Newsletters

The photographer is in school on Tuesday 23rd June to take the Year 6 leavers & all class photographs. 

Please ensure your children are in full school uniform to help these photos become treasured keepsakes.

Year 6 pupils will not be wearing their leavers hoodies in the photographs, but they are welcome to wear them in school at other points of the day.

We are delighted to inform families that all wraparound care requests will be honoured in the Autumn Term.

Parental declaration forms will be sent out next week.

We wanted to remind you all that Dunalley is hosting an art exhibition and silent auction to raise money for the Cheltenham Animal Shelter. 

For the 100th anniversary, we have been receiving some wonderful pieces of pet-themed artwork which will be displayed in the school hall tomorrow, Saturday 20th June, from 2pm to 4pm.

Kind regards

The School Council

We Are an Award-Winning OPAL School

On Wednesday this week, we were delighted to welcome Rachel Murray, our OPAL Mentor, into school. Rachel spent time observing lunchtime play and chatting with our Positive Play Partners and other children to hear their thoughts about OPAL.

She was truly impressed by the creativity, energy and teamwork on display. Rachel particularly recognised how well we use our school grounds at lunchtime to enrich children’s play experiences, along with the fantastic range of resources available. Many of these come from family donations—proving that children can turn everyday items like old suitcases, drainpipes, sheets for painting and cargo nets into exciting play opportunities!

Following her visit, Rachel met with Claire Samways (OPAL Coordinator) and Sara Byrne (OPAL Lead) to complete our audit and discuss the initiative in more detail. We are absolutely thrilled to share that we have retained our Platinum Award, placing us in the top 1% of schools nationally for children’s play experiences.

A huge thank you goes to our wonderful team of OPAL Play Partners who support play across our lunchtimes, to our families for their ongoing generosity and support (including the washing of those wonderfully muddy uniforms!), and, most importantly, to our amazing children who bring our values to life every single day.

Thank you so much for your continued support and the donations that you regularly send in.  It all really does make a difference.

If you are able to donate anything, please mark it FAO: Sara Byrne.
Thank you again for your kindness and generosity!

As you know, we are excited to be introducing a new phonics programme – Essential Letters and Sounds (ELS). Our previous phonics programme has served our children well and has played an important role in helping our pupils to become successful readers. However, we are always looking for ways to build on our successes and ensure that our teaching reflects the very best evidence-informed practice. 

The response from both staff and children has already been incredibly positive. Thanks to the hard work of Miss Richards, who has led the introduction of the programme, our teachers have embraced ELS with enthusiasm and are already seeing children engage brilliantly with their daily phonics lessons. Classrooms are full of energy, participation and purposeful learning, and it has been wonderful to see children growing in confidence as they develop their reading skills.

We would also like to say a huge thank you to the wonderful parents and carers who have generously volunteered their time this week to help us prepare the resources needed for the new programme. Our laminators and guillotines have certainly been working overtime! Their support has enabled us to ensure that everything is ready for our children, and it has been a genuine pleasure to experience the community spirit that comes from working together. We are incredibly grateful for the time, enthusiasm and generosity that our volunteers have shown.

We look forward to sharing more about ELS with you over the coming months and to celebrating the impact it has on our children's learning.

Summer Safety Reminder

With the weekend almost here and temperatures forecast to be very warm next week, we would like to remind families of a few simple ways to help keep children safe in the heat.

Please ensure your child comes to school with:

• A named water bottle.
• Sun cream applied before school.
• A sun hat or cap where possible.

We will continue to encourage children to drink regularly throughout the day, seek shade when needed, and take sensible precautions during outdoor activities.

The warmer weather is a wonderful opportunity for children to enjoy being outdoors, but it is important that they stay hydrated and protected from the sun. We would also encourage families to talk to their children about staying safe during the hot weather over the weekend, particularly when playing outside or spending time near water.

Thank you for your support in helping us keep all children safe and comfortable during the warmer weather.

We are looking for friendly, reliable and enthusiastic individuals to join our team as part-time support staff at Dunalley Primary School.

This is a fantastic opportunity for anyone seeking flexible, term-time work in a welcoming and supportive school environment.

Safeguarding

Dunalley Primary School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. The successful applicant will be subject to enhanced DBS checks and satisfactory references.

How to apply

For further information or to apply, please visit our website link below:

Opportunities to work at Dunalley – HERE

Huge congratulations to four of our brilliant Year 5 pupils—Isaac, Oscar, Freddie, and Hailey—who took 1st place at the Cheltenham Ladies' College maths competition this week!

Competing against 12 other primary schools across four challenging rounds, our team shone brightly, demonstrating incredible collaboration, determination, and creativity. We are so incredibly proud of them.

A big thank you to Cheltenham Ladies' College for hosting such a fantastic event and for providing a wonderful lunch for both the children and staff!

We are delighted to invite children who play a musical instrument to audition for our annual Musical Celebration.

This special event provides an opportunity for pupils to showcase their musical talents and perform alongside other young musicians from across the school.

Auditions: Thursday 25th June, 3:15pm–4:30pm
Musical Celebration: Tuesday 14th July, 6:00pm

If your child would like to take part, please fill in the survey on Edulink One and ensure they bring their instrument and any music they wish to perform to the audition. We welcome musicians of all abilities and look forward to celebrating the hard work, commitment and talent of our young performers.

Further information will be shared with families following the auditions.

Year 1 had a fantastic time on their trip to Clevedon Beach! We enjoyed spotting a variety of human and physical features of the seaside and had lots of fun singing songs in the bandstand, attracting a very impressed audience! The children also created pebble structures on the beach and spent some time sketching the beautiful landscape.

We are extremely proud of all the children, who were a real credit to Dunalley. Their enthusiasm and excellent behaviour made the day extra special!

SUMMER FAIR

Join us in three weeks on Friday 3rd July after school for our annual Summer Fair! Entry is completely free, and we have an incredible line-up of fun for the whole family, including:

 - Mobile climbing wall & mobile caving

 - Inflatables, rides, beat the goalie, and a coconut shy

 - Children’s and adult bottle tombola

 - Stalls from fantastic Dunalley family-owned businesses

 - Ice creams, sweet treats and much more!

We Need Your Help for the Fair!

We are in need of volunteers to help with pre-event prep and to run stalls on the day of the Summer Fair.

If you can spare even half an hour, please sign up here https://volunteersignup.org/MCYW4 or drop us an email at dunalleyptfa@gmail.com. We truly can't do it without you!