Over the last two weeks, many of our parents have taken part in a survey about the provision and support for the remote-learning that we have put in place.  Teachers are working very hard to provide learning for all children who have to stay at home under the current restrictions. Alongside this, the various ways that the school has tried to support children and parents have also been crucial. However, what is really important is to ask parents about the work being set and to find out if the support provided is helping, or if we need to make any changes.

The survey responses so far show that almost 90% of children are completing most or all of the work set, with 80% of children spending between 1 – 4 hours every day on their home learning. Parents say that the biggest challenge for them is  trying to support the remote-learning for siblings in different classes at the same time. another key challenge for parents has been trying to juggle the remote-learning for their children alongside working from home themselves. Parents particularly like the structured plans for every day and also find the live-stream support sessions very helpful. Overall, parents have given the school a mark of 4.4 out of 5, but there is still time for others to complete the survey and let us know what you think.

There was real excitement in Red Maple today as the news broke about reports of an incredible event that was taking place in Bethlehem. On Friday, the Red Maple 24 Hour News Team will be bringing you the full story…

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As  filming for the Acorns Nativity production took place, the excitement was heightened by some of the film ‘extras’ who helped the Acorn nativity have that little bit more authenticity!

Maybe the image here will give you a clue of the sort of ‘film extras’ involved!  Make sure to watch to see for yourself.

Sports competitions between schools are one of the many things have have needed to change in recent months  as a result of COVID-19. However, we are still enjoying real success in the new ‘virtual’ school sports events taking place. In October the schools cross-country competition took place – schools had to make out a course over a set distance and then time their pupils completing the course. The times were submitted and organised to produce a set of results across the schools. Our Beckley runners had a fantastic set of results, with pupils from Years 1 to 6 taking part. In all, we had 5 pupils coming 1st in their age group races, with a further 9 pupils gaining either a 2nd or 3rd place finish! Our winners were competing against 5 other schools in the Rye area and so their achievements are something we are really proud of. Well done everyone!

This term, the key theme for our school worship has been ‘Putting Others First – Kindness and Generosity’. Alongside the times of school worship, we have enjoyed a number of opportunities to be generous and help others through fundraising. This term, the school has raised money for Children in Need, the Anti-Bullying Alliance and also a children’s nursery in Mumbai, India.

We are so grateful for the amazing generosity shown by our school families. We have raised 100s of pounds for these causes this month and it has been fantastic to hear the many stories of our pupils donating their own money for people all over the world who desperately need the support of others.

We want to say a huge THANK YOU to every pupil and their families who have made a contribution. It is wonderful to be part of a school community who show such kindness and generosity towards others.

Beckley pupils all went ‘dotty’ today as the school raised money for Children in Need. Pupils made a donation to dress in non-uniform, with the traditional Children in Need theme of ‘spots and polka dots’. As always, Beckley children and staff all got into the spirit of the day and had fun with their dotty creations! Mr Thurston, the Headteacher said, ‘Children in Need Day is very much part of our school calendar every year and it is particularly important this year to think about how we can help others. Raising money by dressing up in our spots and polka dots is a fun way to support the fantastic work that Children in Need do up and down the country.’

This year, since we have not been able to gather together as a whole school community and hold our usual Harvest Service at the church, we have celebrated Harvest a bit differently. Classes have explored the themes of ‘Being Thankful’ and ‘Helping Others’ and have looked at how our local food producers grow and produce food, what happens to it next and how it might be transported.

Families have also been making donations of tins, packets and jars which we are taking to the Seaview Project in Hastings. We have supported the work of the Seaview Project for many years – they work with the homeless, providing hot meals at their centre every day.

We are so grateful for the kindness and generosity shown by our families at Beckley – their contributions really will make a difference!

September, the start of a new school year, is always very busy. This year, with all the added measures is it much busier than usual and we can all feel that sense of rushing about everywhere, just to try and keep on top of the simple routines of daily life!

This morning, I have been with some of our children in our school orchard, while they have their school photographs taken. Waiting with them gave me an unexpected opportunity to be still for a moment. To look around. To stop and take in my surroundings. I slowly got to notice just how beautiful our orchard is, as I looked at some of the flowers in the sunlight, with the early morning dew still on their petals. I hope you enjoy them too!

It has been really lovely to welcome back our pupils this week! For most of them, this was the first time that they have stepped back into the school for nearly 6 months. We were expecting many worried and anxious children who were concerned about  returning to school. However, it has been fantastic to see that, within minutes of coming back, children were happy, laughing and delighted to see their school friends and class mates. Of course, there are new routines, timings and rotas for them to get used to but there are still many aspects to school life that haven’t changed. We really hope that the terrific start back to school will continue and feel confident that we will all quickly settle back into our new routines. It’s great to be back!

Over the summer holiday, we have continued to improve the school site, with more developments in our outside learning areas. The latest piece of work has been to add some lovely signs in our school orchard that will help children to understand and appreciate the natural environment better. Signs to help the children look out for some of the bird life, mini-beasts, flowers and trees they can see have been put up. We hope that these will add to the whole experience of being in our school orchard and allow the children to appreciate the outdoors even more.