Newsletters

 Rugby High School - Autumn 2023 Issue 8 for web

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News from Mr Grady

21st December 2023

Hello Everyone,

I am writing this having just witnessed this year’s Sixth Form Entertainment.  There are still two further performances to go, but once again I can report that I chortled and tittered and occasionally guffawed at the representation of staff, students, and the community of RHS. 

Something I have always been a believer in is the ability to laugh at oneself, and it is so important not to allow one’s ego to get in the way about noticing and accepting one’s foibles.  Our students have sharp eyes and ears, and capture those little nuances of their teachers with skill and a real sense of warmth and fun.

I often find myself saying “only at RHS” and today is that perfect example. “Only at RHS” would we trust our students to write and stage a script, and know that although they will tease and poke fun, it is done with warmth and appreciation. 

Equally, the audience’s behaviour in the face of this day of misrule continues to be exemplary, and so, it really is an “only at RHS” day.

The term has been full of moments like this, and I look forward to further “only at RHS” moments in 2024. 

In the meantime, I think we are all well and truly in need of a rest and some time to recharge, so I wish you all the merriest of Christmas breaks, and a peaceful and prosperous new year.

With all best wishes,

Mr Grady

Sixth Form entertainment + Christmas Jumper day
8:50am – 3:45pm
21
December
End of term
3:45pm – 3:50pm
21
December
*Staff training day: No students in school 
8:50am – 3:45pm
22
December
Christmas holidays
All Day
From 25 Dec until 05 Jan
25
December
Staff Training Day - no students required in school
All Day
08
January
Start of term
8:50am – 3:45pm
09
January

Celebration assemblies and Head Teacher Awards

Head Teacher Award winners are nominated by their form tutors based on the effort which they have made during registration for their form group. They have been awarded to:

Year 7 - Izzy 
Year 8 - Aisha 
Year 9 - Eva 
Year 10 - Lena 
Year 11 - Jenocha 
Year 12 - Finley 
Year 13 - Beulah 

Subject awards, Duke of Edinburgh awards and other prizes have been awarded across the school to:

Year 7         

English - Lily 
Maths - Adhya 
Science - Blossom 
Computer Science - Evie 
Art and Design - Keva 
French - Anya 
Spanish - Iqraa 
Latin - Faiza 
Drama - Avaani 
Music - Betsy 
Geography - Nicole 
History - Hiya 
PRS - Emma 
PE - Nimi 
PSHE - Maya 

Year 8

English - Freia 
Maths - Rachel 
Science - Mrunal 
Computer Science - Kai 
Art and Design - Reet 
Textiles - Alice 
Food - Ella 
French - Pranati 
Spanish - Aiza 
Latin - Aashna 
Drama - Tiana 
Music - Vaibhavi 
Geography - Tamsin 
History - Kara 
PRS - Nikita 
PE - Ananya 
PSHE - Leah 


Barclays Game On - Go Lead training:
Zoe, Abi, Vanisha, Anushay 

Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire Games:
Zoe, Evelyn, Ella, Abi, Anushay, Eva 

Year 9 

English - Ellie 
Maths - Daisy 
Science - Maliha 
Computer Science - Ema 
Art and Design - Emily 
Textiles - Ava 
Food - Jess 
French - Anita 
Spanish - Iris 
Latin - Sofia 
Drama - Tinn 
Music - Jenny 
Geography - Diana
History - Poppy 
PRS - Summer 
PE - Sarah 
PSHE - Ash 

Year 10

English Language - Sarah 
Maths - Skye 
Biology - Amelia 
Chemistry - Elise 
Physics - Megan
Science - Chloe 
Computer Science - Tajrian
Business Studies - Sophia 
Art and Design - Marta 
Textiles - Izzie 
Food - Mariam Rose 
French - Ruby 
Spanish - Olivia 
Latin - Selina 
Drama - Addy 
Music - Anya 
Geography - Emily 
History - Corey 
PRS - Visali 
PE - Lauren 

Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire School Games - Football:

Casey-Anne, Olivia, Hattie 

DofE Bronze Award:

Minnah, Elizabeth, Millie, Isabella, Harriet, Megan, Casey-Anne, Sienna, Hermione, Ellie, Deena, Chloe, Rhianna, Mariam.

Year 11

Due to GCSE mocks taking place Year 11's celebration assembly will be held in the New Year. 

Year 12 

English Language - Emmylou 
English Literature - Annie 
Maths - Kacey 
Further Maths - Nishad 
Biology - Faye 
Chemistry - Bahar 
Physics - Rosie eago
Computer Science - Trisha 
Psychology - Violetta 
Sociology - Brooke
Business Studies - Shania 
Economics - Sophia 
Art and Design - Eva
French - Nia 
Spanish - Ellen 
Latin - Millie 
Drama - Grace 
Music - Sophie 
Geography - Katie 
History - Ellie 
Politics - Summer 
PRS - Lucy 
PSHE - Nosang 

DofE Bronze Award:      
Erin, Aaliya.

Year 13

English Language - Nikisha 
English Literature - Matilda 
Maths - Elisabeth 
Further Maths - George 
Biology - Amelia 
Chemistry - Shannel 
Physics - Aaliya 
Computer Science - Georgia 
Psychology - Ruby
Sociology - Lanny 
Business Studies - Maria 
Economics - Beth 
Art and Design - Louisa 
French - Mia 
Spanish - Gurleen 
Latin - Jay 
Classics - Jenna
Drama - Alice 
Music - Evie 
Geography - Emily 
History - Edie
Politics - Amy
PRS - Charlie 
PSHE - Imogen 
EPQ - Lauren 

DofE Silver Award:
Evie, Nia, Ashlie, Anjali, Yehya, Rachel, Eva, Daisy.

New Senior Student Leadership team announced

Following the recent vote we can now announce our new Senior Student Leadership Team: 

Head girl: Joanna 

Head boy: Yousef 

Senior prefects:

Ariana, Jack, Eva and Kim 

Congratulations to the new team! We are confident they will be brilliant leaders for our school and sixth form.

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School Production Tickets

The school theatre production is coming soon and tickets are now on sale via Parentmail! This year the drama and music department are putting on 'Much Ado about Nothing' with an 80's twist! Expect a colourful, funny and musical rendition of this Shakespearian comedy. Tickets are available now and ticket sales will be live until Monday 22nd January. There is currently a maximum capacity of 250 tickets a night. - we look forward to a huge audience joining us to experience this theatrical show!

Amazing RiBiT achievements!

The RiBiT reading award for year 7 has run for the first time this term, designed and coordinated by the fabulous Ariana and Milly from year 12. Year 7 students have responded with enthusiasm and we are pleased to announce our first bronze, silver and gold award winners, each gaining certificates and house points.

Bronze: 5 books read:
Sanchitha 
Anya 
Melissa 
Kaiya 

Silver: ten books read:
Rohitha 
Saanvi 
Nitya 
Katie  

Gold: fifteen books read:
Rohitha 
Saanvi 
Nitya 
Katie  

In addition, the platinum award is given to the student who read the most books in the term! Up for the award this time around are Chayatha and Juthusha, each of whom has read an astonishing number of books! The platinum award winner will be announced shortly. 

The students above and all of the students who are on their way to bronze can continue with the award next term - and any students who aren't involved yet are warmly invited to join in!

Very well done to all our RiBiT readers and a huge thank you to Ari and Milly!

Winter Fayre fundraising

The total raised at the Winter Fayre for charity was £1627.88!

Here are the results of each form's fundraising efforts at the fantastic Winter Fayre.

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Festive writing challenge winners

Year 8 were recently challenged to choose one item connected to Christmas and write a creative monologue from its perspective (a first person day in the life of that object)! Below is the winning entry by Ira - well done!

Winners:

1st Place: Ira ‘The Robin that Saved Christmas’
2nd Place: Priyani ‘Mister Elf on the Shelf Strikes Again’
3rd Place: Anisa 'A Star on the Tree' 

Year 8 Highly Commended Writers:

Kiana – Life of a bauble
Luca – Day in the life of an advent calendar
Sanaya – A Christmas tree
Sayona – A Christmas song
Kush – A turkey

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Climate Change cake

Year 8 Geographers have been exploring the impacts of climate change on different parts of our planet. They had the opportunity to present their findings in many different creative ways. Eshaal created a delicious cake illustrating the impacts of coral bleaching on our oceans and Liv produced this impressive 3D information diorama on the many impacts of climate change.

Twycross Zoo visit

Year 9 enjoyed their recent trip to Twycross Zoo where they explored the zoo and saw some of their favourite animals from snow leopards and tigers to giraffes, gorillas, giant tortoises, howler monkeys and toucans. They had an entertaining classroom lecture focusing on evolution, the ‘family tree’ of hominids and types of primates. Students were tested on their knowledge of skulls and the reasons behind the risks of extinction such as deforestation and hunting. The day was rounded off with the obligatory visit to the gift shop! 

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Christmas Carol trip

Tuesday 12th December saw Year 10 visit The Crescent theatre in Birmingham to watch 'A Christmas Carol': a performance with traditional set, costume and a script very close to the original storyline. Year 10 thoroughly enjoyed the performance and were immaculately behaved. It was a pleasure to take Year 10 to watch a performance of a novella they are studying for GCSE! 

PTA Raffle Prizes

Thank you to all those who generously donated prizes for our RHS PTA Winter Draw! 

“A Fabulous Crafting Bundle" generously donated by Wool Warehouse”

Wool Warehouse are very proud to be a local independent retailer, owned and run by Holly and Andy. We stock yarn, fabric, needlecraft and craft accessories. Every day we pick, pack and post our lovely customer orders and our customer service team help to answer queries and emails. We can help find the perfect yarn for a project, help fathom out a tricky pattern or recommend a birthday gift for a crafter! We find it exciting seeing new products created by our brands and even more excited to see the great projects our customers create using these products!

An "Autographed Festive Book Bundle" generously donated by Bella Osborne & Friends

A "Girls Cut & Blowdry" generously donated by Mops Hairdressing Salon, Dunchurch

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Musical Staff Members

The Zephyr Wind Band featuring Mrs Cranmer and Miss Cox played their Christmas Concert on Thursday 14th December and it was a fun and festive ride through many familiar Christmas favourites and a few others as well.

Miss Cox plays the clarinet and Mrs Cranmer is now the conductor.  It really was a lovely evening and we highly recommend this annual event for next year, which is free and open to the whole community.

8R’s raffle winners

8R have drawn the ‘Advent Calendar’ raffle from the Winter Fayre and the prize winners have been announced. 8R and Mrs Gregory would like to thank everyone who purchased an RHS limited edition calendar or a raffle ticket for the Advent calendar raffle to raise money for our house charity: Making Herstory.

Name change

From the start of the spring term, 2024, Miss Wall, Curriculum Leader for Geography will be known as Mrs Browning. 

Basketball matches

Last week our teams played their last basketball matches against Rugby Free School. Unfortunately, Year 8 lost 36-6 with Deeksha being named player of the match. Year 7 won 26-8 with Nimi being named player of the match.

Futsal Tournament success for U16s

On Monday 4th December, the RHS U16 Football Team took part in a Futsal tournament at RHS. We were joined by Harris and Avon Valley. The tournament schedule involved each team playing each other twice. It was a great opportunity for the students to display the skills which they have harnessed during this half-term.  

The first match against Harris was a dominant performance by the team. Sofia scored a fantastic hat-trick, Poppy achieved a brace and there was an unfortunate own goal to round things off. Following this, there was a determined display against AVS in which excellent goals from Sofia and Diana and a number of brilliant saves from Zoe ensured a 2-0 victory for the U16s.

The second fixture against Harris was a much tighter affair with a brace for Izzy and a goal for Diana and an excellent defensive performance from the whole team confirming victory.

Our final match against Avon Valley ended in a battling defeat with another goal from Sofia.

Dr Brown and Mr Phillips would like to thank Simon King for organising the tournament, Harris and AVS for travelling to RHS and to all of the students who took part. They showed a fantastic attitude throughout the tournament, played to their full potential and represented the school wonderfully.

Scores:
RHS 6-0 Harris
RHS 2-0 Avon Valley
RHS 3-0 Harris
RHS 1-3 Avon Valley

Team: Casey-Anne, Harriet, Poppy, Izzy, Diana, Elizabeth, Zoe, Sofia.

Surabhi selected for England

Surabhi in year 9 has been selected to represent England U14 Girls fencing team at an event in Paris in February 2024.

England Fencing have sent out the selection letters to the top 14 ranked U14 fencers including Surabhi who is very excited to share this news on her achievement. 

Congratulations Surabhi! 

Benjamin Zephaniah
Talking Turkeys

Be nice to yu turkeys dis christmas
Cos’ turkeys just wanna hav fun
Turkeys are cool, turkeys are wicked
An every turkey has a Mum.
Be nice to yu turkeys dis christmas,
Don’t eat it, keep it alive,
It could be yu mate, an not on your plate
Say, Yo! Turkey I’m on your side.
I got lots of friends who are turkeys
An all of dem fear christmas time,
Dey wanna enjoy it, dey say humans destroyed it
An humans are out of dere mind,
Yeah, I got lots of friends who are turkeys
Dey all hav a right to a life,
Not to be caged up an genetically made up
By any farmer an his wife.

Turkeys just wanna play reggae
Turkeys just wanna hip-hop
Can yu imagine a nice young turkey saying,
‘I cannot wait for de chop’,
Turkeys like getting presents, dey wanna watch christmas TV,
Turkeys hav brains an turkeys feel pain
In many ways like yu an me.

I once knew a turkey called…Turkey
He said “Benji explain to me please,
Who put de turkey in christmas
An what happens to christmas trees?”,
I said “I am not too sure turkey
But itÕs nothing to do wid Christ Mass
Humans get greedy an waste more dan need be
An business men mek loadsa cash’.

Be nice to yu turkey dis christmas
Invite dem indoors fe sum greens
Let dem eat cake an let dem partake
In a plate of organic grown beans,
Be nice to yu turkey dis christmas
An spare dem de cut of de knife,
Join Turkeys United an dey’ll be delighted
An yu will mek new friends ‘FOR LIFE’.

All things Poetry found at Poetry by Heart

Please find below information that has been passed to us that may be of interest to you and your family.

Warwickshire Family Information Service Newsletter

19th December Edition

The School Newsletter is sent out every other Thursday during Term time.