Denstone College Newsletter 04-11-2022

November 4th 2022

Newsletter from the Head – Week 9

Dear Parents and Guardians

Welcome back after a restorative Half Term; it has been a genuine pleasure to see and hear the College come alive again. November can be traditionally tough – the cold and dark nights are very much here already and Christmas feels a long way off! We will be working hard to make sure that every day at the College changes that narrative and our pupils are inspired, engaged and excited by all that is available to them.

Today the Denstone community will come together for our poignant and rightfully symbolic Act of Remembrance. This is the most critical occasion in the year for our pupils to understand their place in the grand history of this remarkable establishment and to honour the very special community which has been ‘home’ to many for nearly 150 years. Through the planting of our crosses, we will personally remember each of the 272 Old Denstonians and Old Smallwoodians who gave the greatest sacrifice. As the week progresses, there will be further opportunity for developing this greater understanding of these individuals and to help our children understand what it means to remember.

Internal Scholarships

I write with a change to the process of ‘internal scholarships’ to provide some clarity to the process. Historically, parents who might have wanted their child to be considered for an internal scholarship were asked to apply. This is no longer necessary and becomes a time-consuming activity for all concerned. Please note that at the end of the school year, I will invite all members of the teaching and coaching staff to nominate any pupil who, during their career at Denstone, have now met the criteria for scholarship recognition. Any successful additional scholarships will be communicated by me to individual families at the start of the Summer Holidays.

Food for Thought Programme

The Food for Thought Programme led by Dr Baker is a new set of super-curricular initiatives designed to support Denstonians in their individual quests to become even broader, deeper and sharper thinkers. For an introduction to the concept, and to keep an eye on how the programme is evolving over the coming months, keep an eye on the Food for Thought Blog, here: https://www.denstonecollege.org/news/2022-11-02/food-for-thought-programme.

Lost Property and Uniform ‘Amnesty’

It is normal within school life for uniform and kit to occasionally find its way into the wrong bag/suitcase/car boot. We have an extensive lost property office here in the College where we do our best to reunite kit with the rightful owners – this is usually possible where kit is well named in sew-on labels or indelible ink. However, there still remains some fluidity of items and I ask that all parents spend some time this week looking for any kit or uniform which may not be with its rightful owner. During this amnesty, please do deliver any items which need rehoming to the Lodge – these will then be processed and delivered to the rightful owner or stored in our Lost Property.

Maintenance of the Site

We are fortunate to be blessed with an extraordinary team of Maintenance and Grounds staff who keep this College looking magnificent. We have completed some major projects over this Half Term (more of which in other news outlets) and their day-to-day work around the campus is extraordinary. We have suffered this term from some unpredictable issues which are inevitable in a campus of this scale and with some extreme weather conditions to boot. I am grateful for the patience of our pupils and staff as we work to rectify issues which are outside of our control.

Flu Vaccinations - First to Third Form

We have been advised by Staffordshire Schools Immunisation Team that the vaccinations for First to Third Form will not be taking place now until January, at the earliest. This is due to staffing issues within their team. As soon as we have the date, we will send the necessary information to parents.

Communications Available on the Parent Portal

The following letters can be found on the Parent Portal by visiting https://parents.denstonecollege.org