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Deanshanger Primary School - Newsletter15- 16/04/2021

 

It has been lovely to welcome all the children back this week and even some children that have been shielding at home. We are pleased to see how settled the children have been and how engaged they have been with their learning.

The outside science lab has been used this week for the first time amidst great excitement. It is great to see lots of creative outside learning in our school. 

We also had our first 'Big Sing' this week. We are unable to sing inside the school due to covid restrictions, so Mr Larcombe planned a new feature whereby, at the end of a Friday assembly, we all stand outside and sing with gusto. I found it quite a tear-jerker today to hear such beautiful singing (and dancing) after such a long time! 

Yellow-Eyed Penguins have chosen the song choice for next week - 'You've got a friend in me'.  Feel free to have a practise at home. 

Ofsted

Our Ofsted report, following the HMI interim inspection on 2nd March, was received this week. Although the report was rather brief, it did demonstrate the progress that we have made since the last Ofsted. It was also notable that there were no follow-up actions!  

As always, we will continue to commit fully to school improvement to ensure that all children make the progress that they are capable of and have a rich and exciting curriculum with real breadth. We will continue to reflect at all opportunities.

Huge thanks to the amazing staff team for their dedication and commitment and to you and your children too. School happiness, progress, and success is a big team effort.

To read the report, click here. 

Updates from our Chair of Governors

Hope you had a good Easter Holiday and didn’t overindulge with the chocolate. 

By now you will have received the letter reporting back on our recent OFSTED visit. It was great to hear that the school is recognised for its efforts during the present circumstances and is delivering a positive experience for all our pupils.

As Governors we recognise the hard work and efforts made by not only staff and pupils,  but yourselves as parents and carers in supporting our school.

I took part in a virtual school assembly yesterday talking to the children about the festival of Passover.

Governors are continuing to support the school in looking at how they can improve their skills and knowledge as well as working with the Local Authority to access programmes to review the Governor's Action Plan.

I will be joining the school on Monday afternoon to support the launch of the Community Fridge, a fantastic initiative and worthwhile project.

Finally, the Governors have a Curriculum meeting on Monday evening and a Full Governors meeting on Thursday, next week so a busy time for us all.

Hope you have a good weekend and are enjoying the opportunities provided by the lifting of some of the lockdown restrictions,  but still staying safe.

 

David Aaronson 

Chair of Governors  ChairofGovernors@deanshanger.northants.sch.uk

Sports Days

Tuesday 29th June – EYFS and Key Stage One Sports Day (ie, all children in EYFS, Y1 and Y2 )

Friday 2nd July – Key Stage Two Sports Day (all children in Year 3,4,5 and 6)

Last year we were unable to hold our annual Sports Day. This year, we will be holding a Sports Day for all children. How this works and what exactly happens we cannot share until much closer to the time. To give us the best opportunity of it happening as close to normal as possible, we will be moving the dates back a week.

Staffing updates

At the end of the school year we will, very sadly, be saying goodbye to Mrs Sarah Dennis. Sarah joined Deanshanger Primary in 2005 and has worked tirelessly in this time. We’ve calculated that this means that she has taught at least 480 children and probably a lot more counting maths groups etc – WOW! Her commitment to the school and love of the local community is phenomenal. Sarah will leave very big shoes to fill with the breadth of her teaching skills, the year groups that she has worked in and her unmatched sense of humour. We wish her all the very best in her next steps.

Mrs Zoe Watson will be taking off her leadership hat at the end of July, but firmly keeping on her teaching and Deanshanger Primary School hat - PHEW!!  Zoe has supported and guided the EYFS and Year 1 team expertly and should be extremely proud of her substantial impact on the school. Strong teamwork in the phase has ensured that our children have a great start to their school journey. This was recognised by Ofsted with the Outstanding judgment.  Whilst she will be sorely missed in this role, we have lots of opportunities to benefit from her endless energy and skills beyond the summer. 

Parents evening dates

 Tuesday 27th and Wednesday 28th April

We will be having Parents’ Evenings on Tuesday 27th and Wednesday 28th April. Appointments will be ten minutes long and, due to current restrictions, via Zoom. Early next week you will be able to book slots.

If you would like to make an appointment with Natalie Wilmot, our SENCo, please email her at SENCo@deanshanger.northants.sch.uk

Community Fridge

We are super excited that the grand opening of the Community Fridge is on Monday. It will be open at 8.30am - 11.00am for the first time with the grand opening at 2.00pm.  Please come along to the sessions on Monday and beyond - this project is all about reducing food surplus and waste and it is exciting to think we are going to be playing an active part in this.  You are warmly encouraged to drop off items for the Community Fridge during the sessions on a Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and help yourself to items, free of charge. 

 

Thank you very much for the food donations today and the beautiful bunting triangles. 

 

If you would like to know more about the Community Fridge and possibly volunteer, please make contact with either Mr. Peel, Mrs. Penwell or Mrs. Rice.

 

dpeel@deanshanger.northants.sch.uk

apenwell@deanshanger.northants.sch.uk

head@deanshanger.northants-ecl.gov.uk 

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As always, please make contact if you have any questions about any aspect of school life - open communication is really important.

Finally, please ensure that all items that come into school are labelled to make it much easier to return items to the right child. 

 

Stay safe and have a lovely weekend,

Rachel Rice   

head@deanshanger.northants-ecl.gov.uk