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Middle Department News

This week in Year 3

Maths 

We are approaching then end of our maths topic of ‘Money’, acutely aware of how little opportunity pupils have had in the past two years to actually spend it and calculate change. Despite this, the children embraced the topic with enthusiasm and really enjoyed counting out change into each other’s palms. In previous years, we have organised a little Christmas Market in the classrooms and invited the Year 1 pupils to work out which coins they have and whether they need change, with the proceeds going to charity. We are hoping that we might reintroduce something similar in the summer term, to find a practical application for this valuable maths skills. Here are some of the pictures from our Money unit:  

Year 3 Maths Money Topic March 2022
 

PSHEE 

We have started a newly crafted unit in PSHEE to help support the Year 3s successfully navigate friendships. With the support and guidance of Dr Kathy Weston, we have started this week, thinking about our own emotions, which can sometimes be negative. We used specially tailored for class Tooled Up resources, to think about anger as being on a spectrum and had great fun thinking of the many ways to express our feelings with more accuracy, from ‘put out’ to ‘in high dudgeon’. We then thought about which strategies might work for each of us when we are feeling these emotions. We have attached a copy of the resources to the Year 3 Google Form Rooms.  

You might want to use the resources to encourage your child to identify the emotions that they might experience from time to time and they can suggest strategies that they think might help them, if they’re feeling ‘cantankerous, on the warpath or exasperated.’ A great way to expand their vocabulary, too! 

Forest School 

A cold but clear morning in the woods – dodging rain showers. The children were engrossed in making Fairy Ladders. Enjoy looking through our photos below:

3I Forest School 4 March 2022
Further date for Forest School Sessions, with more to follow:  

  • 3M: 11/3/22:  
  • 3O: 18/3/22: 30 

Pupils should wear School Games kit for the session. Pupils should arrive at school in their Games kit and change into their uniforms. We will remind your child to bring their Games kit home on a Thursday but would appreciate you giving them an extra reminder. We would recommend either short/skort and skins or tracksuit bottoms plus Games top and tracksuit top or hoody. Additional layers will undoubtedly be necessary. These do not have to be BPS kit but must be brought to school in a bag and only worn for the Forest School session. Gloves and a hat are essential!  Don’t forget to send appropriate footwear (wellies, hiking boots, old trainers) and two pairs of socks can be useful to help with cold feet! 

World Book Day  

A lovely day filled with books and stories and great dressing up! Please see some of the Year 3 pictures below:  

Year 3 World Book Day 2022
 

Shrove Tuesday    

Having had to postpone the Pancake Race for several years, it was with great excitement that the long-awaited event finally arrived! Each House competed to try to run and flip as many ‘pancakes’ as possible in a given time. Great team spirit was shown by every House.  

Please see the Year 3 pictures below: 

Year 3 Pancake Day 2022


 

This week in Year 4

Yesterday, was World Book Day and Beechwood held its annual ‘Dress up as your favourite book character day.’  

Everyone in the School had the opportunity to dress as their favourite character from a book. All the costumes in Year 4 were AMAZING!  

We had the pleasure of welcoming into the Year Group, amongst many others, Gangsta Granny, The Big Bad Wolf. Mr Twit, Aslan, Worst Witch, Funny Bones, the Naughtiest Girl and even WW2 pilot made a flying visit. 

All the children thoroughly enjoyed seeing their friends and teachers in their amazing costumes – have a look at our gallery below:

Year 4 WBD Costumes

It was oodles of fun!  We also had a go at speed book dating – pupils had just a short time to explain to a classmate why they should read a particular book – great fun and lots of fantastic book recommendations exchanged!

Year 4 Book Speed-dating WBD 2022
Thank you to the Library staff and all of the other teachers who helped make this day special, and not forgetting a massive thank you to all the costume designers at home! We had a great day! 

The Great Beechwood Pancake Race

After missing out on this Beechwood tradition last year, it was great to be back on the Astro with all of the Junior and Senior Departments too as we flipped our way to glory for our Houses – the winners will be announced in Assembly next week…

Year 4 Pancake Races 2022

PE Lessons from now to the end of term

Finally, next week will each class move to the second part of the PE rotation.  

Weeks 9, 10 and 12 

  • 4K = Gymnastics 
  • 4L = Invasion Games 
  • 4B = Swimming 

Please see your child’s Google Classroom for further details on clothing.  

Games will continue to be rugby for the boys and netball for the girls. 

 

Aylmerton Update 

Could we please ask that during next week, if you wish for your child to take any pocket money to Alymerton, (£5 maximum please) that they bring it into school, in a sealed and named envelope, and give it to their class teacher. 

If you need a copy of the kit list or final details, there is a copy of the letter that was sent earlier today in your child’s Google Classroom.

 

Forest School with 4K  

Year 4 Forest School 4 March 2022

Next Friday, 4B will be having their Forest School session
 

 


This Week in Year 5

In spite of the wet and windy weather, Year 5’s week has been sprinkled with fun! The annual pancake race provided many moments of team spirit and collective cheering and we wait with bated breath to find out the House totals – to be revealed by Mr Packer on Monday, we believe! The pancakes at lunchtime were an awful lot more appetising that the plastic ones in the House competition, we are glad to report, as the serious question of chocolate spread vs lemon and sugar was debated amongst the pupils. A few brave and alternative thinkers even promoted strawberry coulis or savoury fillings, which provided a perfect nod to the topic of Diversity which we have revisited in our PSHEE sessions recently.

World Book Day is always hotly anticipated and the English Department’s book speed dating activity has triggered discussion and chat about books we love and recommend. Reading is such an important and special part of Beechwood culture and it has been wonderful to shine a spotlight on our love of books as a year group.

Year 5 WBD 2022

During their Book Speed dating, Year 5 pupils had to recommend a book to their opposite partner and then move on to the next “date”!They had two minutes to speak about their book.  The aim is to persuade your partner to fall in love with your book !

Titles included:

  • How to train your parents by Pete Johnson
  • A Kind of Spark  by  Elle McNicholl
  • The Highland Falcon Thief by MG Leonard
  • The World’s Worst Parents by David Walliams

The classroom was buzzing as pupils were bursting with excitement to ‘sell’ their book to their classmates!

Year 5 Book Speed Dating March 2022

In Geography, some of the classes have debated push and pull factors, considering why the people of Brazil are pushed away from rural areas and pulled towards the urban centres. The practical activity shown in some of our photographs here illustrate the children engaged in high quality discussion. Poignantly, we recognised that the impact of the floods just outside Rio over half term was connected to urban overcrowding and issues which we discuss in our Geography lessons. It is so good for the pupils to see how their learning is connected with our wider world.

Year 5 Geography 4 March 2022
With the wider world in mind, we have chosen a gentle path over the conflict in Ukraine in Year 5. School should be a place where children can be children, free from adult worries and, although some of the children have genuine questions which the Form Teachers will always be happy to try and answer in an age appropriate way, we have explained to the Year 5 pupils that this is a topic to discuss at home with their parents, if they would like to know more, and never for the playground. We hope that you feel that this is a sensible line to take.

Wishing you all a restful weekend.

The Year 5 Form Teachers


Message from Mr Buddie

At the start of the academic year, the School provided all pupils in Years 4 upwards with their own free set of wired in-ear headphones for use in School.  This was because we wanted to stop the practice of sharing wired headphones due to the risk of Covid-19 transmission as well as other health and safety concerns. Staff told pupils informed that they needed to take responsibility for their own headphones, and ensure that they brought them to School as an essential piece of equipment.  The provision of these free headphones was on the understanding that if pupils lost or damaged them, they would need to provide their own from then on.  It is becoming more important that pupils have their own wired headphones as they are often using Chromebooks and other devices throughout school.

I am bringing this to your attention, because many pupils no longer have their free set of wired headphones and we no longer have sets in School that they can borrow.  If your child no longer has the original set of wired headphones, please could they obtain another set for use in School?

There is no required specification for these  headphones – there is no need to have top-of-the-range ones like Beats by Dr Dre etc, and very cheap ones such as these from Amazon (a set of 10 coloured ones, working out at only £1.30 each) are totally adequate for our needs. Please could you ascertain from your child if they have the original set, and if not, please ensure that they have a set as soon as possible.

Drew Buddie

Director of Digital Learning


Head’s Commendations

Year Group Nurture Engage Inspire
Year 3 - - Charlie R, Isabella B, Pippa K, George M
Year 4 - - -
Year 5 - - Guy G, Harry R