Dear parent/carer,

 

It feels odd writing this from my office and not having that buzz of students and staff around the school. When I am in school I still cannot get used to the feeling.

 

I wrote to you on Tuesday to update you on the current position regarding the 'face to face contact' announcement from the Government. We are nearly there with our plans for this and will get them to you next week so that we can all have a chance to get our head around it!

 

We have been making enquiries about transport, meals and many more things in an effort to ensure that everyone is as safe as possible in school. I must thank you in advance for your support on this and remind you that the initial phase of 'face to face contact' will not be a return to normal teaching and being around the school. I am sure you have been watching the news and seen footage of classrooms in neighbouring countries, so you can kind of see where the planning is going in terms of us applying social distancing measures and how we map out the school.

 

Last week we had a check on feedback for students from teachers and I just wanted to update you of the many ways in which staff are giving feedback. We have a wide range of feedback from 'live marking' using Google Docs, traditional feedback of completed work, test scores and the chance to make improvements (EBI) and many more. Obviously no system is perfect in these strange times, but if you have a chance, do get your daughter/son to go through their work with you so you can see what they are doing. If you also notice they have not shared their work then please get them to share it with their teacher.

 

Staff are hard at work planning for our 'virtual' Y6 induction week. I have just written to parents and to primary schools to give a little more information on this. We have a team of staff creating an induction experience for our incoming Y7 and whilst we know that nothing will replace being here for a week, we are going to do our best to make it memorable for them.

 

We are also working hard to get the Y11 exam information ready so that Mr Mitchell and Mr Adams can send this off to the exam boards. It is a strange time indeed, but please rest assured that staff have been incredibly thorough and we look forward to celebrating your results in August.

 

Another first for Dene Magna is that next week we will be interviewing our prospective Head Girl and Boy candidates online! I am really looking forward to seeing their faces again and hearing about what they can bring to Dene Magna.

 

I take my hat off to all the wonderfully creative people who have stepped up to the challenges we have set. I am also very proud to be reading stories of our community pulling together to help one another. It makes me so proud to be part of this community and I cannot wait to see you again in the future.

 

Well, enough from me. I will leave you with the immortal words of John Lennon:

 

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one  

 

Stay safe and stay positive everyone.

See you soon!

Steve Brady