School Alerts

Newsletter 26th January 2024

Key Dates

  • Week commencing 29th January – Year 11 mock speaking exams
  • Week commencing 5th February – Y11 mock examinations
  • Tuesday 6th February – Y8 HPV Vaccinations
  • Thursday 8th February – Year 8 Tutor Review meetings
  • Friday 9th February – INSET Day
  • Monday 12th February – Friday 16th February – Half Term
  • Monday 4th March – Y9 Parents’ Evening
  • Friday 8th March – INSET Day
  • Thursday 14th March – Year 11 Tutor Review Evening
  • Monday 18th March – Y8 Parents’ Evening
  • Monday 25th March – Friday 5th April – Half Term
  • Monday 15th April – Year 10 Parents’ Evening
  • Monday 6th May – Bank Holiday (school closed)
  • Monday 24th June – Year 7 Parents’ Evening
  • Monday 27th May – Friday 31st May – Half Term
  • Friday 28th June – INSET Day
  • Friday 12th July – Sports Day
  • Monday 22nd July – Last day of term
  • Tuesday 23rd July – 31st August – Summer Holiday
  • Thursday 22nd August – GCSE Results Day

Mag locks

From Monday 29th January during lesson times only, internal doors into faculties will be locked using mag locks from the outside only and can only be opened using staff fobs. From the inside, they have a release button (scholar won’t be ‘locked in’ departments). At breaks, lunches and during fire evacuations, these will automatically release. This will ensure that faculty areas and classrooms are always disruption free. Any scholar needing to leave a faculty area, for example to use an allocated toilet pass, will be able to do so with ease. Staff on duty will ensure scholars can return to their lessons promptly.

Combined Cadets Force (CCF) 

We will no longer be running the Combined Cadet Force at Astrea Academy Dearne. This has been an incredibly difficult decision to make and we understand that our community may be disappointed. However, after a review of the provision and the recent staffing difficulties, it is no longer feasible to continue running the CCF effectively.  In place of the CCF, we will be arranging a similar extra-curricular club.  

Start Times of School Day

Here is the run down of the timings for the start of the school day:

8.05am – Breakfast club opens

8.15am – Entry time (if not attending breakfast club)

8.28am – Gate Closes (After this point, your child will be classified as late)

8.30am – Morning meetings promptly start – all scholars will be seated and ready to being their day.

Some scholars are arriving at school before 7.30am and are waiting on the front concourse. We must make it explicitly clear that there is no supervised provision before 8.05am and any scholars waiting on the front of school are left unsupervised at parents own risk.

Phone numbers 

Please ensure that if you change your phone number, that the school office are made aware immediately. We cannot keep children safe if we have a situation where parents cannot be contacted in an emergency.

Meeting Staff

Should a meeting or phone call with staff be required, please note this may take up to 48 hours to arrange a convenient time. As much as we would love to promise that we will get back to you immediately, running a school is very busy and staff are supervising children from 8am until 4.30pm, at a minimum. We also must be aware of staff’s personal circumstances and their start/end times of work.

Attendance Prize Draw

The attendance prize draw for the Autumn term recently took place. Scholars had been awarded tickets into the draw throughout the first term for good weekly attendance. Scholars had the opportunity to put their tickets into the prize draw to win a bike, a TV or an X-box.

Two scholars from Year 8 were successful and one from Year 9. The winners were:
Bike – Jasper Mugabo
TV – Ruby Webster
X-box – Morgan Scrimshaw
Well done to these 3 winners! We are only 8 weeks away from our second big prize draw. The prizes for these draws are being launched with scholars in the coming weeks.

 

Caritas Parent Group

We are delighted to see the return of Caritas and their offer to parents of Astrea Academy Dearne scholars.  The purpose of the Caritas Wellbeing Group is to empower you as parents to understand that your wellbeing is just as important as your child’s.
Their aim is to give you the opportunity to be part of a group which will empower you to give yourself the life you truly deserve.
We all have busy lives which sometimes take over keeping ourselves well. We are not just a mum or just a dad – We are us and our purpose is to help you find you.
Some feedback from the last group of parents who attended the group at Astrea Academy Dearne is below.  If you want to secure a place, or ask for further information, please contact Sarah South on 01709 892211 Ext 1201 or email sarah.south@astreadearne.org. The next group will be held on 8th March 2024 at 9am. An incentive is awarded on completion of the group.
Please see the fantastic feedback from our last parent group!
“The really friendly atmosphere, I have gained more confidence. The ability to say no when needed.” 
“I have gained more confidence, more insight into who I am as a person not just a mother and a wife”. 
“I wasn’t sure if I was going to see this course through but it has helped me more than I thought and was fantastic how it was put across”. 

 

PE Update

Scholars across all year groups have made a fantastic start in PE since returning from the Christmas break. The introduction of new sports on to our curriculum, such as gymnastics and orienteering has been welcomed by scholars and it is great to see scholars fully engaged in these lessons.
Our fixture programme is back up and running and with lighter nights making a return, fixtures in a range of sports will come thick and fast. Our under 13 girls’ football team have an English School’s Cup fixture on Tuesday 6th February against Carleton Community High at home (kick off 3pm). Our Y9 netball team have a tournament at Barnsley College on Thursday 8th February against other secondary schools across Barnsley (3:30pm-5pm). Other fixtures are currently being arranged and scholars will be told when their year group / team have a fixture.
Our extra-curricular clubs are also back up and running. Over the past two weeks, lots of scholars have accessed these. There are currently some rewards trips/events being planned to reward scholars for their commitment to extra-curricular clubs and more information around this will be released in due course.

 

Higher Education

As a parent or carer, we know the cost of higher education study can be daunting. Come along to this online 45-minute information session where Hepp and Student Finance England will explain how student finance works for higher education.

We will give you the facts on:

  • how much money students can receive as a loan or non-repayable bursary/ scholarship
  • the extra financial support they may be eligible for
  • repayments
  • and explain how finance isn’t a barrier to higher education.

Date: Thursday 8th February 2024

Time: 17:00 -17:45

Microsoft Teams Link: Parent and Carer – A guide to student finance

As a school we work closely with HeppSY (Higher Education Progression Partnership South Yorkshire) to promote university as a future option. In order for HeppSY to evaluate the impact of their work, please could you ask your son/daughter to complete the following survey.

For completing the survey, your son/daughter will be entered into a prize draw to win one of 50 £100 or £20 high-street vouchers.

The deadline is 31st January.

Please follow the link below:

https://shusls.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_00x4dcsglhA85pk

Please use the password SHU to access the survey.

Enrichment news

Here are some of our clubs running at lunch time and after school at the academy:

  • History Ambassadors
  • Football
  • Badminton
  • Board Games
  • Design
  • Computer Club
  • German
  • Girls’ Football
  • Debate
  • Chess Club​
  • Book Club
  • Netball
  • Basketball
  • Careers

Please see the Enrichment Timetable​ to find out what your child can get involved in. Scholars can come along and try out a new club at any point in the term, and the only clubs requiring a sign up are  Design Club with Mrs Barry and Duke of Edinburgh.

Clubs are for all scholars of all abilities, are free to attend, and scholars can come to as many clubs as they like. For sports clubs, scholars will need their trainers and PE kit.

A new Board Games Club has started on Tuesdays for all year groups.

Our Year 9 DofE participants joined our Year 10s for their first Duke of Edinburgh training session last Friday, and made a brilliant start to their Award.

Please remind your child that the library is open every lunchtime to browse and borrow books.

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 BannEmma.Bann@astreadearne.org
  • Year 8 Mrs Wheatcroft and Mrs Stringfellowjocelyn.wheatcroft@astreadearne.org and Lydia.Stringfellow@astreadearne.org
  • Year -9 Mrs Mason – Julie.Mason@astreadearne.org
  • Year 10 – Mrs Dickenson – Keeley.Dickenson@astreadearne.org
  • Year 11 – Mr Crew – Gary.Crew@astreadearne.org

Vacancies at Astrea Academy Dearne

We currently have vacancies to join our team at Astrea Academy Dearne. Please see below for a link to the Astrea Academy Trust recruitment site. All applications should be made directly through the Astrea Academy Trust website. Please contact school if you would like any further information.

Search for Jobs (webitrent.com)

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)

Astrea Academy Dearne

Goldthorpe Road

Goldthorpe

Rotherham

S63 9EW

Tel: 01709 892211

Email: info@astreadearne.org

Twitter: @AstreaDearne

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