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TRADITIONAL VALUES | CONTEMPORARY EDUCATION

NEWSletter 13 November 2015 – Week 9

PAGE 1 TRADITIONAL VALUES | CONTEMPORARY EDUCATION

AUTUMN TERM 2015

NEWS from the HeadmasterI write from the heart when Isay that the Year 8 event‘Remember’ and our wholeschool Remembrance Serviceon 11 November were trulyinspirational. I wasn’t the onlyadult in the room with a tearin my eye and I remain movedby the support, care andrespect exhibited by the wholecommunity. Understanding thetragedy behind war and thewilling sacrifice made by somany is central to keeping thepeace and avoiding warwherever possible. The factthat I looked out across a seaof bright faces with all theboys adorned with RoyalLegion Poppies is a symbol ofhow engaged this message iswithin the school.

Last Saturday I led the Governing body and the Senior Leadership team through a day of strategic thinking. We discussedtopics around the title “The Big Beacon Conversation, 2025”. We explored several key themes: Academic, Pastoral, Co-Curricular, Preparation for Life, Well Being, Engagement in society, Philanthropy, Entrepreneurialism and our Charitable Status.The ideas generated were fascinating. The more I discuss The Beacon with boys, teachers, support staff and parents the clearerthe vision will become BUT it is very exciting. Obviously, The Beacon is the best school in Buckinghamshire; we need to ensurewe continue this into the future.

The key themes for the boys are consistent good behaviour and high quality homework. I am a firm believer that consistency iscrucial and that firm and timely discipline can keep a boy on the road to success.

The Beacon Senior Independent School event last night was another great success. With 24 of the leading senior schoolsattending, the evening proved to be an informative and important part of the Senior school journey. If you need help planningthe ”road map” after The Beacon, we are all here to help.

And finally may I draw your attention to the significant prizes offered in our silent auction athttps://www.participant.co.uk/beaconschool/event_-_parents_society_e-mailauction_of_promises – don’t miss out on thechance of a lifetime – I particularly like the pop-up vegetable garden…

NEWS from Pre-Prep

Early November always movesseamlessly from Bonfire Night toRemembrance Day and this year wasno different. Several boys in Year 2brought in the medals of GreatGrandparents and Great Uncles andour service on Wednesday was ratherlovely. The boys listened attentively,stood remarkably still and silent forboys of their age and were able toshare with the assembled throngmuch of the lovely work they had

produced this week on a poppy theme. The whole thing was a great success.Thursday produced fewer moments of spiritual reflections as I had to have afrank word with Year 1 about the merits of flushing the loo. By purecoincidence Mrs Sharp was introducing a Year 1 group to an alliterative Poemcalled ‘Splish Splash and Splosh’ when I visited one class to give them thebenefit of my advice. Life in Pre-Prep is always varied but this week we reallydid go from the sublime to the ridiculous. Have a great weekend everybody.– Richard Haley, Head of Pre-Prep.


Performing Arts NEWS


Hamlet

Last night 33 boys from Year 7 & 8 performed their production of 'Hamlet' at the Wycombe Swan Town Hall as part ofthe Shakespeare Schools Festival. Our company performed alongside three secondary schools presenting abridgedversions of other Shakespeare plays. In a feedback session at the end of the evening, the Festival coordinatorsparticularly praised our boys' physical theatre work which created the atmosphere and setting for every scene. Theyalso mentioned the actors' strong emotional commitment to the lines and the terrific contribution made by our fivestudents who worked on the technical and marketing elements of the production, including Marcus Van Rest andArchie Palmer in Year 8 who operatedthe complex sound and lighting cueson the evening. Congratulations to allof the following boys who wereinvolved in bringing this unique projectto fruition - and thanks to the staffbehind it.Will Maynard, Head of Drama

1. Hamlet Felix Maintzer2. Claudius Max Garrood3. Gertrude Rishi Pandya4. Polonius George Warburton5. Ophelia Tom Way6. Laertes Will Finch7. Horatio Oliver Letts8. The Ghost Lucas Batty9. 1st Player Arjan Bhui10. Gravedigger Joe Day11. Rosencrantz Nazar Gamil12. Guildenstern Aaron McNeille13. Marcellus Harry Petrie14. Osric Jack Chesney15. Servant Charlie Fennell16. 1st Sailor Max Taylor17. Boy Actor Luca Knight18. Messenger Oliver Okhuijsen

Upper School Tea and Music

On Thursday afternoon pupils from the MS and US took part in a Tea and Music concert in the Old Barn. There weresome wonderful performances by the boys on a wide range of instruments and we were also treated to a song sungsweetly by Thomas Van Hentenryck in Year 5!

The audience clearly enjoyed the occasion, but more importantly so did the boys that took part and they should all feelproud of themselves. We certainly heard some very musical performances from boys who clearly show much potential!

Attendants, Lords, Servants, Ensemble19. Thomas Blackmore20. Rahul Bhima21. Harry West22. Etienne Masson23. James Hart24. Jugaad Singh25. Luca Tartaglia-Baker 26. Harlan Marr-Johnson27. Oliver Rylance

Crew/production team28. Paul D’Souza29. Marcus Van Rest30. Archie Palmer31. Thomas Hales32. Max Conway33. Archie Golding


Stop Press - Coming Soon - Stop PressThe Beacon Christmas FairSaturday 21 November, 11.00am-2.00pm

With just over a week to go, excitement is building for this year's Christmas Fair! If youhaven't booked it in your diary, please do. Doors will be open from 11.00am until 2.00pm.

We have lots of stalls and activities to get you into the festive mood. A wide range ofexternal stall holders, a Christmas Cafe and cake stall, and lots of fun things to keep you andyour children entertained: Craft Activities, Face Painting, Knock Santa Off the Chimney, Beatthe Goalie, Laser Quest, Turkey Hunt, A Fun Festive Photo Booth and much much more…

HELP STILL NEEDED FOR COLLECTIONS PLEASE!

Thank you so much for your donations to-date. We are still collecting this week and would welcome:

Donations for both the Bottle and Sweetie Tombolas all week, in the collection box in Matron's office or onWednesday-Friday at the front step during drop off.

BottlesPlease bring in anything exciting, delicious, drinkable or beautifying (new and unused please). Please note, if the bottlecontains alcohol, an adult must drop if off.

SweetiesPlease continue to bring in lots of wrapped sweeties in jars please. Very popular with the children and always sells out!Please note, only in jars that have not contained nut products and sweets must be nut free.

Cake StallPlease could you bring in nut-free cakes, biscuits, brownies, cupcakes and tray bakes on Friday 20 NOVEMBER to bepriced up and ready to sell at the fair. There will be collection points at both drop-off and pick-up.

Going Going Gone!!! The Beacon Auction Of Promisesis now openHave you placed your bids yet?

The full catalogue of Lots are now available with details on how to bidthrough the school online booking system:https://www.participant.co.uk/beaconschool/event_-_parents_society_e-mailauction_of_promises

Thank you so much for your support!Nonny and Fiona

Fiona Mayhew and Nonny Steel, Co-Chairs, Beacon Parents’ Society: [email protected]

AuctionAuction AuctionAuctionAuctionAuction AuctionAuction AuctionAuctionAuction Auction PromisesAuctionAuction Auction AuctionAuctionAuction Auction Auction AuctionAuction Auction Auction Promisesof

PAWtrait

Parents’ Society NEWS

Sports NEWS

PLAYER OFTHE WEEK:

David JDavid scored two tries in a

wonderful

victory for the 3rd XV at Belmont.

Playing out of position as well, he

tackled courageously, ran aggressively

and took his tries expertly.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: U9AIn a really tight game, the U9A team put up a very strongdefence against Moulsford. They were very resilientthroughout and played well together as a team. They havecome a long way this term.


PHOTO OF THE WEEK – “TEAM HUDDLE”…


Rugby : U9D v Moulsford | Match won 12-4The U9D team played Moulsford at home on Tuesday. Having experienced the team's first defeat of the season lastweek, the boys were charged and ready to put up a fight against some tough opposition. They got off to a good startwith a 5-2 lead in the first 10 minutes, attacking and supporting the ball,putting Moulsford under pressure. Moulsford had to work hard againstour much improved defensive line, Max Fairhurst and Shiv Bhardwajplaying passionately and refusing to let a red shirt through. Josh Hiscocksput in some cracking tackles, Will Hobbs and Charlie Dover (Man of theMatch) some great runs, all adding to the try score of 7-3 at half time.Moulsford looked tired and The Beacon were determined to secure theirwin. The boys all played their part in a convincing second half, with animpressive final score of 12-4. A much grittier and more cohesiveperformance this week of which the boys should be very proud. – Allie Foden-Ellis

Rugby : Colts B2 v CCJB | Match won 10-0A dank day, narrow pitch and competitive opponents provided a challenge to the B2s onWednesday. Playing with less precision and forward impetus than recently, the boyscould easily have let this one go. Instead, they rolled up their sleeves and overcamesome loose handling with some resolute tackling and increasingly astute breakdownwork. Well-taken breakaway tries in each half, one each for the Bests, brought victory.They will play much better and lose; well done for a gutsy showing. – Hugh Connor

Rugby : 1st XV v Belmont | Match won 38-0To quote the great American military leader, Lt Col Hannibal Smith, "I love it when a plan comestogether"! For the first time this season all constituent parts of what makes a successful team joinedin harmony to produce a 38-0 victory over respected opponents Belmont.

The squad were all fit and healthy, highly motivated, in tune with the game plan, and perhaps mostimportantly, the boys ably demonstrated their undoubted ability for the full duration of the match.Luca Tartaglia-Baker led by example; dashing forward to attack or defend. Captain West had hisbest game of the season - he did it all - even getting on the score sheet twice. Another weightycontribution came from Rob Worthington. He worked tirelessly in the loose and also added theoffload to his game to keep team momentum going. It was no surprise to see him score theopening try of the second half.

I felt the backline, as a whole unit, had their best game of the season. Fly half Luca Knight ran the show superbly.Pulling the strings like all good 10's should. He varied our points of attack to make Belmont's defensive organisationdifficult. Inside balls to support runners or movement through the hands meant we were always looking positive anddangerous. Finley Hepden Dyer scored a hatrick, and whileJack Chesney didn't cross he was also a real handful. But, as allgood wingers know it is all well and good crossing the tryline,but without getting the ball it doesn't happen - centres TimHayes and Thomas Hortop combined brilliantly all afternoon.

We must not allow this performance to be a flash in the pan.The Beacon 1st XV had threatened throughout the season toplay with such conviction without quite achieving it. There arestill plenty of challenges ahead and the boys must make thisperformance the standard and aim for even more. Well doneto all who played. – Mike Williams

Sports NEWS

Rugby : U8A v Moulsford | Match won 50-35An away trip to Moulsford often reminds me of Frodo's trip to Mordor. It's quite a long way, the weather seems to bealways grey and windy, and a mighty challenge awaits... fortunately there are no Orcs or Dragons.

And so it proved as a sprightly Moulsford team took an early lead. Nevertheless, the U8A's have now played togetherso often and so well, that they just take this in their stride. The lads were excellent as they came back into the gamewith customary aplomb. Xandy Davis got the Beacon ball rolling and he was soon joined as a try scorer by JackTempleton. Max Thomas and Henry Stubbs also crossed in the first half and at the interval there was very little in it.

The Beacon took control in the second half. Tommy Threlfall was a constant thorn in the opposition's side and heunselfishly set up some tries for others. Sam Royce and Freddie Insch were a real handful and it all led to a 50 points to35 victory. Despite conceding 7 tries I actually thought the boys defended well. Davis and Thomas both finished withhatricks, and Stubbs finished with a brace. Well done lads! – Mike Williams

Rugby : Xander tops the league!Well done to Xander (right), Year 5, who had the opportunity lastweekend to play rugby at the Olympic Stadium! His rugby league teamplayed in a curtain raiser ahead of game two in the Rugby League testseries between England and New Zealand.

Swimming : Davenies v The Beacon The Beacon competed in their second gala of the year last week atDavenies. It was always going to be a tough competition, as Davenies havea strong squad, and with our Year 8 boys in Remembrance rehearsals, that left our accomplished Year 7s to swimagainst Davenies’ older boys. We had a couple of very last minute substitutions, so thank you to Jensen Perry, Year 7,and James Stewart, Year 5, who jumped on the minibus just before it rolled out of the gates! The boys swam hard andthe crowd were shrieking, as many races came down to a photo finish! There were improvements in our starts andrelay handovers, which was key in the final Squadron races, Year 7 winning theirs and showing us how it's done. Astrong performance from The Beacon and well done, in particular, to Matthew Jones (Year 5), Cyrus Hassan (Year 6)and Jack Clarke (Year 7), who really impressed. In the end, we were out swum, but this friendly gala was useful time inthe water for our boys and a fun evening. – Allie Foden-Ellis

Tennis : Aegon National Tennis ChampionshipsFantastic performances from The Beacon tennis team resulted in the them securing a place in the last 16 of thisnational competition where over 500 schools participated. Good luck to the boys for next Tuesday when the next stageof the competition takes place at the Gosling Tennis Centre, Welwyn Garden City. Over the past 6 months the teamhas comprised:- Nicholas Blagg, Thomas Creighton, Angus Creighton, Ben Smith, Ferdi Maintzer, Oscar Marshall andJack Shawyer. A great achievement all round. – Steve Winter

More action from Willsfield…

Sports NEWS


Also in the NEWS

Longhouses

Year 5 have been looking at Native Americans this term and over half term Mrs Guisesuggested some of them might like to make a longhouse. Several of the boys producedsome wonderful examples using a range of materials (including wattle and daub) andembellishing their houses with totem poles, human figures and teepees.

A longhouse was a long narrow house built by the Native American Indians of theNortheast woodlands. Usually one family would live inside one of these longhousesand share the jobs. The frames of the longhouses were covered with bark and therewere two doors for the building, one at each end. Light came in from the smokeholes in the roof and from the fires – Alberto Harbottle

Year 6 Maths Challenge

Last Friday, The Beacon hosted eight other schools for our annual Year 6 Maths Challenge. The competition had fourrounds involving shape work, mental arithmetic and word and logic problems. As usual, the room buzzed withcleverness and enthusiasm; great fun was had by all.

Well done to St Mary's C ofE, Amersham, who enjoyedtheir first win for a few yearsand to our boys, whose twoteams came second and third.The boys in our teams wereMatthew Beattie, HarryLudlam, Sean Okuyama-Smith, Raphael Weatherall,Nathan Sweeney, Jacob Gardner, Mark Krutikov-Korsmik and Tom Hyde.

A big thank you to all who helped to make the event a successful afternoon and to Mr Phelps for coming to spectateand present the prizes. – Jackie Gibson, Head of Maths

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Diwali

Year 5 boys, Shaan Grewal, Khyal Amin and Khush Solanki presented a Diwalitalk with Mrs Mehta to Reception boys on Thursday. They showed the boyspictures, Divas, Rangoli patterns and traditional foods to explain the storybehind Diwali, the Festival of Light.

An Evening of Comedy and Magic

Tickets are still available for “An evening of stand up, stories and banter from the award winningcomedian Andy Kind and the amazing illusionist Steve Price, a gold member of the magic circle”

The event will take place in The Spinney Theatre on Saturday 5 December 2015, 7.30-10.30pm.Tickets cost £7.50 and can be booked via the following link:www.participant.co.uk/beaconschool/event_St_Leonards_comedy

All profits from the event will be split between TourAid and St Leonards Global Mission.



Also in the NEWS

Year 7 Volcano models

As part of our half term holiday homework, Miss Barkhamset us the challenge of making our own miniaturevolcanos. We constructed them using differenttypes of materials such as salt dough, chickenwire and plaster of Paris. We had to use ourknowledge of volcanoes to create the slopes and lavaflow. A few of us also made films of our volcanoesexploding, some even with ash clouds! This was anenjoyable project that gave us a challenge over half termand helped us visualise a volcano in greater depth. – Max Wilson 7B

Oscar leads the way!

Well done to Oscar M (left), Year 6, who recently represented the3rd Marlow Bridge Cub group at the ‘Bucks Big O’ orienteeringevent, an annual county championship held in Wendover Woodswith teams attending from all over Buckinghamshire. In Oscar's agecategory there were over 50 teams in the competition and Oscar ledhis team to overall victory in a fantastic time of 32 mins - the finalteam to finish came in over 2 hours later.

Magic the Gathering

Last Saturday a Beacon Team(all from Class 4P) consisting ofMax Monahan, Luke Wilsonand Edward Overy won theTop Primary School prize at aninter school Magic theGathering competition held inAmersham. Here they arehappily receiving their prize.

Y6 Cook Quesadillas

Year 6 enjoyed making quesadillasthis week!


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DATE TIME EVENT

Wednesday 18 November Year 3 Trip to Pitt Rivers Museum

3.30pm Pre-Prep Tea and Music

Saturday 21 November 11.00am Beacon Parents’ Society Christmas Fair

Important DATES for your diary

Beacon Life…

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