Headteacher Message

Hello all,

Hope you are all keeping well.  We have had another busy and productive week here at Darell School.  We are currently in the middle of the filming of a promotional video for our website and it has been a pleasure to escort the filmmaker around the school.  What really struck me was how happy the school is.  On entry to every class, you are greeted warmly and with smiles.  Laughter is never far away.  I saw some excellent maths taking place in Year 6 and they were so pleased with their learning that they felt a film should be made of their achievements.  Apparently Boris Johnson has been cast to play me.  Concerning on many levels! This week has been tough and today has been the perfect end.  A reminder of the warmth, kindness and happiness that sits at the heart of Darell School.

If you follow us on Twitter you will have seen that we took delivery of 120 Chromebooks this week.  We are really pleased that they have arrived as I am hearing of severe delays for other schools.  There is some formatting to do and we hope to be using them shortly after half term.  Every child in Year 3,4,5, and 6 will be allocated a Chromebook which will be theirs to use throughout this and upcoming years.  Year 6 will be giving them back at the end of the year!  This will enable us to use our existing laptops and iPads in Nursery, Reception and Year 1 and 2.  Our plan is to allow the Chromebooks to be taken home, with your consent, in the event of your child or a group of children needing to isolate.  One of our values is Equality and we really want to ensure that all of our children have the same access to technology in the event of any closures.  With this in mind I am also pursuing the possibility that we may be able to offer support with wi-fi where needed.   All our thinking regarding remote learning is tempered by the desire to ensure that your child would not be glued to a screen all day long and our offer will include signposting activities that promote physical and mental well-being.

As a parent myself, this week I have had a bit of a wake up call.  Recently my daughter, who is in Year 6, has been asking whether she can use Whatsapp as all her friends use it.  As a family we were considering it until this week.  I found out the recommended age for using Whatsapp was 16 years old. Digital technology is not going away and we need to equip our children with the tools to use it safely and securely.  As a school we will continue to promote e-safety across the school but I would also ask you to reflect on your child’s use of social media and gaming consoles.  The age restrictions that applied to games are there to protect your child from violent or inappropriate images and we urge you to investigate what they are playing or interacting with if they have mobile devices.  Digital platforms offer so much when they are used safely and securely.  We will be publishing more advice about this next week.

I would like to thank you all for your support with the reading initiative.  A number of children have approached me this week to tell me how many dots that they have and how much they are looking forward to choosing their book when they reach 100.  I can’t wait for that busy few weeks when they all start to reach 100 dots and we share hot chocolates and our love of reading.

Take care of yourselves and your families. Have a lovely weekend.

Joe Porter

The Reading Corner

Welcome to our weekly section of the newsletter all about reading. Every week, we will share a question (or two) with you about the book your child is reading in school. Please use these questions to help you find out a little more  about what your child has been reading in school and continue to develop their love of reading.

Packham - What made little bear brave?

Peake - Why do you think Astrid's dad calls her 'Astro Girl'? What do you think this means? Do you have a nickname? What is it?

Weir - What do you think Claude will do in the city? What kind of adventure do you think he will go on? What makes you think this? 

Mozart -  How did the baby owls feel when their owl mother returned??

Newton - Who makes a forest? - What busy, crawling things do you find in a forest? 

Thunberg - Do you think the friend's plan will finally work?

Darwin - What folk-tale character would you like to be and why?

Attenborough - Where does Sofia live and why does it not scare her?

What does Sofia's mother do?

Parks - Why did Olive want to help the German pilot? Why did most of the villagers not want to help?   

What was the big secret/plan? Who was onboard the boat??

Communications Sent Home

Starting Primary School 2020 - Nursery Email

Updated Meal Menu - Whole School

PSA News

We are very excited to be running the Christmas Card Project again this year! 

Children will be creating their artwork in school next week.  They will also be given a second form to take home in case they would like to create a second artwork during half term.

We are working with a new printer this year who offer a wider range of products for the children artwork to be printed on! 

We will keep you posted on how to place orders in the next few weeks. 

We know we have a very creative group of children at Darell and as always, they will come up with some amazing designs for you to share with your friends and family!