The Courier

Dear Parents

Welcome to the final letter from me for this half term. It has been a happy and productive one in school and has seen us through to the half term holiday in fine fettle. I know many of you will have trips away planned for the week ahead and I very much hope they go to plan and you are able to get in some much needed R&R. I know the hard-working staff here will look forward to taking things a bit easier and enjoying a few late lie-ins.

In our assembly earlier in the week, we learned a little about the life of Saint Valentine but focused more on the relative value of desirable items in our modern society. Probably nobody was very surprised to learn that Ronaldo’s weekly salary of £3,400,000 would buy him approximately 15 averagely priced family homes in the United Kingdom every week. Some children were though a little shocked to find that a painting consisting of splashes and spots of colour was easily the most expensive item we talked about, at £100 million. The fact that it was a Jackson Pollock original may, or may not, have persuaded them of its intrinsic value.

We compared the prices of these items with the cost of simple acts of love or care for a friend or relative. These come free of charge, and for the children in their loving homes and in their caring school, happen on a daily basis. I hope this message got home to the children. It was nice to illustrate it with the story of our local lollipop man, who had helped one of our younger children who had fallen from their scooter on their way into school that very morning. Simple acts of kindness don't cost anything to anyone but make all of our days worth living.

On a personal note, our weekend in Dartmouth with James last week was most enjoyable and gave us a real insight into the life he is leading at the moment and is about to embark on, hopefully in his career ahead. He looked resplendent in his Navy uniform, and Mandy and I were both bursting with pride, as you can imagine. The week ahead for him may not appeal to everybody however, as he is spending it living in a bivouac on Dartmoor. In the midst of unpredictable February weather this should provide some interesting challenges. Personally, I'd love to be able to go and join him. 

Whatever you have planned for the week ahead, I wish you all the very best, and look forward to seeing you and the children back safely in school on Monday 27 February.

Joe Thackway
Headmaster