Thoughts, comments, ideas and pause for thought from members of our school and extended community.
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This week is Mental Health Awareness week, and we shall present our final Wellbeing Matters (Live) event at school on Saturday morning (20 May), which will focus specifically on this very important topic.
The motto referred to above is attributed to William Horman (Headmaster of Winchester College and Eton successively in Tudor times) who referenced it in his Latin textbook Vulgaria.
I’m not sure we ever got taught to be self-aware when I was at school. Our education seemed to revolve only around things that were perceived to be practical, and that would translate into us becoming solid citizens who would contribute to society in some way.
A new term has begun, and for our Year 8 boys, it is the beginning of the end of their time at Pilgrims’.
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I’ve recently contacted a few old friends to find out how they are, and to catch up on some news. I’ve not seen some of them in a number of years, and much has taken place during that time for each of us. What struck me though, is that all of us remarked on how busy life has become, and how little time there appears to be for meaningful rest.
There is something quite magical about laughter.
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There are days that are sent to test us. We’ve all experienced them. The series of unfortunate events begins to unfold early – usually a coffee spill on a crisp white shirt, or toothpaste on your tie. You then leave your phone on the kitchen counter, and only realise this when you are too far down the road to turn back… And then THAT e-mail… It sends you over the edge and sets in motion the perfect storm to throw the whole day off course.
The first book I can remember being read to me is Peter and Wendy, and it sparked in me a love of reading that has lasted a lifetime. I was obsessed with the story of Peter Pan and his band of Lost Boys, and to my absolute delight, my parents took me to see the play when I was about five years old. I can remember every detail of that performance, and I still take great delight in watching the play whenever it pops up locally.
The call we have been waiting for, for almost two years, finally came on Monday morning. Inspection is something that stirs both dread, and a sense of challenge in any school community: dread because every detail of your practice is scrutinised; and challenge, because you need to use the opportunity to showcase everything that your school, and its community is doing to ensure that children are given the best possible opportunities to succeed.
This year’s Children’s Mental Health Week has had ‘Let’s Connect’ as its theme, and boys have been challenged to demonstrate random acts of kindness to promote healthy relationships. Some of the Junior classes have also explored the relationships in their own lives in PSHEe lessons, where they read the story, The Invisible String by Patrice Karst, which highlights the invisible thread of love that connects us all to those we care for and hold dear.
I attended a fantastic conference yesterday, where the daughter of well-known educationalist, Sir Ken Robinson, who sadly passed away in 2020, presented a keynote address entitled Imagine If… .
There is very little that can compare with the joy of waking up to an early winter’s morning game drive in the Karoo (a semi-desert region in South Africa). It’s the gentle crackling of frost underfoot, and the stinging sensation of the cold touching your cheeks that adds to the exhilaration of being out before the sun has risen. And then it’s the drive itself… The slow, steady chugging of the Land Rover’s diesel engine, whilst being swaddled in warm ponchos, creates a somnambulatory mood, where each sighting, and each beautiful vista appears as something out of a dream.
