BAD WEATHER CONDITIONS

I am writing to confirm with you the arrangements that are in place in the event of bad weather conditions. Every effort is made to keep the school open wherever possible. Staff who live locally and are able to get to school make every effort to attend school. Support systems are in place at school to provide a duty of care to look after your child.
If weather conditions deteriorate during the day I appreciate that parents who live further afield need to collect their child to ensure a safe journey home, this is acceptable. For those who live locally the school will remain open until the end of the day unless it is absolutely necessary to close. If you have access to the internet, log onto www.dorsetforyou.com/closedservices/schools, where all schools closures will be listed, this system also informs local radio and we will endeavour to keep the school website up to date.

Merlin Times

Did you know our school has an online newspaper? ‘Merlin Times’ is an excellent opportunity for your child/children to write for a real audience. We have four sections on our Online Newspaper; Class News, Club News, Sports News and Other News. We welcome contributions from school or home and hope that you and your child/children will engage in this new and exciting writing project.

Merlin Times can be accessed from the pupil page within SWGfL’s Merlin. To login to Merlin visit the school website at: www.princeofwales.dorset.sch.uk and click the SWGfL Merlin logo. You can then use your child’s username and password supplied in November to access the site. Anyone who has lost or not received their username and password should see Mr. Spracklen or Mrs. Dukes.

£272 RAISED FOR S.E.N I.C.T

A big thank-you to all those who purchased Raffle Tickets at or in advance of the I.C.T Evening for Parents on Monday 8th November, 2010. The raffle raised £272 which will be used to support the use of I.C.T for pupils with S.E.N (Special Educational Needs) here at The Prince of Wales First School. The event itself was very well attended and we hope that everyone went away with a fresh understanding of how they can support their child/children in their learning at home using the power of SWGfL’s Merlin.

New Pirate Ship

You will have noticed the new play equipment that now stands in the playground. We have been extremely fortunate in receiving a Lottery Grant for £10,000 towards the cost of this new play equipment, and this, along with monies raised by POWSA and a kind donation from a local Charity, The Royal Antediluvian Order of the Buffaloes (ROAB) has enabled the school to purchase this new equipment. I would like to thank POWSA for their continued efforts in fundraising and parents for supporting POWSA events. I would like to remind parents that you must not leave your child unsupervised on the play equipment after school hours. We hope this new equipment brings many hours of fun.

We're making the news!

Article from View from Dorchester weekly newspaper; 'PUPILS at a Dorchester school have no excuse for missing homework now after it launched a pioneering new piece of technology. The school is one of the first primary schools in the country to launch an iPhone app for parents and carers after its ICT co-ordinator Gary Spracklen developed the idea. The specially devised iPhone app will make it easier for parents to keep abreast of the latest news and events at The Prince of Wales First School. Mr Spracklen said: “The iPhone app has been developed in consultation with parents and carers and is intended to continue to support the strong communication links between home and school. “Our parents and carers like to have a choice in how they access information, the iPhone app is an excellent development which supports the wide choice of communication channels already used by the school.” The iPhone app offers parents, carers and members of the wider school community a powerful tool for keeping track of news and events from the first School'. To read the full article, please click the following link: http://www.viewfrompublishing.co.uk/news_view/7382/15/1/dorchester-school-launches-own-iphone-app

New School Website!

 As part of our continued work to improve communication between school and home we have launched a new Prince of Wales First School website. The website works in partnership with our VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) Merlin to provide pupils, parents/carers and members of the wider school community the most up-to-date information. The school website will continue to provide information for prospective parents/carers, however current parents are encouraged to refer to Merlin for events, policies, timetables, club information, etc that were previously available through the school website.

Merlin access and how this platform can be used to improve communication and support learning at home as well as school will be discussed at The Parent I.C.T Evening on Monday 8th November, 2010. If you require further information please speak to Mr. Spracklen or alternatively email the school office at: office@princeofwales.dorset.sch.uk.

School iPhone App: AVAILABLE NOW!

As part of our continued work to improve communication between school and home we have launched the Prince of Wales First School iPhone App. The App is available to all iPhone and iPod Touch users through iTunes. The app brings parents, carers and members of the wider school community a powerful tool for keeping track of news and events at the school. Users of the app can view our school calendar and keep up to date with term times. The news section will provide a useful reference point for each class and you can contact the office using a built in feature. For further information please click the following link: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/pow-the-prince-wales-first/id399614185?mt=8&uo=4 or see Mr. Spracklen.

Money raised from Harvest celebrations

Thank you so much for the generous donations towards our Harvest Celebrations this year. We had a wonderful response also to the Harvest café, many thanks to POWSA and also yourselves in contributing and attending a lovely event. A total of £400 was raised for Ladakh Flood Appeal which is absolutely brilliant!

Link School Visit: Newport Junior School

On Wednesday 20th October, 2010 four Year 2 and four Year 4 pupils joined Mr. Farrington, Mr. Spracklen and Mrs. Howell on a visit to Newport Junior School in Aldershot, Hampshire. The visit was the first in a project to link with two federated schools, Belle Vue Infant School and Newport Community Junior School. A selection of pictures from the day can be viewed on the school website.

Year 4 WWII Radio Show

On Monday 18th October, 2010 Year 4 had a visit from Russell Prue (Tiger Anderton Radio). The children had a fantastic day using a school radio studio kit to produce and broadcast a live radio programme  about World War Two. On the day, the class was split up into teams to work on the individual components that go to make up a radio show. The shows broadcast on the day are now available on the school website, simply click 'Work' > 'Year 4' > 'Radio Show'. There are two shows to choose between, '12pm Live Show' and '3pm Live Show'. 

New Website Launched!

As part of our continued work to improve communication between school and home we have launched a new Prince of Wales First School website. The website works in partnership with our VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) Merlin to provide pupils, parents/carers and members of the wider school community the most up-to-date information. The school website will continue to provide information for prospective parents/carers, however current parents are encouraged to refer to Merlin for events, policies, timetables, club information, etc that were previously available through the school website.

Merlin access and how this platform can be used to improve communication and support learning at home as well as school will be discussed at The Parent I.C.T Evening on Monday 8th November, 2010. If you require further information in the meantime please speak to Mr. Spracklen or alternatively email the school office at: office@princeofwales.dorset.sch.uk.

John Hoskin wins Farmer of the Year!

The Prince of Wales First School congratulates John Hoskin and all the team at Maiden Castle Farm for their recent British Beef Farmer and Overall Farmer of the Year win. Pupils here at the Prince of Wales First School have been visiting Maiden Castle Farm regularly as part of their work on Food and Farming. The awards praised the farm's work with education, stating, 'Education is taken extremely seriously at Maiden Castle Farm. John’s daughter-in-law, Hazel, is trained to host regular visits of school- children'. To read more about the win, please click here.

Food for Life: Award

The Prince of Wales First School has scooped an award for healthy food after connecting with the countryside. The Prince of Wales School in Dorchester has won the Food for Life Partnership’s Bronze Award for its healthy and climate-friendly food culture. It serves seasonal meals, which are freshly prepared by school cook Shirley Thompson at theThomas Hardye School. The Maiden Castle Road school gives every pupil the opportunity to visit a farm, cook and participate in food growing activities. Pupils and parents are also involved in making improvements to the first school’s menu and dining experience.

Janet Moger, who is the healthy schools co-ordinator, said: “The children love learning to cook, often with fruit and vegetables that we have grown in the school grounds. “We have been really fortunate to have Laurie Barbour, our resident creative force who has taken a lead in creating a Dig for Victory Garden. “We are also fortunate to have our site manager John Butcher, who, with help from Dorset V Involved, has created raised beds and a polytunnel so all our children can learn about growing their own food.”

The school has been working with the Soil Association-led Food for Life Partnership to transform its catering culture by connecting the children with eco-friendly and healthy food. Catering manager Shirley said: “Since September 2009 we have been providing meals with produce that is locally sourced, some of it organic. “It is important to support Dorset farmers. We prepare all our meals fresh on the premises. We try to listen to feedback from the children and provide a tasty and nutritious meal. It must be working because the number of children choosing to eat a hot lunch has increased threefold.”

Pupils have been visiting the nearby Maiden Castle Farm. Hazel Hoskin, from Maiden Castle Farm, said: “Our family has been pleased to welcome the children from each class in the Prince of Wales School, who visit our farm once a term. “This helps them to learn about the way in which their food is produced and the work of farmers.”

Headteacher Peter Farrington added: “We are very keen to share what we have done with raising the profile of food education with other local schools. “Visitors are very welcome to visit to see our gardens, talk to staff about our cooking programme and our learning about food programme.”

Taken from Dorset Echo: Wednesday 5th May, 2010