Parent Newsletter 13/12/2024

Associate Principal's Message

Dear families,

It was our Y11 mock results evening on Tuesday, where scholars had a ‘trial run’ of the real results day in August. The sense of anticipation when scholars received their envelopes was palpable! Year 11 now have a clear idea of where they are at in that journey, and what’s required to realise their future goals. It was a pleasure to talk to so many parents and carers, and the ambition of so many of our scholars to go on to wonderful opportunities at post-16, matched with your support, will be a driving force in them achieving great things next summer.

I was delighted to observe Y7 and Y8 offer appreciations to classmates and teachers in Thursday’s morning meeting. We know that offering gratitude to those we spend time with every day is a great way of developing a positive culture and build resilient mental health, and this was just a small part of the work we do to support all scholars. It was great to see so many smiling and appreciative faces.

Finally – as always there is lots of information in our newsletter, not just about school but things going on in the local community; if you think we can improve or add to what we share with you each week, do let us know.

Have a great weekend, and here’s to a fantastic last week of term ahead.

Kind regards

Mr Arezoo
Associate Principal

Key Dates

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

Christmas Dinner 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

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

With the winter break fast approaching, Kooth Digital Health appreciate there will be some young people who may struggle during the holidays without the access to the daily pastoral support, teaching staff and friends that the school community provides.

Seasonal illness and the closure of many services at this time of year can also lead to extended wait times for support across both adult and young people’s NHS and community services.

Kooth Digital Health offers free and anonymous therapeutic mental health and wellbeing support to young people in Barnsley aged between 10- 25. Funded and endorsed by the NHS South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, their services remain available over the winter period, offering ‘on the day’ wellbeing support from the comfort of your own home, via any web-enabled device via the following website:

www.kooth.com

Kooth offers free access to online text-based practitioner chats, self help tools and activities, journal spaces and advice from our non-judgemental, safe and moderated peer:peer communities.

With no threshold, waiting list or referral process, young people in Barnsley can access support for ANY issues they may be experiencing. These may include: body image, self-esteem, loneliness, bereavement, academic pressures, stress, anxiety, friendships, sexuality, life changes etc.

The registration process is quick, anonymous and safe, simply by registering at www.kooth.com using non-identifiable information.

Kooth delivers thousands of online wellbeing sessions each year in Local Authorities across the UK. As 50% of referrals to CAMHS are unfortunately deemed inappropriate to their criteria, Kooth gives schools, professionals and families an alternative way of ensuring children and young people can access free support when they need it, in a way that they find comfortable to access, via any web-enabled device.

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