Beechwood Lion Lent 2018

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Beechwood Lion Lent 2018

Lion King Jnr - A roaring success! page 3

From The Headmaster The roar of the audience’s appreciation for the cast and crew’s magnificent tour de force in the Lion King Jr will resound loudly into the Easter holidays.

The very highest standards of individual and choric acting, dancing and singing, combined with the most beautiful costumes, props, stage scenery, make-up, lighting and sound resulted in quite simply the best prep school production that I have ever seen, well-deserving its last night standing ovation. We certainly ‘felt the love’!

In a term in which we have celebrated World Book Day so creatively, welcomed authors, including our very own Patron of Reading, Jonathan Stroud, musicians and

sportsmen and women to inspire our pupils towards excellence… in a term in which we have performed confidently in French in our Soirée Amicale, visited Wonderlab, engaged fully in our inaugural whole-School crosscurricular Lion King / Africa / Hamlet Arts Week involving SKYPE interviews with Whipsnade Zoo, …in a term only nine (short!) weeks long…it is quite frankly amazing that our staff and pupils with the help of some very generous parents, have achieved such an extraordinarily powerful result.

One might question as to whether this wealth of co-curricular activities compromises the academic performance of our pupils? Not according to our long list of successes this term in 11+ and 13+ senior school admissions assessments and in the impressive array of scholarships our pupils have achieved to the most selective of senior schools. Our Eco Warriors continued to battle valiantly, our Sports Department ushered in Girls’ Cricket

across our local circuit, the BPSPA supported our pupils in raising huge sums in support of the Friends of St Leonard’s, Flamstead appeal.

The Beast from the East was no match for our roars, only succeeding in delaying our much-anticipated visit from Alastair Cook CBE. As it slinks back into its wintery lair, our Lions emboldened by the challenges that they have so courageously met this term, head off for three weeks of Hakuna Matata. What a wonderful phrase!

Wishing you a lovely and restful family Easter holiday.

With best wishes, Yours,

EDWARD BALFOUR HEADMASTER

Arts Week What began, last September, with a visit to the West End for a workshop and performance of the Lion King, continued throughout the School and across the curriculum as Africa took centre stage in topic work, music, art, drama and DT. Even visiting illustrator Nick Schon (of Biff and Chip fame) got in on the act with Year 2's African Adventure – see page 2 for more!

And during Arts Week, we enjoyed one of those special occasions when the whole School celebrated together. Pupils gathered in the Sports Hall in a sea of colours to celebrate the art and culture of Africa through song, dance and creativity.

Let the Memories Begin!

LOUISE PAGE

Patron of Reading Beechwood Park School is delighted to announce that Jonathan Stroud has been appointed as its first ever Patron of Reading.

Jonathan is, amongst other things, the author of the very popular Lockwood & Co series. The Patron of Reading scheme was originally developed by a Head Teacher in Wales and has now spread to almost 200 schools across the British Isles. Jonathan’s appointment will last for one calendar year and will focus on enhancing the ‘reading for pleasure’ culture in the Middle and Senior Departments.

Jonathan commented; 'I’m truly thrilled to be Beechwood Park’s first ever Patron of Reading. After a long association as a parent (my son is in Year 6), I know what a

superb culture of reading and writing exists at the School, and it’s a privilege to become part of that story in 2018. Books are a vital part of every childhood – for the doors they open, for the worlds they unlock, for the new dreams and possibilities contained on every page. I can’t wait to get going, and I look forward to meeting many of you along the way. So let’s crack open those paperbacks – it’s going to be a fantastic year!'

Never was the Disney strapline more apt as when musician Simon Morgan visited the School at the beginning of our Lion King inspired Arts Week. Simon has played French Horn in the West End production of The Lion King since its opening in 1999. He brought with him some wonderful posters and tales from backstage. He explained that a huge team of 400 was required to stage the show and that a massive 15 million people have now seen The Lion King in London. A fabulous inspiration for the cast and crew of our own production!

JULIA ROUSE

LIZ GREEN & GRAÍNNE WILKINS

The newsletter of Beechwood Park School, Markyate, Hertfordshire AL3 8AW

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Visits and Visitors Nick Schon We are all so familiar with Nick Schon’s drawings that we feel we know the characters very well. This made it even more exciting (and amazing) for Year 1 to watch him in action as he brought Kipper and his friends to life before our eyes!

Using our own ideas, Nick illustrated a story about Kipper having an exciting day of his own!

Kipper’s adventures were wide and varied, going from the African Savannah, through Nigeria and he ended up meeting Queen Elizabeth on the banks of the River Thames!

WENDY RODEN

Chicks Again!

It’s that time of year again when the Science Department suddenly becomes the busiest part of the School as we are treated to our very own cute, little visitors. Either in person or via ‘Chick Cam’, the children were able to watch the chicks hatch and grow. The eggs were supplied by Living Eggs who work with schools across the UK, and when our ‘eggsperience’ was over the chicks were rehomed to a free range farm. Thank you very much Mrs Leigh for taking the time to organise this for us!

Grandparents’ Day This term, Woodlands treated visiting grandparents to a taster of the learning and fun we enjoy in a morning session. The grandparents joined in enthusiastically with our music and PE lessons and played with us in the Nursery - particularly delighting in the shoe shop role-play area! We also managed to fit in a guided-walk around the School grounds whilst on the hunt for snowdrops!

A big thank you to all of the grandparents who were able to come along we really enjoyed having you in Woodlands!

St Albans Abbey One of the (many) highlights of the term was the Reception trip to St Albans Abbey. We all took part in a clay tile workshop and enjoyed spending time in the Abbey learning about the materials used around the building. This hands-on learning experience supported our 'materials and buildings' topic and we were extremely proud of how beautifully the children behaved.

SHIRLEY HAYMAN

From the Giraffe House…

PIPPA ROXAN

During our Lion King/Africa inspired Arts’ Week (and British Science Week as well) some pupils from Years 5, 6 & 7 were involved in a Skype lesson with Whipsnade Zoo. We specifically focused on giraffes as our lesson was broadcast direct from the giraffe enclosure! The pupils learnt about natural selection and adaptations of the animals. They asked lots of intelligent questions and it was a most interesting experience - one that we will hopefully repeat in the future.

JOANNE BEGLEY

JOANNE BEGLEY

Year 5 at Wonderlab Focus on China Year 1 have worked hard this term, learning not only the geography of China, but the history of The Great Wall and The Terracotta Army, and the many traditions and stories relating to Chinese New Year. Along with their Willow Pattern plates, they have made puppets representing the animals of The Chinese Zodiac, individually designed and sewn beautifully. The children have also learned some of the dances used to celebrate Chinese New Year and transformed themselves into fiery red dragons and lions searching for lettuce leaves!

WENDY RODEN

During a trip to the Wonderlab at the Science Museum, Year 5 were able to gain ‘hands-on’ experience of many amazing scientific and mathematical inventions. One of their favourites was the combination of pulleys they could use to hoist themselves up into the air!

The children were treated to two separate lectures. The first contained some loud explosions, as the Science Museum demonstrator showed the effect of combining hydrogen, oxygen and heat! In the second show, ‘Feel the Force’, the children were reminded of their learning from the Michaelmas term all with the help of a frog on a skateboard!

KATIE DIAMOND

Maths Roundup Another busy and fun term in the Maths department! As well as reciting pi to 1000 decimal places on a daily basis (!), we have relaunched the Maths puzzle - the Easter Holiday one is entitled “How much water?” This term, we have also launched a new times-tables initiative called Rock Star Maths. It is currently being piloted in Year 4, and the children have certainly had fun ‘rocking out‘ recently (and maybe some of the teachers too!).

The Intermediate Maths Challenge took place in February, with Noah (Top Form) reaching the second round. This is particularly impressive considering it is designed for GCSE pupils. Freddie W and Bibi M (Year 6) reached the Primary Maths Challenge Bonus Round in February, with Bibi achieving a Bronze award, and Freddie achieving a Silver; very well done!

TOM MCKENZIE

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Lion King

The Lion Takes Centre Stage Every seat was taken as the African savannah came to life in the Performance Hall. With outstanding music and sensational costumes, Simba, Rafiki and an extremely talented and energetic cast of characters from Years 5 to Top Form journeyed from Pride Rock to the jungle... and back again, in an inspiring, spine-tingling, coming-of-age tale. As always, this production has been a real Beechwood Park team effort.

Thank you.

LAURA HEGARTY

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Beechwood Park School’s Newsletter

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Back to Nature Woodland Renamed

Last term, pupils and staff were invited to suggest an innovative name for the Forest School woods, and then to take part in a vote to select the best submission. The results were extremely tight with 1st place gaining only 1 more vote than 2nd place.

The decision therefore was made to employ two names; the woods currently used for Forest School will from now on be known as Capability Woods allowing us to celebrate Beechwood Park’s historical connection with Capability Brown. The woods to the north of Capability Woods (nearer the Astroturf) which are used by the children at break-times in fine weather will rather appropriately, be entitled Friendship Forest.

BECKY LE BAS

Nature Week Year 3 have been out minibeast hunting with magnifying glasses, using classification keys to identify what they have found. We were delighted to discover footage from the night vision camera (which is triggered by movement) of a muntjac family, rabbits, a pheasant, squirrels and even a fox leaping off into the bushes.

During our birdwatching, with identification books and binoculars, we were lucky enough to spot a red kite, blackbirds and a robin. Year 3 even heard a woodpecker in the woods getting ready for spring.

One of the most exciting activities was small mammal trapping using Longworth traps (humane traps which are designed to provide a safe, warm place for small mammals until they are released). We set the traps and put them out overnight. We managed to catch a wood mouse and a bank vole! It was a fantastic week and the children enjoyed being out in the beautiful grounds of Beechwood Park and most of all, had great fun!

YEAR 3 TEACHERS

Music in the Woods Mrs Jarvis joined the Year 1 classes for their Forest School session during Arts’ Week.

We sang some of the wonderful African songs that the children had been learning in their music lessons; they sounded quite different outside in the open air! Year 1 had a challenge whilst singing Obwisana Sa Nana; we all had to choose a stick and pass it around the circle, in time to the music, in a clockwise direction whilst remembering to sing the song. Once we got used to it, passing the sticks helped us to feel the beat. Then we wandered through the woods looking for natural objects that we could use to make a shaker: sweet chestnut cases, beech masts, small twigs and bark chippings were all added to the mix. We filled containers with our bounty and then sang Siyahamba and

Technology Tournament

Eco-Warriors Congratulations to the newly selected Eco-Warriors whose mission is to make Beechwood Park a more environmentally friendly place. The enthusiastic team of children from the Middle and Senior Departments have been putting together an action plan and have chosen the issue of ‘waste’ as their first priority. They have come up with lots of fabulous ideas and will be sharing them with the rest of the School next term. Watch this space!

Two DT teams from Beechwood Park took part in the Luton and Bedfordshire Rotary Technology Tournament, held at Stopsley.

There were thirty six teams in three age groups, the foundation group (consisting of Years 7-9), the GCSE group and the A level group.

HELEN SEWELL

Having previously been told what equipment we could bring from School, on arrival we were given a bag that contained: a folder (to put our sketches in), six cubed stripes of wood, and four rounded stripes of wood, screws, rubber bands and wire. Our mission;

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Chay Chay Kuleusing using our shakers as accompaniment. And was that Timon that we saw running through the trees? Well, almost as exciting: it was a baby Muntjac deer! We must have lured it out of the undergrowth with our wonderful music!

BECKY LE BAS

to build a Space Capsule Launcher!

At first, we were worried that the task would be impossible because we had never built something like that before, however once we had begun to put some ideas on paper it all started to make some sense.

We were given three sheets of paper detailing the specifications required for the Space Launcher - it needed to be launched vertically, passing through a 300mm hoop on the way up, and it had to be released using a trigger/release mechanism, operated remotely from 1m distance. Finally, it needed to reach a minimum height of 3m.

Fortunately, we completed the task successfully. Not winners this time, but we did however enjoy an exciting day out and most of all, we surprised ourselves that we were able to carry out what seemed like an impossible task!

BROOKE, GRACIE & KRISTY

Taking Centre Stage St Albans Young Musician

Soirée Amicale

Jeudi huit février nous avons eu l’occasion de voir une pièce qui s'appelle 'Le Club De jeunesse de Mickey'. J’ai beaucoup ri quand Mickey a dansé. Goofy à été très amusant. Donald Duck a bien joué et a eu un bon accent. Eddie et Sam J’ai beaucoup aimé 'la Trappe'. Ça m’a fait rire quand Matthew a joué Lewis Hamilton et quand Joseph a joué la guitare hawaïenne. Tom J’ai bien aimé 'Mario Karts' parce que Monsieur Packer et Hugo étaient très amusants. Katya Dans la pièce qui s’appelait 'Scooby Dooby Doo' il y avait un grand dinosaure qui était Aston. J’ai beaucoup ri. James Ma pièce préférée était celle de 6B2, qui a présenté ‘Les trois petits loups’. Ça m’a fait rire quand le cochon a dit ‘Où est mon marteau? Où est mon marteau?’ Alex Ma pièce préférée était de Top A. Ça m’a beaucoup plu parce que ça m’a fait rire quand ils ont chanté : Tortue Ninja, tortue ninja, tortue ninja. Nathan Dans 'Où est Nemo', Nemo va voir un film de David Attenborough: Blue Planet. Ça m’a fait rire quand les filles ont crié quand elles ont vu le requin blanc! Daniil

Music Competition Our biennial ‘performing’ competition was a huge success again this term.

The competition is open to all pupils (from Year 3 to Top Form) who play a musical instrument, regardless of whether they learn in or out of School.

A total of 135 talented pupils took part in the competition and we listened to 169 amazing performances (156 individual performances and 13 small ensemble performances) in 20 different competition classes. A winner from each class went through to the Grand Final adjudicated by Mr Kevin Kyle, Director of Music Performance from Mill Hill School.

His feedback on the performances was both informative and amusing and, most notably, he said that the standard of playing was incredibly high!

JANE LODGE

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Nous avons eu l’occasion de voir une pièce qui s’appelle 'Les Tourelles de Monsieur Faute' par 7A. Il y avait un très grand téléphone et c’était amusant. James, qui a joué Basil Faute, est un bon acteur parce qu'il avait un bon accent et il a parlé normalement.

J’ai beaucoup apprécié Gregor qui a joué le rat du jardin. Zack et Jonathan J’ai beaucoup ri quand Henry est venu sur scène dans 'La Belle et La Bête'. Il était la belle. Les vêtements étaient très rigolos. Les mouvements étaient fantastiques. 'La belle et la bête' était magnifique car ils ont bien préparé la pièce. Sam et Chris La pièce de 6A, 'Méprisable moi'. Le nom de Mr Balfour était Monsieur derrière de moutons. Ça m’a beaucoup plu parce que les vêtements étaient amusants et les enfants ont bien joué. Les élèves ont eu de bons accents et l’histoire était intéressante et compliquée.

Pour moi, ma dernière soirée amicale était une soirée inoubliable. Noah

Townsend-Warner History Prize

Well done to Cecily (6AG) whose bassoon playing won her 1st place in the Primary Wind category in the prestigious St Albans Young Musicians Competition, the finals of which took place in the stunning Nave of St Albans Cathedral. This competition, organised by the St Albans Cathedral Music Trust, attracted over 150 students from local primary and secondary schools. Very well done Cecily!

JANE LODGE

Music Exam Results We are delighted with the very impressive results from the most recent Music examinations which took place at the end of last term. We had a 100% pass rate, of which 87% were either merit or distinction from across all three music boards - ABRSM, Trinity and London College of Music where a staggering 75% of our Musical Theatre students gained a distinction. These results are testament to all of the hard work put in by the pupils and music staff alike. Many congratulations to you all.

JANE LODGE

NCO success Huge congratulations to Top Former, Edward, for winning a place in the National Children’s Orchestras of Great Britain Under 13 National Orchestra.

Edward is a very talented violinist (and saxophonist) and he will join this orchestra which meets throughout the year on residential courses during the school holidays.

JANE LODGE

A number of our Top Form and Year 7 pupils sat Paper 1 of the Townsend Warner History Prize this term. The competition consists of two papers. The first has 100 questions demanding one-word, or onesentence answers from world history, but with a strong emphasis on British history.

Many are straightforward, some a little more obscure. 250 candidates qualified from Paper 1 to sit Paper 2, which is in the form of essay questions, but allows candidates a very wide choice so that they can write about what they know, and also show analytical skill and historical imagination.

We were delighted that four of our pupils qualified for Paper 2 this year. Many congratulations to Alex, Harry, Henry and Jonathan for their excellent performance.

ANGHARAD GRIFFITHS

Come & Sing Our latest Come and Sing, Rodgers and Hammerstein themed evening was a ‘whip crack-away’ success with a song-room full of parents, staff and friends letting their hair down and benefitting from the expert musical guidance of Mrs Lodge and Mr Vockerodt. If you would like to experience some of the musicianship on offer to your children, do sign up for the next Come and Sing event. No previous experience necessary!

Beechwood Park School’s Newsletter

JULIA ROUSE

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English Matters Poetry Presentation

Beechwood Park Poet Laureate

Pupils and teachers enjoyed working together in preparation for this presentation, experimenting with the sounds of the words and working out how best to deliver the lines to maximum effect. It was a very entertaining morning. Well done everyone on your brilliant performances.

GRAÍNNE WILKINS

Macbeth Workshop There was much talk of mist, fog and howling as Fiona Penney, from the Young Shakespeare Company, took groups of Year 6 through the Scottish play. Pupils were transfixed by the wonderful story of treachery, ambition and death.

Hearing Macbeth presented in this way was an amazing opportunity for the children. They acted out the lines; they became King Duncan’s loyal sons and they transformed into a moving Birnham Wood, engaging wonderfully with this classic text.

BRIDGET MANTON

Globe Visit Year 6 visited the magnificent Globe Theatre on London's South Bank this term. “It’s more colourful inside than I expected,” commented one child. “The seats are hard,” remarked another as we perched on authentic pine benches. “Can you really see a whole play for only five pounds?” marvelled a curious voice.

During the day, the children investigated Shakespeare’s world through the eyes and interests of a range of people, in a special exhibition.

They also heard all about the building itself and the experience of putting on the plays, during our guided tour. Narrowly avoiding the rain showers, we made our way across the Millennium Bridge, observing the sights and sounds of our capital – all fabulous inspiration for our creative writing!

GRAÍNNE WILKINS

World Book Day On World Book Day, Thursday, 1st March, Book Fever ensued - the Sports Hall was awash with colour and two huge bookshops sprang up in the Junior Hall and the Great Hall.

Whilst the soundtrack from the Lion King roared out, the whole school gathered to parade their eclectic variety of costumes. Our youngest Beechwoodians (the Woodlanders) quite literally bounced in with excitement.

‘Fudgie’ became an instant hit with the audience when we discovered that he was from an original novel, penned by the Reception child himself!

Paddington also made an appearance, complete with marmalade sandwich.

There was a most timely choice of suffragette costume on display, as well as the much-loved newsagent, Raj,

immortalised in David Walliams' books. Some of our other favourites were there too – Stick Man, Gangsta Granny and The Cat in the Hat to name a few.

A huge thank you goes to all of our parents who spent so generously on books on World Book Day. Travelling Books, who supply the book sale, brought a wide range of books, including many new titles, and pupils enjoyed perusing the shelves before making their purchases. Your generosity has raised book commission of over £3,500 which will be spent across the School, to the benefit of your children. Donations for dressing up have raised over £500 towards Book Aid International. This charity sends books to schools and libraries across Africa.

GRAÍNNE WILKINS & LIZ GREEN

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The search was on this term to find Beechwood Park’s first ever Poet Laureate. The rules of the competition were simple.

Pupils had to produce a poem on the theme of New Beginnings in no less than 10 lines. Originality was encouraged and the poem could be in any form, for example haiku, cinquain, kenning, acrostic to name but a few!

Our new Patron of Reading, Jonathan Stroud had the unenviable job of selecting the final winners from a shortlist. It was, as he put it, ‘A very close-run thing!’ and Catherine (5R) and Eddie (Top CLH) were chosen to share the role of Poet Laureate.

All the pupils who entered the competition should be very proud of their achievements.

We wish Catherine and Eddie the very best of luck in their new role and wait with bated breath to see what will inspire their next creative masterpieces!

GRAÍNNE WILKINS

James Carter, Poet Year 4 welcomed the poet James Carter, author of numerous well-loved poetry anthologies, who gave them a very engaging and imaginative performance of his favourite poems. James then spent time in each of the Year 4 classes, offering advice, top tips and helping them to write their own poems.

He then made his way to Woodlands Nursery to meet our youngest pupils who had been practising his 'Lullaby for a Woolly Mammoth' poem (made famous in his popular book ‘GRRR! Dinos, Dragons and other Beastie Poems’) in anticipation of his visit! James was impressed by their rendition and spent a happy time with the children talking to them and studying their woolly mammoth paintings.

CHRIS KNELLER

Sport

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Mavericks vs Surrey Storm Inaugural BPS Cross-Country We were delighted that, at the inaugural Beechwood Park Inter Schools' Cross-Country Event this term, 13 schools came to compete - a total of 350 runners with over 80 runners in each race. For some it was their first ever cross-country meet and hopefully a great introduction.

Special mentions must go to Eloise who came 2nd in the U9 girls’ race, Eddie who finished 2nd in the U11 boys’ race and to Oscar who won the U9 boys’ race! Special team mentions go to the U9 and U13 girls' teams who both finished 3rd and to the U11 boys' teams who came 2nd. Well done & keep running!

KYLIE-PAUL LE BAS

Versatility Tournament

Herts Cross Country

Hearty congratulations to the eight girls who took part in the U9 Berkhamsted Versatility tournament. They played six games in total, each time playing a different position; something they have never done before but which gave them a chance to gain a real understanding of each position and how the team works together. Despite the cold weather, the girls played brilliantly with real drive, passion and enthusiasm and won all six games! They did not concede a goal throughout the whole tournament, meaning they finished in first place and all received a gold medal. Well done girls, it was a pleasure to watch you play.

This year BPS entered 18 pupils across four year groups for this prestigious county event. The standard is always very high and is a measure of where we stand in relation to the other 29 schools entered from around the county. The course, at Westminster Lodge, is fairly tough ranging from 1600m in year 5 to 2.6km in year 8.

We were delighted to achieve the best team results across the board, since we have been entering this competition! Special mentions go to the Year 5 Boys who won their event with Cameron 7th, Elliot 15th and Tommy 24th. The Year 6 Boys’ team came 3rd with Eddie 13th, Arthur 17th and Arthuro 31st.

The Year 6 Girls’ team came 4th with Ruby best placed at 19th. The Year 5 Girls’ team came 8th with Amelia best placed at 30th.

BECCA HICKMAN

MARK RIDLEY

Fencing York House Cross-Country A massive WELL DONE to all the Beechwood Park runners who took part in the Inter-School Cross Country Competition at York House, in very muddy conditions! The U11 girls finished 3rd, the U11 boys finished 1st, winning the cup, and the U13 boys finished 2nd. Beechwood Park won the overall Boys’ Shield. A special mention goes to Eddie W who won an individual medal, being placed 2nd in the U11 race.

ALEXIS HAMILTON

Three fencers from Beechwood Park took part in the Eastern Region Fencing Championships, a huge event with some 250 fencers competing.

Those who do well qualify for the British Youth Championships, the pinnacle youth event for fencers. Edward B achieved 21st place in the U14 Boys' Sabre. In the U12 Girls' Sabre, Ava D came 6th and Josie R, 7th and these girls both qualified for the British Youth Championships An outstanding result, well done everyone!

Congratulations also go to the 17 pupils who competed at the Herts Schools Fencing Championships. We were delighted that Edie S and Luke B took bronze for U9 whilst Nia D, Josie R and Ava D took bronze for U11 Sabre.

KYLIE-PAUL LE BAS

We took a group of 24 girls from Year 5 to Top Form to watch a Mavericks vs Surrey Storm netball match this term. Something which struck our girls immediately was just how tall all of the players were (all at least 6ft tall!). The game was extremely fast paced and hugely competitive.

The girls were on the edge of their seats!

The match finished a 53-53 draw and an extra 7 minutes each way had to be added so that a winner could be determined. Much to the girls’ disappointment, we had to leave in order to get back in time. Thank goodness for Twitter – Mavericks had a live feed updating us on every penalty pass, goal and the time remaining. By now, the girls were on the edge of their mini-bus seats as the lead changed constantly. "Hoorayyy!” Mavericks finished the match 63-62.

ADRIENNE HORN

BPS U11 Rugby Festival At the end of this term we hosted our annual U11 rugby event - a sevena-side Festival, in line with new RFU guidelines.

Thus, six schools joined us in glorious sunshine, under the watchful guidance of two referees from Bedford School.

The whole afternoon was played in great spirit and was witness to some great attacking rugby. The BPS TREDS medals were awarded to one player from each team who showed fantastic Teamwork, Respect, Enthusiasm, Discipline, and Sportsmanship.

Arthuro won the award for Beechwood Park. The BPS Spirit of Rugby prize was awarded by the two independent referees to the team who played the best attacking rugby. Beechwood Park were commended for scoring the try of the day, and Lochinver House were praised for their brilliant teamwork, but in the end it was Kingshott who were chosen for their superb all-round display.

JAMES MOULDER

Cricket for Girls We travelled to Queenswood School to hear cricketer, Lydia Greenway speak about her cricket career, how she became 2011 Women’s Cricketer of the Year and her plans to develop girls’ cricket. In launching regional hubs of Cricket for Girls she aims to help girls learn to play cricket and progress with their cricket skills. After Lydia had spoken, we were lucky enough to get her autograph and talk to her.

BROOKE & GRACIE (TOP FORM)

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Beechwood Park School’s Newsletter

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BPSPA and Charity News BPSPA, Alumni and House News Doggy Delights

BPSPA News Your new committee At January’s AGM, we said goodbye to three wonderful committee members - Em Southcombe (Events Liason), Nadia Davis (Comms) and Louise Lynes (Treasurer). On behalf of the whole Beechwood Park family, I would like to thank them for all of their hard work and tireless efforts in supporting the social life of our school and our fundraising efforts. I’m incredibly grateful to Pippa Ridout (Secretary) who has agreed to stay on for another year in her role. We welcome Sarah Davies (Treasurer), Adele Raynes and Jenny Guise (Comms) and Jena Hockley (Events Liason) who were voted onto the committee.

Sadly our usual Lent term discos had to be cancelled at short notice thanks to the snow storms. Our superb organisers, Alex Ray (middle school disco) and Nikki GradySmith (junior disco) are working hard to find a new date next term and will be back to us shortly with more details – we will refund anyone who can’t make the rescheduled date.

March also saw our BPSPA volunteer ‘thank you’ drinks – we took the opportunity to say a massive thank you to the parents and staff who support our community and our social events. They wouldn’t happen without all of the volunteers giving up their time and we are incredibly grateful to each and every one of you.

Fundraising success At our AGM we voted to allocate surplus funds raised over the last year to support local charity and the school. In addition to the money already raised for Keech Hospice during the year, £10,000 has been donated to the Flamstead church roof fund and money has been given to the school to fund a baby grand piano in the new recording studio, raised garden beds for the children to ‘grow their own’ in the courtyard and funding towards costumes for the school plays. We are also going to fund some new phonics books and replacement tractors for Woodlands.

BPSPA Summer Ice Lolly Stall The after-school Ice Lolly Stall is going to be back by popular demand during the second half of the summer term. We’ll be on the grass outside the Junior Department’s side gate selling ice lollies for £1. If you can spare a half hour to help out please get in touch via the BPSPA email and do pop by to buy a lolly! Let’s hope for blue skies and sunshine!

Summer event – save the date for 23 June 2018!

As this is a Not-Ball-Year and with no organising committee stepping forward, we are trying a new approach for our summer event. Many parents will have enjoyed the Christmas parties put on by parent Darren Swayne and his company Elsewhere Events.

Darren has kindly offered to put on a summer event for us which will ring the changes to previous events (and doesn’t require parent volunteers to support it). We’ll be in touch with more details shortly!

Fun night Year 3, under the leadership of Jena Hockley, are rapidly advancing plans for a Best of British Summertime Fun Night on Tuesday, 10th July from 6pm onwards. Fingers crossed that the theme doesn’t mean we have a traditional British soggy summer!

Tickets are due to go on sale soon – keep the date free in your diaries. As always please do consider giving up a half hour of your evening to help the stalls that the children enjoy so much run smoothly.

It looks to be an exciting summer term ahead of us. Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to help with our events and everyone who gives up their time to support us.

Congratulations to Sophie in 6CH, owner of puppy Holly, who was inspired to raise money for local charity Glendee Dog Rescue by baking and selling homemade dog biscuits.

In just one week she sold an impressive 471 bags of treats and baked a staggering 2,388 biscuits, raising over £200 for Glendee! She has had orders from dog owners all over Hertfordshire even from Essex and Bedford, and feedback has been extremely positive, with owners reporting back to Sophie how much their dogs love all three flavours of biscuits; Apple and Carrot, Sweet Potato and Blueberry and Banana. Headmaster, Mr Balfour’s dog Molly loved her bag of Apple and Carrot treats!

Sophie is continuing to bake and sell her biscuits for this worthy cause. Meanwhile, her dog Holly has set up a Facebook page 'Holly's Barkery', where customers can order biscuits and even vote on their favourite flavours! Well done Sophie on such a great initiative!

LOUISE PAGE

Stamps for CLIC Sargent Congratulations to Harry (Top LHH) for collecting over 800 stamps in support of the CLIC Sargent Stamp Appeal. CLIC Sargent is the UK’s leading cancer charity for children, young people and their families. They help raise vital funds for young lives against cancer.

Inspired by the work carried out by the Charity, Harry took the initiative to ask his friends and neighbours to collect their stamps. Combining their stamps with his own, he was able to amass this impressive haul for such a worthy cause. Well done Harry for helping make a positive difference to the lives of others.

HANNAH GRAY, BPSPA CHAIR

Please check the School’s website for more information: www.beechwoodpark.com

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LOUISE PAGE