Denstone College Newsletter 06-09-2024

6 September 2024

Newsletter from the Head – Week 1

Dear Parents and Guardians

The first full week comes to a close and what a whirlwind it has been; finding our feet, establishing routines. I could not be more proud of the children and the way they have adapted and adjusted with ease to the new rhythms. There has been so much to celebrate already and I urge you to follow our social media feeds to keep abreast of our daily news and achievements.

This weekend sees a busy afternoon of fixtures and I hope to see many parents there. Please do note that we are also hosting an Introduction to Denstone Sport and the New Parents’ coffee morning, both will be held in the Schoolroom.

Dogs!

We are a dog friendly site and welcome well-trained dogs on short leads to our campus to enjoy our fixtures; we ask that dogs (other than service dogs) are not brought in to school buildings. Please be aware, however, that when attending sports fixtures at other schools they may not have the same policy. Those travelling to Uppingham this weekend for rugby fixtures should be aware that they are a dog-free campus and we urge parents to check with visiting schools ahead of travelling to ascertain whether dogs are permitted.

MUSIC, LAMDA and DANCE LESSONS - Timetabling Issues

We are aware of an issue with our timetabling software (PracticePal/Involve Education) which has resulted in a number of parents receiving incorrect timetabling and lesson information via email. Please could we ask that any emails regarding lesson information from PracticePal or Involve are ignored until we have resolved the situation.

Correct lesson times are posted in hard copy in the Music School, and in the Main Corridor in the Main Building. Please ask pupils to check these on Monday morning to ensure that they know their lesson times.

Apologies for the inconvenience caused, and we expect electronic timetabling to resume as normal during next week.

Home to School Transport

Thank you to all parents who have already engaged in our new booking system and app. We have had some very positive feedback from parents so far, and thank you for your patience whilst this new system beds in. Please may I ask all parents to take note of the following:

• Every account holder should be setting up a direct debit as instructed by Vectare and termly charges will be paid via this direct debit. Please do not pay any charges for this academic year’s bussing via the school account.
• Please ensure your son/daughter is at their preferred stop a few minutes before departure time and not waiting in a parked car.
• If you know in advance that your child is not travelling on any journey that has been pre-booked, can you please cancel their journey via the app or booking system. This will ensure that drivers are not waiting around unnecessarily.
• Please ensure you do not send your son/daughter for the bus if not already pre-booked.  
• If anyone has a regular booking but wishes to add additional journeys, please may you email [email protected]; this will ensure you are able to book at the pre-booking rate.
• If you are unable to get your son/daughter on a particular journey, please may we ask that you add them to the waiting list so we can monitor the demand and possibly adjust our capacity as necessary.

Christmas Fair 2025

We are seeking a small group of parents who would be interested in forming a committee of volunteers to take on the organisation of the Christmas Fair. This Denstone tradition is so valuable and I know many parents will be keen to attend (and/or to have a stall). If you are interested in being part of this committee, please do email: [email protected]

Absence

Over the Summer months, the Government released a new document entitled “Working together to improve school attendance” to help schools nationwide tackle a growing absence issue. Whilst we have no such problem here at the College, the document does still apply to us and some significant changes have occurred. You are more than welcome to access the original document by clicking here.

We always promote attendance and wish to work with parents to ensure children are in school for as much time as possible. Naturally some absence may occur (occasional ill health or medical appointments etc). However, my power to authorise absence for other reasons is now significantly restricted and requests to be absent for reasons out with necessary requests will be rejected. If you elect to ignore this rejection, then any absence will be logged on our system as ‘unauthorised’. In the most extreme of situations, this data could be examined by the Department for Education and potential fines could be issued.  As ever, we will promote maximum attendance as educational outcomes can be severely jeopardised if not physically present in the classroom. We wish to remain transparent about this situation and ask that parents are honest in their communication regarding absence.

New Parents’ Social Evening

A reminder that our New Parents’ Social Evening takes place in the School Room (the College theatre) between 6pm and 7pm on Thursday 19 September. This event gives you an opportunity to meet and to get to know teaching staff at the College, it also gives you a chance to meet other new parents.  

Day pupils are welcome to stay in school and they may go to school supper, along with any brothers and sisters who are members of the school. Younger siblings are also welcome and can stay with parents in the School Room.

We would appreciate it if you could complete the form by Friday 13 September, using the following link: https://forms.office.com/e/Bewmsc8xt8  

We do hope that parents are able to attend this event, but appreciate that this might not be possible, particularly for parents of our international pupils. If you are unable to attend and have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s Head of House or Head of Boarding in the first instance.  

If you have any further questions about the event, please feel free to email Miss Plewes directly at [email protected]   

Individual Dance Tuition - New for September 2024

Denstone College currently offers dance across both the Prep and the College in both extracurricular and activities sessions. From September 2024, the Dance Department at Denstone will be expanding to offer students the opportunity for one-to-one and paired lessons on a weekly basis. Genres include ballet, jazz, modern, freestyle, tap, contemporary, street dance, gymnastic dance, stage dance, and musical theatre, all of which can be studied through the National Association of Teachers of Dancing syllabus.

If you would be interested in your child taking individual or paired dance lessons, please contact the Director of Music, Luke Wynell-Mayow, at [email protected] for further information.

Upper Sixth UCAS Applications

Our internal deadlines for UCAS applications will be 7 October, 6pm for all Oxbridge, Vet, Medical and Dentistry applicants and 13 December, 8am for all other applicants. It is important that students adhere to these internal deadlines to allow the subsequent administration to be completed in an effective manner.

With this in mind, U6th students are warmly welcome to attend the UCAS Clinics which take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays during activity time in ICT1, as soon as possible this term to ensure they are given the attention they need. Please encourage your children to attend early-on this term, there will be plenty of help available.

The Denstonian Magazine 2023-2024

The Denstonian Magazine celebrates the successes of the previous academic year, including academic highlights, sports team season reviews and much more. It is a memento for pupils and their families to treasure. If you would like to order your copy for £14, please complete The Denstonian Order Form on the Parent Portal (located in the interactive/electronic forms section) by Friday 20 September. The magazine will be published in December for your child(ren) to take home before the end of Michaelmas term, and the cost will be added to Michaelmas bills.    

Evolve Trips

Please note that the following trips have been launched on Evolve:

 Communications Available on the Parent Portal

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

• Equestrian Registration
• Denstone College Swim Club
• Lowe & Lonsdale House Chapel Service

With kindest regards,

Lotte