16th December 2022
HEADLINES HAPPY HOLIDAYS We finally made it to the end of the term. And what a term it has been. I would like to finish by thanking our learners, staff, families and community for their support. I am going to try to keep things short this week. Firstly I would like to thank the community for supporting our foodbank collection initiatives. Yesterday learners from Cohort 8 spent time delivering their collection. I have mentioned before that for the first time in history Unicef is providing food aid to British children. It shouldn’t be that way. We should live in a world where all children are able to grow up with access to food. We shouldn’t have to intervene. Food banks should not even be a thing. But they are. And they are needed now more than ever. I am, as ever, blown away by the kindness and compassion shown at a time of great difficulty for so many families. Reflecting back on the term I am truly amazed by the many things we have managed to pack into the last fifteen weeks. Every time I attend an event, take part in an experience or have the privilege of sharing a learning journey with our learners I am filled with an immense sense of pride. Today it was Christmas lunch day; a time for our learners to sit and eat together. I am a big fan of family mealtime and find that it is a great way to support the character development of children. Over the term I have seen the school working at its best. This has only been possible through the hard work of our staff and learners, and through a great many learners and staff going the extra mile. Coming to school, and working in a school is hard work; I would like to say thank you to parents and the wider community for supporting Honywood. Whatever your beliefs or view of Christmas, the one thing the period does do for us all is provide time: time for families; time for loved ones; time to reflect and think; time to be altruistic toward others; time.
However you choose to mark your time over the next few weeks I would like to encourage you to embrace it. It has been a real pleasure leading the school this term. Please don’t forget we will be finishing early next Tuesday to begin the holiday period. I wish you a happy holiday and look forward to seeing you for our learning reviews on Friday 6th January. James Saunders