Last week saw our Year 6 pupils joining with hundreds of thousands of their peers across England and Wales to complete their Key Stage 2 National Assessments – known as SATs. Every year, all Year 6 pupils are formally assessed across a week of assessments or exams which get sent off to be marked, with their results made public in July. Pupils complete SATs exams on grammar, punctuation and spelling; reading comprehension and Maths – arithmetic and reasoning.

This year, there has been a lot of media coverage about the Key Stage 2 SATs exams and the much debate around the amount of stress they put the Year 6 pupils under. At Beckley, our Year 6 pupils showed a magnificent attitude towards each of their 6 SATs papers. They approached their tests in a calm, confident, controlled and composed manner and tried their absolute best. We are incredibly proud of the attitude our Year 6 pupils showed and they were a real credit! Well done to our Year 6 pupils!

This week, our Year 2 children have been completing their Key Stage 1 National Assessments (SATs). The children have two tests in reading comprehension and two in maths. Again, their attitude towards taking the tests has been outstanding and we are incredibly proud of them also!

To celebrate the coronation of Charles III, the school had a day full of special ‘coronation’ events on Friday. Children and staff came to school wearing red, white and blue and each class spent the morning with a range of activities to learn about and celebrate the historic event.

In the afternoon, local Beckley residents, the Beckley Pre-School and parents all joined the staff and children to enjoy a Coronation Tea Party. The weather was very kind to us and everyone was able to enjoy a picnic as a whole community. Tea and cake was supplied by the BSA, along with a kind donation from the Beckley WI.

Children wore the crowns they had made in the morning and Mr T explained to everyone how the coronation was a very unique occasion that had been an important part of the country’s history for over 1000 years. We finished our fabulous afternoon off by singing the National Anthem and giving King Charles III three-cheers, from the Beckley community. 

During our Easter Holiday, Beckley Bear enjoyed a wonderful adventure on a cruise. He visited all sorts of beautiful places around Norway, Denmark and Sweden and even got to help the ship’s Captain steer the vessel. Of course, Beckley Bear is too young to go on holiday by himself, so Miss Bolton kindly went to look after him – well, somebody had to!

During the Easter Holidays, we had a new outdoor sign put up on the front of the school. The new, bright and catching sign shows a large image of our school logo, made up of our Beckley School ‘badge’, our school motto – ‘Let Your Light Shine’ and the logo showing that we are part of the Genesis Federation. We hope that it will stand out against the lovely brick work and will be noticed by the many passers by, on foot or on the road.

 

There was great excitement in school today when children enjoyed a visit from a very special person, at his busiest time of year! Father Christmas came to school and each class were able to visit him in our Learning Pad (which had been transformed into a wonderful Christmas Grotto), where every child received a gift of a cuddly toy and a book.

Needless to say, we had a school full of incredibly excited children by the end of the afternoon, plus a group of very relieved and worn out Father Christmas Elves and Helpers (who bore a strong resemblance to some of our wonderful parents!) Thank you Father Christmas and thank you to our fantastic Beckley School Association! 

Last week, pupils in Blue Spruce class enjoyed a workshop run by King’s Church where they explored the stories behind ‘the story’! In the run up to Christmas, the Nativity story is familiar to most children, but Blue Spruce spent an afternoon ‘digging deeper’ into the story. How did Mary feel when the Angel Gabriel visited her? Why did the Wise Men bring three gifts that really weren’t very ‘baby appropriate’? Was the birth of Jesus predicted in the Bible? 

The Children and Families team from King’s Church used a whole range of immersive and interactive activities to help Blue Spruce investigate and explore the Nativity – solving puzzles, smelling real Frankincense and Myrrh, and handling Old Testament scrolls! It was a really fascinating afternoon and the pupils really enjoyed the opportunity to develop a better understanding of the story that they thought they knew so well!

Beckley pupils and staff all went dotty for Children in Needs once again this year! As part of our annual fundraising day for Children in Need, pupils and staff were asked to come to school wearing dotty clothing and make a contribution to the national Children in Need campaign. Well done to everyone who dyed their hair, coloured in their white t-shirts, found their dotty leggings and painted polka-dots on their faces…the school raised £95! 

Last week the school said goodbye and ‘thank you for the music’ to Mrs Barlow, who has been teaching music at Beckley for over 30 years! We held a special ‘school assembly’ for Mrs Barlow and the hall was full of pupils, staff, parents and former pupils. Mrs Barlow’s favourite school assembly songs were sung with great enthusiasm for her, and she was presented with gifts and cards from each class. The highlight however, was the unexpected ‘flash-mob’ surprise version of Abba’s song, ‘Thank You for the Music’ which pupils and staff sung for Mrs Barlow.  Thank you for the 30 years of music, Mrs Barlow, for giving it to us…

We recently held a wonderful Harvest Service at Beckley Church, to celebrate and give thanks for the food produced and crops grown for us to enjoy. The church was packed full with parents, families and visitors who joined with the pupils throughout the service. addition, there were poems, prayers and songs presented from the children. Parents and pupils had donated a wide range of food products that will go to the Seaview Project in St Leonards on Sea, who provide hot meals for the homeless.

Red Maple pupils recently visited a Fire Station in Hastings to learn about fire safety in the home and to find out more about the different things fire fighters do in their jobs. Children all had a go at using the water hoses and saw the large turntable ladders in action. The firefighters were really impressed by the understanding of fire safety in the home that the Red Maple pupils showed and complimented the class on their outstanding behaviour. What a great trip, Red Maple!