Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
As you know we have a One Drive account which you can use to share videos of your child and watch the videos made by staff. It is an open drive so you can watch all videos. Please take a few minutes to watch the videos below. I'm sure you'll be as impressed as I was!
Jessica-Y6:
Let her entertain you with her song accompanied by her own playing! It's fantastic!
Seth- Y4:
As well as the photographs on the VE day challenge slide show, Seth produced this amazing video which really showcases products from the time. It is extremely informative and could definitely be used as a teaching tool for others. This must have taken so long to set up and although I didn't include this in the VE day challenge results, Seth will receive a special prize for this entry as it is outstanding. Watch and see for yourself!
Rhys-Y5 and Sophie Y1:
Rhys and Sophie have been raising money and their efforts have been recognised on the NEWS! Hopefully you saw this live, but if not, click on the link below to see for yourself.
Following yesterday's announcement, please be aware that nothing has changed in school at this time. School remains closed except to the few already in attendance. The Prime Minister has mapped out possible dates for the return to school but please be aware that NO date has yet been confirmed- they have mentioned 1st June as the EARLIEST POSSIBLE date that MAY be the start for SOME pupils but STRESSED this is NOT DEFINITE.
I realise you will have lots of questions related to this in just the same way that we do but details are not yet available. Once we know the full details, we will share these with you. In the mean-time, we need to continue with the current arrangements of supporting you and your child at home.
We are starting this week with lots of amazing home learning again!
We love to see our pupils learning key life skills and Jessie has gone above and beyond. With the supervision of her adults, she has used tools to create a 5* bug hotel. Well done Jessie. We know who to call on should we need some DIY doing!
Samantha has made an awesome start on the Viking topic for her class. She has made a light up shield, viking long boats and researched about Gods and Goddesses. She is certainly going above and beyond.
Sarah has decorated a cuddly seal in support of the NHS.
Charleigh has been getting crafty this week and has made some excellent pencil toppers!
Well done to all of you for your amazing efforts. Keep up the hard work and keep sending us your photos!
We'd like to share some excellent home learning examples again with you this week.
Each week Tommy walks past his local cenotaph and when doing so, he has picked up litter and kept the area tidy. Well done Tommy excellent community spirit and looking after the environment.
Sarah and Lucy Lawton and Tiana from reception have both had a visit from a local Police officer this week. They took part in a window decorating competition and won. They all had their prizes hand delivered by an officer. Well done!
You know that we all love team work and remember cooperation is part of our Crusader Code. Noah and Grace have been supporting each other in their learning this week.
We also have a special mention for a staff member this week. Mrs Hyde has been creating rainbow keyrings. Seth is very pleased with his.
There was a local keyworker scarecrow competition in the village this week so Luzia and Jacob took part by creating a truck driver and a shop keeper. They look brilliant.
Harrison and Evie have been learning Maths, using an exciting game that they have made.
We love it when we see our children learning some key life skills. Below is a picture of Jessie learning to do the ironing. Well done Jessie, it's not easy and we always recommend this is completed under adult supervision.
Keep sending us your excellent home learning photos!
With VE day almost upon us (Friday 8th May) and lots of celebrations planned (all maintaining social distancing measures I truly hope) what better theme is there to use to set this week's challenge?
I have been impressed with the number of children taking part in these challenges but it would be amazing if we could make this number even bigger- it would be INCREDIBLE if everyone joined in this one so I've tried to make this was as open as possible so it appeals to every child and family.
Your challenge is to create something to celebrate/mark this occasion and send a photograph of you with whatever you have created or send a video if it is not something you can show in one photograph. It can be anything you want but here are some ideas to get you thinking:
Please send a photograph of your entry (with you in the photograph as always!) to headteacher@anthonybek.derbyshire.sch.uk. For entries that need to be sent by video, please upload the video to the headteacher video folder by following the link below. https://anthonybekderbyshire-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/anthonybek_anthonybek_derbyshire_sch_uk/EkReZb9HEONMn8d7crw9MDUBNUPLr1GWbMT881tbqYp2hg?e=oQGMCa
All entries need to be received by 12 noon on Monday 11th May. I may group the entries into different themes to make judging easier!
Good look everyone and enjoy this momentous occasion safely!
Wow! What a fabulous challenge this has been. The number of families taking part has been amazing and every single entry has been incredible. It has been an absolute pleasure seeing the children learning new skills, working together with siblings, looking proud of their achievements and even washing up!
Thank you so much to everyone who took part. You made the job of judging pretty impossible but I set it as a competition so results have been decided. Please remember though that you are all winners. You just need to look at what you've achieved to see that!
Due to the number of entries, I split the competition into half- KS2 and KS1/FS. See below for results.
The staff also took part in this competition. You may not realise it (i know i didn't) but the staff of Anthony Bek are not just talented educators- they are truly brilliant cooks/chefs too! Their competition was also incredibly hard to judge!
Please take time to go to the Children's tab- Mrs. Johnson's competition to see the full range of photographs from all the children and staff.
For those that took part, I hope you enjoyed your entries. They certainly looked delicious!
Well done to our WINNERS!!
KS2 Competition
1st place- Jessie and Samantha Y4 (Full lockdown rainbow menu!)
2nd place- William Y6 (Mickey Mouse cake)
3rd place- Sarah Y6 and Lucy Y4 (Selection of cheesecakes and scones)
KS1/FS Competition
1st place- Olivia D Y2 (Rainbow/ unicorn cake)
2nd place- Lavenia Y2 and Dhruv Y1 (Sweet coconut Idli and Mickey Mouse chocolate crispy cakes)
3rd place- Logan FS2 (Omelette)
We've received a few telephone calls recently with questions and concerns from parents so here's a few reminders and helpful tips.
Home learning
Teachers are now directing pupils to relevant tasks to be completed each day as well as giving ideas. Please ensure your child completes the directed tasks and send evidence to your child's teacher by whatever means they have asked. This is to ensure when pupils are back together at school, they have had similar experiences and staff can begin to build on these again. If you are having trouble accessing or completing any tasks set, please contact your child's teacher.
Social distancing
We all know how hard it is to not see friends and family in person and to stay at home but please ensure you continue to follow this guidance consistently. The number of deaths related to this illness is devastating so we all need to ensure we are doing our part to ensure the safety of all staff, pupils and the school community. This is particularly important to stress as we reach the bank holiday celebrations next week. I'm sure there will be street parties everywhere, but please ensure you stay on your own property and don't socialise within 2m of others during these celebrations. Children will find this particularly difficult if they are out on the street so please, please keep them safe and make sure they understand.
School website
Depending on what you are using to view our website, you will either see a coloured band across the middle of the page with different headings, (About us, Key information, News and Events etc) or you will see a red band at the top with Navigation written on it and the menu button- 3 horizontal lines- in the left hand corner. You will need to click on the menu to get access to the different tabs.
News and events tab- latest news
All the latest updates will be included here, including examples of pupils work that is sent to myself or the teacher that is different/special. Information about my competitions can also be found here, including winners
Parents tab- Helping your child at home. Here you will find a list of websites, links and ideas to help your child whilst learning at home. These will be generic. Your child's teacher will provide more specific guidance on what would be most helpful to your child.
Children's tab-Mrs Johnson's community competition. Find out what the next challenge is and look at the entries and results of all challenges
Children's tab- Class pages. Have a look what everyone is completing at home. Remember to send in your evidence to your class teacher by e-mail or if it is a larger file, uploading it to your child's folder using the following link.
OneDrive sharepoint. Your child's teacher will upload a video (at least weekly) in the relevant video file (same link as above). This is to help motivate your child as we know they all want to please their teachers. The files will be dated and you will receive a text message to let you know when a new one has been added.
They may also set activities and put larger resources that cannot be e-mailed in the home learning folder for your child's year group which can be accessed from the link below.
E-mail and text messages
Staff will continue to keep in touch via text and e-mail. Please ensure you respond so they know you are well.
You know where we are if we can be of any support,
Take care all,
Mrs Johnson
Thank you again to those who have sent in photographs or other evidence of the exciting activities you've been up to this week. Here's a selection for you to enjoy!
Jacob and Luzia have been very busy this week. They helped to make a safe space for their pets, made bird boxes for their family, had a BBQ, played tennis and created their own signs and t-shirts in support of our NHS.
Well done to Charleigh who has made pizzas, washed the pots (an excellent life skill) and working hard on her school work.
Lucy has created her own poem all by herself and has made an excellent job of it.
Someone has learnt a very special life skill this week. Francesca! She's learnt to use a sewing machine and has created herself a sack using an old dress. Very impressive!
Jessica G, you've made it to the website! She has created an exceptional video of her singing AND playing the ukulele. You can find this in the Head Teacher's video folder on our online platform. You have definitely put a smile on our faces Jess!
I set Jessie the challenge of using a well-known song but changing the lyrics to represent the current situation and to send me her performance of it. I've added the lyrics below but you'll have to go to our video site to listen to her song (it cannot be uploaded here sadly).
It is wonderful- listen carefully to the lyrics- very well written. I bet there are many of you that could do the same!
Aaron has been very busy-look at the concentration on his face as he cuts out the different elements for his plate faces!
Sarah and Lucy have shared a variety of activities- they can be seen enjoying life in the outdoors looking for signs of Spring, planning a great holiday for when we return to normal life and making very beautiful craft creations such as their wonderful window display (this display earned them a prize from the local police officer!).
Well done all
Keep sending us your work- we'll try to keep adding a variety so everyone gets a chance at being the star of the website!
We'll add more as they get sent in this week.
Video messages
We know how many pupils really enjoyed seeing the staff on the video message we did last week so we've decided that each week, the teachers will upload a short video message to introduce the work they have set, to comment on any work that they have received and to generally touch base with them. This won't be a song and dance (sorry!) but I still hope these personal video messages inspire your child to keep working at home- we all know how much they love to please their teachers.
All video messages can be accessed from the same link (as below).
Just make sure you go to the correct folder for your child's class to see yours. They should be clearly labelled/ dated so you don't get confused.
We have loved receiving your video messages this week so please feel free to continue to send any video messages in these folders. Just make sure you upload it to the relevant folder, depending on who the message is for.
Home schooling
As you know, the next review of the current lock down procedures is due on the 7th May. There is much speculation in the media about schools reopening and how this might happen but please try to ignore this. As soon as we know when schools can reopen and how we can ensure your child remains safe whilst in school, we will contact you to discuss arrangements. Until then, we need to keep going with the home schooling. I need to say thank you all again for the wonderful work you are doing at home.
You will find staff are now setting work for literacy and numeracy each day as well as another activity based around the topic. This is to ensure that when we all come back together, pupils have all had similar learning experiences so it is easier for teachers to move forwards. You will still, of course, have plenty of time to do the activities of your choice but we would really appreciate you trying to ensure that the tasks set by the teachers are completed by your child and ensuring you send the work to your child's teacher by whatever means they have asked. Please remember, if you have any questions or if your child is finding the work too challenging or too easy, you can contact the staff in your child's class- you should by now have all of the relevant e-mail addresses.
My next challenge
Hopefully, you can see I have been trying to set challenges which the whole family can get involved in and that require different skills. This week, I am setting the Anthony Bek Masterchef/Bakeoff competition! You have until Monday 4th May @ 12 noon to bake/cook your masterpiece. We need:
Mrs Smith is going to create an Anthony Bek lockdown menu book from all the entries!
You can make/bake anything you like- it just needs to LOOK impressive as we won't be able to taste it! Please send your photographs to headteacher@anthonybek.derbyshire.sch.uk. I am expecting staff to excel in this challenge too!
Take care and be safe,
Mrs Johnson and the staff of Anthony Bek
Results of Challenge 3- Video Message
This was definitely the hardest challenge so far to select winners and I've had to have lots of help deciding! I can honestly say every single one was a delight to watch. I have been laughing and crying and it has been wonderful to see families working together, lots of family members getting involved and some very creative ideas. Well done to everyone who has taken part.
If you haven't already watched the videos, please follow the link below and go to videos for the headteacher folder.
1st place- Year 1 collaboration
We know how hard it was to put our school video together with everyone each doing their bit at home so it was wonderful to see many of the Y1 class working together to achieve this. Great catching skills, unrelenting and lots of teamwork. Well done Y1 (and parents)!
2nd place- Jake J and Trinity P (couldn't separate them)
Both sang beautifully (as always) with very inspiring songs/ word choices in relation to the current situation. Very moving. Well done.
3rd place- Seth P (and family)
Not one, not two but 3 video messages to inspire and bring a smile to the faces of others. They definitely worked.
Thank you all for taking part.