Headteacher Message

Dear all,

This morning I waved goodbye to both my Year 5 and Year 3 teachers who were off to view a maths lesson at another school.  Maths teaching is excellent at Darell School but we do not stand still, and the opportunity to see some exemplar teaching in another school will always be snapped up.  School improvement is a continuous cycle and there is no end point. It is not only great professional development but also a benefit to me as I get to spend the majority of my morning teaching in Year 5.  I know that I will have a lovely morning as the class teacher has left me some exemplar planning that will engage the children in their learning.  This is a reminder to me and all of us of the hard work our teachers do.  The time commitment needed to plan and teach 25 lessons per week is immense and we are very lucky to have such a committed group of teachers at Darell School.  

I had a meeting with a parent recently and it reminded me to update you regarding our kindness initiative this term.  Before I do that I would like to thank all the parents involved in organising the kindness event after school on Monday. It was lovely to see so many of you taking part.  We have been celebrating kindness during our Friday assemblies and it has been heartwarming to hear how kind your children are.  We have also implemented consequences for the use of unkind language.  It is important that children are very clear on where boundaries are.  As such, if a child uses unkind language towards another child they immediately lose 15 minutes of their break time. If it occurs a second time then they are removed from their class for an hour to reflect and if it happens a third time then this increases to a whole morning or afternoon session.  On the second and third occasions parents will be called and informed of this behaviour.  This is a very effective way of promoting a positive environment and we have seen a fall in unkind language being used across the school.  

I also have some excellent news.  I can now reveal that we have the receptionist that we need and she is going to be amazing.  We have employed a parent from our community and her name is Kelly Doel.  She was extremely impressive at interview and is going to be a calm and personable addition to the team.  Please give her your support after half term as she settles into her position.   

World book day is not too far away and we are ambitiously planning to give every child from Reception to Year 6 a book to take home to keep on that day.  In recent years we have not asked children to dress up on world book day. This is because we want the focus to be on books rather than costumes and this year is no different.  We are linking this initiative to the Spark Book Awards and the books they will hopefully be receiving will be on the shortlist for these award.  

I say hopefully because we need your support with this.  With the reduction we are getting from the publishers we estimate that it will cost £5 per book.  We are asking you to donate this to cover the cost of your child’s book.  We are acutely aware of the financial situation for many and deliberately do not often ask for money but on this occasion we could really do with your help.  If  you are able to donate more than £5 this will help to cover the cost if there is any shortfall. 

You can donate (cash or debit card) in person at the office or make a bank transfer using the following payment details:

Darell Primary and Nursery School Fund

Account Number: 44445324

Sort Code: 60 07 20

Thank you very much for your time. Have a lovely half term with your precious families.  Stay as happy and safe as you can.

Joe Porter 

Family Event including Pond Dipping

 Join us on Saturday, 13 April, at 10.30am for a family event led by Paddy Hayes, the Education and Outdoor Learning Officer at Barnes Common. There will be a mix of activities including pond dipping, plant identification and nature art. £5 for adults, free for children and concessions. Use Eventbrite link to book. £5 per adult and free for children and those in receipt of Pupil Premium. Children over 6 are welcome, supervised by an adult throughout the session.

Communications Sent Home

• Reception - Year 6 - Spark! Book Awards
• Reception - Year 6 - Orchestra Club 
• Whole School - ‘Helping children with…’ series of webinars for parents
• Whole School -Digital Safety at a Glance

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 - In 'How to Catch a Star,' what different ways does the boy try to catch it? (jump up, climb the tallest tree, use a lasso, go in his rocket, ask a seagull) And why do none of these ways work? Why is it impossible to catch a star? (too far away, too hot, made from gas not rock)

Peake - What lesson, if any, do you think Floyd learnt by the end of the story?

Can you think of a time when you tried to solve a problem that didn't go as planned? What was the result?

Weir - What was London like before the Great Fire happened?

Thunberg - Does Arthur and the Golden Rope remind you of any other stories? Which ones and why?

Darwin - What is your favourite book and why?

Attenborough - What was London like before the Great Fire happened?

Parks - ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ by CS Lewis – What links can be made between the story and Christianity?

Stars of the Week!

Early Years Star of the Week

Wonder Class

Carter - for joining in and enjoying phonics and maths and for always contributing to discussion at carpet time. 

KS1 Star of the Week

Peake Class

Callie - Grace - for wanting to make her story the best it could be and working hard to make it happen. Well done, Callie - Grace!

Weir Class

Logan - for aspiring to be a mathsmagician! You have worked independently in maths this week.

Walker Class

Loki - for great handwriting in phonics and in class, your handwriting is getting better every day.  Well done, Loki!  

KS2 Star of the Week

Newton Class

Mio - for having a fantastic week in Newton class & for trying really hard to focus during class inputs. Well done, Mio!

Thunberg Class

Nina - for demonstrating super scientific thinking and for sharing her impressive knowledge of rocks and fossils with the class! Well done, Nina!

Darwin Class

Jayden - for being a kind and supportive work partner and for always having a nice word to say about his classmates.

Attenborough Class

Jack - for his enjoyment in our science lessons and his fantastic writing in his  Shadow Moth narrative.

Parks Class

Breogan - for taking responsibility for his learning.

Rashford Class

Joshua - for being resilient in his story writing and his enthusiastic participation when playing games.