JUNIOR DEPARTMENT NEWS

Message from Mrs McIntosh

“Values can’t just be words on a page. To be effective, they must shape action.”  

Jeffrey R. Immelt  

The dictionary defines value as ‘one’s judgement of what is important in life’. We have 16 values here at Beechwood and these are well known to you all, I am sure. Every school in the country also has a duty to teach the children about British Values too. These are laid out by the Department for Education as: 

• Democracy 
• Mutual Respect  
• Individual Liberty  
• Rule of Law 
• Tolerance of other religions and beliefs 

They are big topics for young children,  so I began by teaching the children about the five values using our hand to help us remember what they are:

• – The thumb represents Democracy (thumbs up or down to vote);
• – The index finger represents rule of law (pointing as if to scold); 
• – The middle finger represents tolerance of other religions and belief (The tallest finger points to God); 
• – The ring finger represents mutual respect (as we would see in a marriage or relationship); 
• – And finally the little finger represents individual liberty (little old me); 

In terms of how we put these into practice at School,  you can appreciate that respect and tolerance run through everything we do. In the classroom, at playtime, at mealtimes, at after school activities we expect the children to treat each other with fairness and kindness. We also explicitly teach them about other faiths and beliefs so that they understand them. Democracy can be as simple as voting for which story the children would like at the end of the day or voting for a treat when the marble jar is full. Our Golden Rules are the way we keep everyone safe and help the children distinguish between right and wrong.

Finally, in learning about individual liberty we support pupils to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence so that they can choose what is right for them. A great story to support this concept is The Hueys in The New Jumper by Oliver Jeffers,  which I heartily recommend. 

Mrs McIntosh 

This Week in Reception

Reception pupils have been having a good look around the School this week. We have visited Surgery, the Library, the Boarding House, the Front Desk, and the Art, DT and Middle Departments. We have met all sorts of people from our Registrar, Mrs Graham to Simon from the School Bus Service, Josh in the Kitchen to Miss Mac Director of Co-Curricular, and we were even invited into Mr Balfour’s office – although we might have woken him from his nap!

This Week in Year 1

Forest School Fun

In Forest School this week, we looked for signs of autumn and found ripe apples, leaves changing colour and falling from the trees, acorns, field maple seed spinners, conkers and both miniature and huge fungi! We also used our detective skills to try to find all of the owls showing the Forest School boundaries. We also listened for birds and read a book where we had to use the clues to guess the types of birds, which helped us to think about their similarities and differences. There was time at the end for bug hunting, cooking in the mud kitchen and lots more!

Take a look at our Forest School session in photos and all the great things we got up to.

This Week in Year 2

This half term, Year 2 were booked to introduce the Learning Power Pets to the rest of the Junior Department. So on Tuesday, 2B’s clear voices confidently led our assembly, introducing two of the pets –  Team Bee through their class mascot Busy (well we are 2B!) and Caring Caterpillar.

To find out what these two Learning Power Pets are about listen to our Chatterpix videos voiced by Oslo and Jack. Also watch our Team Bee and Caring Caterpillar ‘mini movies’ to see if 2B can really work as a team.

St George and the Dragon

2CW have been having great fun in their Dance and Drama sessions with Mrs Hegarty, re-enacting the story of St George and the Dragon. They took turns taking on the roles of the different characters from the story; the dragon, the villagers and St George himself. They really got into character, creating excellent poses and sound effects! Mrs Wallis and Mrs Ford were treated to their finished performance this week, and the children certainly rose to the occasion!

More photos to follow next week of 2B and 2LW’s budding actors!

Self Portraits

As mentioned last week, we have been busy creating self-portraits using pastels. Check out the photos below for the finished results. We were blown away by the children’s skills and concentration and we are really proud of the finished pieces.

We cannot wait to put these on display in the classroom and have fun seeing if we can match each piece with its artist!

From the Junior Library

Ruby and the Wolf Cub by Paul Westmoreland

With boundless energy and an impulsive nature, Rudy is always ready to follow the scent of adventure! And with his loyal pack of friends by his side there’s nothing he can’t achieve. When Rudy finds a lost wolf cub at the skatepark, he knows he has to help him. Rudy tries everything he can think of to find the cub’s pack, but they’re nowhere to be seen, or smelled, and time is running out. 

Howlingly cool illustrations and an irresistible character finding his way in the world make Rudy and the Wolf Cub the ideal choice for those looking to bridge the gap between picture books and independent reading

The Bookshow is a charity that inspires school children with a love of reading through an annual programme of in-theatre and digital performances and in-school workshops with the very best authors and illustrators from around the world.  Booking is now open for their autumn programme. Click here to view all of their Autumn Performances