Headlines By James Saunders 21st June 2019
Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there It has been a great week for putting yourself out there. Last night we had our Summer Arts’ festival; a showcase of creative talent from across the school. Today we have had Sports’ Day and earlier this week we said goodbye to our French exchange partners. Each one of those endeavours would not happen if our learners were not prepared to put themselves out there and have a go. It can be daunting welcoming a stranger into your home or being that foreign stranger welcomed into someone else’s culture and language. So many schools no longer offer these sorts of opportunities. I am so pleased we are not one of them and that our learners are still able to engage in such culturally enriching experiences. However, that would not happen if learners did not fearlessly put themselves out there and have a go. That’s exactly what happened yesterday evening during the Summer Arts’ festival. It takes courage to get up on stage and perform. Challenging yourself and dealing with the fear and pressure of getting it wrong in front of an audience can be overwhelming. Our learners all did a great job at overcoming such fears and putting their considerable talents on display - and no one got it wrong. Nights such as this are a vital part of any curriculum experience and provide real opportunities for personal character growth.
That brings me neatly on to today: Sports’ Day. We approach Sports’ Day with great anticipation (usually about the weather). It takes a lot of organising behind the scenes as well as on the day. I am pleased that the weather held up and was delighted to have the privilege of handing out medals to participants. People often ask me if being a Headteacher is tough. I can honestly say that when you experience events such as those I have mentioned, when you get to see how talented our young people are, and when you get to share in their success, it is the best job in the world. Improvements to our school buildings I am pleased to inform you that we have been successful in obtaining a substantial amount of money to further improve our school building over the summer. This will be the largest amount of site work that the school has undertaken over a summer holiday and will need some careful management which will result in a few changes to the site in the run up to the summer holiday. Core to this work is installing new windows and outside doors around the school. This will be done in stages to minimise disruption. The time for each phase of the build is incredibly tight and as a result some of the preparation work must begin this side of the summer holiday. As a result some scaffolding will be going up around the tower above preschool and the front of school. This will necessitate the main entrance being blocked off. All visitors, staff and learners will need to use the entrance by the main hall. This work is unavoidable and must be carried out in order to keep the project on track. I apologise for the inconvenience caused but I am sure you will all agree that it is nice to be able to complete these improvements to our very old buildings. Thanks To: Kaitlyn Hickford, Holly Ginn, Abi Wilson, Jess Wicks, Megan Ramage and Will Dubbini for helping out during the hub intake day. To: Lauren Bishop, Lily Burns, Florence Elmes Wright, Megan Gurbutt and Yazmin Knox Crichton for their help at Summer Arts’ evening.