Dear Families,
I hope this week’s update finds you and those closest to you in good health. I have a number of updates for you including some key information for Year 11 students, a reminder about our Talent Show and a chance to share your thoughts with us on how school works for you and your child.
Industrial Action
This week has been disrupted by industrial action meaning that school was closed for most students on Wednesday. Thank you for your understanding with this. As a school we have done what we can to prioritise those groups with exams coming up, most of whom were able to experience their normal lessons with their normal teachers on the day. Further industrial action is planned for March, on the 1st, 15th and 16th as things stand. We will keep you informed via updates and emails about our plans closer to the time as there will always be a degree of uncertainty about which staff, and how many staff, are available on any given day
Year 11 Update
As you are aware our students in examination years are at the business end of the year with only two full teaching weeks left until the March mock examinations commence. Indeed, there are actually only nine full teaching weeks left until the summer exam series fully commences with two weeks of mocks and bank holidays in the mix, the clock is certainly ticking. With this in mind, we are offering some February holiday revision sessions in Science, History and Spanish. Please see the schedule attached to the email version of this update.
We will be offering further sessions in a range of other subjects during the Easter and May Half term breaks, which we will share with you after the March mocks. Please encourage your child to access this support. The hard work now will pay dividends in the future and students in Year 11 and 13 will be rewarded with a well-earned, prolonged summer break.
Road Awareness
You may be aware that a student was injured whilst crossing the road on Blagreaves Lane earlier this week. Our thanks go out to the emergency services team who were on the scene quickly, our first aid team and the parents who supported in ensuring that the student and their friends were looked after. This serves as a reminder to speak with your children about road safety and the dangers of crossing the road. We will follow this up in school with sessions to outline the how and why of road safety.
Derby Moor’s Got Talent
A final reminder that our Talent Show, DMGT, takes place on Tuesday 7th February from 6pm. Tickets are available on parent pay and in the honour hub priced at £3 pp and refreshments will be available on the night. It should be an entertaining evening with an impressive standard and variety of performances this year.
Computing Update
The computing department will be hosting a number of activities on Tuesday February the 8th as part of Safer Internet day. This year’s theme is ‘Want to talk about it?’ There will be opportunities for students to come and speak to staff regarding their experiences online and address any safety concerns they may have. Students will be able to take away a leaflet with key information for families to read with them in order to support your child’s digital journey. You can find out more about safer internet day here.
Parent Survey
Our Parent survey was sent out on Thursday via e-mail in order to gauge Parent voice over a number of areas of how school works. If you have not already done so, please could you take the time (2-3 minutes) to complete a short survey about a range of aspects relating to your child and their/your experience(s) at Derby Moor Spencer Academy. You can access the survey here.
Parents, Teachers and Friends Association (PTFA) of Derby Moor
There will be a PTFA Uniform stand at reception on Tuesday 7th February, from 5.30pm at the Derby Moor’s got Talent Event.
- The stall will be cash only.
- The prices are as follows: £5 blazers, £3 long sleeved PE top, £2 short sleeved PE top and £1 for all other items trousers, shirts, skirts.
- All funds raised will go towards school projects that the PTFA endorse. These projects will directly benefit the students.
Reading Rampage
Reading Rampage is a new, exciting project, with the aim of encouraging students to read more books for enjoyment. There are 10 new books that the students are able to borrow, read, rate and return. As a school we have 5 copies of each book and we are hoping to find out: which book is the most popular with our students; which is the most borrowed; which is the quickest read etc. There will be rewards and activities for the students to get involved with. The project will be running from now until the end of June.
To get a flavour of each book – 10 different staff have read the first chapter of each book onto a Loom video. For those old enough…….. If you are sitting comfortably, then I’ll begin…… (Mr Scott reading Chapter 1 of ‘Dreadwood’)
Sports Update
Year 8 athletics: This week, 6 Boys in Year 8 took part in a sports hall athletics competition against a number of other schools across from county. The event included a number of different track and field events. Our students were excellent ambassadors for the school and celebrated some individual winners in the field events. All of the boys should be proud of themselves and we look forward to finding out the final results on Monday. Our Sports Team are hoping to grow the interest in athletics as we move closer to the summer term with the intention of promoting both a boys and girls athletics team for the summer competitions.
Girls Football: Please look out for a letter about the girls football team trip to Milton Keynes to watch England’s Lionesses vs South Korea Women on Thursday 16th February. If your child would like to attend the game, permission slips are now available from Mr Bayliss for those who have attended girls football training after school this academic year. Last date for permission slips and payment (via parent pay) is Wednesday 8th February in order for tickets and transportation to be confirmed. In other girls football news, we would like to commend Y7 students AB and IC. The two girls, who are members of the U13 Girls football team at Derby Moor, have been helping out with football training at Gayton Junior School since December, including running some short coaching sessions. It is fantastic to see that at such a young age the girls are passing on their passion for football and to see them working so hard towards their Derby Moor Award.
Careers Update
This week’s job of the week is a ‘Newspaper Journalist’.
Derby Moor Dispatch: Our Derby Moor Dispatch has gone out to all students in Year 11, 12 and 13 and will continue to go out every Monday. This contains a wide range of opportunities for work experience, summer schools, careers related webinars and so on. Please do have a look at the latest edition. The Dispatch is emailed to the students’ school email address so it is important that they check this regularly on a Monday.
Derby College visit (Year 11): This week we had a follow up visit from Derby College aimed at helping our students to apply and to raise awareness of the range of courses offered at the college. If you would like to take a look at what is on offer, you can view their website here.
To coincide with National Apprenticeship Week (6-10 February 2023), the government has written to students and parents about the opportunities and benefits apprenticeships can bring to young people and encouraging them to consider apprenticeships when they are thinking about career choices. You can find the two letters on the links here: Open the letter to students and the Open the letter to parents, guardians and carers
National Careers Service: The National Careers Service have put together a new platform called Get The Jump, designed to help young people understand their post 16 and post 18 education and training choices. You can take a look at the website here.
DHL Outward Bound Selection: DHL will be in school on Tuesday to run their outward bound selection day with our Year 10 students. This was an excellent experience last year replicating the types of activities that applicants can expect to face during a selection process for interview with a large organisation. Those who are successful will gain a place on an Outward Bound trip to Aberdovey later in the year.
Final Thoughts
After an unusual week it was nice to round off the week with a Principal’s Coffee Morning with a number of our families. Thank you to everyone who gave up their time to come into school and talk about all things Derby Moor. Your input was really interesting and will be shared with our wider Leadership Team to help shape our thinking and planning moving forwards. We have another busy week ahead of us next week with National Apprenticeship Week, Safer Internet Day, our DHL visit and of course DMGT on Tuesday.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend,
Scott Doyle
Principal
