Newsletter 25/10/2024

Associate Principal's Message

Dear families,

I think it’s fair to say this last eight weeks have zipped by. There has been so much to celebrate and reflect on in terms of our scholars so far. Our attendance is improving, our achievement point to behaviour point ratio is getting better week by week and I’ve been impressed by the manners continually demonstrated by scholars day in, day out. It was great to see so many scholars and their families take part in the Y11 Climbing The Mountain Evening; feedback from external providers was that they were impressed by the ambition and interest shown in scholars ‘best next step’, which is lovely to hear.

Lots of events are taking place in the local area over the half term break; can I remind you about the Dearne Dates for your Diary section of this newsletter, and recommend that you follow the Barnsley Dearne Area group on Facebook to see additional activities you and your family could get involved with over the holiday period.

Be it celebrating Halloween, having a bonfire or simply enjoying the break with friends and family, on behalf of everyone at Astrea Academy Dearne I wish you a safe and restful half term holiday, and look forward to seeing all scholars fresh and energised on Tuesday 5^th November.

Kind regards

Mr Arezoo
Associate Principal

Key Dates

Monday 28th October – Friday 1st November – Half term
Monday 4th November – INSET Day
Tuesday 5th November –Friday 29th November – Year 11 Mock exams
Wednesday 20th November – Year 10 Subject Review Evening
Wednesday 20th November – We Care into Future trip (Y9 Careers)
Tuesday 3rd December – England Lionesses Trip (KS3)
Thursday 5th December – Go Higher Trip (Y8,9,10 Careers trip)
Friday 6th December – INSET Day
Friday 13th December – Flu vaccinations (All year groups)
Monday 16th December – Y11 Mock Results Day
Wednesday 18th December – Year 11 Subject Review Evening
Monday 23rd December – Friday 3rd January – Christmas break
Monday 6th January – INSET Day
Wednesday 29th January – Year 7 Subject Review Evening
Monday 17th February – Friday 21st February – Half term
Wednesday 5th March – Year 9 Subject Review Evening
Friday 21st March – INSET Day
Wednesday 26th March – Year 9 Options Event
Monday 7th April – Friday 18th April – Easter break
Monday 21st April – Easter Monday Bank Holiday (school closed)
Monday 5th May – May Day Bank Holiday (school closed)
Wednesday 21st May – Year 8 Subject Review Evening
Monday 25th May – Friday 30th May – Half term
Monday 23rd June – INSET Day
Wednesday 16th July and Thursday 17th July – Year 6 Transition
Friday 18th July – Last day of school
Monday 21st July – INSET Day
Tuesday 22nd July – INSET Day

Dearne Dates for your Diary

Please click here for Dearne Dates for Your Diary

Homework Schedule

Please see the homework schedule for all scholars:

KS3 Homework (Year 7, 8 and 9)
Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Sparx Science	Self-Quizzing	Sparx Maths	Self-Quizzing	Sparx Reader


KS4 Homework (Year 10 and 11)
Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Sparx Maths	English	Science	Option A	Knowledge Quizzes
Sparx Maths	English	Science	Option C	Option B

Please click here to access the Astrea Academy Dearne Homework Policy.

Safeguarding

Please see below information sheet which offers advice to parents and carers around horror films and making sure they are appropriate for our young people.

Community Events

Family Advice

Drop-In Flu and Covid-19 Vaccinations

To ensure key information is at parents fingertips, we are trialling the use of a new WhatsApp Channel to share key whole school messages.

Please follow and share with other families in the Astrea Dearne Community. Don’t forget to turn on notifications!

Here is the link to the channel:

Term Dates

Term dates for the 2024/2025 academic year can be found below.

We do have spare paper copies in the academy reception if you would like to collect one.

Vaccinations

The school nursing team will be in school on the dates below for vaccinations:

13th December – Flu vaccinations (Year 7 to 11)

29th January – HPV (Year 8)

22nd and 23rd April – DTP/MenACWY (Year 9 only)

10th July – Catch up session for all year groups

MCAS

All payments for school are now made via the MyChildAtSchool App. You can top up lunch accounts using the dinner icon within the App. You will then be given the option to ‘add dinner money’.

Menus

Our catering menus have been updated for the Autumn term. Please see the link here for the new menu.

Nut Free School

Please note that our school is a nut free zone. We have scholars and members of staff in school who have serious nut allergies. Please do not send scholars into school with any products which may contain nuts.

Absence Reminder

What should I do if my child is absent from school?

Students are legally required to attend school every day and should only be absent in real emergencies. If your child is not in school, they must have a justified reason.

If your child is absent from school, please contact school before 8.30am and leave a message clearly stating the reason for the absence.

Telephone our dedicated absence lines 01709 892211 (Option 2)

Send a message via the ‘My Child At School’ app

Year 7 Mrs Parkin – Clare.Parkin@astreadearne.org
Year 8 Mr Crew – Gary.Crew@astreadearne.org
Year 9 Mrs Wheatcroft – jocelyn.wheatcroft@astreadearne.org/Mrs Laycock – Lindsey.laycock@astreadearne.org
Year 10 Mrs Mason – Julie.Mason@astreadearne.org
Year 11 Mrs Dickinson – Keeley.Dickinson@astreadearne.org

Vacancies

We currently have vacancies to join our team at Astrea Academy Dearne. Please see below for a link to the My New Term recruitment site. Please contact school if you would like any further information.

Astrea Academy Dearne – MyNewTerm

Communications

You can contact us by calling reception on 01709 892211 or emailing info@astreadearne.org

We use the My Child At School (MCAS) to communicate with our parents and carers. MCAS is the online platform that allows us to share information live with you. It enables families to view live data including a student’s timetable, list of teachers, number of rewards and behaviour points and so on. If you have not yet registered for MCAS and would like some support to do so please contact school reception or you can follow this guide MCAS and Communication – Dearne Academy (astreadearne.org