Headteacher for a Day

We are looking forward to being Headteacher and Deputy Head for the day next Friday.  We have decided that it will be a non-uniform day (no crop tops or very short skirts/dresses, and sensible shoes please).  We are also hoping to extend playtime for everyone on Friday as long as they have tried their best with their learning and completed the tasks their teacher has set for them.

Thank you.

Alana (Headteacher) and Hailey (Deputy Headteacher)

Friday October 13th, 2023

Welcomes and Goodbyes

This week we said a fond farewell to two member of our learning support team, Marsha and Charlie, who are both leaving us for pastures new (although we will still see them as they both have children at school).  Thanks to both of them for all they have given during their time with us - they will be greatly missed.

We have been delighted to welcome Beatriz to our staff team this week.  Beatriz is working in our school office as a Business Administration Apprentice, and is already settling in and learning the ropes.  We look forward to welcoming Charlie and Kirsty to our LSA team - Charlie is joining us on Monday and Kirsty in the near future.  A huge Dorchester welcome to all of you.

Harvest Festival Assembly

Our Harvest Assembly will be held on Wednesday 18th October from 9:00-9:45am.  We will be donating to the foodbank at the SOS SEN charity shop on Central Road in Worcester Park.  They have asked for basic cupboard long life staples, such as cereal / juice / tea / coffee/ pasta /tins-all types / crisps / sauces / biscuits / jelly / tinned fruit / tinned or packet deserts / long life milk / long life ready to bake bread / rice / crackers etc.

If you are able to provide your child with an item from this list, please send it to school on Wednesday 18th October.  The children will bring their donations into assembly so that we can give thanks together before donating the items to SOS SEN.

Parents are welcome to join us for our Harvest celebrations.

Parent Consultations

Our Parent Consultations take place on Wednesday and Thursday next week.   Please aim to arrive 10 minutes before your appointment time and enter the school through the middle gate and into the hall.  Your children's work will be available to look at in the hall and Mrs Hall, Mr Dennis and I will be on hand.  If you can look at your child's work before your appointment, we would be really grateful if you could the take their books to their class with you at your appointment time - it saves us a bit of a clear up job at the end of the evening.  Thank you.

Older children sometimes like to attend their consultation appointment with their parents - this is fine if that is your preference, but there is no requirement for children to attend the meetings.  Equally, it is no problem if you need to bring your child with you - you can leave them in the hall with us (please make sure we know you are leaving them with us!) while you go to your appointment or take them with you.

The Scholastic Book Fair will be running in the hall so, once you have heard about how wonderfully your child is doing, you may want to treat them to a new book - or they may want to bring their pocket money to buy one.  The school gets a very good rate of commission on all book sales which means we can then top up our library selection.

Class Reps Needed

Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to be a class rep this year.

We are still looking for Class Reps for the following classes:

Buttercup Class
Topaz Class
Fern Class
Sapphire Class
Indigo Class
Purple Class

Class Reps form a vital link between FODS and our wider parent body, and are an amazing support to the school.  They help their child's class teacher to sort out rotas, organise volunteers etc.   It is especially important for the Year 6 classes to have Reps as (with the support of all the parents) they organise the children's end of year leaving activities which make the end of their time at primary school so special.

If you would like to get involved or just want to know more about what the role involves, just catch Mrs Bell, Mrs Hall or Mr Dennis at the gate or drop an email to the school office.

Pokémon Cards

We know that collecting and swapping cards is a great activity for children, and we are quite fond of Pokémon ourselves.  Unfortunately, though, having these cards in school causes lots of problems that end up being very time-consuming for staff to sort out - trying to work out exactly who owned which card and who meant to swap and who didn't, and who changed their minds, is a bit of a nightmare for our already busy teachers.  Please do not allow your child to bring Pokémon (or any similar cards) into school.  Thank you.

Open Events for Prospective Parents

We have several Open Events running throughout the Autumn Term for parents looking for places in Nursery or Reception for September 2024.  If this applies to you please register for one of the events using the link below.  If you know anyone else who is interested in finding out about all we have to offer here at Dorchester, please share this information with them.  Thank you.

Thank you to all that attended this week’s meeting. We have a lot of exciting events being planned for the children to enjoy including a lovely Christmas Fair. Watch this space for future updates.

Our next meeting will be held Wednesday 18^th October at 7.30pm, please meet us at the main office if you can attend. All parent & carers are welcome so please come along if you can, it’s a great way to get involved and share your opinions.

CAKE AND DOUGHNUT SALE 19^TH OCTOBER

Please bring cake or doughnut donations to school Thursday 19^th October. Please leave all cake or doughnut donations in the school office or with your class teacher in the morning. We will be holding a cake sale after school that day, please find us outside the office.

Amazon Prime Big Deal Days are coming up 10^th & 11^th October. If you are planning on grabbing some deals, please remember Amazon is on Easyfundraising. It’s a great way to earn some funds for the school. Please see details of Easyfundraising below.

Safeguarding

Are you worried about a child? https://www.nspcc.org.uk/what-is-child-abuse/spotting-signs-child-abuse/

If you think a child could be at risk of significant harm, you can call the children's social care team at the council in Sutton (Go to their website)

020 8770 6001 (Monday to Friday, 9am and 5pm)     020 8770 5000 (out of hours)

Always call 999 in an emergency

Lunch Menu

We apologise for the disruption to school lunches at the current time whilst we work to get the gas extraction system fixed.  The part we need is on its way and we hope things will be back to normal early next week.

Our menus are available here.  Next week is Week 3.

Upcoming Events

To view the school calendar click here.