Dear Parents/Carers,

What a wonderful week it's been at Danebury. The sunshine has been a welcome addition, and it's been lovely to see our pupils making the most of our outdoor spaces and sports equipment during break times.

The highlight of my week was visiting all the LORIC groups on Friday lesson 5. It was brilliant to see everyone working together, having fun and fully engaged in their chosen projects. LORIC (Leadership, Organisation, Resilience, Initiative and Communication skills) is a central part of our Personal Development and Well-Being curriculum. We are passionate about educating the whole child to thrive personally and academically. The vision for LORIC is to have each project delivered by outside agencies and specialists from a range of sectors. Many thanks to Mrs Armstrong for introducing Spanish this term, such an excellent opportunity to learn a new language. For September, we have had confirmation that the Army Cadets, Duke of Edinburgh Award will run and we’re awaiting confirmation from Police Cadets. Huge thanks to Mrs Elgar and Mrs Cleaver-Bailey for creating these brilliant opportunities. If you have a skill or a passion which would help our pupils exercise and develop their LORIC skills, please do get in contact with Mrs Cleaver-Bailey cleaver-baileys@danebury.hispmat.org who is planning the projects for September. LORIC is always on Friday afternoon 2:05pm-3:05pm, projects last for 12 weeks (one term), a member of staff will accompany each project.

I would like to congratulate Year 11 for their continued attitude to learning and effort in the last few weeks of their schooling. During LORIC time, they have been attending Master Classes in their core subjects. The quality of their creative writing (on Friday lesson 5) was incredible, as well as their focus in Science, Maths and Further Maths.

This week has also been particularly exciting on the recruitment front. Despite the well-documented national recruitment and retention crisis affecting schools across the country, we've had a number of prospective teachers visit us to find out more about the Danebury Community. It's been wonderful to showcase what makes our school special, and I'm delighted to say that these visits have been followed by a number of applications. This is a real testament to the positive culture and ethos that our staff and pupils have created together.

On Thursday, it was a pleasure to welcome Year 8 parents and carers into school. Thank you so much for taking the time to attend and for the constructive feedback and kind words you've shared. Your engagement and support mean a great deal to us.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to update you on one of our key areas for development – improving the quality of homework. We recognise that homework plays an important role in consolidating learning, and we've been working hard to ensure it's purposeful and well-structured. Going forward, pupils will experience a blend of retrieval practice and practice or application tasks. During weeks one and two of each half term, the focus will be on securing basic knowledge through activities such as Educake or alternative retrieval practice tasks. Weeks three and four will then move into practice and application tasks, designed to help prepare pupils for the mini-assessments that take place at the end of each half term. At the end of each full term, pupils will take summative assessments, and the grades and marks will be collected and shared with you on your child's end of term report as normal. We'd also encourage all pupils to read at home – reading remains one of the most powerful tools for developing knowledge and understanding across all subjects.

Celebrations.

• I'd like to offer a huge well done to Bertie P for designing and making an incredible 3D skull – the attention to detail and skill involved in the design process was superb.
• Congratulations to Ellie D on her fantastic achievements at the National Winter Dressage Championships.
• To Phoebe L for winning gold in the 200m free swim.
• I'd also like to recognise our intrepid Year 11 explorers who have completed their practice expedition for their Silver Duke of Edinburgh Awards – you should be very proud.
• Well done to the Year 10 boys’ football team who played in a tournament at Sparsholt last week. Great teamwork and resilience was demonstrated throughout!
• A big shout out to our wonderful PTA, Hebe and Hattie, for all their hard work at the Broughton Jumble Sale, raising funds for educational resources for our pupils at Danebury and Broughton Primary School.

Notices

We have a Complex Behaviour specialist – Kate Locke coming in on Wednesday at 6pm to deliver a session on the neurology of the ADHD brain. Everyone is welcome. If you'd like to attend, please do sign up via the link that was sent out to you last week in an email.

On a practical note, as we continue to enjoy this warm spell, please ensure your child attends school in the correct uniform – coats can remain at home during warmer spells of weather.

We'd also like to make an appeal: we lend out a considerable number of ties and spare shoes, and we've now run out of ties. Some pupils have been given at least three ties, along with spare shoes. We really need these back to ensure we can continue to support other pupils in the future.

Please ensure your child has a reusable water bottle with them each day. It’s crucial for pupils to remain hydrated throughout the day to help them focus and learn.

Enjoy the sunshine.

Warm wishes

Nicky Goodridge