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January 2022
January marks the end of our centenary year which we were able to celebrate with a beautiful service in the magnificent Gloucester Cathedral. We were honoured to have in attendance the Right Worshipful Mayor of Gloucester, Councillor Collette Finnegan, and the Sheriff of Gloucester, Councillor Pam Tracey MBE in attendance as well as my predecessor Mrs Chong, and our current staff and students. This made it a very special evening.
To explain how proud we are as a school, I thought I would share with you the final part of my speech, "Many things have changed in the first 100 years of our school, but what remains a constant is our Ribston spirit, a spirit that is personified in our students. Our students are all beautifully unique, and we celebrate them- they are the heart of our school, they are our legacy.
Over the last 100 years our students have left Ribston with much more than exceptional qualifications. They have left with self-belief and aspiration alongside compassion and humanity. These values have made the school an incredibly exceptional place throughout the years and the Ribston spirit is a beautiful symbol of our proud past, something that will continue to be a beacon of light to guide us into the future."
The Ribston Roar demonstrates this every month. Enjoy the read.
Mrs Sarah Colombini
Headteacher
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Centenary Cathedral service
On 6th January, we invited students, staff and special guests to join together at Gloucester Cathedral to celebrate 100 years of Ribston Hall High School. The cathedral looked spectacular with the festive decorations.
Speeches were made by our Headteacher, Mrs Colombini, Head Girl Olivia Hughes, current pupils Georgia Barnes, Kiara Babar and Abigail Dermody, past Head Girl Zoe Sparkes, and Lead for Humanities and ex-Ribstonian, Mrs Derbyshire.
We enjoyed musical performances from our Senior Chamber Choir, a piano recital from Bella Markham and a Harp recital from Nicola Dunham, both in Year 9. Our Year 11 Dancers performed a choreographed routine to Arrival of the Birds. You can watch a video of the choir's performance within the News article on our website.
Our Deputy Head Girl team led prayers and Canon Richard Mitchell of Gloucester Cathedral delivered an uplifting welcome address, as well as a Valedictory Prayer and Blessing.
Well done to everyone involved and thank you to all who attended. We are so proud of them all and to be part of Ribston Hall High School at this moment in its 100-year history.
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PHSE Drop-down day
On 25th January, we held our second 'Drop-down' day of the academic year, when all students were off timetable and focusing on PHSE and Career development activities.
We had external speakers visit us from the NHS, the RAF, South Gloucestershire and Stroud College and the Hollie Gazzard Trust; many thanks to them for their time and expertise. One of our speakers was ex-Ribston student Lauren-Mae Garner (pictured in top photo), who left us two years ago and is studying to be a nurse at the University of Gloucestershire. She ran a session for our Sixth Formers on learning with disabilities.
Students also took part in other activities to help with mindfulness, understanding cancel culture, relationship safety and a Capture the Flag exercise.
Special thanks to Mrs Wendzina, our PHSE Lead, and Ms Haines, our Careers Lead, who organised the day.
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Science building site tour
Three of our Head Girl team joined Mr Goodwin, our Head of Sixth Form and Martyn Dixon from Kier Construction for a site tour of our new Science facility, the Rosalind Franklin Laboratories.
Olivia Hughes, Evie de Gruyther and Lucy Good were all impressed with the progress on the build and cannot wait to see it being used by students and staff.
There's not long to wait now - we aim to move in around Easter 2022.
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Practical learning in Science
It’s been a busy time for our budding scientists with lots of practical activities. This week, Year 13 have been investigating iron tablets for a Chemistry practical, while Year 8 dissected a lung, identifying the various parts with confidence.
If you're interested in Biology, Dissection club is back this month for Years 11, 12 and 13 - please see Mrs Waters for more information.
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Perform your own Queen's Gambit
A new Chess Club starts in Feburary, every Tuesday and Thursday lunchtime in ST1. Open to all years and abilities, it is run by Mr Scott and there's a trophy to be won. Please do join if you'd like to play casually or competitively.
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Netball tour to Bournemouth
Mrs Pitman and Ms Barnett took the U16 netball squad to the England Schools South West Regional Tournament in Bournemouth on 28/29th January. They played a lot of excellent netball, only being beaten by a team from Millfield who have a very rigorous training timetable!
Well done ladies, great teamwork!
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What if? Roadshow
Our Sixth Form students took part in a road safety roadshow run by Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue. Entitled 'What if?', students were educated on how their key decisions will change outcomes. Given the worryingly high proportion of younger drivers who are killed or seriously injured on Gloucestershire roads, it's imperative our students do all they can to stay safe behind the wheel. Thank you to both Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service for hosting the roadshow and to our Year 12 and Year 13 students for listening with such respect and interest.
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Pre-loved uniform
We have a well stocked secondhand uniform shop in school, with prices starting at just £2. Please email Ms Oliver to purchase on to@ribstonhall.gloucs.sch.uk or pop into the school office.
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Meet Mrs Hatch, our new School Librarian
What did you do before you joined Ribston Hall?
I most recently worked at a Public Library in Gloucestershire. I previously worked in schools as an HLTA & SEN TA.
What were your first impressions of Ribston Hall?
As a parent of an RHHS student, I was already impressed with the school. I can confirm it is a very
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welcoming environment (staff and students alike) and my first week was made so much easier because of this.
Tell us about yourself
I’m originally from NE England. I have degrees in Psychology & Occupational Psychology. I love books, music and crafting. I really enjoy cross-stitching and would like to create my own patterns or develop into Craftivism projects. My favourite fiction read from last year was ‘Hamnet’ by Maggie O’Farrell.
What is your best memory from your own time at school?
A 5-week camping trip through France, Spain and Portugal.
What would the ideal Ribston Hall school library look like?
Inclusive, supportive and wide-ranging. I have lots of ideas but would like some student involvement in library development too. I aim to enhance and expand 'reading for pleasure' as well as supporting academic goals.
I firmly believe in the vast array of benefits of reading, be these academic, developing vital life skills or improving mental health. These will be my underlying ethos behind RHHS Library development plans.
I would love to have a library cat...watch this space. Don't worry this one won't need a litter tray.
What’s your number one piece of wisdom to pass onto students?
Our students should realise their worth, take up space in society and be kind. The world needs more kindness.
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Springing to Victory!
Emily Ferrett in Year 7 won the Junior Retrieval Competition at Frampton Country Fair with her Springer Spaniel, Bruno.
Emily was just 11 at the time of the competition, while Bruno was only 15 months, making them one of the youngest pairings to win the award.
Well done Emily!
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Joining the Jamboree in South Korea
Hannah Freestone in Year 8 has been selected as one of only a handful of young people from Wiltshire joining 3,240 from England to attend the 25th World Scout Jamboree in South Korea.
The UK contingent will join an incredible 50,000 other scouts from around the globe to undertake activities at the Jamboree, which is a skilled, cultural and adventure festival. She will have to prepare herself for the hot and humid environment in SaeManGeum in South Korea; as such the UK contingent are undertaking lots of training camps and team building events prior to the trip in the summer of 2023. What an incredible opportunity!
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Hannah has to raise £4,000 to pay for the trip and has already undertaken a number of initiatives to raise money, including a bake sale in school before Christmas. She hopes to hold another bake sale around Valentine's Day so keep a look-out for her baked goodies in school, supporting her if you can.
If you're able to support Hannah in any other way, please do get in touch via her fundraising link , https://gofund.me/122a161d
Congratulations Hannah and good luck with your fundraising!
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Parents, carers, grandparents, family friends...
Are you looking for some flexible term-time only work? We are on the look-out for Cover Supervisors to step in when teachers are unable to take their class.
Although experience in an educational setting is useful, no teaching experience is necessary as the classes in need of supervision will have been set work by their teacher in advance. For further information on these roles, please see the Current Vacancies page on our website.
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Well done to all who earned house points this month. Congratulations to ROMANS who are currently in the lead!
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