Newsletters

Dorchester News -14th February 2025

Newsletter

14th February 2025

Dear Dorchester Families,

And so we reach the midpoint of another busy term - and collectively wonder how we got to the midpoint of the academic year quite so quickly!  Our focus on improving opportunities and outcomes for our children continues with gusto!  

This week we were delighted to welcome Sean Trimble, the Director of Quality Assurance for the Sutton Education Trust, to our school.  He visited classrooms, with a focus on how we support our learners, particularly those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, but also looking at how we challenge our more able learners, including the part Buzz Club plays in this for Years 4, 5 and 6.  It is always lovely to have the opportunity to show off our school, and Sean was particularly impressed by his conversations with children, who are able to articulate their thoughts and ideas with clarity and confidence.  

It was wonderful to host our termly 'Tea Time Concert' on Thursday, with our usual array of amazing musical performances, including our choirs and recorder group, as well as a number of soloists covering piano, voice and drums.  Well done to everyone who performed and thank you to the parents, carers and friends who came along to support.

Enjoy the half term break.  The children return to school on Monday 24th February between 8:30and 8:45am. 

Cathy Bell 
Headteacher

 

14 Feb 2025
Pupil Leadership News
Faith Ambassadors MeetingThe Faith and Culture ambassadors met this week to practise their Ramadan assembly which will be taking place on Thursday 27th February at 2.45pm in the assembly hall. If your child is one of these ambassadors, then we warmly invite you to come along and watch. We assign...
Read more
14 Feb 2025
Spring Teatime Concert
We had a sensational afternoon on Thursday with a some wonderful performances from children of all ages. Special thanks to all those who sang in the Junior and Infants choirs, as well as to their teachers Mrs Cucharo, Mrs Wyman and Mrs Rich for all the rehearsals leading up to the big...
Read more

Sports News

14 Feb 2025
Football vs St Cecilias
The boys football team had a fairly challenging defeat this week, but showed grit and determination to only concede one goal in the second half, compared to six in the first half. A brave show to keep going, well done everyone for keeping your heads up high.
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, adults only. Ticket price includes hot food, get yours now via gateway. Tickets on sale until end of day Monday 3rd March. Make a team with friends or we can create a group for you. Once you've purchased your ticket, a form will follow with food choices. Please see attached poster for more details. The quiz will be hosted by award winning voice actor Darren Altman, we hope to see you all there!

Hot food included (1 per ticket):

  • Burger & fries
  • Gourmet fish finger burger & fries
  • Veggie burger & fries
  • Chicken burger & fries
  • Hot dog & fries

A big thank you to all the Year 3 & 4 parents & carers for you cake donations today, & to those who volunteered to help run the sale. We appreciate all your donations & help. We hope everyone has a lovely half term!

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

 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. Easyfundraising currently have a promotion on so FODS will get a bonus £2 for every person who installs the app and signs up to support us via it by 28th Feb. If you haven't already, now is a perfect time to sign up! Please sign up to help raise funds for our wonderful school! https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/dorchesterpswp/

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

 


Learning Highlights

& Peek of the Week

14 Feb 2025
Nursery: What is your favourite sandwich filling?
This week in Nursery, the children have been making their own sandwiches. They were very proud of themselves when they were able to do this independently. They drew their own shopping lists (giving very good meanings to their marks) and some of the children attempted to write the initial phonemes fo...
Read more
14 Feb 2025
Reception: Can you describe your journey to school?
This week we have been mapping our journey to school and labelling our maps with what we see on the way. We have used glue and food colouring to make 'window cling' shapes, and we have finally finished our Lunar New Year Dragons, sewing the pieces together and adding decorations to the heads...
Read more
12 Feb 2025
Year 1: What are the features of a letter?
Please enter an introduction for your news story here.
Read more
12 Feb 2025
Year 2: How do we stay safe online?
On Tuesday we took part in Safer Internet Day. The aim of the day is to promote awareness of what the internet is and how we should be using it safely. This year’s theme was all about how to spot scams. We spent the morning on Tuesday being scam spotters, and the children used their knowledge...
Read more
12 Feb 2025
Year 3: What notes can you play on the ukulele?
The children have really enjoyed playing the ukulele this half term and have been learning to play 'Smoke on the Water'. We have learnt the names of the different strings on the ukulele.
Read more
12 Feb 2025
Year 4 - How do we recognise a scam online?
This week is online safety week. In computing we have been learning about how to recognise a scam and how to avoid being scammed. We took part in an online lesson with BBC live lessons. It included recognising scams, what to do about them and how to recognise online phishing. As a result of all...
Read more
11 Feb 2025
Year 5: Did you like our version of veggie bolognese?
We loved our Food Tech day in Year 5 on Monday. A huge thank you to everyone who contributed ingredients; it really made a huge difference. Thank you to Sanaya's mum, Sienna's mum, Hala's mum and Oscar's nan who helped us massively with filling jars and washing up. We really app...
Read more
12 Feb 2025
What surprised you during Mr Bushby's PSHE lesson?
We were very pleased to welcome back Mr Bushby on Wednesday. He spoke to each Year 6 class about being safe online and the children explored this through group discussions, scenarios and whole class discussions. The children learnt a lot about something that is very pertinent to all children and has...
Read more

Safeguarding and Pastoral Care

Ways to support a child or young person

Be there to listen

Regularly ask your child how they're doing, to help them get used to talking about their feelings, and know there's always someone there to listen. You can get tips on Young Minds: How to talk to your child about mental health.

Support them through difficulties

Pay attention to how your child is feeling or behaving and try to help them work through difficulties. It may not be easy facing challenging behaviour, but try to help them understand what they're feeling and why. Learn more from the Maudsley Charity on difficult behaviour.

Stay involved in their life

Show interest in their life and what's important to them. It not only helps them value who they are but also makes it easier for you to spot problems and support them.

Encourage their interests

Support and encourage your child to explore their interests. Being active or creative, learning new things and being a part of a team helps connect us and boost our mental wellbeing.

Take what they say seriously

Listening to and valuing what they say makes them feel valued. Consider how to help them work through their emotions in constructive ways. Anna Freud Centre's guide on ways to support children and young people has more on this.

Build positive routines

Try to have structure around regular routines, especially around healthy eating and exercise. A good night's sleep is also important, so have a fixed time for going to bed and getting up. The Sleep Charity has relaxation sleep tips 


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
World Book Day - Children dress as book character
All Day
06
March
FODS Quiz Night
7:00pm – 10:30pm
07
March
One Y5 Class to Easter Experience
9:30am – 12:00pm
20
March
Two Y5 Classes to Easter Experience
12:00pm – 3:00pm
20
March
Mothers' Day Donations - Non-Uniform Day
All Day
21
March
Buttercup Class Assembly
8:55am – 9:25am
21
March