House routines

Signing in and out If you are in L5 – U5 there is no need to sign in and out during the day as you are all out of the House for lessons. However, when you come back into House after lessons at 5.00pm, you must sign in.

After that, every time you leave the House you must sign in and out. This is really important.

L6 have a sign-out board as you are allowed to stay in House to study if you have a study period. You must use the board to indicate whether you are in or out during the school day. After 5.00pm you must use the paper signing-in and out system, so that we know where you are. It is our job to keep you safe, so it is very important that you use this system properly. House meetings In the mornings, these are either House briefings, House prayers for the whole House in the drawing room, or year group meetings. We have a ‘shortish’ full House prayers most Sunday evenings, when we can make sure that everyone is ready for the week ahead. Instead of having a full meeting again midweek, we use this time to have year group meetings. Please look at the notice board above the signing-out sheets to see when your year group meeting is.

Please be aware that you are likely to lose around 30 minutes of prep time on the evening you have a year group meeting, so organise your weekly preps accordingly.

On Monday to Saturday, breakfast is at 7.20am. We have a House briefing every morning, which is compulsory for everyone (including L6, even if they have a study

period immediately afterwards). This takes place in the boot room, and notices will be displayed on the whiteboard. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, House briefing is at 7.55am. On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday it is at 8.20am.

On Mondays, there is usually an assembly in The Merritt Centre for the whole school. On Wednedsays and Fridays there will be either school prayers, hymn practice or a year group meeting. Check the whiteboard in house as this will tell you where you need to go. We sit together as a House.

On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays we have a slower start to the day. After briefing, lessons start at 8.30am.

From Monday to Saturday, break is from 10.55am to 11.25am. You will come back to House for this and will need to get changed out of PE kit if you have had PE or Games during periods 1, 2 or 3. If you have a PE or Games lesson during periods 4 or 5, you may need to get changed out of uniform into PE kit. On a Saturday lessons finish at 10.55am.

During the week, lessons finish at 1.00pm and you need to come back to House promptly for lunch. After lunch you may have a tutorial, an activitysuch as Choir or Sport, or you may get a bit of ‘downtime’. L6 are sometimes invited to have coffee in the drawing room with Mrs Miller, and any other Tutors who are in House. On Saturdays, lunch is from 11.45am, followed by Saturday Sport for L5 and M5 or matches, if you are chosen for a team. Team sheets are posted on the sports noticeboards as soon as we know them.

On weekdays, lessons start again at 2.35pm, so you need to leave House by 2.25pm. Lessons finish at 5.00pm. Remember to sign in to House when you return from lessons. Girls sometimes stay over at Main School if they have an activity starting at 5.10pm.

There are lots of opportunities to get involved in activities after school. These usually run from 5.00pm to 6.00pm. Please make the most of all the opportunities on offer but, at the same time, don’t overload yourself. Your Tutor will help you choose activities and you can also talk things through with House staff if you are unsure what to do. There is an activities fair in September to enable you to select your activities.

During early evening, the pantry is locked. It reopens again once prep has finished. Unless you have an activity after 6.00pm (for example, a tennis lesson, Leiths cookery, ballet, choir, etc.), you must be back in House by 6.10pm, ready for supper at 6.15pm.

Prep starts at 7.00pm. L5 must do prep in the prep room –there will be at least one L6 girl to supervise. The whole House must be silent during this time. If you need to work collaboratively with another girl, this must be arranged with a member of staff on duty (or the L6 who is supervising prep). For collaborative work, you must use the drawing room, common room or another space that will not disturb anyone else in House. Any girl who is found to be disruptive, noisy or not working will be asked to join L5 for supervised prep in the prep room. At 8.00pm, L5 can go back up to their ‘cues’ and read quietly until 8.30pm. It is important that the whole House is quiet until 8.30pm, as older girls will not finish their prep until this time.

Bedtime routine Bedtimes are staggered, depending on your year group.

All girls must hand in mobile phones and any other electronic devices (e.g. tablets and laptops) before bedtime. You need to take these downstairs to the boot room, where a member of staff or a Sixth Former will be on duty to receive them. Each girl has a labelled slot in a cupboard where they put their devices. This cupboard is locked every evening. If youare late by more than five minutes when handing in your phone and devices, they will be confiscated for 24 hours. Essentially this means that, for example, if you are late on a Monday evening, you will not be allowed your items back until Wednesday morning.

The bedtime routine is as follows:

Year group Phone and devices Main lights off/sidelights on All lights out L5 8.45pm 9.15pm - reading time 9.30pm Hand in all phones Clean your teeth and get and devices ready for bed

M5 9.00pm 9.30pm 9.45pm Hand in all phones Clean your teeth and get and devices ready for bed

U5 9.15pm 10.00pm Hand in all phones and devices

L6 9.30pm 10.15pm Hand in all phones and devices

The routine is different on a Saturday evening. Supper is at 6.15pm, and then you will usually have a social. This could be a disco, a social with one of the Sherborne School Houses, a movie night in House or a supper evening.

All girls need to be in their ‘cues’ or rooms by 10.30pm and the House needs to be dark and quiet by 11.00pm at the very latest, so that anyone who would like to go to sleep, can.

Sunday nights are treated the same as a weekday night (although there is no official prep time). On most Sunday evenings there is a House meeting after the School Service.

House duties Please check your year group duty rota. Unless you are in U5 (in which case you have a year off) or are a day girl, expect to have a duty evening once a week.

It is the responsibility of L5 to make sure that the prep room is tidy, all computers are shut down, all windows closed, and that any work left is placed in the boot room locker on the shelf for the relevant girl. The boot room must also be given a quick tidy, and any belongings left lying around need to be placed in lockers. This duty needs to be completed by 9.00pm.

M5 have pantry on a Saturday evening. This involves stacking and switching on the dishwasher, sweeping the floor, wiping the workbenches and tables, and placing rubbish in the relevant bins. Don’t forget to make sure the snug is clear, too. Check that lights are switched off in the music practice rooms, windows are closed, and the light in the snug is turned off. The pantry light is automatic, and will turn itself off eventually. This duty needs to be started at 10.00pm.

Once the pantry is cleaned, please inform a duty member of staff so that they can lock it.

L6 supervise prep, collect mobile phones and other devices, and do bedtime duties once a week. They also do pantry duty every night other than Saturday. Please report for prep supervision a couple of minutes before the start of prep. Please report for bedtime duty by 8.40pm.