Children in Years 2 to 8 and staff took part in a moving and thought-provoking Remembrance Service on Monday.  Even the youngest children walked from their classrooms to take their place in the Performing Arts Centre in complete silence.  The service was led by Year 8 girls who explained a little about the significance of the roles played by women in wartime, after which the congregation walked in procession out onto the terraces.  Both Mr and Mrs Searson spoke, and the Year 8 children read out the names of each Old Beaudesertian who gave his life in either the Great War, the Second World War or the Korean War.  This was followed by an accomplished playing of The Last Post by Archie in Year 8 , before the two minute silence was observed and the wreath was laid.

This week has been national Anti-bullying Week – an awareness week organised by the Anti-Bullying Alliance which was created by the NSPCC and the National Children’s Bureau in 2002.  To mark it, following on from last week’s puppet-led assembly and workshop sessions with OpenView Education,  our Year 7s have been spending time in Pre-prep.  Together the children have been exploring the likes of kindness, communication, sharing, and teamwork in lots of different ways, all under the umbrella theme of  ‘Small change.  Big difference’.

It has been a fun-filled week in the boarding house which has, as ever, seen a wide variety of activities on offer.

On Monday night, to continue the commemoration of Armistice Day, the Year 4s had some 3D poppies to create, colour and decorate, whilst the other boarders felt a swim was the way to spend the after supper activity time.  For the majority of the Year 5, 6 and 7 children, nothing on Tuesday would do but a mass game of Spotlight outside in the grounds!   For a select few however, the prospect of being out and about in the cold and the wet was less appealing than a chilled bunting-making activity up in the cosy boarding house with Mrs Layton.

Wednesday was all all-round chill zone with the Year 8s happily settling down to some revision in readiness for next week’s exams (for which, good luck by the way!)  Come Thursday, and largely thanks to the cold and wintery scenes outdoors, it was a game of indoor virus that won the Year 6 vote, whilst the Year 8s were treated to one of Mr Standen McDougal’s infamous history clinics.  It is a welcome return to a Friday night in the boarding house this week, and Mr Layton is looking forward to getting that table tennis ladder back underway, of which more next week!

As ever, should you wish to get in touch with us, please do email houseparents@bps.school

Our long-standing driver Keith, and his gang of pupil passengers on the Malmesbury minibus route have come up with the innovative idea of having a sponsored silence on the minibus on Monday.  Keith, some of the children and a number of parents have already pledged their pounds to the cause in aid of Children in Need.

Every other Thursday it’s the turn of a different group of eight Year 8 children to join Mr and Mrs Searson for a relaxed supper at The Lodge.    This week, a delicious supper of lasagne followed by Eton Mess was topped off with a highly competitive Pucket tournament – which Mrs Searson won!  Finally it was time to head back up to school armed with some of Nellie’s collection of brollies to stave off the downpour.

Well done to our U9s on some fantastic cross country performances this week.  Competing against Wycliffe and Tockington, they won both the boys’ and the girls’ races.  Not only that but they came 1st, 2nd and 3rd in both races too!   

Children from 5S and 5D teamed up with their Reception counterparts today to stage not one but two cake sales in aid of Children in Need.  The sale kicked off at Pre-prep pick-up then, when that market had disappeared, was moved lock stock and barrel into position outside the Prep school to target the older children and their parents looking for a Friday tea-time treat.  We are still in the process of totting up the total raised.  In the meantime, thank you to family and friends for baking, bringing and buying sweet treats to help both sales go with a bang!

After a successful trial a couple of weeks ago, Coco in Year 6 has been selected for the Gloucestershire County Cricket U11 squad.   Not only that but she was also named the Best Girl All-Rounder 2019 at Cirencester Cricket Club at an awards dinner last week.   Way to go Coco!

A reminder to register if you wish to take part in the Santa Fun Run on Sunday 1st December!   Simply email funrun@bps.school with the names of everyone taking part, and it’s done.

Many pupils, parents and staff enjoyed another fantastic lunchtime concert on Tuesday in the Performing Arts Centre.  Mrs Pearce Coleman’s singing pupils in the prep school demonstrated much courage and assurance as they took to the stage to perform.  Singing is something that we can all enjoy and this was a true celebration of the progress our pupils are making in their singing lessons.  Head to our Twitter page @beaudesertmusic for more info and clips.

Wonderful to see such assured performances from our pupils today! Fantastic #musicmaking and lots of support from the @beaudesertpark community pic.twitter.com/sliCajOPVL

— Music at Beaudesert (@BeaudesertMusic) November 12, 2019

Many parents may have come across TikTok.  More than 500 million people around the world, many of them children, use it to create, view and share 60 second videos.  The app can be a powerful tool for self-expression and it connects users around the world.  But it’s also really important that children are aware of the potential risks and learn how to use it in a safe way.  For more info, Parent Zone’s, TikTok – a Parent’s Guide which is full of sensible advice about how families can make the most of the settings and tools available to them.

Our Mental Health and Wellbeing Morning on Saturday 30th November is taking shape nicely.  We can now confirm that the morning will be hosted by Sally Russell from the Wellbeing in Schools organisation.  Sally will be facilitating three different morning sessions in the Pre-prep Hall as follows:

9 – 9.45am  Years 5 and 6                     9.45 – 10.30am Years 7 and 8                      11.30am – 12.15pm for parents

We hope as many parents as possible will be able to join us for the 11.30am parents’ session.  It promises to offer lots of practical idea to help parents and families enjoy good mental health.