Denstone College Newsletter - 13-01-2023 | News

January 13th 2023

13 January 2023

Newsletter from the Head – Week 1

Dear Parents and Guardians

It has been a pleasure returning to school and starting 2023 off so positively. It has been an exciting week here at the College as we return to the routines and rigours of school life but also launch some exciting new projects. This year is our birthday – we come together as a community to celebrate our 150^th anniversary and I look forward to sharing more details of this with you in the coming weeks.

Additionally, we have launched our new film. This 90-second-blockbuster, released on Thursday this week, has demonstrated what a little creativity and a proud and robust imagination can do to bring Denstone to life. The creative process set us on a journey of what it means to be a Denstonian and in doing so, ‘Denstonacity’ was born.

A noun to summarise our educational vision: Denstonacity.

I do hope you enjoy the film and the spirit of the film and the creative power to change our inward and outward messaging; we are to be proud of all we do.

Staff Movements

Please be aware of the following internal staff movements - all with immediate effect.

Mr Richard Mace has been appointed as Head of Middle School. Josie Davis will still very much be here but will focus her attention on running South House. Please find a letter of welcome from Mr Mace on the Parent Portal which is for the attention of all parents of pupils in Fourth and Fifth Form.

Mr Chris Sassi assumes the role of Head of Football and we look forward to even greater developments in this sport for both boys and girls.

Mr James Young assumes the role of Head of Netball. Miss Jade Potter remains at the College and will continue to coach the 1st VII alongside offering her support and experience in helping develop coaches in all age groups.

Microsoft Teams

Please note that we have changed our policy to allow all pupils to have access to their cameras on Microsoft Teams. Although we hope we never have to revert to remote learning, we are constantly reviewing our provision and our ability to use technology to aid learning and school organisation. If you wish to review the policy, it can be found here: https://www.denstonecollege.org/about/policies

Confirmation Service

A number of parents and pupils have spoken to Rev Darren about the possibility of being confirmed and we are pleased that the Bishop of Stafford is now able to offer this service as part of our College Eucharist on Friday 19 May 2023. Please email Rev Darren to register your interest at [email protected]

Ski Trip 2024

Following a hugely successful ski trip last week, I am excited to announce our next adventure to the slopes. We will once again be visiting Alpe d’Huez, one of France’s top five ski resorts, where we have taken the school since 2004. This year we will be travelling again with Skibound, one of the travel industry’s most experienced and respected school travel providers. The trip will run from 23^rd – 30^th March 2024 and this will be open to those pupils in the current P6, 1^st, 2^ndand 3^rdForm i.e. next year’s 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th Form. An invitation to register for the 2024 ski trip will be sent to parents of these year groups, by email, on Tuesday 17January at 6pm. Due to the popularity of this trip, we recommend that if your son/daughter is interested you register as soon as you receive the invitation.

Communications Available on the Parent Portal

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