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Please check the School Calendar for details:
With Christmas Lunch being served on Tuesday there is a slight change to the weeks menu choices. They will be as follows:
Monday: Macaroni Cheese, Mild Chickpea Coconut Curry with Rice, Jacket Potatoes served with Beans, Cheese or Tuna
Tuesday: Christmas Dinner
Wed: Beef Lasagne, Vegetable and Mozzarella Traybake served with Rice, Tomato Pasta
Friday: Fish fingers and Chips, Vegan Katsu with Chips, Jacket Potatoes served with Beans, Cheese or Tuna
Please remember to bring a packed lunch on Tuesday if you have not ordered a chrsitmas lunch.
We are delighted to confirm that we will be holding a Christmas celebration in St Paul's Church on the morning of Thursday 21st December. All year groups will be registered in school as usual before walking to the church for an event that will start at approximately 9.30am. If you are free at this time, you are most welcome to meet us at the church and join the celebration.
Please don't forget that there is NO LATES next Thursday 21st December our last day of term.
In Year 4, we have been learning about the Amazon rainforest and the deforestation it faces.
The children in 4W have learned a deforestation poem by heart, which they would like to share with you: A Tree Felled by Valerie Bloom.
We have some AMAZING prizes and full prize list is attached, tickets are £1 or a book of 5 is £5, these can be collected to purchase from either the office or I did put some in the staff room?
Report by Samuel Booth (6J)
Last week Year 6s at Dunalley Primary School brought in their bikes to complete the four-day Bikeability course.
The Year 6s were told that they could take part in their Level 2 Bikeability course, led by volunteers. These volunteers led groups of children and taught them about road safety.
On Monday morning the children were sorted into groups of seven. On the playground they were shown the correct gear to wear whilst cycling and how to do a bike check by their instructors. After this, they demonstrated indicating and turning on their bikes; this included fake junctions and U-turns.
On Tuesday morning the children went out onto the roads in their groups to learn about road hazards and how to avoid them. They then practiced U-turns and passing parked cars safely. On Wednesday, the children learnt and practiced how to correctly use a junction. They then followed a route back to school involving several major junctions. On Thursday, they learnt about road signs and roundabouts. They then went on a long route around Cheltenham combining all the skills they learnt on previous days.
After completing the Bikeability course the children were given badges and certificates before thanking their instructors.
We are delighted to announce that the Dunalley Pantry will be open on Tuesday 2nd January 2024.
Families are welcome to come along to the school office between 9.30am and 11.30am - Sam Ashton will be in school to help you. We don't want anyone to be hungry or lacking essential items during the Christmas holidays.
Please remember that you can always contact our Family Support Team via email [email protected] or by telephone on 01242 512391.
We are pleased to be able to help our families, particularly during the cost of living crisis.
As part of our Mental Health & Well-being initiative here at Dunalley, we recently carried out a questionnaire with the children and the feeling of Tiredness came out as a theme with the children.
Sleep Hygiene
While the holidays can be a fun time for children, many factors can contribute to increased stress for children, which can result in temper tantrums, defiance, anxiousness, irritability, or feeling down.
Holiday-related factors include changes in school/play routine, delayed bedtime hours, increased sweets, and parental/care giver stress can effect sleep hygiene.
We hope this information from Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) which explains about good sleep hygiene, will help.
What is sleep hygiene?
The lead-up to and routine around your child’s bedtime is referred to as ’sleep hygiene’.
Having good sleep hygiene can help your child to settle to sleep and to stay asleep.
Things to think about
Caffeine
Good sleep hygiene begins in the day, with consideration of your child’s food and drink intake. Caffeine is a stimulant that prevents sleep and can cause your child to stay awake for longer and find it more difficult to settle to sleep. Caffeine is present in drinks such as tea, coffee, cola, energy drinks and fizzy pop. If your child drinks these, try to limit their intake and avoid them altogether after lunchtime.
Food and mealtimes
Eating a large meal before bedtime can prevent sleep. Consider the best time to eat your main evening meal; if your child has an early bedtime, ensure that a large meal is not being eaten directly beforehand. On school nights, it might be preferable for your child to eat earlier, saving family meals for weekends or holiday periods. Some foods can be helpful in promoting sleep – for example, a drink of warm milk.
Exercise
Children may have difficulty in falling asleep if they have been inactive throughout the day. Encouraging your child, where possible, to undertake sports and to play outside can help to burn off energy and promote tiredness at the end of the day. Even going for a walk in the fresh air can be helpful. However, avoid exercise too near to bedtime.
Environment
Your child’s sleeping environment should be a place where they feel safe and secure, but also be a place to sleep and not play. There are ways in which the sleeping environment can be adjusted, which will depend on the needs of your child (and other children sharing the room).
For instance, some children may find a nightlight can make them feel safe, others may sleep better in total darkness. If possible, adjust room temperature and noise to levels at which your child feels comfortable to fall asleep.
Your child’s bedroom should not contain items that distract from sleeping. For example, would it be possible to remove toys from the bedroom before bedtime, or move toys to a different area of the house?
Set a routine
Having a bedtime routine and a set bedtime can help your child to understand what to expect and how they should behave. A routine can begin 30 minutes to two hours before bedtime and can include activities to help wind down, such as a warm bath/shower or reading a story.
Sticking to a set pattern each night will help your child to settle before bed and give them the time to calm down before sleeping. Going to the toilet as the last task before getting into bed can also help prevent your child from needing to get up in the night time.
Technology
The use of electronic devices (such as televisions, mobile phones and tablet computers) close to bedtime can prevent your child from settling to sleep. This is because they produce light that is good at suppressing natural hormones in the brain that cause sleepiness.
Ideally, these devices should not be used in the hours before bed and removed from your child’s bedroom to create an environment that your child associates with sleep.
If your child uses these devices to help them fall asleep, consider replacing this routine with a bedtime story or playing soothing music.
Self-settling
If your child is routinely waking in the night, it is important that they learn to self-settle rather than seeking a parent or joining a parent’s bed. This can be difficult to enforce, and may be emotionally challenging, for both child and parent, but parents should remain firm and assertive.
If your child leaves their bed and seeks you out at night-time, try not to engage them in conversation, but lead them quietly and immediately back to bed. This may need to be repeated several times each night, but it is important that your child learns that they will receive the same response from you each time.
If your child is anxious, the use of a night light, cuddly toy or baby monitor may help them to feel safe and learn how to self-settle.
Praising your child in the morning for staying in bed at night can help reinforce good behavior.
Happy Holidays, and enjoy the rest!