Dear Families
I hope this update finds you and those closest to you in good health. It’s been a busy start to half term four this week with a number of visitors and activities taking place across the academy. I’ve been off site on a number of occasions too visiting three other Trust sites and linking with colleagues within and beyond our wider organisation. Whilst it’s always good to visit other schools and to network, I was grateful to be able to round the week of with a full day back at Derby Moor on Friday.
Dates for your Diary
Monday 11th March 2024 – Year 13 Mock Examinations begin
Wednesday 13th March 2024 – Year 9 Parents Evening
Wednesday 20th March 2024 – Principal’s Coffee Morning
Wednesday 27th March 2024 – Year 11 Parents Evening
Thursday 28th March 2024 – Last Day of Half Term 4
Monday 15th April 2024 – First Day of Half Term 5
Mobile Phones
You may have seen from the news that the DfE have recently put in place guidance for all schools around banning mobile phones, their impact upon young people and how schools can implement the expectation. For us, there is no change, but, as a brief reminder, our students are allowed to carry mobile phones with them to and from school. This is to give families a way of contacting them outside of school hours as many of them make considerable journeys each day. Under no circumstances should phones be used or seen during the school day. This includes families contacting children. They are a major distraction for young people and disrupt learning. Students who use a phone in the day have them confiscated and serve a correction. Those who do this more that once will need to have the phone collected by a parent. After this we will ban them from bringing the phone onto site. Thankfully this is a very rare occurrence. If you do need to contact your child in the school day, please use our reception phone number and not their personal mobile phones as this will trigger a confiscation and sanction.
Email Migration
You may have seen from our socials that we underwent an email migration over half term. This meant that all our emails and a number of other elements or IT services were being moved and updated as part of a longer term plan of improvement. As with any project of this size, there were some ‘bumps in the road’ and there were periods where emails were not working over the half term break. Some group emails were also not functioning at the start of the week. As such, there is a small possibility that inbound communications may have been lost. If you did email in over the half term and have not received a response, please re-send your communication as all systems should now be fully operational. Please note that the attendance email has been updated and families should now use attendance@derbymoorspencer.org.uk to report absences.
Year 9 Parents Evening
As part of the Pathways process we would like to invite all of our families with children in Year 9 to explore the Pathways for Post 16 and Post 18. To support this, we have invited additional delegates to the Year 9 Parents Evening to represent colleges, universities and apprenticeships as well as careers advisers:
Luminate Careers – these are our independent and impartial careers advisers who work at Derby Moor weekly. They will be available to answer any Pathways or careers related questions.
Derby University – available to discuss pathways into higher education and answer any questions regarding qualifications and entry routes or more general questions about university.
Derby College – available to discuss pathways into further education and answer any questions regarding qualifications and entry routes or more general questions about colleges.
DHL – available to discuss pathways into apprenticeships and answer any questions regarding qualifications and entry routes or more general questions about apprenticeships.
All of our visitors will be based on the Learning Hub and are looking forward to meeting you on Wednesday 13th March.
World Book Day and Reading Rampage
Thursday 7th March is World Book Day. A number of staff will be engaging with this by becoming a range of different literary characters for the day. The classes in year 7, 8 and 9 will all start their lessons, listening to a Chapter of one of 5 different books taken from the Reading Rampage project which is ongoing at present. These books can be borrowed from the library and we are encouraging students to read, rate and return the books. If you would like to listen to these beforehand, please follow the links below. (Apologies in advance for some interesting accents!)
Reading Rampage – Chapter 1s:
‘Kofi and the Rap Battle Summer’
‘Hetty and the battle of the books’
Student Voice
Mr Scott sent a Class Charts link to the Student Voice survey for students on Tuesday of this week. Please could you encourage your son/daughter to complete the survey to give feedback about their experiences and ideas that they feel might enhance their school experience. The link will remain active until Tuesday. All students who complete the survey will be entered into a prize draw. There will be 5 winners, each receiving a £5 Amazon voucher.
Student Librarians
There are now 7 student librarians, who are taking responsibility for helping in the library at lunchtime. Mr Scott would ideally like to have 10 student librarians in total. If your child is interested in taking on some additional responsibility at lunchtimes, then please can they email Mr Scott to express and interest.
Principal’s Coffee Morning
The next Principal’s Coffee Morning is scheduled for Weds 20th March – 9.40 – 10.40am. An item for discussion during this session will be the Year 8 options process. Therefore, we would particularly like to encourage Year 8 Parents to attend where possible.
Year 10 Brilliant Club Scholars Programme
On Wednesday 13 Year 10 students travelled to the University of Sheffield in the culmination of their involvement with The Brilliant Club Scholars Programme. The day involved interaction with a number of schools from the Midlands and the North of England, as well as a campus tour and concluded with a Graduation Ceremony, where the students received certificates for their efforts. Held in the illustrious Firth Hall, the Hogwarts of the university, it was a warm and enriching experience that the students fully enjoyed and deserved, receiving accolades and applause for their positive endeavours. The students got to meet eight Student Ambassadors, one of which is a Derby Moor alumni, Lucy Pickering! Having this experience of higher education will hopefully continue to push each student’s aspirations for their future – a future that shines brightly.
Vacancies
We have a selection of vacancies advertised at the academy at present. These include Technology Technician, Cover Supervisor, Exam Invigilator, Primary First Aider, Assistant Principal and Library Manager. If you are interested in joining our team, please take a look at our vacancies page on the website and contact school if you require further information.
Sports Update
Y9 Football: The Y9 football team played their first of 3 tournaments this week. As a team we faced some very good sides, but overall came up just short. The team have lots to work on going in to the tournament next week and will be looking to bounce back in style.
Year 10 Football: 4 games and 2 points from the Y10’s. The team battled in every match and were unlucky to draw 2 of the games, with late goals coming from the other teams. Another tournament next week for the Year 10’s to show what they are capable of.
Extra-Curricular Timetable: Please click here to see the extra-curricular timetable for next week.
Careers Update
Career of the Week: This week’s job of the week is a ‘Radio Producer’.
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.
Year 8 & 9 Visit to East Midlands office of PwC
Last Wednesday 44 students from Years 8 & 9 travelled to Price Waterhouse Cooper’s (PwC) East Midlands offices in Castle Donnington to participate in a New World, New Skills initiative. The students spent time looking at the structure and hierarchy of the Big 4 business, looking at the various pathways and industries that PwC offers. They also had a tour of the office and learnt about models of work such as hybrid working and took part in two activities aimed at building on some of the essential skills deemed compulsory for employees to succeed in the 21st century. It was an opportunity for some students, who don’t often get the chance to take on leadership roles, to showcase the excellent skills that they can offer an organisation like PwC. Others discovered new avenues for them to explore, be it degree apprenticeships, advance apprenticeships, or the Flying Start programme. One of the leaders of the day was a former Derby Moor student Iqra Hanif and she was able to inspire our students with her career journey. Another former Derby Moor student also working for PwC, Balwinder Singh also joined us over lunch. You can find out more about PwC by clicking on the link and searching careers.
Staff Spotlight
This week, we shine the Staff Spotlight on Mr August:
Q) How long have you worked at Derby Moor Spencer Academy?
A) Six months. I started in September 2023.
Q) What is your role and what does it entail?
A) I am a Maths Teacher and my role is to equip learners with maths skill to use in their future.
Q) What is your favourite thing about working here?
A) The organisational aspect and transparency of the school as well as the enthusiasm of the learners.
Q) Tell us a fact about yourself.
A) I am in an Xbox connect advert in Australia and scored a goal in the equivalent to the FA Cup competition in New Zealand.
Q) Who is the person who inspires you most?
A) My late sister.
Q) What other interesting roles or experiences have you had?
A) I was Principal’s Nominee for NZQA in New Zealand and taught mathematics in 4 different countries. South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and the UK.
Our Year 11’s have hit the ground running this week with their mock examinations and will continue these into next week. We also have the Year 13 exams coming up and the pathways/options processes for Year 9 and 8. Plenty to look forward to in what is a short but busy half term ahead.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend.
Scott Doyle
Principal