Headteacher Message

Hello all,

I hope you are all well.  This week has been the year 6 SATs week.  I have to say, we are extremely proud of every single one of our children who have absolutely tried their best in every single test.  As I speak they are having their last SAT’s breakfast in the main hall and are being served by The year 6 team.  There was some consternation that there was no fry up Friday but the plentiful fruit, cereals and toast has kept them fuelled and raring to go.  There was quite a big backlash about the content of the reading test and many schools have reported that a number of children were upset as they found it extremely challenging.  Our children were very resilient and did their best, which is all we ever ask from them.  

Their SATs results do not define them in any way and as a school we look to develop the whole child.  Last year's year 6 results were superb, but I was prouder of the well-rounded characterful individuals that we sent out into the world to ‘make a difference.’ These children are moulded through their daily interactions with staff from nursery upwards and the lovely children that leave us at the end of year 6 are ready for secondary school because of their whole school experience at Darell School.

Some of you with eagle eyes may have noticed the development of the Key Stage 1 playground with the addition of a permanent mud kitchen.  This is part of our ongoing drive to make play times as purposeful and enjoyable as possible.  I love the numbered items and am I thinking of taking that back to the family home to assist with my imminent de-cluttering plan.  Mrs Claridge works four days a week and came in on her unpaid day to facilitate this.  I told her not to, but that is what staff are like at this school. 

As we move forward we are looking to develop the school as a community hub and use the space we have to support our local community in any way that we can.  We are currently liaising with Richmond Adult Community College in order to run a group for parents who have English as their second language.  The newsletter will have details of the eligibility criteria should this be of interest to you. Please come and see Mrs Claridge next week, if you are interested, so we can get an idea of numbers.

That is all folks.  I have to now go and collect the SATs paper, bag them up and send them off.  If you have a year 6 child, in fact if you have any child at the school, please say well done to them for their hard work this week, and we will see you all after the weekend.  Stay safe and happy.

Joe Porter 

Communications

Sent Home

• Reception - Forest School
• Year 2 - 6 - Cheerleading club free trial
• Whole School - Class Photos
• Year 5 - Philharmonic Orchestra Trip

Stars of the Week!

Early Years Star of the Week

Wonder Class

Liam - for having wonderful ideas and using his imagination during busy learning – collecting rubbish from the sea to save the creatures and building a lighthouse to save the boats from rocks!

Peake Class

Elliot - for living our school value of aspiration and using his problem-solving skills to solve twenty-four challenges to protect the pigs from the wolf. Well done, Elliot, you are a master problem solver!

Weir Class

Vova - for being an enthusiastic and aspirational learner and for always being ready to contribute during class discussions! You have been a wonderful addition to Weir Class! Well done!

Walker Class

Scarlett - for taking part in one to one learning sessions with the adults. Well done, Scarlett!

KS2 Star of the Week

Newton Class

Amrit - for being responsible and making some good choices with his learning. Well done, Amrit!

Thunberg Class

Caitlin - for enjoying and aspiring to be a great reader. You are confident and fluent and a joy to listen to. Well done, Caitlin!

Darwin Class

Millie - for being an excellent learning partner and for her boundless enthusiasm to learn new things.

Attenborough Class

Muireann - for always being a responsible learner, working hard in every task.

Parks Class

Whole Class - for all the hard work and determination you have put into your SATs! Well done!