Letter from Head of Juniors

Dear Parents,

The holidays are here and we are all looking forward to rest, relaxation and festivities befitting to the season.

EVENTS:

All the students in the Dover Court community have been involved in a variety of events over the last few weeks and still managed to keep up their academic studies.  Photographs on the website show students involved in the Carol Concert at St. George’s- a magical event enjoyed by a very large audience of parents and friends where the children captured our hearts with traditional carols and readings including ‘Silent Night’, accompanied by the lovely sound of handbells.

The Infants entertained us with a wonderful version of Stable Story! (Christmas Glory). The children sang, danced and performed guided by the narrators who amused us with their lovely verses and smiles.  The Choir dressed in wonderful costumes also sang out and by the end of the performance, there was not a dry eye left in the audience! This wonderful performance was also helped by the amazing costumes designed and made by some of our very talented ‘Mums’ and we must thank them for the time and energy spent on this enormous task.  Those angelic angels, amazing snowmen, striking elf costumes, awesome pink pigs and the amusing camels were a treat not to be missed!

With all of this musical talent abounding at Dover Court, we took a selection of students as well as the Choir and Orchestra to perform at St. Josephs’ Home for Senior Citizens.  The children were a delight and entertained the Senior Citizens especially with their version of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer accompanied by some joyful percussion instruments.  These visits to the elderly at Christmastime, started by Dr Roach have been happening for a number of years and are a highlight for the elderly in these homes.

IN AND AROUND OUR CLASSROOMS:

Whilst busy with the preparations and rehearsal for these events, the children have been industrious in the classrooms too and this is just a resume of some of the activities.  Year 3 wrote their own Shape poems inspired by fish, flowers and butterflies.  They extended these skills to writing calligrams. Year 3/11 worked really hard on their Christmas tree designs for cards and we hope you are impressed with their results.  Year 4’s study of the Celts and Romans culminated in a splendid Roman Day with lots of parents helping with the activities.  The children were involved in making mosaics and Roman charm jewellery and in the afternoon there was a great team building exercise where groups of children had to design their own Roman aqueduct.  Special thanks must go to the Year 4 teachers for organizing such a rewarding and successful day for the children at the end of term and thank you again parents, the costumes were fantastic!

Year 5’s Humanities unit came to a close and you will have seen the wonderful Viking Longships, mentioned in my earlier newsletter, which are on display in the Junior Foyer.  The students also spent time preparing their Christmas Assembly which was a delightful scripted version of the Nativity with a modern day beginning on the meaning of Christmas.   Finally, Year 6 pupils created and performed their own playscripts and brought to school their own costumes and props to help with their performances.  The ‘engineers’ in Year 6 also constructed their own circuits using bulbs, motors, wires and batteries in their study on electricity .  Through their additional responsibilities around the school and their help with housepoints, Year 6 students continue to set a great example to our younger children.

PROCEDURES AND ROUTINES:

This term the School Council with the guidance of Ms McFadyen have been making large inroads into organizing Lost Property and after many items were reclaimed, we were left with rather less than in the previous term.  We would be very grateful if you could continue to label school uniform and belongings in preparation for next term.

Thank you Parents for your continuous support throughout the term and for your help and involvement in the classrooms including the Christmas parties.  We look forward to seeing you and your children, refreshed and ‘energized’ as Garrick told me arriving at School one day.

Have a peaceful and safe Christmas and all the very best for 2015.

Ms Emma Turner