Parent Newsletter 06/12/2024

Associate Principal's Message

Dear families,

As well as badges, appreciations and ‘break with a cake’, this half-term has seen a raft of rewards and experiences on offer for our scholars, for example:

We’ve celebrated our Y11 scholars’ hard work last month through our ‘November to Remember’ campaign, including a pizza and doughnut Friday treat last week (featuring a wonderful musical accompaniment from Mr Atkinson);
A group of Y7, Y8 and Y9 scholars had the chance to cheer on the England Lionesses at Bramall Lane on Tuesday night;
And a number of our Eleos scholars were given the chance to have breakfast with members of the community at the Snap Tin on Wednesday.

We know events like these will be memorable for years to come for the young people in our care, and whilst we’ll never apologise for having the highest of expectations in their studies, we know that these enriching life experiences matter too.

Talking of life experiences; Y11 Athena scholars took part in their Hospitality and Catering practical exam this week; the quality of their food and standard of presentation was exceptional, and they should be very proud of their efforts – it’s a shame I wasn’t allowed to sample their work…

Finally – if you want to know more about the Enrichment offer we have in school, including our range of after-school clubs, do click here to read our Enrichment Booklet – there is something for every scholar!

Have a great weekend, and I look forward to seeing all scholars in school as normal on Monday.

Kind regards

Mr Arezoo

Associate Principal

Key Dates

Friday 6th December – INSET Day
Tuesday 10th December – Y11 Mock Results Day
Wednesday 11^th December – Higher Education Progression Partnership (HEPP) Multiple Intervention Workshop 1 (Y8/Y9)
Friday 13th December – Flu vaccinations (All year groups)
Tuesday 17^th December – Post 16 Options Information Day (Y8-11)
Wednesday 18th December – Year 11 Subject Review Evening
Monday 23rd December – Friday 3rd January – Christmas break
Monday 6th January – INSET Day
Tuesday 21st January – BAE Sytems STEM Workshop (Y7)
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
Tuesday 24^th June – GoFurtherGoHigher (trip 3 Y8-10)
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

Parent and Carer Code of Conduct

Please see here for our Parent and Carer Code of Conduct. This will be displayed around school in meeting rooms and in reception.

Dearne Dates for your Diary

Please click here for up to date Dearne Dates for Your Diary. Local news from the Dearne area team can be found here

Community Events

Barnsley, it’s time to get cooking!

Share your recipes for a chance to win a £30 Barnsley gift card and feature in a community cookbook.

Submit your entries via email to WhatsForTea@barnsley.gov.uk.

All cooking abilities are welcome, as long as the recipes are easy, affordable and nutritious. Entries need to be submitted by an adult aged 18+. Please include the ingredients, a picture of your meal and why you like to make this recipe with your submission.

#WhatsForTeaBarnsley

HeppSY Survey

As a school, we work closely with HeppSY (the Higher Education Progression Partnership South Yorkshire) to promote university as a potential Post-18 pathway.

In order for HeppSY to understand our school’s cohort with regards to aspirations, plans for the future and understanding of Higher Education, they are running the following survey.

If your son/daughter answers all of the questions, they will be entered into a prize draw to win either a £20 or £100 high-street voucher.

Please use this link: https://shusls.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_b15O62ZjNjxrAX4 and the password, SHU, to access the survey.

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 here for flyers with more information on around the workshops/awareness sessions Compass Be are able to run in schools and from next year within Family Hubs borough wide.

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 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