Dear Families,
I hope this update finds you in the best of health. We have had a busy but positive start to Half Term 2 with our first ‘Settling In’ evening yesterday, mock examinations throughout the week for Year 11 and a number of other updates to detail below.
Year 7 and 12 ‘Settling In’ Evening
Thursday evening saw our first ever ‘Settling In’ event for Years 7 and 12. As part of the transition from Primary to Secondary or Secondary to Post 16, we saw this as an important opportunity to make connections with families, check in on progress and provide some insights into how things work at the academy and how families can support students at home to maximise achievement. Thank you to all families who attended and our staff for giving up their time to make the event happen. There was such a wonderful atmosphere last night and a real sense of our students, families and staff connecting in line with our motto Together We Succeed.
Class Charts
Our Class Charts help desk was popular at least night’s event, and helped some families navigate their way around the Class Charts App. We will be continuing to use this as our main form of communicating how your child is getting along day to day. If you are having any difficulty logging on or using the software, please contact your child’s Year Team for assistance.
Reading with Ivy House
On Thursday five Year 8 students from Derby Moor began a 6 week reading project with students from our neighbours at Ivy House. We are hoping that this project will help increase students confidence and inspire a love of reading in both sets of students as well as giving rise to further opportunities for both schools to work together.
Remembrance Day
With Remembrance Day around the corner our student leaders will be selling Poppies and other resources during lunchtimes next week. The suggested donation for all items is £1. There are Poppies, reflective poppies and Zip openers available for purchase.
Computing E-Safety
This week’s update form the computing department is about good password maintenance as this is crucial to online security. It will help students (and adults) to protect their identity, secure their accounts, and manage their online resources for years to come. This week’s Top Tips are:
DO:
Create a unique password for every account.
Change your passwords at least four times a year (one for each season).
Disable and clear any automatically stored passwords on your browsers.
Use a mixture of characters – numbers, symbols, and Cap1t@l Le#£rS.
DON’T:
Reuse the same password or PIN for multiple accounts (or a similar variation of it).
Click or tap ‘yes’ when a website or app offers to ‘Remember your Password’.
Use any personal information in your password (e.g., birthdays, pet names).
Write down or ‘hide’ a password (e.g., behind a monitor, in a desk drawer).
Share your passwords with friends or family.
Parking and the Turning Circle
A reminder to families who collect and drop off students in vehicles – please can you use the turning circle to avoid creating unnecessary congestion on Moorway Lane. It is incredibly frustrating for other road users when the lane is blocked and creates additional risk for our students. We understand that the beginning and end of the day are busy and there will inevitably be some congestion, but, when the turning circle is used correctly, the flow of traffic is much more smooth. Please be considerate of other road users.
Duke of Edinburgh
DofE will restart on Thursday 10th November for all groups – a reminder for students to pick up a copy of the leaflet about the expedition dates. For reference the dates are:
Bronze Group:
Training Weekend – Saturday 25th March to Sunday 26th March
Practice Expedition – Saturday 29th April to Sunday 30th April
Qualifying Expedition – Saturday 13th to Sunday 14th May
Silver Group:
Practice Expedition – Friday 24th March to Sunday 26th March
Qualifying Expedition – Friday 28th April to Sunday 30th April
Sporting Update
Y7 Girls Football: On Wednesday evening, the Y7 Girls football team competed in their first tournament at Lees Brook in less than favorable wet weather. The girls were victorious in two of their four games on the night, whilst drawing the other two matches, notching up four clean sheets in the process. In the first game of the afternoon., Derby Moor beat their opponents Noel Baker 1-0 with a late goal from AB providing the win. The second game of the afternoon was end to end, with Derby Moor defenders EG and JG soaking up a lot of pressure to see out a 0-0 draw against Chellaston. Against West Park in the afternoon’s third game, GR made some great saves to keep another clean sheet, with IM scoring from distance to provide Derby Moor with another 1-0 win. In the final match of the night, yet again GR was brought into action on a number of times keeping the scores level at 0-0 against Woodlands, with IM hitting the post late in the game. Players of the Tournament were JG and IC. The results see the girls go into the next set of games against Lees Brook, Derby Cathedral and Chellaston currently unbeaten.
Extra-Curricular: Our Afro-Beats Dance club is growing from strength to strength with students developing their dance skills and learning new routines. This week we introduced American Football into Extra Curricular using our links with Nottingham Caesar American Football Club, run by their coach Sean. Sean delivered our first of 2 taster sessions with 22 students taking part. This continues next week with more opportunities to learn more about the sport. Starting from the 17th November, Derbyshire County Cricket Club will be coming in to run KS3 girls indoor cricket sessions. This is a great opportunity for our girls to get involved in cricket, everyone is welcome from beginners to experts.
In PE lessons inter-house competitions have taken place throughout the week in both football and netball with houses competing against each other for sports day points. Students have shown resilience, teamwork and determination when working together and an update on the final points will be tallied up next week.
Looking ahead, our Year 9 and 10 boys will compete in our first Futsal competition at Noel Baker.
Year 11 mock Examinations
Our Year 11s have set a high standard during the mock examinations this week. Their commitment to the process and conduct throughout has been evident and I’m sure they will be rewarded with some pleasing results. The schedule will continue next week with the aim of sharing results with families during the parents evening later in the term.
Careers Update
This week’s job of the week is a ‘Volunteer Coordinator’. You can watch the clip here.
On Thursday 17th November JCB are visiting us at Derby Moor and will be running a session on their current apprenticeship programmes and how to apply. These will be real apprenticeships that will start next September and range from Level 2 & 3 apprenticeships, particularly suitable for students finishing Year 11 and Level 4 and 6 apprenticeships aimed at students finishing the Sixth Form. Applications have now gone live but we would encourage students not to rush to apply and, instead, ask to attend the session first. Please click on the link to see the range of apprenticeships on offer.
Kat Garland, Flavia Ojok and Jessica Townsend from Luminate Careers continue to be in school regularly throughout the week. As well as seeing students for a 1:1 session or part of a group workshop, they are also available to support with completing application forms and checking CVs etc. Any student who wants some help simply need to ask their tutor to make them an appointment or drop in and see one of the Luminate team in the careers room. Luminate also have an excellent website with a wealth of useful information: https://luminatecareersandcoaching.co.uk/ and have produced a newsletter aimed at students in Year 11, 12 and 13 for parents/carers and one for students.
DHL Outward Bound
Applications remain open for student in Year 10 to apply for a selection day and a chance to participate in a residential experience with the DHL UK Foundation’s partnership with The Outward Bound Trust. The day will be run by employers from DHL who will be working with the students. The students will take part in a whole range of activities which will develop their employability skills such as problem solving, teamwork, creativity and communication. The deadline for applications is 13th October and the form can be found on Show My Homework. There is a video to introduce the programme and a link to the survey here.
Wishing you a safe and relaxing weekend,
Scott Doyle
Principal
