4th March 2022
HEADLINES By Mr Smith and Miss McPhail
THE UKRAINE CRISIS The past 8 days have turned international politics on its head. A week ago I couldn’t envisage a world in which Germany, now a nation of pacifists, would send weapons into an active warzone. I could not imagine a scenario where Switzerland would not be neutral. I could not foresee a world in which the origins of the money of oligarchs such as Roman Abromovitz would be scrutinised so closely. Despite all of the events foreshadowing the invasion and the intelligence communities’ work in painting such a vivid picture of military build up, I could not fully comprehend a full scale invasion of Europe’s 8th most populous country. It is so incredibly sad to see a modern democracy of 45 million people face such horrific scenes. The Time Magazine published on the 24th February was aptly entitled the “Return of History”. I led assemblies for all cohorts this week and the questions and the engagement of the learners was excellent. We discussed the rich history of Ukraine as well as the story that has led to this moment, the legacy of the Cold War and Nato, as well as events in 2014 in Crimea and the Donbas. Learners asked questions about the current progress of the war and the potential for the war to escalate further. I really tried to downplay anxiety about any further military and nuclear escalation, as most political commentators see this as unlikely. We discussed disinformation and the need for learners to be critical thinkers; to question what they see online on social media. Many learners were shocked to hear that the ‘Ghost of Kyiv’, amongst other things, was a fabrication. I am very concerned about the number of children who could be watching violent and graphic videos on
unregulated social media and during this week’s assemblies, encouraged all learners to fact check the things they witness by reading moderated and age-appropriate news sources such as Newsround. Please be vigilant around what children might be accessing on social media such as Reddit and Tiktok around the invasion. All learners I have spoken to this week are really eager to do their bit to support the humanitarian effort that is being stepped up across the world. Having looked at the best way to support the people of Ukraine, we have been advised that rather than collect items, we should support them by making a monetary collection. Next week I have asked learners who wish to do so, to bring in some spare change that will be collected during LS5 for a collection for the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal run by the UK Disasters Emergency Committee. The DEC brings together 15 leading UK aid charities, raising funds to quickly and effectively respond to overseas disasters. More information can be found here: https://donation. dec.org.uk/ukraine-humanitarian-appeal. Should anyone wish to access the information from the assembly, please use the following link: https://bit.ly/Ukraineassembly My thoughts are with anyone linked to or experiencing the war in Ukraine. Mr Daniel Smith Associate Assistant Headteacher and History Subject Leader