GRACE DIEU MANOR SCHOOL  
  A letter from the headmaster, Charles Foulds
     

 

Letter from the Head

JUNE 2010

Dear Parents,

I am pleased to enclose with the summer mailshot the following items:

Ø  Letter to all parents regarding Prize Day on 20th June

Ø  Letter to Year 8 parents regarding Prize Day seating

Ø  Letter to parents regarding music at Prize Day

Ø  Parents Association Flyer regarding the Summer Ball

Ø  Invitation to Year 8 parents to our Leavers’ Mass and Black Tie Dinner on 25th June

Ø  Letter to all parents regarding music tuition from September 2010

GDPA News

The Grace Dieu Parents’ Association has been amazingly busy this term, and our sincere thanks go to Mrs Jo Ellis and her committee for promoting various activities with such energy and commitment.

The outing to Bicester was great fun for all involved and despite extreme temperatures, the mothers who took part, as well as having fun shopping, raised £134 for the school through the trip and the raffle – brilliant, and thank you!

Prior to that, the style and fashion evening was a great success, and very many thanks to all those parents and friends who entered into the spirit of the evening with such gusto! The amazing sum of £923.60 was raised, and this has been shared between the school and the chosen charity for the year, DePaul UK, which devotes its money and energy towards helping the young homeless in our cities. Very many thanks to the GDPA!

Please find enclosed a flyer from the GDPA regarding the forthcoming Summer Ball, and please note that you can assist this highlight of the GDPA fundraising year even if you cannot attend the ball itself. Please read the flyer carefully and thank you.

Academic Life and other news

It is inevitable that the opening weeks of the summer term are, at least for some, a period of intense focus upon examinations, and rightly so. Certainly this has been the case for Year 6 who now have the tense wait until early July when they will receive the results of their Key Stage testing in Mathematics, English and Science.  Staff ensured that Year 2 took their Key Stage 1 tests very much in their stride, but with a sense of purpose as well, and we look forward to learning of their successes.

For pupils in Years 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8, there was no escape either, and there will be some helpful feedback on those in the written reports that will become available to parents at the end of term.

I find that parents who come to visit the school are invariably impressed by the fact that we do strive to blend very careful attention to academic life with a zest for sport, music and all the other extra-curricular activities that are on offer.

The many activities this term already have included Year 4 enjoying their theatre trip to the “Gruffalo” and their visit to the Sealife Centre in Birmingham.

Year 1 welcomed beasts of various sizes and shapes when Tropical Inc arrived in late April;

Year 8 were impressed by the northern world of LS Lowry when they arrived in Salford Quays recently, and there is more to come for them in due course, in June...;

Mrs Maher has been leading her Maths department into interesting and stimulating territory this term, with the UKMT Junior & Senior Maths challenges (Grace Dieu hosted 22 other schools for the latter event), and on the final day of the half-term, a lecturer from Loughborough University led a stunning Maths workshop for years 7 and 8.

Mrs Kewell (Head of RE and PSHCE) kindly arranged a visit from “Warning Zone” for Year 6 – always an interesting series of presentations designed to highlight the dangers hidden in the world around us.

For musicians among us, seeking a little more challenge, Mrs Burrough arranged for a good number of Grace Dieu talented children to attend the Repton School Strings Day in late April.

My thanks to all these and many other staff who so willingly give of their time and effort to ensure that our pupils get that little something extra!

We were also delighted to welcome Year 4 parents to an open evening earlier in May, and this provided us with a welcome chance to give them an insight into life at the top of the school for pupils and parents alike. We thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

Parental Questionnaire

Many thanks to the parents who have recently sent back the questionnaire that was distributed during the Easter vacation. Approximately 40% of parents replied and we are currently analysing the feedback that came to us. This I will pass back to you in July, and thank you again, in the meantime, for the trouble you took.

Holiday Activities in Cygnets and Swans

Please support these if you can and make your applications to Activate Sport as soon as possible. My hope is that this facility in the holidays will be of immense support to you as families. Activate Sport has been operating for some time in Year 1 and above (and that will continue), but the initiative to provide for the youngest at Grace Dieu is relatively new. My hope is that it will be successful.

School Uniform

If you have any views about the current school uniform, I would be interested to hear those. Please email Mrs Iley on registrar@gracedieu.com, and thank you.

Charity Walk

Your children walking just before half-term raised the princely sum of £654.34 for... a) de Paul UK, b) Cancer Research and c) The Sarcoma Trust. Thank you as parents for helping to support these fine charities and for allowing us to open the eyes of the children here to those in need. Compassion has to be taught, just like anything else.

Classes in September

You will be accustomed to the fact that I hold discussions with relevant staff in the latter part of this term regarding the make-up of classes in September, and then the new class groupings are announced in my July letter. This format will be followed again this year, and please be aware that the overriding consideration that goes into that process is “what is best for the child?”

Clarion Call

If, for some reason, you are not receiving information from the school via Clarion Call (text and email service), please let Mrs Bivins know via bursar@gracedieu.com – thank you.

Parents’ Teas on Sports Afternoons

One of the great pleasures for me of sports afternoons (often Wednesdays) is to be able to meet and chat with parents and visitors in the de Lisle room. May I politely remind parents that these teas are only for those, whose children have been taking part that day in fixtures against other schools, and that pupils themselves should not appear in the de Lisle room area – it is for guests and parents only. Many thanks for your help in this.

The term ahead is packed with many events, but please note the following:

June

 

Tues 8

Lower Cygnets Parents’ Evening, 4-6pm

Weds 9

Lower & Upper Cygnets Parents’ Evening, 4-7pm

Fri 11

Sports Day

9.15am: Cygnets & Swans

10.30am: Years 1 and 2

1.45-5.45pm: Senior School

Sat 12

GDPA Summer Ball

Mon 14

Years 3 & 4: 1st Communion Mass, 2.30pm

Jersey Tour Information Evening, 5.30pm

Tues 15

Year 8: Day of Reflection

Sun 20

Prize Day (see separate letter)

Fri 25

Year 8 Leavers’ Mass and Black Tie Dinner, 6.30pm (not 6pm)

Mon 28

Year 2 Parents Induction to Year 3, 4pm

Tues 29

·          Feast of Saints Peter and Paul: Whole School Mass, 9am: Fr David Cain

·          Swans Parents’ Induction to Year 1, 4pm

July

 

Thurs 1

·          Cygnet Parents’ Induction to Swans, 3.45pm

·          Foundation Stage – Year 4 reports available: 3.30pm

·          Year 8 Drama Workshop for parents, 7pm

Mon 5

·          Years 5-8: School reports available, 3.45pm

·          27th Jersey Sports Tour departs (Years 7&8)

Weds 7

Senior School Outings Day

Years 1 and 2 Fun Afternoon

Cygnets Teddy Bears Picnic

Thurs 8

Senior School Activate Sport Day

Fri 9

Jersey Sports Tour returns

End of Year:

Pre-Prep: 3.30pm

Years 3&4: 3.45pm

Years 5-8: 4pm

We shall look forward to seeing you and the pupils on Monday 7th June.

With all good wishes,

Charles Foulds

Headmaster

     
 
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GRACE DIEU MANOR SCHOOL, Thringstone, Leicestershire, LE67 5UG. Telephone: 01530 222276

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