Newsletter | 24 January 2025
A Note from Our Head
Dear Parents,
According to the media, this week should not have gone well as it started with ‘Blue Monday’, supposedly the most depressing day of the year. You’ll not be surprised to learn that there is no real science behind this claim, but I found it interesting that despite this, Blue Monday seemed to be the topic of conversation and made headlines in the media. Whilst in many ways this was just harmless fun, it does show the power of suggestion and that the words we use matter. On Monday, I used my assembly to explore the power of our words. I explained how each one of us has the choice to use our words to either make a positive difference to others or to bring others down.
I am happy to report that whilst the rest of the world may be feeling the January blues, at Castle Court it has been another week full of positivity. This is perhaps best demonstrated by the lovely emails I have received from colleagues celebrating the wonderful things your children have been doing. These include the kindness shown by our older pupils to our younger pupils, the commitment and enthusiasm shown by pupils in lessons, and the humility and compassion shown to visiting teams when playing matches. Reading these comments fills me with pride but also reminds me that whilst words may be powerful, it is when they are combined with positive action that they truly have the power to transform lives.
In other news, our Year 8 pupils have been working hard on their ‘Apprentice’ style challenge. In their Computer Studies lessons, they have worked in small groups to create a new product with a USP, a promotional video and a 3-year business plan. If that wasn’t enough, our budding entrepreneurs presented to over 150 ‘dragons’ (our Year 3-8 pupils) to decide who would win. The result is in the newsletter…!
On Thursday it was lovely to meet with a number of parents at our newly founded Social Committee. At the meeting we were able to share details of our Family Fun Day in the Summer Term, which we hope will be a wonderful opportunity for us to come together as a whole Castle Court community and for you to enjoy spending time with your children. More details will follow, but for now do save the date: 6 June!
I am delighted to announce that two Castle Court pupils have been selected to represent Dorset at the Southwest Cross Country Championships in Cornwall on Saturday 1 February. I wish Maddie B and Arthur K the best of luck.
Finally, as the weather remains cold it is really important that the children wrap up warmly so that they can enjoy their break times. I would kindly request that children come to school in a warm coat (rather than a Dryrobe) as these are rather bulky.
Best wishes,
Mrs Katie Johnson Head
Head’s Awards are given out every Friday morning in assembly to children nominated by their class teacher or form tutor; the reasons for these are many and varied, including outstanding effort, overcoming difficulty, or helping a friend in need.
A huge congratulations for their efforts goes to…
RECB Jasper
RECS Kaydon P1D Toby
Felicity
Save the Dates: Spring Term 2025
CCSCommunity
Choir
8:35amEveryTuesdayatintheFamily Lounge!Everyoneis welcome!
World Book Day: This will be on Thursday 6 March
Red Nose Day: This will be on Friday 21 March
Keep an eye out for more information!
Parents’ Evenings
Nursery: Weds 12 February
Reception, Years 1 and 2: Thurs 13 February
Years 3 &4: Thurs 27 Feb
Year 5: Tues 4 March
Year 8 Scholarship Assessment Days
Please see dates of these below and check your emails/post carefully for exact timings, which will be confirmed to you by the schools.
Sport – 27th January
Music – 28/29th January
Bryanston
Art/IT/DT – 29th January
Performing Arts – 30th January
All Rounder – 30th January
Academic – 31st January
Academic – 10/11th February
Art – 12th February
Design – 6th February
Canford
Drama – 5th February
Music – 27/28th January
Sport (boys) – 31st January
Sport (girls) – 3rd February
Clayesmore Week beginning 27th January
Trips
Year 7 - Hampton Court - Thursday 30 January
Year 8 - Canford Resource Centre - Thursday 13 February
Year 4 - Tutankhamun Museum - Thursday 27 February
Reception - Compton Acres - Thursday 13 March
Year 1 - East Dorset Museum - Tuesday 18 March
Performances
The Year 3 Play (‘Animal Antics!’)will be performed on Thursday 13 February at 9am.
Year 4 will perform ‘Wind in the Willows’ to parents on Wednesday 26 March at 2.30pm.
The Senior Play will be held on Thursday 3 July at 6pm.
February Half-Term: Please note that this will run from Monday 17 February. All children should return to school on Monday 24 February.
Easter break: This will run from Monday 31 March. All children should return to school on Tuesday 22 April.
Parent Information
The school diary for the next two weeks is as follows:
Canford Music Scholarship Assessment Days (Mon/Tues)
Monday 27 Jan
Bryanston Sports Scholarship Assessment Day
08:35 CCS Community Choir, Family Lounge
14:00 CAVE: Bikeability Level 2 (Yr6)
Tuesday 28 Jan
14:00 Mixed Hockey vs Bryanston Prep - Yr 3&4
TBC U13 PEDSSA Netball Tournament
Bryanston Art, CompSci, D&T Scholarship Assessment Days
The Clayesmore Open Morning will run from 10.30am-12.30pm on Saturday 1st February. Please book a place using this link.
Paul Manning will run a Football Clinic at school over half-term. Please email manning_paul_@hotmail. com to find out more!
Wednesday 29 Jan
12:00 U11 Boys' In2Hockey County finals - Timings TBC
14:00 Girls' Netball & Boys' Hockey vs Clayesmore - Yr 5-8
Year 7 History Trip to Hampton Court
Thursday 30 Jan
Friday 31 Jan
Bryanston All-Rounder and Performing Arts Scholarship Days
Bryanston Academic Scholarship Assessment Day
Canford Boys' Sport Scholarship Assessment Day
Monday 03 Feb Canford Girls' Sport Scholarship Assessment Day
08:35 CCS Community Choir, Family Lounge
Tuesday 04 Feb
09:00 U13 IAPS Netball at Cranleigh: timings TBC
14:00 Mixed Hockey vs Durlston - Years 3&4
Canford Drama Scholarship Assessment Day
Wednesday 05 Feb
14:00 Boys' Hockey & Girls' Netball vs Durlston - Years 5-8
Canford DT Scholarship Assessment Day
Thursday 06 Feb
08:35 CCPaF Class Reps' Meeting, Family Lounge
09:00 IAPS Regional Swimming Finals at Millfield, Timings TBC
Friday 07 Feb
08:15 Parent and Staff Prayer Group, Board Room Governors' Marketing & Education Committee Meetings
16:30 Yr 6-8 Music Festival (Hall)
By clicking on this image, you will be able to access a free copy of the UK’s largest parenting magazine, which has the backing of the NHS in improving the physical and mental well-being of families in England.
Triple P Parenting Programmes will be running in the evenings at Longfleet Primary School in Poole. If you are interested in exploring new parenting strategies or considering a paediatric referral, please do click on the image for more information.
Mr Mills continues to run Karate & SelfDefence classes for children and adults aged 7 and up (Y3+) on Saturday mornings 9.50am–11:20am in the Sports Hall. He also runs Little Ninjas for children in reception, Year 1 and Year 2 from 9am-9.45am. For more information or to book a free try-out session, please contact him on bdemills@yahoo.co.uk, bmills@castlecourt.com or on 07801730097.
Bushido Wado-Ryu Karate Club | https:// bushidokarate.martialartsuk.org | Find him on Facebook/Instagram/YouTube using: @dorsetkarate
The MC Performance Centre in Canford Magna are offering an Aspiring Athlete Programme for children in Year 7 and up. This is a 12week programme on Thursday evenings, starting in February. If you are interested, please call Mark on 07720377541 or go to https://www. mcperformance. co.uk/
Wimborne Wayfarers are looking for players in the Under 10 and Under 12 categories. Training is on Tuesdays from 6-7pm (Under 10s) and from 78pm (Under 12s) at QE School. Please do have a look at their website for more information: https:// wimbornewayfarershc.co.uk/
If you are interested in booking a space on the MultiActivity Club at Lytchett Minster School for February half-term, please contact Kirsty on kirsty@starscorporateltd. co.uk.
Outdoor Learning: Years 1 and 2
Years 1 and 2 loved taking their learning outdoors on Tuesday of this week.
They were making friendship bracelets in pairs, so that they could help each other.
The different colours of wool represented a theme in nature chosen by the children. For example, blue means sea or sky, green means grass, white means snow or clouds, and yellow means sunshine!
The World of Computing
E- Safety
We are busy preparing for this year's global, Safer Internet Day (11th February 2025). Currently, our Year 8 e-Safety and Media Leaders are gathering lots of information so that they can create media content for parents to inform them of some of the issues that our children are facing in today's online world. They have already created a questionnaire for our Year 3 and 4 children and they will be asking similar questions to our Year 5 and 6 children this week.
In Year 4 and 6 the children have started or are about to start creating a PowerPoint presentation focusing on e-Safety tips and information aimed at year 3 and 4 children. In a couple of weeks, the Year 6 children will review each others work and decide which group should present to all of the Year 3 and 4 children in their section assembly.
The Year 7 and 8 students have begun creating their own e-safety Canva videos. Their focus is to present information for parents. They will also critique each others’ work. All of the presentations put forward will be displayed around the school on our signage screens and will be uploaded to our social media pages.
In the week of the 11th of February, all children from Years 1-8 will have e-Safety workshops to help them make good choices when faced with the online world.
Finally, the latest e-Safety guide (Setting boundaries around gaming) has been uploaded to Edulink - Noticeboard - e-Safety folder - Gaming Guides. You can find out lots more information in this area of the Edulink App.
In addition, two websites that we strongly recommend are:
Keep Children Safe Online: Information, Advice, Support - Internet Matters
Parental controls & privacy settings guides | Internet Matters
Year 8 Apprentice Challenge
As part of the Year 8 Computer Studies lesson, the students have been collaborating in small groups on the 'Apprentice' challenge. They were asked to create a new product with a USP and then create a presentation to launch it. The main focus of the task was to use their IT skills to make their product and their company credible.
They were asked to include and create: alogo, strapline, explanation of how the product was devised, a promotional video, 3 year business plan and where the product could be bought. As an additional task, they were asked to focus on a separate social media strategy to promote their product.
Minecraft Club
It has been good to have Minecraft Club up and running again this term; the children are making excellent progress with their online worlds!
In class last week, the students presented to each other and were then grilled in a Q & A session. The groups then voted for the team that presented their product most effectively. On Thursday, the top two teams went 'head to head' and presented to all of the children in Years 3-8. The children voted for their favourite and for the first time ever, it was a draw! Well done to both teams that took part (pictured) - their presentations were amazing.
Artist of the Week
This week’s Artist of the Week is Myles, with this accomplished self-portrait. Miss Sinclair-Smith, our Head of Art, was particularly impressed with the level of detail that Myles shows in this piece of work.
Well done, Myles!
Music Exams
Does your son/daughter learn a musical instrument outside of school and visit the local centre in Poole or Bournemouth to take their exams?
Did you know that Castle Court host an examiner visit each term which is open to all pupils in the school, regardless of where they learn, and their teacher can enter them to take their exams at school?
Please do get in touch with Mr Smith –jsmith@castlecourt.com - for more information if you would like your son/daughter to be entered for their exam at school.
They would therefore not need to be taken to their exam by a parent or grandparent and miss long periods of time away from school: our exams take place within the school day and work around the pupils’ commitments.
The closing date for our exams this term is Wednesday 12th February and we are hosting an examiner visit on Monday 17th March.
Looking ahead to the Summer Term
The Summer Term starts for children on Wednesday 23 April
Years 6-8 Swimming Gala will be held on Monday 9 June at 2pm
Pre-Prep Sports Day will be held on Friday 4 July from 9am
Move Up Morning for children in current Years 2 to 7 will take place on Tuesday 8 July.
The Senior Play will be performed to parents at 6pm on Thursday 3 July
Years 3-5 Swimming Gala will be held on Tuesday 10 June at 2pm
The Summer Term ends with Speech Day on Wednesday 9 July
Activity Weeks
Please pencil in 12-16 May for our annual off-timetable Activity Week for Years 3-8 pupils.For pupils in Years 5-8 there will be a residential component to the week. Pupils in Years 3-4 will have a programme of activities in school and out, with their annual overnight camp scheduled for later in June. Further details will follow!
Prep Sports Day will be held on Friday 27 June
The Year 8 PSPQ Exhibition will be open to parents from 8.30am on Thursday 12 June.
The PSPQ Presentations will take place from 6pm that evening.
New Events for this year: Friday 6 June - Family Fun Day!
The Years 3 and 4 Summer Concert will be held in the Hall at 9am on Wednesday 25 June
Please look out for more information on this; planning is well underway and it looks set to be an amazing event.
Wednesday 11 June at 6pm
The Handlebards - a Shakespeare Company - are performing Much Ado about Nothing. More information will follow in due course.
Please note that this far ahead, the dates and times listed are subject to change.
Points of Contact
Class Teachers / Form Tutors:
Reception Mrs Brewer | Mrs Speer
Year 1 Mrs Dobson | Mrs Zachariades
Year 2 Mr Antell | Mrs Glenn
Year 3 Mrs Baugniet | Mr Bambrey
Year 4 Dr Lippiatt/Mrs Deards | Mr Laidler
Year 5 Mr Mills/Mrs Vivian | Mrs Miller/Miss Sinclair-Smith
Year 6
Year 7
Year 8
Mrs Rule/Mrs Major | Mr Fermor-Dunman/Mrs Hoey
Mr Jordan/Mrs Harmer | Mrs Lea/Mr Cheadle
Mr Phillips/Ms Thompson | Mrs Gallop/Mr Smith
Section Leaders:
Pre-Prep Mr Antell
Years 3& 4 Mr Laidler
Years 5&6 Mrs Munns
Years 7&8 Ms Thompson
Nursery:
Badger Cubs Mrs Genge | Mrs Tomblin
Badgers Mrs Bartlett | Mrs Wilson
The Nursery Manager is Miss Hixson
Your first point of contact for day to day questions and enquiries related to your child(ren) is their tutor or class teacher.
Heads of Department:
English Ms Thompson
Maths
Science
To report an absence, please call the Office on 01202 694438, or send us an email.
If you wish to make an appointment to see Mrs Johnson, please email hmsec@castlecourt.com
Miller
Gallop
History Mrs Rule
CAVE
Hoey
Music Mr Smith
Geography Mrs Hoey
Sport Mr Fermor-Dunman
DT Mr Phillips
Art Miss Sinclair-Smith
SENDCo Mrs Harmer
Leadership Team:
Mr Dunsford Assistant Head (Pastoral)
Mr Edmond Assistant Head (Operations)
Mrs Hoey Head of CAVE
Mrs Munns Director of Teaching and Learning
Mr Norris Bursar
Mrs Robson Admissions and Marketing
