Dear Families,
I hope this update finds you and those closest to you in good health. There would not normally be an update during the half term break but there is some important information to share with you below from the last week of term. The decision to delay last week’s update until now was made in the light of the devastating news we received on Friday 27th. Our thoughts continue to be with Ibrahim’s family and friends during this incredibly difficult period.
Year 11 Update
Year 11 Mock Exams – 6th November 2023: Our Year 11 students will begin Mock Exams on the 6th November. We have been really impressed with how students have been working inside and outside of lessons to ensure that they are making progress in preparation for this set of mocks. Each faculty have also produced students with resources to ensure they have plenty materials to help them to revise. On Tuesday 24th October, students had an assembly to ensure they were familiar with the Examination protocols. Please click here for details of this and what the students will need before entering the exam room. All students have now received their exam timetable and should revise to that schedule.
Mock Interviews: On Tuesday 24th October, E4E visited Derby Moor with around 30 delegates from local companies to interview our Year 11 students. The event allows our students to experience what is it like to be interviewed, respond to challenging questions and to work on feedback about their performance. The aim being that students are better prepared when being interviewed for college, apprenticeships, sixth form and part time jobs in the future. Students were interviewed for 5 minutes and general questions involved being asked about their ambitions and aspirations, what skills and qualities they think employers want from them and giving an account of when they have taken responsibility for something. Feedback from the students was that the experience was very useful and that they really took a lot away from the event.
Inktober Drawing Competition Launch
We now have an Inktober Post-box on the Learning Hub. Students (and staff) should post their entries into the box including their name, tutor and year group on their artwork. The closing date will be 6th November 2023 with winners will be announced in registration during the week commencing 20th November 2023.
Post 16 Update
We are looking forward to welcoming our new Year 12 families into Derby Moor for the settling in evening on Wednesday 8th November 2023. This evening is a chance for families to talk to tutors, find out how they can support students at home with their study skills, find out about Unifrog and UCAS and to meet the Sixth Form team. If you are attending this evening and you haven’t yet been able to make an appointment on School Cloud please do so as soon as possible. If you need assistance with this, please contact the Sixth Form team.
We have had a busy start to the year for our Sixth Formers, we have seen lots of positivity around Sixth Form and we want to say a huge well done to all students for getting to grips with their studies and making progress in their first half term of the academic year. The half term has been jam packed with a variety of opportunities for our students such as the JCB talk on apprenticeships for year 12’s, two students attended Rolls Royce finance apprentice work experience, a representative from Edmunds Hall, Oxford University gave a workshop on preparing our early entry students for admissions tests and interviews and the Social Mobility Foundation have visited our school to start working with students to further their opportunities when applying to university. On top of this, we have a year 13 student who has been chosen to attend the Rolls Royce Nuclear Engineering Accelerated work experience course which is a huge achievement.
We have much more for our Post 16 students to look forward to. In the first week back after half term we have 40 students going to the National School Leavers Festival in Birmingham which will allow students to engage with England’s top Employers, Colleges, Universities and Training Providers in a face-to-face, interactive environment. Water Aid are coming into school to do a presentation about the charity and the career pathways within the organisation as well as detailing how to get involved in volunteer work.
Year 7 Settling In Evening
Alongside the Year 12 settling in event, families of Year 7 students are invited to the academy on Wednesday to meet form tutors, and hear from heads of the English, Maths and Science faculties who will talk about the KS3 curriculum with a particular focus on the Year 7 scheme of work. In addition, families will also be able to learn how to use Class Charts, our learning platform to support your child’s education. We hope to see you there. If you have been unable to make an appointment, please contact the Year 7 team.
Computing Update
If your child is at a loose end over the weekends, why not introduce them to The Inspiring Digital Enterprise Award, known as iDEA, which is an international award-winning programme designed to help young people develop digital, enterprise and employability skills for free. Students work through bronze, silver and gold awards, collecting badges along the way – much like the Duke of Edinburgh concept, but without leaving home! You can find out more on this link.
E-Scooters
We have become aware that a small number of students have been using E-scooters to travel to and from school. Having spoken with the police recently, they have shared a flyer which you can view here, explaining why these scooters are illegal. In response to this, from Monday 6th November, we cannot allow students to travel to school on an electric scooter. They will not be able to lock them up in school. Any e-scooters brought to school will be removed from the bike sheds – if they are locked, the lock will be cut so the vehicle can be removed. We will be working with the police who are likely to seize scooters, hence, I must urge any families who know their children use an E-scooter to leave them at home.
Live to hope – Shoe Box Appeal
As part of our shoebox appeal, you will be pleased to hear that we have collected together a large number of shoeboxes, which will be sent as part of the Live to Hope convoy for Families and the Elderly in Ukraine, Moldova, Romania and Belarus. Thank you for your support with this appeal.
Save the Children Fundraiser Event
On Thursday 26th, we had plans for a number of events to raise funds for ‘Save the Children’ – Israel/Gaza crisis. Due to wet weather, we had to postpone some of the activities. These will be rescheduled for the upcoming half term.
Purely Positive Points – Half Term Reward
When we return on Monday 6th November, students who received only positive points last half term will be rewarded with a Cinema experience and Popcorn/Pic’n’mix. There were nearly 400 students eligible for this reward. Mr Scott has emailed out a google form to each of these students, using their school email address. Please can you encourage your son/daughter to check their school emails. If they have had this email, then they need to identify which film they would prefer to watch and submit the form back to Mr Scott. The next Half term reward is a Gaming Afternoon, with PS4, retro gaming and opportunity to play board games / football etc – these rewards are chosen by students as part of our student voice. We will begin monitoring again this half term so everyone has the opportunity to be rewarded in January.
Sports Update
Year 11 Football County Trial Success: We would like to congratulate Year 11 students EM and LB for their selection for the Derbyshire County Football Representative team. Following a successful trial in early October both students impressed the coaches and were selected for the upcoming season. We wish them well in their fixtures against other County Representative sides around the Midlands and beyond.
Wishing you a relaxing weekend.
Scott Doyle
Principal