Newsletters

This week, our year 6 scientists stepped into the shoes (or rather, the beaks) of Charles Darwin’s famous Galapagos finches. In order to see natural selection in action, the children tested various "beak" types—using tongs, pegs, and tweezers—to see which would be best to gather seeds (frozen peas). It was a high-energy race for survival that taught us how specific traits allow a species to evolve and thrive over millions of years. Ask your child which tool was the "evolutionary winner" today!

A big thank you for your kindness and generosity for donating some fabulous items for our Nursery and Pre-school areas. The children are really enjoying using them whilst learning through their play and are making such good use of them already.

If anyone has any donations of pushchairs or prams for our outside area and dolls clothes for our dolls and teddies, it would be much appreciated.

We are delighted to share more information about our wonderful reading volunteers from Read With Me: Lynne Franklin, Colin Harman, David Crees, Christine Riley, Tina McCausland and Jill French. (photographs below).

Read With Me is a charity that supports children in developing their reading skills by providing trained volunteers to read with them regularly on a one-to-one basis. Through these sessions, children build confidence, improve their fluency, and deepen their understanding of texts. The charity’s goal is to foster a love of reading while helping children reach their full potential.

We feel incredibly fortunate that each year group benefits from a dedicated volunteer who reads with the children every week. To show our appreciation and support their important work, we would like to give back by raising funds for the charity, helping more children develop their reading skills.

10k Run for charity

As part of our annual Literature Festival week, we will be hosting a 10K run on Monday 18th May. The 10K Run is a fun and inclusive event where each class will take part in a 20-minute running session. During this time, children will aim to complete as many laps of the track as possible, working together as a team. All laps will be counted and added up to give a class total, and the class with the highest number of laps overall will be crowned the winners. 

We kindly invite donations to support this fantastic charity, which can be made either in cash or via our ParentPay system.

To find out more about Read With Me or if you are interested in their volunteer services, follow the link below.

More Information – Available HERE

Year 4 had an incredible day stepping back into the world of the Anglo-Saxons! The children were fully immersed in history from start to finish, taking part in a wide range of exciting, hands-on activities.

Throughout the morning, the children explored traditional Anglo-Saxon crafts. They carefully created their own bracelets, shaped pottery, and even made candles.

One of the highlights of the day was the chance to become warriors! The children enthusiastically took part in mock battles, using spears, shields, and bows and arrows. They showed great teamwork, imagination, and energy as they stepped into the roles of Anglo-Saxon fighters.

In the afternoon, the focus shifted from warriors to historians, as the children became archaeologists. They carefully excavated and examined “Saxon artefacts,” piecing together clues about life in the past. It was fantastic to see their curiosity and excitement as they uncovered hidden objects and discussed what they might have been used for.

Overall, it was an amazing and fun-filled day that brought history to life in the most memorable way. 

We understand that there may be occasions when you need to pass on an important message to your child’s teacher in the morning. If so, please write a note and either send it in with your child or hand it to a member of staff. They will ensure it is delivered as soon as they have finished welcoming children into school.

This helps staff supervising entry points to remain focused on greeting pupils and ensuring a smooth and safe start to the school day.

Over the last few weeks, some Year 5 and Year 6 children have taken part in a 4 day swimming course where they have been lucky enough to travel to Dean Close swimming pool every day for some fun filled swimming lessons. This was provided to us by Move More, in conjunction with the charity Heidi’s Heroes. After the week-long course was completed, we were invited to the Cheltenham Lido for a celebration of their swimming efforts and perseverance over the week. All the children enjoyed time in the pool, having fun with the floats and showing off their new found confidence in the water. The children were then presented with a certificate from Paul, the founder of the charity Heidi’s Heroes, for all of their efforts and to encourage them to keep on swimming.

A huge well done to all the children who participated and represented Dunalley so well. Also a big thank you to Move More, Paul at Heidi’s Heroes,  Dean Close and Cheltenham Lido.

We are delighted to announce the return of our annual Literature Festival. This year’s celebration will take place from 18th to 22nd May and promises a rich programme of activities designed to inspire a love of reading and writing across our school community.

The festival forms part of the National Year of Reading, a nationwide initiative that highlights the vital role reading plays in developing creativity, confidence and academic success. Encouraging regular reading not only strengthens literacy skills but also broadens perspectives, supports wellbeing and fosters a lifelong enjoyment of learning. For more information, check out the website: National Year of Reading 2026 | National Literacy Trust

Throughout the week, students will have the opportunity to engage in a variety of exciting events, including:

Thank you for your continued support in promoting a love of reading both in school and at home.

Please can we remind all parents and carers that children should remain accompanied by their own parent/carer until the school doors are opened and staff are ready to welcome them in.

Although the gates may be opened slightly earlier to allow families onto site, this does not mean children should be left unattended or supervised by other adults who may be nearby or waiting at the doors.

As you know, there is a car park and road directly beside the school entrance which are unsupervised areas, and we have witnessed some children playing near these spaces while waiting for the doors to open. For safety reasons, it is important that children remain with their parent/carer at all times until they have entered school safely.

Thank you for your understanding and continued support in helping us keep all children safety. 

In this newsletter, Gloucestershire County Council share the latest updates, news and developments from around the county for families with SEND. 

We are aware that an increasing number of families are choosing to buy their children smartphones. While we recognise that this is a decision for parents and carers to make, we encourage families to carefully consider the potential challenges associated with children accessing this technology at an early age.

There are several organisations that offer helpful guidance for families:

• NSPCC – advice on online safety and supporting children’s wellbeing
• Internet Matters – practical tips on parental controls, apps, and device setup

• UK Safer Internet Centre – guides and resources for safer and responsible technology use

If you are considering getting your child their first device, you will also find a wealth of information on this website: Smartphone Free Childhood. This page may be of particular interest - Smartphone Alternatives for Kids.

We encourage you to take a few minutes to explore these resources and support your child in using technology safely and responsibly.

This year, to help make our Summer Fayre even more successful, we are inviting families and local businesses to sponsor a stall at the event.

We have a range of sponsorship packages available at different tiers, and all sponsors will be proudly featured in our publicity and advertising in the lead-up to the fayre.

If you would like to find out more, please email dunalleyptfa@gmail.com for further details.

Please take some time to look at the news, updates and events from the PTFA: 

This week in OPAL, some of our older children had the fantastic opportunity to work together to build a small bike that had been kindly donated. They showed excellent teamwork throughout, demonstrating patience, cooperation, and impressive problem-solving skills.

It was a real pleasure to see them take ownership of the project and experience such a strong sense of pride and achievement once the bike was completed. Moments like these help to develop confidence, responsibility, and teamwork – all while bringing plenty of smiles!

There’s also been lots of wool looming and weaving going on, with the children having great fun transforming the fence with bursts of colour.

BE A PART OF HISTORY!

Read all about the exciting day planned for June 14th below: