On Sunday 14^th November 2021, our Head Girl Abbie and Head Boy Jack proudly represented the school at Aldridge Remembrance Service.  They joined in the parade (led by the Band of Squadron 425 Air Training Corps and the Royal British Legion) before laying a wreath, on behalf of Barr Beacon School, at the War Memorial. 

Get involved in our 30-day non-fiction reading challenge! 
Every day in November, we want Barr Beacon students to read a non-fiction text. The challenge calendar is below, and the rules are as follows:

• Complete every non-fiction challenge for a guaranteed prize!
• Complete 5+ non-fiction challenges to be entered into a prize draw
• All participants receive praise points and house points
• The form group with the most participants will receive a stack of magazines to enjoy together
• You can complete the challenges solo, with a friend, in form time – it’s up to you! Everyone needs to do the reading and complete the journal to qualify
• Hand your completed journal in to your form tutor or email a digital copy to readingchallenge@barrbeaconschool.co.uk to receive house points and your prize
• Deadline: December 13th 2021

• Day 1 – 26 Climate Activists – National Geographic
• Day 2 – Johnson apologises after minister who uses wheelchair denied entry to Cop26 venue – The Guardian
• Day 5 – How can baking improve wellbeing? – Happiful
• Day 7 – Doctor Who: Could regeneration really be possible? – Science Focus
• Day 8 – Letter from Birmingham Jail
• Day 11 – I traced my surname through enslaved people in Jamaica to a grand house in Scotland 9 – inews
• Day 13 – Extract from Anne Frank’s diary
• Day 16 – Extract from Adam Kay’s book
• Day 17 – Extract from ‘Becoming’
• Day 28 – Freedom or Death speech

Although Covid restrictions did not allow us to have our Year 11 prom off site we were able to quickly rearrange everything to have it at school instead. The event was very enjoyable with a range of food, entertainment, awards and dancing until late into the night. The evening ended with a bang with a firework display lighting up the school site.

A big thank you to all those who helped make the evening a success for our Year 11 cohort.

We bade farewell to Year 11 with a very special assembly featuring competitions, heartfelt messages and some hilarious videos produced by teachers.

We will see many Year 11 back as Sixth Formers, hopefully at prom (pending lockdown restrictions ending according to the government’s roadmap!) and results day on 12^th August.

At home, Year 11 will be continuing to work on careers activities to prepare them for their next steps.

This year we will not be inviting parents/carers onto school site for progress evenings. This is in line with government Covid-19 guidance. Progress evenings for each year group will therefore take place via video appointments.

The school’s online appointment booking system allows you to choose your own appointment times with teachers and you will receive an email confirming your appointments. At the time of your appointment, you can join a video meeting with your child’s teacher by logging into your appointments and clicking the ‘join video meetings’ link.  

Tips for a successful appointment:  

• Please visit www.barrbeacon.parentseveningsystem.co.uk to book your appointments. Your login details can be found in a letter that will be sent home prior to your child’s Virtual Progress Evening. Should this letter have been mislaid you can contact your child’s House Office who will be happy to provide you with login details.
• Guidance on how to join the video meetings with your child’s teachers can be found at https://support.parentseveningsystem.co.uk/article/801-video-parents-how-to-attend-appointments-over-video-call.
• Please note that video appointments are strictly limited to 5 minutes. A timer at the top of your screen indicates the length of time remaining in the meeting and, after 5 minutes, the video link will close.  Your child’s teacher has no control over this. If you have any remaining questions following your appointment please contact House Office. 
• If you do not have access to the internet, please contact your child’s House Office who will be happy to arrange a telephone consultation to give you information about your child’s progress. 
• If you have a slow internet connection at home, please ask other users of tablets, gaming consoles or television applications to refrain from using these for the duration of your meetings. If your video appointment is unsuccessful, a follow-up telephone conversation can be arranged with the House Office at a later date. 
• If you are experiencing problems with your virtual appointment, moving closer to your wireless router can often improve the quality and clarity of your video appointment.