July 2013 - Dulwich Hamlet Junior School

The Hamlet Herald
THE ‘BIG THANKS’ ISSUE
Answerphone: 020 8693 3705 Telephone: 020 7525 9188/9 Facsimile: 020 7525 9187
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July 2013 Number 152
At this time of year, when we are just over three weeks from breaking up for our summer holidays,
it is good to reflect upon what makes this school the happy and successful community it
undoubtedly is.
Our newest staff member, Mark Raven, who has settled seamlessly into his new role of ‘ICT and
Assistant Head’, commented on the sheer energy and vibrancy that is created on a daily basis at the
Hamlet. The number of exciting learning experiences, the trips, the events, the special days and
special weeks would not happen unless there was a staff team willing to go way beyond just
planning, teaching and assessing the daily lessons.
So first of all I want to say a very big thanks to the teachers and support staff who create daily
Hamlet “glitter” and “outstanding” learning opportunities for the pupils. One of the reasons our
staff team love working at this school is that they can pursue their enthusiasms and interests – we
say “yes” as much as possible to all the good ideas generated. I’d like to note the incredible support
that the pupils and I get from Sharon Baxendale, and the great work that Susan Roberts achieves
looking after school finance and personnel.
I would also like to thank the “back room staff”: the office, the premises, and the catering teams
who provide such support each day, to allow learning to take place in a well organised, and well fed
environment.
And what makes the school even more special is the amount of voluntary time and commitment
that is contributed by you – our parents and carers.
Our reading helpers: Lucy Akrill, Liz Attawell, Rosemary Attwell (an ex teacher of the school),
Simon Burton, Lauren Crowe, Annabelle Fenwick, Justine Fisher, Juliane Garbisch, Rachel Gluyas,
Avril Hammond, Sally Hill, Lucy Horsbrugh, Carl Ison, Bridget Jackson, Charlotte Judet, Karin
Harrison-Moore, Nicole Peile, Emma Scott, Anna Skipwith, Fraces Tee, Mike Usiskin, Yolande Wall,
Jane Watkins, Hannah Wilmot and Sarah Wright
Our enrichment and art helpers: Lucy Akrill, Beth Arthy, Liz Attawell, Su Au, Fiona Bartosch,
Milton Benjamin, Yvette Blundell-Sims, Tania Brown, Julie Codet-Boisse, Victoria Cooper-Jones,
Lauren Crowe, Annabelle Fenwick, Justine Fisher, Juliane Garbisch, Helen Glanville, Caroline
Harrison, Sylvia Hartley, Susie Hodgson, Marcela Holtheuer, Lucy Horsbrugh, Hernan Huergo, Carl
Ison, Bridget Jackson, Helen John, Charlotte Judet, Sharon Lines, Alison Meade, Sonia Nesbitt,
Emma Scott, Linda Scott, Anna Skipwith, Andrea Smith, Lorraine Sorrell, Simon Stack, Alison Swann,
Gina Taylor, Francis Tee, Mike Usiskin, Claire Verrier, Yolande Wall and Jane Watkins
Our science fortnight speakers: Barbara Arroyo, Dr. Bernal, Yvette Blundell-Sims, Dr Ceesay,
Beth Christian, Fiona Ellington, Derek Hill, Emma Hotopf, Matthew Hotopf, Nicos Kessaris, Virginia
Knutson, Remziye Kunelaki, Sharon Lines, Carrie Parry, Jackie Ross, Nicola Robinson, Vanessa
Skelton and Ricardo Sainz.

The PTA has organised a range of terrific events as well providing many refreshments at school
functions. Did you know that every parent of a child is automatically a member of the PTA? And did
you know that almost all the committee members and the class reps are working mums and dads?
They do this on top of work, and looking after the children. So a huge thank you to the PTA and
especially Victoria Cooper-Jones, Penny Ager, Maxine Clarke, Caitlin Clasper, Jessica Hailstone,
Anni Jenkins, Helen Young, Annie Jones, Emma Jones, Justine Fisher, Rachel Schofield and all the
class reps who have contributed their valuable time throughout the year. We really appreciate it. If
you have never thought of coming to a PTA meeting, do make it a resolution for next school year –
it really is a case of the more the merrier.
And finally to our Governors. Whilst the governors of the Dulwich Hamlet Educational Trust are
not expected to be involved in day to day decision making, they are responsible for the overall
strategic direction of the school, and ensuring that I and the school team are accountable for the
decisions made. They oversee matters related to finance, premises and personnel. So thank you to
Simon Burton, our cheerful Chair, and to Bridget Jackson, Rafael Marks, Becky Tee, Crispin Tuckley,
Stella Coles, Carolyn Crosbie, Lucy Horsbrugh, Carl Ison, Karen Larcombe-Tee, Michael Quinton,
Simon Rowe, Pete Silver, and our staff governors, Sara Azzopardi, Claire Purcell, and Jon Powles.
Lucy will be leaving us at the end of this term so we will be holding an election in the Autumn term.
Important July dates
for your diaries
Tues 2 July Fusion Ensemble at Music
for Youth National Music Festival,
Birmingham Conservatoire
Wed 3 July Year 3 Magic Lantern -
Maths in Art; Y5 Young Voices Choir
perform at the Scoop at lunchtime; Y6
Charter School Induction Day; Summer
Drink in Griffin Hall with Staff and the
PTA at 5.15pm; New Y3 Parents’
Evening Turney at 6pm
Thurs 4 July 1.30pm Y2 children tour
school plus any new parents; London
Youth Games Tennis Finals at Crystal
Palace
Fri 5 July Y5 LAMDA EXAMS; Y4&5
Swimming Gala at JAGs 1.30-3.30pm
Mon 8 July 4S Swim Safety at JAGs
Tues 9 July 4T Swim Safety at JAGs
Wed 10 July Y5 trip to the British
Museum; 4C Swim Safety at JAGs;
Summer Music Concert 7pm in Turney
Thurs 11 July Y5 Boys Cricket Finals at
Sunbury Cricket Club 9am-2.30pm; Y3
to DVIS to see Jungle Book at 9.30am;
Y3 Trip to the Unicorn Theatre 1pm;
5W Swim Safety at JAGs
Fri 12 July 5SP Swim Safety at JAGs;
Y4 End of Year PE Festival at Charter
School 1.15-2.30pm
Mon 15 July Y6 Production rehearsal
at Alleyn’s Theatre
Tues 16 July Y6 Performance to
Whole School 1-3.30pm at Alleyn’s;
Evening performance at 7pm
Weds 17 July Y6 Performance to
DVIS at 10am; Evening performance at
7pm
Thurs 18 July Y4 India Day; Y3 Talent
Fair 2-4.30pm
Fri 19 July Y5 Egyptian Day; 3J & 4C
Art Workshops at Dulwich Picture
Gallery am; Ready Steady Cook in
Turney Hall
Mon 22 July 9.15am Sports Day on
Griffin Field; 1.30pm Y6 to DVIS to give
books
Tues 23 July Y6 Leavers’ Assembly
with parents 1.30pm; PTA Y6 Leavers’
Disco
Wed 24 July 10am Final Assembly
END OF TERM
Last register 1.15pm
Pick up pupils at 1.20pm
AUTUMN TERM STARTS
Thursday 5 September
Summer Drinks in Griffin
Please join the staff, members of the
PTA and Governors in Griffin Hall
this Wednesday 3 July at 5.15pm
for a drink and a chance to see some
work on display from our Science Week
and Bicycle Day, as well as some of the
artwork from Enrichment. We have
asked our 2013 joining parents along so
it would be lovely for you to welcome
them into the Hamlet community.
School Reports
All children will receive their report on
Friday 12 July. The teachers spend
considerable amounts of time to write
these reports and are happy to meet
with you in case there are any queries
arising. Year 6 will also receive their
reports on the Friday along with their
KS2 Sats results for Maths, English
Reading and Spelling and Grammar, on a
separate sheet.
2013-2014 Classes
NEW class 3B – Ms H Bevis
NEW class 3V – Ms C Viala
NEW class 3J - Mr S Jermond
3HP becomes 4T - Miss N Thomson
3B becomes 4P Mr O Powell
3J becomes 4B – Ms S Brough
4C becomes 5T – Mr T Turnham
4T becomes 5G – Ms K Gorely
4S becomes 5W – Ms N Wayman
5W becomes 6JP – Mr J Powles
5SP becomes 6W – Ms L Whittaker
5T becomes 6S – Mr T Salomonson
In addition all classes will be taught by
other members of teaching staff and
extracurricular staff on a timetabled
basis:
Mr M Raven and Mrs S Baxendale,
Mrs S Campbell – singing and music,
Mrs N Yarlett – science and/or RE,
Ms L Brant – music,
Mrs A Swann – dance and
Ollie Schoolcraft – sports.

Update on Windows
We are now over halfway through this
major project, with windows replaced in
Griffin, Village and the Admin Block.
Although there has been some
disruption, with compounds sprouting
up on a daily basis and teachers having
to relocate to alternative spaces, we
know that once the colder weather
comes, hopefully not till next term, we
will really reap the benefits, both
environmentally and in terms of overall
comfort.
More London Festival
As part of the More London Free
Festival, our Year 5 Young Voices
singers have been asked to perform
with Randolf Matthews at The Scoop
this Wednesday 3 July at 12.50pm.
This is a free, public performance but
seats are on a first-come-first-served
basis!
Music News
Good luck to Fusion Ensemble who
perform at the Adrian Boult Hall in
Birmingham on the 2nd July as part of
the Music for Youth National Festival
2013. Thank you to Miss Brant for
amazing work with the ensemble and
getting this far.
Associated Board of the Royal Schools
of Music Exams: Well done to all our
woodwind and string exam candidates
who all passed their music exams with
flying colours. We received 5
distinctions, 17 merits and 27 passes.
Thank you to Miss Brant, Mr Pook, Mr
Beaney and Mrs Noton for all their hard
work. All of our ensembles will be
performing at the Summer Concert.
The concert takes place in Turney Hall
on the 10 July at 7pm.
Kingsdale Music Festival
The Clarinet Choir were brilliant last
week at this special festival: they
sounded great, were very well
rehearsed, and looked professional too.
Thanks so much to David Beaney for his
strong musical direction.
Music Lessons
If your child is leaving us at the end of
the year, please ensure that any
instrument, along with its case, and any
borrowed music is returned to the
peripatetic teacher at the final
timetabled lesson. If pupils are carrying
on, they are expected to take their
instrument home for lots of holiday
practice! If your child does not wish to
continue, please put this in writing to Ms
Brant before we break up for summer,
and ensure the instrument is returned.
Lamda Triumph
Congratulations to all Y6 LAMDA
students who recently received their
results in the first set of 'Acting' exams
at the Hamlet. They all passed with a
Merit or Distinction! Also good luck to
all the LAMDA Y5 students taking their
acting exams on Friday 5 July.
Sporting Triumph
By Jon Powles Head of Sport
Rounders
It has been great to have a bit of
competitive experience in rounders this
term. The Year 4 A and B team took on
Alleyn’s with the A team narrowly losing
and the B team winning. Then two
mixed Year 5/6 teams took on Japs Year
6 teams with both teams losing. Having
said this, all the girls played well and
they have shown fantastic commitment
to come to the early morning practices.
I’m sure the Year 4 and 5s will take this
valuable experience forward with them
into next year and look to turn the
results around.
Cricket
Unfortunately this term a number of
cricket matches have been cancelled due
to the weather. The Year 4 A and B
team played Alleyn’s and despite some
fantastic bowling, the A team were
unable to chase down the Alleyn’s
score. The B team were comfortable
victors with some superb batting and
bowling. Mixed Year 5/6 girls’ teams
played against Hornsby House in what
turned out to be a training match with
girls from both schools playing together.
Again this was a great experience and
Hamlet girls won in both matches! On
the same day, the girls’ team that was
victorious in the Southwark Kwick
Cricket event, represented the borough
in the regional finals down in Epsom. On
what was a very long day, they did the
school proud, winning 3 out of 4
matches and finishing 3 rd overall. Their
one loss was to the eventual winners
Belleville. The Year 5 boys’ team, who
won their event, play in their regional
final on the 11 th July in Sunbury, so we
wish them the best of luck.
Athletics
4T and 5T represented the school at
Athletics events organised by the local
borough Sports Network. There were a
mixture of track and field events and all
the children in both classes worked
really hard to do themselves and the
school proud. Out of 8 schools, 4T
finished 2 nd overall which was a fantastic
performance and 5T came 5 th , a highly
respectable result as they were up
against many Year 6s. It was a shame
that the 800m was cancelled in the
latter event, as we have some superb
long distance runners.
Netball
A Year 4 and a Year 6 team took on
Dog Kennel Hill in a friendly netball
match at the Hamlet. Both teams
showed that their training has really paid
off, putting in superb performances.
Year 4 won 7-0 and Year 6 won 10-5.
A very big thank you to Lucy Akrill and
Andrea Smith for running the Y4
Netball team and helping with fixtures,
and a huge thank you to Peter Swann
from InterSport for providing skirts for
the Year 4 netball team.
Sports Day
This is on Monday 22 July weather
permitting, on Griffin fields from 9.15am
onwards. Please do not park in Griffin
car park or drop any litter; and we ask
friends and parents to stay around the
outside of the circuit so that staff and
children can move easily from one event
to another. In advance I would like to
thank you all for coming and supporting
the children, and in particular all those
that help set up and run the day,
especially the PTA for providing us with
refreshments and medals and trophies
for the winners.
For those children that win trophies,
they are yours to keep until next year;
however please look after them, we
would like them back in time for next
year’s Sports Day!
Mathematical Triumph at St
Dunstan’s
Our Maths team did brilliantly at the St.
Dunstan's Maths Challenge day. Our
team, which was a person down due to
illness, comprised Henry Bichard, Joshua
Atiemwen and Ella Parkin, who worked
excellently together to solve all of the
challenges thrown at them. They beat
around twenty other schools to win the
competition.
Literacy News
A big thank you to all pupils who have
entered poetry and story writing
competitions this term. The standard
has been very high and we have enjoyed
reading and sharing the fantastic work
with the rest of the school.

Southwark Children’s Poetry
We were yet again selected to have our
poetry published in this wonderful
anthology. Martha Gane 4S, Freya
Ellington 5SP, Shivani Acharya 5SP, Ralf
Georgeson 5W, Maddie Foster 6W,
Dahlas Barham 6W, Alice Minton 6W
and Laurie Robinson 6JP had their
poems selected.
Year 6 Leavers
We have really enjoyed having the 60
boys and 30 girls with us for the last
four years (there was definitely
something funny in the water that year).
They have been lively, funny, sporty,
musical, caring and kind. We wish them
the very best for their futures and are
hugely excited to see their final
contribution to the creativity of The
Hamlet when they perform Romeo and
Juliet in a couple of weeks’ time. PLEASE
NOTE: if they are attending The
Charter Induction Day Wednesday 3
July 9.15am They are to go straight
there in school uniform and they do
NOT need to return to school unless
they have after school clubs to attend.
Y6 Show at the Michael Croft
Theatre, Alleyn’s School
This year the show is a musical version
of Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare 4
Kidz. The school will be seeing the show
on Tuesday 16 July in the afternoon
and we are delighted that Y2 infants will
be seeing it on Wed 17 at 10am. If you
are a parent of a Y2 child, you are
welcome to join them. We are very
excited about the way the show is
shaping up and we will soon release
more tickets. We thoroughly
recommend you see the show – you’re
in for a theatrical treat!
Autumn After School Clubs
Clubs start again in the Autumn Term
w/c 16 September and will run for 10
weeks except some outdoor sports,
which is a shorter programme due to
fading light. A letter will go out this
week for places for clubs. Payment for
clubs is due the first week of next term.
Class photos
Proofs for this year’s class photos will
be coming home in book bags this week.
You can order these pictures on line at
www.sbsdigitalonline.co.uk. We
recommend the large group photo
245x175mm.
New Hamlet Baby on the Way
We are delighted to announce that Miss
Pink is expecting her second baby due in
the Autumn. She will not be assigned a
class next year but will be supporting
the Year 3 team and continuing to lead
literacy for the first six weeks of the
term.
Pens and Stationery for
September
Our aim is that all the children have
pride in their work and develop strong
presentational skills. Children will be
allowed to write using black ink and will
be encouraged to choose and use pens
which help them with their handwriting
and overall presentation. The school will
provide all stationery items, however if
children wish, they may bring in a small
pencil case containing items such as
rubber, pencil sharpener and colouring
pencils. No gel pens or biros please.
30p School Dinners for All
Children in all year groups will be
receiving a highly subsidised school
dinner next year for the cost of 30p a
meal, as a result of considerable
investment from Southwark Council.
We are suggesting you pay for the full
year in advance at a cost of £55 – please
look out for the School Dinner letter.
Current Year 5 Secondary
Transfer
We keep all the prospectuses we
receive from secondary schools in
school reception. On Thursday 19 Sept
at 6.45pm there will be a Secondary
Transfer meeting providing information
on how to complete the Common
Application Form which is required for
transfer into secondary education.
Charity Fundraising
Oscar Stott (3B) and Freya Stott (3HP)
wished to raise money for charity. So
they climbed Snowdon, having decided
to raise money for WaterAid. This is
not an easy climb for 8 year olds! They
even helped design and set up a charity
fundraising page on JustGiving
www.justgiving.com/twins-climb-snowdon
which also included a short video they
made. At the last count, they had raised
over £350 for the charity.
Summer Reading Challenge
We are proud to support this year's
Summer Reading Challenge - a very
popular free scheme for children ages 4
to 11. Almost all UK libraries are
involved and librarians from Dulwich
Library will be visiting us soon to give
the children further information. Visit
www.summerreadingchallenge.org.uk or
visit your local library for more details.
School Uniform
You can buy online at
www.your-schooluniform.co.uk.
Click on ‘find your school’ or ‘D’ for
Dulwich Hamlet. Delivery time is
generally 10-15 days but to be sure of
uniform arriving with you in time for the
Autumn Term, make sure that your
order is placed by 1st August. Delivery
can be to the address of your choice –
home, office or school.
From Simon Burton Chair of
Governors
The Governors continued their termly
cycle of meetings with their annual
strategic review of issues that might
arise for the school in the year ahead.
Governors reviewed how the school
works with the Local Authority and
how we could build on that relationship
while further exploring opportunities
open to us as an Academy. This work
will feed into the School Development
Plan for the next academic year which
will be published in the autumn.
Governors also agreed to put in place
an informal external validation of the
work of the school and agreed new
measures to work together even more
effectively as a team. We heard reports
on the many initiatives and activities
underway in the School including a
range of premises developments and
preparations for the additional year
3 class in September 2014. Governors
reiterated their commitment to the
Hamlet as an outstanding school and
expressed their thanks to all the staff of
the school and all the others, including
the PTA, who work so hard to ensure
that the school provides such a superb
environment for the children's learning
and development.
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HAPPY HOLS! SEE YOU ALL
(except Y6 leavers) ON
THURSDAY 5 SEPTEMBER