29 March 2019
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Dates for your Diary – Spring Term 2019
- Easter holidays – Monday 8 April to Monday 22 April (term ends on Friday 5th April and resumes on Tuesday 23 April – 2 weeks and 1 day)
- Information evening for the parents of Year 12 students who are going on the Geography trip to Naples - Wednesday 24 April, 6.00 p.m.
- Year 11 Parents' Consultation Evening - Monday 29 April 3.30 p.m. - 6.00 p.m.
- School closed for May Day Bank Holiday - Monday 6 May
Mr O'Sullivan Writes
Ranking Full Stop
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I have been writing for the Friday Bulletin for 15 months now and recently uploaded a large number of those short articles onto the new school website. I hadn’t expected any themes to emerge, other than the obvious references to different aspects of school life. However, a theme does emerge when looking at the articles in detail. It relates to issues of prejudice, a lack of fairness and people acting before thinking. This was quite surprising; if asked to identify a theme in January 2018, I would not necessarily have highlighted any of those as key points. In many ways it is intertwined with the other theme lurking in those articles, the fragmented and disconcerting nature of modern society. I hope that the bulletin items, as a collection, highlight that the school believes in behaving ethically and addressing these concerns in a positive manner. School can be a haven from the difficulties that people experience in their wider lives. We have regularly commented in assemblies this year that when our young people arrive in the morning they are part of a community and are all treated fairly and with respect.
Please click here to read the full article
Head Student Team 2019
Congratulations to our newly elected Head Student team.
Chloe Barker, Alfie Phillips, Paige Dudley and Mark Humphries who will take up their roles as leaders of the Sixth Form student committee forthwith, will act as ambassadors of the school at key events throughout the year.
The application process for the roles was rigorous. Students were asked to write a personal statement, make a presentation at a hustings event in a Year 12 assembly and take part in a team activity with their predecessors. This was followed by two formal interviews with staff.
We would like to extend our thanks to all student who applied. The calibre of applicants was very high and all students performed very well, demonstrating how able, talented and community-minded our young people are.
We are excited about what the new team will offer in the coming year.
Mr Wilbraham – Deputy Head of Sixth Form
Visitors Enjoy Easter Themed Activities
On Wednesday the Year 11 health and social group invited in service users and their carers from the GOALS project in Pelton. The group had prepared a series of Easter themed activities for the adults, many of whom had learning disabilities.
All of our pupils displayed the 7 care values that we have discussed in lessons and are now able to write a report about their experiences.
Mrs White, PE Department
Non Uniform Day Raises over £1,200
Thank you to staff, students, parents and carers who supported our recent non-uniform day to raise funds for local charities.
We were pleased to receive the following message of thanks from Kelly Smith, Food Supply Manager at the County Durham Foodbank. “Thank you so much to everyone who donates food and money to County Durham Foodbank from Durham Johnston School, the support we receive from you all is truly humbling. The money donated from your non-uniform day will be used to purchase food items we are currently running short of, like fruit juice, to support local foodbanks – massive well done for all your support!”
PE Department News
On Monday our year 8 rugby team were at Horden RFU for the County Shield finals. They played some excellent rugby throughout the afternoon to win all but one of their games and become County Shield runners up, after losing a close final game to Whickham.
Our Year 8, 9 and 10 football teams were in action on Tuesday against Woodham. Our year 8 team played some great football but could not turn possession into goals eventually losing 2 – 1. It was better news for our Year 9 team who won a hard fought game 4 – 2. It was more straight-forward for our Year 10’s who ended their league campaign with a comfortable 6 – 0 win.
Also on Tuesday our Year 11 football team traveled to Ferryhill for a cup game. This proved to be a challenging game against a physical side. However a late penalty gave us a deserved 3 – 2 win.
Girls rugby took over on Wednesday with our U13 and U15 teams competing in the County 7’s tournament at Durham City RFU. It was a great advert for girls rugby as 17 teams took part across the two age groups. We had two U13 teams and both won all their group games to reach the semi-finals. Our A team had a comfortable semi-final win but unfortunately our B team lost a close match to finish 3rd. In the final our A team took on High Tunstall. We took an early lead and despite a late fight-back from High Tunstall we hung on to win by one try and become County 7’s champions. Our U15 team also played well winning two, drawing one and losing one of their group games. Unfortunately other results didn’t go our way and they finished 3rd in the group just missing out on a semi-final.
Last night our football teams played their final league games of the season against Parkside. Our Year 7 team had a 4 – 1 victory. Our Year 9 team also recorded a straight-forward 5 – 0 win. Our Year 7 rugby team were also in action taking part in the County 7’s finals at Ryton RFU. In perfect conditions against the best schools in the County we played some excellent rugby. There were 14 teams split into two groups of 7 and we dominated the group winning all six matches. At this age there are no finals.
Finally last night, our Year 7 girls basketball team were at St Cuthbert’s taking part in a friendly boys tournament. We started with an excellent win against the hosts. Our final game against Dame Allan’s was another good game. However we just ran out of steam losing by 5 points to finish 2nd.
Today we have been competing in the Durham County Winter Games in four sports. Our Year 7 and U14 basketball teams were at Maiden Castle. In a great performance both teams won all their matches to become County Champions.
Our sportshall athletics teams were at the Louisa Centre. Again they produced great performances to finish with the following results:
Year 7 girls – 1st and County Champions
Year 7 boys – 1st and County Champions
Year 8 girls – 1st and County Champions
Year 8 boys – 2nd
Also today, Libby Dixon and Nikita Graham were competing in a inclusion swimming gala as part of the Durham City team. The produced great swims to win the event and become County Champions. Their relay race was fantastic.
The final competition was the table tennis at Bishop Barrington. Our U13 team finished 5th and our U15 team were also 5th.
A final piece of excellent news comes from netball. We have just heard the both our Year 7 and Year 8 netball teams have become Durham City and District champions for the 2018-19 season.
Mr Hopper - Subject Leader for PE
Ski Visit 2020
Please could I remind parents and carers whose children are going on next year's ski trip, that instalment 3 - £146.00 is due by the 5th April. If paying by cheque, please make payable to Durham Johnston School.
Mrs Hopper - PE Department
Word of the Week
