Welcome, welcome!

Hello and welcome back to the Dorchester Middle School Blog!

Long time, no see?!

Well, it's more of a case of long time, no write! 

With a new academic year, comes recharged batteries and an excitement for the year ahead. We have had a really positive first couple of weeks reinforcing our core values of ROARS and achieving so much in the process.

I am really conscious that I have a lot to share with you and time is precious so, without further a do, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you with a new (and rather overdue) blog post!

Welcome back into the DMS Family

The term started with a good old-fashioned training day. Ms Pluck was even busier than usual as she cooked lots of delicious treats for the staff's lunch. Everyone brought in something which was lovely. We had an extremely productive day and went home buzzing with ideas and very full tummies!

The Year Five Team in particular were super excited!

Day One of the new term was just for our new Year Five recruits and we had a most excellent day.

Ms Pluck started the day with an excellent assembly, welcoming everyone to the school, including the parents and new members of staff.

During the assembly, two children from Year Five planted a sapling oak tree.

This baby oak tree represents the growth that the children will experience during their four years with us.

This is the oak sapling was that planted for the current Year Seven - look how much it has grown in just two years!

Although we are at the beginning of our journey, the children have sprinted into the new term. As Year Lead, I cannot begin to tell you how proud I am of every single child in Year Five. 

What a wonderful group of new recruits!

Worth a Mention Children

Although we firmly believe that all children are worth a mention at Dorchester Middle School, in Key Stage Two we acknowledge there are specific children who simply go above and beyond the school's core value of ROARS. 

The WaM Boards are updated every week, photographed and included in this very Blog.

Year Five 

Here are the Worth a Mention children from the first week of the term...

Here are this week's Worth a Mention children...

Year Six

Here are this week's Worth a Mention children in the fabulous Year Six...

Huge congratulations to every single child whose names have been included.

You are ALL awesome!

Mental Health Support Team

At Dorchester Middle School, we work very closely with the Mental Health Support Team. Funded by the NHS and Department for Education, they support children and young people with emerging, mild or moderate mental health difficulties that may impact on their day to day life. 

We were lucky enough to welcome them into school on the Year Five's first day to hold a workshop based on Friendships and Anxiety.

In the first session, we looked at the 'tipping points' when we fall out with our friends and discussed how we can either avoid them or how to address the issues that arise. 

A week later, Kate and Katie returned to look at dealing with friendship issues in a bit more detail. They also gave the children strategies to help and use when they are feeling anxious.

Both sessions were excellent.

We are looking forward to welcoming the team back into school next half term to hold assemblies with Year Six and Key Stage Three about Friendship and Anxiety as well as running a workshop for parents entitled 'Children's Anxiety'. This workshop will be held in school on Tuesday 14th November 5.30pm - 6.30pm and the fabulous PTFA will be serving refreshments.

Parkrun

For those of you who know me, I am a HUGE advocate of the Five Ways to Wellbeing. In fact, I was talking to the children about them in our assembly on Tuesday.

One of the ways, as you can see above, is keeping active.

Most weeks, I will be found at Parkrun. I made a New Year's Resolution to my Year Five English groups in January that I would get my 100 runs by the end of the year. I am now up to 94!

This is me and Mrs Minchella at Blandford Parkrun last week and me this week with two of my friends, Nina and Karen, at the Durlston Country Park Parkrun which is, officially, the hilliest Parkrun in the UK. Tell me about it!

Not only did I keep active, I connected with my friends, took  notice of the beautiful scenery (especially this week), I learnt a new route, learned about the local area and gave some of my time so I can hang out with my friends. 

Boom! All five ways covered!

How many of you do Parkrun? 

Did you know that there are two Junior Parkruns in the local area?

In Dorchester, you have a Junior Parkrun at The Great Field every Sunday from 8.55am.

In Weymouth you have a Junior Parkrun at Lodmoor Country Park very Sunday at 9am.

Why not give it a go?

You never know, I might come along and support/cheer you on...

Stonehenge Trip

It is not long now until Year Five invade Stonehenge! We are due to go on Friday 6th October so please make sure that the money for the trip is with school as soon possible (via our new Schoolcomms system). 

We drove past Stonehenge in the holidays on the way to see one of my friends. We stupidly went on a Friday (note to self, never do the A303 on a Friday afternoon!) but it was great to see these rather famous stones again.

I can't wait to go back!

Streets Alive!

This event has been organised to mark International Car Free Day and all the schools in Dorchester are participating in some shape or form. Hopefully, you have seen the posters attached to Ms Pluck's weekly letter home. We also have the posters up in school and have shared the information with the children.

I am hoping to take 30 Year Five children to the event via walking bus/bicycle/scooter. This is on a strictly first come, first serve basis. If your child has been chosen, we will be in touch with you as soon as possible to finalise the arrangements for the day.

The event is open to all of our families and will run until 5pm so why not come down after school and join us?

Blog Squad

As you can imagine, writing the school Blog is quite a time consuming process! Not only that, I do tend to live in my Year Five 'bubble' so I don't always know what is going on in the rest of the school.

To right that wrong, the school has its very own 'Blog Squad' that comprises of two children from each year group who report back on what has been happening in their year group. They are brilliant. I just need to recruit two new members for Year Five and then we have the full compliment.

Watch this space...

Well, that's it for this week.

If you are a Year Five parent, I hope that you received the Welcome letter that I sent out last Friday. If not, please contact the school office as soon as possible as is packed full of useful information.

I hope you all have a fabulous week and I hope to see lots of you at Friday's Streets Alive! event in Acland Road.

Mrs Ray

(who loves connecting with her colleagues. She went to Wellness by the Lakes last Sunday with Miss Ashley and Miss Woodley and went for a spin in her car - aka Silly Mini - with Mr Haigh on Friday!)