From September, music students at Barr Beacon School will be learning the ukulele!
Aldridge & District Lions Rotary Club have awarded us their Educational Endowment Fund so that we can purchase a whole class set of ukuleles.
Thank you so much Aldridge & District Lions!
https://e-clubhouse.org/sites/aldridge/
Katie in Year 9 has recorded this splendid rendition of World War 2 classic ‘We’ll Meet Again’ to commemorate the 75th anniversary of VE Day.
We’ll meet again
Don’t know where
Don’t know when
But I know we’ll meet again some sunny day…
On Friday 8th May we commemorate 75 years since Victory in Europe day, which marked the beginning of the end of the Second World War.
Walsall Council are asking for pupils to get creative and produce pieces in response – they can be art works, poems, songs, dances, whatever!
If you produce something you would like to be shared, you can email it to dlowbridgeellis@barrbeaconschool.co.uk or put it straight on Twitter yourself, tagging @barrbeaconsch
You can find out more about national VE Day events here:
https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/get-involved/remembrance/remembrance-events/ve-day-75
This year’s Royal Geographical Society ‘Young Geographer’ competition is now open!You have until 1st June to get your entries to Miss Clarke, head of geography.Produce an A3 poster about a place (or places) that mean something to you – they can be near, far, places you’ve already been to or places you want to travel to in future.
Have a look at this Powerpoint for ideas: HERE
If you’re in Year 7, 8 or 9, you need to:
If you’re in Year 12 or 13:
Full guidelines here: www.rgs.org
The BBC and the government have put together daily lessons for children across the UK. If you have finished the work we have set or you fancy something different, take a look.
Oak National Academy
I’m very pleased to welcome Oak National Academy, a new online classroom and resource hub, which has launched to support teachers until schools re-open. The online classroom will provide free lessons and resources for pupils from reception through to year 10. All resources, lessons and more information can be accessed here.
As part of a collective response to the crisis, 40 teachers will be producing over 180 free online lessons each week, which will cover a range of subjects from English and maths to arts and languages.
BBC Bitesize
This week the BBC is launching its own education package as part of their Charter across TV and online – helping to keep children learning and supporting parents. You can find more information about this here.
The key difference between the BBC offer and the Oak National Academy is that the Academy is a planned and sequenced series of lessons for schools and trusts to use as part of their planned curriculum offer. Whereas the BBC offer is aimed more at parents and pupils.
Please note that we are not responsible for any of this content. If there are any technical issues, please contact the BBC or Oak Academy directly. We have found that the Oak Academy videos work best on Internet Explorer (the sound doesn’t always work on Chrome, but we are sure they will be ironing out these teething issues moving forward).
Every week, teachers are nominating pupils who they know have been working the hardest.
We will be giving House points to everyone nominated and entering their names into a weekly prize draw for online shopping vouchers.
Let your teacher know what work you are doing through Microsoft Teams or your school e-mail address.
Parents/Carers: if you want to share what work your children are doing at home you can tag us on Twitter @barrbeaconsch
Advice for keeping mentally healthy
Pupils: The most important thing during this time is to stay healthy – and that includes in your mind as well as your body. Everyone’s mental health is different. Some of you will find it comforting to do lots of school work and some of you will find having a long ‘to do’ list makes you anxious. Listen to your body – and your mind. For most, maintaining some kind of routine is a good idea. Perhaps do a mix of reading, exercise, school work and fun stuff. Use this time to learn a new skill or develop an interest. Here is further advice from children’s charity UNICEF: www.unicef.org/coronavirus
Parents: It’s natural to feel worried about what’s happening with COVID-19. Here is some NHS advice you might find useful yourself: www.nhs.uk/oneyou
Here is some advice from the Universities of Oxford and Reading about how to help your child talk about their feelings: HERE
And here is advice along similar lines from Young Minds: www.youngminds.org.uk
Starting Monday 23rd March Joe Wicks The Body Coach is going to be hosting a free workout aimed at kids LIVE on his YouTube channel.
With the schools closed and with us all spending more time at home, it’s more important than ever that we keep moving and stay healthy and positive. Exercise is an amazing tool to help us feel happier, more energised, and more optimistic.
The workouts will be fun and suitable for all ages and even adults can get involved. You don’t need any equipment, just tune in on YouTube at 9am each morning for a 30-minute, fun workout.
Over the past few months, a selection of cadets had the opportunity to experience life on an RAF Station where 7 Cadets spent a week at RAF Lossiemouth.
During this time they visited sections around the station to see the roles of different trades in the RAF including No 1 Fighter Squadron who operate the Typhoon Air Craft, Survival Equipment who look after all the safety gear that pilots use. Another role was the 2622 Sqn Royal Auxiliary Air Force Regiment Squadron who demonstrated all their weapon systems and allowed the cadets to gain hands-on experience with them and the Fire Section who enabled the cadets to use the water cannon mounted on the front of their fire engines.
In addition, the cadets had a cinema night, went bowling and go-karting and had the chance to practise their marksmanship skills on the Dismounted Close Combat Trainer. We finished by demonstrating our marching skills to the Station Warrant Officer.
Back at School, other cadets have been using the indoor air rifle range to practise their marksmanship skills and two cadets joined the Staffordshire Wing Air Cadets on a range day to fire the Cadet Small Bore Target Rifle.
Most Year 10 and 11 Cadets have now flown at least once, though the weather recently has twice thwarted the SSI’s efforts to get the remainder of Year 10 and the Year 9 Cadets airborne.
As we head towards spring and summer we look forward to taking the Year 10 cadets to participate in Adventure Training Activities and the recruitment of Cadets from the current Year 7 and 8s to enable our cadets to have an extra year to experience what the cadets can offer.
We love keeping in touch with former students and they love to keep in touch with us.
Jack Evans graduated from Barr Beacon in 2015 after completing his A levels here and now works as a Senior Parliamentary Aide in the Houses of Parliament. His top tip for succeeding in education is to “try your best, one day at a time. In the end, the results will be worth it.” For the world of work, he recommends that you “always remember that you are your own person and strive to be the best version of yourself.”
There are more alumni profiles in our most recent newsletter.
Barr Beacon School
Old Hall Lane
Aldridge, Walsall
West Midlands
WS9 0RF
T: 0121 366 6600
postbox@barrbeaconschool.co.uk
Monday - Thursday: 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Friday: 8:00 am - 3:30 pm
