Newsletter 5th July 2024

Associate Principal Appointment

We are delighted to share the news that Mr Amir Arezoo has been appointed as Associate Principal of Astrea Academy Dearne and will take up the role from September. Mrs Emma Glover will continue the role of Executive Principal.

Mr Arezoo joined Astrea Trust in September 2023 as Deputy Director of Curriculum. A proud Barnsley resident, Mr Arezoo has worked in secondary schools within Barnsley and neighbouring local authorities for many years in a variety of senior leadership roles. He will bring his wealth of experience and expertise to the Associate Principal role.

We have the greatest confidence that under his leadership, Astrea Academy Dearne will continue its clear path to excellence and deliver on our mission to give every child a brilliant education. Mr Arezoo is looking forward to working with the school community as we move into this next phase of the academy’s journey.

Term Dates

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

Key Dates

Monday 8th July – Year 7 Presentation Evening
Tuesday 9th July – Catch Up Vaccinations
Thursday 11th July – Year 8 Presentation Evening
Monday 15th July – Year 9 Presentation Evening
Tuesday 16th July – Alton Towers Rewards Trip
Wednesday 17th July – Year 10 Presentation Evening
Wednesday 17th and Thursday 18th July – Year 6 Transition
Thursday 18th July – Y6 Transition Celebration Evening
Thursday 18th July – Year 7 University trip
Friday 19th July – Sports Day (change of date)
Friday 19th July – Last day of term
Monday 22nd July – INSET Day
Tuesday 23rd July – 31st August – Summer Holiday
Thursday 22nd August – GCSE Results Day

Presentation Evenings

Presentation Evenings will take place during the final two weeks of the summer term on the following dates:

Y7 – Monday 8^th July
Y8 – Thursday 11^th July
Y9 – Monday 15^th July
Y10 – Wednesday 17^th July

Each year group is divided into two banding groups – North or South.

There will be separate timings for each band:

North (n) Band: 3:45pm – 4:15pm

South (s) Band: 4:30pm – 5:00pm

Year Group	North	South
7	7GBR 7SFH 7TSS	7AUN 7JCA 7ORH
8	8DCN 8MCO 8LCL	8ECN 8VOY 8TJE
9	9HCE 9VGS 9BSE	9SLY 9DSN 9RJN
10	10n/Ma1 10n/Ma2 10n/Ma3	10s/Ma1 10s/Ma2 10s/Ma3

Any scholars and families intending to attend, please arrive via school reception 10-15 minutes before your event start time.

Each celebration event will include the following awards:

Subject Awards – Merit
Subject Awards – Distinction
Academic Achievement/Progress Award
Behaviour & Attitude Award
Academic Year Lead Award
Pastoral Year Lead Award
100% Attendance Awards

An incredible number of scholars have managed to achieve an impressive total of positive points this academic year. There may be an opportunity to award the positive points badges on the evening. If this is not possible, they will be presented at a later date.

For more information about your child’s timetable and classes, refer to the timetable tab on the MCAS application.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to get in touch.

Parent Governors

All parents, carers and guardians of children at the school are eligible to be candidates for the two parent committee member vacancies. If you would like to be considered, please send a letter and CV, if available, addressed to the Principal, by Friday 12th July at 9am, Emailed applications can be submitted to Hannah Peace, PA to the Principal at Hannah.peace@astreadearne.org. The letter should contain a short passage setting out why you would like to join the committee. Applicants will be considered based on the gaps in skills and knowledge on the local committee. If there are more suitable candidates than vacancies, a ballot of parents will be held. For further information please see the link here.

Safeguarding

Water Safety

With warm weather on the way, it is important we continue to have vital conversations with our children and young people around water safety. Every year, 400 people in the UK will drown, most of which are able to swim. Young people do not always understand the risks of tides and currents in open water and can enter the water with friends and place themselves at risk. We are fortunate to have lots of beautiful areas of open water in our area, such as Manvers Lake, but it is important our children know how to keep themselves safe in these places. South Yorkshire Fire have recently released a hard-hitting video about Sam Haycock, a 16 year old boy from Rotherham who tragically died in 2021 at Ulley Reservoir. Please see the below link that will take you to the short film about his death. There is also a link from the RNLI with advice and tips on keeping safe in the water this summer.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/4B9Z34tBUufvjfP5/?mibextid=UalRPS

https://rnli.org/safety/choose-your-activity/open-water-swimming

Community Events

Sparx Maths

The maths department is really pleased with how our scholars are approaching their homework and we are sure it will lead to improved GCSE grades in the long term. Well done to all scholars who completed their homework.

The department offers support for homework on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays after school so please use them to support you if needed.

The DEADLINE for KS3 homework is 7am every Wednesday and for KS4, the deadline is 7am every Monday. Failure to complete by these days results in the SPARX support club and a detention if this is not attended.

Year 7	81%
Year 8	85%
Year 9	76%
Year 10	69%

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 Bann – Emma.Bann@astreadearne.org
Year 8 Mrs Wheatcroft – jocelyn.wheatcroft@astreadearne.org
Year 9 Mrs Mason – Julie.Mason@astreadearne.org
Year 10 – Mrs Dickinson – Keeley.Dickinson@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 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)