Newsletter 27th March 2015 - Dog Kennel Hill Primary School

DOG KENNEL HILL PRIMARY SCHOOL
Dog Kennel Hill
Executive Headteacher:
East Dulwich
Head of School:
London SE22 8AB
Deputy Head Teacher:
Telephone: 020 7274 1829
Email: school@dkh.southwark.sch.uk
Mrs Galiema Amien-Cloete
Mr. Wayne Cooper
Mr Ross Orton
Fax: 020 7924 0735
website: dkh.org.uk
Leadership Update
27th March 2015
Dear Parents / Carers,
As discussed in our letter to you last week, we are now able to inform you of the following
developments.
After several meetings and discussions the governors of both schools have reached an agreement
and we am pleased to inform you that the soft federation with Rotherhithe Primary will continue for a
further 2 years.
We will now be recruiting for a new Head of School for September 2015. This process will conclude by
the end of May at which time parents will be informed.
We are also pleased to announce that we have successfully recruited two new Deputy Head
Teachers. Please join me in welcoming Mr Ross Orton and Ms Natalie Melehi. Mr Orton will have
responsibility for Data and ICT and Ms Melehi will lead on Inclusion from September 2015.
Have a great Easter Break.
Kind Regards,
Galiema Amien - Cloete
Executive Head Teacher
Martin Finn
Chair of Governors
Spring Term: 27 March 2015
This Week
This week both key stages 1 and 2 enjoyed a
performance of Twelfth Night by the Infinite Jest
Company. For many of the children it was the first time
they had watched a Shakespeare play. The company did
a great job in entertaining the children as well as
educating them. The children have asked for the
company to come in again.
Spanish Day
Our Spanish Day last Friday was a success!
It coincided with International Day of Happiness
which was very befitting, as everyone at school
was happy and had a fantastic time!
Each class adopted a Spanish speaking country
for the day and there were plenty of cross-curricular
activities.
Thank you to Jo McNeill for doing the Spanish art
activities with years 2 and 3.
We had two lovely Spanish singing
assemblies, and the guitar club also played a
special piece with Daniel and Owen.
KS1 pupils enjoyed their Fiesta dance workshops
with Carlos Cortes and KS2 loved the Flamenco
workshops with Anita and Ramón.
The children loved the typically Spanish lunch
menu which including Paella, Tortilla,
Albondigas and Natillas .
Year 6 ran the Spanish café very successfully. It
was great to see so many children (and staff)
dressed up for the occasion.
¡Viva el Día español!
A big thank you to the PDKHA for funding such a
great event and for running the after school
Spanish Café. Everyone enjoyed the Churros,
Jamón and Sangría!
Let's not forget the Piñatas...
¡Muchas gracias!
Fátima
News from Friends
DKH Committee
Discos – thanks for your
support and fabulous
dancing, which
raised £820 for the
school.
Sponsored read – Well
done to all pupils who
took part. They each
received book tokens and
together raised over
£1000. Including the
donation from Usborne
the school will receive
over £1,200 worth of new
books. Participants: If
you haven't received your
tokens,
please email friends@dk
h.southwark.sch.uk
Please order your own
books from Usborne by
Friday 17th April by
emailing the details to
Deborah Montgomery
at deb2904@hotmail.co.u
k, you will then receive
your books by the end of
April.
AGM – Congratulations
to the new
committee, who were
elected at the AGM last
week. Details will be
displayed on the Friends’
notice board (outside
lower hall) and be
available in the Parents’
handbook after Easter.
Huge thanks to last
year’s committee, under
whose stewardship
£14,700 was raised. The
funds were largely spent
on providing valuable
Dog Kennel Hill School, East Dulwich, London, SE22 8AB • 020 7274 1829 • © 2012 Dog Kennel Hill • All rights reserved.
experiences for pupils, such as: Spanish Day workshops,
music workshops, theatre visits, Christmas pantomime
and subsidising school trips across the years.
Additionally, we contributed over £700 to the Ebola
crisis appeal. A big thank you to all those who helped
across the year.
And Finally…
Happy Easter holiday to
you all!
What's next? Car Boot Sale - Sat 16th May &
Summer Fair - Sat 20th June
Sports News
Well done to both the Year 5 and Year 6 netball
teams who despite losing their matches,
demonstrated great team spirit and determination. I
have every confidence that they will win a match
very soon.
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Tuesday 14th April – Back to School
22nd May – End of Half Term
Goodbye Mrs Lea
Sadly Mrs Lea is leaving DKH today. Mrs Lea
started at the school as a parent, then taught dance
and covered classes for many years. Her last role
has been teaching class 1H on Thursday
afternoons and Fridays. We would like to thank you
Mrs Lea for your hard work, support and flexibility.
The school wishes you every success in the future.
Goodbye Yvonne Fernandez
Thank you to Yvonne Fernandez from Place 2Be
who is also leaving today. She has worked with
some of our most vulnerable children and families.
Quote of the week
'Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great,
some achieve greatness, and others have
greatness thrust upon them.'
(Quote from Twelfth Night)
Dog Kennel Hill School, East Dulwich, London, SE22 8AB • 020 7274 1829 • © 2012 Dog Kennel Hill • All rights reserved.
Dear Parents
Many of you have given us feedback wanting a bit more detail about what governors actually do. In response
we thought it would be a good idea to give you a regular brief summary of what we have been doing each half
term. You can find more information about us and detailed minutes of our activities on the school website:
http://dkh.org.uk/our-school/governors . Our main areas of focus for this term have been to:
Budget: At the beginning of this academic year we made the decision to use all the money available to focus
on rapidly improving the school and the outcomes for our children. We are delighted with the myriad of
changes and improvements that Galiema Cloete and Wayne Cooper have led within the school and that the
results are demonstrating the effectiveness of those measures. We are well placed to start the new financial
year in good shape and our bursar is confident that we can deliver on the school development plan despite
some of the usual uncertainties of school funding.
Leadership The other core area for us has been to ensure that we have a strong leadership team to help us
stay on the path of rapid improvement in all areas.
We were all very sorry to learn that Wayne Cooper was leaving us but we wish him every success for his new
life in Cambridgeshire and want to thank him for leading the school through a very difficult time. He stepped
up to the challenge and has worked incredibly hard to support all the children at DKH.
As you know we tried very hard to find a new Headteacher but without success. You will have seen on the
reverse of this letter that our alternative plan has been confirmed ie the continuation of the Soft Federation.
The Federation has been working very well and the new plan will allow us to develop a leadership team under
Mrs Cloete and to reap the benefits of the close association with another very successful school. You will also
have seen the news overleaf of the appointment of our two new deputy heads and the plans to appoint a
Head of School.
We would also like to give our sincere thanks to the Governors and all the school community at Rotherhithe
School. Their decision to enter the Soft Federation with DKH and free Galiema to support the school has been
the key to getting us to where we are now.
Reconstitution of the Governing Body (GB) All GBs were obliged to undergo reconstitution. This process is
almost complete but we have agreed to have a GB of 15 members; five from the school staff including the
Headteacher, five elected parent governors and five co-opted members including one appointment by the
Local Authority. These final five can come from anywhere but will be chosen on the basis of their skills and
experience to help the GB be as effective as possible.
Following a suggestion from parents, we would like in future to hold an open evening when there is apparent
governor election. Parents considering whether to stand can ask questions of existing governors. We hope this
will enable those who might be unsure about what’s involved or what they might contribute to explore the
demands and the functions of the governor role.
Finally we would like to thank Galiema Cloete for the incredible amount work, energy, time and commitment
she has given us – always putting our children’s wellbeing and learning at the heart of everything she does.
We wish you all a very happy Easter break.
Zahid Malik
Chair of the Resources Committee Parent Governor
Martin Finn
Chair of Governors