Dear Families,
Happy New Year. I hope the first update of 2024 finds you and those closest to you in the best of health. Its been great to welcome our community back to the academy for a typically busy start to term two.
Sparx Reader Launch
We are excited to be launching the Sparx Reader platform next week, with years 7 and 9 being the first to go live with the programme. This a new digital reading library, where the students can login using a smartphone, tablet or computer to access a vast collection of diverse fiction and non-fiction texts. It is a reading, comprehension and vocabulary programme designed to get all young people reading regularly to help improve their literacy. Students will achieve Sparx Reader Points which they earn through careful reading, measured using regular quizzes in the app. The English Faculty will be monitoring use and rewarding the students’ progress in reading.
Parents Forum
The upcoming Parents’ Forum is on Wednesday 24th January, from 6.30-7.30pm in HO08. Entrance is via the ‘Out of Hours’ door. Light refreshments (Tea/coffee/water) will be provided.
Proposed Agenda:
- Opportunity to pose questions.
- Updates about Catering
- Class Charts update and rewards
PTA Uniform Shop
The PTA Uniform shop will be open on Monday 15th January from the end of school until 4pm. If you are in need of any replacement uniform, then please come along to reception and you will be guided from there. In addition to this, if any families have school uniform that their children have grown out of and it is in good condition, please could you consider donating this to the PTA. There is a Blue Uniform Collection bin at reception. We would ask that Uniform is clean and put in a plastic bag before putting ion the Uniform donation bin.
Awards Evening: FAO the Winner for 4 Derby County Match Tickets in the Raffle
Please could you contact Mr Scott via email and send a picture of the voucher as confirmation. Mr Scott needs to pass on some contact details so you can arrange to get the tickets at the match.
Drama Trip
The GCSE drama students went to Birmingham REP Theatre on Wednesday to see, ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’. This was a fantastic opportunity for students to immerse themselves in the acting, directing and design choices of a professional theatre company. Our students relished this opportunity and were completely captivated throughout the whole performance; which was a real joy to see. We are extremely proud of our students’ engagement and enthusiasm, and are looking forward to taking what we have seen back into the classroom to complete the live theatre review aspect of their GCSE course.
Rewards
Last half term saw an increase in the number of students who did not have a single negative behaviour point across the whole half term. There will be a special activity linked to ‘Retro Gaming’ for these students to enjoy. Mr Scott will send out details of this event to those concerned shortly. In addition, these students have been awarded 100 positive points which will go towards the final reward activity at the end of the school year – more details about that to follow.
We also want to recognise that the vast majority of our students are doing the right thing each and every day. As a result, a large number of students have also received reward points dependant on the number of negative points that they collected over the half term. The cut-off point for receiving reward points was 7 negative points, which equalled 1 negative point a week. I am really pleased to say that the majority of students in the school achieved this and received positive points that will link to the final reward activity at the end of the school year.
Sports Update
Year 7 Girls Football: We have 3 results to share with you from the Year 7 Girls Team:
Game 1 v St. Benedict’s drew 1-1: Long range shot from TG was cancelled out by a late Benedict’s equaliser on the break. Game 2 v Woodlands lost 0-1: Excellent defensive performance with the girls twice coming closest to scoring on the break. Some great blocks by the team and a solid performance all round. A late Woodlands goal seconds from the end saw the girls fall to a defeat they did not deserve against a very strong team. Game 3 v Derby High won 1-0: A game the girls mostly dominated saw M get a deserved winner in a game where all the girls played a key role.
Overall – Won 1 Drew 1 Lost 1. The girls sit third in the league table just a point behind Murray Park and 5 off Woodlands. It’s all the play for in their final tournament!
Careers Update
Career of the Week: This week’s job of the week is a ‘Police Handler’.
Business breakfast: On Monday we welcomed visitors from a range of local businesses including Rolls Royce; Alstom; JCB; Morrisons Flowerworld; DHL; Derby County Community Trust; Huwsgray and more. Our business partners joined the whole staff to hear an update on our curriculum innovation of developing key employability skills within our curriculum and how we are assessing and reporting on these skills. At Derby Moor we refer to our 4R curriculum: Respect (Speaking & Listening); Resilience (Problem Solving & Staying Positive); Responsibility (Leadership & Aim High); and Resourcefulness (Creativity & Teamwork) and within each of the 4 Rs we focus on two employability skills. Our business partners had time to meet with Faculty Leaders to discuss the 4Rs curriculum and to further strengthen employer involvement. One of our visitors said:
‘It was very exciting to see how much work was being done to make connections between the curriculum and employability throughout the whole school, and embed it as part of the school’s culture and ethos.’ It was also reassuring to hear that our approach to employability is recognised as being innovative and that we are one of only a handful of schools to have a project like this in action.
Y12 Medical Insight Day – University of Nottingham: On Thursday January 11 seventeen aspiring medical students from Year 12 attended an insight day at Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham. Led by post graduate students from the University of Nottingham Medical School, the students were given opportunities to learn the ins and outs of university life for a medical student, learn a little more about the application process, and participate in a series of workshops where they learnt how to suture cuts and wounds, tie a knot “in depth” (inside a body), procedures for saving lives in everyday life, and analysing X-Rays in order to look for cause of a patient’s illness. They also got opportunities to have conversations with Mandy Hampshire, the head of the Nottingham Medical School, as well as university students at various stages of their studies, junior doctors, registrars and consultants, all with unique experiences and insights on how they came to be where they were. An extremely interesting day that hopefully will further ignite a passion for medicine.
Derby Moor Dispatch: The Derby Moor Dispatch goes out every Monday 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.
Staff Spotlight
This week, we shine the Staff Spotlight on Mrs Barnett:
Q) How long have you worked at Derby Moor Spencer Academy?
A) For 3 years – It’s flown by!
Q) What is your role and what does it entail?
A) Head of Science – curriculum mapping/long term planning, managing/supporting the team, the timetable/rooming, putting mock exams together, exam and course/tier entries, recruitment, cover, appraisals, quality of education in science, intervention sessions, exam analysis, faculty improvement planning and implementation. Liaising with both Spencer Trust and AQA.
Q) What other interesting roles or experiences have you had?
A) Before becoming a teacher, I worked as a scientist for 10 years. My graduate job was working for a multinational company, Millipore, which gave me the opportunity to work in America and Switzerland/France. From here I was fortunate to be head hunted and worked at the cutting edge of scientific discovery. I worked at PPL-Therapeutics to produce the first ever medicine for Cystic Fibrosis with a proof of principal, producing the world’s first cloned mammal – Dolly the Sheep. Disappointingly we all got made redundant and then I worked briefly in clinical trials with Quintiles which was very routine so quickly moved onto the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS). At SNBTS I was subcontracted to work with the UK government at Porton Down to produce the UKs response to biological or chemical warfare. When the threat level to the UK dropped and we had stock piled sufficient therapeutics I looked to move on again. My final post before teaching came at Charles River Laboratories where I did the preclinical trial for TeGenero drug trial using monoclonal antibodies. I loved, and still love science research however the funding model makes it very difficult to publish disappointing or “bad” results which is when I sought to change career and moved into teaching. I love teaching, in particular anything that will get a pupil to think differently!
Final Thoughts
Its been a chilly, wintery start to the term but the warmth and energy that we see whenever our community are reunited has made for a really positive week. It was great to start the term with staff training and linking with local business leaders again. Sessions like this allow us to take stock of where our provision is and plan for the future. Our careers framework is in excellent shape but we will always ask for more to fulfill our value of aspiration – that our students become the best candidates in their chosen fields. There is a lot to look forward to on this front as we continue to develop the breadth of opportunities for our young people and further refine the assessment portfolios for their employability skills.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend.
Scott Doyle
Principal