Have you ever been away?

Hello and welcome back to the Key Stage Two Blog!

We did it! A whole week on timetable with new teaching groups, new teaching rooms and new teachers in the bag and didn't you do well? I am so impressed with how well all of the children in Key Stage Two have coped with their new routines - you are officially all superstars! That goes for the teachers too - we also have had a lot of changes to contend with so I think we are ALL doing a great job! Well done us!

Anyway, enough of the self congratulatory tone - let's get on with the purpose of this Blog - to tell you what has been going on and what is coming up...

Welcome to Year Five Letters

Hopefully all the parents/carers of the Year Five children received the 'Welcome to Year Five' letter and have found it useful. Please do not hesitate to contact us if there is anything you are unsure of - no question is a silly one, they are all perfectly valid and deserve to be answered.

Please remember that the Pastoral Team will be on hand on Mondays between 3.30pm - 3.45pm for an informal 'Drop-In' session. If you report to Reception then you will be guided to where you need to be.

Worth a Mention Children

On Thursday night, I sent a reminder email to the Key Stage Two Team to complete the Worth a Mention Boards. I also said that the first teacher to do so would get a Gold Star! Imagine my delight when Mrs Daniel claimed the prize!

Mr Haigh was the winner in Year Five - can you guess who the photo-bomber is?

Anyway, here are the Worth a Mention Children in Year Five:

Now for the turn of the Year Sixes:

Huge congratulations to all the children who have been included this week - there are a lot of you which is fantastic to see. 

Don't despair if you are not on the board this week - you will have your time to shine, I promise!

5BL and 5EJ - a temporary amendment...

Just to let you know that as from this Monday, Mrs Bendall will be joined by the Assistant Key Stage Lead - the fabulous Mrs Ettling - to tutor 5BL. Ms Lawson still be in and around the school and keeping tabs on the children but in her primary role as a Curriculum Access Learning Mentor. 

As a result of this, Mrs Webb, one of our experienced and excellent HLTAs (Higher Level Teaching Assistant) will now be Co-Tutoring 5EJ. This arrangement will be just until Christmas.

Our Key Stage Two Pastoral team consists of not only the Homebase Tutors but also Ms Grassby, Mrs Ettling and myself so there is always someone to contact if there are any issues. We work really hard as a team to ensure that the welfare and happiness of your super children is at the heart of what we do.

Golden Time

Remember that the first 'official' Golden Time is this Wednesday so make sure you get those reads signed in, your diary signed, your homework in on time and avoid getting a detention like the plague! 

If you're not an outdoorsy person like me, do not despair, we will be offering you an inside alternative.

Good luck everyone!

Achievement Points

We no longer run a 'Credits' system at Dorchester Middle School - we now award 'Achievement Points' which is done electronically. We are working on ways to make these rewards more 'visible' so the children can see their achievements, so to speak.

I am currently trialing a 'stamp' system in the English classes that I teach - I'll let you know how it plans out!

Well, that's it for this week. I hope you all had a lovely weekend and enjoyed the sunshine - wasn't it glorious?

I will look forward to 'seeing' you back here next week for more news, updates and forward notices.

Have a good week everyone!

Mrs Ray

(who braved the crowds and went to the Sturminster Newton Cheese Festival on Saturday. It was worth the epic cycle!)