This week and last, whole Year Assemblies have been led by our Principal Miss Hughes-Williams taking up the theme of school values and what they mean during a process of transition…
At this time of year, a lot of young people are on the threshold of transition, preparing for the next step: from Year 6 to 7, 7 to 8, from key stage 3 to 4 and from GCSE to choices about A Levels, college or apprenticeships.
“It’s time now to start to look forward to the next stage in your learning and your choices will help design your future. The theme of my assembly today is to choose success,” said Ms Hughes-Williams. “You are on the threshold of change, moving towards a different level; the next level. Each day is completely new and you always have the ability to move forward the Principal went on to say.
Ms Hughes-Williams said that at Heart of England we aim to educate in a particular culture and this culture is encapsulated in our Core Values. She went on to outline and explore the values and how useful they are for navigating from one day to the next.
Starting with Courage Ms Hughes-Williams said that: “each new day is filled with opportunities for courage, to choose the right thing, even when no one is looking.” Related to Courage is Honesty, admitting to what you do with no excuses. There may be reasons but not excuses because this allows ownership and truth.
The third Core Value she spoke about is Determination: that is, the capacity to focus on what you are doing. “Tell yourself, ‘you can’ rather than ‘you can’t’. Stick at what is difficult and don’t fear mistakes, learn from them Ms Hughes-Williams said.
Our final two Core Values are Humour and Kindness. Laughing with and not at others is the mark of a considerate community. “Seek to help others not to harm them,” said Ms Hughes-Williams when talking about Kindness. “This is key to our culture at Heart of England and will, like all our school values help all of us navigate our way through all the transitions we go through in life.”
Another theme touched on was that our Core Values go hand in hand with CALM; our four classroom essentials policy for being ready to learn with the ‘M’ standing for ‘Make the right choice.’
The assembly finished with the Principal saying: “I am incredibly proud of you. Keep aiming high and be those wonderful role models for those who come after you and look up to you.”