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 News from Mr Grady
8th March 2024
Hello Everyone,
What a very literary couple of weeks it has been. Two weeks ago, I had the joy of watching the Poetry by Heart finalists as they recited two poems each that they had learnt in front of Mrs Gregory, Mrs Dermott-Bond, Miss Danks and myself – a tough line-up of judges! I was completely blown away by the quality of the recitations, the wonderful range of poems chosen, and the confidence with which the finalists recited their chosen poems. It truly is one of the nicest part of the year, and I look forward to the heats with real pleasure.
We had a lovely breakfast with all the finalists to celebrate their efforts this week, and had a fab discussion about all the different ways in which students learnt their poems, and how much pleasure they’d taken in the process.
And of course, yesterday was World Book Day – and here at RHS, Book Character Fancy Dress Day. The theme this year, heroes and villains.
What an incredible range of costumes were on display – I counted at least three Cruella Devilles, and three supermen, all in transition from Clark Kent to the man of steel himself. The array of choices made by students, and their creativity in making their costumes never ceases to amaze me. In addition, the cake and book sale that went on at lunchtime showed just what a love of reading we have here at RHS.
It made me sad that I heard from some students who had joined our sixth form this year, that such a fun day would not have been able to happen in their original schools, as students could not be trusted, or the dressing up would not have been welcome. It was a stark reminder what a privilege it is for staff and students to be part of the RHS community, where dressing up is not just accepted but actively encouraged. We take our reading and our celebration of it seriously here at RHS, and we would not have it any other way.
I’m sure you’ll have seen our photos on social media, which will have given you a flavour of what our day was like yesterday. All in a day's work for us here, and led wonderfully by Mrs Gregory and the English department! Massive thanks to them.
Note to self: A costume with less lycra next year will perhaps lead to a more comfortable day…
Stay well and safe everyone,
With all best wishes,
Mr Grady
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Onatti theatre productions
Recently all students in Years 8 and 9 and those who study French and/or Spanish in Years 10 and 11 were treated to a fantastic theatre performance by Onatti Productions - or two if they study both French and Spanish! The plays are aimed at teenagers and included plenty of humour with comedic mishaps and misunderstandings. Both of the plays were delivered entirely in Spanish or French and were wonderfully engaging.
After watching the performances students said, "It was a fantastic opportunity to realise how much more I understood this year", "I loved watching the play. It was really funny and I was able to understand a lot of what was said. Even if I didn't understand every word, the actors made it easy to follow the story"; "The play really allowed us to expand our vocabulary and the actors were brilliant. If you get the opportunity to see a theatre production in another language, take it!".
With many thanks to the PTA for making this enrichment activity possible.
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Year 12 engineering trip
Our Year 12 Engineering students, who have teamed up with local company Britvic, visited the site last week to finalise their conclusions about how the company can save water throughout the canning process. The team were able to visit the line making Pepsi which has been their focus to see where their water saving conclusions can be put into action.
Working with the company has not only enabled the team to complete a specific work related project, but to see how the fields of robotics, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, and microbiology are all applied within the company.
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Sunny Seville trip
The Seville trip, which ran from 5th - 9th February, was a blast! Here Shreya recounts what they got up to! “Everyone who joined us loved seeing the beautiful architecture and learning about the history of Seville while improving our Spanish with the homestay families and the language school teachers.
The first day was full of long hours of travelling through airports but after that, we were rewarded with stunning views of Seville getting acquainted with our families. They were lovely people and we are incredibly grateful for the experience they offered us, including the opportunity to try typical meals like tortilla de patatas!
The second day was when we first started our language lessons and, personally, they were extremely useful and pushed me and many others to use our Spanish knowledge to its fullest capability and it certainly didn't hurt to have such amazing teachers either! After our lessons, we were gathered to tour the surrounding area of the Seville with a historical talk in entirely Spanish, which we all understood well and then we were taught flamenco by two of our teachers, Marta and Patricia. They were very talented and it was fun to dance with my friends to the music.
After language lessons on the third day, we trekked over to the La Giralda and the Cathedral, where we saw some stunning architecture and beautiful cityscape photos from the tallest tower in the area! We were talked through the history of the La Giralda and the Cathedral and after, we left to watch a flamenco show. The dancers were captivating and I loved watching all the fast movements, so I was quite sad when we were done!
On the fourth day, we visited the Alcázar, which a palace used by the Royal family, so we were delighted to see the beautiful architecture and told about the extensive history behind the building. We walked through several areas in the palace and before we knew it, we had seen everything and we were walking back to rest with the rain pouring down!
Finally, on the fifth day, we packed our belongings, giving our families a huge thank-you, finished our lessons, giving our teachers a similarly grateful goodbye, and we were off to our final activity, where we watched professional chefs cook typical Spanish meals and we were served the food made as well, my personal favourite being the olive selection!
All in all, everyone had a brilliant time seeing the sights, using Spanish with native Spanish speakers and exploring the streets and shops during our break times. It was a very enriching experience and if I could, I would do it all over again!”
Shreya, 11S
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Poetry by Heart performed
Mr. Grady, Mrs. Dermott-Bond, Mrs. Gregory and Miss Danks have been privileged yet again to listen to some delightful poetry recitations by students from years 10, 11, 12 and 13 as part of our Poetry By Heart key stage four and key stage five school competitions. The number and standard of recitations was excellent. All of the students had engaged with their thoughtfully chosen poems so thoughtfully and the recitations were intelligent, informed and delivered with conviction and emotion. All of the judges commented that the students had made the older poems sound as if they were recently written - and the oldest poem chosen was written in 1400! The entrants all made the poems their own and made the judges love them - either greeting them as much-loved favourites or making them deeply interested in the poets, their ideas and their language.
Of course, the challenge was to choose our winners - always a difficult process when the standard is so high. In the end though, the judges decided that Sorcha was our key stage four winner and Ameera our key stage five champion, both for their sensitive and moving recitations. The students' recitations will now be filmed and uploaded onto the Poetry By Heart website for judging in the national competition. All of the finalists were invited to a Poetry By Heart heroes' breakfast with Mr. Grady and Mrs Dermott-Bond!
We were so proud, yet again, of our students and reminded by their excellent example of how RHS students take on the most amazing challenges, push their limits and achieve excellence. Very warm thanks to all the contestants.
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Call for donations - outgrown but not outworn uniform
Has your daughter grown this year? Do you have any items of uniform that you could donate to the PTA for our next outgrown but not outworn uniform sale?
Please ensure that your donated items are clean and that you have removed all name tags. Items can be sent to school with your daughter and handed in at reception. Remember, please don’t donate anything that you would not want your own daughter to wear.
We are grateful to receive outgrown but not outworn: blazers, jumpers, blouses, skirts, trousers, PE hoodies, PE shirts, skorts, leggings, PE trainers, football boots, ballet shoes, text books and any other outgrown but not outworn items. Donating items is also greener than buying new and can help families struggling with the current cost of living crisis.’
Uniform Sale 27th April 2024
The RHS Parent Teacher Association (PTA) is organising an outgrown but not outworn school uniform sale on Saturday 27th April 2024. This is your opportunity to make a huge saving by buying good quality pre-used uniforms for your daughter and play your part in raising money for the school.
All proceeds will go to the PTA which provides funding for academic and non-academic related activities for our students. You can more information about the PTA on our website.
So, please come to school on Saturday 27th April 2024 between 10am - 12pm to make huge savings on outgrown but not outworn uniforms!
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NCS Away from Home
The National Citizen Service - Away From Home Experience is a residential opportunity for 15 to 17 year olds (Year 11 and 12's) and they are now recruiting for their Summer 2024 Programmes.
Whether you’re looking to make a difference in the world, you’re an aspiring entrepreneur or you’re wanting to gain new skills for life, an NCS experience may be for you. 15–17 year olds have the opportunity to embark on an exciting new adventure where they can make friends, build their confidence, and develop and strengthen their skills for work and life. Want to find out more? West Midlands Activate is hosting an online information session on Wednesday 6th March, 6-7pm, which you can book here. Students will hear more in an assembly on 17th April.
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Rugby Rotary Young Artist 2024
The Young Artist competition and exhibition, promoted by the three Rotary Clubs of Rugby, has launched for this year. The competition aims to encourage young people to experiment with art (no photography) using any form of paint/ mixed media/textile. It is open to students in year 7 - 13. Students should enter the competition by email to pauline.kimber70@gmail.com. The date for judging will be w/c 1st July 2024.
For years 7-9: To produce a piece of art work of their own choice or on the theme ‘Rebuilding’ to align with a Rotary theme.
For years 10-13: To produce a piece of art work with the subject of their own choice.
Completed entry forms need to accompany the work and be at St Andrews church on Thursday 27th June, between the hours of 10am - 2pm. The exhibition will be open from 1st July until 13th July from 10am until 2pm.
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Orwell Youth Prize 2024 now open for entries
“And above all, it is your civilisation, it is you.” George Orwell, ‘England Your England’
This year, for the first time, the Orwell Youth Prize is open to all secondary school students, from Year 7 to Year 13 (or equivalent) and the theme is ‘Home’.
What does home mean to you? A physical space? A person? A memory? A town? A country? Our planet? A dream? At a time when our idea of home seems under pressure, from the cost-of-living crisis and the housing crisis, to the plight of refugees and the climate crisis, The Orwell Foundation want you to write about what home means to you.
The Orwell Youth Prize is far more than just a prize. Every young writer who enters by the feedback deadline of 1st April 2024 is offered personalised feedback from volunteer readers. There is also resources and inspiration to help you on every step of your writing journey.
Entrants can send in writing in any form, including stories, poems, essays, articles and scripts. Find out more about the Orwell Youth Prize here and when you're ready, enter here.
The deadline to submit for feedback is Monday 1st April 2024 and the final deadline is Monday 6th May 2024.
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STAAR Programme
The RAF Museum Midlands have now opened our STAAR programme 2024! This is particularly for Year 9 students. They will need to speak to their science teacher in order to complete the application.
The STAAR (Summer Time Advanced Aerospace Residency) Programme is brought to you by Northrop Grumman, with the support of the Northrop Grumman Foundation, and in partnership with the RAF Museum. It is being delivered by the Museum, Royal Air Force Cosford and TA Education.
STAAR will run on Monday 22nd - Friday 26th July 2024 and Monday 29th July - Friday 2nd August 2024. Students who wish to apply must be available for these dates. There are 20 spaces available for each week of the residential - with 40 spaces available overall.
STAAR is designed for Year 9 students who demonstrate an interest or aptitude for one or more STEM subjects. The STAAR programme is open for students nationwide and all spaces are fully funded. To apply for STAAR 2024, students must complete the application form in conjunction with a teacher, school representative or organisation leader.
Apply now
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Latest U13s football result
Photo caption: standing l-r, Ella J, Anya H, Eva B, Louise M, Ella M, Zoe C (C). kneeling l-r, Rohitha R, Melisa B, Nimi K, Katie C. Not pictured: Anushay P, Sofia A.
U13s Rugby High School 1 (Anya) - 2 Rugby Free School
POTM Ella M
Despite losing our first proper game, our U13s district football competition got off to a great start on Tuesday 5th March with a home fixture against a strong team from Rugby Free. The weather was perfect and the pitch had finally dried out. Zoe was in goal for most of the game and got her safe hands on the end of many of their shots. Melisa took over for the last quarter and kept a clean sheet with some fabulous saves, both in the air and on the ground. This meant Zoe could play outfield and did not look at all out of her comfort zone powering up the right wing and assisting in attempts on goal. Katie showed us some lovely passsing in midfield, and Eva had a phenomenal work rate, I wish we could see a heatmap of her coverage! Up front, we had so many near misses, with great shots from Anya, Ella M and Louise, all three showing so much determination to score. Eventually one went in for Anya!
Nimi was so fast and did a great job marking one of their star forwards, closing down more opportunities for them. Anushay worked hard up front in the first half but showed her true gritty self in defence in the second half, with her absolutely fearless tackles eventually leading to her going off with an injury. Rohitha and Sofia ran their socks off in the second half, closing down more scoring opportunities. Final word though for both of our Ellas. Ella J marked another of their fast forwards like glue, showing such good defensive play and determination, well done Ella. Ella M was just fantastic wherever we asked her to play. Strong shots on goal in the first half, but in defence in the second half, Ella made many crucial clearances and set up so many chances up front with her powerful shots, showed an amazing work rate, she was rightfully player of the match.
Dr Brown and Mr Phillips would like to thank Mr Darcy from Rugby Free who was a great referee, and Mr Constable who ran the line for us.
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Jess’s sailing success
Jessica Powell, 9H, has just won the Yachting Journalist Association (YJA) Young Sailor of the Year and has been presented with a stunning trophy at the BoatLife exhibition at the NEC. The award is for Under-19s who, as voted for by the YJA Members, have performed outstandingly, and Jess is its youngest ever winner.
Jess is the 2023 Topper national champion and junior world champion. She has also showed her dominance in the ILCA 4 class, winning two autumn qualifiers and the ILCA UK Inland Nationals.
Jess said: “It’s an amazing feeling and such an honour to win the award. Thank you so much to the YJA and everyone that voted for me.”
Previous winners of the YJA Young Sailor of the Year title include Dame Ellen McArthur and Olympic gold medallists Hannah Mills and Sir Ben Ainslie.
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Karla Kuskin
Spring (1958)
I’m shouting
I’m singing
I’m swinging through trees
I’m winging sky-high
with the buzzing black bees.
I’m the sun
I’m the moon
I’m the dew on the rose.
I’m a rabbit
whose habit
is twitching his nose.
I’m lively
I’m lovely
I’m kicking my heels.
I’m crying “Come dance”
To the freshwater eels.
I’m racing through meadows
without any coat
I’m a gamboling lamb
I’m a light leaping goat
I’m a bud
I’m a bloom
I’m a dove on the wing.
I’m running on rooftops
and welcoming spring!
All things Poetry found at Poetry by Heart
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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
7th March Edition
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The School Newsletter is sent out every other Thursday during Term time.
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