Jeans for Genes

Our Jeans for Genes charity day on 7^th October was a great success and, thanks to everyone’s support, we raised a grand total of £346.13 at both our school sites.

School Places

Many of our children come to Ravenstone on the recommendation of current parents and we are grateful for the good references you pass on to other families.  We now have waiting lists for most classes at Elvaston Place so it is important for new prospective parents to contact us as soon as possible about places for September 2012 and beyond.

Uniform

After half term, all children should return to school in winter uniform.  Please ensure that all children have a hat.  Girls should have a grey felt hat with band and boys – a red cap.  When the weather is cold, boys and girls can wear our grey fleece accessories. 

By the start of next term, we would like all children to be wearing the new regulation swimwear, available from Perry Uniform.

Following the most recent Parent Partnership Committee meeting, a survey about Perry Uniform was set up on Survey Monkey.  Very few parents completed the survey and of those who did, very few had experienced problems.  I am sorry if you have had difficulties recently with acquiring uniform but it now appears that the majority of parents are satisfied with the service of Perry Uniform. 

Kensington and Chelsea Road Safety Calendar

 Congratulations to one of our Form 6 pupils whose art work has been selected for inclusion in the 2012 RBKC Road Safety Calendar.  This was quite an achievement as there were 1800 entries.

No talking on the stairs

I would like to remind all our parents that we have a ‘no talking on the stairs’ rule at Elvaston Place for health and safety reasons.  If parents are visiting us during school hours, I would be grateful if you could also adhere to this rule.

Arrival Time

The school officially opens at 8.30am each morning.  If you arrive early and we hear the buzzer, you are welcome to come in a wait in the entrance hall with your children until 8.30am.  However, we are unable to guarantee that there will be someone in the office until 8.30.  Please do not leave children alone in the entrance hall before 8.30 as they will not be supervised.  Obviously, children are welcome to arrive early for scheduled music lessons.

Half Term

The school will be closed from 24^th to 28^th October inclusive.

ISA – The Independent Schools Association
Following our successful ISI inspection last term, we are delighted to have been accredited by the ISA. Here are the introductory words on their website: http://www.isaschools.org.uk

To read our report: http://www.isi.net/schools/8228/

Other News
Congratulations to the following pupils on their successes:

Madi for passing Grade 2 Piano with Merit

Karate Belts
Madi – Blue
Thomas – Orange
Louis – Yellow with Distinction
Paul, Naira, Mathieu, Zacary, Ali, Ika, Maxime, Arthur, Jaime-John – Yellow

Charity Events
In the summer we raised the following amounts for two British Red Cross appeals:
The Earthquake in New Zealand: £440
The Famine in East Africa: £150
Many thanks to all who contributed so generously.

New Library

During the Easter Holiday, work will begin on relocating the school library to the room adjacent to the studio. This will give us a much larger library which we can also use as a teaching room for small groups and individuals. When the sliding door are pushed back, we will be able to use both rooms together for productions, parents' evenings etc. We expect this work to be completed in May 2011.

Associated Board Piano Exams

Congratulations to Madi who has just passed Grade 1 Piano with merit.

Walk to School Campaign

Congratulations to Alexander whose Walk to School badge design has been selected as one of just 11 to be made into 'real badges' for the academic year 2011 to 2012. Alexander's skiing design was chosen from approximately 1800 entries and will be made into 200,000 individual badges. We don't know yet in which month Alexander's badge will be worn.

Deputy Head

From September 2011, Mr Graeme Smith will join the staff as Deputy Head. Mr Smith has already visited Ravenstone several times and we look forward to the ideas and expertise which he will bring to this new role. Mr Smith is currently Head of Maths at Bishopsgate School in Englefield Green near Windsor. He is also in charge of rowing there and will be taking a keen interest in our PE programme at Ravenstone.

Mr Smith will be a guest at our Summer Party at The Long Garden on 30^th June and also hopes to visit Ravenstone on most, though not all, Tuesday afternoons this coming term.

This is our new NEWS PAGE. Please check regularly for updates.

Ravenstone Prep School and Nursery has recently benefitted from substantial refurbishments and improvements. We now have much lighter and brighter classrooms plus a new dining room and kitchen.

I would like to introduce the following new members of staff:

Ms Lisa Maynard – Group Bursar

Mr Bernard Donnelly – Catering Manager

Ms Maynard and Mr Donnelly have just started working for both Ravenstone and Eaton Square Schools.

At the end of January, we will be saying goodbye to Mr Taylor who has given us the most wonderful assistance with PE as well as helping in countless other areas.

In the middle of last term, Mrs Neamette Ghanem joined us as a part time teaching assistant. Mrs Ghanem is already known to some of you as she runs our Arabic Club.

Inter-schools Christmas Karate Competition on 12th December

This is the second year that Ravenstone has participated in this event. Congratulations to all our children who took part.

We received 3 silver and 2 bronze medals for individual katas plus silver for our team kata.