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Friends of Beaudesert
FRIENDS OF BEAUDESERT
Looking back at last year’s magazine, I can see that in mid-2020 we were hopeful that activities might soon return to normal. But as we are all very much aware that didn’t happen, and even though the School was able to continue to offer a large part of the curriculum, including sports, the opportunities for parents to be involved on school premises was severely curtailed.
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For an organisation such as the Friends, which in terms of events really exists to bring Beaudesert families together, that was extremely challenging. Embryonic plans for quiz nights, wine tastings and reeling had to be put on ice. We also had to bite the bullet and cancel the Fireworks night which is always the highlight of the Friends calendar. And even organising a socially distanced Santa Fun Run was not really practical given the constantly shifting public health advice.
On the other hand, the representational role of the Friends assumed far greater importance. Through our network of class representatives and the marvels of Zoom, with which we had all become so familiar, we were able to hold meetings with the Headmaster and other key staff, to raise with them the many questions that parents had regarding timetabling, sport and other queries, and to help in disseminating the answers among the community. We now have a strong team of Reps spread across the year groups and are learning together how we can support both the School and families. As ever, we are very open to suggestions as to what more we could do, or do better. Please do identify your Year Group Reps – they will likely be running a WhatsApp or other group that you will be encouraged to join.
As we look ahead, plans are well advanced for the 2021 Fireworks which we hope will be a success, and serve as a spectacularly visible sign that the School and the Friends are back to “normality”, whatever that means in a Beaudesert context.
