Year 8 – Welcome to Year 8.

Dear parents and guardians,

I would like to extend a very warm welcome to all students at the start of the new academic year. It makes me so happy to be back in school for the start of the year and hopefully avoid any online learning this academic year. My focus for all students this year is to demonstrate effort and resilience in everything that they do. Failure and difficulty is to be expected and is a key part of their learning journey. I will be rewarding and praising these attributes as well as  fantastic academic or practical achievements. Please encourage your child to try new things, get involved, and hopefully, find something they can be passionate about.

I am delighted to be leading a fantastic Year 8 tutor team. Mr Jack Piggott and Ms Shelby Smal continue in their role from last year and Mrs Susanne Clark (nee Chambers) and Mr Andy Pybus join us. Mrs Clarke was in the role on a part time basis last year and I am delighted she is now a permanent feature of the Year 8 tutor team. Mr Pybus was previously a tutor for Year 10 students. They all have a wealth of experience and I know they will make a fantastic contribution over the coming year. I am very much looking forward to working with them and thank them in advance for their efforts in supporting all students.

With regards to the lines of communication during the school year, please contact the form tutor first of all. If this is not possible or you wish to contact me directly, then please do not hesitate to do so. If the matter is relating to student or parent wellbeing, Mr Jason Broderick is also available to be contacted should the matter be something you do not want to discuss with me or your child’s tutor.

Year 8 is a relatively stress free year in terms of milestones. There are no formal, external examinations; no choices for IGCSE or A Level to be made and they are no longer new to the school. This means they have a fantastic opportunity to focus on developing their independence, work ethic, resilience, social development and further exploring the areas of school life that they enjoy and thrive in. I am excited to see how all the students develop and mature over the coming academic year. We will have high expectations of them with regards to uniform, jewellery and manners (as stated in the student diary page 123) and ask that you assist us with maintaining these high standards.

Should your son/daughter be unable to attend online lessons, please use the following jotform to inform the school: Notify DBIS of Student Absence

Students and tutor teachers will begin meeting for their 1:1 sessions from 30th August. Tutors will create and share a timetable for these with students. These sessions are incredibly important and valuable for many reasons and attendance is, of course, compulsory.

To accommodate the Education Bureau guidelines requirements about students eating arrangements at lunchtime, we will have to return to having two sittings, with set year groups having their lunch at certain times. Students will also need to eat their lunch in either the Canteen, Globe or Sports Hall.

The first sitting will be from 1:30-1:50 pm and will be for students in Years 7, 9 & 10.

The second sitting will be from 2:00-2:20 pm and will be for students in Years  8 & 11.

Key dates for this term

• Target setting introduce to students in assemblies, LFL, and tutor time – 30th August – 13th September
• General Guidance, Report Guidance and Target Setting Evening – 8th September
• Student set target in subject lessons – 13th – 24th September
• Short Reports with Tutor Comments – 4th November
• Swim Gala – 16th November
• Parent Teacher Student Conference – 18th November

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all in advance for your ongoing support of your child and DBIS. I look forward to meeting you all during the course of the year and please get in touch with me if you have any concerns or questions.

Kind regards

Tom Lemon

[email protected]