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