Dear Families,
I hope this update finds you and those closest to you in the best of health. Year 11 students have continued with their mock exams this week, showing maturity and diligence throughout the course of the two weeks. We celebrated World Book Day in school on Thursday, thank you to all the staff who took part in dressing up as beloved book characters. We know students enjoyed seeing the costumes and it helps us all start conversations about reading and literature.
Year 9 Update
Over the next two weeks, our Year 9 students will be engaging in the important process of selecting their Pathways choices, shaping the subjects they will study in Years 10 and 11. This is a crucial stage in their education, and we are committed to providing comprehensive support and guidance throughout the process.
Key Dates and Events:
- Pathways Booklets: Available to parents and students from Monday 10th March to help inform decisions.
- Year 9 Pathways Assembly: Took place on Friday 7th March, this introduced the process to students and set expectations for the coming fortnight.
- Year 9 Pathways Assembly: Taking place on Monday 10th March, this will introduce the process to students and set expectations for the coming fortnight.
- Subject Presentations: Available via Loom from Monday 10th March. These pre-recorded presentations will give an overview of each subject, helping students and parents make informed choices. These can be accessed via the Pathways Website.
- Parents Evening: On Wednesday 12th March, parents will have the opportunity to speak directly with subject teachers to ask questions and seek advice. There will also be information stalls available to offer additional guidance on the process.
- Form Time and PD Lessons: Across the fortnight, tutors will be delivering dedicated sessions during form time and PD lessons, led by Mr Kershaw, exploring the options available and helping students reflect on their strengths, interests, and future aspirations. To support the process our students will be shown a simple video in the PD lessons made by our Careers Advisers at Luminate Careers with some ‘Top Tips’
- Pathways Forms: These will be distributed via tutors on Monday 24th March, with a deadline for submission of Thursday 27th March.
- Looking Ahead: Once forms are submitted, choices will be processed and confirmed with students during the week commencing 23rd June. Final subject allocations will be shared with parents during the week commencing 7th July. Students will begin their chosen GCSE and Vocational courses in September.
- We encourage all families to engage fully in the process, making use of the resources and opportunities available to ensure students make the best choices for their future.
The Year 9 Parents’ Evening will take place on Wednesday 12th March 2025. This is an important opportunity to discuss your child’s progress and options for the year ahead. Appointments can be booked via School Cloud, and we encourage early booking to secure your preferred times. We look forward to welcoming you to the academy that evening and supporting your child’s continued success.
As part of the Pathways process we would like to involve all of our parents/carers directly in finding out about Pathways Post 16 and Post 18. To support this, we have invited some visitors to the Year 9 Parents Evening.
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 College – available to discuss pathways into further education and answer any questions regarding qualifications and entry routes or more general questions about colleges.
Huws Gray – 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 12th March
Year 11 Update
Year 11 Parents’ Evening: Year 11 Parents Evening will take place on March 26th, where you can receive an update on your child’s progress in their mock examinations and get advice on how to best support them in the lead-up to their final exams in May. Appointment bookings will open the week of March 10th, so please keep an eye out for an email with the details.
Year 11 students applying to Derby College: We have been asked by Derby College to pass on the following information regarding applications:
- Students who are unable to log into their InTouch account to check where they sit within the system or what is delaying the process should email Sara Jenkins, DCC Database Manager, with their name, DOB and email address to gain more information. Her email is: sara.jenkins@dcg.ac.uk
- For Students requiring more guidance and support with the varying parts of the application, or who might want to physically talk to someone, Sara has offered access to her diary to be able to book in for a slot for her to support them. Book time with Sara Jenkins: School Careers Support
- Students who feel they would benefit from on-site support, can access the Roundhouse site on Thursday 13th March between 3pm and 6pm.
- Students are also reminded that they need to confirm their conditional places on the results day on 21st August. Failing to confirm their place could result in losing their place in September.
Attendance and appointments
A reminder about the importance of notifying the school if your child is unable to attend. If your child is absent, please ensure that the attendance team is notified by email or phone before 9:30 am. Additionally, if your child has a medical appointment during the school day, we ask that you provide the attendance office with more than 24 hours’ notice. In the first instance, we ask that medical appointments are scheduled outside of school hours, but we understand that this isn’t always possible. The number for attendance is 01332 772706 opt 1 for years 7 to 11 and option 2 for our sixth form, the email address is attendance@derbymoorspencer.org.uk
Parent Pay
As part of our ongoing efforts to streamline school transactions we are pleased to announce that, in addition to meals, items such as ties, lanyards, planners, and more can now be purchased through ParentPay as and when these may be required. If you need help setting up a ParentPay account, don’t hesitate to contact the Finance Officer who can assist with this. If your child must bring cash to school to purchase items, please make sure they have the exact amount as change can no longer be provided.
Derby Moor Choir
Our school choir will now meet on Mondays after school in the Honour Hub. Students who are interested should contact Mr Bevan for more information.
Librarians
Congratulations to the 6 students who have been appointed as Student Librarians. We would like to thank every student who applied. It was a pleasure to see so many people interested in helping out in the library and passing on their love of books to others.
Sports Update
Football Fixtures: The Year 7 team played away at Da Vinci this week, unfortunately they lost 7 – 5 but showed resilience in a difficult game. Next week’s game is away at Alvaston Moor on Thursday 13th March where they are hoping for a better result.
The Year 8 team played in their second tournament of the current season. They won one, lost one and drew two games so are definitely showing determination and dedication. The third and final tournament is scheduled for Tuesday 11th March.
Year 9 played their final tournament of the year before moving on to Y10. They drew 2 games and lost 2 games with tough competition across the board.
The Year 10 football team have recently competed in two tournaments against other schools across the city. The team have shown massive improvements from last year and have returned some pleasing results. Overall, they have played 9 games, winning 3, drawing 5 and losing just once. The boys have shown great team spirit and togetherness and have represented the school impeccably.
Y9 Trip: PE staff have started planning for a Year 9 trip to Go Ape. This will be for those students choosing BTEC Sport for Year 10. The date has been confirmed for the 26th June. Further details will be sent out to families closer to the time.
PE update: A reminder to all families that the expectation in PE is for all students to take part in the timetabled lesson, with the correct kit. During Ramadan, as always, the PE team will adapt lesson intensity where needed but all students will still need to take part in the lesson.
Indoor Extra-curricular clubs are due to restart next week, following the end of the Year 11 mock exams.
Students will be receiving student of the month cards from their PE teachers, so please ask your son/daughter as they may have one!
Careers Update
This week’s job of the week is an interpreter.
Year 9 Options: Our team from Luminate have shared the following video to help students and families in Year 9 understand the options available to them.
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
We have hosted a number of visitors at the academy this week and have more tours around the school next week and the week after. I have the privilege of seeing our academy in action each day, watching our young people challenge themselves, our staff team deliver varied experiences and feeling the warmth of relationships that exist across our whole community. It is, however, easy to forget how special and unique this is. So, it’s nice to show visitors around and for them to see first hand what life is like at Derby Moor. Together We Succeed
Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend,
Scott Doyle
Principal