Each Friday I share our theme of the week to give an opportunity for you to discuss this at home as a family with your child.
This week our theme is Reflections.
This was explored in House Assemblies on Wednesday and this morning there were opportunities for Year 11 students to reflect on their time at DHSB.
Year 13 students will have their final day in school next week and I’d like to wish both year groups well as they begin their home study and make their final preparations for the public exam season.
With this in mind I was pleased to hear from Mr Head who said that Year 11 students had conducted themselves in ‘exemplary fashion’ throughout the two day GCSE exam. Well done; this is a good start.
Also, this week we have some fantastic sports results for you, especially as we reflect on an excellent conclusion to the football season. Read more in our sports update below.
Reading Gold Award
Congratulations to avid reader, Ayush Kunwar 8S, who is the first student at DHSB to be presented with a gold award for reading 16 or more books from the ‘16 by 16’ reading challenge list.
Ayush has read the following books from the list: The Kite Runner, Jungle Book, The War of the Worlds, The Lord of the Flies, The Great Gatsby, Jane Eyre, Frankenstein, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire, Oliver Twist, The Hobbit, The Scorch Trials (Maze Runner series), Noughts & Crosses, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Stone Cold and Heroes.
Students can achieve a bronze award for reading eight books from the book list and a silver award for reading 12 books.
To register that the book has been read, students should take the book on loan from the Learning Commons or read the book on DHSB Wheelers in lesson reading time and then speak to their English teacher who will assess their knowledge of the book and keep a record.
Again, huge congratulations to Ayush for receiving this prestigious award and I look forward to awarding many more gold awards in the near future.
Why not accept the challenge!
Miss Steer
Students of the Week
Each week a student is nominated as our student of the week. Nominations can be made for a variety of reasons and I’d like to congratulate these students who have received this award recently.
James Young 7S – for being responsible, courageous and a good citizen
Tom Chishti 8W – due to a last minute withdrawal from county hockey team Tom stepped in to play in goal at the tournament showing great attitude and leadership.
Zara Waddy 6KRB – for getting so involved in the school community both giving and receiving. She has participated in the Ten Tors, the McWhirter Conference and supporting students from another school in preparation for their Maths GCSE exams.
Harrison Lake 6TJB – finishing first in a climbing competition in Plymouth which means that he finished third overall in the southwest region and has secured a place to compete at the national finals with a chance at selection for the GB development climbing squad.
Ten Tors
After months of preparation by staff and students, our Ten Tors teams are ready for the weekend’s challenge.
Thank you to all our staff who have provided incredible support both for Ten Tors training and the challenge itself.
You can track the progress of our school teams at this link (using the following routes).
35 mile team Route BF
45 mile team Route XI
55 mile team Route ZB
Sixth Form News
Students involved in local elections
Ms Davidson and Mr Macleod are pleased to report that several students were active in the recent council elections, canvassing or as overseers at one of the local counts. Ms Davidson said this shows real engagement and wanted to compliment the students on getting involved.
Birgitta Varga, Fintan Kinsella, James Glasson, Sam Cade and Felix Soper.
Sports Update
Football
We are celebrating an excellent finish to the football season this year!
Our 1st XI team completed the season as Premier Division runners up, Division 1 Cup runners up, Most Man of the Matches in Division 1, Sportsmanship Award, Secretary of the Year and, most importantly, a £300 voucher for our respect towards match officials.
Mr Manley said, “Another excellent year for football”.
The U14 team haa also done very well. They beat TorBridge High 2 – 0 in the final to win the Plymouth Cup.
A great way to finish the season!
Congratulations also to the U15 team who won the Devon Cup final 4 – 2 on penalties.
Mr Manley said, “One year on, same result! The Year 10 team is Devon Cup Champions again”.
This team has also won the Plymouth Cup for two years running – very well done to all involved.
Athletics
Mr Carpenter reports on the first school athletics of the season.
The Year 7 team finished third in the Plymouth Super8 competition on Tuesday and on Thursday nearly 30 students competed at the Plymouth & West Devon Secondary Schools Athletics in a range of events all looking for selection.
Mr Carpenter said there were ‘excellent performances’ from all taking part.
The Year 7 team
Cricket
Well done to the U15 cricket team. They gave an excellent performance on Wednesday with good wins over Plympton Academy and Coombe Dean School.
Judo
Callum Lyons 10N travelled to the BJC National Open Judo Championships in Kettering, Northants last weekend.
Callum’s club, Drake Judo Club is a member of the British Judo Association. The British Judo Council (BJC) is a smaller organisation which promotes many of the traditional values of judo. The way in which BJC events are run differs from those of the BJA and so BJA judoka can experience a slight disadvantage in their competitions. The BJC require judoka to begin their bouts having already taken a grip (on the jacket/gi of their opponent) and they are not permitted to use a range of specific throws, armlocks and strangle holds until they are over 16 years of age. Also, matside coaching support is not permitted; the judo player must make all their own decisions during their fights.
Callum entered this competition for experience; he had never fought in a BJC competition before and so was making his debut at national level! After quite a long wait, he finally took to the mat for his first bout. Just as in his last National Schools competition, Callum was unlucky to come up against the eventual gold medallist in this initial round. The fight was very close and was the only bout of the day where his club coach did question the decision of the judges. However, Callum was not disheartened and went on to win his next two, hard-fought contests to take the silver medal.
Well done Callum!
Future Events
Friday 10 May – Sunday 12 May
Ten Tors Challenge
Friday 10 May
Year 11 Final Day in School
Monday 13 May
Start of Summer GCSE and GCE Exams
Wednesday 15 May
Year 13 Final Day in School
Friday 17 May
Year 10 Reports
Friday 17 May
Year 10 SRE Morning
Wednesday 22 May at 16.00
Bushcraft Parents Meeting
Friday 24 May
Final Day of Summer Term One
Monday 3 June
First Day of Summer Term Two (A week)
Monday 3 June – Friday 7 June
Year 7 Exams Week