Dear RFA families , Head teacher’s hello

Thursday 12th September 2019 -Issue 131

Coming up this term at RFA * SEPTEMBER 2019

13th EYFS Parents lunch

17th Kew Gardens trip - Y6 (Da vinci & Hepworth)

18th Kew Gardens trip - Y6 (Van Gogh & Picasso)

19th Chislehurst caves trip—Y3 (Kookaburra)

26th Chislehurst caves trip—Y3 (Koala)

26th European Day of Languages

OCTOBER 2019

3rd Chislehurst caves trip—Y3 (Wallaby)

1st-18th Black History Month

10th Quiz Night

17th Learning Celebration—Y1 & Y2

21st—25th HAL F TERM HOLIDAY

28th INSET DAY

29th School photographs

30th Golden Hinde trip—Y2

31st Learning Celebration—Y3 & Y4

NOVEMBER 2019

4th Lullingstone Roman Villa trip - Carib

4th Natural History Museum trip - Y1

6th Open Morning for prospective parents

11th—15th Anti Bullying Week

11th Lullingstone Roman Villa trip - Aztec

13th National Maritime Museum—Y6

14th Open Evening for prospective parents

15th Lullingstone Roman Villa trip - Mayan

18th Lullingstone Roman Villa trip - Inca

18th Postal Museum trip

20th Open Morning for prospective parents

25th—29th International Week

DECEMBER 2019

4th Open Morning for prospective parents

9th PM Winter Performance - EYFS, Y1,Y2

10th AM Winter Performance - EYFS, Y1,Y2

11th Parent/Teacher meetings - All years

12th Parent/Teacher meetings - All years

17th Theatre trips - EYFS, Y1, Y2, Y3, Y4

18th Theatre trips - Y5, Y6

19th Festive lunch

19th Learning Celebration - Y1

20th LAST DAY OF AUTUMN TERM

* Please note that all activities and dates are subject to

LETTER LOG

Copies of every letter this school year are on the new section of our website called ‘Letters’.

A warm welcome back to the school year. The children have returned to school routines beautifully and have enthusiastically engaged in the new learning for the year. Our 2019/20 reception cohort joined us yesterday and after a few short days of settling will be in school all day from Monday. We are pleased to welcome a number of new staff to teaching and support positions in the school and will include our ‘Getting to know’ feature in this and future issues.

A number of letters went out last week. If for some reason these didn’t appear in your child’s book bag please look at the new ‘Letters’ section of the website where all letters home will be uploaded for your convenience.

In my last head teacher’s hello of the Summer term I mentioned my inspiration from the 50th anniversary of the moon landings. It is back to this I refer when I personally inform you of my decision to resign from my position as Head teacher. As you can imagine this was a very difficult decision to make! Of that Apollo 11 mission – to get to the moon those astronauts literally had to break out of the tremendous gravity pull of the earth. More energy was spent in the first few minutes of lift-off, in the first few miles of travel, than was used over the next several days to travel half a million miles. The energy and commitment it has taken over the last 7 years to set up The Robert Fitzroy Academy has also been immense. Enjoyable but exhausting! I am leaving behind the most incredible school filled with brilliant staff who are themselves leaders, at many levels, who can carry on and undoubtedly do much better than I did. The RFA has been the triumph of my career to date and I deeply appreciate the kind words from parents both recently after hearing about my resignation and over the years. I am now taking a career break, taking on a completely new challenge in a part-time role, in order that there is some energy left for my family! Please do come and speak with me about this, and anything else, should you wish to. As has been written at the end of my Head teacher’s welcome on the website for many years: I am incredibly proud to lead the team at The Robert Fitzroy Academy but believe that the school absolutely belongs to our community of children, staff and parents. I urge you to actively support and be involved in your school. This more than anything (or anyone) will ensure continued success.

FIRST AID GOES DIGITAL!

Going forward, any injuries sustained at school will be reported to parents and carers via email. Therefore, it’s very important that the school office has your up to date contact details.

We will still call/text if your child sustains a head injury or if we need outside support.

Thanks

FORTNITE E-SAFETY UPDATE

Fornite continues be a popular game with school children, but there are some safety concerns that parents and carers need to know about. We have just updated our Fortnite Parent Guide on the E-Safety area of our website on the Parent Zone tab.

October Pick & Mix Holiday

Scheme

Don’t forget we need your forms in early and payment by Friday 4th October.

Payment will secure your child’s place. Your payment action confirms that you want the sessions you have requested on your holiday booking form.

A confirmation will not be sent out.

We have a number of children with severe nut

allergies. Please do not include nuts (or nut

based products) in your child's packed lunch.

Thank you.

Dan Biswas

My role at RFA is…

Aztec class teacher in Year 4

The animated character I most identify with…

is Homer Simpson because I am a family man,

and I enjoy eating donuts.

I grew up in…

St Albans, Hertfordshire.

When I was 10 years old I wanted to be….

in the army or a film director.

I still haven’t….

been in a helicopter.

My first ever job was….

as a retail assistant at Homebase.

Would you rather own a dog, or be a dog?

I would rather own a dog.

What food would you absolutely not eat, under any

circumstances?

Chilli Con Carne.

What is your favourite dinosaur?

My favourite dinosaur is the T Rex.

Milk before cereal or cereal before milk?

Cereal before milk, duh.

If you could pick a new name for yourself, what

would it be?

James Fury.

What subject could you talk about for hours?

Football or movies.

What was your favourite toy growing up?

My Warhammer models.

Everyone has a good ‘app idea’. What’s yours?

My app would scan your fridge and tell you what

meals could be cooked.

People at school would be surprised to know...

I’m a black belt in Karate.

The first thing I noticed when I came to RFA was..

the fantastic artwork.

Getting to know... PUPIL VOICE

At the RFA, we are always looking for ways to empower our children to have a voice and give them opportunities to be heard. School Council elections are currently underway as children deliver passionate speeches to their peers. We will also be choosing Year 6 Learning Ambassadors to represent each of our learning behaviours and act as mentors.

This year we are also very excited to be introducing Year 6 House Captains and a new House system. On Monday, a girl and boy will be elected by their House teams to coach and lead them through competitive events over the coming months. These will range from class spelling and times table challenges to sports matches and a talent show. Merits will also generate house points. We know that this will further encourage our children to be the best they can be and we can’t wait to see them shine!

SMSC Team

RFA WEBSITE UPDATE

New easier to navigate homepage

Dedicated letters page

Parent Guides for each year group (coming soon)

PE and swimming timetable

New school lunch menus