Information Bulletin For Parents/carers And Students

Information bulletin for parents/carers and studentsContentsKey school contact information1General information2Remote working ‘spotlight’ -5Online Safety6Planning and supporting learning12Useful websites12Using ShowMyHomework12Using Groupcall Xpressions App18Key school contact informationGeneral enquiriesenquiries@hrs.educationAs usual, our aim is to reply to all enquirieswithin 48 hours of receiptAbsencestudentabsence@hrs.educationPlease report if your son/daughter is unable towork at home due to illness07851960092IT ionChild protection/safeguarding concernsworrybox@hrs.education073949040531

General informationDear Parent/Carer,Further to our recent communications, I can now begin to set out ourplans to reopen the school from September.In order to comply with government guidelines, we will need toimplement some significant changes. Naturally, we want to provide youwith as much information as possible so that you are secure in theknowledge that we are doing all that we can to keep all members of ourschool community as safe as possible.We will provide some key headline information today, with more detailedinformation following at the beginning of next week.First, we need to clarify a change to the start of term. We had initiallyplanned to stagger the start of term over two days. This was to allow ournew starters in Years 7 and 12 to have the induction that they wereunable to have in the summer term. Following discussions withgovernors, we have decided that (because of the number of changes thatwe now need to make) we will stagger the start of term over three days,so that we can induct all students safely into our new way of working.Year groups will return to school in the following order: Wednesday 2 September onwards: Years 7 and 12 Thursday 3 September onwards: Years 7, 9, 11, 12 and 13 Friday 4 September onwards: All year groupsThe government has been clear that all students are expected to attendschool from September, unless they are complying with clinical and/orpublic health advice. It is important that you talk to us if you have anyconcerns in this regard.School will begin at the normal time (students should arrive by 8.40am atthe latest) and students will be required to wear normal school uniform.We are planning to have a very slight, staggered departure at the end ofthe school day so that the site can be cleared safely. This will see somestudents dismissed at 3.05 and others at 3.10. As a consequence, allstudents will still be able to access school buses as normal.We have yet to receive an update about the school bus services.However, Essex County Council are putting together an informationservice to provide further details about school transport (please see theattached letter from Clare Kershaw). We will update you with furtherinformation about school transport before the start of term.Finally, we are keen to get a sense from our students about how they arefeeling ahead of September. Mr Emberton will shortly be inviting all2

students to complete a survey that will help us plan for September basedupon their responses.I hope this initial letter helps set the scene ahead of September in termsof start of term dates, the start and end of the school day, school uniform,attendance, student feedback and (as much as we can at the moment)school transport. We will provide detailed information next week thatsets out how the school will operate on a daily basis, key protocols andupdated student expectations.I hope that you have a good weekend.Yours sincerelyDaniel GeeHeadteacherExams UpdateFirstly, I would like to apologise for an error in last week’s bulletin. Thedates for the release of exam results this summer were incorrect. Thedates should have read: AS, A level and other level 3 qualifications - 13th August 2020 Predominantly Year 13GCSE and other level 1&2 qualifications - 20th August 2020 Predominantly Year 11The Joint Council for Qualifications released the following statementrelating to the autumn exam series this week:As previously announced in England only there will be a full series of GCEA, AS and GCSE in all subjects available in autumn 2020.The timetable will run as follows: GCE AS and A-level examinations start on Monday 5 October andfinish on Friday 23 October.GCSE examinations start on Monday 2 November and finish onMonday 23 November.The deadlines for entry are: GCE AS & A-level – 4 SeptemberGCSE (except English Language and Mathematics) – 18 SeptemberGCSE (English Language and Mathematics) – 4 October.The exam boards will post the timetables on their websites and contactcentres about entries in due course.3

Dr Philip Wright, Director General of JCQ said:“In August, we will be celebrating the success of young people and theirprogression to the next stage of learning or move into a career. Thegrades will be reflective of what they might have achieved had they beenable to sit their exams and will enable them to move on to the next phasein their lives.“By the autumn, many young people will have entered further or highereducation or started their careers. The autumn series will be available foryoung people for whom it was not possible to issue a grade or who wish toimprove grades based on taking an exam. Full details on the autumnseries will be available shortly from the exam boards.”If your son/daughter wishes to take advantage of this series of examsthen please contact the exams office to register your entry requirements.As I mentioned last week the cost of these exams will not be covered bythe school.Neal FosterDeputy HeadteacherStudent SurveyDear Parents/Carers,As part of our preparations for September we are sending out a shortsurvey to all students in regard to any concerns they may have aboutreturning to school at the start of the new term. This will enable us toaddress any major concerns and improve the planning of our pastoralcare and reintegration strategies. Please encourage your children torespond.Mr S EmbertonAssistant HeadteacherBook LaunchCongratulations go to an ex student of Helen Romanes who has just hadher first book published. It is her amazing journey during her paramedictraining year, and we are very proud of her. Not only for becoming anestablished writer but also her contribution as a front line worker duringthis pandemic.4

Year 7Hello Year 7It feels very strange to be writing our final home school bulletin, andreferring to you as Year 7 for the very last time!When we return in September we will have a whole new cohort of newstarters. You will be the resident experts, and will be able to tell thosenervous Year 7s how quickly you settled in and managed to find your wayaround!I never dreamed when we began home learning in March that we wouldstill be learning in this way in July. You have shown huge amounts ofresilience and determination, and I have been so proud of you! I hopethat you all managed to watch the 'Awards Evening 2020' presentation inour Year 7 classroom this week. Please join me in congratulating thosestudents who were this year's winners and nominees. They should behugely proud of themselves!Enjoy the holidays, take care of yourselves, be safe and sensible andreturn to school in Year 8 ready to achieve even more amazing things. Itwouldn't be the end of year without listening to our theme song one lasttime. follow this link!See you next year,Mrs L Cook, Director of Learning Year 75

Year 8Good Afternoon EveryoneI can not quite believe we are at the end of term. Just before lock downwhen I visited each form to discuss the school closure and explain how wewould try and support your learning, I floated the notion that we may notsee each other again until September, I did not really think that wouldhappen and expected to be back in school sometime in the final term.But here we are at the end of day 69 of homeschooling. It has been a timeof ups and downs for students, parents and teachers. We haverediscovered the importance of family time and the daily hour of outdoorexercise. We have learnt how to be patient and remembered how toshare close space with others. We have all had time to breath and findmoments of quiet, especially early on when it was rare to hear a car onthe road. As we rush back to our busy lives take a moment to reflect onthe calm we have been blessed with.I am so proud of the resilience and perseverance of the Year 8s. You havebeen fantastic and I have really enjoyed sharing your success with yourteachers and parents. You should all be very proud of what you haveachieved and feel confident you are ready for Year 9.A special thank you to all the parents and carers. The kind words andsupport you have provided has been greatly received, and very muchappreciated. We can not underestimate how tough it has been to keepyour children motivated and working, especially when continuing to workfrom home and often caring for other children or relatives.We are very lucky at Helena Romanes to have such supportive parentsand fabulous students. I hope you all have a wonderful summer withoutthe pressure of homeschooling. If you have any concerns or worriesplease do not hesitate to contact me.Don’t forget to continue to be kind to yourself, not just physically, butmentally and to all those around you. Smile often and laugh lots.I can’t wait to see you all in September.Ms T FoulgerDirector of Learning Year 86

Year 9Dear Year 9s, Parents and CarersAnd so we draw to a close what has been a rather different andchallenging year. I am very proud as to how we have all worked togetherto get through the last few months and can only say thank you to all ofyou for your efforts, support and ongoing work.Although some of you have found it difficult, I am hoping that we have alltaken something positive away from this period of time. We have alllearned about ourselves and what type of 'worker' and 'learner' we are.Some of you have enjoyed teaching yourselves, working independentlyand have flourished. Some of you have realised that your organisationalskills need to be improved. Some of you have struggled with motivation,whilst others have coped. I hope that most of you have appreciated thatthere really is no better place to be than in school.I would like to say congratulations to all the winners of the Year 9 awards,and that I hope you enjoyed the presentation that I put on googleclassroom. You all did incredibly well. I am sorry that we could notcelebrate your achievements in the normal manner, but I hope my littlevideo expressed how very proud I was of you all.It just leaves me now to say a massive thank you to all of you, and all ofyour families. You have all helped me, supported the school and workedtogether to make sure that Year 9 continued to be the best throughoutthe most extraordinary of times. You have been truly brilliant.Have a fabulous summer. I truly look forward to leading you and workingwith you through the most exciting times that Year 10 will have in storefor us.Best WishesMs W GordonDirector of Learning Year 9Year 10Dear Students, Parents and Carers,Here is my final video for you this year. It is time to get excited about thefuture and Year 11!Click here for the video.Have an amazing summer, stay safe and let's get ready to smash Year 11!Kind regards,Mr N Wilcox7