Weekly Blog 28th June

Weekly Round Up

Thank you to the parents and carers that came to this morning’s coffee and pastries. I hope it was an opportunity to catch up with other parents, with members of the staff team and to enjoy a brief sit down after the school run!

Thank you for welcoming me back into the Dormanstown community after 38 years. It is a privilege to be working alongside you and championing the school and the area. 

My first fortnight has been fast paced, very enjoyable and punctuated with many highlights. From the Euros on the big screen, to my first ‘Pot of Gold’ assembly, to lunch in the hall with the children and playing football on the field.

I hope your child(ren) has/have told you about the badges they made so that we could get to know each other and of the assembly I led with ‘mystery objects’ sharing the values and beliefs I have about education and what I look for in a school community.  If they haven’t already, you might want to ask them to tell you what they remember.

It had been my early thought to arrange a further ‘coffee and cake’ session; however, alongside the school leadership team we have decided to introduce ‘Meet the Teacher’ sessions for each class at the end of this term and so there will be plenty of opportunities for us to meet in person in the coming weeks. 

Early next week, I will confirm your child’s class teacher for 2024/5.

On the 9th and 10th July whilst our Year 6 pupils are on their transition events at their destination secondary schools; the rest of the school will ‘move up’ and experience 2 days with them.

Over the remaining weeks of this term, our aim is to publish a calendar for 2024/5 with master dates for key events across next year, in order to support working parents with enough notice to attend these, where possible.

Thank you for the wonderfully warm welcome I have received. 

Have a lovely weekend. 

Antje Kell 

Class Round Up

Let’s see the latest from Year 1, Year 2 and Class B2.

Year 1

In Year 1 we have been learning how to use the app Scratch Jr in Computing.

Using their learning from earlier in the year when we learnt how to programme a BeeBot, the children were tasked with programming a sprite for follow an algorithm.

Once they had programmed a range of sprites (characters) they were tasked with creating a background.

Year 2

The children have been having lots of fun in their science lessons when learning about plants.

This week, we have been observing plants closely and identifying the different parts. We were amazed by the bean plant that we grew a few weeks ago in a plastic bag on our classroom window!

We have been conducting experiments about the conditions that plants need to grow healthily, such as having plenty of light and water.

We have made predictions about what will happen to a plant if it has light and water, and what will happen if it is missing these things.

We also planted some seeds and bulbs. Each day, we have a plant monitor to water our plants.

Keep an eye out for the beautiful flowers and plants that will (hopefully) soon be growing outside our classroom! 

Class B2

Another busy time for B2. We have been learning about plants in Science and we have labelled the parts and functions of plants and trees.

We went on a walk around school and found lots of wild plants that grow on the school grounds.

We then went on a trip with B1 to Newham Grange Farm and had wonderful day! We played in the park, stroked the guinea pigs, fed the goats and hugged some rabbits.

To top the day off we got to go and play in the imaginary world. It was the best day ever!

Attendance

Each week we have an ‘Awesome Attendance’ competition for the class or classes with the highest attendance. The class with the highest attendance will receive a letter and the first class to spell out ‘Awesome’ receives a treat for the whole class.

Which class will be the first to receive that treat?

This weeks winners are………

Missed Learning

71.5 days of missed learning occurred this week due to unauthorised absences. Unauthorised absences are for holidays, parents/carers not contacting the academy or any other unexplained absence. With most minor ailments, children can be in school, so we really encourage you to think about keeping your child at home.

100% Attendance

This week we had 217 children who achieved 100% Attendance for this week, which is Amazing!

A huge WELL DONE to you all.

Can you get 100% next week?

Missed Appointments

We strive to accommodate parents/carers with appointment times within the academy. Unfortunately we have noticed that many appointments have been missed, occasionally this may be due to unforeseen circumstances. If you have to cancel and/or re-arrange your appointment, please ensure you contact the academy as soon as possible. Failing to turn up for an appointment and not contacting the academy to cancel it has an adverse effect on other parents/carers appointment times. This can also take valuable staff time that could have been utilised by other parents.

Diary Dates and Reminders

Lunch Menu

Next week’s choices will be Week 2.

Nut Free Academy

A reminder to all parents we are a Nut Free Academy, please read below.

Actions for Happiness

It’s the last week for Joyful June, how will you finish the month off?

Lollipops

You can get your children’s uniform here.

Lollipops have a preloved rail out on the shop floor with various items on including polo tops, trousers, sweatshirts/cardigans, shoes, plimsolls, summer dresses etc. All items on the rail are free for anyone to take, they just ask for customers to be considerate of others when taking items. There is a box for anyone who would like to make donations which we then add to the rail.

Facebook – @lollipopsmiddlesbrough

Twitter – @LollipopsMiddl1

Instagram – @lollipops_middlesbrough

Lollipops
20 Norfolk Place
Berwick Hills
Middlesbrough
TS3 7PA

Links to support our Children and Families

All our links and flyers to help our families can now be found here. https://dormanstown.teesvalleyeducation.co.uk/parents/mental-health-well-being/

Cost of Living

If you need further support, follow this link https://www.redcar-cleveland.gov.uk/benefits-and-support/household-support-fund to see if you are entitled.

Bring It On!

With Summer just around the corner, Bring It On! are opening bookings for Summer activities that you can find if you follow the link below. Please note that some spaces are limited and will fill up fast. Bring it on! Free holiday activities for children and young people in Middlesbrough and Redcar & (coordinate.cloud)

SEND Family Voice

Communication Advice for Parents and Carers

New dates have been added