Dear Parents
It’s good to be back! Judging by the smiles on the faces of the pupils and staff and the enthusiasm on show over the past four days, it has been a very happy and positive start to what is always the most fantastic of terms. A warm welcome to the new families who have joined our school community this term – we do hope your children have settled in well so far.
And what can we look forward to? The summer sport will be in full swing, with cricket, tennis and athletics – and the much anticipated sports days, as well as some triathlon, swimming, table tennis, dodgeball and rounders. The Performing Arts department are as busy as ever, with Pre-Prep dance shows and summer concerts, and yet another all singing/all dancing musical (Y4 and Y5 presenting the Worst Witch). And some exciting trips and residentials take place – Y7 in Normandy, Y6 off to Skern Lodge, Y3 and Y4 braving out some camping on site, and the Pre-Prep enjoying some lovely summer day trips. Our Y8s also look forward to the memorable leavers course – four weeks of fun to round off their time at Dumpton.
Two very important school community events take place too – as previously mentioned, the Family Afternoon on Friday 26 May is not to be missed, and of course Speech Day on the final day of term, which happened so successfully last year, will be followed by the Dumpton Friends Picnic.
Amongst all that enjoyment, children will continue to push towards the end of the year with their academic studies, with many of our older children taking assessments and exams. We feel very sure that after working so hard this year, each and every child will aim tofinish on a high.
We’ll try to keep you up to date with emails about key events, and through this weekly letter, but do make sure to leaf through the calendar if you have yet to do so.
Good luck Mrs Williams!
I am sure all of you will join me in wishing Mrs Williams the very best for her maternity leave. She will be greatly missed, but we hope to see her back with us again before too long. My thanks also go to Mrs Taylor, who is deputising for Mrs Williams in her absence and overseeing the Snowdrops and Bluebells, and also to Miss Lee who has moved to join the Snowdrops and Bluebells for this term.
'Everyone tries everything’ at Dumpton
DECA and Prep School Hobbies began this week, and next week our full co-curricular programme is up and running. I am delighted to see children taking up these additional opportunities in such great numbers. In the Pre-Prep, over ¾ of the children are staying for Hobbies each day, and Prep School pupils are equally committed to the array of early morning, break time, lunch time and after school clubs on offer. It’s superb to see the ‘everyone tries everything’ ethos on show.
All You Need to Know about Future Schools- Webinar
I look forward to seeing the Y4 and Y5 parents on Tuesday evening for this webinar – hopefully a great opportunity to ensure you have all the information you need about how we can work together to support your child’s transition to their next school. I attach our ‘Guide to Future Schools’ which is a useful starting point for any parent keen to know a little more about the process.
Cakes, Sweets or other food coming into school
Please could I ask that parents no longer bring in food from outside school for birthdays or other reasons. Whilst we’re grateful that many parents check for allergens, in the interestsof keeping all the children safe (and also healthy!) in school, we would prefer now that children only consume food in school that has come through the school kitchens.
Sun Cream – a note from Matron
As the weather improves, please make sure that your child comes to school wearing high factor sun cream and has extra sun cream and a school cap with them at school.
5P Fundraising - Thursday 4 May - from Mrs Shaw
In DECA, 5P are raising money for Tearfund, with their Twin a Bin campaign to help fund sustainable projects that are set up to collect people's rubbish, dispose of it safely and recycle as much as possible. On Thursday 4 May at pick up, they are organising a used toy and book sale. If you have any used toys or books that they could have, please leave at reception, or give to a member of 5P, and remember at pick up to have cash to find a toy or a book a new home!
London Marathon
Finally, we wish the very best of luck to Dumpton parent, Anna Gregory who will be running the London Marathon on Sunday raising money for Lupus UK. If you would like to sponsor Anna please visit https://2023tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/anna-gregory
With best wishes
Christian Saenger
Headmaster