Dear Parents
As we come to the end of a busy, fulfilling and successful half term, I do hope each and every Dumpton child is feeling proud of the start they have made to the year. We are certainly very proud of them. Earlier this year I announced that Dumpton had been shortlisted for the Independent School of the Year Award. Whilst we did not win (well done to Sheffield Girls'!), its is so encouraging to see Dumpton being recognised nationally. But in the spirit of the 'aim high' approach that we advocate for the children, we will be the first to admit that we still have much we want to do, and so many areas we can improve upon. Our determination to improve and evolve and be the very best school we can be remains, and we will continue to build on our blend of academic excellence and character education through our sports, performing arts, outdoor learning and co-curricular offering, our award winning approach to wellbeing and emotional literacy through the RULER programme, our innovative Y7 and Y8 'Dumpton Diploma' curriculum, and the increasingly prominent and positive impact of our global citizenship work. Above all, however, we believe our success is built on the superb staff who 'set the weather' and create the culture of the school through our commitment to the values of 'be kind' and 'aim high'. These continue to act as the cornerstone of all we do at Dumpton.
Thank you to parents for your ongoing support on this journey. We look forward to continuing to work in partnership with you to ensure that a Dumpton education helps ensure your children can flourish and fulfil their potential, both in terms of their academic outcomes, and in terms of becoming the very best person that they can be.
Global Citizenship
As we come to terms with the awful situation currently facing the people of Israel and Gaza, it has never felt more important to be nurturing empathy and fostering a desire to help make the world a better place. We are all thinking of those members of the Dumpton community who have been affected by the events. One of the seven virtues of our character education framework 'The Dumpton Way' is 'Global Citizenship' - and it was amazing to hear an update from 6C in their assembly on Monday about the impact that Dumpton pupils have had on the world over the past 12 months. The support to charities, both local and international, as well as the environmental and sustainability work in our local area, as well as across the globe, is fairly remarkable for a school of our size. Thank you to Mrs Cox, and to all the pupils, for their incredible determination and enthusiasm here - in darker times it is a beacon of hope.
Half Term Scuba Diving
We hope all the pupils who have signed up for a taster of scuba diving in the school pool at half term are looking forward to it! My thanks to Mrs Clemmitt for organising such an amazing opportunity for the pupils.
Prep School Hobbies
The children have been really excited by the new hobbies for next half term. From Pickleball (the fastest growing racket sport in the world apparently), to girls' rugby, Yahtzee, Wildlife documentary club, lacrosse, triathlon, 5D diamond Painting, Dramarama, scholarship preparation, Baseball, Library Club, Outdoor Learning and and Photography, there really is something for everyone. Again, huge thanks to Mrs Clemmitt and the staff involved for putting on such an array of activities.
Dumpton Friends - thank you!
A huge thank you to our brilliant Dumpton Friends team. As well as working on what is sure to be a magical Christmas Fayre again, parents will also have seen there is a Dumpton Parents Christmas Party advertised at a wonderful venue in Cranborne (Friday 8 December). I can highly recommend attending what was a really enjoyable event and location last year, it is a great chance to get to know other parents at the school in a relaxed setting.
Informal Concert
What a treat this concert was! From some stunning singing from Freddie and Austin (two music scholars!) to some of our youngest pupils showing real promise and potential, it was lovely to give children the platform for this small, informal performance. My thanks to all the staff involved, and the parents who attended. The performing arts at Dumpton continues to go from strength to strength!
Sport
After a half term which has seen so much success (and silverware!) from our 'A' Teams further up the school, I'd like to pay credit to how brilliant it has been to see all the pupils enjoying and thriving in their sport. Having been fortunate enough to coach and referee this term, it has been superb to see first-hand how inclusive the Dumpton sports programme is, and how many children, 'sporty' or not, are enjoying themselves playing their sport, making great progress, and reaping the benefits of learning how to play in a team. My thanks to all our brilliant sports coaches, but also Mr Randle for his dedicated leadership of the sporting programme.
Mobile Phones - From Mrs Shaw
A reminder to all parents to ensure that no child is bringing a mobile phone or device into school. We are a mobile phone free school and it is really important to us to maintain this approach so that we can keep the children safer and happier in school. If for any reason your child will need a mobile phone for after school, it must be handed in to the School Office for safe keeping.
Message from Matrons
If your child is absent due to illness, please can you call/email Matrons every day of the child's absence - matron@dumpton.com / 01202 843947. If you want to collect your child early for a medical appointment please contact the Matron Team, often messages are going directly to Form Tutors but the School Office and Matrons need to be informed of these arrangements. Thank you so much for your support with this.
ISEB Pre-Test
Best of luck to the Y6 pupils taking their ISEB Pre-Test for Canford straight after half term. Mr Morgan has been in touch with parents directly about this. The pre-test is the first stage of the Canford Admissions process, before the more significant 'Headmaster's List Day' in January. A reminder to all parents in Y4 or Y5 considering future schools options that I am available for a future schools consultation to discuss this route, as well as the many other options available for your child.
Y8 Exams
Our Y8s have their first set of Exams next month. My thanks to Mr Morgan who organised a session with Elev8 Education on revision skills and study strategies yesterday, and also to him and all the heads of Department for producing a really useful revision guide for pupils. We hope they will manage to enjoy a balanced half term - they are under strict orders from the Headmaster not to revise all day every day!
ATL Grades - From Mr Morgan
Unfortunately, due to a technical issue with ISAMs we have been unable to post the latest ATL report to the parent portal. All the data has been entered by staff and is ready to go. We will inform you as soon as we get the green light from ISAMs that the report can now be shared. Apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused. After half term, form tutors will spend time with pupils reflecting on their ATL grades here at school, but we would be grateful if you could do the same.
Winter Uniform
A reminder to take a careful look at Juliet's email - it's Winter Uniform after half term!
I hope you all have a happy half term break!
Christian Saenger
Headmaster
A look ahead to the week after Half Term:
Key Events Week Beginning 30/10/2023:
Week 8: Theme of the Week - The Dumpton Way: Resilience
WEEK B
Tuesday 31 October
8.30: Prep School Senior Assembly (Y8 - Scotland Trip)
8.50: Y6 ISEB Pre-Test (L1 - L3)
PM: Sports Fixtures (Y3-Y4) - please see Dumpton Sports Site for full details
16.30: Y7 & Y8 Final of the Public Speaking Competition
Wednesday 1 November
PM: Sports Fixtures (Y5-Y8) - please see Dumpton Sports Site for full details
Thursday 2 November
8.30: Prep School Assembly - Performing Arts & Sports Reports
Friday 3 November
AM: 'Crazy Creatures' Y4 Science Visitor in their lessons
8.30: Prep School Juniors Assembly (3B)