February 26 2021 | Issue no. 192
Head Master's Notices
I hope that you have all seen the letter that I sent out earlier today and I am delighted that we will be seeing the majority of our pupils back at School on Monday 8 March. A number of our overseas boarders will be sorely missed, but I sincerely hope that for most of us, this is the last we will see of online learning.
Have a great weekend and enjoy the sunshine.
Whole School Notices and Reminders
Sport Notices
I hope you are well and looking forward to the school reopening on March 8th!
Thank you to all those that sent in clips for 'Oscar's Ball 2'. Special thanks to the Head Master, the Second Master and of course Oscar for being such good sports. Here is the link to the film, and I hope it brings a smile to your face.
We have also set up a 'Dauntsey's Strava Running Club'. This is open to pupils, parents and staff and attached is a document on how to set it up. I know many of you already have a Strava account and can I please ask you to check you have your own privacy settings set up. The Running Club is a locked account, and we will only let in members of the School Community.
Link - https://www.strava.com/clubs/Dauntseys
You can find the Strava How To Guide here.
Thank you and I hope to see you all soon!
Marcus Olsen, Director of Sport
Careers - Post Dauntsey’s Planning Presentation
Saturday 27 February 2021 at 10:30
Lower Sixth Parents are warmly invited to join their daughters and sons for a presentation designed to give an insight into the process of applying to university. In addition to the University pathway, the range of other opportunities available post Dauntsey’s, such as Apprenticeships, will be highlighted. Timelines for application processes will be discussed, as will the programme of support that will be provided to the Lower Sixth.
Should you have any questions please contact James O’Hanlon, Head of Careers j.ohanlon@dauntseys.org
Classics Notice
Symbols of Power in Greek and Roman Times
Monday 1 March, Professor Stewart, the Director of the Classical Art Research Centre at Oxford University, will be joining Fourth year Classical Civilisation GCSE group, via TEAMS, to take questions on Symbols of Power in Greek and Roman times, including the famous Prima Porta statue of Augustus, the altar of peace of Augustus, and the Parthenon temple.
Teen Tips: Wellbeing Hub
Nurtures pupil's mental health and wellbeing.
Developed by child and adolescent mental health and wellbeing experts, the Wellbeing Hub is an interactive online portal, designed to help you guide your child as they grow up.
I am delighted to let you know that, as a Dauntsey’s parent, you are entitled to free access. Instructions on how to register and links for accessing the Wellbeing Hub are detailed here on Firefly.
This Week In The Hub
Podcast with English Teacher, Gary Wood
This week Gary Wood, an English IB (International Baccalaureate) teacher in China, shares his story of living with ADD & ADHD, and how it affected his social, emotional and academic development. He gives tips and advice on how to create environments that support the needs of young people with the condition. Listen to the podcast here
Inspiring Futures Podcast
This week in Inspiring Futures, we talk to Lucy Goodger about her role as a Chartered Manager Degree Apprentice with Nestle.
Access Inspiring Futures Podcasts here
Interview Skills for Pupils
Thursday 4th March, 1pm– 1.45pm.
If your son or daughter is about to head into the world of work, then this is a great webinar to signpost them to giving an insight into developing their interview skills, an overview of the different types of interviews and how best to prepare for them (and deal with nerves!).
In partnership with Barclays, the webinar is open to any year group.
Register your interest before Monday 1st March here.
LinkedIn Master Class For Students & Graduates
Rachel Harrison, 4th March, 6:30-8pm
There's so much more to LinkedIn than just having a profile. Join Rachel and get success in using it to get career inspiration, job search effectively, make new connections and stand out to employers.
Book your place here
Elevate Education Webinars
A recording link and a summary sheet for the recent webinar "Stress and Wellbeing: How to establish and maintain good routines during lockdown" has now been sent to all parents that registered. If you didn't register you can still watch the webinar back here. You can also download a summary sheet of the main points here.
The recording will be available until 2 March, which is when the next webinar is taking place. This webinar is on Preparing for Assessment.
Preparing for Assessment
Date: Tuesday 2 March 2021
Time: 6:00 – 7:00pm
Registration link: https://get.elevatecoaching.info/uk/register
This webinar will be suitable for parents of Years 7 through to 13
Coming up as part of the Elevate Education programme, the schedule of webinars for this term to support parents as much as possible during lockdown are:
- Tuesday 2 March: Preparing for Assessment
- Tuesday 23 March: Managing Technology and Distractions
Parents will be sent a replay link if they have registered so if you miss it live, you can still access it.
Guided Meditation
Two weekly ‘guided meditation’ sessions are now on offer, primarily for Sixth Form pupils but if anyone in other year groups are interested in any subsequent sessions then do please get in touch.
The sessions, run on Teams, will be held on:
- Tuesdays 3.25pm (20 minute meditation)
- Thursdays 3.45pm (10 minute meditation)
Meditation is great for reducing stress, managing anxiety and generally supporting positive mental health, through a focus on breathing and self-awareness.
Any interested students can email me directly and I will send them a Teams invite.
Gregory James, Learning Support
Debating Society
Our next debate will be held on 3 March “This house believes that all new buildings should require a net-0 gas emissions rate”. A topical subject for our age with climate change dominating our news, second only to Covid 19.
If you would like to join in with this or future debates, contact by Mr Brown who will invite you to the session. Signing up just means that you will be invited to the debates; you are not committing to anything!
If you would like to make a speech at one of the debates, contact details can be found on the sign up form here.
The titles and dates of the debates are:
- 3 March - “This house believes that all new buildings should require a net-0 gas emissions rate.”
- 17 March - “This house believes that UK history curriculum is too whitewashed and should be updated.”
- 24 March - "This house believes that conspiracy theorists should be banned from facebook and twitter.”
Debates will take place between 4.20pm and 5.00pm on Wednesday afternoons.
If you would like to know the results of previous debates, take a look at the Debating Society page here.
Free Audible Books
A reminder that for as long as schools are closed, Audible is open to children to access books for free. Books are also available in six languages so pupils could practice their language listening skills as well.
All stories are free to stream on your desktop, laptop, phone or tablet.
DSPA
DSPA Noticeboard
In these times it is more important than ever for everyone to keep.jpg)
in touch. If you would like to sign up, in order to network & keep in touch with year groups, then the year group reps would love to hear from you.
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 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
Please follow us on Twitter here @DauntseyDspa where we will keep you updated with news. We hope to host some Zoom events until we can meet again and will share details here. We would really love you to share any photos of past DSPA events with us and tag us with the hashtag #dspafun
Junior Bake Off
A note from the Junior Bake Off Team...
My name is Charis and I’m a Casting Researcher at Love Productions; the company behind The Great British Bake Off, The Great British Sewing Bee and The Great Pottery Throw Down.
We are delighted to say that we have recently opened applications for the 7th series of Junior Bake Off; a Channel 4 programme that celebrates the culinary talent and ambition of the younger generation in Britain.
We are looking for young budding bakers between 9 -15 years old who would be available for filming from July 2021.
Applications close on Sunday 28th March 2021.
Interested bakers can apply online at - WWW.APPLYFORJUNIORBAKEOFF.CO.UK.
Please do feel free to contact us on 0207 067 4833, should you have any questions regarding the above you can also download a flyer here.
Thank you so much
Best wishes,
The Junior Bake Off Team
Lower School Notices and Reminders
Manor Matters
I hope you all enjoyed a well-deserved break over half term and managed to escape your screens and enjoy what good weather there was.
It's good to see many of you are continuing to update your miles on the Manor Mile
s Challenge spreadsheet and a special mention to Will who completed his first half marathon, coming 2nd in his age group!
Last night's Lockdown Supper Club was another huge success and it was great to see so many Manor families following Mrs Reynolds' expert lead to produce some delicious looking fajitas.
Surely the highlight of the week came from Boris's news of schools returning on the 8th. Myself and the tutor team really can't wait to welcome you all back to The Manor and I will be in touch with details of how/when we will be returning soon.
This weekend sees Round 3 of the 6 Nations and another opportunity to tweak the fantasy teams ahead of the Saturday matches.
Peter Guille, House Master.
Please do follow us on Twitter @ManorDauntseys to keep up to date.
Lockdown Supper Club
The fourth and possibly final Manor Lockdown Supper Club featured delicious fajitas from Mexico. Highlights included:
- unexpected discussions
- deft chopping demonstrations
- guacamole
- the volume of a tomato!
To catch up with the whole story and see photos from the evening take a look at our news page here.
Baking Club
Pizza day! It was lovely to see so many bakers preparing dinner for the whole family. Who knew pizza dough was so incredibly easy to make!? We had a good debate about toppings, some chose to experiment with a stuffed crust, others got creative with rogue topping combinations. For the whole story check out the news page here.
Next week…. Our final week…. Will be the opportunity for a showstopper. We shall be making a classic Victoria sponge, let’s see who is the most creative with their design…!
You will need the following:
Victoria Sponge
Ingredients list:
220g caster sugar
220g stork margarine
220g eggs (approx. 4)
220g self-raising flour
To decorate:
Ingredients to decorate with – you go crazy 😊 !
You will also need:
2 x 7 inch cake (sandwich) tins and a small amount of baking paper to line the bottom of the tin.
Sports Fun Days
Our Lower Sixth Youth Sport Award groups have been planning two fun events for the Lower School for when we return to School.
The first is a ‘Fun Relay Biathlon’ where teams will compete in relays in the pool and on the track. The second is ‘Wacky Sports Day’ where teams will compete in traditional races, such as the Egg & Spoon Race & the Sack Race.
Should be lots of fun and something to look forward to when we get back. Dates and entry details will follow shortly.