The Courier

Dear Parents,

It has been a busy and varied week in school. I have made it an early target of mine to spend less time in my office and more time out in the classrooms and corridors spending quality time with the children and staff. Barring the usual commitments, and a day at the district IAPS meeting, I am pleased to say I have managed that, at least for the most part. It is the part of the job I enjoy the most and gives me the greatest satisfaction when I look back on the week gone by. I also made it one of my original targets to get to know all of the children's names by Christmas. This might still prove to be a little ambitious but I am getting there! I am at the stage where they stick for a bit and then they somehow fade temporarily. Bear with me children; I will get there!

This week in the national calendar is always taken up by our thoughts and remembrances for the men and women of the armed forces, both past and present. This is sometimes a difficult subject to discuss with younger children but we had a lovely, low key service at 11.00pm today with readings from children in Year 2 and Year 6 to mark the armistice of 1918 and the desperate sadness that all armed conflicts inevitably bring. We concluded with a beautifully observed minute's silence and I hope we got the balance right in raising the children's awareness without causing upset or alarm.

It was great to have a visit from Mrs Dar earlier in the week who made a fascinating presentation to our upper school pupils on her work as a STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) ambassador. The children had many questions about the presentation and got a good deal out of the session, not least some rather whizzy fidget spinners that I suspect proved especially popular.

Have a restful weekend everyone.

Joe Thackway