Dear Families,
I hope this update finds you and your family in good health. We have a busy week at Derby Moor this week with our Year 11 Graduation, Sixth Form Taster Days, New Staff Induction, Virtual Work Experience and Duke of Edinburgh all taking place amongst other extra-curricular activities.
Covid Update
We have had one further case of C19 in school this week, all families affected by this have been informed and contacts identified. Thankfully our numbers remain relatively low. You will be aware that the government have put surge testing in place for residents of Littleover due to the number of cases occurring in the locality. We encourage as many people as possible to attend the centres for testing to help protect our wider community and for all our students to continue with their Lateral Flow Device tests each Sunday and Wednesday. All positive tests should be reported to school via our covidalert@derbymoor.derby.sch.uk email and to the NHS track and trace service. The increase in cases is a reminder that we all need to continue to remain vigilant, we remind students each day about the need for face coverings, distancing, sanitising and to limit social contacts. Your continued support with this is appreciated and vital in maintaining the safety of our community.
End of Year mock examinations
Year 12 and Year 10 have completed a fortnight of Formal Assessments and this gave students a real opportunity to demonstrate the skills and knowledge that they have learnt since the start of the course. For our students this was their first taste of formal exams and they conducted themselves impeccably throughout the process; engaging in after school revision sessions, working diligently during the course of the exam and following strict exam board protocols that were put in place. Their commitment and effort certainly bodes well for the future. Many thanks to the invigilators, many of whom who are part of our local community, for supporting us with this process. The Year 9 assessments are currently paused but will resume again next week.
Graduation
Our Year 11s enjoyed a wonderful Graduation Day on Tuesday to mark the end of their time with us in main school. For most, they will return to us as sixth form students in September but for others we say farewell as they embark on the next chapter of their learning, either at college or onto an apprenticeship. You may have seen images on social media of the event – it was a marvel to see our young people looking so smart and arriving to the ceremony in style. Thank you to the members of the community who came out to support the event too, our students really did enjoy the red carpet welcome that you provided for them.
Duke of Edinburgh
We have two DofE expeditions running this weekend with the both the Bronze and Silver groups heading out to the wilderness on Saturday. A lot of preparation has gone into both events so I would like to say thanks to the families, staff and students who have put aside their time to make this happen in during what have been unusual circumstances this year.
Transition
We will be welcoming Year 6 students from our main 6 feeder primaries next week to take a look at our school and experience a small snippet of what Derby Moor has to offer. It will be a different experience this year due to restrictions with covid security being our number 1 priority. As such, the students will not mix with any other students from classes outside of their primary bubble or their school but will still meet some of our students at a distance, experience a lesson and have a tour of our school site. We know that this can be a challenging time for families as children move from primary to secondary, hence, we are doing all we can to run the event and help to ease some of those worries ahead of the summer break.
Student Leadership
Our student leadership team have been busy again this week consulting with our new catering company about menus and the food offer going forward. There will be a further meeting next week where representatives from each year group will have an opportunity to shape the type and variety of food on offer in our canteen each day.
Wishing you all safe and successful (if you’re following the football) weekend.
Scott Doyle
Principal
