Monday 16th November.

Before looking ahead to this week, I would like to celebrate two of the special events which took place last week. On Wednesday 11^th all of the children and staff stood in their class bubbles outside to mark the two minutes silence. Anyone passing the school would have been as moved as I was by the respectful silence which every child, from the oldest to the youngest, observed. I was also like to make special mention of Evie Rowlands who made and sold poppies to raise money for the poppy fund. The picture below shows Evie holding a poppy, the total of £20 raised was a very special contribution to the school’s total, well done Evie.

Friday was a very different ‘Children in Need Day’ without the penny picture. The great duck raise was eagerly watched by every class with ‘Swaledale’ celebrating victory as their duck ‘Qwackman and Bobbin’ winning the race. Thank you to everyone who supported the school’s fundraising efforts by donating on Friday.

Thank you to everyone who supported our virtual bookfair and to the staff who worked hard to organise it. The books sold will provide the school with additional funds to boost our reading book stocks.

This week sees the start of ‘Switch it Off’ Fortnight’ with the classes focussing on energy saving activities in school. Mrs Crisell and some of the children in school will be putting the finishing touches to the climate change presentation which they will be giving in the form of a national TED talk. We have been asked to contribute to a TedX event on the 25th of November, where are are one of 5 schools talking about climate action. We have received a grant from the Royal Society to research if we can produce food sustainably all year round. Watch this space for more details.

It is also national Anti-Bullying week with some of our worship time and class activities raising this important topic for discussion. On Tuesday Coverdale Class will attend a live ‘Yorkshire Moors’ science lesson. Nidderdale and Swaledale Classes are preparing for their ‘Victorian Days’ in school.

If you know anyone who is interested in applying for a place at RTS in the September 2021 intake please ask them to contact the school office where they will be given the details of our first Headteacher zoom meeting on Tuesday 24^th November.

The school moves into the 10^th week of the current academic year and, thanks to the hard work and cooperation of everyone in our school community, we have yet to have a class closure due to Covid-19. Remaining alert to the risks and how we can manage them is the only way that we will be able to remain open to all classes moving forward. If you or any member of your family are showing any of the core symptoms or if you are awaiting a test please do not send any of your children to school. Children attending school who later develop symptoms or test positive will cause the closure of a class bubble for 14 days.

Thank you for your ongoing support as we continue to do our best to keep everyone safe and in school.

Andrew Symonds

The photos below show the winning ‘Children in Need’ Duck and Evie Rowlands who raised £20 for the Poppy Appeal by making her own poppies.