Dear Dorchester Families,
We have had a fantastic week in school this week. The fun started on Monday when our Junior Choir headed to the O2 Arena to participate in the Young Voices 24 event. Our choir joined almost 8,000 other children to perform a diverse range of songs - everything from a bit of Dire Straits and The Police (for those of a certain age!) to medleys from Moana and Matilda. Our children sang and danced their hearts out, and enjoyed performances from some amazing artists including MC Grammar (worth a look at https://www.mrmcgrammar.com/ ), the amazing Nandil Bushell, a 13 year old songwriter and drummer who has already performed at some huge events (https://www.youtube.com/@Nandi_Bushell) and the wonderful Urban Strides Street Dance crew.
The children were excellent company - yes, even at 9:30pm!, and represented our school brilliantly. Well done to them all.
On Tuesday we enjoyed the most amazing smells wafting through the building as Year 5 prepared vegan bolognaise sauce as part of their learning in Design and Technology. The children learnt lots of new skills - many of them had never chopped vegetables before, and they were very impressed with themselves! They also designed a label for their jars and evaluated their project - considering what they might change when they make it again - fewer lentils and aubergines were popular choices, as well as adding more onion and doubling up on the passata. Huge thanks to the parents who helped on the day: Becky (mum to Lily), Vrushali (mum to Akshara) and Samira (mum to Nuwaira).
On Thursday, Year 6 held their World War 2 Wow Day, with children coming into school dressed for the period including as evacuees and members of the armed forces. The children experienced life as an evacuee - being 'sent' to different parts of the school for some of the morning, not knowing if the adults in their new 'home' would be kind or unkind to them. The discussion that followed about how it must have felt to be an evacuated child was rich and empathetic. Well done Year 6!
Do remember to check out the Class Notes below as this is just a snapshot of the week; there has been lots more going on too.
It won't surprise you to know our staff are ready for a rest this weekend! I hope you enjoy a restful one too.
Kind regards
Cathy Bell
Headteacher
