Overview

THE FORDER PROGRAMME

This year has seen many great developments in the co-curricular programme. Pupils across the Junior School have fully embraced the opportunities available to them from the beginning of their Pre-Prep journey, making great inroads into filling their St Dunstan’s shield with innovative and exciting activities. A significant development for us involves the restructuring of the Forder co-curricular programme around the five College values, and I would like to take this opportunity to share some of the highlights from each of these profiles.

The Core – Sport and Wellbeing

Central to this value is the theme of mental and physical wellbeing. Our youngest pupils in Reception lead the way with engagement with weekly Munchkins sports sessions, which continue to be popular and thriving. Pupils in Years 1 and 2 have taken a leap into the unknown with new activities such as Yoga, Mindfulness and Cookery to name a few. Moving into the Prep school, the plethora of sporting opportunities is endless and engagement in Core sports including netball, football, hockey, cricket, rounders, tennis and rugby continues to grow. New staff have brought new talents with them and athletics is now high up on the agenda for Prep pupils – thank you Ms Shaw! Even the disappointment of the Lent term lockdown was not enough to dampen our spirits; pupils continued to work on their mental and physical wellbeing with Mr Macklin’s Maxing and Relaxing sessions, and sporting knowledge was developed through quizzes, research and games. We came back stronger, fitter and keener than ever!

Creativity

The grand opening of our Woodland Classroom caused great excitement this year and Pre-Prep pupils were delighted to explore the activities on offer in our new facilities. ‘Art in the Woods’ proved to be as enchanting as it sounds, and our move to the new vibrant Art and DT specialist room has led to some incredible creations in Origami and Paper Craft clubs. Creativity, individuality and ambition are integral to life in the Junior School and pupils in the Prep school have become, amongst other things, calligraphy experts thanks to Miss Brown and thespians thanks to Ms Collard. New creatures have been forged from wool and beads in SDC Stitchers and Music and Drama continue to excel in their provision; opportunities for pupils to become experts in ukulele and chair drumming have not been missed and Drama continues to fill up every term. We were all thrilled to watch the remote LAMDA Showcases, demonstrating the talent from across the Junior School and the story telling, poetry and singing was of the highest standard. Well done everyone!

Curiosity

Pupils have relished the opportunity to be global thinkers in our Curiosity profile activities. Pupils in Pre-Prep found out about the weird and wonderful and developed a lust for all things unknown in Curiosity Club. Another ‘first’ for this year has been the introduction of PrePrep academic enrichment activities; Year 2 children with a passion for English and Maths have been honing their skills in Creative Writing and Maths Problem Solving, led by subject specialists, preparing them effectively for Prep life and providing them with a platform to delve deeper into more challenging concepts. This year Coding has been particularly popular in the Prep school as pupils have been given the chance to develop programming skills on a range of technology devices. We are delighted that

Mr Weekes continues to visit us twice weekly to offer specialist Chess sessions in the Prep school and our Year 5 and 6 Academic Extension groups go from strength to strength. Who knows, we may be training the next Chess champion or world leader! We are delighted at the wonderful entries submitted by pupils this year to local and national competitions. Pupils from across the Junior school have entered the IAPS art competition and the UN Climate Change Creative Earth competition and we are thrilled to see the ambition and curiosity of our pupils grow and thrive.

Compassion

Junior School pupils care about the community they live in, and the Compassion activities have encouraged our pupils to become empathetic and gain a greater awareness that their small actions can have a significant impact upon others, both in their local and global communities, through activities such as Compassion Club and Eco Club. Responsibilities increase as pupils mature and progress through the Junior School; this year, Creative Writers thoughtfully produced letters to accompany gifts sent to Lewisham Voluntary Services for distribution to the local community at Christmas which were received with delight, and Prep Pupil Parliament representatives reflected on our contributions to a range of charities. The whole College supported a number of special causes this year with charity and dress-up days, and the care and compassion shown by all pupils was humbling for all involved.

Courage

The challenges of this year have inspired us all to be more courageous and brave in our decision making and the Junior School pupils continue to impress with the way they embrace new opportunities with resilience and vigour! Pre-Prep First Strings has continued to triumph, with children picking up their violins for the first time and performing both individually and in groups. Pre-Prep Record Breakers continued to push boundaries and rose to new heights. Pupils took the opportunity to be inspired by global events this year; Prep Young Architects designed schools of the future with Covid-safe features, and the Year 5 Academic Extension Group compared the ways in which different countries handled the pandemic. We are delighted to be working closely with Mr Telford, Head of Outdoor and Adventurous Activities and we look forward to introducing rock climbing, outdoor adventures and bouldering to the programme in September. We must thank the Friends of St Dunstan’s for their generous donation enabling us to expand our College climbing offering. Thank you to all pupils and staff who have committed so much time and energy to the Junior School Forder Programme this academic year. With our new Junior School MUGA, Woodland Classroom, rock climbing wall and superb state-of-the-art learning spaces I am certain that next year will provide even more excitement and opportunity for all. I have no doubt that the Junior School pupils will continue to explore a plethora of opportunities and experiences across our ambitious programme to add to their rapidly expanding St Dunstan’s shield as they carve their own individual learning pathway.

Mrs L Carmichael-Line

Junior School Deputy Head Pastoral