Denmark Road News

Issue 5: May 2019

Dear Parents/Carers On 1st May the whole school joined together to celebrate living here at Denmark Road for 110 years and to welcome the beginning of a new year in the life of our school. Our beginnings The first Girls School in Gloucester, our school, was founded in Mynd House, Barton Street in 1883. On 14th January 1909 the school was opened on this site. A gold key was presented to Lord Stanley who used it to unlock the front door. The gold key was inscribed: “Forever open for the diffusion of sound learning and useful progress”, similar to our wildly important goal today of ‘Nothing less than positive progress and wellbeing for all’. If you are interested in reading more of our history and seeing some pictures from years gone by please follow this link to the Birthday Celebration presentation shared with our students. Many thanks to Rachel Hayward for collating this for us. A constant through generations Many generations of women and now men have passed through these doors and benefitted from the community and learning here. During the Easter holidays I had the great pleasure of welcoming four generations of Denmark Road students back through our doors. Audrey, to celebrate her 90th Birthday, asked to come back with her daughter, granddaughter and great granddaughter (who starts here in September). Her mother also attended our school. For me this says so much about who we are. We are a family, much loved by those who come here and every one of us will always be welcome here. We will always be Denny. Article on page 8. The May Tree – our school emblem In 1933 to celebrate the school’s 50th Jubilee, our May Tree was planted. Miss Penson wanted a wild hawthorn with white blossom to symbolise the high and pure character of the pupils at the School. Today it stands amongst us as a link to the past and our emblem of the future. Our May Tree is a powerful symbol of our school and what we stand for. It stands proud within our garden as we stand proud as individuals, yet it does not overshadow the other trees and shrubs, just as we act in honour preferring one another.

Page 1 of 19 - Denmark Road High School Newsletter – We Discover, Realise, Honour and Shape - Issue 5 – May 2019

It has great beauty in every season, just as we strive to discover and realise our personal best each and every day, and the large symmetrical canopy offers shelter, just as our community binds us all together and will look out for us, wherever we may be. I share this, especially with Year 13 students who will soon be leaving this building for the last time as students. Wherever they may choose to go in their futures, they will always be Denny. Give us a (financial!) HUG As you will be aware from my previous email we also chose to launch our Help Us Grow fundraising campaign on our Birthday. Our future could do with a little financial help to ensure that your sons and daughters have the opportunities they deserve in order to discover and realise their personal best. The campaign aims to raise £125,000 by the summer of 2020. This money will help us to shape the future of the school and enable those within it to flourish. Thank you so much to those who have already completed donation forms and to those who have taken time to state their support for the fundraising initiative. If the email has passed you by or you have not yet donated but would like to, please click on the link below which will take you to our fundraising page. So, here is to the future of Denmark Road High School, our school, which we will work together to shape for the good of our current community and for the generations to come. HELP US GROW ...

Page 2 of 19 - Denmark Road High School Newsletter – We Discover, Realise, Honour and Shape - Issue 5 – May 2019 ESAA Track and Field Cup – May 2019

On Monday 13th May, the school athletics team competed in the English Schools Athletics Cup at The Prince of Wales in Cheltenham. The sun was shining and there were some great performances from many individuals. The year 9 team were competing in an age group up while the year 10's were taking their RS GCSE! They represented themselves and the school fantastically. Notable performances came from Zoe Saunders, Izzy Worgan, Emily Brown and Flo Hampton.

Page 3 of 19 - Denmark Road High School Newsletter – We Discover, Realise, Honour and Shape - Issue 5 – May 2019

My Cycling Experience Advertising Opportunity!! On the 13th and 14th May, I went on a cycling course around Would anyone like to sponsor our Gloucester. upcoming tour to Barbados? If you It was fun and our instructor was nice to us. I enjoyed going would be keen to have your company to Gloucester Docks and The Quays because we had to ride logo on our tour kit please contact Mrs on the paths along the canal. We then went onto the main King at [email protected] road and I was chosen to lead! We rode up to the street and went around a big roundabout. It was a bit scary at first as Jemima Kelly in Year 12 interviewed there were so many moving cars and there was no one in Billy Twelvetrees from GLoudester front of me to follow, but once we got on the roads it just Rugby as a part of her EPQ project came naturally to keep riding. 'Are elite sports performers born or What I learnt made?' I learnt how to cycle safely at a roundabout and how to move into the middle of your lane when turning right. We were told that when you cycle uphill, you should have a lower gear and when you are riding on a flat road, you should have a higher gear as it means you don't have to peddle as much. I really enjoyed the two lessons and would do them again in a heartbeat. I would also like to thank our instructor for making it such fun and so easy. By Zara Afonsom 7K

On May 13th and 14th, I had a great time, completing a cycling course around Gloucester. It was fun and, thankfully, Well done! two very sunny days. The instructors were nice to us and were helpful as well. We cycled to Gloucester Docks and Year 9 students Ruby Earle, Bella Gloucester Quays and we also cycled past the canal. Hollingworth and Freya Simpson- It was a four-hour course over two days. I had my course Hooper got through to the English from 9-11am. We started as a group of 6 but then we got Speaking Union’s Performing separated into pairs. My partner was Zrar. Shakespeare Regional Final. Bella was At first, I was quite nervous about going on to main roads but one of only two winners on the day I soon got used to it. and will now perform at the National We learnt when to move into the middle of the road and final on a West-End stage in London in how to cycle on a roundabout. For the last 30 -40 minutes June. Zara and I were allowed to choose where we wanted to go. Overall, I think it was an enjoyable experience and I would recommend it to anyone. By Sarah George, 7K

Page 4 of 19 - Denmark Road High School Newsletter – We Discover, Realise, Honour and Shape - Issue 5 – May 2019 Denmark Road Cricketers off to The National Finals

Wednesday 22nd May will see the culmination of the indoor cricket season for Denmark Road’s under 15 girls, when they will compete in the National Indoor Cricket Finals at Lord’s cricket ground! The journey to Lord’s began with wins against Newent and King’s School in the District qualifying round, before taking on the best schools in Gloucestershire at UWE in Bristol in March. After winning their three group games comfortably, they faced Rednock in the final, and after a shaky start posted a good score Standing (L to R): Becky Greenough, Maddie Davis, with the bat, before they blew away the Betsy Mangan (captain), Jenny Shrimpton, Fliss Harrison Rednock top order in taking five wickets Kneeling (L to R): Emily Wiles, Katie Jones (wicketkeeper), in the first two overs, eventually running Liv Brock, Grace Matthews, Sophie Paulus out emphatic winners. This meant they represented Gloucestershire at the Midlands Regional Finals at Edgbaston at the start of May. With superb tactical awareness, allied to their excellent skills, they again won their group games convincingly against the best schools from Oxfordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. They faced the impressive Blythe Bridge High School from Staffordshire in the final, and chose an opportune time to post their highest score to date, racking up 106 in their eight overs. An excellent bowling performance saw them reduce Blythe to 70-6 with two overs to go, but this brought Blythe’s leading all-rounder back in, and she played really intelligently to give her team a chance of winning with one over to go. However, needing boundaries to win, she was caught off the first ball of the final over, leaving Denmark Road as the Midlands’ champions! Regional Finals results: Game 1 vs Oxford High School – win by 69 runs  DRHS 97-5 (Katie Jones 18 retired, Sophie Paulus 15 retired, Maddie Davis 10 not out)  OHS 28-8 (Becky Greenough 1-1-0-2) Game 2 vs University of Birmingham School – win by 18 runs  DRHS 93-3 (Katie Jones 16 retired, Betsy Mangan 18 retired, Grace Matthews 13 not out)  UoBS 76-7 (Liv Brock 2-0-20-2, Betsy Mangan 2-0-17-2, Sophie Paulus 1-0-10-2)  CWS 73-6 (Sophie Paulus 1-0-3-2, Maddie Davis 1-0-12-2) Final vs Blythe Bridge High School – win by 19 runs  DRHS 106-5 (Katie Jones 23 not out, Liv Brock 17 retired)  BBHS 87-8 (Betsy Mangan 2-0-26-2, Becky Greenough 1.1-0-12-2) Though their names may not appear in the match summaries above, every player in the squad has made important contributions throughout the competition, particularly with the bat where their selfless attitude and tigerish running between the wickets has helped the team post match winning totals. They are now one of only five teams left in the competition, and will face the other regional winners in a round robin format to see who will be crowned National champions for 2019 – good luck girls! The squad in full: Becky Greenough, Maddie Davis, Betsy Mangan (captain), Jenny Shrimpton, Fliss Harrison, Emily Wiles, Katie Jones (wicketkeeper), Liv Brock, Grace Matthews, Sophie Paulus. Mr Schofield

Page 5 of 19 - Denmark Road High School Newsletter – We Discover, Realise, Honour and Shape - Issue 5 – May 2019 Great Big Dance Off Spanish Exchange

If you are in Year 9 and doing Spanish, you'll soon be finding out about the exchange, so this is what it was like for us this year... We left on 3rd October 2018 to go to Madrid. On

arrival, our partners and their parents whisked us away to our new homes for the week. The week was full of exciting activities such as a trip to the Real Madrid Football Stadium, a zip line in Toledo, La Reina Sofía Museum and the San Ildefonso Palace. We also visited the Ayuntamientos (town halls) in Galapagar and Colmenarejo (the towns our partners lived in) and met the mayors. There were some interesting discussions regarding the heritage of the towns. We also enjoyed shopping in the traditional Spanish towns. Everyone loved Toledo and its famous cobbled streets. We all enjoyed looking at the quirky shops and stalls and the castle in Segovia was incredible. The Spanish teacher from All School Sports the school was very informative and fun to have on the trips out. On the weekends, we tried some Team Members traditional delicacies, such as octopus (pulpo) and Date for Your Diary paella. Quite a lot of students went to Madrid and lots of us went ice skating which was very fun. Sports Review Overall, the trip was a great experience, lots of new Spanish was learnt and the weather was lovely! Evening On the last day, we packed up our bags and had a

8th July – 5.30 pm last meal with our partners before saying goodbye and getting on the coach home. It was sad to go but we knew that in a couple of months they would be High School for Girls' Reunion coming to stay with us in ! Experiencing different Spanish cultures was amazing and i would for ‘old girls’ who were in forms definitely recommend the trip to future students! N,Q & R during 1959-1966 By Liv Brock and Grace Matthews Lunch at Dr Foster's in the Quays on Saturday, 7th September 7th 2019. It will be 60 years since we all started at the school. Partners are welcome. We currently have about 30 attendees, but some people we have been unable to contact. Please email [email protected] if you wish to attend and we will pass your message onto the organiser Julien.

Page 6 of 19 - Denmark Road High School Newsletter – We Discover, Realise, Honour and Shape - Issue 5 – May 2019 The five generations of women who have attended Denmark Road …

It's not often that five generations of women in the same family can say they've all sat at the desks of the same school. So there were celebrations to be had when four of those women can all stand by the front gates together. Sophie Monk, aged 10, is the latest member of the family to walk through the gates of Denmark Road High School in Gloucester. Sophie's grandmother Sally, from Gloucester, remembers her days at the school in the 1990s fondly but says, "The rules were far more relaxed back then. We got away with a lot. Somehow I managed to stay out of trouble but we certainly bent the rules." When asked what she was like as a schoolgirl, Sally says that she was, "unconventional, perhaps." She says: "We would break into the costume department of the school and dress up in all kinds of various dresses and wigs. There weren't half as many health and safety laws back then as there are now." Sally says that she's happy that her granddaughter is soon to be sharing the experience at the school and is "very excited". "Obviously her being the fifth generation attending the school has given her a sense of belonging. "It's a great school and we were so happy when she got in." Denmark Road High has been around over a century, established in 1909 and currently employs 85 staff and has over 850 students. On Wednesday, 10th April Sally, along with her mother Audrey, daughter Lucy and granddaughter Sophie, gathered at the school on Denmark Road to celebrate five generations of women attending it. Despite the passage of time, Audrey, who attended the school during the Second World War, felt herself in familiar surroundings and found the visit "very evocative." She remembered clearly the official planting of the May tree, which has been retained as the school emblem to this day. On entering the Hall Audrey said “I can just imagine myself standing here in my school uniform…I would have been so surprised if anyone had said that one day I’d be standing here with my daughter, granddaughter and great-granddaughter.” Audrey said that part-time attendance became necessary during the war in order to accommodate the evacuee population. The school field was used for air-raid shelters as well as for growing produce. The luminous paint that marked the treads on the staircases for girls taking part in night-time fire watching was still visible when Lucy attended over half a century later. Sally commented that many features in and around the original building have remained unaltered. Her grandmother, Elsie, who attended the school before it moved to Denmark Road, was the only one not in attendance. Some rooms have been partitioned but the general feel of the marble-lined corridors and wood-block flooring is unchanged as is the natural light, particularly in the art room. Sally said that being around all the locations such as the May tree and the front gates of the school brought back memories. "It brought up so many lovely memories. Having all of us there meant so much." Taken from an article by ‘Gloucestershire Live’ April 2019.

Page 7 of 19 - Denmark Road High School Newsletter – We Discover, Realise, Honour and Shape - Issue 5 – May 2019 News from the Learning Resource Centre Life is as busy as ever in the LRC this term! https://capitadiscovery.co.uk/gloslibraries/ The LRC Clubs have seen some changes and meet on Herefordshire: a weekly basis. These include Origami, Murder https://capitadiscovery.co.uk/herefordshire/ Mystery and the Denner/Blue Coat Book Wiltshire: Award Team. Cards and board games https://libraries.wiltshire.gov.uk/web/arena continue to be popular. The Harry Worcestershire: Potter club is taking a break until the https://capitadiscovery.co.uk/worcs/ autumn, but a massive new group met Joining and using the library is completely free of for the first time this week in its place: charge – indeed, you have already paid for the The Fan Fiction Group, run by Cedeal Almawery and service in your Council Tax - and provides access to Amina Abdulahi. many reference materials and online resources as The Carnegie Writers meet at lunchtime on the first well as books. Friday of the month. One of our group, Leigh If you wish to read along with us, the books are as Phillips, is having her writing published in follows: Mission Catastrophe Gloucestershire, edited by Jenni Harrison, and has won the House English Competition with a short story. If your daughter or son enjoys writing and discussions about writing, ask them to contact me, or just to come along to the next meeting, to be held at lunchtime on Friday June 7. The Carnegie Shadowing Team is a little less formal this year due to student commitments, but we are hoping to have a full meeting this week – the group has been reading the 8 nominated books and the Shadowers now need to put a few thoughts on our Carnegie Blog. See: http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/ for more details. Our group will be putting forward suggestions for the Shadowers’ Choice – this is the The Year 9 Denner/Blue Coat Book Award Team are first year that students will have a voice in awarding preparing for our balloon debate with Thomas Rich’s a prize. Year 9 team on Monday June 17. Our Year 9 will listen to the Teams present the pros and cons of each book and vote to create a shortlist of 5 titles. It will be Year 8’s task to promote the shortlisted

books to all Key Stage 3 ready for a vote towards the The Year 7 and Year 8 Battle of the Books House end of Term 6. If your Year 8 daughter would be Teams have collected their 10 books, ready for the interested in becoming part of the Denner/Blue Coat House Quiz at the end of next term. House Points Team, please ask her to see me in the LRC. Again, are awarded for participation as well as for winning, thanks are due to Safiya Ginwalla (13AP) and Leigh and a House Cup will be awarded at the end of the Phillips (10QD) who have guided and supported this summer term. I met with the Teams recently and activity. We also wish Safiya all the very best for the they all seem to be doing a great job with the future, as she departs on study leave. She will be reading. There are one or two books where it has greatly missed for her input to the LRC and for her been difficult to source enough copies. If you are a reliability, optimism, cheerfulness and organisational member of your local library, your daughter should abilities. be able to borrow from them (books held at other Ms James and I are about to launch The Cheltenham libraries can be sent to your local library at no Literature Festival Dystopia Challenge which charge). Links to the 4 local systems are here: celebrates 70 years of the Festival itself and the Gloucestershire: anniversary of the publication of George Orwell's https://capitadiscovery.co.uk/gloslibraries/Page 8 of 19 - Denmark Road High School Newsletter – We Discover, Realise, Honour and Shape - Issue 5 – May 2019

More News from the Learning Resource Centre 1984. This will be a whole school reading activity, with the opportunity, if we have a successful application, of taking a Key Stage 3 team to the Festival itself in October. We have many dystopian books in the LRC – if this is a genre your son or daughter enjoys, please have them borrow one of them and take a review slip for our display!

The LRC has again hosted pupils from Years 4 and 5 at Kingsholm C of E Primary School recently for another book-tasting session. It is always rewarding to listen to children discovering new authors and books and exploring the library. I am looking forward to hosting future groups here. Year 11 students enjoyed two mindfulness lunch hours in the LRC recently. They made it their own, with lots of nostalgia, favourite songs, crafts, playdough, Lego, nasturtium planting and, of course, lashings of cake and squash! Year 13 students also had the opportunity to enjoy a quiet hour with no revision last week – colouring, glitter and cake eating seemed to be the favourites with them. It’s always a poignant time of year in the LRC – it’s sad to see the students leave, but exciting to see them embark on the next stage of their lives. The LRC has registered for the National Book Tokens competition to win £5000 of National Book Tokens. The more entries we have, the more chance there is of winning that coveted prize! You can enter at www.nationalbooktokens.com/schools. Thank you. As you may know, the LRC has an online account with Scholastic, and their leaflets are distributed several times a year to Years 7 and 8. As with the Fair, all purchases benefit the LRC – 25% of the value of Book Club orders is ‘banked’ as credit for the LRC to use for new books. Books are delivered to school early in the new term. Please visit: http://schools.scholastic.co.uk/denmark-road if you would like to take a look. The present deadline for online and paper orders is June 7 2019. Cheques should be made out to Scholastic, not to DRHS. Thank you for your support. The Library Prefect Team are still working hard to keep the LRC tidy. I really appreciate their finding the time to do this in between studying and their many other commitments. They are still adding up the votes for the DRHS Twenty Before Eighteen Reading Wall – we will have the full list soon. Nicole Cheong and Hannah Mattholie have kept shelving books throughout their 2 years in sixth form, so again, another thank you to them and the best of luck with their A Levels. Next term we have much to look forward to: the Dystopia Challenge, Battle of the Books Quiz, Carnegie Medal Awards webcast, Library Week, Denner/Blue Coat debate and voting. Finally, just the usual reminder that all online journals and other such resources are available from your home computer at all times. Students can look at the LRC’s Google Site (Online Resources page) for access to journal articles and much more. These resources are current, reliable, accurate, and authoritative and fit for purpose. Over the holidays, I am always happy to answer emailed questions about how to use them, if students have forgotten that useful skill. Carol Cordall, Librarian

Follow the LRC on Twitter: @DRHS_LRC

Page 9 of 19 - Denmark Road High School Newsletter – We Discover, Realise, Honour and Shape - Issue 5 – May 2019

Year 10 Geography Field Trip to Nettlecombe,

At 7.00 am we departed Gloucester and travelled to Nettlecombe Hall, in the west of Somerset, as part of our geography fieldwork trip. On the afternoon of Day one we travelled to the in the north of Somerset to investigate how the river changed as you go downstream. We travelled down from the river basin, to the source, where we measured the width, depth, velocity of stream and gradient of the river to see if it agreed with the Bradshaw model that we previously studied in class. We found many interesting features of the river such as braiding, tributaries and meanders that travelled down the steep valley, deep set in deciduous woodland. It took up most of the afternoon collecting the fieldwork data and splashing around before returning to Nettlecombe Hall for a follow-up lesson where we reflected on our data and used scatter graphs to asses our data regarding the riverbed and width, issuing this technique to visualise the information we found. On Day 2 we went to to investigate the regeneration of the town. We visited different locations such as Castle Green, Station Boulevard, Firepool Lock and Somerset Square. We assessed the success of the regeneration in each location by seeing if they had achieved what they had promised. For example in Somerset Square, we tried to see if the riverside access had been improved and if the cricket ground was international. Also in Taunton we did questionnaires to find out the public’s perspective on the regeneration and most were pleased with the outcomes of the project. The geography trip was fun and it was very interesting learning about how the characteristics of the River Hulford changed downstream and the regeneration project in Taunton. By Rachael, Ella and Vinuji (10A)

Page 10 of 19 - Denmark Road High School Newsletter – We Discover, Realise, Honour and Shape - Issue 5 – May 2019 Congratulations Sophia! Izzy Fraser-Hook in 10QB was in the successful U16 Stroud Handball team who won the National clubs title over the weekend. Well done!

Sophia Dumbelton in Year 7 won the Enid Barraclough Challenge Cup at the Cheltenham Festival for 1st place in the Poetry Own Composition! She also recently passed her LAMDA exam with over 90%. Well done!

In Year 7 History, students have prepared their own resources to teach each other about slavery

TIC+ provides face-to-face and online

counselling services for young people, family counselling, parent support and psycho- educational workshops. At TIC+ we care. We’re here to listen and support you – not to judge you. Our mission: to improve, preserve and promote good mental health and well-being among young people and their families. Our vision: that every young person in crisis has someone to talk to. We work hard to ensure that our service is as accessible as possible please click here for more information. TIC+ (TICplus) is an operating name of the charity Teens in Crisis established in 1993. Charity No. 1045429.

Page 11 of 19 - Denmark Road High School Newsletter – We Discover, Realise, Honour and Shape - Issue 5 – May 2019 Jazz it Up @ The Cheltenham Festival Help us win £5,000 for our I've been going to the Jazz Festival every year for a while LRC …. now and I was so excited to hear we were going to be able to play. It was a privilege to perform in the free tent, on the same stage as some amazing musicians, and in front of such an energetic crowd. Playing alongside everyone in the jazz band is always such fun and we wouldn't have had this opportunity if it weren't for Mr Sallis and Mrs Bowman's enthusiasm and great leadership. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and I look forward to next year's repertoire! Amelia Lake, Year 12

Please vote for us ….. Here.

Behind the Scenes @ The Cheltenham Festival

On Friday, 3rd May, the Year 10 and Year 12 music classes were invited on a behind the scenes jazz trip to the Cheltenham Jazz Festival. During the trip, we got the opportunity to take part in a Q&A session with some very interesting people with careers in performing, sound engineering and much more. We learnt about their individual stories of how they came to work in the industry as well as how to make contacts and gain work experience. After that, we were invited, along with a few other local schools, to watch the rehearsal for the BBC ‘Friday Night is Music Night’ Big Band that were performing later, live on BBC Radio 2. Overall, this was an amazing and unique experience which helped us to develop our musical skills in Jazz and gave us an intriguing insight into the music industry. This also inspired many of us to return the next day to watch our very own Denmark Road Jazz Band perform live on the free stage. We are very thankful to all at the BBC and Cheltenham Jazz festival for inviting us and the music teachers for making the trip possible. Mrs Bowman

Page 12 of 19 - Denmark Road High School Newsletter – We Discover, Realise, Honour and Shape - Issue 5 – May 2019 Year 12 Expressive painting workshop

Page 13 of 19 - Denmark Road High School Newsletter – We Discover, Realise, Honour and Shape - Issue 5 – May 2019 Year 13 Leavers photos

Page 14 of 19 - Denmark Road High School Newsletter – We Discover, Realise, Honour and Shape - Issue 5 – May 2019

More Leavers photos … Denmark Road Talent Show Last week the Charity Committee ran a 'Denmark Road Talent Show' during a lunchtime to raise money for their chosen charity, 'Make a Wish'. It was a great success with a variety of acts from gymnastics performances by Cora Gray in 7H to musical performances from Shreya Sridhar in 8M and Khadija Dilnawaz and excellent dance routines from Lilia Morley in 7BE. Miss Hodnett and Miss Butler would like to thank everyone who participated in the show, it was an very tough decision, but the Finalists were... 1. Rosie Wood 8Ba for her very moving ballet performance to 'Someone Like You' 2. Sasha Fernandes 7M for her excellent piano skills 3. Skye Graham in 10QA for composing and singing her own song. A special mention to the Year 11 Charity Committee for all their hard work and efforts in organising the event and their continuous drive to raise money for such a good cause.

Page 15 of 19 - Denmark Road High School Newsletter – We Discover, Realise, Honour and Shape - Issue 5 – May 2019 Save the date ….

We are making communication easier, faster Year 10 Final Pieces and more effective We have introduced School Gateway. We can share information such as personalised lesson and exam timetables, achievements/assess- ment results with parents more quickly via email, text, online and smartphone app. You can also use the app or website to receive key news and updates from the school, view and let us know of any updates to your own details and send information to us our attendance officer. What you need to do now Download the app: If you have a smartphone, please download School Gateway from your app store (Android and iPhone). The app shows the same information as the website

PLUS you can send app messages to the school for FREE (for example updates to attendance) – this will also save the school money when we send text messages OR Visit the website: www.schoolgateway.com and click on ‘New User’. You’ll receive a text message with a PIN number. Use this PIN to login. Can’t activate your account? Please call us on 01452 543335 or email [email protected] and we’ll check the details on our system. We hope that you will find School

Gateway a valuable way to keep up to date. Page 16 of 19 - Denmark Road High School Newsletter – We Discover, Realise, Honour and Shape - Issue 5 – May 2019 PLEASE NOTE: All On-line School Shop payments for trips, We now have the facility of an on-line school shop clubs and activities on our website here (under parental information). must be made via Parents/carers can pay for items on the shop with Parent Pay. The a debit or credit card and students can pick up the school no longer items within a couple of days from reception or accepts cheques the relevant teacher/department. or cash. ParentPay is far more secure for both school and Contagious Diseases parents as a means of making payments, especially Please can parents/carers let the school know as it gives an immediate receipt and confirmation of immediately if their daughter/son has contracted payments. It also allows us to fairly offer trips with a contagious disease? It is important that we are limited capacity on a “first come, first served” basis. aware of this so we can notify community Over 90% of families are already using ParentPay on members accordingly. a regular basis. For those who need to sign up, feel Thank you in advance. free to email [email protected] for login details, advice and assistance. Parking Term Dates 2018-2019 Please would parents/carers refrain Term 1 Wednesday 5 September – from parking on the zigzag or yellow Thursday 18 October 2018 lines in front of the school at any time Term 2 Thursday 1 November – Friday 21 December during the day. Parking on these lines 2018 endangers both pedestrians and cyclists. Term 3 Monday 7 January - Friday 15 February At no time should parents/carers drive onto the Term 4 Tuesday 26 February – Friday 5 April school site unless previously agreed. We really Term 5 Tuesday 23 April – Friday 24 May do not want students to be walking amongst Term 6 Tuesday 4 June – Friday 19 July moving vehicles, as this can be dangerous. We Term dates for 2019/20 and 2020/21 are available would be grateful for your support in this matter. on our website under parental information.

Student Medical/Non-Medical Appointments – Forms Parents/carers should fill out a medical form for all hospital, orthodontist and emergency doctor appointments. Regular doctors/dentist appointments should not be made during school hours. Non- medical forms should be filled in for holiday requests, music exams and any other non-medical reason. Both forms are available here. A week or more’s notice should be given if possible. Forms can be filled in and emailed to [email protected] or [email protected] Hard copies are also available from reception.

Lost Property A large amount of items is lost each week within school. Please encourage your daughter/son to look after their own property (and seek to locate it rather than just buy a new one!) Whilst staff will make every effort to return named items to students it is the responsibility of all students to care for their possessions and seek to locate lost items. Students’ property is brought into school at their own risk. PE Kit Please also make sure all PE kit is labelled, including the bag. Trainers should be predominately white with no Velcro and no black trainers please.

Page 17 of 19 - Denmark Road High School Newsletter – We Discover, Realise, Honour and Shape - Issue 5 – May 2019 GCSE & A Level Examination Certificates Collection of Students for Appointments Last year’s GCSE and A Level certificates are The school operates strict safeguarding procedures available to collect, from reception between 8.30- and takes responsibility for its duty of care for 3.30 Monday to Friday. Certificates will only be students seriously. Therefore, we would be given to family members/friends if an email is extremely grateful if parents/carers would abide by received giving permission. Current students can the procedures set out for all students in the main pick up their certificates from the Sixth Form Office. school. Any student, who needs to leave the school site during the day must be collected by a parent/carer or named individual for that student, from the MAIN RECEPTION. Students will need to sign out at the Well-being Centre and they will then meet their parent/carer in reception. Please be aware that we cannot make any exceptions to this procedure for any student in Denmark Road High School Facebook Page Years 7-11. Please make sure that we hold up-to-date details for your daughter/son. Please remember that only the contacts detailed on your daughter’s/son’s data sheet can collect them from school. You can also email [email protected] at any time with new telephone numbers or email addresses or log in to your School Gateway account to make changes. Parents/carers are also requested not to park on the school grounds, or on yellow lines outside the school, when collecting daughters/sons for appointments.

https://www.facebook.com/Denmark-Road-High- School-1524568760899185/ Chat Health - Is a new GCS School Nursing Team Denmark Road High School Year 7 Parents’ text messaging service offering the county's 11-19 Facebook Page year olds confidential advice about their health and Year 7 parents are welcome to join this new wellbeing. Messages sent to the dedicated number Facebook group. The groups name is “DRHS 07507 333351 are delivered to a secure website Denmark Road High School Year 7 Parents 2018”. and will be responded to by a GCS School Nurse. It is available Monday to Friday from 9.00 am - It is a closed group and members requesting to join 4.30pm, excluding bank holidays. The aim is to will be asked two questions to ensure they are further improve access to healthcare for young genuine parents. We currently have 66 parents as people and will offer support relating to a wide members. It is a friendly group and the aim is to range of health and wellbeing issues. Examples help one another out, arrange holiday meet ups, include - relationships, bullying, healthy lifestyle, meet new parents, even help with lifts etc if anxiety, drugs, smoking, stress, body worries, needed before matches. alcohol, self-harm and sexual health. Take a look at our website … www.denmarkroad.org

Page 18 of 19 - Denmark Road High School Newsletter – We Discover, Realise, Honour and Shape - Issue 5 – May 2019 Dates for your diary Term 6 (2019) Monday, 3rd June School closed for staff training Tuesday, 4th June Start of Term 6. Week 1. Wednesday, 5th June Governors’ Communications and Engagement Committee Meeting – 6.00 pm Thursday, 6th June Year 7 Parents’ Consultation Evening – 4.30-7.30 pm Monday, 10th June Week 2 School exams for Years 10 and 12 this week Wednesday, 12th June Governors’ HR and Pastoral Committee meeting – 6.00 pm Monday, 17th June Week 1 Year 12 Work Experience this week Wednesday, 19th June Governors’ Business Management Committee Meeting – 6.00 pm Thursday, 20th June INVEST DAY 5 Year 7 History visit to Warwick Castle Second-hand Uniform Sale – 3.30-4.30 pm Year 6 Welcome Evening – 7.00 pm Monday, 24th June Week 2 PTA Committee Meeting – 7.30 pm Tuesday, 25th June Open Morning – 8.50-10.45 am Wednesday, 26th June Sports Day Governors’ Teaching and Learning Committee meeting – 6.00 pm Thursday, 27th June HSSF New Year 12 Induction Day Monday, 1st July Week 1 GCSE Art, Art Textiles and Design Exhibition on until 5th July Languages Morning with Primary Students Wednesday, 3rd July Reserve Sports Day Full Governors’ Committee Meeting – 6.00 pm Thursday, 4th July Taster Day for New Year 7 Years 8-12 Targeted Parents’ Consultation Evening (English & Performing Arts Block) – 4.30-7.30 pm Friday, 5th July Year 10 History trip Saturday, 6th July PTA Summer Fun Day – 11.30 am – 2.00 pm Monday, 8th July Week 2 Sports Review Evening – 6.00 pm Tuesday, 9th July Showcase rehearsal Wednesday, 10th July Showcase – 7.00 pm Thursday, 11th July Showcase – 7.00 pm Friday, 12th July Showcase – 7.00 pm Saturday, 13th July Netball tour to Barbados (return 23rd) Sunday, 14th July Year 9 Disney Trip (return 16th) Monday, 15th July Week 1 Year 8 Camping Trip (return 16th) Year 10 Trip to Ypres (return 16th) Activity Day Tuesday, 16th July Activity Day Thursday, 18th July Geography Visit to Iceland (return 22nd) Friday, 19th July End of Term 6 at 1.30 pm

We Discover, Realise, Honour and Shape

Page 19 of 19 - Denmark Road High School Newsletter – We Discover, Realise, Honour and Shape - Issue 5 – May 2019