework.co.uk

The DT/Construction department have set up a dedicated Instagram Account which allows staff, parents and students to find out what has been going on in the department.

You can find the account with the username: @Dt_Construction_rhs

The Food Tech department have set up a dedicated Instagram Account which portrays pupils’ food products in the department and allows staff, parents and students to find out what has been going on.

You can find the account with the username: @RHS-FoodTech.

The Performing Arts department have set up a dedicated Instagram Account for our private Music lessons.

You can find the account with the username: @Rainhillhighmusic

The Modern Foreign Languages department have set up a dedicated Instagram Account which allows staff, parents and students to find out what has been going on in the department. You can find the account with the username: @RainhillMFL.

English Y7, Y8 & Y9 Miss Lunt Philosophy & Ethics Miss Goss English Y10 Mrs Jones Sociology Mr Jarvis English Y11 Ms Dickman Computer Science Miss Johnson Mathematics Y7, Y8 & Y9 Miss Carson Business Studies Mr Jarvis Mathematics Y10 & Y11 Mr Rimmer Art/DT Mr Bennett Science Miss Robinson Languages Miss D’Anna Biology Dr Gordon Food Mrs Bolland Chemistry Dr Beswick Performing Arts Mrs Renison Physics Mr Hurst PE Mr Rachi

History Mr Procter Life Skills Miss Bryant Geography Mrs Parkinson (PSHE/Citizenship)

Stage 1 Form Tutor Stage 2 Y Student Manager Stage 3 Y Progress Leader Stage 4 Deputy Headteacher Mrs. Munro Stage 5 Headteacher Mrs. Thorogood

Y 7 Student Manager Miss Pilkington Y 7 Progress Leader Mr Wood Y 8 Student Manager Miss Seddon Y 8 Progress Leader Miss West Y 9 Student Manager Mrs Martin Y 9 Progress Leader Mr Shoebridge Y 10 Student Manager Miss Gordon Y 10 Progress Leader Miss Williams Y 11 Student Manager Mrs Quirk Y 11 Progress Leader Mr Giles

If you wish to formally complain, please use the link below to find our complaints procedure.

https://www.rainhillhighschool.org.uk/uploads/PDFs/2020/Complaints-Procedure-2019.pdf