SPRING NEWSLETTER

Term Dates

Monday 12th February—Friday 16th February—Half Term Holiday

Monday 19th February —INSET Day

Tuesday 20th February —Students Return

Wednesday 14th March—Exam Preparation Evening

Friday 30th March—Bank Holiday

Monday 2nd April—Friday 13th April—Easter Holiday

Monday 16th April—Students Return

Monday 7th May—Bank Holiday

Tuesday 1st May—Exam period begins

Monday 28th May—Friday 1st June—Half Term Holiday

Friday 22nd June—Year 11 Leavers Event

Friday 20th July—End of Term

Thursday 23rd August—GCSE results day

Barn News—Key Stage 3

Our new term topic is India, so Breakfast sessions are being taken up with the design and colouring of Indian Rangoli patterns. Students have been creating circular designs that include meticulous drawings of good luck symbols, regular patterns and images that appeal to them personally.

In Maths, several students are working on their Entry Level Maths qualifications, whilst in Science, students are building on last term’s Forces topic as well as beginning to research the fauna found on the Indian subcontinent. In English, we are reading and writing poetry on an Indian theme, which, for some, has involved wrapping of one of our Teaching Assistants in a sari – he looked great, but unfortunately, photos were not tak-en. Some students are also starting their Entry Level ‘Step Up’ English qualifications, working at either Silver or Gold level, which is excellent preparation for the demands of Key Stage Four. In Humanities, we have started to get to grips with Indian geography and we are honing our historian skills by beginning to examine the chronology and significance of key events in Indian history. So far, our overview takes us back in time to the Indus Valley Civilisation over five thousand years ago, right up to the partition of India in 1947.

The students themselves have made decisions about what Indian topics they would like to explore in Barn Activities. A lot of interest has been shown in Indian cooking, and several students have already made kulfi (Indian icecream) and garlic and herb naan breads. We have plans to make the Indian drink, lassi, and a vegetable curry served with rice, raita and samosas. Several students have asked questions about the religions practised in India – from why cows are sacred, to the festival of colour - so we will also be including Religious Education in our Humanities sessions this term.

We are having a number of issues at the moment with

taxis being unable to carry out certain journeys. This is beyond our con-

trol but, in order to help minimise disruption, we are now occasionally us-

ing other taxi companies to fulfil certain transport requests. To this

end, please do not be concerned if an A-Line or P&D taxi arrives to col-

lect your child or bring them home. These companies have been ap-

proved by Dorset County Council for schools.

Student Voice

After a round of nominations and successive voting for preferred representatives, DLC has re-established their own group of students who champion the needs of the entire Centre. This group of six industrious individuals meet each half-term and present the views and opinions of their peers to the Senior Management in order to make change happen. The SV consists of Corban, Tim, Kyra, Eva, Louise and Cain.

SCHOOL ATTENDANCE DLC are having a big push on attendance.

It’s a fact that students who attend school regularly learn more and are more

successful in school than students who do not. Parents who make regular school

attendance a priority are helping their children learn to accept responsibility, and

that’s an important lesson for a successful life.

Children who develop good attendance habits early on will be more likely to

continue them throughout their school life, as well as into their chosen career.

Regular attendance is critically important, because students who miss school miss

out on carefully planned sequences of instruction. They miss out on active learning

experiences and class participation. They miss out on the opportunity to ask

questions. As a result, they are more likely to fall behind, and they are more likely

to drop out. Absences affect their ability to understand and

follow directions and, ultimately, plan for the future. Emily will be

monitoring this, making phone calls and providing support where

necessary.

British Schools Karting Charmpionships

Dorchester Learning Centre entered two teams in the British Schools Karting championships this year. Prior to the competition students fought for places during practice sessions and time trials at the Clay Pigeon race track. Two teams raced at Wessex Raceway near Salisbury in the semi finals finishing in first and second places.

The final took place on 6th February (once again at Wessex Raceway) and all the boys performed well with some good new talent on display.

The two teams have been a real credit to Dorchester Learning Centre. They have shown enthusiasm, commitment and skill, and their behaviour on these trips out has been exemplary.

CHELSEA’S CHOICE

20th March

Chelsea's Choice is a hard hitting drama that follows the life of a teenage girl, as she explores her identity and gets drawn into a harmful relationship. It looks at how relationships can become abusive and damaging to young people and how they can keep themselves safe. It is a very honest and real drama, that opens up many questions for the young people. The Pastoral Team will be

available after the show, to discuss any issues that have been raised and to support our young people.

CITIZENSHIP MORNING

On 6th February DLC held a Citizenship morning in preparation for GCSE Citizenship.. This session was about identifying public services and then talking about what unions are.

Students imagined they worked in a call centre where there had been no training and the lunch break was very short. A worker had been sacked after putting the phone down when a customer had been rude. Students came up with ideas that could be put to the employer, such as:

- an hour for lunch break

- training

- asking for the worker to be allowed back.

Students now know that a trained union representative with access to lawyers can support you or act on your behalf, if you have chosen to join the union.

Examinations!

With the exam season fast approaching, it is essential that all of our year 11 students ensure that they are accessing all the support they can whilst also trying their best within lessons. There will also be a focus on respect and use of foul language in the forthcoming half term. Please encourage your child to work with the teachers to ensure they fulfill their potential.

Wellbeing Day—7th March

A range of external speakers will be coming into the Centre to discuss problems and areas of concern for today’s

teenagers, including anti-social behaviour, violence and mental health. A number of selected students will be asked to attend group sessions to offer them further information.

Youth Parliament

We participated in this year’s voting of young candidates who wish to have their voice, and those of their community, heard at Youth Parlia-ment. Listening and considering the manifesto pledges of local students, we staged a polling week which allowed our students the chance to vote for the causes they believe in.