NewsBeacon
The regular newsletter of The New Beacon
Issue No. 98 - Friday, 18th March 2016
The Year 6 Play 2016
As part of their study
of rainforest tribes,
the Year 4 boys
participated in a joke
telling competition.
This was in honour of
the Mbuti tribe, which
resolves
conflicts
through
laughter. Laugher is the Best Medicine!
The worthy winners
were Conor (4RC), Ben (4RT) and JC (4CS). Their jokes
tackled such topics as Noah’s Ark, teachers and learning
English!
CS
On Thursday, 11th
February we were
very fortunate to
have Fireman Dan
visit the Pre-Prep
and Junior School
and give talks about
Fire Safety. He
spoke about the
dangers of touching
matches and lighters, the importance of checking your smoke
detectors regularly, what to do if your clothes catch fire
(STOP, DROP & ROLL) and with Years 3 and 4 he also
spoke about the importance of making a fire escape plan with
your family - so you may well have some homework to do
over the holidays!
Double Success for Maths Teams
Fireman Dan
Year 4 outing to Penshurst Place
On 15th March we set off on
our eagerly awaited outing
to Penshurst Place. When
we arrived, we stepped back
in time to 1588, just
before the Spanish Armada
attempted
to
attack
England. We encountered a
barber surgeon, a cook, a
seamstress, an army officer, a bellman and finally Her
Majesty, Queen Elizabeth I. As you listened to their life
stories you really felt as if you were in Tudor England. The
job I was most intrigued by was the bellman because he was
in charge of spreading the news of gruesome executions.
The bellman asked Daniel to go
into the stocks and he
dramatically dropped the wooden
bar over his legs, preventing him
from escaping! We all enjoyed
our trip and learned lots of
interesting facts about the
Tudors. My top fact of the day
was that they didn’t drink water
and children our age drank beer!
Frederick Smith, 4CS
New Beacon swept the board
at the Yardley Court Maths
Race this week. The U10 team
were under pressure as we
were the holders of the trophy,
but the team of Harry, Frank,
James and George confidently
held onto the trophy.
Competing against many other
schools we took an early lead,
but had to pass one difficult
question allowing others to
catch up; fortunately, no other
school got it correct taking us
into a tie-break against Hilden
Grange. In an exciting finale,
several wrong answers went
back and forth to the judges,
but we eventually came up
with the correct solution first
and returned the trophy to The
New Beacon.
Not wanting to be outdone, the
U11 team (last year’s U10
winners) Ray, Max, Thomas
and Ivan cruised to victory.
For the first few questions we
were neck and neck with
Marlborough House, but
pulled away after 10 minutes
and completed all 20 questions
within the allotted time,
stopping the competition early
as we couldn’t be beaten with
100% correct answers!
Two trophies were brought
back to school, and the
pressure is now on to try and
retain them next year. Well
done to all the boys, their
maths teachers and our lucky
mascot Mr Presnell!
JYB
CONGRATULATIONS TO WINNERS
OF HISTORY QUIZ
English Civil War of the 17th Century
Freddy Deans - 4RT, Sebastian Deans - 5D
& Max Mussavian - 6C
Answers:
1. Roundheads and Cavaliers
2. Prince Rupert of the Rhine
3. Battle of Edgehill
4. Battle of Naseby
5. New Model Army
6. Old Ironsides
7. Westminster Hall
8. A bullet proof hat as he feared he might be assassinated.
9. Tuesday 30th January 1649
10. St George’s Chapel, Windsor
New Beacon U11 Swimmers
become Kent Champions
On Saturday 12th March the U11
swimming team (Leo, Caiden, Alex
& James) competed in the Kent
Primary Schools’ U11 relay
competition at Medway Park,
Gillingham.
The racing was very close, with The
New Beacon boys taking part in both
the freestyle and medley relay. In the
freestyle relay, Leo, Caiden, Alex &
James produced an outstanding swim
earning first place. Shortly after their
winning freestyle race the boys swam
their respective best strokes in the
medley relay earning 5th place.
The U11 team have now qualified for
the south-east regional finals which
will be taking place at the Spectrum
Centre in Guildford on Saturday 23
April.
Many congratulations to the boys for
some outstanding swims!
MB
Boys’ outside Red & Orange Ball Tennis Competition
On Saturday 5th March Sevenoaks
school
School hosted a ‘Red’ and
‘Orange’ ball competition for local
successes
schools.
Charles and Edward, in
Year 5, were runners up
in a hockey final
tournament for Kent.
They will now be eligible
to play in the Regionals!
Toby in 6B, receiving
his
Bronze
Medal
at a Gymnastics warm
up competition for
Regionals.
The last day of term
saw the Middle and
Senior School boys
wearing
something
green to help raise
money for cancer research as Mrs Bridges is hoping to
complete a 100km walking challenge around the Isle of
Wight over two days.
A big thank you to all the boys who wore some stunning
outfits and brought money in.
Time for a Thunk!
In the ‘Red Ball’ competition the
New Beacon put forward three
pairs as follows : 1. Edward and Jonny
2. Tommaso and Matthew
3. Barny and Max
There were lots of competitors,
many matches and some great
games to enjoy. Our top two
teams (see above) won through to
create an all New Beacon final with Tommaso and Matthew
winning the final with some wonderful tennis. Barny and Max
played well and although they did not win through to the higher
placings had great fun.
In the ‘Orange Ball’ competition The New Beacon team were
well served by two pairs as follows:
1. William and Charlie
2. Timothy and George
Once again the boys played some
lovely tennis with William and
George getting medals for coming
in third place. Great fun was had
by all.
My thanks to all the parents who
were so supportive during the
competition - In particular I would
like to thank Mrs Ivey and Mrs
Brown who were so helpful
throughout the whole process.
CH
Dates to Remember
April
Thur 14 Boys return
Fri 15
Senior School Chapel Service
Wed 20
Y1 trip to Coolings Nurseries (pm)
Thur 21
Explorers Club
1.20pm
Fri 22
Senior School Chapel Service
5.00pm
Mr Tony Williams, Holy Cross, Bearsted
The regular New Beacon Philosopher’s Challenge:
If we are all unique,
then aren't we
all the same?
If you have a response you’d like
to share, do jot it down and post it
in the box by the Philosophers’
Board outside Room 24 or e-mail
Mrs Armstrong or Mr Swann.
Winning thunks will be
published and rewarded!
AA & TS
5.00pm
Rev. Stephen Padfield, Chaplain, King’s Rochester
Company Cross-Country
Pre-Prep and Junior School World Book Day 2016
Monday to Thursday:
boys read or recite a poem to
their class teachers
Monday:
Long John Silver looks for Mr
Crosby, who has got hold of his
Treasure Island map
Tuesday:
Alan Bennett tells how Piglet
mistook Pooh for a Heffalump
at the bottom of the Pit
Wednesday:
Mrs Alteirac reads how three
Railway children stop a steam
train accident near Halstead
by waving petticoats
Thursday:
World Book Day: the boys
become Playing Cards, then
have jam tarts at tea parties in
Wonderland visited by Alice
and the Mad Hatter
Friday:
a winner from each class reads his
poem aloud in front of Mr Piercy,
Mrs Arney, Mrs Tsang, two other
Judges and all the boys
New Beacon Pre-Prep and Junior School’s Science Week
Our Science Week was full of excitement with the theme of ‘Flight.’ Boys were spoken to by an airline pilot, as well as
having a visit from Eagle Heights. The boys also did their own activities in their classrooms with either a focus of
“manmade” flight or “natural” flight. By the end of the week, Pre-Prep and Junior School boys reached the idea that
humans had used the design of birds to make planes and that forces were needed
to make anything fly. Seeing the joy on many faces from the birds of prey, as
well as their individual class activity was splendid! Well done and thank you to
all involved.
A visit from a real eagle
Kite Testing
Parachute
Making
A talk from
a visiting pilot
Aeroplane Making
Years 1-3 Britishness Easter Display Declamations
During recent ICT lessons, boys in Years 1
– 3 have created pictures and information
posters for a small display at our local
Sevenoaks Library. This year the theme was
‘Britishness,’ with a particular emphasis on
the food and iconic landmarks of Britain.
The boys had great fun deciding which
landmark to feature and what were the best
parts of an English breakfast!
Year 1 and Year 2 boys used a variety of
tools in a paint program for their pictures
and Year 3 used their word processing skills
to create their information posters.
As part of our links with the community
and to support our local library, this work
is now on display in Sevenoaks library. If
you are in Sevenoaks over the Easter break,
please feel free to pop into the library.
Year 3 Rugby Festival
The boys had their first taste
of New Beacon competitive
rugby in an internal festival.
They played in country
named groups with many
tries being scored.
Much fun was had by all
especially the match tea!
One of the final acts for
Middle and Senior
School boys at the
end of the Spring
Term
is
the
Declamations competition. Earlier
in the term, all boys will have learnt
a poem of their choosing and
performed in an English class. One
boy per class is then selected for the
main competition.
As always, the range is diverse and
Mrs Alteirac had the unenviable
task of choosing between some fine
performances of poetry from
Shakespeare to Sassoon; Spike
Milligan to Benjamin Zephaniah.
The winners were Robbie Ayers
(Middle School) who performed
‘Fir’s Secret Agent’ (Tony
Langham) with action and energy
and James Craggs (Senior School),
who recited ‘Timothy Winters’
(Charles Causley) with power and
pathos.
Two weeks previously, the same
competition ran in the Pre-Prep and
Junior School with confident
performances. The winners were
Oliver Green (Pre-Prep) and Henry
Cox (Junior School).
MP
Eco Day
Ecoday started with the now traditional woodland ramble and despite the (very) early start attracted some 20 plus walkers
and a wide array of dogs. The bluebells were not quite in bloom, but there were plenty of other plant life and bryophytes
to keep us interested on the 1 mile circular walk of Britain’s Wood.
The Pre-Prep and Junior School donned green clothing to raise money for the CRRU and eco-warriors patrolled the corridors
and made sure everyone was adhering to the 2pm-3pm switch-off hour. There was also pond dipping/microscope drop in
in which Year 5 to 8 boys were able to view their ‘catches’ under x400 magnification.
IP
Wildlife Photography Competition
As always the highlight of the day was the Wildlife Photography Competition, now in its 5th year. The standard of
entries this year was extremely high and with the theme ‘Kent Colours’ the range of subjects was very impressive. From
sunrises to deer, daffodils to bugs and feasting wasps to pheasants, it was an extremely difficult competition to judge. In
the end the winners were:
Overall Winner
Mrs Jackson
Senior School
Marcus Brown (7A)
Junior School
Lawrence Lingard (3RR)
Judges’ Prize
Adam Roblett (8A1)
Middle School
Cosmo Everitt (5A)
Pre-Prep
Aiden O’Halloran (2EW)
Judges’ Prize
Ethan McKay (1JF)
Judges’ Prize
James Dimond (1JF)
City of London Freemen’s
School Under 11 7s
By dint of playing some good Sevens, albeit with
one or two defensive lapses, we topped the group
after wins over Trinity School (20-10), St Mary’s
Reigate (30-0), Cumnor House (25-0) and
Donhead (15-10); schools with a great rugby
tradition. On to the semi-final against Milbourne
Lodge, which was less challenging than we had
feared as we ran out 20-10 winners.
Unfortunately, our flyer strained a quad at this
stage and was unable to play any more. Sadly
our bubble of fortune burst in the final as we
encountered a large and rugby mature Cranmore
VII. We did little with scant possession and
found it difficult to defend against a side playing
quality Sevens. Nevertheless, it had been a grand
day out with some really tasty moments in attack
and defence, which were evincing of a team on
the up.
PB
Golden try semi-final heartbreak for Colts A at National Finals
Expecting tough opposition after the qualifying day and shorn of our talismanic
speedster, we really did not know how the day would pan out. As it turned out,
excitements abounded in an extremely closely contested group with wins over St
John’s Northwood (20-10) and Dulwich Prep, London (10-5) and draws against
St Columba’s (10-5) and St Faith’s (10-10). Arthur R proved elusive with the ball
in hand (six tries scored) and Seif I was like a terrier in defence. Another nail-biting
encounter was had at the quarter-final stage against Akeley Wood (10-5) until
Robin D’s delightful footwork opened up their defence to secure a late winner.
And so into unchartered territory to play Hazelwood in the semi. Most of the boys
knew each other through club football and rugby and the presence of their
over-sized muscle man was well-discussed. Markers were appointed and tackles
were made left right and centre. With the score at 5-5 as normal time ran out, we
were set for golden try time. The boys dug deeper than they had ever had to before
and defended against wave after wave of big boy inspired assaults. Sadly, the line
was eventually broken and our brave run came to an end. I could not have been
prouder of The New Beacon boys’ efforts; some of their play was sublime and the
tackle count immense.
PB
THE NEW BEACON HISTORY QUIZ
This quiz is primarily intended for boys in Years 5–8, but younger children are welcome to join in if they would like to. If
parents would like to help that is fine, but please try to point your children in the direction of the answers rather than just
doing it for them!
Each edition of the NewsBeacon will contain 10 questions, sometimes on a particular theme and sometimes on a variety of
different topics. Completed answer sheets (see next page) should be placed in the box provided in the School Office. Don’t
forget to write your name on the sheet together with your class. There will be a prize for the first three correct entries pulled
out of the box.
The following questions have been taken from Paper 1 of this
year’s Townsend Warner Competition.
1
What was stormed in Paris on 14th July 1789?
2
Which king met Francis I of France at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520?
3
What major event in London in 1851 showcased the British Empire?
4
Who allegedly (supposedly) said, ‘Veni, vidi, vici’?
5
Who became the first man to walk on the moon in 1969?
6
Who led a revolt against the Romans in AD 60-61?
7
In which country did the Battle of Mogadishu take place in 1993?
8
Who was the UK’s first prime minister, holding office from 1721 – 1742?
9
Who wrote the Canterbury Tales (14th century)?
10 Who painted Girl with a Pearl Earring (1665)?
HISTORY QUIZ ANSWER SHEET
If you run out of space, please use an additional sheet.
Completed answer sheets should be placed in the box provided
in the School Office by 15th April 2016
Don’t forget to write your name on the sheet together with your class.
There will be a prize for the first three correct entries pulled out of the box.
Name:......................................................
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Form: ............