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Deanshanger Primary School - Newsletter 22- 22/07/2021

 

Tuesday 20th July was a special day for us all but a tough one too! We had to say goodbye to an incredible group of Year 6 pupils and wish all the very best to our leaving staff.

As I started Deanshanger Primary seven years ago, I have watched every step of progress for a large majority of the Year 6 group! They have shown amazing resilience and maturity throughout the years, and we are all exceptionally proud of them.  Socially isolating with three days to go, but still smiling and providing a wonderful leaving assembly online, demonstrate how mature and 'secondary ready' they are.

We also shared huge thanks and good luck to the staff that have played an integral role in making the school what it is.  Mrs. Watson, Mrs. Dennis, Mrs. Doyle Mrs. Penwell, Mr. Russell, and Mr. Larcombe, we will miss you all so much. You are a very special and dedicated group. We wish you great happiness as you set off on new ventures. Your contributions to our school will not be forgotten. 

With the goodbyes, comes the hellos too.  A very warm welcome to Miss Forward, Mrs. Burdett, Mr. Taylor and Mr. Rowantree. We are all ready to support and learn from you and ensure that you quickly feel settled. We look forward to all the many strengths that you will bring. 

We are currently recruiting for the Forest School role and hope to be able to welcome a new Forest School lead to the team soon. The advert is currently live on Teach Northants. 

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all the staff at the school for being an outstanding team this year (as always). Two Ofsted visits, a pandemic, and the regular heavy load of working in a school have made it quite an extraordinary year, but one that they have supported amazingly. Governors, a huge thank you to you all too.  As Chair of Governors, Mr. Aaronson has been a regular in the school and indeed, all governors have continued to work hard behind the scenes to ensure that the school continues on a strong path. Thank you.

Our work with the Grand Union Partnership and in particular Mr. Phil Webster and Mr. Wilsdon has continued to support our growth as well as providing a good forum for professional dialogue. 

Parents and Carers too, thank you.  This year, probably more than ever, has needed us all to work as a team. Thank you for adapting to all the new expectations as needed, and ensuring that your children have managed the ever-changing situation as well as possible.

The final thanks must go to your children — they are an incredibly inspiring group, and we are very fortunate to have the pleasure of supporting their learning journey each day.  Like us all, I feel they now need a very good rest! Let's hope the weather continues to shine upon us so that our batteries recharge well ready for more fun learning in September.

If you haven't yet filled in the online school survey, we'd still love to hear your thoughts. These will be used to support our priorities for the year ahead. 

 

We know this year has been challenging for all. We wanted to say a big thank you and well done to everyone for all the hard work involved! Please use the summer break to recharge your batteries and get a good rest. It is well deserved!

However, writing is something that has dipped throughout the school during this difficult time. If you are able to encourage a little writing over the summer break it would be appreciated and could really help to be better placed in September. This could be keeping a diary for a week of the holidays, writing a poem or write/send a postcard to a family member or friend, or even your new class teacher!  

The children could also research their class bird (class name) and present this information in any way they wish. They could show their amazing computer skills and create a PowerPoint presentation or create an art project/poster. They can be as creative as they want.

Any support/help with promoting a little writing over the summer would be fantastic and greatly appreciated.

Thank you 

Team DPS

 

Reading 

The year has been a fabulous year for reading. As a school, we have read an amazing 139,507,672 words. This is a significant improvement on previous years. The ‘Can Do’ attitude has been fantastic across all children who are involved in the ‘Accelerated Reader’ and ‘Huxley Horse Box’ programme. Accelerated Reader will be open until Friday August 20th for those of you who want to try to reach Millionaire status.

Results

Classes

1. Year 6, Tazmanian Devil Class. Year 6 you have really set the standard all year. A massive thank you. You have been a big inspiration to us all.I wonder if we can beat your record next year?

2. Year 4, Narwhal Class

3. Year 4, Borneo Pygmy Elephant Class

 

Individual Children Ranking

  1. Harry Maynard, Year 4 Narwhal Class
  2. Harry Hibberd, Year 6 Tazmanian Devil Class
  3. Sacha Muretti- Robinson, Year 4 Borneo Pygmy Elephant Class
  4. Sienna Keswani, Year 4 Narwhal Class
  5. Caelan Kumar, Year 6 Tazmanian Devil Class
  6. Matys Lajux, Year 6 Tazmanian Devil Class
  7. Charlie Tolputt, Year 6 Tazmanian Devil Class
  8. Milo Marks-Eden, Year 6 Red Panda Class
  9. Euan Sharp, Year 4 Narwhal Class
  10. Brandon Clark, Year 4 Narwhal Class

Children who have achieved Word Millionaire Status this year:

Alana Hockings, Emily Chapman, Zain Miah, Annabelle Robins, Adam Creasey, Thomas Oldfield, Annabel Hogg, Alfie Goodier, Finley Pearce, Sacha Muretti-Robinson, Alfie Tolputt, Ilyaz Lajux, Zayne Acharia, Ciaran Dunne, Charlotte Robins, Holly Chapman, Grace Hunter, Layla Sherburn, Chiara Cope, Isabella Bromley, Oliver Place, Rufus Masters, Fleur Westwood, Ethan Turner, Ethan Orton, Brandon Clark, Euan Sharp, Sienna Keswani, Harry Maynard, Milo Marks-Eden, Getter Alvik, Tiago Edwards, Finn Moor, Lily Chapman, Lloyd Bentley, Holly Harris, James Vallas, Harriet Tanner, Charlie Tolputt, Matys Lajux, Caelan Kumar, Harry Hibberd, Kimberley Taylor, Olivia Clark, Rosie Beales and Ted Welch.

Children who have shown a real ‘Yes I Can’ attitude towards reading:

Courtney Rogers, Kamran Miah, Sandro Kemp, Madeleine Bartle, Gharib Waqqaf, Jack Oldfield, Harrison Fox, Emile Muretti-Robinson, Jacob Herman and Zeke Vaughan.

 

10th July to 5th September 

Visit Deanshanger Village Library to sign up for the summer reading challenge

Opening hours

 Wednesdays 10.00 am to 2.00 pm, 

Fridays 11.00 am to 1.00 pm and 2.00pm to 4.00 pm.

Updates from our Chair of Governors

Dear DPS Community,

I can't believe this is the last governor report of the year! To say that it has been a challenging year would be an understatement.  I have been so impressed and proud of how resilient the school, staff, pupils, governors, and parents have been.

We have all risen to the challenges and ensured that we have delivered as full and normal educational opportunities for all our pupils under unprecedented circumstances. 

I want to say a very big thank you to everyone for their commitment, energy and enthusiasm throughout the year.

Since the last newsletter, I have taken part in a Zoom meeting with the LA, met with our new clerk, had a catch-up with the Head Teacher, met with the SENCO, joined in with Zoom assemblies and attended some RockSteady concerts — a real experience highlighting the musical talent throughout the school. 

Governors have virtually met with their year groups to talk about the curriculm and shared their reports with all governors. We had a curriculum meeting on Monday and shared the latest data highlighting the progress we have made and areas we will work on in the next academic year. 

We had our last full governor meeting on Monday, reviewed the past year and looked forward to the priorities for next year.

I want to say 'Thank you' and 'Good Luck' to all those staff leaving us at the end of this term either through retirement, taking new jobs or changing roles. You will be missed and wish you well in the future 

I want to thank all the governors for their commitment and support throughout this year. 

Thank you to all the pupils for your commitment throughout this year, and a special mention to Year 6 who will be leaving us for a new and exciting experience at secondary school - good luck to you and remember us.

Thank you to you the parents for your support and encouragement it is greatly valued 

Finally, once again a wholehearted thank you to Mrs Rice, the SLT, all staff (teaching and non-teaching) for making Deanshanger Primary School such a fantastic place to be a part of.

Well, that's about all I have to say except on behalf of all the governors, I hope you all have a wonderful summer and stay safe and if you have a holiday, I hope the sun shines for you.

David Aaronson, Chair of Governors  

ChairofGovernors@deanshanger.northants.sch.uk

Deanshanger Good Neighbours is working with the Co-op (and possibly other partners) to run a Pride event on Saturday, August 14th to celebrate diversity and promote inclusion. They have lots of exciting plans in the pipeline, so watch out for how you take part and enjoy the special events, including a pride picnic with your family on the day.

To join in the event, we are welcoming children across the school to optionally create a picture/poster. Individuality is very important to us, and we constantly seek to promote and celebrate our uniqueness. We could like our children to draw themselves and write all the things that make them unique and a true individual.  

To make sharing these as easy as possible (given that the school office will be closed from the end of Friday 23rd), can I suggest that you send an email with your child's design attached (head@deanshanger.northants-ecl.gov.uk) or post it through the letter box in the Community Fridge by Friday 30th July? I will then print and display these ready for the village event. 

Community Fridge 

We plan to keep the community fridge running throughout the summer at the times shared below.  If, for whatever reason, we don't have a volunteer for a shift, we will ensure that this info is shared on the door. We will ensure that we can open as much as possible, but as we rely on volunteers, we may struggle for the occasional shift. Please accept our apologies if this is the case. 


Opening hours from 19th July 

Mondays 8.30am - 9:30am
Tuesdays 3.30pm - 4.30pm
Wednesdays 3.30pm - 4.30pm
Thursdays 3.30pm - 4.30pm
Fridays 7.00pm - 8.00pm


We are always happy to accept food donations to enhance the stocks - we are currently quite short on tins. If you have any that you are able to donate, please drop them off in Admin. Thank you.

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

dpeel@deanshanger.northants.sch.uk

head@deanshanger.northants-ecl.gov.uk 

We would like to send a huge welcome to our new site supervisor Naser Naser. Naser joins us from Syria and, most recently Sweden. Naser has previously been a translator (English — Arabic — Swedish), a policeman, worked in security, and represented his country at the highest level in Judo!  In a very short time, Naser has already made a significant contribution to improving our school site. You will already have seen him on our school crossing, and he will be there to welcome you back in September! We are very excited that Naser has joined our school team.

05 Jul 2021
Saturday Holiday Athletics Course
Rugby & Northampton AC are pleased to announce a new 3- week athletics course for young athletes in Northampton and surrounding areas. It runs in the summer holidays from Saturday 7th August until Saturday 21st August. 
Read more
28 Jun 2021
NMPAT Saturday Centres
Northamptonshire Music and Performing Arts Trust is excited to be re-launching Saturday Centres in September 2021! After a year of Virtual Centre, it is time to re-open our doors to our members from pre-lockdown, as well as whole new group of students!  We are delighted to be able to o...
Read more
28 Jun 2021
Funtopia -10th July, 7th August and 11th September
Funtopia is returning to Northampton for 3 days this year: 10th July, 7th August and 11th September and, this year it’s bigger and better than ever as we combine our two biggest events – Funtopia with Foodstival!!!
Read more

School uniform

Given the year that we have all had, and reducing the need for anyone to go to the shops unnecessarily, we have been very open-minded about school uniform and footwear this year — it hasn't been a top priority.

With life gradually returning to 'normal' now though, we are all keen for all children to return to high uniform expectations from September on an everyday basis including PE days.  We are very proud of our school and smart uniform helps display this. We particularly want to cut down on fashion items, go back to black school shoes for non PE days and tidy up the uniform for PE ie,

  • White or red T-shirt (with the school logo or plain) 
  • Black shorts 
  • Black or white plimsolls for indoor games
  • Tracksuit and trainers for outdoor use in cold weather 
  • Slogans, football club affiliations or ‘designer labels’ should be kept for life outside school.

For full information about our school uniform, please look on the following page of our school website.

 

What will school look like in September?

The honest answer to this question is that we're not 100% sure! Full information about the risk assessment for September will be shared later in the school holiday - this is to ensure that we capture the latest government advice. For now, we can only share what we think might be the case. 

  • We'll operate with year groups keeping together. 
  • Close contact between year groups inside the school will be restricted.
  • Staggered starts, break times, lunches and finish times will operate (see the timings below)
  • Children will have indoor PE again (except children joining Reception). They will need to change in school for this. Indoor PE days will be shared with you on the staff training days in September. 
  • On outdoor PE days, the children will come to school in their outdoor kits and stay in them all day. 
  • We'll try and get as many before and after school cubs and activities up and running as possible.
  • Classrooms will be set up with groups of tables instead of the forward facing arrangement that have been in place in most classes this school year. 
  • School assemblies are very likely to initially continue on Zoom.
  • Parent meetings and workshops are also very likely to be on Zoom too. 
  • We hope to be able to use the school library.

School start and finish times 

  • Reception classes — 8.50am for Ms McKenzie's group and 9.00am for Mrs.Neville's. Collection at 3.15pm and 3.25pm respectively (from the Reception gate just to the side of the admin grey gate)
  • Year 1 — Both classes at 8.55am with collection at 3.20pm (from the wooden gates just along from the main entrance)
  • Year 2 — Both classes at 8.50am with collection at 3.15pm (from the pink door just inside the main grey gates).
  • Year 3 — Both classes at 8.45am with collection at 3.10pm (from the wooden gates)
  • Year 4 — Both classes at 8.40am with collection at 3.05pm (from the wooden gates)
  • Year 5 — Both classes at 8.50am with collection at 3.15pm (from the wooden gates)
  • Year 6 — Both classes at 8.50am with collection at 3.15pm(from the Willow Tree gate in the car park)

We appreciate that these staggered timings are a little tricky for some of you. We have considered whether we can go back to pre-covid days of everyone coming in at 8.50am and leaving at 3.15pm, but we don't think this will be the case in September; it could quickly become the case as the national situation improves though.

Huge thanks to our Wrap Club team for operating a fun Summer Camp from now until 13th August. After this time, Ryan will be running his football camp.

Places are still available for both opportunities. 

At 11.00am on Sunday 25th July, there will be a service of Thanksgiving and Remembrance at Holy Trinity Church here in Deanshanger. Reverend Penington has set up this special opportunity to look back at life through the pandemic/lockdown, to remember those we've lost, those who worked hard to keep us safe and keep the economy going too. To thank God for being with us throughout and for all the good things we've benefited from too, and to look forward with both a sadness but a lot of hope for the future.

If you would like to attend with your child, and they would like to be part of sharing their thoughts about the lockdown with the congregation, then please email me in the next couple of days to set this up. 

Sending much love and best wishes to Mrs Robson and her family.

Annette, we miss you very much x

Thank you again for supporting your child/ren and the school so amazingly this school year.

Wishing you all a safe and happy summer break. 

See you on Friday 3rd September (for all children except our new Reception children). The full calendar of dates and events for the year ahead will be added to the calendar on the school website in the coming days. Your child will also receive a new home/school diary on Friday 3rd. 

 

Rachel Rice

Head teacher

head@deanshanger.northants-ecl.gov.uk