Dear Families
I hope this update finds you and those closest to you in good health. Its been another positive week at the academy with our rewards assemblies taking place to round off the month of January. Next week is National Apprenticeship Week and we have activities taking place to support that alongside a DHL selection process for Year 10 where students will be put through their paces to earn a place on an outward-bound trip this summer.
Principal’s Rewards
On Thursday this week I had the privilege of hosting our Principal’s and Vice Principals’ awards assemblies. The rewards are in recognition of those students who show a great Attitude To Learning (ATL) in their lessons following the second data point of the year. It’s always a pleasure to recognise and reward our students for the efforts they put in, day in, day out. Those in receipt of the Vice Principals’ reward received a silver star for their blazer and are invited to enjoy some cake at break with our VPs. Those in receipt of the Principal’s award received a gold star and the chance to share a pizza at lunch. If your child has received a star, please ask them about it and encourage them to push on for a further reward in the next assemblies. A small number of students received the Governors’ Award – this is an exceptional achievement and should be celebrated. These students were rewarded with a special Derby Moor badge, a certificate and a letter from our Chair of Governors.
Spencer Superstars
A reminder about the Spencer Superstars charitable foundation and that families can nominate their children for a grant by contacting school or their child’s Year Manager. More details can be found in last week’s update.
Duke of Edinburgh
Our DofE students are currently studying first aid training with Mr Powell, this is an essential part of the award training. Miss Lancaster has noticed sporadic attendance for some participants recently. If students are wanting to complete their expedition weekends in the summer term it is very important that they attend Thursday after school sessions regularly. If you have any questions regarding this please email Miss Lancaster directly.
Kenya Trip Fundraising
From 5th February to 9th February students are selling raffle tickets in form time and lunch times to raise money for the Kenya trip. They are priced at £1 for 4 raffle tickets (a strip). Students will need cash to participate. There are a variety of prizes on offer and winners will be drawn on Monday 12th February. If you have any questions regarding this please email Miss Lancaster.
Food Technology
The Technology team would like to thank parents for their support in providing their child with ingredients for their Food Technology lessons. We understand that the cost of food has risen over the past year and we are very mindful to ensure that the recipes incorporated into schemes of work use minimal or lower priced ingredients to keep costs down. Years 7-9 Technology students have rotated to their new Technology subjects this term, so if your child has rotated to Food Technology, please check ClassCharts or ask for their printed ingredients list where you will find a list of what is required for their particular dish. If you are unable to provide ingredients, please let your child’s teacher know in advance. If you could you also ensure that your child brings a suitable container to take their dish home in it would help as we are unable to provide these.
Year 13 Parents Evening
Thank you to all families who attended the parents evening for Year 13 on Wednesday night. Whilst we know our Year 13 students are capable and independent, it is always nice to connect with families, share success and set targets together for the remaining time before the final examinations.
Parents Feedback
Our Parents Voice survey is still open to gather feedback on a variety of topics. This survey will close shortly and we do not want any families to miss out on their opportunity to give us their feedback. You can find the survey here.
Measles
Following outbreaks of measles in other parts of the country, we have been asked to remind families that the MMR vaccine is safe and effective. Children should receive the MMR vaccines to protect them from measles. Please refer to this NHS guidance for further information: Measles, Don’t let your child catch it, this resource is also available in multiple languages here.
Sports Update
Year 10 / 9 Boys Basketball: It was with great excitement and anticipation that the Derby Moor Year 10 / 9 Boys, made their season debut during a fixture held at Bemrose School last week. For the majority of the team, this was to be their very first organised competitive fixture in this sport. Derby Moor got off to a strong start, looking the part in their new kit. AY showed great handling skills and sound court vision, he was able to get the ball up court and make good passes to OP, KW and PO. With OP scoring quickly and KW and PO finding open shots inside, the game opened up nicely. YG and RZ dominated the boards early with JB picking up points throughout the game. Not only was there some great team and individual offence but JL distinguished himself on defence getting a number of steals just when Bemrose looked like they were going to mount a comeback. MK and NT were calmness personified with their handling. The final result was an impressive 8 v 30 to Derby Moor. Whilst a number were in contention, the Most Valued Player was awarded to OP. Next fixture scheduled for 15.02.2024 away at John Port School.
Y8 Indoor Athletics: On Thursday we took year 8 boys and girls to the city indoor athletics competition held at West Park. The students took part in a number of different track and field activities competing against 10 other schools. The team consisted of JG, JD, MG, RS, CH and EF. From the boys results we had stand out performances from JD who came first in the speed bounce, RS who came 2nd in the long jump and JG who won his 6-lap race. The most entertaining moment came from the 4×1 relay where the team rallied together to win by a photo finish. The girls had a similar display with the team of AT, PC, IC, AB,FC. All 5 girls were exceptional in their performances with the team finishing 2nd or 3rd in most races. Similar to the boys the last relay came down to a breath-taking finish, this time narrowly missing out on first place. Overall, the boys and girls who participated were a credit to the school and a pleasure to take on the trip. Mr Kamp and Mr Wilde were extremely proud of those involved!
Careers Update
Career if the Week: This week’s job of the week is a ‘Nanotechnologist’.
National Apprenticeship Week: Next week is National Apprenticeship Week, aimed at shining a light on apprenticeship opportunities for young people. We will have a number of visitors onsite as part of this, helping students understand what apprenticeships are and how they can apply for opportunities.
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 Mr Kershaw:
Q) How long have you worked at Derby Moor Spencer Academy?
A) I joined Derby Moor Spencer Academy in September 2023.
Q) What is your role and what does it entail?
A) I am a teacher of Personal, Social and Health Education. At Derby Moor this curriculum area is titled Personal Development and it is a part of the Human Development Faculty alongside subjects such as History, Geography, Religious Studies and Psychology. Within Personal Development we deliver timetabled lessons on a number of broader curriculum areas such as Keeping Yourself Safe, Managing Risks, Relationships, Planning for the Future, Careers and Challenges in Society. Personal Development is an integral part of students learning essential ‘life skills’, that may not be covered in other curriculum subjects. The role also includes attending Network Meetings and making sure the school is at the forefront on delivering relevant content that is important for our students to be active citizens in the local and wider community. This academic year I am also teaching some Key Stage 3 History and Religious Studies lessons and Year 12 Enrichment on Personal Safety. I am a Year 7 Form Tutor and, like all teaching staff, I support with a number of break and lunch time duties throughout the week as well as coaching extra-curricular basketball clubs across the school.
Q) What is your favourite thing about working here?
A) There are a number of great things about working at Derby Moor, so narrowing it down to a favourite, is very difficult. There is a truly supportive family atmosphere across the teaching and support staff where colleagues are helpful, approachable and supportive. I work in a friendly faculty area where people check in on you and ask what may be needed to help you become the best teacher you can be.
However, if pressed on my favourite aspect it has to be the students within the school. Without them the school has no purpose or function. Many of my colleagues have spoken about there being a unique atmosphere and environment at Derby Moor and I agree. The students have high expectations of the staff in school. They thrive upon consistency, fairness and know the staff are genuinely invested in helping them become better, both academically and personally. It is always a privilege to see students come in as children and eventually move on as maturing young adults. I also particularly enjoy interacting and working with students that I do not regularly teach in environments like assemblies and extra-curricular clubs.
Q) Tell us a fact about yourself.
A) I am not a career teacher straight from university. I have successfully completed courses with four universities to date and not only have I had a teaching career for nearly twenty years but I have also been employed as a Regional Manager for an international supermarket chain but I am also a former Police Officer for Leicestershire Police Force. I was first a uniformed Neighbourhood Patrol and Response Officer and then became a plain-clothed Detective, working in CID.
Q) Who is the person who inspires you most?
A) It is almost impossible to talk about just one person who inspires. There are lots of influential people you meet or form relationships with throughout your life, that shape you into becoming the person you ultimately are. I do have two people that always spring to the forefront of my mind whenever I am asked about this question. Firstly, my father who is sadly no longer alive. I always found him inspirational because of his difficult journey in life to achieving occupational and personal success. He was born at the end of the Second World War when there was a lot of poverty and shortages of food. Utilities, travel opportunities and luxury items were all in such short supply. He also had to cope with the loss of his own father who died when he was only eleven years old, which was very hard. Despite leaving school with very few qualifications, he had the ambition and mindset to keep becoming the best person he could be which even saw him going back to study at night school, later on in his life. He taught me the values of politeness, respect and hard work.
I still always have to mention my sporting hero though as an inspirational figure that has provided me with many life lessons, to date. I make no secret to all I work with and teach that I am a sports fanatic and despite being a big football and cricket fan, I am a huge America sports fan especially American Football and basketball. The now retired basketball player Michael Jordan is such an inspirational figure. He is arguably the greatest player of all time but is often cited as the best athlete ever. His sporting success and accolades are well documented but his dedication to hard work, team work, getting better, learning from failure and his resilience are truly outstanding. A lot of people have heard the true story of how he was cut from his high school team for not being good enough. Rather than sulking and giving up, he decided to prove everybody wrong. It was a dream for me to see this cultural icon play live in both Paris and Chicago, before he retired.
Q) What other interesting roles or experiences have you had?
A) Throughout my teaching career and prior to leaving the profession to become a Police Officer, I have undertaken a variety of teaching roles including; Teacher Governor, Head of Department, Head of Year, leading on Primary to Secondary Transition, whole school Admissions and Behaviour and being appointed as Assistant Headteacher for a number of years. I like to travel when I can and experience new things. My proudest role however, is being a father of three children.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend.
Scott Doyle
Principal