| 7 March 2025
A Note from Our Head
Dear Parents,
World Book Day is one of my favourite days of the year, as I love to see pupils and colleagues having so much fun dressing up as much-loved book characters and embracing the spirit of the day. Whether it was Auggie from Wonder, the witch from Room on the Broom, Winnie the Pooh, Willy Wonka, Peas in a Pod or Mr Edmond’s Hansel (a sight I may never quite get over!) the vast array of characters brought such joy and colour to our school. Thank you for your support of this day; I hope when you watch the video of the day and see the lovely pictures, you’ll see that all your efforts were worth it. It really was such a memorable day.
However, World Book Day is so much more than just dressing up. It is about celebrating and promoting the joy of reading. This week we have been very fortunate to welcome some brilliant local authors to Castle Court to share their stories with our pupils and inspire them in their own writing. It has also been wonderful to see our older pupils spending time reading with our younger pupils. These shared experiences are so important and are a key part of the family approach at Castle Court.
Whilst a lot of the week has been focused on literature, there have been other highlights too. The U13 girls were runners up at a very competitive county netball tournament. They performed brilliantly and should be extremely proud of themselves. We have also heard that 9 pupils have qualified for the National Biathlon Finals at Bath University. This is a fantastic achievement and we wish all the pupils well in their races at the end of March.
Today we also enjoyed welcoming 3 primary schools to a Performing Arts Day where they had the opportunity to take part in a number of workshops culminating in a performance to their parents. It is really important that we continue to foster a close working relationship with our local state schools so that they understand what schools like ours are really like and the benefits they offer to others in the community.
In my World Book Day assembly, I shared the following quote: ‘Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination and the journey. They are home.’
Whilst I used it to illustrate the power of books, I believe this quote also links to what we do at Castle Court. We want to equip our pupils with all that they need for their journey through life - the knowledge, skills and character they will require to chart their own successful path. In doing so, I hope Castle Court will always feel like home, a place of comfort and warmth pupils can return to whenever they want.
I hope as we head into the weekend, you get the opportunity to curl up with a wonderful book. Wishing you a lovely weekend.
Mrs Katie Johnson Head
Head’s Awards
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…
School Diary
The school diary for the next two weeks is as follows:
Monday 10 Mar 16:30 Performing Arts Presentation (Hall)
08:35 CCS Community Choir, Family Lounge
Tuesday 11 Mar
12:00 Themed Lunch: Balinese New Year Festival Lunch
14:00 Mixed Netball/Hockey vs Sandroyd - Years 3&4
Wednesday 12 Mar 14:00 Boys' Hockey & Girls' Netball vs Sandroyd - Years 5-8
08:30 Reception trip to Compton Acres
Thursday 13 Mar
13:30 Year 8 Trip to RNLI
16:45 Year 6 Parents' Evening
Friday 14 Mar LAMDA exams
Monday 17 Mar
Tuesday 18 Mar
09:30 Open Morning
16:30 ABRSM Informal Concert (Hall)
09:00 ABRSM Music Exams
16:45 Year 7 Parents’ Evening
08:35 CCS Community Choir, Family Lounge
08:45 Year 2 Trip to Wimborne: ‘Experiencing Easter’
09:40 Year 1 Trip to Museum of East Dorset
14:00 Boys’ Hockey and Girls’ Netball vs Port Regis - Years 3&4
14:15 Year 2 Easter Arts and Crafts with parents
16:30 Years 5-8 Spring Concert in the Hall
Wednesday 19 Mar 14:00 Boys’ Hockey and Girls’ Netball vs Port Regis - Years 5-8
Thursday 20 Mar Year 2 Trip to Marwell Zoo
Friday 21 Mar Red Nose Day - MUFTI Day for Comic Relief
08:15 Parent and Staff Prayer Group Meeting in the Boardroom
Parent Information
If you need to visit Bartletts for uniform over Easter, please note that they will be operating by appointment only. To book an appointment, please email bartletts. schoolwear@hotmail.co.uk
Safety outside the PrePrep Entrance
When leaving the site, if you do stop to allow your child to play outside of the Pre-Prep area, please ensure that they stay within the fenced section. They should not be near the gas covers or the main road around the site, for safety reasons.
Next week is British Science Week! As part of this, there is a poster competition for all primary aged children on the theme of ‘Adapt and Change’. This could be animals adapting to changing habitats, humans adapting to new technologies… If your child would like to take part, please see the details at this link.
Easter Sports & Crafts
Paul Manning will be running a Sports and Crafts Camp at school from 31 March to 4 April. For more information and to book, please contact him on manning_paul_ @hotmail.com.
Mr Mills runs 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.
Love Productions are looking for contestants for the next series of the Junior Bake Off. This is open to all children aged 9-15 years, with filming taking place in July. Please note that applications should be in by Sunday 23 March. Call Hannah on 02070674833 with any questions!
Wimborne Rugby Club still has a few places in some of their youth training sessions.If your children have been inspired by the Six Nations, they might like to join the club for a few end of season training sessions. The club has sessions for children from U6 to U12 and is offering reduced training fees to join for the rest of the season. If you would like to know more, please click HERE.
Wimborne Wayfarers are looking for players in the Under 10 and Under 12 categories. Training is on Tuesdays from 6-7pm (U10s) and from 7-8pm (U12s) at QE School. Please have a look at their website for more information.
Wimborne Cricket Club have organised two taster sessions for girls, on 20 March and 3 April, 6-7pm, in our Sports Hall. Please email Michelle on michellehwimbornecc@outl ook.com for more information.
The Week in Brief…
Mrs Munns made the most of the lovely weather and took her Section Assembly outside!
Our U11 Hockey team went to Canford PrepFest on Wednesday, where they got through to the semi-finals! Unfortunately, they then went on to lose on penalties, but should absolutely be commended for their excellent playing. Well done, boys!
SugarCraft met Science…the results are truly outstanding. Read on for more!
Our photographers continue to do some incredible work under the guidance of Miss T. Read on to see some of their shots and learn what their focus was this week.
It was, of course, World Book Week! From Elphaba to Mario, the costume parade was amazing; the effort this year was superb and everyone looked fantastic. Please read on to find out what the different year groups got up to. Huge thanks to Miss T for coordinating everything across the school.
Year 6 Trip to LUSH
Year 6 enjoyed a visit to the LUSH Green Hub this week, which links to their work in Geography as well as the earth care strand of CAVE and their work on future careers.
Thank you to Mrs Hoey for leading this trip.
Year 3 Challenge the Big, Bad Wolf…
Year 3 have been looking at houses and homes in their PSHCE lessons, so to tie in with World Book Week, they ventured outside to build a home strong enough to withstand the Big, Bad Wolf (otherwise known as Mr Bambrey)! huffing and puffing!!
Castle Club
Castle Club runs every Monday evening, making the most of the longer, lighter evenings and our beautiful grounds.
This week, the children looked at knife skills and the art of whittling: both key survival skills as well as relating to the CAVE strands of earth and self care.
Artist of the Week
This week’s Artist of the Week is Adam from Year 2, with this wonderful bear collage. The children in Year 2 have been looking at Native American art, focusing in particular on the strong connection that the indigenous people of America have with nature and animals.
What Miss Sinclair-Smith liked most about this piece was the level of detail that Adam managed to achieve. He also showed great commitment to his work when bringing it all together.
Well done, Adam!
Sugar Craft
Last week, our Sugar Crafters learned about Rangoli, a traditional Indian art form consisting of bright, colourful and intricate designs. They then used this knowledge to decorate some huge cookies!
They then turned their hands this week to the solar system, inspired by the planetary parade. They made scale sugar paste models of the planets that could be seen from Earth and placed them on cupcakes. Our lovely Science teacher, Mrs Lea, was super impressed with their accuracy!
Red Nose Day 2025
This year marks a massive 40 years of Comic Relief.
We will be marking Red Nose Day at school on Friday 21 March, with a mufti day in return for a donation to charity (we suggest £1 per child).
Further details will be confirmed next week.
Red Nose Day will be on Friday 21 March
Comic Relief are making a selection of noses from across their 40 years of work available this year!
Which one will you be wearing?!
Looking ahead to the Summer Term
The Summer Term starts for children on Wednesday 23 April. Tea and Prep will be available.
Years 5-8 Swimming Gala will be held on Monday 9 June at 2.15pm
Pre-Prep Sports Day will be held on Friday 27 June
The Senior Play will be performed to parents at 6pm on Thursday 3 July
Senior School Sports Day will be held on Friday 4 July from 9am
The Years 3 and 4 Summer Concert will be held in the Hall at 9am on Wednesday 25 June
Years 3&4 Swimming Gala will be held on Tuesday 10 June at 2pm
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.
The Summer Term ends with Speech Day on Wednesday 9 July
Move Up Morning for children in current Years 2 to 7 will take place on Tuesday 8 July.
Activity Weeks
Our annual off-timetable Activity Week for Years 3-8 pupils will run in the week of 12-16 May.
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.
Details will be emailed to parents shortly.
New Events for this year:
Friday 6 June - Family Fun Day! 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 the above dates and times are now CONFIRMED.
Contact Us
Class Teachers / Form Tutors
Reception Mrs Brewer | Mrs Speer
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
Year 7
Year 8
Mrs Dobson | Mrs Zachariades
Mr Antell | Mrs Glenn
Mrs Baugniet | Mr Bambrey
Dr Lippiatt/Mrs Deards | Mr Laidler
Mr Mills/Mrs Vivian | Mrs Miller/Miss Sinclair-Smith
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
Heads of Department:
English Ms Thompson
Maths Mrs Miller
Science Mrs Gallop
History Mrs Rule
CAVE Mrs Hoey
Music Mr Smith
Geography Mrs Hoey
Sport Mr Fermor-Dunman
DT Mr Phillips
Art Miss Sinclair-Smith
SENDCo Mrs Harmer
To report an absence, please call the Office on 01202 694438, or send us an email.
Nursery:
Badger Cubs Mrs Genge | Mrs Tomblin
Badgers Mrs Bartlett | Mrs Wilson
The Nursery Manager is Miss Hixson
Leadership Team:
Mr Dunsford Assistant Head (Pastoral)
Mr Edmond Assistant Head (Operations)
Mrs Hoey Head of CAVE
Mrs Munns Director of Teaching & Learning
Mr Norris Bursar
Mrs Robson Admissions and Marketing
Your first point of contact for day to day questions and enquiries related to your child(ren) is their tutor or class teacher.
If you wish to make an appointment to see Mrs Johnson, please email hmsec@castlecourt.com
