Newsletters

Dorchester News -7th February 2025

Newsletter

7th February 2025

Dear Dorchester Families,

Next Tuesday, 11th February, is Safer Internet Day.  This year's theme is 

‘Too good to be true? Protecting yourself and others from scams online‘

The children will take part in the BBC live lesson on the day, which will look at the scale of the problem of online scams and how they might develop in the future, including:

  • How is changing technology like generative AI going to impact the approach of scammers?
  • What role can the government and internet industry take to tackle this threat?
  • And what changes would young people like to see to help protect themselves moving forward?

Whilst this may sound like high level stuff for primary aged children, there are lots of scams around that are easy for them to fall victim too, such as when being offered cheap gems as part of a game, or advertising pop ups appear that seem to be a really good offer.

The Safer Internet Centre have also produced some 'top tips' for parents and carers along this theme which are definitely worth reading.  They are available here.  

Have a lovely weekend.

Cathy Bell 
Headteacher

 

07 Feb 2025
Music and Mental Health Ambassadors
Our Music and Mental Health Ambassadors met this week, see what they got up to!
Read more
31 Jan 2025
JLT Fundraising for British Heart Foundation
Juliette, Clarice and Jason were raising money for the British Heart Foundation this afternoon, as a part of a JLT initiative to raise funds for the chosen charity. It was Juliette's idea to sell her homemade bracelets, and Jason and Clarice were also helping with some of the making to...
Read more

Sports News

07 Feb 2025
New Age Kurling
Our Year 4 Kurlers proved tough opposition today at Avenue Primary winning 3 out of 4 of their games and coming fourth overall out of 9 teams in the event.
Read more

Friends of Dorchester School

We're so excited to share that we’ll be holding a FODS Quiz Night on Friday 7th March, all details & ticket prize will be announced soon. The quiz will be in the evening & for adults only, hosted by award winning voice actor Darren Altman, we hope to see you all there!

On Friday 14th February Year 3 & 4 will be having a cake sale, outside the main office from 3.15pm!

Year 3 & 4 parents & carers please leave all cake and doughnut donations with your class teacher, or the main office in the morning, then the cake sale will be run by your year groups after school, on Friday 14th February. To sign up, please see below. Thank you for all your donations.

Volunteer opportunities for Years 3 & 4 cake sale are now open

Please click on the following web link (or copy it into your web browser if clicking doesn't work) to go to the signup sheet:

volunteersignup.org/JTXRF

To sign up, just follow the instructions on the page. It only takes a few seconds to do.

Thank you for volunteering, we appreciate everyone’s help & donations.

We love to hear your feedback & suggestions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at dorchesterpta@gmail.com

Do you know about Your School Lottery? Dorchester Primary School is part of this fantastic lottery. This lottery has been set up specifically to raise money and make a difference for our children! It's a fantastic way to bring parents, carers, teachers, and the wider community together, in partnership with our school, and at the same time give something back. There are lots of amazing prizes to be won, your support is greatly appreciated, and we wish you good luck! To sign up or find out more information, please visit the website via this link: https://www.yourschoollottery.co.uk/lottery/school/dorchester-primary-school?fbclid=IwAR2UqkYQ4Yf79s9ZZul-tgcgLtJp9McVlXXqWutUrjklVom85O1EppaUonM

If you aren’t already, please follow us on Facebook where we keep you up to date on all things FODS! Find us at: Friends Of Dorchester School PTA

We have been made aware of an error with Amazon & eBay while using easyfundraising, please ensure that your basket is empty prior to shopping, or it will not register the use of easyfundraising. Thank you for your continued support.


Learning Highlights

& Peek of the Week

07 Feb 2025
Nursery: Can you make up your own story?
This week in Nursery, we have continued to enjoy the Naughty Bus story by Jan and Jerry Oke. The children have been drawing story maps to create their own Naughty Bus stories. They have been very creative thinking about some of the things that the Naughty bus could do at school. We have seen some fa...
Read more
06 Feb 2025
Reception: Are bigger things always heavier than small things?
Reception were lucky to receive a new piece of outdoor equipment this week. It took them no time at all to give it a purpose and see how fast the cars would go down the elongated ramp! 
Read more
05 Feb 2025
Year 1: How can we protect the oceans and why is it important to do this?
Our highlight of the week was our Computing lesson where we added music and our own recordings to an algorithm. 
Read more
05 Feb 2025
Year 2: Can you describe what happened to us last week?
Last week we had a very interesting and unexpected surprise! Mrs. Bell called Year 2 for help when she discovered that there were three dragon eggs that had been found in school. Year 2 immediately leapt to help, and we spent the rest of the morning looking for clues. Unfortunately, we couldn't...
Read more
06 Feb 2025
Year 3: What did you include in your non-chronological report?
This week Year 3 have worked incredibly hard producing their non-chronological reports about Ancient Egypt.  They have included all of the features needed in a report and have added images to match their subheadings.  Well done Year 3!
Read more
05 Feb 2025
Year 4 - If you were a spy, how would you move?
If you were the next James Bond, how would you move? In dance, we have been learning a routine to include working in unison as a class, paired work, showing movements in a canon and mirroring each movement. Each class has worked hard on their routines with some creative thinking and dance moves. Wat...
Read more
04 Feb 2025
Year 5: An epic day at Hampton Court Palace
Year 5 had a wonderful day out on Thursday at Hampton Court Palace where they took part in a Tudor Workshop about the jobs people had in the palace. Hearing more about John Blanke, the black trumpeter, who the children learnt about in school made it very special and memorable. Thank you to...
Read more
05 Feb 2025
What causes in our world, matter to you?
In PSHE this week, Year 6 have been considering aspects of Citizenship. We discussed how we can be good citizens by helping causes that matter to us. Many of the children shared that aspects of Climate Change matter to them and they are keen to do their part for the future of our world. Another caus...
Read more

Safeguarding and Pastoral Care

Manipulative Marketing in Mobile Games - Better Internet for Kids

Children are increasingly becoming major components in the online games industry. Many games are deceptively pay to play, whilst claiming to be free. For most of these apps the download is free but most of the gameplay is locked. Free in the context of apps is a highly flexible term. Online gaming firms use the ‘free’ label to draw in players, whom when talking about minors may be attractive due solely to that quality. Money making tactics such as these, can be hard to detect even for adults. Their use of bright colours, distracting music and other methods can be highly persuasive in gaining players. Better Internet for Kids has crafted a learning module designed to explore digital marketing tactics. You will learn why companies use these tactics and how they can impact your child and their rights. You will also learn how you can support your child to spot and avoid these issues, as well as where you can seek help and support. If interested, please follow the link below:

https://better-internet-for-kids.europa.eu/en/learning-corner/parents-and-caregivers/marketing-games

Squid Game – rated 15+ Season 2 of Netflix’s Squid Game is now available and has been rated 15 by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). You can find out why Squid Game has been rated 15 by visiting the BBFC: https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/squid-game[1]q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc01mzm3ndg

Due to its popularity, Squid Game related content can be found on numerous other platforms such as YouTube, TikTok and Roblox, so your child may come across this show without even viewing it on Netflix. Content may range from trailers of the show or content that other people create such as memes and games.

What can I do?

• Parental Controls - Set up appropriate parental controls on your broadband, devices and on individual apps to reduce access to content that is not appropriate for their age.

• Talk - Chat to your child about age ratings and why this means certain programmes are not suitable for them to watch.

• Individual Profiles - Set up child profiles on any streaming services to ensure your child is only viewing content appropriate to them.

• Reporting - Make sure your child knows how to report and block on all platforms that they use.

• Explore - Watch and explore things online together so you can see what your child is doing and how to support them.

More information: It is important to talk to your child regularly about what they are watching and ensure that they know they should always tell you or another trusted adult if they do see anything upsetting. You can find out more about the type of inappropriate content your child might come across online here: https://www.internetmatters.org/issues/inappropriate-content/learn-about-it/


Lunch Menu

Our Spring menus are available here. 


Upcoming Events

To view the school calendar click here.

Blue Class Assembly
8:55am – 9:25am
10
February
Teatime Concert
3:30pm – 4:30pm
13
February
Sapphire Class Assembly
8:55am – 9:25am
14
February
Cake Sale - Years 3 and 4
3:15pm – 3:45pm
14
February
Half Term Break
All Day
From 17 Feb until 21 Feb
17
February
Year 5 Mobile Planetarium Workshop in school
All Day
25
February
Y5 Puberty Teaching Parent Workshop
3:15pm – 4:15pm
25
February
Potential Dates for start of Ramadan
All Day
From 28 Feb until 01 Mar
28
February
Amber Class Assembly
8:55am – 9:25am
28
February