Year 11 Leavers Hoodies
On Thursday 13th June 2019 Josh Summerside from CER visited The Beacon Centre to drop off the hoodies for our year 11 students.
CER have kindly sponsored the hoodies which have ‘The Beacon Centre’ logo on the front and ‘Leavers 19’ on the back.
Wednesday 12th June 2019
Today’s outdoor learning activity took our secondary students to Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens.
Students were able to learn about Sunderland’s fascinating history all in one place; with a collection dating back to 1846 as well as seeing the most famous object of all, ‘Wallace the Lion’. There was also hundreds of other amazing objects like the first Nissan car to roll off the production line at their Sunderland factory in 1986. Galleries cover the shipbuilding, glass and pottery making industries the Anglo-Saxon period and many other aspects of the city’s past.
Students then visited the Winter Gardens, a 21st Century addition to the museum with tropical fish and over 2,000 plants which thrive in the glass rotunda. The students loved looking at the tropical fish and walking round the treetop walkway.
We were meant to have a picnic in Mowbray Park, unfortunately it was raining heavily so we decided to have it in our school vehicle. Mrs Graham took requests for wraps followed by pancakes with cream and fruit. It was all very tasty and something different.
Tuesday 11th June 2019
Secondary students continued their outdoor activities this week. Today students have visited Herrington Park.
The activity continued with the theme of outdoor learning to provide opportunities for students to engage in fantastic teamwork with one another and has assisted in developing positive relationships between staff and students.
When we arrived at Herrington Park the weather was not in our favour, it was cold, windy and then it started to rain. We set up the tent on the field but the students were not happy and were too cold. The students took Mrs Warren to investigate in the forrest to see if they could find a more suitable area to set up the tent. The students found an area and agreed they would all help to move the tent and the other equipment into the forest. Staff and students worked together as a team and were much happier with the new location as it was warmer and more sheltered.
Mrs Graham then started the BBQ which Mason enjoyed assisting with.
The students then enjoyed feeding the birds in the park …. there was a lot of them!
The final activity of the day involved the students painting the scenery they could see in the forest.
Staff and students had a fantastic day!
Friday 7th June 2019
For the GOLD award, our secondary students took a trip to Whitley Bay.
The students who earned the most points to go on this trip were:
Molly F, Bethany, Mason, Joe and Ben.
Well done to all of you!
The students had fun participating in a scavenger hunt followed by lunch at the Fish and Chip shop.
All of the staff and students had a fantastic day!
The man serving the food along with a female customer commented on the good behaviour and good manners of the students!
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.”
Thursday 6th June 2019
As part of an enterprise project, students at The Beacon Centre were given the opportunity to sell items at a stall in South Shields Market. This was supported very well by other schools.
In preparation for this, students worked very hard in school to make some fantastic sellable items.
Our secondary students used their photography skills to take photos, which they then printed, mounted and put into frames. They collected rocks from local beaches and then painted them with a variety of designs to be used as paper weights. Colourful pictures and word-art were also painted.
In addition to making all of the items, the students wrapped them up in cellophane, produced posters, made price labels and presented everything on the stall.
Mrs Fearon and Mrs Rushworth took a group of our primary students to sell peppermint creams which they wrapped up nicely to sell. Initially the students were a little subdued in their sales pitch. However, when they were given ideas and their confidence had grown they were in full swing and there was no stopping them. There was one mint cream left and one student insisted he wanted full price for this. He was adamant he was going to get his 50p, however, a senior citizen came along and he agreed to sell her it to her for 20p.
The students had a really productive day socially and financially. The market stall was a huge success selling all of the items that were made.
Well done to all of the staff and students who worked very hard to make this event possible.
We would also like to say a big thank you to Flowers of Enchantment in Boldon Lane for their generous donation of cellophane.
Introduction to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) including Resilience
Thursday 20th June 2019 at The Beacon Centre
To book a place on this event please visit: https://bit.ly/2W0rVAL
To book a place on this event please visit: https://bit.ly/2W0rVAL
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
Co-operative Council of the Year – Vote for South Tyneside Council
It takes 30 seconds to vote, simply press on the link! – https://www.uk.coop/VoteNow
All votes will increase the chances of South Tyneside winning, which would enable them to be in a stronger position to access future external funding to help fund more and better activities for children and young people.
OFSTED will be visiting the Beacon Centre on Wednesday 8th May and Thursday 9th May 2019. Click here to see the letter giving further details.
Your views about the school are important to us
If you are a registered parent or carer of a pupil at the school (including pupils on sick leave or who are temporarily excluded), you can tell us your views about the school by completing Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, at: www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk.
Parent View asks for your opinion on 12 aspects of your child’s school, including the progress made by your child, the quality of teaching, how the school deals with bullying and poor behaviour. It also provides a free-text box for you to make additional comments, if you wish. The inspectors will use the online survey responses when inspecting your child’s school. Written comments can also be sent to the school in a sealed envelope, marked confidential and addressed to the inspection team.
To register your views, you will need to provide your email address, which will be held securely. It will not be used for any purpose other than providing access to the online survey. Neither schools nor Ofsted will have access to any email addresses.
Please complete the online survey by 11am on 08 May 2019 as this will give the inspection team more time to consider your views. However, we will consider all online responses that are completed during the inspection, although the free-text box facility will not be available after noon on 09 May 2019.
