HEAD’S UPDATE
Week beginning 15th January 2024
Dear Parents and Carers, I am not sure how many of you are aware that January 18th was Winnie the Pooh day. I love the Winnie the Pooh stories, and remember using them for a Year 4 Play many years ago. The children who participated in that Play are now finished senior school, which is quite a scary thought, but the memories are still strong, as are the characters that feature in the stories. Each character in the stories has his or her own personality. They are all different, but they are good friends and look out for each other. -
Christopher Robin is the only human character; he is named after A. A. Milne’s son. Winnie the Pooh is kind, caring and friendly to everyone. Tigger is always on the go and easily excited - he just can’t keep still! He is full of confidence, but often overestimates his abilities. Whatever he has to do, he says it’s ‘what Tiggers do best!’ Piglet is shy and lacks confidence, but Pooh encourages him to be brave and have a go at things. Rabbit is friendly, but also bossy and irritable. He much prefers doing things his own way. Owl is very clever and knows a lot . . . well, he thinks he does. It isn’t always the case! Kanga is kind and caring and looks after the other characters, especially her son, Roo.
There are many differences between the different characters. Perhaps these differences make the stories more interesting. The characters aren’t perfect; instead, they are individuals, with things that we like about them and things that we may not like about them. As a group of friends, they accept and care for each other, even when it isn’t easy to do so, such as when they’re annoying each other, or making it harder to be included in what the others are doing. We can all probably identify friends we have who might be bouncy like Tigger, or caring like Kanga. Maybe we have a friend who is a bit bossy like Rabbit, or perhaps we know someone who can be difficult to cheer up, like Eeyore.
We all have differences, and this isn’t a bad thing. We don’t need to try to change our friends. Our unique characteristics are the things that make us who we are. Tolerating things that we may find hard and celebrating our differences are what make our friendships so special! This was the message I gave to the prep school children, this week. We also thought about the very famous Corinthians passage about love. Friendship is a form of love, and I asked the children to think about using the word friendship as a substitute for the word love: Friendship is patient, friendship is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Friendship does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. Friendship never fails Friendships are not always easy (for children or adults), but approaching them with kindness, acceptance and patience, will ensure we all experience rich and rewarding ones that will endure throughout our lives. Children can place unrealistic expectations on friendships at times; this is not their fault. They have been brought up with ridiculous terms like ‘BFF’ all around them, which more often than not make them feel inadequate. Friendships will always have ups and downs, particularly for children. Being secure in this knowledge will help children accept each other’s differences and ultimately develop lasting friendships. I have felt very proud of the Mowden children this week. We have had a group of Spanish children visit, and the Mowden children could not have been more warm or welcoming. They have hosted our visitors brilliantly, and enjoyed getting to know children from a different country and culture; perfect for our EDI and International Week. Have a wonderful weekend, Best wishes,
Head