Around the World Day:
On Wednesday 24th September, ‘Around The World Day’ was held at Beeston, based around the theme of the Rugby World Cup.
In the Prep School, the day started with an informal assembly where we were able to gain our first look at some of the fantastic costumes and outfits worn by the children and where we discussed the themes of teamwork and why it is important to celebrate different cultures and languages.
Throughout the day, all the children were asked to complete a research session about their ‘country’ and to reinterpret the information available either online or from books in the Library. All pupils also took part in a tablecloth decorating session, and the three that deserved a special mention from Mr de Falbe and Mrs Morton were Japan, Wales and England. Well done to everyone on their efforts – some time was spent at the end of the day allowing us all to look at the children’s work and to take in everything that had been discovered, as well as the collation of citizenship merits, through the Beeston Hall passports.
The third session that everyone took part in was dance, lead brilliantly by Millie and Jas from Marlene’s School of Dance. Millie, a former pupil at Beeston, certainly kept the children active, and Miss Power, who accompanied the children in all of the sessions clocked up over 17,000 steps on her activity tracker!
As well as this, sessions over the course of the day included African Drumming, The Highland Games (with weather to suit, at times), German Language and Food Tasting, Yoga, Mandala Making, Ireland, Badge Making, Pétanque, Futsal (sadly, without the Brazilian weather), Iceland and Greenland, the fascinating session on Beekeeping lead by Mr Turner, and Menu Design run by Mrs Raison. I would like to take the opportunity to thank my colleagues for their effort, as well as the catering team for accommodating our needs for the changes at lunchtime, and the detail and good humour put in to preparing these sessions.
Finally, I would like to thank our parents for their contribution to the day – the Beeston spirit was very much in evidence and made the day a pleasure to organise.
Well done, everybody!
Mrs R Morgan
Year 4 Victorian Trip to Great Cressingham:
Year 4 truly lived the life of a Victorian child at the superbly run Great Cressingham Victorian School on Monday 23rd September, owned by Sally North who played the part of the main teacher tremendously well. The day was focused on living as a Victorian child with spelling and arithmetic lessons, using slate and rags to record and wipe clean their workings, reciting genuine poetry, singing songs as well as drawing authentic specimens whilst sitting at genuine desks in the extraordinary school building with original features and appliances, including displays and objects from the era.
The children also played with beautifully preserved hoops, skipping ropes and spinning tops at breaktime and used the outside toilets before washing their hands with carbolic soap and cold water to extend their understanding of life in 1899. In the afternoon, the children practised the messy business of writing with pen and ink and blotting their meticulously well scribed handwriting with care which is trickier than one may think.
The boys sharpened their slate pencils on the outside wall where you can see the scars of more than a century of the same activity, connecting the boys directly with the past and creating a continual thread between now and then. The girls practiced their sewing skills and filled their individual bags with handpicked lavender from the estate.
The aim was for the children to leave the school knowing what it felt like to be a Victorian child and to experience it just as they would have. This was the most inspiring visit that will not be forgotten.
Meet the Instruments Day:
Meet the instruments! Children from Reception to Year 4 listened to performances by our nine, talented, peripatetic music staff, including ‘Three Irish Airs’ by Edward Huws Jones and the ‘Greatest Showman. Mrs Casey explained why music is such a vital skill to have, after which the children were sent off in groups for the fun to began! Brass, woodwind and stringed instruments were available to listen to and to try and play. The highlight for me was watching the children in Reception attempting to play the grandfather of the strings, the double bass.
We hope this instils a lifelong interest and enthusiasm for the subject or a particular instrument. There is so much to choose from and I believe everyone has ‘their instrument’. The taster day mini-plastic instruments can be put in the dishwasher and even played in the bath! I cannot wait to see how many children sign up for instrumental lessons and I look forward to having them in Pre-Prep Philharmonic and the new Junior Orchestra!
Senior Rugby and Hockey Tour 2019:
Senior Rugby Tour 2019:
The boys started the pre-season weekend with a development session at Oakham which progressed from a two-handed touch to a hold. The boys performed well and made excellent progress in the 40-minute session.
On Saturday morning the boys again started with minimum contact progressing to tackling and one-on-one rucks. They went forward well and showed good support. They contested possession at the breakdown, impressed with their teamwork and enjoyed their first contact session of the season.
The boys spent the afternoon at Rutland Water on their outdoor fitness suite and the aqua park. Fun was had by all and the boys worked together well in their pods. At their request, we finished the day at a restaurant, with the boys dressed in their uniform.
On Sunday we travelled to Oundle for another fantastic development session. This was an even tussle and our boys performed especially well at the breakdown and impressed with their quick movement forward into space.
The boys showed huge improvement across the weekend. They were also very polite, respectful and a credit to the school, led by their team captain, George M and vice-captain Tom L.
Senior Hockey Tour 2019:
This tour is always a fantastic way to start the term and helps with both our hockey development and with bringing the girls together at the start of term after a long holiday. This year we had 5 girls on tour new to the school and new to hockey, 3 days of hockey practice certainly helped them learn some of the basic skills. For the last 8 or 9 years our tour has consisted of Oakham on the Friday and Oundle on the Sunday with a variety of schools being played on the Saturday. We usually spend our Saturday afternoon in Peterborough shopping and visiting the Cathedral. However, this year due to our kind invite to the St. John’s College tournament we found ourselves with about 4 hours to spend in Cambridge. We had a lovely walk through St. John’s and out along ‘the back’s’ where we watched people punting on the Cam and looked at the remarkable architecture of the City and of the Colleges.
After 3 hours of shopping in the Lion Yard, on the Market and in the Grafton Centre everyone was exhausted and couldn’t wait for dinner. Dinner was a lovely, social affair with the Year 8 girls looking great in their matching Primark sweatshirts!
Overall Oakham and Oundle were great hosts and made us all very welcome whilst the addition of the Cambridge day made for a brilliant weekend. Well done everyone.
