Headteacher Message

Hello all,

I hope you are all well. This has been a really unusual term.  We have seemingly begun a school term as we are finishing a term!  The three and a half weeks your children have been at school have flown by and we are now looking forward to a full Summer term in school.  A full summer term in school.  That sounds and will be lovely.  The national roadmap to exiting lockdown seems to be on track and it would be fantastic if we are able to also relax school measures on June 21st.  I have kept a close eye on local rates and they continue to fall.  There were 69 confirmed cases throughout the whole of Richmond in the last 7 days.  Please continue to respect the rules.  I was speaking to a parent yesterday and she said that the situation now is a bit confusing.  It feels that we are beginning to emerge from the crisis and yet we still exist under so many restrictions that we are clearly still in a crisis.  Over Easter I believe I will be able to see my mum and dad in their garden and it will be lovely to see them again, there are only so many zoom calls you can make!  I hope you also get the chance to see some loved ones over the Easter period.

I have been showing a number of prospective Nursery parents around the whole school and every one of them has commented on the excellent learning behaviours taking place in the classrooms.  A lot of credit must be given to your children and our staff for this. I continue to be really proud of our staff team and am in awe of the commitment they show every day.  I would like to mention Mr Gilbert here.  Yesterday he presented to all the English leads from all the primary schools in Richmond and Kingston regarding how we as a school are promoting oracy (talk) across the school.  I kept my door open during the presentation and can confirm that he did a fantastic job.  It is really important that the excellence that is occurring at Darell is seen beyond the school walls and we are planning to continue to raise our profile across the local authority.     

Looking ahead to the Summer term we are going to continue to focus on the promotion of reading across the school.  I have been looking at some of the reading scores of different cohorts across the school and remarkable progress has been in some areas despite the disruption that has occurred. We are currently finalising the details of our next parent teacher meeting and I can reveal that it will take place on the week beginning the 26th of April. This will be via Google Meet or telephone meetings.  It will be a really important meeting in terms of letting you know how your child is getting on in school academically, socially and emotionally.  It is a vital component of us continuing to work effectively in partnership.

This is the last newsletter of the term and once again I would like you to thank you for your support.  I am going to finish with a picture of a dog.  My Easter will be dominated by the arrival of the newest member of the family.  I am showing you this because I am hoping that he will have a role to play in the school and eventually after jumping through a number of hoops (me and him!) possibly become the school dog.  Anyway here is Blue.  

Have a lovely Easter break.  Stay safe, enjoy time with friends and family and be happy.

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 - Why did the sausages escape? What happened to them?

Peake - How was the beach different to the one that Rocket imagined? 

Weir - Do you think Erin will tell the fishing village the real secret of Black Rock? What would you do if you were Erin?

Mozart - What would you do to help the Little Red Hen?

Newton - How did tomato encourage avocado?

Thunberg - How was the beach different to the one that Rocket imagined? 

Darwin - Is it better to make mistakes or not to make mistakes?

Attenborough - What would you like to ask Francesca Gibbons, author of A Clock of Stars, when we meet her via video call in May?

Parks - What theories do you have about why Clara cannot remember last summer?

How do you think Dr Kalmenius brings Prince Otto back to life?

Maths Challenge

The mighty maths challenge is back!

Each week you will find a new maths challenge in this section of  the newsletter and your Google Classroom along with the winner of the previous week.

Good Luck! 

Please email your answers to maths@darell.richmond.sch.uk

Our Problem 2 winner last week was Breogan from Thunberg class

Well done!