This week

We managed to escape the worst of Storm Ciarán on Thursday to welcome hundreds of Year 11 students and their parents/carers to our Sixth Form Open Evening. It was great to see so many of our own students keen to find out what life in the Sixth Form is like and to consider which of the many subjects we offer would interest them the most. We were pleased to see such a large number of students from other schools keen to move to Darrick Wood next year.

Assemblies this week have centred on our Theme of the Week – Friendship. All assemblies started with an amazing performance by DWS Dance Company. We then explored the theme further reflecting on how we can be a true friend, different types of friendship and looked ahead to Anti-Bullying Week including Odd Socks Day (see below). Students were also reminded of the story line of our school production this year and the friendships Dorothy makes in the Land of Oz.

Odd socks day

As part of this year’s Anti-Bullying Week we will again be encouraging Odd Socks Day. See below:

Subject Ambassadors

Year 7 students have been busy applying to be a Year 7 Subject Ambassadors. The decisions have now been made by Heads of Department.  Those who have been successful will be receiving their badges in the next couple of weeks.  Congratulations in advance and thank you to all of those who applied.

The Wizard of Oz – School Production

Over 60 students across Years 7 to 13 are preparing an amazing show and their commitment and energy, will provide a dazzling night of entertainment. 

Performances will be held on Tuesday, 14^th, Wednesday, 15^th and Thursday, 16^th November at 7.00pm in the Main Hall.  Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased on ParentPay, costing £5. We would, however, be grateful for any additional donations on the night to help with the financial costs of putting on what will be an amazing production. We hope that you will be able to join us and thank you in advance for your support.

School Travel Plan Gold Award

The hard work of students and staff has paid off – we were notified today that our travel plan for 2022/23 has been accredited by Transport for London (TfL) and we have achieved a Gold award.  Well done to all involved. The award is valid for 3 years.

PSFA news

Dear parents and carers 

We hope you had a lovely half term. Couple of quick reminders that the PSFA have a couple of projects coming up this half term, which we hope you will support us with.

Christmas Trees

The PSFA has once again teamed up with local providers to supply high-quality trees at very competitive prices which have been frozen from last year. We encourage everyone to treat themselves to a classic Nordmann Fir, and help raise money for the PSFA at the same time! Your tree will be delivered to Darrick Wood School on Sunday, 3rd December, for you to collect and enjoy all through the festive season. Please share this fantastic offer with relatives, friends and neighbours.  All profits will go to the PSFA to help fund equipment for the School. You can purchase online via: PSFA Christmas Tree project or use the QR code on the information leaflet below:

Orders will close on Friday, 24^th November and all trees will be available for collection between 2-3.30pm on Sunday, 3^rd December.

Year 7 Christmas Disco

The Year 7 Christmas disco will be on Friday, 8^th December. More details to follow soon, but please save the date if your children would like to attend. 

Happy to help

Lastly, we would like to invite all parents and carers to join our happy to help list. Offering to help before events or at other times during the year is invaluable. It doesn’t matter if you can’t help on a regular basis, or even if you cannot come into school. There are always jobs that can be done from home if you have half an hour to spare. We really couldn’t achieve what we do without the behind the scenes help that we receive. A lot of the money we raise for the school is from selling refreshments at school events that many parents attend, so it really is a low-key commitment, especially when we have a larger pool of people willing to help.

If you are happy to help occasionally, please sign up to our happy to help list. By doing so we will add you to the WhatsApp /email group and when we need a helping hand, we will put a plea out. If you can help then you just need to let us know, if you can’t then no need to reply. 

Happy to help sign up: volunteersignup.org/74W37

We have the school production coming up in November, so it would be great to see some new volunteers there to help service the thirsty/hungry audience while helping us raise money for the School.

As always, thanks for your ongoing support.  

Joanne Cummins

PSFA Chair

Reminders

Coats must be plain (no patterns or large logos) and black or dark brown.

All students in Years 7 to 11 must have their Planner, equipment, lanyard and ID with them.

School starts at 8.35am. Those arriving after this time will be recorded as late.

We politely remind parents/carers to avoid parking in the roads close to the School if at all possible when driving their children to school. There is no parking allowed in the immediate vicinity of the School at the school drop-off and pick-up times.

Dates for the diary

Date	Event	Notes
Thursday, 2nd November	Sixth Form Open Evening
Tuesday, 14th November Wednesday, 15th November Thursday, 16th November	School Production: Wizard of Oz
Week beginning Monday, 20th November	Year 11 mock examinations	For two weeks.
Week beginning 4th December	Year 13 mock examinations	For two weeks.
Wednesday, 6th December	Year 12 Parents’ Evening	On School Cloud system. Information will be sent out shortly.