Dolphin children are cheerful, happy and friendly and a joy to spend time with. It was only last week that a child in Reception class told me how handsome I was: another reminder of how discerning and intelligent our children are! There are now over a thousand pictures in the image gallery on the school website – you’ll see plenty of smiling faces as well as photos of many of the events I mention in this letter.

Feedback

The focus this term has been on seeking people’s views on Dolphin School. It began with a questionnaire to every member of staff - there are over 60 staff at Dolphin - asking them what they feel our strengths are and what areas could be developed. Next I talked to every child in Years Six, Seven and Eight, seeking their ideas as to what makes Dolphin special and what one change would make their experience of school even better. It was wonderful to find time and time again that they really struggled to think of things that could be improved: indeed, they were far happier listing the things they liked about their school. Once I have met with Years Four and Five next term, I will publish a summary of their ideas for them to see. Thank you to so many of you who took the time to complete the questionnaire that was sent to all Dolphin parents. I will present a summary of your responses next term.

Work

I have enjoyed seeing children’s work, almost on a daily basis. If children do a good piece of work, their teacher may award them a stride which goes towards house points. If it is an exceptional piece of work, the teacher will ask the child to show the work to me and gain the Headmaster’s stamp. The most tiring day of the term for me was when I shadowed a Year Six class for an entire day. By the end of the day I was drained after six packed lessons – and I didn’t have to do the homework! The experience helped me realise how important the use of different teaching techniques is. I believe that our children receive a varied and exciting curriculum, delivered in a colourful and creative way. There is no doubt in my mind that the greatest strength of Dolphin is the teaching staff.

Our World Book Day was one of the most exciting and imaginative days I have ever experienced, including a fashion parade of the children dressed up as characters from books and a display of photographs of children reading in their favourite places. Thank you for your donations to Book Aid International: £138 was raised. As I write this letter, our Year Five children are in Ironbridge. This is a brilliant trip full of hands-on experiences appealing to all children, focusing on the history and science associated with the Industrial Revolution. I wish Year Three a successful trip to East Sussex as they look forward to their first field trip towards the end of the holiday.

We are immensely proud of all our Year Eight children: eight of the twenty-one have been awarded scholarships which is a stunning proportion of the year group.

Activities

The term started with a unique experience at London’s Temple Bar, where some of our Year Eight children performed excerpts from Shakespeare’s The Tempest. To be selected out of over 1050 schools to participate in this event is a tremendous achievement. Judy Seall worked incredibly hard to prepare the talented cast at short notice.

The skipping workshop was well received by all age groups and there have been children showing off their skipping tricks in the playground ever since. This term’s hot lunch was another success and could not take place without the commitment and involvement of so many parents. There have been far too many day trips to list, but once again they would not be possible without the unfailing support of parents – thank you to the bus drivers and helpers who help make the Dolphin education so special.

Year Six organised a waste free lunch, where the aim was to bring a meal that would not produce any waste in terms of packaging. It is on occasions such as this that one is reminded just how creative Dolphin children are - or is it the parents who are the creative ones? Perhaps it is both! Our children have decided to support WaterAid this year and have already raised almost £1000. WaterAid is an international charity whose mission is to overcome poverty by enabling the world's poorest people to gain access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene education.

It was fantastic to see so many children involved in the Berkshire Junior Chess Tournament last month. Many schools deliberate over whether they should aim for success or participation – should they seek to involve just the most gifted in competitions or risk reducing the chances of success by including as many children as possible? Dolphin should be proud of the fact that we are able to do both. Just look at our success at the ninety-two sports fixtures we participated in this term, involving the vast majority of children from Years One to Eight. Look at the school concerts last week that involved every child from Reception to Year Eight. Look at this chess tournament that involved fifty-four of our children: involvement is a key element of a Dolphin education.

Sport, music, dance and drama

It has been another busy term for the sports department. Jane Hunt and Rob Greer work incredibly hard, along with a strong team of other staff, to secure a large number of fixtures as well as team practices. They run teams from Year Two right through to Year Eight including as many children as possible. The rugby teams have all improved despite a wet season and the Colts have done particularly well. The Under 11 netball team qualified for the National Finals of the Independent Prep Schools Tournament, reaching the quarter finals. This means they are one of the top eight teams in the country for their age group which is a fantastic achievement. Many thanks must be given to parents who give up time to support the teams and help with transport. Last Friday you couldn’t fail to feel the excitement around school for the Sport Relief Day. We ran around the field, some in fancy dress, some backwards, some tied together and this was after a huge cake sale! We raised about £600 so thank you again for your support.

It was good to see so many parents and friends of the school at the two concerts last week. I wonder how many other schools put on two large-scale concerts in the same week with different programmes, involving every single child. Thank you to David Cooper who not only organised these events, but who wrote out individual parts for children for several of the pieces. It was good to see several Dolphin children performing at the Woodley Music Festival over the past two weeks. We look forward to the House Music competition next term.

The Musical Drama Club performed an entertaining version of Roald Dahl's Little Red Riding Hood in front of two appreciative audiences. There were several strong performances, both musically and in terms of the acting. A special thank you goes to Jami Castell who directed this delightful production. Congratulations to the Dolphin Dance Club who performed to a full house at the Wilde Theatre last Friday at the Bracknell Forest Dance Festival. 1, 2, 3, Go Dolphin! was a high energy basket-ball inspired dance - judging from the scale of the applause everyone loved it (or there were a lot of Dolphin parents in the audience!).

Staff news

We say goodbye to two teachers this term. Gerry Wigglesworth, one of our Foundation Stage teachers, is moving to South Wales after fourteen years at Dolphin. Hundreds of children have passed through her care, benefiting from the sound grounding they’ve received along with a hunger for learning. She is known not only for being an organised teacher, but for her commitment and enthusiasm for the unique Dolphin hill walking programme. Sophie Pindoria will no longer teach French and Spanish at Dolphin as she is expecting twins. The children will not only miss her teaching which has been professional and imaginative, but also a person they could trust and talk to. We wish them both a happy and healthy future.

The entire teaching staff goes to Dorset towards the end of the holiday for our annual conference. This year’s theme is Progress, considering how a child’s progress can be measured most effectively in order to inform our teaching and make sure we are giving our children the best.

We have proved beyond doubt that a huge amount can take place in a short term!