Headteacher Message

Hello all,

I hope you are well.  There was a point this week when I stopped myself to say ‘This is good.’ I am referencing school here and not home because that is still a work in progress! I was in the upstairs hallway outside Year 5. From there you can see down into the hall and I saw the majority of our Year 1 parents sitting next to their children being taught about the way we teach maths at Darell School, by Mrs Hayward.  I then turned to my left, looked through the international room window and saw several of our parents in an ESOL class, English for Speakers of Other Languages, run by Richmond Adult Community College.  Just down the corridor at that very same moment, 6 students from Roehampton University were observing the excellent maths teaching by Ms Carter in Year 3.  Actually, that is better than good. It is excellent and speaks to how Darell has become a hub for learning in the community. 

Talking about community, I have just returned from Pensford Field, the green oasis in the heart of Kew.  We are able to use this space to run our forest group sessions, and it was lovely to see how engaged our nursery children were on my visit. Pensford Field have asked us to design their new logo and I took a small group of budding artists to fill their sketchbooks with ideas for the logo.  We will share this with you when it is published.  Next week I will have sports updates for you as we are currently in the midst of a bumper set of football and rugby fixtures.  I will finish with some more good news.  The days are getting longer and warmer, and I am calling it - SPRING IS ON ITS WAY!  Enjoy a lovely weekend with your families.  

Joe Porter     

PSA News

Love is in the air ❤️ On Monday 5th February Darell's Parent Staff Association (PSA) will be running a kindness event after school from 3:30pm - 4:30pm. We will have Valentines and Lunar New Year inspired activities for parents, carers and kids, a bake sale, a giving tree, and more! Tickets will be available at reception in advance at £5 per child. Money raised will go towards the Darell school trip fund to contribute to the costs of coaches, entry fees, etc… on upcoming school trips.

❤️ Parents and carers are invited to donate baked goods for our bake sale - these could be Valentines or Lunar New Year inspired or just cake!
❤️ It’s time for a post-Christmas, early spring clear out! Do you have any new or nearly new toys and books that you can donate to our giving tree? Please drop off items at school reception, and we will wrap them and add them to our giving tree. Kids can select a gift from the tree to give to a friend. 

❤️ Interested in joining or learning more about our PSA? Want to get more involved with the school community? Got a great fundraising idea for Darell? Please ask at reception for more details.

Communications Sent Home

• Debate Mate - League competition invite

• Year 6 - Junior Citizen

• Individual Pupils - RISE swimming gala Invite

• Boys and Girls football team - February match date 

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.

Wonder - Can you remember some of the planets which are rocky? (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars) Can you remember some of the planets which are cold? (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune) Which is the only planet with plants and animals on it? 

Peake - What would you have done if you were Floyd and your kite got stuck in the tree?

Weir - Have you ever felt like Mia and Ben when a friend has moved away? How did you feel?

Thunberg - What advice would you give to Omar about moving to a new school?

Darwin - What is a biography?

Attenborough - How do Kieran Millwood Hargrave and Francesca Gibbons create suspense when they lead their characters into an unknown and unsettling place?

Parks - What did Edmund and the White Witch (‘Queen of Narnia’) talk about on the sledge? What plan has the witch conjured up?

Stars of the Week!

Early Years Star of the Week

Wonder Class

Ellis - for his excellent attitude to learning. Ellis always listens, joins in and works hard at phonics and maths and shows real enjoyment in story.

KS1 Star of the Week

Peake Class

Lucas - for the fantastic progress he has made in his handwriting and being a supportive learning partner. Well done, Lucas!

Weir Class

Tanya - for being a responsible reader and a very kind friend to everyone in Weir class

Walker Class

Sirimi - for trying really hard to remember to use kind hands with her friends in the playground, so everyone has a happy lunchtime. Well done, Sirimi!  

KS2 Star of the Week

Newton Class

Rassim - for settling into Darell so well and for transitioning independently between Newton and Darwin. Well done, Rassim!

Thunberg Class

Kloe - for the dedication she has shown to writing her own ‘pourquoi?’ story! You are a fantastic innovator, Kloe; well done!

Darwin Class

Elise - for multiple acts of kindness in the classroom and playground.

Attenborough Class

Allen - for his enjoyment and aspiration in our Mastering Number sessions.

Parks Class

Hannah - for her fantastic narrative writing.

Rashford Class

Caitlin - for her excellent contribution during class discussions and trying her best with her timetable practice.