Becket Keys Church of England School 3rd November 2017 A BLESSI The newslet ter OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE JUSTIN WELBY BUILDING IN THIS ISSUE occupy this new building will be Mr Scott-Evans writes… preparing to enter a difficult and “By wisdom a house is built, and complex world that is full of challenges. That can be both through understanding it is established.” daunting and exciting. Do your best to prepare yourselves fully in Proverbs 24 v 3 Opening of Justin Welby Building your time here as you will need all Lovely celebration with Bishop Stephen the resources you can muster. This week we officially opened the and many friends and guests. Never forget that education is hard Justin Welby Building. The Right Page 2 work but it can be fun. Enjoy your Reverend Stephen Cottrell Lord Year 11 Trip to Berlin sixth form years. You only have Bishop of Chelmsford came to lead them once in your life so make Fascinating and life-changing trip for the the service. Bishop Stephen prayed them good both for yourselves and Year 11 History students. for the school and our students and for others.” staff. He went to bless each and Page 3 -4 every classroom and spent time Terry came to visit our school last Christmas Card Competition talking with students and staff. year and was pleased to hear of our Details on how to enter, deadline for th further development. entries is Monday 6 November. Canon Paul Hamilton joined Bishop Stephen in the service and brought Page 6 A number of special guests joined with him some words from Terry us including Alex Burghart, MP for Operation Shoebox Waite CBE: Brentwood and Ongar, Cllr Will We will be supporting this worthy cause Russell, Mayor of Brentwood and again this year. Can we break the record “I am so sorry that other of boxes sent? Cllr Ray Gooding, Cabinet Member engagements prevent me from for Education. being with you today but I would Page 6 like to send you my very best Contd. on Page 2 Sports News wishes for the future. Sporting opportunities and upcoming Those young people who will fixtures. Page 7 9/9/2016 BECKET KEYS CHURCH OF ENGLAND SCHOOL 3RD NOV 2017 Volume VI – Issue VIII ……Contd from Page 1 construction expertise. The outcome is an incredible The Justin Welby Building is building for which we will named after the current remain truly grateful for many Archbishop of Canterbury and the years to come. chapel was named the Bishop John Wraw Chapel in the loving For further details of the memory of our good friend and service, please see attached school governor. Bishop John’s Order of Service. My final wife Gillian was at the service and thanks go to Mrs Sharp who unveiled a plaque in the chapel. helped us bring together the different elements of this There were readings and prayers service. Her eye for detail and led by students: Rejoice Lawal, symbolism was perfect for such Billy Brown, Bethany Hancox, an occasion. Lucy Gunn and Brady Doyle. Wonderful musical contributions Of course, the work is never from Archie Mowatt on Piano, complete. We now turn our The Becket Keys Stage Band, The attention to our beautiful new Becket Keys Gospel Choir and our playground and start to think Chamber Choir. It was a really about how we need to populate beautiful service. this new space with seating, shade, shelter and activities. I will Flower presentations were made be writing about this again soon! to Fran Stewart (RET) and Nina Chapman (Finance and Thanks for everyone’s support Operations Manager) for all their and prayers. work in supporting the new Mr Scott-Evans building including many many Head Teacher meetings to ensure the work was completed to the highest standard. A special presentation was also made to Richard Elms a member of RET's senior management team (and now the CEO of the Mellor Education Trust) who has been so fundamental to the school in securing additional funds for capital projects. Richard was given a glass plaque to record our thanks for his incredible work since the school’s very first inception stage. We also recorded our thanks to Many thanks to Mr Ian Davidson Logan Construction and Innes for the photographs. Associates for their design and ©www.iandavidsonphotography.com Page 2 of 8 BECKET KEYS CHURCH OF ENGLAND SCHOOL 3RD NOV 2017 Volume VI – Issue VIII Year 11 – Trip to Berlin eagerly headed off to the and execution trench, and Underground station (U-Bahn) for learned about Germany’s harsh a short ride to the Alexanderplatz treatment of “undesirables” shopping mall for some much during the rule of the Third Reich. needed nourishment - aka McDonalds for the students and Later in the day, we visited the Currywurst for the staff. magnificent Olympiastadion, the current home of Hertha Berlin Bellies now full, our trip began in football club. Students learned earnest with the Berlin Wall how when the Nazis came to Memorial, situated at the historic power in Germany (1933), they site on Bernauer Strasse. The decided to use the Olympic memorial contains the last piece Games in 1936 for propaganda of the Berlin Wall and is thus able purposes emphasising the might On a dark and chilly late October to convey an impression of how of the Third Reich. Staff and morning at 3.30am (!) Mr the border fortifications students alike were in awe at the Goldstein, Miss Sandiford, Mr developed until the end of the sheer size and history of the Thorpe and I were joined by thirty 1980s. After a number of stadium as we shown where black nine excited Year 11 history individual and group athlete Jesse Owens won his 4 students to set off for what would photographs, Paula took us for a Gold medals negating Hitler’s prove to be an unforgettable trip walking tour on route back to the Aryan ideologies. to Berlin and Krakow. As hotel for dinner. Some of the someone who has visited Berlin city’s most famous landmarks on many occasions, I was eager to including the stunning Reichstag get back to the city that building and arguably Germany’s comprises so much of their GCSE most famous monument, the module and this trip certainly did Brandenburg Gate, were seen not disappoint! from close proximity as we learned about their history in the context of Hitler’s rise to power. Day two began with a short coach ride to the visit the sombre Sachsenhausen concentration camp at Oranienburg. On returning to the city centre in Sachsenhausen was a training the afternoon, students were centre for the feared SS and was given some time to eat and shop intended to set a standard for at the very glamorous Potsdamer After a delayed flight due to fog other concentration camps, both Platz mall before another walking in Berlin, we arrived at the in its design and the treatment of tour of the city taking in the Meininger hotel at midday where prisoners. Students explored the iconic Jewish memorial, Hitler’s we were met by Paula, our guide various locations inside the camp, Bunker and the Topography of for both Berlin and Krakow. We like the command headquarters Terror museum to learn about Page 3 of 8 BECKET KEYS CHURCH OF ENGLAND SCHOOL 3RD NOV 2017 Volume VI – Issue VIII how the Third Reich’s effective through the iconic main gate to use of the Gestapo and the SS. the Auschwitz concentration camp and read the mocking sign Day three and students were up “Arbeit Macht Frei” (“Work will and out early for a nine hour make you free”) you get a real journey to Krakow. Upon arrival sense of the horror that over a and after discarding their million people experienced. It was luggage, students were taken to upsetting to see the mass of hair, the main square to soak up the shoes and other personal items atmosphere and view some of the but perhaps the most stunning architecture. Testament traumatising moment was when to this is the fact that during the we were taken into the only Second World War, the Nazis remaining gas chamber. The decided they rather liked Krakow, chamber is cramped, industrial, so made it their home in a the walls dark and ceiling low and country whose population they on the walls deep scratches show wished to exterminate. While the where people tried desperately to rest of Poland was bombed, the escape. More horror awaited in old city was preserved. the next room - waist-high, open-mouthed ovens for burning the dead. Less than 10% of the 1.1 million who entered the camp walked out alive! The last full day was spent visiting the Jewish district of Krakow. Students were given the opportunity to listen to an Auschwitz survivor whose deeply moving, personal story of the horrors she experienced was truly unbelievable. After a group After 5 eventful days the journey The fourth day was for many the photograph with our speaker we back to England was a welcome most memorable experience of were off again for a walking tour relief. We took back some the trip. One of the main reasons I of the wartime ghetto of incredible memories that will live decided to organise this trip was Podgorze and Oskar Schindler’s with us forever and I and the rest to visit Auschwitz. While I knew it Factory, then back to the main of the staff agreed what a would be difficult for some of the square via the University District, privilege it was to be associated students, it was important to visit Wawel Hill and Kazimierz (the with such sensitive and mature a place that had such a significant former Jewish quarter).