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The
Beechwood Lion Making an Entrance – Capability Woods. See page 5 for more.
From the Head Pupils
It is a huge honour to have the opportunity to speak to you as Beechwood Park’s Head Boy & Head Girl. We would like to start by thanking ALL of our teachers. Robert Louis Stevenson said, “Your success is determined, not in the harvest you reap, but in the seeds you plant”. We are the seeds you planted with care. You have cultivated us with knowledge and experiences over the years and have watched us grow. Today, we are the fruits of your labour. The Harvest season has now come and we are ready to be uprooted from and moved to new ground. Thank you for helping us 35 seeds grow into strong, confident and happy
boys and girls, ready to withstand whatever challenges come our way. The Beechwood values have underpinned that growth. Cooperation is a major part to Beechwood life. The amazing plays and musicals were the result of many hours of practice and collaborating with one another. We are encouraged to aspire to be who we want to be. The Leadership Through Service programme has helped us all to believe in what we can achieve as long as we put our mind to it. Although exams may seem scary, if you persevere in every single lesson and engage with your teachers, this will bring you success. Sometimes we can take things for granted; Beechwood has helped us to appreciate what is on offer to us and what we can strive to become. As Top Formers, we are given a lot of responsibility - within our Houses, our classrooms, and link forms. This encourages us to lead by example and has prepared us for our senior schools and life in general. Playing in teams has been a large part of our life at Beechwood Park. It has taught us about winning and losing, to always be gracious
Speech Day
More than a Manager
The children truly took centre stage when they surprised the audience with their uplifting whole school flash mob performance. Huge thanks to ISC Chairman, Barnaby Lenon for presenting the prizes and giving an inspirational talk about the powers of motivation. Heads of School, Gracie and Euan, gave a humorous retrospective and encouraged younger pupils to ‘reach for the stars’. #IWantSomethingJustLikeThis
Pupils from Year 7 and Top Form, and some parents and alumni attended a special screening of the new film, Bobby Robson: More than a Manager, here at Beechwood Park. In World Cup season, this opportunity was a timely tribute to a football manager legend. With contributions from many current managers who had been mentored in their youth by Robson, the film was just as relevant to the children as it was to those in the audience who remembered the many high points of Bobby Robson’s long career. After the screening, producer, John McKenna gave some fascinating insights
JULIA ROUSE
Intrepid Explorer We were thrilled to receive a visit from Ben Saunders, one of the world’s leading polar explorers, and a record breaking long-distance skier, who inspired pupils with a talk about his achievements. Ben has covered more than 7,000km (4,350 miles) on foot in the Polar Regions since 2001. He has skied solo to both the North and South Poles, and he led The Scott Expedition, the longest human-powered polar journey in history – the first completion of the expedition that defeated Captain Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton – a 105-day round-trip from
Summer 2018
regardless of the outcome, and the lifelong lesson of how to work as part of a team. We have talked a lot about being a Top Former. But we are leaving the school soon and we would like to pass on a few bits of advice to those of you rising up the school. Firstly, you never know what talents lie within you until you try, so audition for that part in the play, or that place in the choir - you will never regret trying. As Madame Bliss would say, “if you always, “listen to your Role Play Booklet”, your French results will surely follow”. As Doctor Edwards would say, “if you, “get a grip” on your science homework, your science results will surely follow”. Enjoy all that Beechwood Park has to offer and make the most of every opportunity - you will feel good about yourself and very proud of your achievements. Good luck to all of you in what the future holds. Thank you to everyone here who has made our time at Beechwood unforgettable, and for helping every pupil to “Reach for the Stars!”
GRACIE (TOP CLH) AND EUAN (TOP LHH) SPEECH DAY 2018
into the making of the film in a Q&A with the audience. He revealed how the producers had been taken aback at the level of support they had received from contributors – everyone had said ‘yes’; and the film even includes Ronaldo’s first ever interview in English. More than just a film, then!
JULIA ROUSE
Ross Island on the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole and back again. During his visit to Beechwood Park, he spoke passionately about his experience and it was fascinating to listen to the stories about his amazing feats of endurance.
The newsletter of Beechwood Park School, Markyate, Hertfordshire AL3 8AW
LOUISE PAGE
1
In School and Out Woodlands’ Big Day Out
Reception Prize-Giving Thank you, grown-ups, for coming to our Prize Giving Performance on Wednesday. It was amazing to see how much our confidence has grown since we performed our Nativity Play at Christmas. After only a few weeks of learning the songs and actions, we really rose to the occasion and did our best performance yet! We have proved yet again that we are ready to move up to Year 1.
PIPPA ROXEN
Our youngest children climbed excitedly on to a coach, (and not a Cinderella style coach as some of them were expecting!), to travel to Mead Open Farm for their summer outing – their first ever school trip! From gently patting real rabbits to digging happily in the enormous sandpit everyone had fun. Feeding the sheep from baby bottles was a challenge - the sheep were so strong it was hard not to drop the bottles. As the sheep baa-ed, the children squealed with delight! After a delicious packed lunch, it was time to get back on the coach and almost everyone fell fast asleep after such an exciting trip.
SHIRLEY HAYMAN
St Albans Cathedral Year 2’s visit to the calm of St Albans Cathedral was a tale of two halves. First, a guided tour where the children found out about the history of the cathedral and looked at signs, symbols and people in a modern church. Secondly, the children focused on the stained-glass windows, and the patterns and messages that lay within. Their favourite was the Rose Window which inspired them in a workshop to design their own stained-glass window. The children were also delighted to see that the church was filled with puppets ready for the annual ‘Alban Pilgrimage’ which was soon to take place. An impressive sight! YEAR 2 TEACHERS
Year 1 Focus on Dinosaurs As part of their research on the subject of dinosaurs, Year 1 were lucky enough to visit Gulliver’s Land Dinosaur Park and Farm, where they 'got up close' to animatronic dinosaurs. The children also participated in some exciting workshops – they made dinosaur
Alymerton Just before the Easter holidays, our intrepid Year 4s departed for Aylmerton in Norfolk for what was the inaugural Beechwood Park Year 4 residential trip. We were extremely lucky with the weather; it doesn't get much better than seal spotting and beach-combing in the Norfolk sunshine! During their stay the children were totally engaged in a variety of fun and exciting activities including monster trails, shelter-building (some shelters were more water-tight than others!), pirate games and beach visits a-plenty. It was an absolute pleasure to share so many experiences with the children, who I am sure came away with a real sense of achievement and some happy, fun memories.
CHRIS KNELLER
slime and they decorated (and then ate!) dinosaur biscuits. In the ‘Bone Yard’ our young palaeontologists dug for fossils and made many other exciting discoveries!
YEAR 1 TEACHERS
Isle of Wight
Awesome, amazing, such fun! Just a few of the superlatives used by Year 5 pupils to describe this year's Isle of Wight trip. With visits to a WWII museum, a Victorian palace, a medieval castle, and a dinosaur museum, the educational offerings were wide ranging. However, the highlights for the children must include the sandcastle competition, evenings on the beach, a circus skills evening (a popular addition this year) and all the time they were able to spend making new friends whilst consolidating old ones. Yet another great trip!
RACHEL RIDLEY
Skern Lodge
Ghostly Goings On
The Top Formers and their tutors spent a most extraordinary week of team building at the Skern Lodge activity centre in Devon. They surfed, body boarded, abseiled, rafted, swung on the high ropes, cooked an evening meal on a Trangia and spent a night in a bivi! Pupils were a real credit to themselves, their parents and the School!
TOP FORM TUTORS
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This term our Patron of Reading, Jonathan Stroud worked on ghostly story writing with pupils in Years 4, 7 and Top Form. As Jonathan waited in the Library, the wind could be heard howling around the walls - a fitting start to the day! In the Year 4 creative writing workshop, Jonathan guided the children in their writing and shared ideas with them. The collection of ghostly stories at the end of this session was truly impressive from ‘walls smelling of blood’ to ghostly goings-on of every possible
nature… In his talk for Year 7 & Top Form he explained how his standalone novels, the Bartimaeus trilogy and the fantastic Lockwood & Co series came into being. Look out for subtle references to Beechwood Park in the Lockwood series. The culmination was seeing Hugo dressed in suitable ghost hunting attire.
LIZ GREEN
PAGE X Beware, Vikings! There were transformations in the top corridor as Year 4 turned into vicious Vikings! Hogni Hot Nose, Grundi Bloodaxe, Groa and Solvieg, amongst others. These Vikings gave a big Beechwood welcome to the fearsome but friendly Viking, Thorulf Hammrsson who treated them to a very entertaining day-long history lesson where they learnt about everyday life as a Viking, played a Viking board game and learnt how the Vikings traded – rounding off with the all-important weapons display and battle!
CHRIS KNELLER
Mountfitchet Following the Norman Conquest in 1066, the Duke of Boulogne (whose family name became Montfichet after moving to England), built his castle on this site. However, during the reign of King John, the Montfitchet family sided with the Barons and as a result the castle was attacked and destroyed. The motte and bailey castle has been reconstructed on its original site. Year 6 had a full day exploring Mountfitchet’s outer and inner bailey and interacting with displays, tools and other equipment... they also encountered various friendly animals en route! As part of their visit, the children also went around the well-stocked Toy Museum that adjoins the castle, which was most enjoyable. DARYL JONES
Back in Time at Verulamium
Year 3 were very lucky to be accompanied by Mrs Anderson, Head of Classics for their long-awaited trip to Verulamium. Their day was enriched with Latin, gently introducing this inspirational subject to Year 3. We began our visit at the Museum where the children investigated and handled objects found during the excavation of Verulamium, learning how archaeologists have to piece together items in order to create a vivid picture of how the Romans lived and what was
Latin Plays The Ludi Scaenici were superb! We also welcomed Year 8 from Priory Academy in Dunstable. All the senior pupils put on fantastic Latin performances to a packed house. Visiting Classics teachers from a number of other schools were so impressed as was the adjudicator, Philip Harrison, Head of Classics at Merchant Taylors’ School.
MICHELE ANDERSON
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Back in Time London’s Burning! On Sunday 2nd September 1666 at 1am... It was a hot, dry day and there was an easterly wind blowing... On Thursday 24th May 2018, just before lunch… It was a cold, overcast day with an easterly wind blowing! Over 350 years apart with rather different weather, yet great conditions for recreating the Great Fire of London! Out in the playground, we set fire to our specially-crafted paper houses and watched the flames jump from house to house - it definitely deepened our understanding of how the fire took hold so quickly. Fed and watered in emergency accommodation, it was clear to Year 2 that the fire was determined, and so with their usual ‘can-do’ attitude, the children came to the rescue, putting out 'the fire' with our very own water chain of buckets...! During the afternoon, we journeyed back to the present day and worked as archaeologists, piecing together a picture of who lived in which house and what happened to them by examining debris from the fire, important papers and belongings grabbed in haste.
YEAR 2 TEACHERS
important to them. We then headed to the Hypocaust, where Mrs Anderson explained just how ingenious the Romans really were! After lunch, we crossed the road to the Roman Theatre, part of the Gorhambury Estate and Year 3 were given a guided tour, which enabled them to imagine what the Theatre may have looked like when it was built in AD 140. Lady Grimston talked about ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, the play that will be performed in the Theatre this summer - what a wonderful opportunity to see Shakespeare performed at such an historic site!
YEAR 3 TEACHERS
Trench Trail Haileybury launched their Trench Trail in 2014, to commemorate the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War. Our Top Form visited the Trench Trail as part of their Post Common Entrance programme to experience a sense of life at the frontline. We learnt what WW1 life was like in the trenches and the importance of offence and defence and experienced a replica trench where there were rifles, grenades and the tools used to dig the trenches. We also learnt about the monuments which commemorate the Haileybury pupils who died in WW1. Seventeen Haileybury pupils showed such bravery that they were awarded the Victoria Cross (this is the second most for a single school). This was an eye-opening trip and an unforgettable experience.
BROOKE (TOP CLH), GRACIE (TOP CLH), SAM (TOP JRB) AND HARRY M (TOP LHH)
Beechwood Park School’s Newsletter
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Music and Drama Upbeat with Rock & Jazz! A group of Beechwood Park musicians attended a Rock and Jazz Day at Haileybury this term. Joining another 60 children from other schools in the area, we split into groups and spent much of the day learning new pieces with a Rock and Jazz theme. After a spectacular lunch, we resumed our practice, and then reunited to perform in a Rock Concert for parents and friends. An exciting and inspiring exploration of new music, and great fun!
NOAH (TOP CLH)
Can I Play? Year 2 enjoyed visiting the Music Department to try out instruments that they might like to play in Year 3. They banged, blew (lots of raspberries at first), plucked, bowed and strummed. As if this wasn’t exciting
Music Exams Many of our pupils took exams this term on their individual instruments and we had great results. Well done, everyone for all your hard work! Exam Board Pass Merit Distinction Trinity 8 20 7 ABRSM 13 22 6 UWL (drum exams) 0 2 5 Grade 5 theory 5 0 0
Choirs Concert All 6 choirs from Year 2 to Top Form took part in this splendid concert, featuring just over 150 pupils. We were treated to fabulous action songs from Year 2, Year 3 singing fun songs about animals, some great singing from the huge Year 4 choir, the Girls’ Choir singing a medley of Lloyd Webber songs, ‘Donald where’s your troosers’ (with obligatory Scottish accents) from the Boys’ Choir and some
enough, a group Top Formers treated Year 2 to an instrument demonstration. Thank you to the Top Formers for their most successful lesson; they were excellent teachers and brilliant role models who sent their audience away buzzing and inspired.
JANE LODGE
superb four part singing from the Chamber Choir. To finish the evening, all choirs joined together in ‘You’ve got a friend in me’ from Toy Story. A thoroughly enjoyable evening for all!
JANE LODGE
Take a Bow! Our Year 2 musicians took a well-deserved bow at their first concert! Many thanks to their instrumental teachers for their patience and also to the appreciative audience for their enthusiastic applause, which was just the ticket to alleviate butterflies! Needless to say, the children’s confidence shone through as they showed us just how much progress they have made this year. Keep practising!
JANE LODGE
Luna’s Magic Flute
LAMDA
We were delighted to host 38 flautists from 17 different schools across Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire for a unique Flute Workshop inspired by Slovenian composer, Blãz Pucihar’s delightful musical story ‘Luna’s Magic Flute’. Children and adults (flute teachers were also welcome) and their flutes, alto flutes, bass flutes and piccolos gathered here for a workshop day and concert. The players were delighted to discover that composer Blãz Pucihar was able to attend the day together with his wife, professional flautist Ana Pucihar, who led the workshop. As well as answering questions and giving a fascinating insight into its composition, Blãz accompanied the piece on the piano. It really was ‘magic’!
It has been a very busy term for LAMDA with two courses running side by side and 80 children taking exams either as groups, duos or solos. They presented pieces ranging from The Pied Piper, BFG and Charlotte’s Web, to tales of wicked queens, giant cats, monsters in gardens, and adventures on the Titanic. All the children worked very hard finding their characters and bringing these stories to life. Those in groups had to hone
JANE LODGE
The Best of British The Year 3 & 4 pupils wowed their parents with dances and songs inspired by the theme 'Best of British'. We saw Year 3 rocking out to Queen, wearing ‘baggy trousers’ & ‘sitting down’ in all sorts on imaginative ways. Meanwhile Year 4 explored the idea of British stereotypes including dipping their toes into the freezing sea, drinking tea, waving flags, queuing, playing football and cricket, and squashing themselves into an imaginary tube train. We also enjoyed renditions of songs from the musical 'Oliver' and some Music Hall favourites. Well done to all the children for their wonderful creativity. LAURA HEGARTY
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their listening and sharing skills, supporting and encouraging each other, and those in duos or on their own had to work on creating distinct characters and expanding their physical and vocal skills. Most of all they enjoyed it and found the fun in exploring these characters and pieces.
IMOGEN SLAUGHTER
If you go down to the woods today... Outdoor Learning at its Best
Spring finally sprang and across the School, and across the curriculum, the children were able to make the most of our exceptional outdoor learning opportunities. The woodland floor was covered with bluebells and wild garlic, and groups of Year 3 made the most of their stunning surroundings, using watercolour to capture them in some delightful artwork whilst others went on a ‘Clause Hunt’ to find and identify conjunctions, before identifying the main and subordinate clauses - a fabulous interactive English session! Reception classes also made the most of the lovely weather by playing in the outdoor classroom, particularly delighting in the water tray and spray bottles! They also learnt about plants and took time to care for the seeds that they had planted, making sure they had plenty of water and light. In their Maths lessons, Year 1 loved going outside to measure different objects with
non-standard and standard units. They also investigated capacity and were surprised to find that it was not always the tallest container that held the most. They continued their ongoing research into dinosaurs and thought it would be good idea to try and visualise their size in real life, using metre sticks to measure out the length of some of our favourite dinosaurs. They were astonished to see how big some of them were! The Woodlanders made good use of their outdoor space and explored the art of paper folding to make concertina fans, which provided a welcome cooling breeze. There was also the chance for a drum solo performance on the new Forest School stage, which was pretty 'cool' too! Year 4 made the most of nature's gifts; practising knots, whittling and making fresh, wild garlic butter. Our older pupils, who have so many other exciting things to fit into their timetable, have also had the chance to have a special outdoor session this term. Alongside Forest Skills, Year 5
BECKY LE BAS & LOUISE PAGE
Welly Boot Camp!
Beechwood Booker Prize
Year 3’s wishes came true when the day of Welly Boot Camp finally arrived! The Year 3 teachers’ wishes also came true... and it didn’t rain, despite the 'Sword of Damocles' of a forecast. The pitching of 17 tents took some time as it was interspersed with lots of food and visits from Woodlands Nursery and Year 2 as well as the Headmaster. The children revelled in the freedom of the woods, crafting, playing and eating. After supper, we split into two groups, taking turns to go to the Forest School fire pit to toast marshmallows, or play Wide Games with some of the older boarders, before a torchlight trip to brush teeth and then into our tents. Eventually everyone drifted off to sleep, to the sound of sheep, guinea fowl and other assorted wildlife. A wonderful experience for the children, which they will always remember!
Just before half-term, pupils in Year 6 were given the task of writing their first novel, inspired by the wonderful woodland setting at Beechwood Park. Feverishly, work began and over the past weeks pupils have been industriously crafting their masterpieces, seizing on a range of inspiration, not least a Writing Workshop recently delivered by our very own Patron of Reading, Jonathan Stroud who was also kind enough to join us to present the well-earned prizes. The English Department had had the unenviable decision of deciding upon the winners, although we were delighted by all of the children’s efforts, and appreciate how much effort went into these stories. As Freddie (6AH) put it; “For some, it was the longest piece of writing that they had ever done, so it was sure to be a daunting task”. Congratulations everyone!
YEAR 3 TEACHERS
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managed to fit in a Science treasure hunt and some First Aid and Year 6 worked with guest artist, Emma Collins, to make the long-awaited entrance to Forest School as well as making bird boxes with Mrs Perry. It was a delight to see Year 7 relax in the woods as they whittled away and hear their excitement at the prospect of soon becoming Top Formers and the leadership responsibilities that they are looking forward to embracing. The Top Form demonstrated the progress they had made from last year’s session by having another go at lighting a fire and keeping it going for at least 5 minutes! Thank you to all of the pupils and staff who have been involved in these sessions for your support and enthusiasm.
GRAÍNNE WILKINS
Beechwood Park School’s Newsletter
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Sport Ski Trip 2018
As the sun rose over the Alps, 36 super excited children and 6 staff arrived in Champoluc, in the Aosta Valley, northern Italy. After the excitement of familiarising themselves with the hotel, all the children took part in an afternoon of orienteering, which gave them the opportunity to explore the new surroundings, stretch their legs and breathe the fresh mountain air. Exhausted, we returned
an opportunity to let their hair down! The presentation and awards night celebrated the progress everyone had made. An amazing trip, and we are already looking forward to the next one in 2020!
ALEXIS HAMILTON & UNA OATHAM
SATIPSKI 2018
London Schools' Ski Race
The Beechwood Park Ski Team was in action at The Snowcentre, Hemel Hempstead for the SATIPSKI Race 2018. All of them skied well and demonstrated the progress they’ve made. Both the U14 Boys team and U11 Girls team finished in 6th place, with Annabel (Y5) placing highly in 5th. The U11 Boys finished in 3rd place to claim Team Bronze, with Arthuro (Y6) placing 5th and Jack (Y5) 3rd, winning individual Bronze for the second event running. Well done skiers and a big thank you to Team Manager Mrs Duckenfield for her fantastic organisation and all the Beechwood supporters!
Well done to The Beechwood Park Ski Team who competed in their first outdoor ski race, on what was a very hot dry slope in Welwyn. The U13A team finished 4th in a very exciting and competitive dual slalom race. Meanwhile, the U11A also team had a fantastic time, finishing third and winning Bronze medals in the timed event. They then went on to win Silver in the Dual Slalom! Special mentions go to Alex (Year 3) who competed in his first ever race, and in the Year 5 & 6 age group at that. Also to Arthuro (Year 6) who despite falling, got back up and skied over the line on one ski to help Beechwood win the quarter finals. Annabel W also got back up after a tumble, and battled on to help her team win the semi-finals. Amazing!
ALEXIS HAMILTON
GB Laser Run Laser Run is the exhilarating finale to the Olympic sport of Modern Pentathlon with athletes required to alternate between shooting a laser pistol and running in a fast-paced and action-packed race to the finish line. Well done to the Beechwood Park pupils who took part in the Laser Run at Watford Leisure Centre during half term. There were some fantastic results but special mentions must go to: Year 8 boys - 1st Ed, 3rd Nathan; Year 7 boys - 1st Gregor; Year 6 boys - 3rd Matthew; Year 5 boys - 2nd Charlie, 3rd Rory; Year 5 girls - 2nd Isabella.
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to the hotel to unpack and prepare ourselves for our first day of skiing! With small ski groups, everyone made amazing progress - especially the beginners! The instructors were impressed by the children’s positive attitudes to listening to instructions and persevering. We all enjoyed the fabulous Easter snow conditions - sun and several inches of fresh powder! Après ski was also a lot of fun with a variety of activities. Quiz night, flood-lit cross-country skiing (the special hot chocolate - so thick you could stand up a spoon in it - was just what we needed to warm up afterwards). By Wednesday, tiredness was setting in and a visit to the thermal baths certainly recharged the batteries. Pizza & Karaoke night gave everyone
ALEXIS HAMILTON
ISGA Junior Stableford George (6AB) and Eddie (6AH) represented the School superbly at the ISGA Junior Stableford golf competition, at Sunningdale Heath. An early wake up to get to Sunningdale for a 9.30am shotgun start. The course was in perfect condition and everything in full bloom especially the dense heather which we both wanted to avoid! Due to the recent hot weather we were warned of adders on the course! Eddie and I both played well and we certainly enjoyed the day. Our thanks go to Mr Kneller who had to split his time around the course following both our matches; I think he saw some good shots!
GEORGE (6AB)
IAPS Table Tennis Well done to all of the boys who competed in the U11 and U13 IAPS Table Tennis Championships at the start of term. They all represented the School brilliantly and enjoyed this fantastic experience, playing against some of the best table tennis players in the country! A special mention to Archie who finished in the last 16! Keep up the good work. KYLIE-PAUL LE BAS
Bridgewater CrossCountry At the very beginning of the summer term a team of Beechwood Park runners travelled to Berkhamsted to take part in the Bridgewater Primary School Cross-Country event. Each race was fast-paced and a perfect end to the cross-county season and the start of the athletics season! Overall Beechwood Park won five individual medals, six Team Gold medals and one Team silver; a fantastic achievement! Well done to all the runners and thank you to all the supporters. ALEXIS HAMILTON
Jessica’s Golf Success Jess (6IS) played in the Wee Wonders 2018 British Golf Championships Regional Qualifier recently and has now successfully qualified for the East of England Regional Final at Cambridge Lakes at the end of July. The top 2 per age group from each Regional Final will go on the play in The Grand Final at St Andrews. Congratulations!
IAN SHERIDAN
Sport
PAGE X Fencer of the Month Each month, The Paul Davis Academy chooses the winner of the 'Fencer of the Month' award from over 950 fencers within the Academy. In May 2018, Year 5 pupil Ava was chosen for this prestigious award! Recently Ava came 19th in the British Youth Championships and was also part of the winning U11 Girls' Sabre team in the recent British School Fencing Championships. Paul commented; “Ava has achieved top results in national events. She has worked very hard work on improving her fencing skills during training.” Congratulations Ava, we are thrilled that all of your hard work has paid off!
KYLIE-PAUL LE BAS
ESSA Finals Our team consisting of Elliot (5R), Eddie (6AH), Will (6CH) and Hugo (5B) travelled to Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield to compete in the ESSA Primary Schools' Team Relay Championships. In what was an amazing day, the boys swam exceptionally well, coming in 4th in the B Final with a time of 1:04.23, which was actually a faster time than the heat! Incredible - you should be proud, boys!
CLARE LECKIE-HARBORD
IAPS Finals A huge WELL DONE to all of the Beechwood Park swimmers who took part in the IAPS National Swimming Finals. Everyone swam amazingly, with the U13 boys knocking a huge 6 seconds off their medley relay PB time! Special mentions must go to Kieran who placed 4th in the U13 50m backstroke and to Hugo, who was 3rd in the U10 25m backstroke. Amazing results!
CLARE LECKIE-HARBORD
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U11 British Champions! A team of four of our pupils, Ava, Josie, Willa and Edie, entered the British School Team Fencing Championships for U11 Girls Sabre, held at The Royal Masonic School. The competition was open to school teams from across the UK and the girls made us extremely proud, picking up the Gold medal and becoming the British School Champions for 2018!
KYLIE-PAUL LE BAS
Year 3 & 4 Cricket It was a very exciting time at Beechwood Park, as the cricket season began, not only for boys, but for the first time, for girls! All of the Year 3 children played against Heath Mount School, for their inaugural matches of the term. The weather was absolutely perfect, and the pitches were effervescing with excitement and enthusiasm as everyone worked hard, and challenged themselves at their own level. It was a masterclass in engagement and inspiration for all!
MARK RIDLEY
Archie 118 not out! Having won the toss and electing to bat first, the Beechwood Park 1st XI did not get off to an ideal start. Henry was very unlucky to get bowled from a ball that didn’t get above ankle height, and after a promising start to his innings, Sam fell in very similar fashion. Beechwood were under pressure with the score on 12-2, however, Archie quickly got himself in and took the attack
back to the opposition bowlers. During the last 15 overs of their innings, Beechwood went from 42-3 to 178-8. Archie played some extraordinary shots, hitting 5 sixes, 13 boundaries and finishing up with a magnificent 118 not out. The Beacon came out all guns blazing, however some disciplined bowling from Joe eventually paid off and Beechwood started to take wickets. Archie was the pick of the bowlers, taking the prize scalps of their county batsman and finishing up with 3 key wickets. Beechwood bowled The Beacon out in the 20th over for 117, ending up with a convincing 61 run victory.
LENNY COOPER
Sports Days The sun beamed down on each of our Sports Day events. The Woodlanders shone in a range of events including sprints, quoits and relays. Junior Sports Day offered opportunities for egg and spoon and sack races, as well as more conventional running races, and it was delightful to see older pupils from Year 6 eager to help and support the younger children, as they sought out the finishing line in pursuit of a medal or two. Our Middle and Senior Sports Days provided the chance to compete for the House and there were some stellar accomplishments in track and field events. The inaugural presence of an ice cream van at most of these events was a welcome addition and was appreciated by many; young and old alike. Congratulations to everyone who took part.
LOUISE PAGE
Beechwood Park School’s Newsletter
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BPSPA/Charity
BPSPA, Alumni and House News
From the BPSPA This last term seems to have flown by at immense speed and we find ourselves almost at the end of another wonderful school year! wonderful style in the sun. Thank you to Jena Hockley and the Year 3 parents for organising such a lovely event.
Beechfest This year we hosted the first ever Beechfest – an incredible festival style party for parents designed for us by parent Darren Swayne and his company Elsewhere Events. We wandered through the Forest School woods for a magical cocktail party and then onto the fields for the main event. Words can’t really describe it – have a look on our Facebook page for a video that really brings the event to life! Fun Night This year Fun Night brought us the Best of British! We had worried that this meant rain was certain but instead we were able to celebrate the end of the school year in
Fun Run This year the Beechwood Park Fun Run was a community event in every sense of the word! Every single child from Nursery to Top Form took part, in some shape or form, with Top Formers helping to coordinate events and everyone supporting each other. Even some of the more energetic members of staff were encouraged to don their trainers and take part. As the sun beat down, the culmination of this inspired event saw our older 'Fun Run' runners completing a 5K run at Flamstead Church where they presented a cheque to Father Stephen on behalf of the BPSPA. The cheque for £10,000 represents funds raised by the BPSPA and will go towards the Church Roof Fund. LOUISE PAGE
Looking forward Our first social event of the new school year will be the popular Quiz Night in early October, hosted by last year’s winning team. We are pleased to be holding our Family Photo Days again with Ian Scott Photography. Bookings can be made via the BPSPA website for Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th September. Other dates for the diary include Bonfire Night (Saturday 10th November), the Christmas Wreath Making Workshop (Tuesday 4th December) and the Christmas Fayre (Saturday 1st December). As always we need volunteers to help run these events – please do get in touch if you can spare some time to help. I’m also thrilled that we have a ball committee coming together under the joint leadership of Sally MacArthur and Katey Brathwaite. I’m sure our 2019 ball will be THE event of summer! Don’t forget that the BPSPA section of the school intranet is a great resource for photos, information and news. We also have a Facebook page and an active Twitter account and of course our team of class reps providing up to the minute information.
A million thank yous We are incredibly grateful to all the parents, members of staff and my wonderful committee (Pippa Ridout, Sarah Davis, Jena Hockley, Jenny Guise and Adele Raynes) who offer their time, support and donations – we couldn’t do any of this without you THANK YOU! At this time of year, our class reps move on and on behalf of the committee I would like to thank them for all their help and support over the year – they are absolutely central to our community and many of us would be lost without their help. You’ll have heard at Speech Day that the BPSPA Forest School classroom (funded by fundraising in 2016 and 2017) is finally making progress and will have seen the additional benches around the School that we donated this year. We also have donated new toys to Woodlands and the Junior Department and funds towards costumes for the drama department. Wishing you all a very happy and relaxing summer holiday and looking forward to seeing you in September!
HANNAH GRAY – BPSPA CHAIR
Amelia Raises Awareness of Autism Many congratulations to Amelia who had the courage to lead a Middle Department Assembly as part of World Autism Awareness Week. She spoke articulately about her own cousin who has an Autistic Spectrum Disorder and gave an informed presentation, which heightened our understanding of autism. Amelia and her friends also ran a cake sale and a word search competition, raising a staggering £133.50 for The National Autistic Society!
NICOLA GREENWOOD
Tudor Stationery Sale A huge thank you to all those who helped support the Tudor stationery sale. As a result of your support, £222.50 was raised to help fund the repairs to the roof at St Leonard’s Church, Flamstead. A particular special thank you to all the Tudor students and parents who kindly supplied stationery donations. Your support as always, is greatly appreciated.
EDWINA WILKS
Please check the School’s website for more information: www.beechwoodpark.com
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