Dear families of The Deepings School

I have been incredibly impressed with so many students this week.

Early in the week over 25 organisations visited the Deepings to represent careers opportunities within their organisation and sector at our annual careers fair.  Year 9 students and Year 11 students were highly engaged with our visitors, asking questions regarding employability and careers.  Please do read the full news article on the website.  

On Wednesday, the school hosted the Anthem Trust leaders conference.  This is a termly event which is rotated through each Anthem School.  As the host school there is an expectation to put on some entertainment to commence the day.  Students who participated were fantastic!  Our drum club made the building shake with their salsa drumming, followed by a calming piano solo by a Year 10 pianist.  The session was finished by our Year 11 rock band covering an Oasis song.  A somewhat unusual combination of musical genres, yet an excellent showcase of talent.  Well done to everyone involved.

Our newly reformed student council have also had their first formal meeting this week.  Their particular focus was reviewing the new rewards process that has been launched this academic year as a result of student and parent voice before the summer.  The feedback was whilst there has been an increase in the number of rewards being set through both tutor time and lessons, they would like more tangible rewards.  The students have brought a number of sensible ideas to the table, and we are looking to roll this out over the coming weeks as the next phase of developing rewards.   They recognised that teachers and tutors are working harder to log for the positive work that is taking place in lessons.

I have been really heartened this week by students wanting to share their individual success with me when I am out and about in lessons and on duty.  This week I have enjoyed seeing work from students who are proud of their achievements.  This has ranged from gourmet burgers in food technology, to outstanding progress in maths by a student who finds the subject challenging.  Our school values of Kindness, Respect and Ambition are beginning to be much more commonplace in the school which is helps us in our mission for ‘Every student to thrive and feel valued’.

Finally, after the success of children in need, I am delighted to share that we will be supporting Christmas Jumper Day on Thursday 7^th December.  Mr Smith will be launching this with all students in assemblies next week, with our sixth form ambassadors supporting him.  The day supports the work of the charity Save the Children.  As a parent, over the past few years I have been mindful about the appropriateness of encouraging children to wear jumpers and the affordability of this.  Therefore, my decision has been to run it based on the charity focussing on repurposing Christmas jumpers / swapping with friends - ultimately recycling jumpers.  We are collecting nearly new and used Christmas jumpers, if you do have any that children or adults in your household have grown out of, please drop them off at reception where they will be made available to others.

Have a lovely weekend

Ms K Johnson

Headteacher

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This week's news:

News - The Deepings School (anthemtrust.uk)

Coming up:

1 December 2023

Parent Coffee Morning – Learning Development Department

We would like to invite all parents to a session on Sensory Processing and Integration Differences on 1^st December 2023 9:30am- 11:00am. The session will be delivered by the Working Together Team.

The aim of the session is:

• To know what Sensory Processing & Integration means
• To understand how Sensory Processing Differences can impact a child’s behaviour.
• To discuss and consider practical strategies to support.

Sensory processing can affect children in a variety of ways and this session has been put together to help parents understand the affects on daily life and how to further support your child. It is a safe space to ask questions and receive some professional advice. It will also give you the opportunity to meet other families and begin to have a support network.

If you would like to attend please email jaSmith@deepings.anthemtrust.uk or ksutton@deepings.anthemtrust.uk

If attending, please report to reception between 9:15 – 9:30 am

Learning Development Department

13 December 2023

Ask Dan Anything.  This is an online question and answer session for secondary parents.  6pm - 7.30pm.

Please see poster for more information:

Ask-Dan-Anything-Secondary-Parents-13th-December-2023.pdf

Calendar dates:

Calendar - The Deepings School (anthemtrust.uk)

Would you like to teach?

If you are interested in training to become a primary or secondary school teacher, you can read more here:

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