Message from Mrs McIntosh

‘Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell and got back up again!’

Nelson Mandela

Failure! A word full of negative connotations. Something that most of us fear. The ultimate embarrassment BUT what if we thought of failure in a different way?

This week in our Monday assembly I flipped things around and put the staff on the spot instead of the children. They hadn’t been pre-warned or given a heads up. No, they were just asked to come and learn a new skill. I demonstrated the skill once and then told them to have a go and see how they did. The children were delighted to see their teachers in the spotlight. The adults perhaps a little less so!

What the children saw though was a magic moment. The ‘learners’ (in this case the adults) looking perplexed, having to ask for help, getting it wrong, coping with disappointment, trying again, accepting that it wasn’t right or perfect, witnessing different levels of success and/or failure.

I then taught the children what the word FAIL actually means.

First

Attempt

Learning

Failing isn’t the final destination, it’s just the first step on the journey.

So why do our children need to learn to fail?

Beth Arky, a writer for Child Mind Institute, says:

‘Teaching kids to fail and bounce back makes them stronger and more ready to face life’s challenges. When kids fear failing, they’re at risk for anxiety and meltdowns when things go wrong.’

Then, how do we do this at school and at home?

Recognise and acknowledge how they are feeling. ‘I can see you are disappointed. I know you want to try and get better at that.’
Show them that we fail too and model how we deal with our mistakes and failures.
Give them tools for what to do when things go wrong. This is when our Power Pets really help. Ask what would: Tough Tortoise, Sensible Squirrel, Wise Owl, Responsible Rabbit, Team Bee do in this situation? How would they react?

We love the ‘magic of mistakes’ and the ‘power of yet!’ in the Junior Department. These videos often help us remember why they are important.

Class Dojo’s Growth Mindset Series – Episode 2

Sesame Street: Janelle Monae – Power of Yet

For adults that struggle with the idea of failing, I highly recommend the podcast ‘How to fail’ with Elizabeth Day.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Mrs McIntosh

This Week in Reception

Reception Woburn Safari Park Trip

A very excited group of Reception pupils arrived at School on Wednesday ready for a safari adventure. It was a sunny start to the day as we boarded the coach just after 9.00am. After just a quick drive up the M1 and we arrived at Woburn Safari.

As we drove around the Park, we were treated to views of almost all the animals; rhinos, wildebeest, zebras, tigers, wolves, bears, lions, elephants, giraffe, camels, and macaques (who even hitched a ride on our coach) to name but a few!

After all this excitement we were all starving so headed for our lunch spot for a well-deserved picnic. On the way we enjoyed watching the feeding of the sea lions. After lunch the pupils enjoyed an informative sessions at the Enrichment Centre, learning more about how camouflage works, and why it is so important to animals.

After this, we explored the Foot Safari, spotting lots other animals including penguins, squirrel monkeys, goats, tortoises, marmosets and meerkats.

Time flew by so fast, everybody stopped for a quick group photo before we got back on the coach and headed back to school just in time for pick up.

We certainly saw lots to inspire us as we continue to learn more about our topic ‘Big Animals’ over the next couple of weeks

Take a look at our photos below.

Reception Green

Reception Blue

Reception Red

Global Outdoor Classroom

Outdoor Classroom Day is a global movement to make time outdoors part of every child’s day.

Here in Reception when the weather is nice we love to enjoy our beautiful Beechwood surroundings, but this week it was lovely to be part of something global!

So with a beautiful day ahead of us, Reception Blue and Green had their music lesson in the great outdoors and then they all went on a very exciting bear hunt!

Following on from their amazing trip to Woburn, we also all went on a safari! Together we made a coach, dens and tents so that our pupils could camp out and look out for animals. We had lots of fun making animal tracks on paper with paint and everybody used binoculars and magnifying glasses to figure out which animals left their tracks! We also had binoculars to spy on all the big animals too. But a day outside isn’t complete without plenty of sand and water play too!

As the day drew to a close it was time for one last activity – the big animal treasure hunt! Everybody went on a hunt to find certain animals, they counted them and noted their findings.

We had a lovely time taking part in global outdoor classroom day and we could see Reception did too.

From the Reception Team

This Week in Year 1

Year 1 had a splendiferous time at the Roald Dahl Gallery in Aylesbury yesterday.

We got a glimpse of Mrs Twit’s disgusterous glass eye, churgled with laughter when we blown a dream through the BFG’s trumpet and explored phizz-whizzing optical illusions and shadow tricks. We travelled in the giganticus great glass elevator, We crawled through Mr Fox’s darksome tunnel, were golluped up a tube in The Chocolate Factory and were shrunk down into piddly human beans and put on TV. We also enjoyed finding out about what dreadly predators need after looking at some specimens in the museum and then made our own vermicious puppets to take home. Look at the photos of all the wondercrump fun we had!

*the bold words are all words made up by Roald Dahl himself!

From the Year 1 Team

This Week in Year 2

History truly did leap off the page on Wednesday during our Great Fire of London Day. In the morning, the children journeyed back to 1666 as they explored the trades and streets of London as the fire unfolded.

During the afternoon we worked as real archaeologists, piecing together a picture of who lived where and what happened to them by examining debris from the fire, important papers and belongings grabbed in haste.

Special thanks to our helpers who not only willingly dressed up but really ensured we were able to make the most of all the activities. Your questioning of the children was simply superb!

On Thursday (or rather Sunday 2nd September 1666, 1am…, it was a hot, dry day and there was an easterly wind blowing. More than 350 years later, Year 2 had tremendous fun recreating the Great Fire of London! We could hardly contain our excitement as we watched the flames jump from house to house and it definitely deepened our understanding of how the fire took hold so quickly. It was clear that the fire was still raging on Orchard Green so with their usual ‘can-do’ attitude, Year 2 came to the rescue with their own water chains. Our biggest thanks must go to you, our parents, for providing such brilliant costumes which allowed your children to immerse themselves in the past.

Take a look at their photos below:

From the Year 2 Team

Message From the Music Department

For Year 1 and year 2 Parents

If you wish to know more about the Music Department at Beechwood, including the process for learning an individual instrument, and all the different music activities we offer, you are very welcome to attend a music information meeting for Y1 and Y2 parents on Thursday 25th May, 0830-0930 in the Performance Hall. There will be a short presentation given by myself, and then there will be a chance to ask any questions – either for me or for my Top Form helpers!

If you would like to attend this meeting, please would you complete this very short google form here to give us an idea of numbers:

If there is anything in particular you would like to know more about, please do write this on the form and I will do my best to cover this in the meeting.

The Performance Hall doors will be open from 0820; please enter through the clock tower gates and north courtyard. The Chamber Choir will be rehearsing in the Hall, so please do come in and enjoy their singing!

I look forward to seeing many of you on the 25th.

Best wishes,

Jane Lodge

Director of Music

From the Sports Department

Our Equestrian Team took centre stage in Friday morning’s Assembly in the build up to their National Championships in a week’s time at Hickstead. Chloe I, Nicole I, Olivia R and Rory L met to discuss what they would like to share with the Middle and Senior Departments as the first Equestrian Team in Beechwood Parks history to lead an assembly. Fun stories about their ponies, their long show day routine, the different equipment and the bounce-back ability when events and practice don’t go as well as they could do. There was excitement in the audience as videos were shown of the large jumps the team concur in training and competition and a celebration of the largest Equestrian team to date! They were fantastic ambassadors of the sport, congratulations.

If there are any enquiries about our Equestrian team please do get in touch with Mrs Briscoe at l.briscoe@beechwoodpark.herts.sch.uk.

From the Junior Library

Sheep School by Roos Montgomery

Part of the Little Gems series, aimed at delivering established authors in an accessible format, Sheep School is a fun new release for readers starting to gain their confidence. As the name suggests, the series is ‘little’ in physical size and developed with short chapters further increasing the appeal for young readers.

In this edition, Ross Montgomery introduces readers to William the lamb who, despite his teacher’s instructions, just can’t stand still. His feet are always tapping, ready to dance, and he loves nothing more than bursting into song. He’s forever getting into trouble, until one day his ‘talents’ mean he’s the only one to witness the tactics of the Big Bad Wolf. Suddenly it’s up to him to save the day.