Ralph Allen School

Parents’ e-news

Issue: 1 9 Sep 2016

In this issue….

School News

Welcome back!

Friend-raising

Trips & visits

School Notices

Ralph Allen

RalphAllenBath

SCHOOL NEWS

Welcome back!

Welcome back to all parents to the

new school year at the end of week 1.

We are very proud of the way students

are all settling in to life at Ralph Allen

School, particularly those who are new

in Year 7 and those joining other year

groups this term.

It has been an exciting summer with our

students achieving some really splendid

results in their end of Year 11, 12 & 13

exams. Very well done to them all and

also to families that supported them!

This September we welcome a number

of new members of staff. Having visited

us in the summer, they are quickly set-

tling in and bringing lots of new insights

and specialisms to our Ralph Allen Staff

team. A list of the new Ralph Allen

members of staff comes later in this

newsletter.

I too have a new role at Ralph Allen, so

it is a very exciting new school year for

me too. ‘Inspiring learning’ is my aspira-

tion both for my work as Head of

School but also for us as a whole staff

team.

Inspiring learning. We all have a part to

play in this: teachers planning engag-

ing lessons; students giving their best

effort with the right (growth) mindset;

parents in helping students to get to

school on time, being prepared for les-

sons with the right equipment and hav-

ing had a decent night’s sleep.

What is the right mindset? This is some-

thing we thought a lot about during

2015 – 2016. It involves the following key

characteristics:

Being prepared to have a go

Not being worried about making

mistakes, but being determined to

learn from the things we have got

wrong

Giving our best effort

‘Expect good things and make them

happen.’ I like this sentiment. We

started the year hearing about the

hopes and ambitions for the future

of our new Year 7 students and be-

ing ambitious is also a vital ingredient

to our success. We all need to hold

firmly to our goals and ambitions es-

pecially when the newness of term

wears off and work becomes more

challenging and demanding. It is

perspiration and determination that

will help us towards our aspirations.

I do hope that the new school year

Dates for the diary

Thurs 29 Sep early closure—students will be

dismissed early in

preparation for

Open Evening,

5.30—8pm.

Details to follow on

the website

Parents’ e-news

INNOVATION INCLUSION INSPIRATION

has started well for you.

Do study the clubs and after

school activities leaflet that has

just been published; there are

some terrific activities and getting

involved in them is a great way to

make new friends as well as de-

velop your natural skills and abili-

ties.

Year 7 students go on their resi-

dential next week. This is a great

opportunity for students to bond

and have some fun together. We

look forward to hearing about

their adventures. Mr John

Chantry, Head of School.

'Friend raising'

Please see below the thank you

card organised by Mrs Weeks,

one of our neighbours in Combe

Down, who distributed the potted

flowers from the Celebration

Evening to people in the commu-

nity at the end of term 6. This is a

lovely example that I wanted to

share of how we as a school cele-

brate old friends and new.

Mr Tim Withers, Executive Principal

Griffin Award trip

Students chose to visit Thorpe Park

at the end of term 6 for their re-

ward trip - we didn’t get many

photos as we were having too

much fun, but here we are pic-

tured above. Mr Neil Oliver, Assis-

tant Head of Pulteney House.

Year 8 Geography trip to Lulworth

Cove and Durdle Door

Year 8 geographers visited Lul-

worth Cove and Durdle Door for

their annual fieldwork trip at the

end of term 6. Over 120 students

took part over the two days. We

were lucky to have Mr Rose with

us for his final geography trip be-

fore his retirement. Mr Croft also

came for his last trip – thanks to

both of them for their help with

geography over the years!

The students walked over to Dur-

dle Door to learn about the pro-

cesses that have formed this

amazing arch. They drew sketch-

es of the arch from the cliff top.

They then had a paddle on the

beach and returned to Lulworth

Cove for lunch. The afternoon

was spent in Lulworth Cove look-

ing at the coastal features of Stair

Hole and the chalk cliffs at the

back of the cove.

By Thursday the wind had

dropped and we were able to

enjoy a boat trip from Lulworth

Cove to Durdle Door and back.

Thanks must go to the staff who

helped on this trip! Team Geogra-

phy

Pyrenees expedition

The Year 13 Gold DofE group flew

to Toulouse in July and headed to

the Pyrenees to complete their

Qualifying Expedition. Having

completed two years of training

and several fitness sessions lead-

ing up to the expedition, every-

one was in good shape to com-

plete the challenging route

through the mountains. The first

two days were taken with kit

checks, final route planning and

navigation training. Following this

the group set off for four days by

themselves walking from France

into Spain and back to France

again.

Everyone successfully completed

this extremely challenging expe-

dition. After a rest the group par-

ticipated in activities such as raft-

ing, cycling, climbing and summit-

ing a 3000m peak.

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Parents’ e-news

INNOVATION INCLUSION INSPIRATION

I was extremely impressed by the

group’s outdoor skills, team work

and social skills. They were an ab-

solute pleasure to work with and

outstanding in every way. A huge

congratulations to the group on

their fantastic achievement. Well

done Stefan Barnett, Megan Ross,

Tally Browne, Tom Weedon, Tom

Mason, Veronica Kirby Garton,

Polly Davies, Emma Dowty, Nick

Appleton, Gabriel Dimond, Kiera

Fitzsimons, Sophie Whipp, Dani

Workman and Ryan Wynne.

Thank you to John and Lyn Young

for assessing students and their

support with this expedition. A

special thank you to Heather Rid-

ley who gave up a huge amount

of her time to assist with the train-

ing leading up to this expedition,

helping with the organisation and

planning and the massive support

she offered when on expedition

to students and staff. Ms Jane

Fox, DofE and Outdoor Education

Co-ordinator Photos

All Year 7 and 10 students had

their photo taken this week by

professional school photogra-

phers Gillman & Soame. Parents

will receive a photo pack this

term with the opportunity to buy

photos in a range of sizes. Photos

should be ordered directly from

Gillman &

Soame. Full

instructions for

ordering will

be supplied in

the packs.

The Year 7s in their new uniform all

looked fabulous! (And the Year

10s all looked great too ...!)

School clubs

You may have noticed that some

school clubs started this week. This

was in response to the fixtures

timetable – the teams were keen

to start and prepare as they

begin soon. A full list of after-

school clubs and activities for

terms 1 & 2 is available on the

website.

Uniform

With over 1100 students in the

school, it is important to clearly

label all items of uniform so they

can be easily identified if parted

from their owner. If students lose

any personal possessions or uni-

form, they should check lost prop-

erty at student reception.

Transport

Thank you to all our parents for

your patience with the 'settling' of

the new school year

transport. The majority of buses

are running smoothly, and we

have been assured by the bus

company that the three Faresav-

ers will soon be settled.

Plenty of staff are on the bus park

every afternoon to ensure that

students get on the right buses.

Foxhill traffic lights are causing

traffic congestion. Please leave

extra time for your journeys to and

from school where possible. Mrs

Jo Marsh, Business Director

Parent Circle

Parent Circle is a group run by

parents for parents. It was started

in September 2012 with the aim of

creating a sustainable new way

for parents to get involved with

Ralph Allen School. It’s a place to

discuss your/your child’s experi-

ence of the school and talk to

other people at similar stages in

the parenting journey.

Our meetings are casual. They

provide us with an opportunity to

share experiences and discuss

possibilities. We are discovering

how much we have in common

and how beneficial conversations

can be.

Having talked as a group and

with senior management at the

school, we have agreed to circu-

late feedback to the senior man-

agement team as well as the

group after each meeting. We

are using three headings for this

feedback:

Learning for the Parent Circle

group – things we’ve discovered

that are relevant to parents of

Ralph Allen students.

Learning for the school –

things that have come up that

the school might benefit from

hearing. Celebration – positive things that

we/our children have experi-

enced at Ralph Allen (given that

most organisations mainly get told

the negative things).

We decide collectively what

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Parents’ e-news

INNOVATION INCLUSION INSPIRATION

should be included in the feed-

back at the end of each meet-

ing. Responses from the school will

be discussed at the following

meeting.

We hope to see you at our meet-

ings. The next is at 6.30pm in The

Lee Sixth Form Centre on Wed 21

Sep. If you are not able to at-

tend but would like to hear what’s

been discussed, we can send you

the feedback by email. To join this

mailing list, or to raise any ques-

tions, please contact us

at parent.circle@ralphallenschool

.com

Please see the links to the Parent

Circle Facebook page and twitter

feed - do sign up for both to keep

in touch with what's going on.

https://www.facebook.com/

parentcircleralphallenschool

https://twitter.com/

RASParentCircle

Ralph Allen Garden Volunteers'

Group

Are you interested in volunteering

as part of a group to help main-

tain the lovely Lee Centre gar-

den?

Parent Circle recently helped to

form a group of parents, staff,

alumnae and people from the

local community to come togeth-

er and volunteer in helping to

maintain the delightful little natu-

ral oasis that is the Lee Centre

garden.

There is a pond teeming with wild-

life, wonderful planting that pro-

duces flowers through every sea-

son, a multitude of fruits and lots

more. There are professional and

keen amateur gardeners in the

group, so there will be opportuni-

ties to learn about gardening

whilst also meeting other mem-

bers of the school community.

There is no commitment. If you

can't make a session that's fine,

however the more the merrier.

The sessions will run on the first Sat-

urday of every month. If it's nice

weather, you could always bring

a picnic too. There is no expecta-

tion that everyone can make

every time. Just come when you

can.

The dates until for term 1 & 2 are:

Sat 3rd Sept

Sat 1st Oct

Sat 5th Nov

Sat 3rd Dec

If you might be interested in com-

ing to the sessions, we would love

to hear from you at gardengroup@ralphallenschool.com

Ralph Allen Garden Volunteers'

Group

Pokémon Go safety advice and

Road Safety week

Many families across B&NES will

be taking part in playing the pop-

ular game Pokémon GO. The

game encourages people to

'switch between the virtual world

and the real world'

using their

smartphones to

catch virtual mon-

sters found on real

maps using GPS.

Please can we ask you to remind

students about remaining

safe whilst crossing roads to catch

that Jigglypuff? We want to en-

courage children and young

people to make sure they

are aware of their surroundings

and concentrate on dangers

around them whilst crossing roads

and not just focusing on their

phone.

The NSPCC have produced a

useful guide for parents and car-

ers around further risks involved

and top tips for families to stay

safe. This can be accessed on the

NSPCC Website https://

www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-

abuse/keeping-children-safe/

online-safety/pokemon-go-

parents-guide/

Road Safety Week 21 –

27 November

Brakes Road Safety Week is

planned from 21 – 27 November

to emphasise road safety at a

time when evenings are getting

darker and more dangerous for

children. There are six elements of

the Brake Pledge for Road Safety

Week including: Slow (20mph

SCHOOL NEWS

Parents’ e-news

INNOVATION INCLUSION INSPIRATION

zones at schools), Sober (avoiding

alcohol or

drugs), Secure (Seltbelts/car

seats), Silent (not using phone for

calls/text), Sharp (eye tests)

and Sustainable (promoting ac-

tive travel).

Claire Riggs, Health Improvement

Officer, Children and Young Peo-

ple, Bath & North East Somerset

Council

Closure of footpath

Curo and our con-

tractors are building a

new roundabout on

Bradford Road at the entrance to

Mulberry Park (the former Foxhill

MOD site) to create a safe junc-

tion for all road users.

As part of this work, the footpath

on the north side of Bradford

Road will be closed from Fri 16

Sep for up to five weeks. This will

enable us to carry out highway

works safely.

The footpath will be closed out-

side 159 Bradford Road and a

temporary pedestrian crossing will

be installed. Pedestrians can

then use the south side of Brad-

ford Road and cross back to the

north side at the zebra crossing

outside 197 Bradford Road.

We apologise for any inconven-

ience caused by these essential

works. If you have any queries,

please contact:

Mulberry Park Project Team

Tel: 0300 123 2460

Email: mulberrypark@curo-

group.co.uk

Welcome to our new staff who

started in September 2016

Nikki Charge

History Holburne House Tutor base L15 Laura Clintworth

English (sabbatical cover) Pulteney House Tutor base R1 Pam Ellison

Science, Physics Milsom & Pulteney Houses Tutor bases R11 and L1 Nick Esdale

IT Technician

Kian Febrer

Trust Accounts Officer

Alastair Flindall

Art & Photography (mat cover) Holburne House Tutor base P1 Marylou Hallsworth

Catering Assistant

Jessica Harrison

Philosophy and Ethics Crescent House Tutor base L16

Hannah Hill

Modern Foreign Languages Crescent House Tutor base R4 Kenneth Hunter-

Science, Chemistry Milsom House Tutor base S11 Joy Mallinson-

Skimming

Science, Biology; Elite Athletes’ Mentor

Russell Middleton

DCTL Science Crescent House Tutor base M8

Danny Parker

Music Holburne House Tutor base M16 Sarah Tasker

Geography Holburne House Tutor base L18

Amy Tytherleigh

CTL Science Pulteney House Tutor base S1

Emma Yates

Health and

Social Care Pulteney House Tutor base P14

SCHOOL NEWS & NOTICES

Parents’ e-news

INNOVATION INCLUSION INSPIRATION

Change of role from September

John Chantry: Head of School

Chris Gordon: Deputy Curricu-

lum Team Leader Art & Pho-

tography (maternity cover)

Megan Ely: Student Services

Key Worker

Ed Hume-Smith: Curriculum

Team Leader Art & Photog-

raphy (maternity cover)

Sheila Fullarton: Teacher i/c

Physics

Sophie Hunt: Deputy Curricu-

lum Team Leader Physical Ed-

ucation

James Forrester: Acting Head

of Pulteney House

Congratulations also to Emma

Pursall (neé Honeyfield) who got

married in the summer!

Here are just a few more of our

photos from the exam results

days, celebrating our students.

SCHOOL NEWS

Dates for Your Diary

Week beginning 12 Sep

Year 7 residential

Tues 13 Sep, 5 - 6pm: Years 10 & 12 Spanish exchange information

Evening in the main hall

Wed 21 Sep, 6.30—8pm: Parent Circle meeting in

The Lee Sixth Form Centre

Thurs 29 Sep, 5.30—8pm: Open Evening

Students will be dismissed

early on this day; details to

follow