JUNIOR DEPARTMENT NEWS

“A new school year means new beginnings, new adventures, new friendships and new challenges. The slate is clean and anything can happen!” Denise Witmer

It has been exciting to begin my own new challenge at Beechwood Park over the past 10 days. The staff and children in the Junior Department and Woodlands have been so kind and friendly that I already feel part of the family. I look forward to meeting you, the parents, over the coming weeks at pick up and drop off, information evenings, parent consultation evenings and BPSPA events.

The children are settling back into school routines well and have been working and playing together wonderfully. They are enjoying friendships, old and new, and are getting used to their new teachers, as well as rising to the new challenges that their new class brings. I have seen some of their fantastic work first hand and have, so far, enjoyed spending time in Woodlands and in all three Reception classes. I am very proud of them all.

Our Junior Department assemblies have focused on the value of the fortnight, Kindness. I gave the children the opportunity to think about how we can colour our world with kindness by being helpful, honest, patient and forgiving. We also talked and sang about the power of a simple smile. We used this short video to help us understand, which you might like to enjoy as well. Color Your World With Kindness

Reception Parents’ Information Evening

It was lovely to see so many of our Reception parents yesterday evening and I hope you found it useful. We will be continuing our parent engagement opportunities throughout the year with short videos about a range of subjects that I encourage you to watch, as they will help you understand and support your child’s learning.

Junior Department Parent Consultation Evenings:

These meetings will have a pastoral focus, including how the children have settled in and are as much an opportunity for you to tell us about your child as they are for us to share our thoughts.

Tuesday 27^th Reception 1530-1730

Tuesday 27^th Year One and Two 1630-1830

Thursday 29^th All JD 1730-1930

The booking system will open next week, so look out for that.

Best wishes

Mrs McIntosh

Reception

What a wonderful first week these amazing children have had in Reception. They have had the opportunity to enjoy Outdoor Classroom sessions, making new friends, exploring our environment and playing with the equipment.

Alongside this they have amazed us with how quickly they have adapted to their new school environment, and we can see they are settling in really quickly and enjoying their fun-packed days in Reception.

We look forward to sharing what they have been getting up to each week – watch this space!

Year 1

The children have made such a good start to Year One. We are really proud of how they have embraced their new lessons and classes. Here we are in our new class groups:

1J with Mrs Johnston and Mrs Jones
1O with Mr Outson and Miss Dicastiglione
1W with Mrs Wheeler and Mrs Phillips

Check back next week to see what we have been learning about in Science!

Year 2

The children have settled in beautifully to their new classes, taking the jump to a new year group in their stride. It’s lovely to see new friendships forming already.

As a change from Year 1, the children are now using the self service counter and clearing their own trays at lunchtimes. Something they have all taken to brilliantly.

From the Junior Library

The Zebra’s Great Escape by Katherine Rundell:

The Zebra’s Great Escape is award winning Rundell’s first foray into picture books. The book is unsurprisingly ‘text-heavy’ however when combined with Ogilvie’s beautiful illustrations, it is both accessible for newly confident readers and also a perfect book for family sharing. Its underlying story is one of bravery and friendship, and it is successful through its adorable menagerie of animals.

We are aware of a couple of websites which reward schools with free books after parents have purchased. We thought we would share details below in case this was of interest to you.

https://www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/our-purpose

https://shop.scholastic.co.uk/