28 January 2022
Dear Parents & Carers,
We are thinking about the year ahead and how to best support students in exam years as we start to move into February. We will also share a wider update soon about the return of school trips and educational visits. With that in mind, it was good to welcome parents back into school as PE shared information about the upcoming Malaga and Ski visits. We are thinking carefully about issues related to vaccination and foreign travel, insurance cover and key questions in relation to the likelihood of Covid restrictions and how they might impact upon school travel. It is good to be planning an exciting programme for students to access. I would like to thank school staff for being so willing to take responsibility again given that challenging context.
We have also started our preparation this week for the exam season and are guiding students on the importance of consideration for others during mock and external exam periods. I share this because very few students in school have gone through that formal process and won’t instinctively understand what is expected during an exam season. Younger students need to be aware of how important it is to be considerate during that period too.
We hope to have an update in early February on arrangements for GCSE and A Level examinations and we will share that with students and parents as soon as we have had the opportunity to process the detail and offer clear guidance. An important Ofqual update is expected in the week beginning Monday 7th February.
There are a number of key updates below in relation to face coverings, vaccinations in school, and guidance for returning to school after a Covid absence, which I would encourage you to read carefully.
I met with two lovely Year 11 students for lunch this week, with whom we have worked particularly closely since their Year 6 transition in 2017. In their 5 years at the school, they have both only had one day of absence, they have amassed near to 150 house points each and both have only 1 behaviour incident on their school record in that 5-year period. They have treated others kindly, have done what they have been asked to do without complaint and have formed excellent friendship groups and good relationships with teachers and support staff. To misquote David Watts by The Kinks (or The Jam) a little, not everyone can ‘lead the school team to victory and take their exams and pass the lot’ but the success of every child is important to us and isn’t just measured by those highly regarded things. Their success has been quiet, steady and consistent and I am proud that we have so many students like them in our school.
Thank you for your ongoing support.
Mr O’Sullivan
Face Coverings Still Encouraged & Recommended
Last week I shared the Department for Education’s update relating to face coverings, which emphasised the importance of local decision making and working closely with regional Public Health teams. I wanted to reiterate that we will respect the decisions that families make in relation to face coverings, but I would also, whilst case numbers remain high in the Northeast, continue to recommend and encourage students to wear face coverings in school to protect face-to face teaching and to limit the spread of the virus where possible. This is a position taken by nearly all secondary schools in County Durham and is sensible given the context of high case numbers and a difficult picture in relation to staff absence in the region. This is also the position that we are being advised to take by the Local Authority Public Health Team. Numbers are still rising in our region and are having an impact upon attendance. Large numbers of students are still wearing face coverings in class and communal areas and we will continue to encourage that they do so in the short term. 60 students are currently isolating after positive tests and 4 staff members have tested positive this week.
Vaccinations in School
The NHS Immunisation Team have contacted the school to arrange a second date for vaccinations. We will write to the parents and carers of 12- to 15-year-old students in school with additional information next week to share the detail, as requested by the NHS Immunisation Team.
New Guidance for Pupils returning to school following a Covid absence
The self-isolation advice for people with coronavirus (COVID-19) has changed. It is now possible to end self-isolation after 5 full days if you have 2 negative LFD tests taken on consecutive days. The first LFD test should not be taken before the fifth day after your symptoms started (or the day your test was taken if you did not have symptoms). The self-isolation period remains 10 full days for those without negative results from 2 LFD tests taken a day apart.
Please see below examples of when to end self-isolation:
This means that if, for example, your symptoms started at any time on the 15th of the month (or if you did not have symptoms but your first positive COVID-19 test was taken on the 15th), you may take daily LFD tests from the 20th of the month. If your LFD test results are negative on the 20th and 21st, and you do not have a high temperature, you may end your self-isolation period after the negative test result on the 21st of the month.
In light of the above and to ensure the ongoing safety of pupils and staff, we will be introducing a 'return to school' protocol for all pupils who have tested positive for Covid.
Upon return to school following 2 negative LFD test results, pupils must report to Reception. A brief check will take place to ensure that the pupil has completed the required self-isolation period. Where possible, we would also ask that evidence of the negative LFD's is provided. Once this has been verified pupils will return to lessons as normal. We foresee this as a short-term measure until case numbers start to decrease in our region.
Parents’ Evenings
A reminder that the virtual Year 9 Parents’ Evening takes place next Monday, 31st January, from 3.30-6pm. Bookings are now closed; please log in to djcs.schoolcloud.co.uk to check your appointments ahead of time.
The Year 12 virtual Parents’ Evening is on Monday 14th February, with bookings opening on Monday 7th February. Details of how to book will be shared on Monday 31st January, and you can find more information from Mrs Lennon and Mr Wilbraham at this link.
Sixth Form Notices
Please click the link below to read the weekly digest of news and information for Sixth Form Students.
Careers and Guidance Department Notices
Please click here to view this week’s Careers and Enrichment Notices
Mr Kennedy
Subject Leader, Guidance
KS3 Drama Showcase, Thursday 27th of January.
It has been two years since the drama club last performed and it has been a joy to work with the participants (30 performers and 13 technical theatre students) since September. The theme of the performance is a celebration of the students’ resilience and how they have found joy, comfort and humour from friends and family.
The Year 7 and 8 students have chosen scenes from a selection of plays that highlight the resilience theme. The Year 9 group has worked as one cast to perform a section from Andy Hamilton’s ‘The Exam,’ which explores how three students support each other while waiting to enter the examination room.
We want to celebrate the students’ achievements, hard work and their own resilience to continue rehearsing despite many obstacles on the way. We are disappointed that they could not perform before a live audience, but hope that their work will be appreciated when their work will be shown on YouTube via a parental invite.
Ms Ayrey
Subject Leader, Drama
PE News
On Tuesday, our U16 girls' basketball team travelled to St Aidan's School, Harrogate in the English Schools Cup. We produced an outstanding performance to dominant the game. The score was 36 - 2 at half-time and we went on the reach the last 16 schools in the country with an impressive 66 - 10 victory.
On Thursday, our Year 8 netball team were competing in the DCDSNA tournament at the Louisa Centre. The standard was very high and our girls never gave up, winning one, drawing one and losing three matches.
Also, on Thursday our Year 7 and Year 8 boys’ football teams played each other in a friendly match in preparation for important games coming up. This was a keenly contested game, played in an excellent spirit, which our Year 8 team eventually won 4 - 0.
Today our U19 basketball team were due to be playing Helsby High School, Cheshire in the English Schools Cup. Unfortunately staffing issues meant they had to concede the game so we now progress to the last 16 schools in the country where we face current national champions Myerscough College, Preston.
Finally, thank you to all the parents and students who attended our Malaga meeting on Tuesday evening - it was great to see so much interest in the trip. Can I remind everyone that the deadline for applications is next Friday 4th January? The deadline for ski-trip applications is the following Friday (11th January).
Mr Hopper
Subject Leader, PE