Welcome to DSJ Weekly!
Good afternoon all,
It's been great to welcome children back this week.
We started on Monday with our school INSET, focused on Personal Development. Teaching staff came together to delve into our new Personal Development Curriculum. This is a new initiative built upon the core values covered in the Dodworth Pledge – Kindness and Respect, Learning about Life in All Its Fullness, and Teamwork. We believe these principles lay the foundation for our children to become not just academically successful, but also empathetic, engaged, and collaborative members of their communities. School is about much more than just the core subjects - it's about developing them as individuals, which this curriculum aims to assist in.
On Wednesday, we hosted another Phonics Audit from Ruth Miskin Training, which was incredibly useful. These days allow us to tap into the expertise of seasoned practitioners - this time the developers of the Read Write Inc program itself - to assist in developing the best phonics provision possible. The scheme requires precision and a deep understanding of how children acquire reading skills, and the roll-out of a new scheme is by no means a small issue in school, so I want to sincerely thank all the staff involved in delivering phonics instruction.
A word, as well, on the progress we're making with our building works. We're so close to the finish line - we actually have the final sign-off meeting next week, and barring a few small fixes here and there, we're at the end. The building feels considerably better than it did, and I know these improvements will create a more welcoming and dynamic learning environment for pupils as we push on to give them a school that they can be proud of. Your patience and understanding throughout this process have been a constant source of support, and I'm so grateful.
There's a lot of positive momentum happening at our school and it's a privilege to witness the commitment of our staff and the growth of our pupils. It's all about community, and I'm proud to be a part of it.
Have a lovely weekend
Mr Smith
As mentioned above and on ClassDojo, this week we have started the roll-out of our Personal Development curriculum in school. We have broken down each of the strands in the Dodworth Pledge and will be using this as the basis for promoting children's wider development.
Below are the broad strokes of the curriculum, as an overview of what we want children to learn at each stage.
The end is in sight!
We now have Year 1 back in their new classroom - and the Year 1 team have done a fantastic job in getting it all ready and looking superb! Mr Kaufman and I decorated their new classroom in the half term holiday, and Mrs Jones and Mrs Nash have made it a lovely, welcoming environment.
All radiators have been installed - brand new throughout the building - and it's lovely to have a bit of warmth throughout the building!
We also now have a music room/phonics intervention room!
This is where our drum lessons, RockSteady lessons, and other musical teaching will take place.
The last piece of the puzzle is getting our lovely Y2s in to their classroom. This shouldn't take long at all. A bit of decorating and a couple of other jobs and they'll be there! I will let everyone know in advance of this happening.
Attendance at school is among the strongest predictors of a child's chance at success in life. Every week, we will update you with what our attendance looks like for that week.
EYFS: 90.3%
Year 1: 94.4%
Year 2: 90.3%
Year 3/4: 90.6%
Year 4/5: 92.7%
Year 6: 98.3%
Congratulations to this week's attendance winners, Year 6, with an excellent 98.3% for the week!
Thank you again for your generous donations to school via our Amazon Wishlist.
For anyone who wishes to kindly donate, the wishlist can be found here. Thank you.
Tuesday 27th Feb
Junior Wardens Presentation - Holiday Inn at Dodworth
Friday 1st March
Year 5/6 Basketball - The Mill Academy
Please see the new school menu below. Images best viewed in landscape mode on mobile devices
Our remaining INSET days for this year will take place on:
Monday 22nd July