March 19 2021 | Issue no. 195
Head Master's Notices
My thanks once again to the staff who helped with the covid-testing over the last few days. The pupils’ attitude towards the whole process was fantastic and they have now been given their very own testing kits to bring home, which they should use twice a week.
This year the school celebrates three golden anniversaries and the details are in the latest In Focus magazine. A copy is attached here and a hard copy will be sent to you next week – I hope that you enjoy the various articles.
Details of tomorrow’s sport programme are below and I hope that you have a good weekend.
Whole School Notices and Reminders
Easter Holiday Arrangements
The arrangements for next Friday 26 March, which is the last day of term, will be as follows:
- Pupils will have Saturday morning lessons and timings (starting at 08.35 and ending at 12.45)
- Buses will depart at 1.30pm
Covid-19 Testing at Home
All pupils have been given a Covid-19 testing kit, and whilst testing remains voluntary, it is an important step to help keep pupils and staff safe and we therefore strongly encourage all pupils to take part. Pupils should be testing twice a week, and they will be given another pack next week for testing over the Easter holidays.
Pupils (or their parents) are required to report the results of their tests online (www.gov.uk/report-covid19-result) every time they take a test, even if the result was negative or void.
All test results must also be reported to the school as set out below:
· Pupils should report the results to the School by sending an email to the following address: pupilcovidtesting@dauntseys.wilts.sch.uk
· If the test is positive – Please type “Positive COVID test” in the email subject line and press send. Please also cc your House Master / Mistress and Mr McFarland on this email if the result is positive.
· If the test is negative – Please type “Negative COVID test” in the email subject line and press send.
· If the test if void – Please type “Void COVID test” in the email subject line and press send.
If the test is positive the pupil, and the household they are part of, should self-isolate immediately in line with NHS Test and Trace guidance for 10 days. They should also order a confirmatory PCR test. If this PCR test result is negative, then it overrides the result of the lateral flow test conducted at home. In addition, a negative lateral flow test result does not guarantee that pupils are not carrying the virus and so they should continue to follow social distancing and other measures to reduce transmission.
Please ensure that pupils are tested on the Sunday evening before the Summer Term starts.
Sport Notices
Below is the sports programme for Saturday 20 march. We have focused it on the 'Spring Term' sports and made it open to all; therefore, all those pupils who wish to participate are more than welcome to do so.
Those Upper School pupils who are likely to be involved will be spoken to in the week building up to the Saturday, in order to confirm if they wish to participate. Any Upper School pupils outside of those groups can also opt in by speaking to the relevant member of the Sports Staff.
All the Lower School pupils will be involved, unless you as parents contact me to opt out at m.olsen@dauntseys.org
School buses will depart each Saturday at 3.30pm
Unfortunately, at the present time parents are still unable to come and support. Therefore, if you are collecting your son or daughter, please could I ask that you make arrangements to meet them in one of the car parks at the end of their session.
Hopefully the sun will shine!
Marcus Olsen
Director of Sport
Saturday 20 March
12.15 - 1.15
Fifth Form Girls - Netball
Fifth Form Boys - Hockey
1.15 - 2.15
Fourth Form Girls - Netball
Fourth Form Girls - Netball
Fourth Form Boys - Hockey
Sixth Form Boys - Hockey
Fourth Form Girls - Dance
1.45 - 3.15
Sixth Form Boys - Football
2.15 - 3.15
First Form Boys - Hockey
First Form Girls - Netball
Second Form Boys - Hockey or Football
Second Form Girls - Netball
Third Form Boys - Hockey or Football or Dance
Third Form Girls - Netball (Sports Hall) or Dance
1.00 - 3.15
Gym available to all Upper School Pupils (programme published in Sports Centre)
'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.
Easter Sports Camp
It has been fantastic seeing so many pupils back on the sports fields, enjoying themselves with their friends in the past few weeks. Aware of how much time they have spent away from school I would like to offer them the opportunity to come into School for 3 days at the start of the Easter Holidays. We will still be operating in ‘Year Group Bubbles’ and therefore the timings below will be the same for all 3 days.
There will be no need to sign up for these sessions, please just drop your son/daughter off outside the pavilion at the start time and collect them at the end of the session. I am afraid that parents will still be unable to come and watch.
We will be continuing with winter sports and depending on what the pupils wish to do, we will adjust it each day. We will be playing tournaments and focusing on Hockey, Netball, Football & Touch Rugby. If pupils can come equipped for these sports, wearing Dauntsey’s Sports Kit. Pupils do not need to come every day, so please just turn up on the days that suit you.
We will be asking for a show of hands in games sessions in the last week of term, just so we can judge how many are likely to come. Many thanks to the Sports Staff who have agreed to come in during the holidays to help out.
Monday 29 March, Tuesday 30 March, Wednesday 31 March
9.30am – 11.00am – First Form and Second Form
11.30am – 1.00pm – Third and Fourth Form
1.30pm – 3.00pm – Fifth and Sixth Form
Clubs And Activities
New Program
Please find attached the new Spring timetable for the Clubs currently on offer here.
Nightingales Children's Project
Each year Dauntsey’s School visit the Nightingales Children’s Project in Romania with a team of Lower Sixth pupils. Unfortunately, we were unable to visit last year, and it looks like it will be the same case this summer, but we are determined to continue to raise as much money as we can for the charity.
We have come together with Nightingales to put together a short charity single to give you some more information about what work the charity do, how Dauntsey’s support them, and how you can help. The film is available to view here.
We hope you enjoy the video and if you would like to make a donation please follow the link below, where 100% of all funds raised will go directly to Nightingales Children’s Project.
https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/DauntseysSchool
Thank you in advance,
Dauntsey’s to Romania Team 2021
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 - Please remember to register before you access any of the below
Blog on Gender Identity, Annie Brocklebank
Annie is a Surrey-based psychotherapist working with children and young people from ages 3 to 18. She explains the difference between sex and gender, the whys and how's, the developmental changes that influence a young persons identity, and how parents and carers can support their child if they're questioning their gender identity.
Listen to the podcast here
Inspiring Futures Podcast
This week in Inspiring Futures, we talk to Lorraine Candy about her role as a journalist and podcast host.
Access Inspiring Futures Podcasts here
Inspiring Stories Podcast
This week in Inspiring Stories, a volunteer for Restless Development describes the work they're doing to support young people during the pandemic.
Access Inspiring Stories Podcasts here
Register via the Hub Homepage
Elevate Education Webinars
A recording link and a summary sheet for the recent webinar "Preparing for Assessment" has now been sent to all parents that registered. If you didn't register you can still watch the webinar back here.
The recording will be available until 23 March, which is when the next webinar is taking place.
Managing Technology and Distractions
Date: Tuesday 23 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 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.
Debating Society
This week's debate, “This house believes that UK history curriculum is too whitewashed and should be updated”, unusually saw two speeches in opposition to the motion with the audience taking on the proposer's role with some tricky questions. The results can be found on the Upper School Debating Society page here.
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 last debate before we break for Easter is:
- "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.
RS Notices
Feeling thankful
This week Mrs Pratt has been giving the students time to consider the positive .jpg)
things in our everyday lives. The Gratitude Tree display in N1 is growing new leaves as the week goes on. So many students are thankful for their families, friends, and their dogs! Many are thankful for the return to school.
Take a moment in your day to enjoy the positive feeling gained as you recognise the good things in your life.
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
Lower School Notices and Reminders
Manor Matters
It has been a busy week for all at The Manor as we have fallen back into the familiar school routines. Last weekend saw a range of fun, low key, activities including marshmallow toasting on the Reynolds' fire pit, Tennis, yoga and dog walking. Gigi, Isla and Elsa tested making prototype concrete candle holders for the designer-maker club.
Perhaps most exciting was the launch of 'Project Veg Patch' by Mr and Mrs Reynolds. Seeds have been planted and cared for on a windowsill all week, while Jason and Tom have been hard at work clearing an old and overgrown vegetable patch. The site is in the walled garden at the far end of Poppies Field and I hope it will offer tutors and pupils a quiet space to plant and potter over the summer term. More work is planned on the project this weekend as we now have a blank canvas to design our own little patch of the good life.
On seeing this weekend's events, Molly commented that there was, 'a lot of walking'! It is not all compulsory, but there are options of a 'Bob walk' or a 'Ridge walk' for those wanting a bit more of a challenge. Henry 'Tails' is currently top of the fantasy Six Nations table, but can he hold on to the top spot on Super Saturday?
You should have received details of our move to 'home testing' for COVID. I hope all of those going home can take a test before they set off on their return journey to the Manor. It is worth remembering that it takes 30 minutes for the result to show. The reassurance the mass testing is providing is invaluable for the success of our journey towards normality and I thank everyone for doing their bit towards safeguarding the Manor community.
Activities planned for this weekend can be viewed here.
Peter Guille, House Master.
Please do follow us on Twitter @ManorDauntseys to keep up to date.
Third Form Project Prize
Entries to be submitted by Tuesday 18 May
This year's theme is PROGRESS
Being almost the end of the Spring Term, it is again time to launch the Third Form Project Prize. This is an opportunity for individuals to showcase their skills outside of the classroom in a discipline of their choice. The closing date for entries is May 18th, but pupils who want to take part need to register with Mrs Hunter by the end of this term. We hope to see as wide a range of entries as last year, and those of an equally high standard.
For more information please read the attached document and take a look at the power point here.
First prize is a choice of an iPad or Apple watch and, of course, the trophy.
Any questions to c.hunter@dauntsey's.wilts.sch.uk
Medical Centre Notices - Third Form Vaccinations
Rescheduled to Wednesday 24 March
Your Third Form child is now due routine vaccinations Diphtheria, Tetanus and Polio (DTP) and Meningitis ACWY (MenACWY). The aim is to deliver these vaccinations to children during their school day, however, if they are not present on the day community clinics will be offered by the Virgin Care team to ensure your child/ren receive these important vaccinations. To consent for your child to have this vaccination please follow the link below, please read the consent form carefully to ensure you have completed this as accurately as possible. This link also contains a frequently asked questions element, please take time to read this and also discuss the vaccinations with your child to ensure fully informed consent.
If you have any problems or queries or do not have access to the internet please don’t hesitate to contact us on: 0300 247 0082.
https://schoolimms.virgincare.co.uk/dtp/2020/wilts