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Reading through this latest edition of the newsletter will give you a taste of school life - it is, and has been, very full-on! Our aim is to ensure that children across the school have rich and diverse opportunities that support strong social engagement, meet and exceed the expectations of the curriculum and individual needs and, very importantly, make learning fun.
Your feedback about your child's learning is always appreciated, and open communication is really valued. Please continue to share concerns and ideas freely with us so that they can be addressed as necessary and possible.
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Mrs. Sarah Webb joined Deanshanger Primary School in September 2001 as the deputy head. Since this time, she has dedicated pretty much every waking moment to the School and her role!
I have had the pleasure of working alongside Sarah for over eight years. I’ve benefited greatly from her knowledge, experience, relentless drive, absolute love of reading, the school (and village) and a fabulous sense of humour; I know that I’m not alone.
At the end of the school year, Sarah has decided to take early retirement. This will have a significant impact on us all and there is no doubt at all, that it will be very strange without her. By wearing the hat of deputy head, KS2 teacher, county moderator, phase leader, assessment expert, English lead, mentor, disco chef, community fridge volunteer and a lot more, Sarah has supported hundreds of students over the years, countless staff and driven multiple strands of strong school improvement. She has done this with kindness, humility and love. We are extremely grateful for everything that she has brought to the DPS and her unwavering dedication – she certainly couldn’t have given more than she has!
Whilst Sarah’s role will be advertised shortly, she will continue to work tirelessly to support her Y6 class and school improvement until she leaves us at the end of July 2023.
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A warm welcome to our new librarian, Mrs. Emilie Simons
After a series of interviews with very strong candidates, we are delighted to share that Mrs. Emilie Simons will be joining us on a part-time basis as our new librarian. Emilie will be leading story times with our younger year groups as well as maintaining our very well-stocked space, linking books with the learning in class, driving reading forward in the school (along with the staff), getting the stock onto the library system, looking out for new titles to inspire us and ensuring that the library continues to be an exciting and inspiring place to visit and learn.
Welcome aboard, Emilie.
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This afternoon we held our second Sunflower Award Assembly of the school year. Huge congratulations to the following children for being chosen for this very special award in memory of our much loved Mrs. Annette Robson.
Reception - Amelie Feaver
Year 1 - Franky Plumbe
Year 2 - Samuel Parris
Year 3 - Kier-Jayden Littlefair
Year 4 - Sophie Hazell
Year 5 - Poppy Bailey
Year 6 - Harry Maynard
A special newsletter will be shared shortly. For previous recipients and information, you can click on the Sunflower Award section of the school website.
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Safer Internet Day 2023
On Tuesday 7th February, it's Safer Internet Day across the world. While we're committed to internet safety all year round, this dedicated day is a great way to spend time exploring ways of enjoying all the wonders of the Web safely and responsibly.
The theme this year is 'let's talk about it,' reminding children and adults alike that internet safety is a conversation we need, and that young people must tell a trusted adult if they encounter anything online which makes them feel uncomfortable.
In school, some classes have already been having this conversation in readiness for next week, when there'll be activities, assemblies and challenges for Safer Internet Day.
One of the resources we've discovered is called 'Interland,' an interactive game built with the help of Google, which gives children the chance to play and explore healthy internet approaches. It's fun and free, and made for children of 6/7 years and up.
For KS1 children, CEOP have the ThinkUKnow site
And for parents looking for guidance, support or resources, visiting the following sites are well worth your time:
https://parentzone.org.uk/ or https://www.internetmatters.org/
Look out for our short video made with the children all about internet safety, coming soon!
Mr Larcombe
Computer Champion @DPS
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We are keen to recruit a Wrap Club Leader to replace Miss Stephanie Mazey. If you could share the advert with family and friends, it would be appreciated.
Thank you
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Please take great care when parking, pulling out, reversing and crossing outside School in the mornings and afternoons. There was a near miss this morning that has obviously caused upset.
If you walk with your children, please keep them close to you and don't let them run ahead. Thank you
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On Friday 17th March, we will be hosting an event for Mums and Mum figures (of course this might include dads). You are invited to enjoy a Fish Friday with your child/ren. After booking, you are invited to join us for lunch at the time of your youngest child. E.g., If you have a child in Y2, 3 and 5, you will come for lunch at the time shown for a Y2 child (12.00pm).
Reception at 11.30am; Year 1 and 2 at 12.00pm; Year 3 and 4 at 12.30pm; Year 5 and 6 at 1.00pm
Adults will sit with their children in the hall and enjoy fish, chips and mushy peas followed by a delicious Victoria sponge. There will be a vegetarian alternative available too
The cost will be £5 and this will include a donation to Red Nose Day (as this falls on the same day). Bookings are limited to no more than 2 adults per child or family, please.
Bookings can be made on Arbor now. You will be asked to select either a fish or veggie option.
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Our journey to improve and extend play opportunities continues. Our recent OPAL training reminded us all that 20% of the children's school life is outside playing. As a result, it's important that lots of time and planning goes into making it purposeful, rich, safe and diverse play that provides opportunities for the different play types.
The new mobile speaker is bringing a huge amount of fun, karaoke and impressive dance moves! Seeing the children's enjoyment and ever growing confidence is just beautiful. Added to this, Mrs. Hodge has been looking carefully at the amount of playground bumps and accidents since the youngest children have been playing together on the top playground at lunchtime. These have reduced by 50%! Greater space, opportunities, and being supported by the older children, is going well from multiple angles.
The mud pit is not quite as muddy now, but it is still a popular place for fun across the year groups, as is tyre play, football, hockey, table tennis, gym equipment, colouring, lego, the slide, basketball and performing on the stage!
In the coming weeks, we plan to complete the mud pit area with more digging equipment and pots and pans, customise the mud kitchen and develop a massive sandpit!
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Upcoming workshop this term: Blossom Occupational Therapy Parent workshop "Sensory difficulties with food" on Tuesday 7th February 7.00-9.00pm.
In this session we will explore why a child may find eating challenging, some common myths around eating difficulties and how to spot 'red flags'. Finally, we will talk through some basic strategies and also discuss when a referral on to a specialist ARFID service may be required.
Learning outcomes:
1. To learn and understand about the complexity of eating
2. To learn the red flags to eating challenges
3. To experience how it may feel to have sensory challenges around food
4. To learn some helpful tips and strategies
5. To Understand when a specialist referral may be required.
If you would be interested in attending, then please email me by 11am on Monday 6th February (senco@deanshanger.northants.sch.uk).
Thank you
Mrs Parsonson, SENCo
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Ensuring that learning 'sticks' and can be pulled upon in the future is very important to us. Revisiting knowledge and getting it in children's long-term memory, is a skill that we continue to work hard on. On our school website, you'll find a page entitled Retrieval Practice @DPS that explains some of the strategies that we use in school - they are likely to be transferable to home as well. You'll definitely hear the children talk more about 'sticky learning' and quizzes to support their learning. Even simple chats about the day in school and asking your child/ren to share some of their new knowledge supports this moving of information from the short-term memory to the long-term.
Have a look at the website page for further information.
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We are excited to announce details of our next Rocksteady concert with our amazing music leader - Paul Ford. If your child has Rocksteady sessions, please try to join us for the concert on Tuesday, March 21st at 9.30am. The concert will include bands across the school and a full pupil audience. It promises to be a fun concert showing great talent from across the year groups.
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02 Feb 2023 We recently took two teams of KS2 children to Paulerspury school to take part in a sport that they hadn't played before - Boccia. The teams picked it up very quickly, played brilliantly, showed good sporting spirit and thoroughly enjoyed the event. They came 2nd and 4th overall - brilliant... | 19 Jan 2023 It's a fun activity for our year 2 students this afternoon. They braved the cold and were looking at patterns, lines and shapes when looking at the school building. I'm excited to see their lovely artwork. |
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 Thank you very much for supporting your child's learning and school activities this half-term.
We break up on Friday 10th February and return on Monday 20th February.
Wrap Club is running over the half-term break - don't leave it too long to book places if you are considering it.
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