Principal’s Update – 3rd May 2024

Dear Families,

I hope this update finds you and those closest to you in the best of health and either enjoying or about to enjoy a bank holiday weekend. There are a number of updates below including an important public health message about measles from Dr Robyn Dewis. We also have details about Year 10 parents evening and Year 9 vaccinations alongside our usual careers, community and sports updates.

 

Year 10 Parents Evening

Year 10 Parents’ Evening is on Wednesday 8th May 2023. The evening will provide you with an opportunity to speak to subject teachers about progress so far and the expectations going forward into the final year of compulsory education. You will also be aware that Mock Exams will start on the 27th June and, thus, speaking to subject teachers prior to this examination series will have help you to support your child in preparation for those exams.

We will continue to use the online appointment booking system in order for you to make the appointments. This allows you to choose your own appointment times with teachers and you will receive an email confirming this. Appointments are live now.  Should you wish to make any changes after this date please contact the school office. Please visit our school cloud page to book your appointments.

 

Year 9 DTP & Meningitis Vaccinations

Vaccinations for Year 9 students will take place on the 23rd of May. These are the Diphtheria, Tetanus and Polio and Meningitis vaccinations. For those parents who haven’t already consented, please complete this link by the 16th May 2024 in readiness for the NHS coming into school on the 23rd May 2024. A letter has been sent to all Year 9 parents explaining the vaccines, via email.

 

Measles

Derby City Council have asked us to share a letter from Dr Robyn Dewis with you regarding Measles. I have outlined the concerns we have regarding measles in previous updates and, whilst it may have taken a little longer than anticipated for the first case to appear in Derby, it is still very concerning as measles is highly infectious.

 

Term Dates Consultation

Derby city Council are consulting on the term dates for the academic years spanning 2025-26 and 2026-27 and have asked us to share this consultation with you. You can find the survey here. It is worth noting that, as an academy, we do not follow the Derby City term dates and urge families to use our website as the main source of information around term dates. We do tend to align on the whole with Derby City as this is most convenient for most of our families but there are minor changes around some dates to accommodate the needs of the school and training days.

 

Class Charts – Badge (Platinum, Gold, Silver or Bronze)

Students who have been awarded a Class Charts badge should check to see if they have had a message from Mr Scott, regarding HT4 – behaviour points (platinum, gold, silver or Bronze award).

There are still some students, who have been awarded a badge, who have not yet collected theirs from Mr Scott.  This can be done at break or lunchtime next week.

 

Vacancies

We have a variety of vacancies out to advert at present in both support and teaching roles. They can be found here and include PA to the Principal, Catering Manager, Teaching and Learning Supervisor and Teacher of English.

 

Alton Towers Trip

There are still a number of tickets left for Alton Towers, however, each week, as the number of students gets updated, there will be more students who will be in a position to select and secure their Alton Towers trip. Mr Scott has therefore asked me to urge you not delay too long in securing the trip, as once the tickets allocation is completed, he will close the option off to select the trip.  Therefore, it is a first come, first served – with the students who have reached the criteria having the first option to secure the tickets.  If other students meet the criteria and secure their tickets quickly, then others may miss out.

 

Derby Youth Mayor

A number of students from across year 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12 have met with the Derby Youth Mayor over the last 2 weeks.  They have been consulted over the ‘Issues and concerns around Cultural Diversity for young people in Derby ‘and ‘How do we encourage understanding of different cultures amongst young people’.  Their contributions have been taken back by the Youth Mayor and will be put forward for discussion and possible action at the next council meeting.

 

Parents Forum

The Parents Forum on Wednesday evening showcased a presentation by some of our Year 7 students on their winning ‘4Rs’ project and ‘Inspiration day’.  This was a fantastic presentation and students eloquently demonstrated their 4R skills of Resilience, being Respectful, being Resourceful and being Responsible.  There are plans for the students to repeat the presentation again at Year 7 Parents evening and the New year 6 induction evening. A very well done to all those students involved.

 

Careers Update

Job of the Week: This week’s job of the week is a Barber.

Derby Moor Dispatch: The Derby Moor Dispatch goes out weekly to all students in Year 11, 12 and 13. The Dispatch 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. You can also view the Dispatch via the Careers page of  the Derby Moor website. Please take a look at the website as there is a wealth of useful information including a specific page for parents.

JCB Employability Skills Challenge: On Friday a group of apprentices from JCB planned and delivered a workshop to half of our Year 7 and Year 8 student s. The challenge was to produce a marketing campaign, to sell a design to the JCB team. Students had to make a prototype landing craft that can withstand being dropped from a height for a top-secret upcoming project. Students were asked to design and manufacture an innovative protective carrier that shields their egg from cracking when it is dropped from a height. The students worked in teams and were assessed on a range of things with a focus on their 4Rs skills and why these are so important in the work place. This was yet another example of the great partnerships developed with local employers and exposing our younger students to young people from the world of work.

 

Sports Update

Derby Couty Community Trust Work Experience Workshop: On Thursday 2nd May, 25 BTEC Sport students took part in a 2 hour workshop with a focus on Work Experience held by Derby County Community Trust. Students were involved in; an initial presentation outlining DCCT and what they do, gaining information about the interview process and top tips around interviews and job applications from DCCT, whilst also participating in a number of tasks looking at developing their Employability Skills. Two lucky students will be recommended by DCCT staff following the workshop and will be given the opportunity to complete a 3-day placement- at DCCT in the Summer Term.

 In PE this Week: Fixtures become less regular in the PE department over the last few weeks with a lot of our attention now turning towards the Y11 exams. With the Y11 BTEC Sport exam next Thursday, the PE team has been running intervention evenings and will be here to support all Y11 students right up to the day. Each student has been given numerous revision materials and practice papers they can be using to revise from. Everyone in the PE team wishes year 11 the very best in their exam.

Cricket: We are looking for both a Y7/8 and 9/10 cricket team for our summer fixtures. Reminders have gone out to forms and schools are starting to contact us for the upcoming games, so if your child is interested please advise them to come to training on Mondays afterschool. Fixtures are due to start in 2 weeks’ time.

Extra-Curricular Timetable: Please find the extra-curricular timetable for next week attached to the email version of this update.

 

Staff Spotlight

This week, we shine the Staff Spotlight on one of our Senior Teaching Assistants, Miss Bennetts:

  1. Q) How long have you worked at Derby Moor Spencer Academy?
  2. A) I have worked at Derby Moor Spencer Academy since November of 2016.

 

  1. Q) What is your role and what does it entail?
  2. A) I am a Senior Teaching Assistant in our Nurture provision. This means that I work with a smaller group of students to help them transition from Primary to Secondary school.

 

  1. Q) What is your favourite thing about working here?
  2. A) I get to work with a wonderful team of people, and some fantastic students.

 

  1. Q) Tell us a fact about yourself.
  2. A) I am a huge Harry Potter fan!

 

  1. Q) What other interesting roles or experiences have you had?
  2. A) I love to go and watch musicals and have been to see Hamilton on the West End!

 

Final notes

That is everything for this week. It has been another busy five days at the academy and, whilst next week is slightly shorter, I’m sure it will be equally as action packed. The exam season is well and truly upon us and it feels like the weather is warmer as summer approaches. If your child needs any further support with examination prep, please do not hesitate to contact the Year 11 team who will be more than happy to help.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

 

Scott Doyle

Principal

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