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History

Holocaust Second generation Testimony
We were fortunate to welcome Peter and Moira Hart to school this week to share the testimony of Peter's Mum, Kitty Hart-Moxon who is a Holocaust survivor. Peter and Moira spoke with Year 9 and Year 10, as well as our A Level historians, about Kitty's experience at Auschwitz and her extensive work in remembering the horrors of the Holocaust. Our four Holocaust Ambassadors who participated in the Lessons From Auschwitz Programme this year were able to meet with our guests after their talk to share their experiences. Huge thanks to Peter and Moira for giving up their time, as well as Mrs Johnstone who arranged the visit- we hope the students gained a lot from this opportunity.

Year 8 Residential Trip

This month Year 8 enjoyed a camping residential in Badminton Woods, where they took part in Bushcraft activities with The Bushcraft Company. We were very lucky with the weather and had a brilliant time. Some of the highlights of our trip included:

• Being taught how to create a shelter with minimal kit. Students were given the opportunity to create their own shelters, but groups didn't stop there; they made excellent use of their imagination and the nature around them to consider not just the functionality of their shelter, but also the aesthetics. One group even created natural fairy lights using pinecones and the paracord provided. Students were then invited to give their peers a tour of their shelter, which became very competitive, with each group trying to offer additional facilities – one group even mentioned an ensuite!
• Being shown how to whittle tent pegs out of sticks, and then creating them.
• Using their macrame knowledge to create bracelets out of paracord.
• Cooking burgers on an open fire with the help of their tribe leader. Then eating them for dinner - they were delicious!
• In the evening, the campfires were lit and students toasted marshmallows and made s’mores – a very welcome treat!
• Learning and singing campfire songs, including ‘The Day I Went to Sea’.

Year 8 fully embraced their camping experience - they have gained a variety of new skills and made lots of memories together.

Psychology and Art Cross-Curricular Competition

Huge congratulations to Dalia (1st place) and Poppy (2nd place) for their fantastic entries for the Psychology and Art Cross-Curricular House Challenge competition. The competition was to create a piece of art using any medium inspired by psychology, led by sixth formers Zainab Lulat and Katie Baldwin. A huge well done! Saxons and Romans will be receiving house points for Dalia and Poppy's successes! 

Dataface project

This term two of our Year 9 groups took part in the Dataface project.  This project involves examining data sets and finding a story there, and then a way to represent it.  Both our teams are attending the finals on 2^nd June and their pieces will be displayed as part of the Cheltenham Science Festival.

Well done to both teams for all their hard work! Coco, Sophie and Lily and Alexandra, Evie H. and Evie L.

Hacking a network!

Our Year 10 GCSE class had a visit from Humairaa at BAE, who led a hands-on activity where students stripped the outer casing from network cables to intercept and decrypt data—ultimately revealing the code to unlock a goodie box. This engaging challenge helped consolidate their understanding of the Networks topic, and students found it a fun and memorable way to round off their learning.

Ribston Music

The Ribston Jazz Band were delighted to perform in the Cheltenham Jazz Festival on in May. Their dynamic set featured a wide range of pieces, from Herbie Hancock's 'Watermelon Man' to 'I Wanna Be Like You' from the Jungle Book. Congratulations to the Jazz Band on a brilliant performance and thank you to everyone who came out to support us! 

Shaping Futures

Our feeder Primary Schools attended the final themed day of the year this week. The Science department hosted a fantastic carousel of activities with lessons designed to enthuse and inspire. Pupils learnt about colours, forces and butterflies with help from our fabulous Year 12 Science students. One Year 12 Scientist even volunteered to lead the final session of the day in Physics-incredible! After a superb themed day, our Shaping Futures pupils remained at school for tuition with their Year 12 mentor. 

Sports Leaders

We have been lucky enough to support 2 events for the Gloucester School Sports Network (GSSN) since the last Ribston Roar - the Easter Themed Multi-Skills Event in April and the Primary School Swimming Gala just before half-term. As always, our students were a credit to the school, providing Primary School pupils with an opportunity to participate and compete. 

Sport 

Netball
Our U14 Netball Team (with help from two Year 10's) rose to the challenge of competing in an U15 Tournament at the University of Gloucestershire on earlier this month May. As always, they gave it their all-playing out of position when needed and showing great teamwork to secure a win in all of their games. They walked away with some well-earned silverware!

Rugby
Recently our students had an incredible opportunity to take part in a fantastic day of rugby at Kingsholm Stadium – and what a day it was! A huge congratulations to our Year 7's who were the under 12 winners. With over 200 young players showcasing their talent in the sunshine, it was a brilliant celebration of school rugby. 

Golf
This month, our talented golf team competed in a school tournament at Hartpury and delivered an outstanding performance — finishing 1st, 2nd, and 4th! It was an incredible achievement and a real showcase of their skill. Huge congratulations to all our players!

This term our new Careers Lead Mrs Sara Reader has joined us. During the summer-term Mrs Reader’s priorities include organising practice interviews for our Year 10 students and providing assistance to Year 12 with finding work experience placements. Your support with both initiatives would be greatly appreciated. 

Year 10 Practice Interviews: Wednesday 2^nd July (8.30am to 1.30pm appx).

For many people, the prospect of being interviewed for a job can be quite daunting. The main purpose of the practice interviews for our Year 10 students is to provide them with the experience of being asked questions about themselves by a visiting interviewer, in a supportive environment. If you would like to be a visiting interviewer and are available on Wednesday 2^nd July please email Mrs Reader at SLR@ribstonhall.gloucs.sch.uk

Year 12 Work Experience: Monday 14^th to Friday 18^th July inclusive

During the week of 14^th July, our Year 12 students will be taking part in work experience placements. Not all our students have been able to find a placement yet, so if you’re able to help in any way, we’d appreciate it, particularly if you work for an organisation in publishing, law, finance, engineering and medical (nursing).
As above, please send an email to Mrs Reader.

Congratulations to the Romans who once again top of the
House Points Leader Board as we end this term

Spotlight On Safeguarding - Working together to keep our young people safe
Each month, we share our Spotlight on Safeguarding newsletter to keep parents and guardians informed about key issues affecting young people, along with the latest updates, guidance, and resources related to safeguarding children.

May Addition: Online Safety
April Addition: Vaping