Dear Parents and Carers, 

Good afternoon, 

I hope you and your families are well. 

I would like to extend a warm welcome to the families who have joined us this week and to those joining next week. Our school is growing steadily which is really encouraging. 

We held our second Open Morning this week, again a larger than expected number of families came along to see us. We have one more Open Morning on Tuesday 1st October and a Year 5&6 Taster Morning on 11th October. Pupils will take part in a number of lessons from different subjects, giving them a flavour of what life is like at Danebury. Please do spread the word about these two events. 

Our Inset Day training focused on reading strategies, specifically around the explicit teaching of tier 2 and 3 words. Its vital pupils understand the key vocabulary in order to apply them during tasks. We also spent time discussing the use of knowledge organisers as scaffolds for learning in the classroom and during home learning. These are helpful for you as parents and carers if you're helping with home learning too. DEAR time (drop everything and read) has been a huge success, it's been encouraging to see our pupils in years 7-10 engrossed in their books every day.

All pupils in Years 7-10 are currently completing their GL assessments, which are progress tests designed to assess each student’s attainment in English, Maths and Science.   These assessments are taken online in our computer suites, pupils can't prepare for them. The results we receive from these assessment tests are diagnostic. The results help teachers:

• To identify students who need additional support or extension work
• To identify patterns of performance and areas for development for the whole class 
• To compare students with others in the same age group nationally 
• To compare a student’s progress from one year to the next
• To measure a students’ baseline and progress

They are tailored to the age of the student and measure their knowledge and understanding, as well as their application of this knowledge and understanding. These assessments will take place every September.

The weather hasn't been on our side this week. Please ensure your child brings their coat to school each day, autumn has really set in! 

Our Tuesday and Thursday clubs are well underway, it was lovely to see pupils taking part in the wide range we have on offer. I appreciate a few of the bus routes are still arriving late, I have encouraged pupils to go along to a club if they are waiting for a bus and we will let them know when it arrives (Extra Curriculum Activities).

We continue to meet with the Trust, Hampshire and Wiltshire County Council as well as the bus companies to improve the service. Hampshire have assured me that they are working on a solution, and they should be communicating with appropriate parents and carers. 

Unfortunately, I have had to suspend a number of pupils this week for vaping on site. I recognise this is an issue all schools face but ordinarily we have very low numbers of pupils doing this on site. It is illegal for children under 16 to vape, the emerging scientific evidence on the damaging affects is hugely concerning. Please impress this on your child if you know or suspect they vape, help them to stop, they are incredibly addictive and should be avoided. We spend a significant amount of time during Personal Development and in assemblies educating our pupils about the dangers of vaping. I hope we can work together on this as a preventative measure.

We look forward to seeing Year 7 and 11 parents and carers on October 1st for our first consultation evening of the year. Please book your meetings on Arbor.

Our LORIC projects are well underway on Wednesday afternoons. We have been impressed by the creativity and independence our pupils are showing.  Leadership, organisation, resilience, initiative and communication skills are vital and will give our pupils the edge as they move into the workplace in the not to distant future. It's great to see them empowered! If you are a photographer or a business owner and willing to give up an hour to deliver a workshop to our photography and enterprise groups, we'd love to hear from you. It would be great to have someone to develop their skills and inspire them. A teacher would be present during the workshop. 

Have a good weekend when it comes.