Dear Families,
I hope this update finds you and those closest to you in the best of health. This week began with our Eid Fayre on Monday to welcome students back to the academy after celebrating with their families last weekend. The examinations have, of course, continued with Year 10 completing their end of year assessments this week too. I’ve been in the spotlight a little this week too, presenting to a number of fellow Principals about our Inclusion provision, something that I will follow up on later this year when I present at the Festival of Education in July. We’ve also been selected to share our work around Pupil Premium and how our strategy around this has been driven by research and has informed our model around Teaching and Learning. This meant I was being filmed in a number of locations around our school on Friday as part of a case study for the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF).
Year 11 update
Annual ‘Shirt signing’ event: Monday 16th June will mark the last full cohort exam for our current year 11 students. After completion of their Physics exam students will be given an opportunity to spend some time gathering memories and marking the end of 5 years at our school and for many, saying farewell. During this time students will have an opportunity to have their shirts signed, and, weather permitting, enjoy some refreshments the school has prepared for them. As part of this, we are planning to have an Ice cream van available and therefore advise students to bring a small amount of money to purchase items.
We would like to remind students that this is an onsite event therefore our usual high expectations around behaviour will apply. The students are expected to leave site by 1pm. In addition, we would like to remind students that from 16th June they only need to come in for their exams and organised revision sessions, after which they will be asked to leave the site.
Year 11 Graduation: As previously communicated, our annual Year 11 graduation will be held on 27th June, from 10:00am to 1:00pm. Students will be expected to leave site by 1:00pm. Eligible students have been informed if they have accumulated enough reward points to attend. They must confirm their attendance via the Class Charts announcement from Mrs Hrncic. Please note that failure to respond will be taken as non-attendance and a space will not be reserved for them.
The celebration will include speeches, awards, light entertainment, and refreshments.
A separate email has been sent inviting you to share photos of your child from their younger years, which we hope to include in the celebration. If your child is attending and you’d like to participate, please send the photos digitally by 20th June to the Year Team.
PEEA Update
Year 9 Go Ape: Places for the trip are filling up fast so please make sure you confirm your child’s place via Parent Pay. Until this is done, your child may not get a place.
National school sports week – 16th to 22nd June: We will be running a full sports timetable next week for National School Sports Week. There will be different activities every morning from 8am, lunch and after school for students to take part in. If students attend 6 or more clubs, they will be entered into a prize draw. More details from your child’s PE teacher.
Library Update
If any of our Year 11 or Year 13 students would like to donate their revision books, we would be happy to receive them in the library. Please drop them off to Miss Jones in the Library once your course is completed.
Student Leadership Update
This week, we came together to celebrate Eid. From the moment students entered the building, they were greeted with smiles and chocolates at the door – a small gesture to mark a joyful occasion. During breaktime Samosas and Pakoras were sold and enjoyed by many, followed by a special Eid-themed menu at lunch. The vibrant atmosphere continued with Henna designs offered throughout the day, which proved to be a popular highlight. To top it all off, students engaged in fun and informative cultural quizzes, deepening their understanding of Eid and the traditions surrounding it.
A big thank you to all involved in planning and delivering this event – it’s always a pleasure to see our school celebrating together.
Careers Update
This week’s job of the week is a Personal Trainer
Apprenticeships: If your child is considering looking at apprenticeships, the following link will take you to a useful guide for both parents and students. You can also take a look at Choices magazine completely free of charge – you can find this month’s edition here. A further resource is Amazing Apprenticeships which covers all things apprenticeship and technical education.
Derby Moor Dispatch: The Dispatch is emailed to the students’ school email address, so it is important that they check this regularly. 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.
Luminate Careers: Our independent and impartial Careers Advisers from Luminate Careers have an excellent website with a wealth of useful information Please have a look at these links designed for parents/carers about careers conversation starters and Post 16 Options.
Final notes
With a week of warm weather currently forecast we will look to make an announcement about uniform on Sunday evening or early next week depending upon how things transpire. Given that the entire week is forecast to be in the high twenties we are likely to make adjustments. What this means is that students should not wear their jumpers, jackets or coats to school, they are not needed and are not essential. Blazers have more purpose – they hold their stationery and are easily removed when entering a room that is warm, unlike a jumper. For this week, we anticipate saying that blazers are optional but that all other expectations around presentation will apply. Please keep an eye out on classcharts and twitter for this. These are our main means of getting notices out to our community.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend,
Scott Doyle
Principal