27 January 2025
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Dear Parents and Carers,
Apologies for the belated Friday bulletin. Storm Éowyn meant that both we and the bus company deemed it unsafe for students to travel home on their usual double deckers so we had to make alternative arrangements. This took key staff members away from their usual duties.
The impact of Storm Éowyn was felt all over the UK, especially in Northern Ireland and Scotland where the aftermath continues to cause disruption. There were many stories of how people reacted differently in the face of adversity during the storm, and it made me reflect on the "storms" that our students experience in their time at school. A storm to a student might be a friendship fallout, upcoming exams or assessments, an injury, a worry about a friend or family member or a personal challenge. These can be difficult times for a child to navigate but, in many ways, it is through moments like these that resilience emerges and can become a student’s greatest ally.
Resilience is more than being able to get back up when life has knocked you. Resilience is about finding strength in vulnerability and empowering children to deal with adversity and emerge stronger than they were before. It is about building a foundation of self-belief and optimism.
It is my belief that resilience is one of the most important character traits we can cultivate in our students. Like a muscle, we strengthen resilience through practice and perseverance. For some of our students it’s about helping them manage uncertainty. For others it’s about embracing mistakes and giving students a safe space to make mistakes and learn from them. Sometimes when children are catastrophising a situation they need us to challenge their beliefs and help them see a different perspective. It is often in challenging times that we are reminded of the power of community. Just as a sailor couldn’t steer through rough seas without the support of their shipmates, it is important that students know they don’t have to navigate through difficult situations on their own. This is something we work hard to reinforce in school as I am sure you do at home.
I hope you all had a safe weekend.
Mrs McFadden
What is my child learning?
In the Learning section of our website, you can find guidance on what every student at the school is studying. As well as an overview of our curriculum and principles behind it, you can find an overview of each subject area.
You can also find Assessment Calendars, and a guide to the content being covered in every subject and how you can support your child for each half term here: Year 7 | Year 8 | Year 9 | Year 10 | Year 11 | Year 12 | Year 13
Attendance
Please click here to see advice from the NHS and gov.uk about keeping children off school in case of illness.
Year 9 Immunisations
The School Age Immunisation Service will be in school on 5th March to administer the Tetanus, Diphtheria and Polio (Td/iPV) and Meningitis ACWY (Men ACWY) vaccination to Year 9 students. Parents and carers can complete either the relevant consent form or a refusal for the vaccinations at the link below. The link contains the consent form and additional information such as FAQs regarding the vaccination.
The link will close on 26th February 2025.
If you have any problems accessing the link, please telephone 0333 358 3397.
English Department News
GCSE set text performances
The English department have a handful of tickets left for the Year 11 trip to see 'An Inspector Calls' at Sunderland Empire on Thursday 10th April at 2.30pm. This is a brilliant opportunity to see a performance of the GCSE English Literature text just ahead of the summer exam. Tickets are available from Mrs Aiken and cost £27.50, including coach to and from the theatre. See Mrs Aiken for a letter. Be quick - first come first served.
Limited screenings of the newest West End performance of 'Macbeth' are being shown in cinemas in February. Year 10 and Year 11 are studying 'Macbeth' for GCSE English Literature and seeing this performance would enhance student understanding. Find tickets here: Macbeth: David Tennant & Cush Jumbo in cinemas | In cinemas worldwide from 5 February 2025 Please note: this is not a school trip.
Library Update
A new wishlist for books for the school library is live on the Collected books website. This list has been collated especially by Year 10 students who have been working with Miss Bailey to write reviews of their favourite books to share with Key Stage 3 students. Thank you for your ongoing support in resourcing new the library, which is due to open shortly. Some Year 8 students were lucky enough to have a preview of it on Friday and selected books to read with sixth formers.
Collected Books Library Wishlist
We would also like to thank the family of a former student, Catherine Dean, who have bought a huge selection of books for our library. We are incredibly grateful!
The English Department
Business Department News
On Wednesday our Year 12 Business students were invited to Erwin Hymer in Delves Lane to meet with staff from each of the key functions. An excellent opportunity for our sixth formers to experience first-hand how businesses operate in the real world. Students spoke with senior figures from marketing, operations, quality, HR and finance, and each person gave us a real insight into how each function works. They discussed the demands on the business and how the current economic climate and lifestyle trends are impacting both sales and demand for new products. We were given a tour of the factory which was very interesting, and we saw each stage of the build for several of their products. The new XPLORE campervan was a huge hit - clearly showing it would be suitable for their future target market (just as marketing had predicted!). Thank you to Erwin Hymer for welcoming us - the students got so much from it, and it will really aid them in their studies!
Future Business Magnates
Last week the Future Business Magnates team were back in action - students visited the Riverside Cricket Ground in Chester-Le-Street to take part in workshops on Finance and Law. Guest speakers delivered the sessions which taught students about intellectual property rights, types of ownership and how to patent their idea/product. Students also took part in a range of marketing challenges; they developed the concept for their project and brainstormed ideas in relation to the logo and aesthetics of the brand. Students then worked together to develop a pitch which they then delivered to the FBM panel. The students excelled, with everyone contributing - their planning, confidence and can-do attitude really shone through - well done Year 8 - you are a credit to the school!
Miss Forbes
Subject Leader for Business & Computing
CityScapes Challenge winners
GCSE Computer Scientists were given the challenge over the Christmas period of creating a city skyline using Python Turtle. The challenge is inspired by classic city silhouette art (see below for an example).
The joint-winners this year are Masha Z-P and Ben B for their unique takes on city skyline art. Congratulations to both of them, they have earned 15 house points each! Masha's program produced a fantastic sun-set skyline city and fireworks, while Ben's program produced a Japenese-themed city setting, with Mount Fuji included.
It was impossible to decide a winner between the two as they both showcase excellent Python programming skills.
If you are in Year 9 and planning on studying GCSE Computer Science, try out Python Turtle to see what you can create for next year!
Mr O'Connor
Lead Teacher of KS4/KS5 Computer Science
Macmillan Donation
Last week we received confirmation of our donation of £1000 to support the Macmillan centre in South Tyneside, raised in the summer term by our annual colour run event. We hold this every year to celebrate the life of Miss Bittlestone, who we sadly lost to cancer in 2016. The colour run is an amazing event full of laughter as the students have fun making their way round the course - just what she would have loved! They were joined by Miss Bittlestone's daughter who is now in Year 8 at her school. Lots of powdered paint, obstacles, a load of super-soakers, a slip n' slide and a great time! The runners raised a significant amount, and the house system topped this up to make the total donation of £1000. Thank you to all involved, especially the house leads and PE department who always help to run the event - we go again in the summer (extra super-soakers at the ready!).
Miss Forbes
Senior Teacher, the House System
PE News
Last Friday our U16 boys’ table tennis team had an early start as they travelled to Bradford Grammar School for the northern regional finals. It was an outstanding day of high-quality table tennis. We finished our group matches with an excellent 6-1 victory against the hosts. Unfortunately, we just missed out on the semi-finals but ended the day in 5th place in the north after a comfortable victory in the 5th/6th play off against Polam Hall.
Also last Friday our Year 10 basketball finished runners-up in the Tyneside tournament after losing the final game to a strong team from St Cuthbert's.
Table tennis continued on Monday as our U16 team took part in the Tyneside finals at NSB. This competition was more straightforward as we won all our matches to become Tyneside champions.
Our Monday afternoon our U14 girls’ basketball team hosted Didsbury High School, Manchester, in the English Schools Cup. We started well but struggled to score as the game went on eventually losing 60 - 25. Grace C and Ellie R were joint POMs. They finished 3rd in the North of England group - well done.
On Tuesday our Year 7 boys’ football team were at Shotton Hall in the quarter-finals of the County Cup. It was one of those nights as we just couldn't score despite plenty of possession. We eventually lost 2-0 with Rory H and Cooper R joint POMs.
On Wednesday twelve of our Y11 vocational PE students were at Freeman's Quay acting as officials at the Durham & Chester-Le-Street Key Stage 2 swimming gala. They were timekeeping and organising races throughout the morning. They did an amazing job and were congratulated by the organisers.
Later on Wednesday it was the turn of our U13 boys to compete in the Tyneside table tennis finals at NSB. This time we had two teams entered. Our A team produced an excellent team performance to win the competition and become Tyneside champions. Our B team also did incredibly well, finishing in 3rd place.
Finally on Wednesday our U18 rugby team hosted Parkview in a friendly. This was an excellent, physical game in which we trailed for the majority. However, we produced a strong finish to come away bruised but victorious.
On Thursday afternoon our U13 boys and girls handball teams travelled to Maiden Castle to take part in a training session with the Durham University team. This was an excellent opportunity for our players. They also got stay and watch some of the Uni training session. Thank you to the team for giving up their time to help. It was excellent preparation for the county tournaments which start next week.
Also on Thursday, our U14 girls football team took on Cardinal Hume, a very strong team, in the County Cup. However, we started well scoring the opening goal. Unfortunately they took control of the game, and went on to beat us 9-1. POM was Freya B who showed an excellent attitude throughout the game.
Our school ski-trip left for Italy yesterday morning and arrived safely for what promises to be an amazing week of skiing. You can follow their adventures on Instagram - @djcspe.
Mr Hopper
Subject Leader for PE
A reminder of our weekly sports bulletin:
Sports Bulletin
