June 2016
Bro c kwo o d P ark Sc h o o l J u n e Newsletter
June is a singular and intense month at Brockwood Park. The mixture of school and leavers camp, summer concerts, the dinner dance, spring-cleaning, report-writing and preparations for the next academic year - without mentioning the final goodbyes for students whose term is coming to an end - is a lot to digest. In general, the end of the term is bustling with end of year activities yet at the same time it presents us with a heightened awareness - this could be the realisation that one is leaving Brockwood, which for some has been a home for the past four years; for others that they are ever closer to being that fourth year student themselves. We'd like to thank everyone for a wonderful year together and wish the best to all the leavers with their future endeavours, and a restful summer break for all. ______ Relationship requires a great deal of intelligence. It cannot be bought in a book or be taught. It is not the accumulated result of great experience. Knowledge is not intelligence. Intelligence can use knowledge. Knowledge can be clever, bright and utilitarian but that is not intelligence. Intelligence comes naturally and easily when the whole nature and structure of relationship is seen. That is why it is important to have leisure so that the man or the woman, the teacher or the student can quietly and seriously talk over their relationship in which their actual reactions, susceptibilities and barriers are seen, not imagined, not twisted to please each other or suppressed in order to placate the other. Surely this is the function of a school: to help the student to awaken his intelligence and to learn the great importance of right relationship.
J. Krishnamurti, The Whole Movement of Life is Learning, 1st October, 1978
Education Corner R e tu rn e rs M e e tin g s In the final weeks of term several meetings took place, reflecting on the year as a whole and looking ahead. The core of the discussions surrounded the question of how we would like to live together and what it means to do so. We looked at several aspects related to boarding life and the agreements we could settle on collectively. This opened up to a fuller understanding and clarity about each of our presences within the community, our actions and their impact, and how we respond or react to them.
J o u rn a lis m a t B ro c k w o o d Students who took the journalism class with writer and journalist Anjan Sundaran during the third term had the opportunity to publish their work in the latest issue of The Observer. Stories covered the immigration crisis in Europe, China's one-child policy, competition and habits - making this a predominantly student-published issue. If you haven't received The Observer already, you can find it online here.
T h e M irro r In M e Part of this year's curriculum changes lays emphasis on enabling students to pursue and develop individual projects - offering both the time and the space to do so. At the start of the year, third year student Meli planned to write and direct a short play surrounding the theme of beauty. By the second term she had a good idea of what the play looked like and developed specific characters from which the script was written, and then edited with the help of the four other students acting in the play. The play was performed in the West Wing Lobby with a carefully constructed one-bedroom set, complete with theatrical lighting and sound.
Sahiba, playing the part of ZoĂŤ, the inner child.
L a n d C o u rs e Following on from the success of last year's Land Course trip through France, a group of staff, students and mature students decided to run the course a second year, spending two weeks together in the Pyrenees at the beginning of July. The intention of the course is to meet and discover different farming
communities on the continent, learning from their expertise and giving a helping hand wherever there is need whether it be gathering and spreading hay in the fields, building the foundations to a vegetable garden or going on a walk through the Pyrenees with a botanist and experienced forest ranger. The Land Course is open to all those who have shown a keen interest in learning about ecology and farming throughout the year.
I n q u i ry T i m e June 4th: For the year's last Inquiry Time the subject of entitlement was broached. It was felt that a certain atmosphere was present during the end of the year which highlighted our selfish behaviours in our daily ongoings. Staff, mature students and students were asked to write on a piece of paper something that they felt they were entitled to. These were then randomly distributed and read out loud by each participant, opening up a whole-school discussion.
Pre s e n t a t i o n s June 3rd: On the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme, staff member Andrew read out a poem by Siegfried Sassoon reminding us of the true cost and colour of war. 'Do you ever stop and ask, "Is it all going to happen again?"' Named Aftermath and penned in 1919, Sassoon's poem comes as a particularly prescient warning in today's climate of fear and xenophobia. Read it online here. June 6th: Staff member Julien gave us an insight into the world of IT, from the very beginnings of computers up to today's high speed connections and the dangers these entail.
June 8th: Teacher apprentice Pierre showed a short film about the
Brockwood Climate Change Conference which had taken place earlier in the year. You can see the video online here.
June 10th: Co-principal Antonio gave a Brockwood Climate Change Conference brief overview of the current situation in the EU. He went through the various arguments that were being made on both sides of the Brexit debate in Britain and expressed his concerns about where the referendum might lead Europe and its impacts on Brockwood Park School.
J une' s Ev ent s and Happenings Performance Events in June: June 20th: Concert performance with students and staff - a 'formal informal evening' as staff member Ulrich put it. June 24th & 25th: Electronic City, a play written by Falk Richter and adapted by student Bindu. The drama group had prepared for the performance since the second term, starting with activities aimed at gaining a broad understanding of the play's character by approaching it from a physical perspective embodied by individuals before going into specific character groups. 'They had to get out of their comfort zone, looking at themselves to find the emotion there before embodying it as a character. In the end, many found this to be a transformative process' teacher apprentice Clara who directed the play and has been running the drama programme this year.
June 26th: Dinner Dance. A sumptuous supper was enjoyed, followed by the leavers' end of year speeches. Here are the final words from co-principal Gopal's formal address: 'In any case, here is what I (and perhaps some of my colleagues) wish for you. I urge you to do whatever you do with a sense of urgency. That you make for yourselves, please, for your sake, for the sake of humanity and the planet, extraordinary lives. That you examine and question everything without acceptance -
including your own conclusions, beliefs and emotions. That you take nothing for granted. Nothing - including food, clothing and shelter. That you live lives with the exhilaration of learning and a sense of wonder without limits. That you live lives with an abundance of goodness, because god knows that in a world torn by spite, aggression and selfishness, this is rare and scarce. Live fully but tread lightly on this earth... All good wishes and thanks.'
Activities & Trips in June: June 5th: The year's Human Ecology programme came to a close, finishing with a flourish in the form of an all-school work party in the garden. A short film was made to celebrate this and to also thank mature student Felix for his care for the garden these past three years.
Final Day of Human Ecology
June 9th and 10th: Over the course of two mornings, all project students presented their work from the last two terms. The presentations not only covered their work but included them sharing their learning process, the difficulties and changes of heart encountered along the way, finishing with a brief Q&A. An image from student Layla's art project
June 11th to 14th: At the end of the year, leaving students prepare for a three-day hike unaccompanied by adults. The necessary training and groundwork was completed in the preceding weeks, from professional orienteering and outdoor first aid training, to route planning, cooking meetings and well-needed tips on dealing with tics and blisters. Finally, 25 students set off in groups of five, each on a different route across the rocky terrain of the Lake District.
One group, in full rain gear, glad to be picked up by staff members at the end of their journey. June 14th to 19th: For the first time, School Camp was held in the Lake District - a stone's throw away from Trustee Derek Hook's Yewfield. Beleaguered by tics and midges, our new camp site was well-equipped and suited to long nights by the fire and frequent visits to Lake Windermere situated nearby. Trustee Gary Primrose invited us for a day of conservation work in the woodland at Yewfield, planting trees, irrigating crucial areas and clearing a potential camp-site for next year. Students enjoyed a variety of physical activities ranging from mountain biking and yoga to kayaking, bushcraft, singing in nature and a visit to local heroine Beatrix Potter's house. We ended with an all-school hike followed by an evening of story-telling at the camp fire.
First meeting at Fell Foot Woods campsite. June 27th: This year the grounds team chose a majestic oak tree for the leavers to plant - a symbol and remembrance of their time spent at Brockwood Park. Leaving staff member Matthew lead a silent walk through the grounds, finishing at a clearing just east of the Grove where the oak tree was planted.
Leaving mature student Felix adds his handful of soil to this year´s oak tree.
New Staff
This term we accepted two new residential staff members: Ashleigh and Pierre, both of whom participated in this year's teacher apprentice programme. We are glad to welcome the two of them to the team. Ashleigh Ellis is a former student who went on to study a BA in Fine Arts, specialising in textiles. This year she has been involved in the Arts Hub, supporting students with their projects and offering many different skill-based workshops. Ashleigh has also enlivened the textiles department in the Art Barn and has run an oil painting club year round. She will be teaching the Arts Foundation course from September and be part of the Human Ecology programme, where she is very interested in exploring the use of natural materials. Pierre Smith Khanna graduated from Birkbeck, University of London, with a BA in Politics, Philosophy & History. He then went on to work in a publishing company before being drawn to Brockwood's community by his interest in alternative education. He spent this year co-teaching History A-Level, Human Ecology and supporting projects. Pierre will be running the Movement of Humans topic course next year, as well as supporting Humanities Foundation and leading the Human Ecology programme in the vegetable garden.
Student Life Final year student Ewan recently finished his online portfolio. This site introduces his business - Kamet, a sustainable mountain-clothing brand - that he set up as a project in his final years at Brockwood, as well as the many other design commissions he has undertaken. Link to Ewan's website: ewanbenoit.com
Sc h o o l Gallery
This year's Journalism class with Anjan Sundaram.
Scene from The Mirror in Me, a play written and directed by student Meli. Photo by student Ara Aman
Sometimes we need a rest during our grounds work-parties. Students Mark and Prosper enjoy a small break on the North Lawn.
Trustee Gary Primrose introduces conservation work the school undertook at Yewfield during school camp.
Students, staff and mature students enjoy a day at Footprint National Trust beginning with morning yoga, breakfast over a fire, carving wooden spoons and weaving baskets.
Students on the gruelling ascent to Crinkle Crags, the first stage of an eight hour intensive hike, joining up with the two other hiking groups for an ice cream on our last day of school camp.
Staff member Carvalho with Ruslan, Timothee and Julian at the Dinner Dance.
A scene from Electronic City. Two of the 'Travellers' sit checking their phones - ever busy moving from city to city, without ever taking notice of the system that is leading them astray.
A scene from Electronic City. The 'Rats' take stage, manipulating the 'Travellers' from behind the scenes, ever pushing them away from their humanity, luring them to the high speed life from which they haven't a chance to leave.
A scene from Electronic City. The 'Outcasts' look on from the sidelines, protective of the first baby born outside the electronic city.
Snapshot from the Land Course: student YoĂŤl on a barefoot botany walk, getting acquainted with the local fauna and flora, drawing a detailed sketch of the surrounding moss.
J. Krishnamurti The Whole Movement of Life is Learning 15t h Ja nua r y, 1979 Feeling at home implies that there is no sense of fear, that the student is protected physically, cared for and free. Protection, though the student may object to the idea of being protected or guarded, does not mean that he is held in a prison, confined and critically watched. Freedom obviously does not mean to do what one likes, and it is equally obvious that one can never totally do what one likes. The attempt to do what one likes - so called individual freedom, which is to choose a course of action according to one's desire - has brought about social and economic confusion in the world. The reaction to this confusion is totalitarianism. Freedom is a very complex affair. One must approach it with utmost attention, for
freedom is not the opposite of bondage or an escape from the circumstances in which one is caught. It is not from something, or avoidance of constraint. Freedom has no opposite; it is of itself, per se. The very understanding of the nature of freedom is the awakening of intelligence. It is not an adjustment to what is, but the understanding of what is and so going beyond it. If the teacher does not understand the nature of freedom, he will only impose his prejudices, his limitations, his conclusions on the student. Thus the student will naturally resist or accept through fear, becoming a conventional human being, whether timid or aggressive. It is only in the understanding of this freedom of living - not the idea of it or the verbal acceptance of it which becomes a slogan - that the mind is free to learn.
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