Tuesday 4th June and Thursday 6th June 2019

Secondary students have been enjoying outdoor activities this week. Students have visited Blast Beach, Seaburn Beach and Penshaw Monument.

The activities have provided opportunities for students to engage in fantastic teamwork with one another and has assisted in developing positive relationships between staff and students.

While at Blast Beach in Seaham a lady who was walking her dog commented:

“What a fantastic way to spend the day.  I love walking my dog here. The BBQ is a good idea. I wish I had thought of that!  These kids are very well behaved.”

Wednesday 5th June 2019 – One Punch UK

Our secondary staff and students had a session with ‘One Punch UK’ to learn about how even one punch can destroy lives.

“We believe that if we start early in schools, educating children about the consequences of one punch, we will make a difference.” (https://www.onepunch.org.uk/about-us)

One Punch UK came into The Beacon Centre with the aim of raising  awareness of the devastation that ONE PUNCH can do and to educate our students about the risks and consequences of a split second decision to engage in violence. The speaker encouraged our students to make safe choices, to recognise the warning signs of and how to deal with a potentially violent situation.

All of the students engaged fully in the session and were very respectful to our visitors. 

Comments from students:

“Sad and it shows that you should not hurt people.” (Joe)

“Very depressing, but really interesting.” (Nathan)

“Sad and interesting.” (Cameron)

“It was sad. I enjoyed listening.” (Jay)

“It was so sad, she must have been so sad to tell her story again about her son.” (Molly R)

“It was sad.  I thought the woman was really brave to tell her story.” (Ben)

“It was really sad.” (Molly F)

Comments from staff:

“Very personal and heartbreaking.  The students all fully engaged and were very respectful to our visitors.” (Mrs Goodrich)

“I’ve been part of both sides; I’ve seen what the devastation it causes to families and also seen the perpetrators who have destroyed their own lives and are now in prison. It was a really interesting and heartbreaking presentation.” (Mr Henderson)

“Very emotional and brave of the speaker.  The students responded well.  Very poignant as the examples were very close to home for these young people.” (Mr Townend)

“I admire the woman for being able to pass on her personal, heartbreaking story. It was very emotional.  You could just see how much the awareness of her story hit home for the students. So brave! Amazing being able to turn her pain into purpose.” (Miss Glenn)

“Amazingly brave of the speaker to share such a tragic, heartbreaking story.  It really put into perspective that life is too short and we should cherish our loved ones every single day.” (Miss Hejazi)

For more information on ‘One Punch UK’, please visit their website:  https://www.onepunch.org.uk/about-us

On Wednesday 1st May 2019, our secondary students had the opportunity to meet with ‘Street Doctors’, which is an organisation which works with young people to highlight the dangers of knife crime.

Our students were asked if they had ever witnessed anyone being stabbed.  They were also asked if they knew what they should do to assist someone who had been stabbed.

The students were asked if they knew about different parts of the body, where they were located and what they thought would happen if someone was stabbed in these areas.

The students then took part in a practical activity using pints of black currant juice to represent pints of blood.  The students were told that there are 10 pints of blood in the human body and then they discussed how the body would respond as it lost each pint of blood.

Our students discussed what should be done if someone has been stabbed. This included the steps that could be followed, the best position a person can be placed in to avoid further blood loss and the importance of getting professional help as soon as possible.

Just two simple steps can save a life:
Dial 999 and ask for an ambulance – Apply pressure to the wound. 

Our students engaged fantastic in the session and provided their feedback.

The students involved will be getting certificates for their participation in the session.

“By highlighting the death and significant injury associated with violent crime, we help to discourage these young people from carrying weapons in the first place, as well as giving them the information they need to help them to dissuade their peers.”

For more information on Street Doctors please visit: https://streetdoctors.org/