Message from the Head of Primary

The events that I attended in Dubai and Doha gave me food for thought. They challenged me to think about the future of education and what we need to consider in preparing our young people for a world that we don’t yet know. There are jobs that are beginning to exist that I hadn’t event thought of – body parts fabricator, data curator and space tourism broker. There are implications for what we teach and how we teach. There is an imperative to continue to evolve. What we have always done will only provide what it always provided, not necessarily what is needed. Change is inevitable and necessary.

My mind is full. It needs time to filter the thoughts, to settle and then share and apply them to look to find ways we can meet the exciting challenges that the future holds. I relish these challenges and feel privileged that as an educator we get to shape some of the future. However, one thing that won’t change is the values we hold dear and how we care for one another and live those values in our daily interactions. Returning to school is a tonic. I feel enormous pride as I walk the school and reconnect with the students, staff and parents. I observe and listen and notice. There are children taking turns, including one another in their play, supporting one another and explaining ideas to each other to help deepen understanding, there are welcoming greetings and genuine smiles and joy. There are conversations about the recent events, BSME games, messages of hope for Syria and Turkey, Year 5 Japan Day, World Book Day, The Kayak trip, the ski trip, the Duke of Edinburgh expedition, and an anticipation of the Year 6 and Year 7 student leadership conference this week. 

People are turning up and taking part and enjoying it. In all of this, there is a constant and deliberate intent to be thoughtful. The events and actions are about putting the needs of others before oneself. The BSME games were an amazing example of this intent. They were planned with thought about the experience for the students. What should they get out of this? What should they leave feeling? How will this event shape them for the future? For those of you who attended, I am sure you will have seen that the event that we planned and hosted achieved so much in terms of raising students’ aspirations for taking part in sport. It also helped them see that competitive sport doesn’t need to rely on putting others down or ‘sledging’ them. Everyone can compete and grow. There is enough success for everyone – it isn’t limited to one winner in one event.

I was also privileged to see a video of some of our students who had taken it upon themselves to extend their thoughtfulness to those in Syria and Turkey. These students and their families got together and went shopping, thinking about the suffering of people they haven’t even met. They thought about the needs of these strangers and purchased items for donation to help alleviate the harsh suffering that we all can only imagine.

All around me this week I have noticed how good our community is at being thoughtful. As we enter into the holy month of Ramadan it is a reminder to us all that there are some things we shouldn’t change and being thoughtful – putting others first is one of them.

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