Principal’s message to families – 13th December 2024
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Principal’s message to families – 13th December 2024
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Our vision: Working towards successful futures
Dawn House 50th Birthday Reunion!
Well, what a fabulous, celebratory event this was. We had around 140 people at our event. Previous pupils, parents and staff and lots of current staff who wanted to catch up with young people who have moved on from Dawn house School. They all enjoyed tours around school, looking at how things have changed, even in the last 12 months! The photo booth was a huge success- we look forward to sharing the book that we created. It was lovely to hear the buzz in the room as everyone shared their news and updates- you really wouldn’t have known that most people there had challenges with their communication!! We enjoyed displays from the decades from our archives, which were equally appreciated by children on Monday in school and are now up as displays ready for you to see when you come for the Christmas Show next week. Please follow the link to the website to hear more and see some photos of the evening.
On Tuesday, this week Lower School had a fantastic trip to Mansfield Palace Theatre to watch the magical production of Aladdin. The morning was filled with excitement, singing, and dancing, as everyone joined in with the lively atmosphere. A highlight of the day was when two of our pupils were invited on stage to take part in a dance performance, showcasing their talents. It was a truly wonderful experience that they all enjoyed!
Our Makaton Choir have been busy sharing Christmas joy in other schools, a shopping centre and most recently performing at Kings Mill hospital to a very appreciative crowd.
We must thank our catering team for a delicious Christmas Dinner on Wednesday! The children gave them a resounding thank you on the day and we all know how much we appreciate them looking after us all year round, children and staff. It was lovely to see lots of Christmas jumpers too. Children might notice staff looking a little different next Wednesday as well. They will be prepared in advance.
Congratulations to all of those who have taken part in Bikeability this week- and thank you to Mr Winfield for organising this. 18 students successfully completed Level 1 and Level 2 Bikeability. Arguably, more importantly 10 students took part in the Establishing Skills Bikeability course and with the use of specialist balance bikes went from never having ridden a bike before to fully independent bike riding. This is an incredible achievement which paves the way for more children being able to access further off-site activities at Dawn House and at home. Amazing achievements!
Today’s news is the addition of our Dawn House School flagpole! We have a 50th celebration flag up at the moment but keep a look out for the changes!
Also, today we have the Children’s Christmas market stall run by the wellbeing team. I hope your children bring home a gift or two to go under the tree- we know how difficult shopping can be, especially during busy times, so hope this gives an opportunity for there to be a gift or two that will be a surprise.
So, during our final week, we have a performance dress rehearsal on Wednesday, with the performance for parents being on Thursday from 9.30-10.45. There will be raffle tickets on sale, our Christmas stall with cards, wrapping paper etc and the t-towels and Christmas puddings you may already have seen and ALSO you will have the first sighting of our ’50 years of Dawn House School puddings’ cookbook, with an amazing 27 recipes! Thank you to Louise Sandham and the catering team for providing the content!
(Cash and card payments taken)
Don’t forget our Amazon wish list if you would like to show your appreciation to Dawn House School this Christmas. Every little helps 
PACE over Christmas…
Staff did some training this week about
- Playfulness
- Acceptance
- Curiosity
- Empathy
You will find attached to this newsletter some ideas from Beacon House about how to support your children with the huge Christmas sensory overload; the changes in routine; and all the other unsettling things about this time of year. Thank you, Andria (one of our TAs), for sharing the lovely ‘Little stressed elf’ story written by Beacon House, which also gives some strategies that you may find useful to try.
We will happily share more about this in the new year and if there is interest, we will offer some parent training sessions.
Don’t forget to remind taxis that we finish at 1pm next Friday afternoon. We will also be showing our thanks to them by providing refreshments as they come to pick up, so they may want to come a little earlier than usual!
Have a lovely weekend,
Jenny
