24 June 2022
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Dear Parents & Carers,
We have reached the end of a very intensive period for our Year 11 and 13 students and their final exams have been completed. They now have a period of time when they can, hopefully, relax, think about the future and enjoy themselves. As I will reference later, it is important that they continue to do those things responsibly.
We will continue to stay in touch so that they are aware of arrangements for collecting exam results, signing up for courses and accepting places at university, additional training or employment. We will also offer a high level of support for students who have questions or difficult decisions to make as they prepare for September 2022. I will share a very detailed overview for students and parents related to exam results in my end of year letter and we will share updates via the website, Twitter and email if there are any significant changes to share during the summer weeks.
We are very aware of the difficulties facing many families in terms of the rising cost of living. We are committed to keeping the cost of uniform and school meals as low as possible and would appeal specifically to Year 11 and 13 students if they have spare, high quality uniform that they no longer need. Similarly, if you intend to buy new uniform in the summer because your child has grown, we will happily accept any uniform items that you no longer need. Miss Owen, our Head of Year 11, has asked me to share the following message:
Do you have any outgrown or no longer needed - but still in good condition - uniform you would be willing to donate to school please? As we all know, family finances are under growing strain so it would be great if we could help each other by reusing clothing. Also, environmentally, reusing uniform is much better for the planet than buying new items! Washed donations can be brought in by students and given in at reception, or parents can drop off if that is more convenient. We appreciate any support that you can give.
Supporting other families is an important part of being a member of our community and we appreciate anything that you can do to help others who might be facing financial difficulties.
Being community minded and helping others is also something that students need to exemplify outside of school and the family home. Sadly, all local secondary schools have been made aware (yet again) of young people involving themselves in anti-social behaviour in and around Durham City. Please talk to your child about where they are going and who they are meeting with. Be aware of issues associated with deliberate anti-social behaviour near to the Sands, Durham riverbanks, Holiday Park and Maiden Castle. We are very concerned that students are putting themselves at risk and behaving aggressively towards those who challenge poor or unacceptable behaviour. Please discuss this with your child so that they avoid making mistakes that might have very serious consequences. Gatherings are being planned and shared via social media and involve children from all secondary schools, with some students making very poor decisions. I’m sorry to have to share such an update again, but all schools have a safeguarding commitment to young people and parents and carers need to be made aware.
I hope that our students make the right decisions and enjoy the weekend without having a negative impact on others within our community.
Mr O’Sullivan
Parental Summer Survey
A reminder that this survey is still open for responses, closing at 12.00pm on Friday 1st July. Parents and carers with children in different year groups can complete the survey multiple times to reflect their potentially different experiences; each child will experience the school in a way that is unique to them. Parents of Year 11 and 13 can also complete the survey and we would welcome their contribution and thoughts in relation to these pivotal years. We would be very grateful if you could complete the survey, which can be found below.
Important Road Safety Message
A large number of our students walk to school each day alongside the A167 between 7.50 a.m. and 8.20 a.m. The A167 is an extremely busy road and we are very fortunate that there are two footbridges, traffic lights, and we also have two very committed Crossing Patrol Workers to ensure that hundreds of students cross the road safely each day. Please explain to your child the importance of crossing safely and following the instructions given by Crossing Patrol Workers. Students only need to take a risk or make a mistake once for a serious accident to take place. We will remind all students about road safety in form next week and would encourage all parents and carers to have that conversation at home too. Please be very careful when crossing such a busy road and follow the instructions given.
Student access to school network
As you know, the school has recently been rebuilding its IT network. As part of this we have had to reset all Teams/SIMS passwords, and students need the following to access Office 365:
School email address: This has not changed.
Password: This has been set to students’ old username – two numbers, two letters and then two numbers. This is what students used to log on to computers within the school building.
Example:
Email: potterh@durhamjohnston.org.uk
Password: 09DH74
RSE Events
Next week we are running 2 RSE events. The first is centred around consent and is delivered by an outside agency with years of experience in the police safeguarding team. The workshop is two hours and explores the concept of consent and the law. The second event is delivered to Year 8 by our external RSE provider Stevenson Training, with whom we have worked for 6 years. It will cover the National Curriculum's RSE focus for Year 8.
If you have any queries, please email school@durhamjohnston.org.uk marked for the attention of Mr Blake.
Mr Blake
Lead Teacher for RSE
UKESF Girls into Electronics Day
Last week, 11 students from Year 10 took part in a UK Electronic Skills Foundation ‘Girls into Electronics’ day at Newcastle University. The day started with lectures from the Head of Engineering, and external speakers promoting girls in STEM, and ended with students taking part in demonstrations and practicals. In the practical sessions, all students were provided with electronics kit that they were taught how to use, then allowed to take away with them to continue learning from at home. Well done to all the students, who were fantastic ambassadors for the school, and helped to make the day a great success.
Mrs Lennon
Science Department
Careers and Guidance Department Notices
Please click here to view the latest Careers and Enrichment Notices
Mr Kennedy
Subject Leader for Guidance
Sixth Form Notices
Please click the link below to read the weekly digest of news and information for Sixth Form Students.
Music Notices
Please find below details of the final two music events for this term and details of the planned events for next academic year.
School Music Festival - Friday 1st July
The 2022 School Music Festival will take place on the evening of Friday 1st July in James Hall and there will be three classes to which parents and supporters of the participants are warmly welcome. Tickets are not required for this event.
|
Class 1 (Grade 1-3) |
Whinney Hill Music Cup |
6.00pm |
|
Class 2 (Grade 4-5) |
Crossgate Moor Music Cup |
6.45pm |
|
Class 3 (Grade 6+) |
Durham Johnston School Music Cup |
7.45 pm * |
* Please note the earlier start time
Music for a Summer Evening – Thursday 7th July – 7.00pm
If you would like to attend, tickets are available from the Music Department at a cost of £7.00. This includes food and your first drink and please note that performers still need to purchase a ticket to cover refreshment costs.
Music Performances 2022-2023
Christmas Concerts: Thursday 8th & Friday 9th December 2022, James Hall
Carol Service: Friday 16th December 2022, Durham Cathedral
Chamber Choir Evensong: Monday 23rd January 2023, Durham Cathedral
Spring Concerts: Wednesday 29th & Friday 31st March 2023, James Hall
Music Festival: Thursday 29th June 2023, James Hall
Music for a Summer Evening: Thursday 6th July 2023, Atrium Café
Mr Holmes
Subject Leader for Music
PE News
Firstly, a huge thank you to our Year 8s who made the Malaga sports trip last week such a success. Everyone had a great time, and they received several complements from hotel staff and other guests.
After that trip, we have been catching up on fixtures this week as we have had 6 boys’ cricket matches, 2 girls’ cricket tournaments, five tennis matches, an athletics competition and a basketball match.
The boys’ cricket in summary:
- U14 cricket team beat High Tunstall by 10 wickets and now take on Durham School today in the county quarter-final.
- U15 cricket team beat St Leonard's by 6 wickets to reach the Tyneside Cup cricket semi-final.
- Year 7 cricket team beat St Aidan's by 9 wickets to reach the county cup semi-final where they face Durham School this morning.
- U13 cricket team beat Whitburn by 2 runs to reach the county cup quarter final.
- Good luck to Year 7 and U14 teams who take on Durham School today.
On Wednesday, our Junior and Inter athletics teams were at Monkton Stadium competing in the Tyneside Championships. The standard was very high as the best schools in the region took part. We had several wins as our Junior team finished in 3rd place and our Inter team finished 4th.
Yesterday, we had 5 tennis teams at Yarm School. It was an outstanding afternoon of tennis in very hot conditions. Our U13 girls' and U13B boys' teams won 4 - 2 and 6 - 0. Our other three teams lost close matches.
Also yesterday, our U13 and U15 girls’ cricket teams were at Burnopfield CC competing in the County finals. Our U13 beat High Tunstall, Ferryhill and Boldon to reach the finals. The final match was against High Tunstall again but this time they beat us by 6 runs. However, we still qualified for the regional finals, to be held at Rockcliffe Cricket Club on 6th July (the same day as our sports presentation evening!!). Our U15 were beaten by English Martyrs in their first match but convincingly beat Belmont and Whitburn to make the final. Our U15 team were beaten by just 5 runs so did not quite qualify for the Regional rounds.
Finally, good luck to our Year 7 basketball team who are playing at Dame Allens this afternoon.
Mr Hopper
Subject Leader for PE