Newsletters

Newsletters 2021-22 Tuesday 26th July No.21

Deanshanger Primary School (@DeanshangerS) | Twitter

The last term of the school year flew by with so many 'regular' and special events! With assessments, sports days, leaving assemblies, transition days plus multiple opportunities to celebrate learning and very special children and staff.

On Friday 22nd July we had a morning assembly to congregate together, share thanks for the year and the incredible DPS team and raise the roof with singing! I am very fortunate to work alongside a very dedicated, committed, professional and fun team and I can't thank them all enough for everything they consistently bring to the school.

On Friday afternoon, the Year 6 group shone brightly in their leaving assembly /performance - it was just incredible! We were all so proud of the confident young people that they have become. Their talent and enthusiasm is/was tremendous.

There was a lot of emotion across the last couple of days with their Prom, performance, shirt signing, etc. They are a very special group, and we all wish them the very best in their next steps into secondary school education.

Please look on the school website in the coming days for a full photo gallery of the Prom and leaving the performance. Huge thanks to Mrs. Welch for the delicious cake and Miss Zeolla for the stunning balloon arch - she is extremely talented in this area (in addition to her 1:1 role).

MAT Conversion

We are pleased to announce that we will be converting to be part of the Grand Union Partnership Multi Academy Trust on September 1st!

We will continue to retain everything that makes Deanshanger Primary School special with the same staff, expectations, and uniform etc. We will be formalising the close working that has been in place for several years but will no longer be under the control of the Local Authority. Working alongside the primary schools at New Bradwell Primary, Jubilee Wood and Old Stratford, we look forward to continued strong collective support and guidance.

As previously shared, we very sadly said goodbye to four very strong and amazing staff members on Friday. Ms. McKenzie, Miss Whitaker, Mrs. True, and Mrs. Wright; they have all brought so much to our school.

When we say goodbye to leaving staff, it also means that we inevitably welcome new staff to the DPS team.

Mr Stuart Harris started a couple of weeks ago as our new site supervisor - he brings lots of experience and energy to the role. A warm welcome also to Mrs. Kelly Jacobs (Reception teacher), Miss Emily Christopher (Year 4 teacher) and Mrs. Sue Flannery (Wrap Club). We can't wait to work with you all!

We are delighted to introduce Miss Emily Christophers to the team and to Year 4 Manney Heffley class. It was unfortunate that the class only saw Miss Christopher for a short time on Friday, but they will have plenty of time to get to know her as we return in September.

My name is Miss Christophers and I am thrilled to be joining Deanshanger Primary School. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to meet my new Year 4 class. They were full of smiles and I just know it’s going to be a successful and exciting year! I can’t wait to see you all in September - have a great summer!

Our timings for the school day are slightly changing for September 2022 and beyond. In line with government directives about the length of the school day, we will be extending the school day for all children with a start time of 8.45am and a pick-up time of 3.25pm.

The gate will still open at 8.40am in the morning for KS2, but they will go into class at 8.45am.

Planning ahead to next year, please be reminded of the following -

For PE, children need a plain white or a plain red t-shirt.
Any earrings should be small studs only.
Whilst trainers can be worn as part of the everyday uniform, these must be plain black.

For further information about the uniform, please look at the information of the school website.

Thank you to our DPS Governors

I would like to take is opportunity to thank the governing body for their hard work and commitment this year. Alongside their 'regular' meetings they have been in school with their link year groups and 'keeping in touch' opportunities. Outside the actual visits and meetings though, they are called upon to make lots of decisions about school life. Their dedication is very much appreciated.

We recently welcomed Mrs Emma Satchwell-Graham to the governing body as a parent governor and know that she will bring lots of strength, passion and drive to the board with her varied experiences of being a Celebrant, parent, and deeply rooted in our local community.

As Mr David Aaronson recently stood down from being our Chair of Governors, please contact Mr Peter Nickoll our Acting Chair of Governors, if you would like to make contact at any time at PNGovernor@deanshanger.northants.sch.uk

Thank you to our PTA

Huge thanks to all the PTA for being so proactive again this year

A huge amount of 'nice to haves' during the school year come from PTA funds and the hard work of our fabulous PTA. Despite more challenging times this year, the school discos, freeze pop sales and summer raffle etc have provided fun and extra funds! Thank you to all members including Elaine York as Chair and Jennie Harris as Vice-Chair.

As their own children move onto secondary school, big thanks also to Karen Norgett and Amy Sherburn too for their invaluable support over the years.

We are very keen to expand PTA numbers in September and parent and carers volunteers are very warmly invited to come along to find out more. It doesn't involve helping at every school event (unless you want to), but having more members does help spread the load. Thank you in advance.

Accelerated Reading

This academic year we have read an amazing 84, 233,508 words and 8,071 books across Years 2 to 6. This is an amazing achievement, and we are proud of all children who have taken part in this huge team effort.

Across the year there have been many exciting reading opportunities. For example, multiple author visits, book week, visits to the village library and new books to the school library! Over the summer holidays, we hope that many of you will take part in the summer reading challenge at the village library. Accelerated Reader will be open for quizzes until Tuesday 23^rd August and then be open when we begin the new school year. We would like to thank all our reading volunteers and invite any of you who feel able to support us in the new school to let us know. Also, if you are having a tidy up during the school holiday, we are grateful for any books in good condition. Please bring these to our school office once term begins!

Within Year 2, Year 2 Wren Class have led the way with Kamran Miah being the overall leading reader of the year group. Jacob Herman, Heidi Pearce, Maddy Bartle and Sandro Kemp have been following closely.

Within Year 3, Year 3 Robin Class have led the way with Harrison Fox being the overall leading reader of the year group. Tiago Edwards, Gharib Waqqaf, Jack Oldfield, Amelia Whitlock, James Satchwell-Graham, Emilie Muretti Robinson and Evie Hill have been following closely.

Within Year 4, Year 4 Flamingo Class have led the way with Alfie Tolputt being the overall leading reader of the year group. Ciaran Dunne, Grace Hunter, Ilyaz Lajux and Noah Austin have been following closely.

Within Year 5, Year 5 Snowy Owl Class have led the way with Harry Maynard being the overall leading reader of the year group. Euan Sharp, Alana Hockings, Kimoro Aiddo, Ethan Turner, Sienna Keswani, Alfie Goodier, Brandon Clark, Izzy Heap and Ethan Orton have been following closely.

Within Year 6, Year 6 Puffin class have led the way with Layla Sherburn being the overall leading reader of the year group. Chiara Cope, Rosie Beales, Isabella Bromley, Ted Welch, Olivia Clark, Kimberley Taylor, Oliver Bunce, Dayna Kaur and Ava-Jade Charles have been following closely.

Our overall class leaders for reading are Year 6 Puffin Class and our overall individual reading leader is Harry Maynard. Well done!

Let us look forward to next year! Keep reading!

Phase 1 Reading update

We are so proud of the progress the children have made within their reading this year. In December, the school undertook a new phonics scheme ‘Little Wandle’ and the positive impact this has had on the children's reading and writing has been exceptional! Not only have the children had to adapt to a new approach to learning their phonics and reading skills, but they have also all been introduced to the new 'reading practise' sessions, in which they work in small groups with an adult, 3 times a week developing their fluency using their 'Big Cat Little Wandle' text, at their appropriate level. This text is then sent home and shared. The children in Phase 1 are also experts at utilising E-Collins to continue to read their 'Big Cat Little Wandle' texts at home! As we have now collected in the texts, please be reminded access to E-Collins will be available over the Summer Holidays and continuing to utilise the app will help ensure your child's reading progress continues!

A further achievement to celebrate is the children's dedication to 'Reading Eggs', having spent over 1200 hours reading on the app this year! A special mention to Isla Thorne, Aurora Deeks, Isabella Curtis and Axl Burgess who have alone contributed over 145 hours! WOW! To continue celebrating our 'Reading Egg' Champions, each Friday, for every 10 minutes used on the app, children will have their name put into a raffle draw, the winner will be selected at random to receive a certificate, rosette and the chance to read with their chosen adult in the school! So remember the more time spent reading, the greater your chance of winning! We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of our WONDERFUL volunteer readers who have dedicated time each week, to come in and support our children! We are very fortunate to have such supportive parents and careers and this support really does help! Well Done, Phase 1 - we are so proud of you! Keep reading!

Over the past few months Miss Cookson (Year 3 Kingfishers) has been training hard for the London to Brighton off-road cycle ride. Having not really ridden a bicycle for the past 20 years this is proving to be quite some challenge, especially as the ride will entail 1295m (4248ft) of ascent – this is almost as much as the height of Ben Nevis! The ride will take place on Saturday 17^th September and is in aid of the British Heart Foundation. If any of you would like to donate a little towards this cause, the link to the fundraising page is https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Claire-Cookson2 .

Any donations will be very gratefully received.

The Community Fridge will continue to be open for the majority of the summer break. Our grateful thanks extend to our regular and new volunteers.

Please help us spread the word about the opening times so that we all collectively reduce food waste.

Do you remember our wonderful music teacher Ms. Jess Hunting?

She is running a workshop in the summer that might interest many of you.

${alt_tag}$

Sports Round-Up

This year has been a successful year for sport at Deanshanger Primary School. We have been lucky enough to host and attend many sporting events such as football, tag rugby, archery, kurling, netball, quick sticks and athletics. This has enabled a wide range of children to try out different sports as well as showcase and develop their abilities and teamwork skills.

We would like to thank you for coming along to support all these wonderful events this year.

Athletics:

We attended the KS2 Quadkids Athletics event at Daventry Sports Park. This event followed on from a KS2 Quadkids event held here at DPS. The event was centered around the Commonwealth Games, each school representing a different country. Our country was Guyana! There were over 40 schools competing in running, jumping and throwing events. Our team performed very well despite their little training!

Our Year 2 children also attended an athletics event at Yardley Gobion. They took part in running, jumping and throwing events. They performed very well and even got their own medal to take home!

Football:

We have hosted many football matches/events this year. Our football players always show strong teamwork, dedication and resilience in every match. They continue to improve every time they play. We also hosted the year 3/4 Girls Skills Festival, this enabled many girls to take part in skill games where they could showcase their ability or try playing football for the first time.

Once again thank you for your support at all the events this year. There will be numerous opportunities for all children to get involved in a range of sports next year. There will be football, tag rugby, kurling, archery, boccia, orienteering, netball, cross-country, quick sticks hockey, kwik cricket and athletic events.

19 Jul 2022

Mini Moo for Willen Hospice on August 7th

Mini Moo Willen lake at 10:30am on August 7th Run, walk or scoot, or do all three! Entry: £10 per child (3 - 11 years) Join the moovement and help Willen Hospice reach their target! www.willen-hospice.org.uk/moo

10 Jul 2022

Restaurant deals over the summer holiday

Multiple shops and restaurants have planned deals for children the over the summer break. These might be of interest to you.

Earlier in the school year, you'll recall that we sent the children home with sunflower seeds. The seeds were generously donated by one of our families and the Parish Council.

How are your sunflowers getting on? You can see that Tom's is looking beautiful and is very strong.

The idea was for the village to be awash with sunflowers for multiple reasons! They look lovely, they make us think of our dear friend Mrs. Annette Robson, and they show our support for the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. As you drive into the village, you might have seen some beautiful ones peeping out from the colourful flower beds. I hope that your sunflowers continue to grow strong and bring happiness.

We look forward to welcoming back children in Year 1 - 6 on Monday 5th September with 'stay and play' days for our new Reception group on this day too.

Although the school office will close on Friday 29th July, you can contact Wrap Club for bookings and I will be checking in on emails regularly so don't hold back from asking any questions that you might have about the new school year.

Wishing you and your family a wonderful summer break. Stay safe and have lots of fun.

Rachel Rice

head@deanshanger.northants-ecl.gov.uk