Newsletters

Deanshanger Primary School - Newsletter 17- 14/05/2021

 

The length of this newsletter will give you an indication of how much has been going on in the last couple of weeks and how much is coming up! School life is always very busy. 

Despite many routines looking different at the moment, the same learning is going on and we are all extremely proud of the children's attitude and progress.

You will be aware that the next phase of the government's road map goes live on Monday (17th May) and the Department for Education has provided schools with operational guidance to manage this next step.  

Despite the changes outside in the community on May 17th, School life will continue in the same manner as it has been with year group bubbles, staggered starts, lots of handwashing and sanitising, meetings and assemblies on Teams and Zoom...  If you have any questions about this, please don't hesitate to make contact. 

Leaving staff

Alongside Mrs Dennis and Mr Larcombe, we are, very sadly, going to be saying goodbye to Mr Gwion Russell at the end of the summer term too.  Gwion has brought amazing energy and enthusiasm to our school on a daily basis since he joined us in in April 2016. Gwion will be moving to an infant school closer to home. We’ve still got many weeks to enjoy working alongside him though and enjoy his hard word and fabulous positivity.

Good luck, Gwion – you will be sorely missed.

Summer Club for Wrap Club 

Wednesday 21st July to Friday 13th of August 8.30am till 4.00 pm

The Wrap Club online booking system is now open !

For information, message Mrs Emilie Stevenson: wrapclub@deanshanger.northants.sch.uk

New Staff

With three very special teachers leaving us this summer, we are pleased to start introducing our three new teachers. Miss Steph Forward, Mr Niall Taylor and Mr Drew Rowantree.  They all bring skills and experiences that will enhance our existing staff team.  

Look out for more information about our new staff very soon. 

We are also delighted that Mrs Amanda Davis will be returning from her maternity leave at the end of the summer and returning to the school on a part-time basis covering staff release time.

Updates from our Chair of Governors

Good day everyone, 

A rather shorter piece than usual as governors are between meetings. I continue to catch up with the Head, and we share a wide range of information across school life. I  also have two other meetings in the coming days - one with the SENCO and the other to take part in a Learning Walk looking at a range of Foundation Subjects.

Governors are coordinating training records and commenting on a review of the Governor Action Plan.

Finally, I continue to join the virtual assemblies held on a Friday afternoon and am very impressed with the wide range of experiences and learning taking place and shared with the whole school. 

As Chair of Governors, I want to thank all the staff for their commitment and energy in delivering a positive learning experience for all the children. 

David Aaronson, Chair of Governors  

ChairofGovernors@deanshanger.northants.sch.uk

SEN update from Miss Natalie Wilmot (SENCo)

SENCo@deanshanger.northants.sch.uk

I feel like I am settling into life at DPS and getting to know the fantastic children here. I have also had the opportunity to meet some of you, virtually and in-person more recently which has been great. The communication lines between parents and teachers is obviously extremely important for their day-to-day support and care however should you have any further questions then please do not hesitate to contact me. 

SEND AWARD

We are in the process of completing a SEND award accreditation. This will enable us to reflect on our best practices and make plans for development moving forward. We will no doubt provide you with more information with regards to this in the future. 

WELL-BEING GARDEN

We are in the process of developing an area in school into a well-being garden. This will be a calming and relaxing space where children will be about to access as a calming and quiet environment to help them to refocus and help them face the rest of the day. I recently wrote to some local businesses asking for donations of plants, wind chimes, water features, outdoor rugs, etc and we are awaiting some responses. We will be asking the children to make some things to contribute to the garden and also may be asking you in the future to help with this initiative, so watch this space. 

SENSORY POD

As I am sure you are aware we have the fantastic resource of the sensory Pod in school. This again is a fantastic resource for the children. This week the outside area by the sensory pod has had a bit of a revamp with a fresh lick of paint and a new member of the school in the form of a fabulous wooden replica of George in Karner Blue Butterflies! Thank you, George and Mrs. Kelsey for working on this special project.  George's wooden self helps to tell the students some excellent reasons why they should go into the pod. 

 

     

 

Don’t forget that our latest Scholastic Book Club is now online at https://schools.scholastic.co.uk/deanshanger/digital-book-club. There are hundreds of fantastic children’s books to choose from, and every £1 you spend on this month’s Book Club will earn 20p for our school in Scholastic Rewards.

Please place your order online by May 21st, 2021.

As stated above, for every £1 you spend, our school will earn 20p in Scholastic Rewards that we can use to spend on books for our school library. Please support this activity. As stated above all orders for this month need to be completed by May 21st, 2021. This is so they can be delivered to school within 5 working days.
If you have any queries, please contact us.

Community Fridge 

The response to this new initiative has been simply phenomenal! Thank you to everyone that has been involved.

The current opening hours are as follows:

Mondays 8.30am - 11.00am

Wednesdays 1.00pm - 4.30pm

Fridays 7.00pm - 8.30pm

 

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, Mrs. Penwell, or Mrs. Rice.

 

dpeel@deanshanger.northants.sch.uk

apenwell@deanshanger.northants.sch.uk

head@deanshanger.northants-ecl.gov.uk 

14 May 2021
Geography at DPS
Geography Elevation Group As Mrs Rice mentioned in the last newsletter, we have had a ‘History Elevation Group' meeting. Our second meeting was a ‘Geography Elevation Group’. This meeting looked at what the children thought of their learning in Geography. At Deanshanger P...
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13 May 2021
History at DPS
As Mrs Rice mentioned in the last newsletter, we have had several subject 'Elevation Group' meetings. The first of these meetings looked at what the children thought of their learning in History. At Deanshanger Primary, the children have access to a wide and broad history curriculum throu...
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13 May 2021
Shipping help
Does anyone have links with delivery companies that might be open to supporting the cost of sending a large box of our Oxford Reading Tree books to local schools in Uganda? As a rough estimate, the boxes will weigh approximately 60kg in total.  As we no longer use these books, we would like to...
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13 May 2021
Calling all pre-loved pots and pans!
As you will be fully aware, we ask quite a lot of you as parents and carers and often ask for your help!  Miss Whitaker has helped us develop a very special outside science lab and a sound wall is part of this. If you have old pots and pans that you no longer need that have come to the...
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20 Apr 2021
Attendance figures this year
There is no denying that we would like every child to be in school every day that they are well and able to do so. There is a big however though... Since March 2020, attendance in school has needed to look different and attendance figures this year, for all children in the school (and country and...
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20 Apr 2021
Keeping hydrated at school with water
It is really important that we all drink plenty of water each day to keep hydrated and healthy. Ensuring access to water at all times and promoting a regular water intake is a vital role for schools in promoting health and providing a healthy learning env...
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20 Apr 2021
Stamp Design Competition
Do you like drawing and designing? If so, this competition could be just right for you. The closing date for applications at school is Tuesday 18th May. This will give us time to send them to Royal Mail for judging.
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Please be reminded that we break up for the half-term break on Thursday 27th May, not Friday 28th May. The children return on Monday 7th June. 

Wishing you all a happy and safe weekend,

Rachel Rice   

head@deanshanger.northants-ecl.gov.uk