June 2016 - Damers First School

Dam er s
New s
Sam b a
St ar s!
Last Thursday a group of
children from Year 3 had
the opportunity to learn
how to dance the Samba
with professional dancer
Lawrence.
It was very tricky, but we
got it!
New s f r o m
t h e New
Bu i l d
Cl i ck h er e t o
r ead t h e l at est
n ew sl et t er
f rom our
Co n st r u ct i o n
Co m p an y
Ju n e 2016
Dear Parents/ Carers
Thank you to all who joined us for the Spring Fete on Friday after
school and to our amazing PTA who put on such a lovely family event.
This followed a very special tea party in the afternoon to celebrate
the Queen?s 90th Birthday and the arrival of an incredibly royal
visitor! I?m sure that the children will remember Friday afternoon for
many years to come and we are extremely grateful for the small but
dedicated PTA team who ensured that all enjoyed an abundance of
homemade cakes and fun. Congratulations to Baylee and Matilda who
won a prize for their amazing royal outfits on Friday too.
Our school calendar is packed to bursting over the next few weeks as
our ?Carnival?theme reaches its conclusion. The children are busy
preparing for their final showcase in a couple of weeks time.
Alongside this KS2 staff and children are also busy preparing for this
year?s KS2 performance which is already sounding ?truly scrumptious?!
It?s with great sadness that I have to let you know that we will be
losing two of our teachers at the end of this term. Mrs Lord and Mrs
Newlin have both been appointed to new posts closer to home and
whilst we know that they are moving on to exciting new positions we
will all be incredibly sad to see them go. Both leave shoes that will be
difficult to fill and we will be celebrating their time at Damers in the
final newsletter of the year. We have appointed two new teachers to
join the teaching team in September and whilst Mrs Newlin and Mrs
Lord cannot be replaced easily we are all excited to welcome
Charlotte Challis and Tara Hazell to Damers. Miss Challis and Miss
Hazell will both be joining us for a number of training events over the
next few weeks and will be joining us on Transfer Day (7 July) to meet
their new classes. There will be an opportunity for all parents to say
?hello?to their child?s new class teacher after school on that day.
Thank you for such a positive response to our recent uniform
consultation. There is still time to respond before 16 June if you
haven?t done so already and we will let you know the outcomes of the
consultation as soon as we can. The children are engaging in their part
of the consultation this week which will ensure that once a final
decision is made representative voices of all members of our
community will have been heard and will have informed the final
decision. Change within a community can be tricky to manage at
times and we would never support change ?just for the sake of
change?but your responses so far have made this feel like a positive
and relevant step forward for our school and one which can be
introduced comfortably over the next few years.
Enjoy the newsletter and we look forward to sharing the outcomes of
our year with you over the next few weeks.
Catherine Smith
Headteacher
Rab b i t Fi sh i n g !
In Year One we visited Kingston Maurward
and had a great time. We got to hold
cockroaches, stick
insects and other
creepy crawlies
and even fed
rabbits with fishing
rods! We also went
on ahuge walk
and spent lots of
time looking at all
of the other
animals there.
It was amazing fun!
Mat hs Mani a!
There are lots of fun maths ideas using
the alphabet, why not try out some of
these activities?
-
-
Investigate straight and curved
lines in the capital letters
Which capitals letters look the
same after a half turn? A quarter
turn? What about lower case
letters?
The letter ?e?appears more times
in a book
than any
other
letter. Is
that
correct?
Th e Vi l l ag e
Sh o w
Just before half term we saw just how hard
everybody in Year 2 had secretly been
working on their entries for the Village
Show. There were cakes galore judged by
Master Chef winner Matt
Follas as well as gardening,
crafts and photography.
It was lovely to welcome
everyone into school to
admire the
lovely
exhibits
and to see
so many
rosettes
being
shown off
during the
day. Thank
you also to all the adults
who entered the classes
and showcased talents
we didn't know about.
Th r ow a W et
Spon ge at a Teach er !
Mr Moore, Mr Oram, Mrs Newlin, Mrs
Lord and Miss Nesbitt are doing the
Jurassic Coast Hike (22 miles) in aid of
Macmillan. To raise extra pennies we
are having a 'Throw a Wet Sponge at a
Teacher' event on Friday 1st July, after
school on the field.
It's only £1 for 3 sponges - come on,
you know you want to ...
Fo u r El em en t s
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra put on 4
children?s concerts over 2 days in May and
30 lucky children from Year 4 travelled to
Poole to the BSO ?Four Elements? concert.
The children
were
immersed in
a world of
sound and
performance
quite
unfamiliar to
them and
were blown
away by the experience of seeing and
hearing a live orchestra. They had learned a
song with actions entitled ?Four Elements?
and a whole body percussion sequence to
?Mars? from ?The Planets Suite? which were
used as part of the concert, so experienced
singing their song and being part of a 70
piece orchestral performance. To top the
occasion, we had fabulous seats in the circle
with a tremendous view.
The concert was excellently led by James
Redwood, the resident composer, who had
composed the song that we had learned. We
were thrilled to hear the orchestra play
?Mars? which we have also become familiar
with through the BBC '10 Pieces' project.
The last concert was streamed live to over
20,000 schoolchildren and all of our Year 2
and Year 4 watched the live streaming of the
last concert in the hall.
Thanks for all the support during the Big
Pedal! It was great to see so many bikes and
scooters coming into school ? and another
thank you to all our supporters who walked
into school.
We did well and had almost half the school
(over 200 children!) coming into school in a
healthy and active way. Although this was
not enough to win any prizes or receive a top
finish, this helps prepare minds and bodies
for learning, keeps us healthier and reduces
traffic and pollution around our school. We
received a special mention for most
supporters in Dorset too so another thank
you and well done! The Bike Breakfast was a
huge success too. A special thanks to the
Bike-it Crew and Blue 3 for their help during
the Big Pedal. Keep pedaling and scooting!
In str u m en tal Sh owcase
Join us on Tuesday 5t h Jul y at 2pm for
an instrumental showcase concert,
where any child who has been learning
an instrument this year will have the
chance to perform in front of an
audience of parents and peers.
Children from Years 1 to 4 will be
playing clarinet, flutes, piano, violin and
recorders and for some it will be their
first time performing in front of an
audience. Last year this was an
enjoyable concert and this year there
will be a chance to hear some of our
instrumental groups, such as the flute,
clarinet and violin groups play as well.
Fo u n d at i o n at
t h e Far m
Hap p y Bi r t h d ay
M a' am !
A big Royal thank you to our hard-working
PTA who ensured that our children were
able to celebrate the Queen's 90th
Birthday in style on Friday afternoon.
Foundation had 3 fantastic day trips to Gore
Farm in Sherborne. We met the farmers
Tessa and Stuart
who taught us
about hens, eggs
and cows. We
fed lambs and
saw ducks and
geese.
After lunch we
went with Angela
on a mini-beast hunt in the woods, a tractor
trailer ride and went pond dipping! It was a
brilliant trip and the children really enjoyed
it, the adults too!
Please remember that children must be
supervised when on the school site at
the end of the school day. It is lovely that
parents gather and chat at the end of a
school day, children should be within
sight of their parents and on the main
school playground. Thank you for
ensuring that all children remain safe.
SPORTS NEWS
Year 3 At hl et i cs
Year 3 had a brilliant time at Dorchester Middle School for our
athletics festival! We got to experience loads of great athletics
activities and
games
including
javelin
throwing! We
can't wait to
practise our
new skills for
Sports Day!
Showi ng Pr omi se ( par t 2)
Our talented pupils in PE have recently completed their last session exploring the core skill
of speed, whilst working alongside Mrs Thorpe and Mr Dailey, our DASP School Sports
Coordinator. They had a fantastic morning, developing their levels of speed over different
running distances. Another great session where the children really stretched themselves
individually and as part of a relay team.Well done to you all.
PE Incl usi on Fest i val
Pupils from blue base recently visited Dorchester Middle
School for the annual PE Inclusion Festival. The children
tried some new sports such as seated volleyball, table
cricket and
boccia. It was
a great festival
and the
children came
away with
their own favourite moments of learning some
new sports is a fun and challenging way.
W e' re on the R oad to R io!
As we sprint towards the finale of our creative learning project for this year the school has
been filled with a huge amount of creative activity and energy. The preparations are being
made for the fiesta of fun, the summer of salsa, the spectacle that will be our very own
DAMERS STRAND CARNIVALS!
Our aims this year were to explore and engage with rich fictional and non-fictional characters
from our colourful and diverse local and global communities. We were discovering how the
voices from the past and present could enrich our
storytelling and writing skills.
Alongside this we embarked on a journey to take
us to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio by
embedding the universal Olympic values in our
attitudes and behaviours. Our focus on the pursuit
of excellence has helped our pupils make positive,
healthy choices and strive to become the best that
they can be in whatever they do.
At the heart of our learning we aimed to enhance
the skills our children develop through high
quality learning in the Creative Arts. We have
drawn upon the amazing talents of experts and developed creative and professional
partnerships with a range of practitioners including drummers, salsa and samba dancers,
authors, artists, mask makers and carnival artists to name but a few.
This project has captivated the minds and imaginations of our children and has brought the
school together to share and celebrate a genuine love for learning and fostered individual
talents.
We ask you to join us to rejoice and applaud the achievements of our whole school
community in our triumphant festivity -
Blue S trand - 1. 30 pm, Fri 24th J une
Yellow S trand - 1. 30 pm, T ues 28th J une
R ed S trand - 1. 30 pm, W ed 29th J une
DA SP M u si c
Learn a brass instrument with DASP Music!
From September 2016, DASP Music will be
running a beginner brass group on a
Wednesday 5-5.30pm at The Thomas Hardye
School. This group will be for students in
Years 3 and 4, who would like to learn a brass
instrument from scratch, in a small group
environment. The children will be able to
borrow an instrument for at least the first
term, free of charge.The cost of these
sessions will be £30 per term.
If you are interested in your child taking up
this exciting opportunity, please contact us
directly at [email protected] as soon as
possible.
DASP Music Newsletter
Read all about what's
happening in DASP Music
by reading the DASP Music
Summer Newsletter on their website here.
Sch ool M eal s
Please note that from September
Chartwells will be increasing the price
of their school meals to £2.10.
Reading
ROCKS!
The DASP literacy festival is taking
place during the week beginning 20th
of June. Children from Year 2 will be
meeting the author of Dinosaur Roar,
Paul Stickland. There are also several
other exciting events that some of our
children will be taking part in including
collaborative
writing with
children from
across DASP and
a special
ceremony to
celebrate
literacy at the
Thomas Hardye
Theatre.
On Thursday 22nd June there is a
Community Lecture for adults at the
Thomas Hardye Theatre by war reporter
and author Damien Lewis. Please
contact the Thomas Hardye School
Reception if you are interested in a free
ticket.
Er n ie's In cr edibl e Il l u cin ation s
The drama club presented a positively professional version of ?Ernie?s Incredible
Illucinations?- what a talented team! Everyone really enjoyed the play, supported by
expert sound technicians.
Dat es
r
f or you
diary
Wed 15th Jun
Mon 20th - 24th Jun
Mon 20th Jun
Fri 24th Jun
Base trip to the Sea Life Centre
DASP Literacy Festival
Year 2 to meet Paul Strickland at THS
1.30pm - Blue Strand Carnival Assembly
Tues 28th Jun
1.30pm - Yellow Strand Carnival Assembly
Wed 29th Jun
1.30pm - Red Strand Carnival Assembly
Thurs 30th Jun
Years 3 & 4 production rehearsal at THS
Mon 4th Jul
1.15pm-3pm - Years 1 & 2 Sports Day
Tues 5th Jul
10.30am - Base Coffee morning
2.00pm - Instrumentalist Concert
Wed 6th Jul
Thurs 7th Jul
Years 3 & 4 production rehearsal at THS
TRANSFER DAY
3.30pm - Meet your child's new teacher
Fri 8th Jul
Wed 13th Jul
1.15pm-2.45pm - Foundation Sports Day
12.00pm - Foundation Picnic
7pm - Years 3 & 4 Evening Performance
Thurs 14th Jul
Fri 15th Jul
7pm - Years 3 & 4 Evening Performance
1.30pm - Year 4 Rocket Science at THS
Tues 19th Jul
1.30pm - Year 4 Leavers' Assembly
Wed 20th Jul
Last day of t erm
Year 4 Leavers' BBQ
Bl ue Base New s
Blue Base have been busy learning about Tanzania, what it is like
to go to school there, animals that live there and food that
everyone likes to eat. We found out how to make the popular
dish 'Chipsi Mayai' and all agreed it was delicious!
Blue Base are ready for a busy half term! We are going to the Sea
Life Centre and are excited about finding out about sea creatures
and how they live in the sea. On Tuesday 5th July we look
forward to welcoming many parents and friends to our end of
year Coffee Morning, when we will be celebrating a great year of
friendship and learning!
s
e
t
a
D
A
T
Sun 17t h Jul
P
Mon 26t h Sept
Carwash!
6.30pm - AGM
New s f r o m
t h e PTA
PS The combined age of all 80 members of
staff at Damers is 3,626. Our lucky
sweepstake winner was only 24 short of the
correct answer!
Queen?s 90t h Birt hday Tea
Part y and Fet e
Thank you to everyone who came along to
the Summer Fete and made it such a
fantastic event. It was our first traditional
Dat es for your dairy
Ice lollies will be sold in the top playgroup
after school on Fridays until the end of term
(weather permitting!) for 50p.
Summer Fete for several years and we?d
like to thank you for creating such a lovely,
sociable atmosphere. Thank you also for
your generous donations to the
red/ white/ blue themed tombolas ? they
were very popular!
We also owe huge thanks to businesses
who donated raffle prizes ? including
Kingston
Maurward, All
Seasons
Therapies,
Walnut Grove,
Brewhouse Bar
& Kitchen,
Poundbury
Gardens,
Munchkins and
Boo?s Toy Shop
among others.
A J Supplies kindly provided all the catering
supplies from napkins through to
eco-cleaners! And the children loved
meeting the firefighters too.
Together, we raised a mega
£ 914.68p!
Get your car ?summer ready?at the first ever
Damers Carwash! Together with Swinton
Insurance
we are in the
early stages
of planning
a carwash
day in the
staff car park
on Sunday
17t h Jul y
during the
afternoon.
Details to be
confirmed!
The PTA will hold its AGM on 26t h
Sept ember f rom 6.30pm for drinks and
nibbles before the meeting opens at 7pm.
Everyone is invited to come along ? the
meeting is held at school and will close by
9pm.
Email [email protected] with any
ideas or suggestions or if you want to get
more involved.
We?d love t o hear from you!