Dear Families,
I hope this update finds you and those closest to you in good health. This week’s update is slightly delayed. For those of you who follow our social channels you may have seen that I was at out Trust Leadership Day on Friday, hence, I was not in school to finalise and publish the update as usual. The day itself was an interesting one, with a focus on Academy and Trust Governance we heard from colleagues from the DfE and the Confederation of School Trusts about the future for governance and how we can further support governors in their roles.
Year 6 Open Evening – Thursday 5th October 2023
Our Year 6 Open Evening is fast approaching and we are excited to welcome families of year 6 students to our school from 5.00 – 7.30 pm. Further details can be found on our website and on our flyer for the event. The event could not run with our student volunteers so please look out for permission slips in planners and bags over the next week or so.
Sixth Form Open Evening – Wednesday 18th October 2023
Two weeks after the Year 6 evening we host our annual Sixth Form Open Evening which is due to take place on Wednesday 18th October 2023, 5.30 – 7.00 pm. Further details are available on our website.
Wet weather routine
We have experienced some challenging weather over the last week with strong winds and significant downpours. Students generally spend break and lunch time outside so it is important they have a warm, waterproof coat for when there is light rain. In the event of heavy rain, we call ‘wet break’ or ‘wet lunch’ as we have had to this week. Like all routines, these take time to learn and not everything went to plan this week. We will spend some time next week walking students through the arrangements for wet weather so they are more prepared for the rare occasions where we have to keep students indoors.
Lockdown practice
We will be conducting our first lockdown drill of the year on Tuesday morning this week. If you have concerns about how your child will respond to this, please brief them in advance and make contact with the Year Team. Students will be with their form teachers and will have notice that the drill is about to occur.
Drinks machines
The new drinks machines have proven to be quite a hit with our student population so far but the roll out has also experienced some teething troubles. The demand has proven to be greater than anticipated and we are now looking to purchase two additional machines to meet the demand. There has also been a temporary supply issue, limiting the variety of drinks available. Whilst water is widely available, both from the machines and water fountains, we are hoping that the minor issues around the machines will be ironed out shortly.
Geography Trips
To try to support families with budgeting, the Geography team have uploaded all upcoming trips onto Parent Pay so parents can plan and pay in instalments where convenient. Upcoming trips for Geography students include a Year 12 residential trip to Holderness, a Year 9 trip to Twycross Zoo, Year 10 GCSE trip to the coast and a Year 11 trip to Birmingham as part of the GCSE coursework.
Attendance notifications
If your child is due to be absent from school for an appointment, may we ask that notify the attendance team 24 hours prior to the appointment or earlier where possible. The attendance email address for reporting appointments and absences is attendance@derbymoorspencer.org.uk.
Sports Update
The Derby County Football and Education: The Derby County team travelled to Nottingham for their first away trip of the season for a local derby! All the players really enjoyed getting to know each other more and bonded together further as a group. Despite succumbing to defeat, the team created a series of chances throughout the game and spirits were high, regardless of the result. The team look forward to their first game in the CEFA cup in another away game Vs Wolverhampton Wanders.
Year 7 Football: The boys attended their first tournament in Year 7 and played 4 games against Woodlands, Noel Baker, LCS and Chellaston. They got off to a shaky start going 1-0 down against Woodlands who where a very strong side However, GS then popped to smash a volley into the roof of the net. Our second game vs LCS tested our defensive strength as we were camped in our own half for the majority of the game and stood firm to draw 0-0. After the first 2 games a tactical change saw a new formation vs Noel Baker and we were on top until a the opposition pounced upon an error making it 1-0. After dominating the remainder of the game, the ball dropped nicely onto KK’s left foot who slotted it nicely into the bottom corner. In our final game we faced Chellaston after dominating throughout TM curled a corner into the box for the stand out player of the tournament, RE, who headed it into the roof of the net. Overall an excellent tournament n unbeaten record.
Year 8 Football: The Year 8 Football team had their first match of the season, facing up against a strong Da Vinci team. First half saw the team 3-1 down due some impressive individual play from their striker. Second half the team came out with renewed energy but with a flurry of goals from both teams resulted in a 6-4 defeat. Next week we continue with Landau at home on Tuesday.
Year 11 Football: Year 11 put in a confident and commanding performance in wet and windy conditions against a strong Littleover team. The boys enjoyed a lot of early possession but could not find an opening goal. Despite this they were patient in their build up and went in to half time leading 4-0. The second half became a little disjointed as the wind picked up and substitutes were made but the team were able to continue to be an attacking threat scoring another 3 goals, with one of those coming direct from kick off with LJT lobbing the keeper. Player of the match went to LB for a commanding and skilful performance in central midfield.
Careers Update
This week’s job of the week is a ‘UX Researcher’.
Derby Moor Dispatch: The Derby Moor Dispatch goes out every Monday to 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 on our careers page. The Dispatch is emailed to the students’ school email address so it is important that they check this regularly on a Monday.
Final notes
We now enter a busier period of activity for the academy with open evenings, employer visits including Toyota and JCB, Oxbridge preparatory work, our book fayre and a school closure day for Inset on the 6th October.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend.
Scott Doyle
Principal