Assembly round-up
Last week’s assemblies started with a performance from students from our Deaf centre. Their version of ‘This is Me’ from The Greatest Showman was truly amazing. Thank you to Maryam, Evie-May, Asma and Stanley. The assembly’s theme was Money Matters. Students were given a quick history of money and how its value changes over time. They then considered the evidence of how qualifications lead to better access to higher paid employment and finally, we evaluated our own personal attitude to wealth, how money alone “can’t buy you happiness”. Students considered how, once you have shelter, food and basics for life, it is family, friendship and helping others that are more likely to provide a pathway to a happier life.

In this week’s assemblies we were joined by some of our Year 7 and Year 9 English Subject Ambassadors. A big thank you to Sam, Charlotte, Ella and Anthony for their effort and information on the importance of writing. The assemblies then built on last week’s theme by considering the lives of those living in poverty around the world and how groups such as Christian Aid work to support improvements for those less fortunate than ourselves in countries such as Burundi.

Arts Award
160 Year 9 students have been taking part in their Arts Award Section D workshops. They all had to become the teacher for five minutes and teach a small group a Drama skill or technique. We were very impressed with their maturity and leadership skills they showed throughout. The Arts Award will now be assessed by the examiner, and we will let you know the pass rate as soon as we can. By the looks of the work this year all the students will gain this award!

BFI Imax Visit for German
On Wednesday last week, 29 students of German from Year 9 made the short trip to London, more specifically the BFI IMAX. The focus of the day was to practise prior knowledge in German regarding topics such as family, friends and identity through the medium of German language film. As students settled into their seats in front of the UK’s largest cinema screen armed with a workbook, they were engaged in an interactive session discussing ideas of identity in the German comedy film Almanya, which tackles the issue of integration in modern Germany.

In Der ganz große Traum students looked at the introduction of football to Germany in the 19th century and with it national stereotypes. Finally in clip form, students watched an excerpt from Honig im Kopf which looks at how dementia changes family relationships and an individual’s relationship with the world. In the final session, they watched the entirety of Berlin 36 which details the true story of German Jewish athlete, Gretel Bergmann, who was pushed out of the German national team by the Nazi regime because of her identity. It really was a fantastic opportunity for students to marry up their language studies with German life expressed through the medium of film.

The class came back buzzing about the experience and about how much German they realise that they can speak. In the words of one student, “it’s opened my eyes to life outside of England”.

Sports Day (Years 7-9) – Wednesday, 3rd July 2024 – Norman Park Athletics Arena
Parents/carers are reminded to read the letter that has been sent home and to acknowledge this using the link provided in the letter and here: https://forms.office.com/e/F3wWGh5P31.

Personal Development latest
Mrs Iddiols-Bunclark (Head of Personal Development) recently sent home a link to the latest student health guide magazine. There is lots of information in here that we look at in our PSHE lessons and you can discuss at home.

https://studenthealth.fyi/darrickwood

U16 Girls Bromley Cup Champions!
The U16 football team beat Bullers Wood 3-0 in the Bromley Cup Final to end the season in amazing fashion. This was particularly pleasing for the Year 11 girls who have now started their exams off the back of this success, and we wish them all the best. Lauryn scored two goals and was our player of the match, but special mentions to Kelsey, Freya and Darcey for their incredible contribution to Darrick Wood girls’ football over the years and for battling until the last minute in this game! The rest of the team of Year 10 girls were of course also superb. Asia scored our second goal, but all of them battled the heat and huge pitch to secure victory. Congratulations to all involved. Thank you to parents for the support and to Ben Greenhalgh for all his work with these students over the year.

U13 Girls make it 2 cups out of 2!
The U13s headed to Bromley FC to face Farringtons School the day after the U16s won and again faced a huge pitch, tough opponents and hot conditions. This team had previously reached the Kent Cup Semi-finals and last 32 of the National Cup…but previously not having pulled out top performances when it mattered. Not on this occasion…The girls were incredible. Poppy put the team 1-0 up fairly early on but we could not quite manage to get the second despite a strong effort from Grace just before half time. Farringtons pushed back on occasions and had a goal disallowed for offside late on. The game finished 1-0 and we were Bromley Cup Champions two days running. Special mention to Emily who was our player of the match. Issy playing up a year, Evie dominating the midfield and the as ever tricky Belle were all a close second. However, the entire team deserve credit and after a long year of morning training and weekly games they got their medals and just reward. Again, huge thank you to spectating parents and to Ben Greenhalgh for the help and support over the year.

Dates for the diary

Date	Event	Notes
Monday, 27th May	Half-term break
Monday, 3rd June	Return from half-term break Years7-9 assessments for next two weeks
Monday, 24th June	Year 12 examinations
Wednesday, 3rd July	Sports Day – Years 7-9	Norman Park Athletics Arena
Monday, 15th July	Year 8 Sayers Croft trip	Half Mon-Wed, half Wed-Fri
Wednesday, 24th July	Last day of term