JUNIOR DEPARTMENT NEWS

Message from Mrs McIntosh

‘Joy, collected over time, fuels resilience – ensuring we have reservoirs of emotional strength when hard things do happen.’

Brene Brown

This week I thought I would write about resilience. Such a key attribute for us all, young and old, to cultivate.

Dr. Kathy Weston from Tooled Up defines resilience has having:

Flexibility
Humour
Creativity
The ability to re-frame a challenge
Alternative viewpoints and perspectives

She also says that is can be ‘helpful to recognise our own resilient characteristics and to identify when we, as parents and teachers, have been resilient in the face of small or larger challenges. Are there strategies that we can share with our children that work for us and might help them overcome struggles? It can be empowering for children to hear that we struggled too but found ways to cope.’

In our assembly on Monday, I read the children the beautiful story ‘Rain before Rainbows’ by Smriti Halls and illustrated by David Litchfield. It helped the children to see that even when things are difficult or when we feel sad or overwhelmed there is light at the end of the tunnel and that it won’t last forever. Impermanence is one of the strategies that I personally have learnt helps me when things get tricky and I need to have resilience myself. The old adage ‘this too shall pass’ often springs to mind.

I cannot recommend Tooled Up to you highly enough. There are articles, podcasts, videos and top tips. If you haven’t accessed it yet as a Beechwood parent then please do.

Here are some other resources on resilience that you might find useful.

Resource 1

Resource 2

Resource 3

In other news: A huge WELL DONE to all the Reception children on their utterly amazing Nativity on Thursday. You were all superstars! ⭐

I would like to thank Mrs. Roxan and the whole Reception Team, as well as Mrs. Lodge, for working so hard with the children over the past few weeks and developing their confidence to perform so wonderfully.

Christmas continues apace here and I look forward to seeing lots of you tomorrow at the Festive Fayre.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs McIntosh
Head of Junior Department

Thursday 8 December: Junior children care during Y3/Y4 Christmas performance.

Please sign up via the google form located here for your Junior Department child to be looked after by Mrs McIntosh during the Y3/4 Christmas production (until 1600). Please collect your Junior child from the Junior Hall immediately after the performance and then go to the Great Hall for refreshments.

This Week in Reception

Reception performed their Nativity play this week and what a fantastic performance it was!

All the children did an amazing job with super singing and fantastic acting, remembering all their words an actions beautifully.

Woodlands along with Year One, Two and Three pupils were delighted to watch the dress rehearsal and what made it special was the fact that this year Reception got to perform it to their parents. All their hard work most certainly paid off, each and everyone one of them did a brilliant job.

There are lots of photos from the dress rehearsals earlier in the week for you to enjoy below; and also some smaller galleries divided by role to make finding an individual photo of your child easier (see links below the main album).

Please note: these photos will be available to download between now and the end of term; thereafter, we will disable the download function. If you have any queries, please contact marketing@beechwoodpark.com

Whilst the Nativity Play was the highlight of Receptions’ week this week, staff and pupils did also enjoy getting outside on Monday to plant our tree on Orchard Green. Thank you for all the donations that enabled the purchase – a wonderful reminder of your child’s Reception year and a fitting tribute to HM The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Have a lovely weekend – see you at the Christmas Fayre!

The Reception Team

This Week in Year 1

What an action-packed week we have had in Year 1, in between all of our rehearsals! It began with a lovely tree planting ceremony on Orchard Green. We were all extremely excited to help Mrs Le Bas plant our pear tree and now we can look forward to watching it grow (and maybe even eating some of the fruit).

In preparation for this weekend’s Christmas Festive Fayre, we spent a few lessons learning about money in Maths. We were able to recognise coins, sort them into pounds and pence and make different amounts, using a variety pf coins. We put all of our learning into practice, when we visited ‘Year One’s Superstore’. In order to buy anything, we had to make sure we had the correct change. Luckily, we were money experts and everyone bought an item or two.

Well done Year 1.

Tickets are now available for your Children’s Christmas Performance

Request your tickets here for the Year One Christmas Performance on Tuesday 6 December

This Week in Year 2

Tree Planting on Orchard Green

First of all thank you to all the families who donated money to help us buy our Year 2 fruit tree. Every member of the class participated whole heartedly and thoroughly enjoyed the planting ceremony. Here are some photos from Orchard Green.

Science Investigation

As a culmination of our work on materials, the children investigated the most suitable material to make a waterproof umbrella for a gingerbread man. We made careful predictions using our newly found knowledge and then tested different materials by placing a sample over a jam jar with the gingerbread man inside and showering it with up to six pipettes of water. After testing we then picked the best material for the gingerbread man’s umbrella. Using careful observation skills, we recorded each stage of the investigation using our scientific vocabulary including absorbent, flexible, disintegrate and tough. The final umbrella was tested and if the gingerbread man survived he was eaten!

Have a lovely weekend – see you at the Christmas Fayre!

The Year 2 Team

Tickets are now available for your Children’s Christmas Performance

Request your tickets here for the Year Two Christmas Performance on Wednesday 7 December

From the Junior Library

The Christmas Department Store by Maudie Powell-Tuck

The Christmas Department Store is freshly released in paperback this winter and is a stunning festive tale, celebrating the joy of giving and the importance of love and family at Christmas.

Christmas for Benji has lost its magic. This year his family can’t afford a tree, or even a turkey. However his Gran always says that Christmas Eve is magical. As he walks home on Christmas Eve, he stumbles upon the most extraordinary department store, where polar bears talk and the presents are out of this world. Perhaps Gran is right. Perhaps Christmas might be better than he’s expecting.