Dear Parents
Plastered around the school are some turquoise boards – some of them nearly 100 years old – which bear the names of children from Dumpton who have been awarded scholarships over the year. It’s an age old tradition, with Senior Schools awarding scholarships to children who are demonstrating significant potential in a particular area of school life. It used to be associated with a hefty fee remission (less so these days, but 20% is not to be sniffed at!), but the honour of receiving a scholarship remains significant, even if its monetary value has waned. Scholarships are not about rewarding talent – they recognise children who are making the most of their talents. This is the reason that Dumpton records the names of any scholars on our Scholars Boards for prosperity – a perfect example of the aim high, ‘you can because you think you can’ ethos of the school.
Many of our Y8 pupils have their own scholarship assessment days in the coming weeks. Whether it is through Sport, Music, Art, DT, Drama or their Academic subjects, the children have worked so hard to have a chance to receive such an impressive accolade. Whether they achieve a scholarship or not, we are really proud of them, and indeed proud of every single Y8 at Dumpton who is working so hard at the moment towards their end of year goals. They have been an impressive bunch for so many reasons, and we are really lucky to have them here with us... for a few more months at least!
The Summer Ball – Saturday 18th May – Save the Date!
Mrs Shaw will soon be announcing more details about this very exciting event, with tickets on sale soon – but in the meantime, please save the date! It promises to be a special occasion. Again, any parents interested in sponsoring the event should get in touch with Lerryn (Headspa@dumpton.com)
Parent Survey
Thank you to all 150 parents who completed the school survey, and 38 parents who completed our Nursery survey. We are so grateful. We are busy analysing and discussing the feedback, and I will certainly share some of the key themes with you in the fullness of time. In the meantime, we are inviting some of the parents who kindly volunteered to join our Parent Feedback sessions over the coming weeks to join me for coffee and pastries in my study. Look out for the invite from Lerryn.
Dumpton Talks Week - Reminder
We are really excited by this event. I do hope that you have had a chance to look at the range of speakers and fascinating topics booked for the Dumpton Talks Week which takes place directly following the half term break. The talks are all free of charge and open to the wider Dumpton community – please do remember to book a place https://www.dumpton.com/dumpton-talks
Visit from a Paramedic - From the Nursery Team
The children were very lucky on Monday afternoon, they experienced a visit from Caspar’s Auntie Verity, who is a Paramedic. She bought lots of NHS jackets and coats for the children to try on and stethoscopes and eye torches for the children to examine. Thank you, Verity, for giving up your time to come and chat to the children; they loved having you to visit and hopefully it will extend our 'People Who Help Us Topic' even further.
Reception Post Office Trip - From Mrs Al-Masri and Miss Monaghan
Rain and wind did not stop play on Reception’s trip to explore the local community! First stop was Furzehill Post Office and Village Store where we discovered that there were many different items to buy! We had a very warm welcome from the post office staff, we purchased stamps and posted ‘a first-class surprise’, our visit coincided with the postman collecting the mail in a sack to take to the sorting office. We learnt about different stamps, weighing parcels and letters and how you can buy all sorts of different things from the post office counter. To enhance our recent work on maps we travelled back to Dumpton via Furzehill and Broomhill noting different landmarks and we have really enjoyed mapping the route that we took.
Year 2 Australia Day
Year 2 had a fantastic Australia Day. It started with a talk by Mr and Mrs Atkinson, sharing the significance and importance of Australia Day, as well as lots of traditional artefacts! The children prepared their own traditional Australian snack - fairy bread and vegemite. They were very creative, making and dot painting their own rain makers. We then went on to have a very competitive game of cricket, topped off with Aboriginal stories. A day of learning and fun!
Car Parking – from the Bursar
Just a reminder to parents not to park in the drop off zone please in the morning. There is an option to drop older children off by using the second entrance and driving behind the main house for parents who wish to drop and go.
Night of Songs Fundraiser – Friday 2 February
Izzy FD in Year 8 is busy finalising the details for her concert which takes place next Friday (2 February) here at Dumpton. A quick reminder that Izzy is hoping to raise as much money as possible for the charities (Children with Cancer UK and Teddy20). Both charities helped Izzy’s friend who very sadly died last summer following a brave battle against Leukaemia.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/night-of-songs-fundraiser-tickets-790372303837?aff=oddtdtcreator
We are so very proud of Izzy and the tremendous amount of work she is putting into making the evening a success. Following on from this....
Non School Uniform Day – Friday 2 February
You will have noticed that we have a non-school uniform day in the calendar. Pupils may come to school in their home clothes. We ask that each pupil brings along a £1 donation which will go directly to the same brilliant charities that Izzy is raising money for (see above) - Children with Cancer UK and Teddy20.
From Dumpton Friends - Free Costume Swap
As a school we want to be more sustainable and support parents in not needing to buy new costumes each time an event comes up (e.g. Christmas Nativities, School Productions and World Book Days). As World Book Day is happening soon, we thought this was a great opportunity to put something new in place. We would love donations of any costumes you have, which your children no longer need or use - please drop these into the School Office by Friday 9 February. Then, after the Half Term Holidays, Dumpton Friends will set up a stall at drop off or pick up time and parents will be able to choose a costume for free, first come first serve. Dumpton Friends will sign each costume out so that it can be worn for World Book Day and then the costume will need to be washed and returned, so then someone else can borrow it in the future. Dumpton Friends will store the costumes year-round, and then arrange a Costume Swap a few weeks before upcoming events such as Christmas, School Plays and World Book Days.
From the Matron Department
If your child is unwell and not able to be at school, please can we remind you to telephone or email daily so that we can ensure registration is accurate. In addition, may we remind you that if your child has diarrhoea/vomiting we operate the standard 48-hour rule. This applies from the last episode of either.
Half Term Holiday Camp – Computer Xplorers
Computer Xplorers, who run one of our Pre-Prep Hobbies, will be holding a ‘Minecraft Coding’ workshop during this half term break here at Dumpton on Thursday 15th February. A flyer is attached containing all the details and how you can book a place for your son or daughter.
Match Reports
Finally, please find attached this week's match reports, we really hope that you enjoy reading them.
With best wishes for the weekend.
Christian Saenger
Headmaster
Key Events Week Beginning 29/01/2024:
WEEK 5: Theme of the Week - Be Kind
WEEK A
Monday 29 January
Y8 Scholarship Mock Exams
Canford Music Scholarships
Bryanston Sport Scholarships
Tuesday 30 January
Y8 Scholarship Mock Exams
Canford Music Scholarships
Bryanston Music Scholarships
8.30: Prep School Senior Class Assembly (7O)
PM: Sports Fixtures (Y3-Y4) - please see Dumpton Sports Site for full details
Wednesday 31 January
Y8 Scholarship Mock Exams
Bryanston Music, Art, Computing & DT Scholarships
8.30: Senior (Y6 - Y8) Parent Feedback Group with Mr Saenger (invite only)
PM: Sports Fixtures (Y5-Y8) - please see Dumpton Sports Site for full details
Thursday 1 February
Y8 Scholarship Mock Exams
Bryanston Performing Arts Scholarships
Bryanston Richard Hunter All-Rounder Scholarships
8.15: Reception Parent Drop In
8.30: Prep School Assembly - Performing Arts & Sports Reports, with House Singing Draw
16.30: Y3 Parents' Evening (in person)
Friday 2 February
Canford Sport Scholarships (boys)
Whole School Charity Non School Uniform Day – please remember £1 charity donation!
8.15: Y2 Parent Drop In
8.30: Prep School Junior Class Assembly (5P)
19.00: Charity Concert