Mr Berryman presented our whole school Remembrance Assembly on Monday 11 November.
He said, "It is vital that as a school community we remember the sacrifices made by service personnel to give us our freedoms today, especially in the context of current conflicts happening around the world".
The assembly focused on the comparison of the welfare state; what was fought for during the war and how it looks today. Mr Berryman also spoke about the importance of remembering the wider concept of democracy and our freedoms.
During the assembly students were given time to reflect on what Remembrance means to them and the prefect team read the names on the DHSB Roll of Honour before a minute of silence.
Special thanks to Noah Evans for recording, editing and publishing the assembly.
We have been pleased to receive comments from the community about the Remembrance display on our main gates and thank you again to Mr Head, Mrs Flack, Mr Winstone and the Year 7 students who created this.
"Very well done all! This is a beautiful tribute and welcome addition to our neighbourhood street-scape. Thank you for your efforts".
Continuing the theme of Remembrance, Mrs Charlton has shared poems written by Zach Ross and Reuben Goodfield 9A as examples of Excellent Work.
Mrs Charlton said, “Zach and Ross wrote Remembrance poems in tutor time on Monday after the assembly. I thought they were really emotive and poignant and wanted to share them in the Head’s Blog”.
Student News
Congratulations to Ethan Stewart 7F who is a high level competitor in Judo, Muay Thai, Jiu Jitsu and MMA.
Ethan recently competed in North Solihull and won the ISKA British Open Championship, taking home gold in K1 and bronze in Muay Thai.
Last weekend Ethan competed in the Western Area Schools Championship at Kingsley School Devon. He secured his place at the national schools championship next year and came home with gold.
Well done!
Also congratulations to Maxim Smith who competed at the Clay Pigeon Racetrack last weekend and finished the final in first place securing an overall P2 finish in the whole championship.
This was Maxim’s last official race as a junior driver and from December he will be racing with a senior engine and senior tyres, his kart will then have a top speed of 75 mph instead of his current 65mph.
The whole team has been impressed with his focus and driving skills bringing home trophies every race day.
Well done!
Don't forget you can let us know what you have been doing by completing this form. I've enjoyed reading all your news and look forward to sharing more in future Head's Blogs.
Please complete this Google Form if you have something for me to include.
Excellent Work
Mrs Pyle writes, “In Year 7 Digital Enterprise we have just completed our first unit of learning - all about Google, Googliness. The students have just completed a research task and then created a poster on three key pieces of law and legislation when regarding the use of a computer. Corey Shaw in 7S produced a fantastic poster using a new programme, Canva. Well done Corey”.
Chess Club
Well done to students in our A team who have progressed into the next stage of the English Chess Championships with a win over Exeter Mathematics School this week.
Bebras Challenge
This week our Year 9 - 13 Computer Science students took part in the Bebras Challenge; an international competition aimed at developing computational thinking skills.
Sponsored by HM Land Registry, the challenge presented students with a range of engaging problems requiring logical reasoning, pattern recognition, and algorithmic thinking.
Through their participation, students applied class concepts to real-world scenarios, enhancing their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The challenge provided a valuable experience, allowing them to expand their technical knowledge and gain confidence in tackling complex problems—excellent preparation for further study and future careers in STEM fields.
HM Land Registry will be leading a day for Year 9 students during Curriculum Challenge Week developing these skills to more real-world problems in teams.
Mr Scott
Primary Scholars
This week saw the welcome return of our KS2 mentoring initiative, Primary Scholars. This year we are expanding our invitation to all Year 5 students who would like KS2 consolidation or 11+ preparation, and to all genders.
We welcomed the new students in for the first block and we are excited to see the introduction of the Atom Learning platform in place from next week. This will allow all students a wealth of resources to aid them and a DHSB mentor to support them through the process. Pupil Premium students are able to access this learning platform free of charge.
Our DHSB mentors were brilliant in their roles, each having valuable ideas and strategies to share with their students. They demonstrated great leadership and were warm and approachable.
We are currently taking bookings for the next block of Primary Scholars.
Please follow this link for more information and to express interest in a place for your child.
The next block will be on Monday afternoons at 15:45 - 16:45 from 13 January 2024 to 10 February 2025
Miss Cunningham
Sparx Maths and Sparx Reader
Each week we celebrate our highest performers in both Sparx Maths and Sparx Reader, two of our core homework platforms. We are proud of all of our students who complete their homework each week to such a high standard but these students deserve a special mention.
Congratulations!
PTFA Update
Our next PTFA meeting is on Wednesday 20 November at 6.30pm. Please join us if you can!
The meeting is in the Conference Room which is just behind the Visitor Reception and refreshments will be provided. We'd love to see you.
Tickets for our Christmas Disco are selling fast and we have sold more than two thirds already.
Please don't delay in buying yours - sales will close on 24 November or sooner should we reach capacity.
Please follow our social media for updates on forthcoming events:
X (formerly Twitter) @DHSBPTFA
Mrs Kinsella
PTFA Liaison
Sports News
Rugby
Congratulations to the U16 teams who competed in the Plymouth Schools tournament at the end of last week.
The U16 Bears finished runners up winning four games and losing just one, and the U16 Chiefs won the tournament winning all their games.
U16 Bears
U16 Chiefs
On Thursday this week the U14 rugby team overcame a spirited Saltash CC by 49 - 10, reports Mr Orkney.
Badminton
Mr Bunney said, “The U14 badminton team started their Plymouth Schools Central Venue league matches with wins against Eggbuckland and Tor Bridge on Wednesday. Some great badminton on show".
Football
Year 7 had two matches this week with the A team winning 3 - 0 against Stoke Damerel in the national cup, and the B team losing their friendly match against Sr John Hunt.
Year 7 A Team
Year 7 B Team
Mr Manley says this week saw another excellent performance for the first XI who beat MarJon in the Devon Wednesday League.
This afternoon the Year 9 team is playing Torbridge in the national cup and we hope to bring you the result later.
Basketball
Mr Anderson reports that our Year 10 and 11 team played and won a friendly game against Plympton Academy on Wednesday afternoon.
Also, our U14 squad had a good win in their central venue competition on Thursday.
Mr Carpenter said, "Defence was tight, offence was on fire, and they hustled every minute. Great energy these young players are putting in".
