Head Master's Notices

I enjoyed seeing many of you on Wednesday for our first parent Q & A forum and look forward to the next one later this afternoon.  I will summarise the questions and responses in a letter, which will be sent to you tomorrow morning.  It will hopefully provide an insight into where we are in terms of opening again and our planning.

In other news, James O’Hanlon will run two sessions on universities and Gap Years for the Upper Sixth, and their parents, in the first week back after half-term.  I have also put in an additional Exeat Weekend, in response to requests for a break from screen time.  We did consider cancelling Saturday school but the complexities of our timetable make this too difficult.  I hope that this proves a satisfactory compromise and is welcome.  Further details on both are below.

As always, we will update you all as soon as we have any further information on reopening plans from the government. I am happy that we can proceed with opening some outdoor facilities – an email has been sent to you all this week about tennis lessons and using our school courts, and we will let you know about how we can utilise the athletics track and Mercers’ fields soon.

Have a wonderful half term.

Whole School Notices and Reminders

Q&A for Upper Sixth Pupils and Parents 

As universities begin to announce detailed plans regarding teaching next year, and the impact of Coronavirus on Gap Years becomes a little clearer, the Head Master and James O’Hanlon (Head of Careers) will be hosting two Q & A forums to ensure that the Upper Sixth, and their parents, are as fully informed as possible.

Whilst many Upper Sixth and their parents have been seeking individual advice (and are encouraged still to do so) the webinar forum offers the chance for the latest information and ideas to be shared and decisions informed. Parents wanting to join either of these webinars should please fill out the short form and click on their preferred option below.  Joining details will then be sent to you. Many thanks

Exeat

As mentioned by the Head Master above, we will be adding an extra Exeat in the second half of term.

It will run from 12:45 on Friday 19 June until School restarts at 08:30 (and lessons from 08:55) on Monday 22 June

On the Friday morning, we will have Saturday morning lessons and timings (starting at 08:35 and ending at 12:45, when the Exeat commences)

Drama Notice

It is likely that there will be changes to how we operate our Performing Arts events in the next academic year.

We want to be able to get started on next year's musical theatre performance as soon as possible and therefore, in the absence of any further guidelines, we have made some amendments to our typical way of working to ensure that we are able to deliver a musical for the school community at the best possible standard and in the safest possible way. For full information please read the document attached.

We hope to see you all back in our audiences soon. 

Careers

Careers Department Enrichment Courses for the Upper Sixth

Dates for the Careers Department Enrichment Courses for the Upper Sixth have now been finalized and a some additional events have been added. Full details can be found here

Notice from the English Department

The Globe's production of Macbeth is being streamed for free here.

We study Macbeth as part of our IGCSE course. The Fourth Form have already written their coursework about it, but the third form, in particular, might find watching this production useful and enjoyable preparation for next year's work.

DSPA

DSPA Fly Fishing Day

Due to ongoing circumstances, the DSPA Fly Fishing Day on Sunday 31 May has been cancelled. Many thanks for your understanding.

DSPA Noticeboard

Please have a look at our digital noticeboard here. It is our own online community to connect Dauntsey's parents and businesses in order to buy, sell and advertise to each other in one trusted place. If you'd like to place an advert here, please email dspacontact@gmail.com

If you have not yet signed up to join the DSPA then please do so here.
If you are not sure if you have already joined then please contact Pip Wall, Membership Rep at pipsjwall@gmail.com

Please follow us on Twitter here @DauntseyDspa

Creativity in Captivity

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to send an entry in to the ‘Creativity in Captivity’ initiative this week.  The gallery is being viewed and enjoyed by many. The garden has become a key theme as we use our green fingers to create floral displays and spectacular tree top aluminium sculptures! Budding beekeepers produce designer beeswax bars, whilst mechanics create their very own isolation face! Keep looking for the extraordinary in the ordinary! See if you can spot the elephant in the exhibition on our gallery page here. 

Keep sending your entries to v.rose@dauntseys.org so your talent can be celebrated in our online gallery on the school website.

I am looking forward to viewing what you create over half term, inside and out!

Many Thanks
Victoria Rose, Director of Art

Teen Tips

Some parents may find the talks and information below from Alicia Drummond of Teen Tips helpful.

Upcoming Talks

NEW: 'What To Do When It All Goes Wrong'
Get tips on avoiding conflict, creating effective boundaries, understanding how and when to address unhelpful behaviour plus a six-step problem solving model for those moments when drama strikes.

'Teens & Screens' - one of our most popular talks - there are a couple of spaces remaining for tomorrow evening.
Info & bookings on all our talks - spaces are limited.

In the Press

This week I've been collaborating with Children's Commissioner, Anne Longfield, on a film for the Telegraph about the long term impact of Covid-19 on children - watch it here. I also contributed to this piece in the Observer.

A Coronavirus Conversation

I was so delighted to collaborate on a short podcast with James Sertin, from Talking Teenagers, giving a variety of approaches to tackle just some of the challenges you may be facing - listen here.

Understanding OCD

Finally, in view of the fact that it's Mental Health Awareness Week, you might find this blog post I've created for School Notices helpful.
 

Mental Health Awareness Week

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week! 

I want to celebrate the theme of kindness this Mental Health Awareness Week in Complementary Curriculum and have asked pupils to stop, think and carry out a random act of kindness between now and the end of half term. Pupils are encouraged to submit their act via Firefly or in an email to me, hopefully with a picture or two to go with it. I would be really grateful if you could encourage your children to join in so that we can spread even more kindness. 

Please send these in to Miss Seager (a.seager2@dauntseys.org) by the end of half term (Sunday 31 May).

Lower School Notices and Reminders

Manor Matters

With the half-term holiday rapidly approaching, I know that the Manorites are looking forward to some time away from their screens and it has been great to hear of plans for camping in gardens and going for long walks.  We have all been very impressed with the resilience and enthusiasm that the pupils have shown during this period of lockdown and it has been lovely to be able to retain some of our wonderful community spirit throughout this time.  As it is Mental Health Awareness Week this week, we are all trying to encourage the pupils to stop and think about kindness.  Kindness is a key component of our community and during these unusual circumstances, it is especially important to remember to be kind to others and to ourselves too.  Please take a moment to reflect on this wonderful message from Charlie Mackesy’s book ‘The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse’.

Our lower school boarders have really embraced ‘running week’ this week, and the totals for our ‘Remote Manor Marathon’ are very impressive indeed; please do look at how far each tutor group has run over the week on our ‘Remote Manor’ page on Firefly. The tutors have also been motivated to join in the challenge, and Mrs Sampson was delighted to complete her first ever 10km run! 

In addition, the Manorites have been making pancakes this week for the ‘Manor Bake Off’, and we are all enjoying hearing about their activities and news from home – our weekly ‘Manor Pupil News’ updates can also be found on the ‘Remote Manor’ page.

I hope that you and your families are able to enjoy a relaxing time together in the sunshine over the half term holiday, and the Manor tutors and I wish the Third Form every success in their assessments following the break.
Anne Sampson, House Mistress.

Please do follow us on Twitter @ManorDauntseys to keep up to date.

Lower School Assessments

The Third Form assessments will take place after half term in the week of Monday 1 June to Friday 5 June.

Please find further information on the assessments here.
Third Form Assessments TimetableLower School Assessments: How To Guide