In a final message of the year, our Principal Miss Hughes-Williams reflects on the journey and the changes we’ve all faced over the last year:
It is not easy to capture the levels of challenge and change that everyone in our communities have risen to this academic year. The competing pressures on families has been immense and all lives have been touched and in some cases irrevocably altered by the pandemic.
Thank you for all you have done to support our children through sustained periods of remote learning and for your flexibility and understanding of the depth of change that has occurred so swiftly in education and society with regard to the arrangements for examinations and assessments.
So here we are at the threshold of a summer break and thresholds are always a good place to pause. Our term has ended in a flurry of awards and recognition for our students who have been making consistently brilliant choices throughout the year; regardless of the individual challenges they have faced. From “Thinking Reading” graduation ceremonies to badges, letters of congratulation and ice cream vans on the field it is important to remember to reward and to celebrate; there should always be time for joy.
Sport, drama, music, art, design technology and so many other aspects of specialist subject life have all been hampered by the level of restrictions. The good news is it was wonderful to see our Duke of Edinburgh expeditions set off once again in late June and the overwhelming interest in re-starting the program in the autumn term.
I will close with a quotation from an individual who was no stranger to adversity:
“Your beliefs become your thoughts,
Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.”
Mahatma Gandhi
Our values as a school are clear and have remained constant in a world ever changing. What is equally important is that they are authentic and lived, they run through our culture and strengthen it daily. Thank you so much for your messages of thanks and appreciation that have been pouring in over the past few days. Your words mean so much. All that remains for me to say is a heartfelt thank you to staff, trustees, parents, carers, volunteers and students for your hard work, your courage, your determination, your honesty, your kindness and last but certainly not least your humour. Stay safe and look after yourselves and each other.
J Hughes-Williams