News – Dulwich Wood Primary School

Learning Journey: Myths, Monarchs & Mayhem

Our learning at Dulwich Wood this week:

Reception

We started the week with a fun food-tasting session, where we explored a range of familiar and unfamiliar foods including mango, pomegranate, celery, grapefruit, beetroot, plantain crisps, spinach and okra. The children were very adventurous and tried a bit of each item, then used the reasoning and making links tools to explain their likes and dislikes, thinking about taste, texture and appearance. This led us nicely into our new text, ‘I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato’ by Lauren Child, where we meet Lola, who is a very fussy eater!

Year 1

In history we have been learning all about schools from the past and using our making links tool to think of the similarities and differences we see from schools today. We learnt about the rules and consequences they had in Victorian schools, such as ‘children must stand when an adult enters the room’ and ‘children must use their right hand at all times for writing.’ We used our empathy goggles and we are not sure we’d like to go to school in the Victorian era! Also, we had an amazing delivery of soil and seeds to start our new science topic about plants. Every child in Y1 is going to have their own sunflower plant to grow and look after in the following weeks.

Year 2

This week, Y2 have continued developing their reasoning and making links skills, using a range of tools in our maths measurement topic. They have enjoyed exploring different ways to measure and compare length and height. In our history learning, we have loved delving deeper into the topic of the Great Fire of London, using a variety of sources to understand how the events unfolded and creating a timeline to sequence them. In literacy, we used our imagining tool to step into the shoes of someone living in 1666, writing a set of commands for a warning poster to help people stay safe.

Year 3

Y3 have been using the perseverance tool this week, practising hard in preparation for the upcoming ukulele festival next week. We are sounding brilliant! In literacy, we have been using our planning and empathy tools to write a letter in the role of Mary Anning. Our asking questions tool has been useful in science this week, as we set up an investigation into how plants transport water through the stem. We are keeping a close eye on the celery to see if it changes colour!

Year 4

Y4 have had another exciting and hands-on week of learning! The children explored the process of mummification by “embalming” tomatoes, linking brilliantly to their Ancient Egypt topic. In science, they investigated non-Newtonian fluids by making oobleck, and were fascinated as they discovered its unusual properties, behaving like both a solid and a liquid.

Year 5

Y5 have been using their asking questions and collaboration tools during an exciting pond‑dipping session with visitors from Frog Life. We took part in a game of wildlife bingo, carefully recording and drawing the creatures we discovered in the pond while working together and asking thoughtful questions about pond habitats and wildlife.

Year 6

This week in Y6, we have been working really hard across our learning. In maths, we have been using our perseverance tool during revision lessons, pushing ourselves to keep going even when the questions felt tricky. In literacy, we put on our empathy goggles and used our planning tools to write diary entries in role as Christabel Pankhurst, imagining how she might have felt after she and Annie Kenney were thrown out of a Liberal Party meeting. We are really proud of the thoughtful and powerful writing we produced — and we’re proving that Y6 are ready to take on any challenge thrown our way!

Sporting Success

Sylvia (Y3 Support Staff) ran the London Marathon at the Weekend. She said – “I have to say it’s one of the hardest things I’ve done particularly on my own but I’m so pleased I completed it and raised a fair bit of money for Type 1 diabetes.” Well done Sylvia, what an achievement!

Parent Survey Feedback:

Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete our recent parent survey. We are very grateful for your feedback, which is extremely important in helping us to continue improving our school.

We were very pleased to see that the survey highlighted a number of strengths. In particular, parents told us that children are happy at school, feel safe, and are well supported in their learning. Parents also responded positively about behaviour in the school and many said they would recommend the school to other families. We are very proud of these areas and of the positive school community we have built together.

We also carefully considered the areas where parents felt we could improve. The main areas identified were communication between school and home, and how the school responds to, and follows up on, concerns raised by parents. We take this feedback seriously and we’ve been reflecting on how well we handle concerns raised by families. We’d like to understand your experiences better. This short survey is completely anonymous and will help us improve. It should take less than 2 minutes.

Last chance to complete the survey before Tuesday 5th May:

Please complete the survey here!

Attendance & Punctuality at Dulwich Wood – Every Day Matters

Please read the following information about attendance and punctuality:

5 mins late every day = 3.4 days of learning lost every year
10 mins late every day = 6.9 days of learning lost every year
15 mins late every day = 10.3 days of learning lost every year
20 mins late every day = 13.8 days of learning lost every year
30 mins late every day = 20.7 days of learning lost every day

What Does My Child’s Attendance Percentage Really Mean?

Many parents don’t realise how quickly absences add up. Here’s what different attendance percentages mean in terms of days of learning lost over a school year:

Attendance Over One School Year (190 days)

Attendance %	Days Absent	Days of Learning Lost	Equivalent to
100%	0 days	0 days	Perfect attendance!
95%	9.5 days	9.5 days	Nearly 2 weeks
90%	19 days	19 days	Nearly 4 weeks
85%	28.5 days	28.5 days	Over 5 weeks
80%	38 days	38 days	Over 7 weeks
75%	47.5 days	47.5 days	Nearly half a term
70%	57 days	57 days	Over 11 weeks

Understanding Attendance Categories

✅ Good Attendance: 96-100% : Your child is getting the most out of their education and building positive habits for the future.

⚠️ Concerning: 90-95%: Your child is missing important learning. Small absences add up quickly.

🚨 Persistent Absence: Below 90%: A pupil misses 10% or more of school – equal to 1 day or more every 2 weeks. This seriously impacts learning and wellbeing.

🚨🚨 Severe Absence: Below 50%: A pupil misses 50% or more of school. This is a safeguarding concern and requires immediate support.