School News and Head's Blog
Posted on: 13/11/2020Nurturing A Love Of Science
It seems very fitting that Wednesday 10th November was ‘World Science Day for Peace and Development’. This day is celebrated to highlight the important role that science has in society and to promote the need to engage the wider public in debates on emerging scientific issues.
Since the beginning of the Covid 19 pandemic, more than 170 teams of researchers have been racing to develop a safe and effective vaccine. Reports this week have been encouraging with Pfizer and the German company BioNTech announcing that they had encouraging results from a phase 3 clinical trial for their vaccine.
While we all await further results from the world’s top class researchers working on the Covid vaccine, I have been inspired closer to home by what is actually happening with your children at St. Helen’s College and the passion that they have as our future scientists, who will in time take responsibility for the world’s emerging scientific issues.
There are key skills that young scientists need to develop:
Observing - by far one of the most important skills and one which children need to learn and develop.
Inferring/predicting/taking an educated guess
Measuring - maths is the language of science and is a key skill, underpinning scientific inquiry and investigation
Communication - demonstrating their understanding and using scientific vocabulary.
These skills are being developed in your children each and every day, from the Early Years through to Year 6, as our staff encourage your children to ‘notice’ what is around them. Staff utilise their questioning skills to encourage children’s awe and wonder from an early age, and to help move children towards using more advanced critical thinking skills to help predict the outcomes of investigations as they grow older.
This week alone I have been so impressed at the learning I have observed. In Reception, children have been investigating their bodies using the stimulus of the wonderful book ‘Funny Bones’. They have also enjoyed outdoor maths where shape, space and number come to life and experienced intrigue as they grow their own cress.
Year 1 pupils have enjoyed a Noticing Nature walk with Mrs. Hunt as they explored our school grounds, discovering evergreen and deciduous trees and discussing the differences in our natural environment in the autumn term. Questions, questions galore!
In Year 5 I was proud to observe the children working together throughout the week to investigate thermal insulators and independently set up their experiments, then later in the week they utilised a range of skills in IT, maths and English to explain the results of their findings using high level scientific vocabulary.
Year 6 have been researching other known viruses, building models and information leaflets using well-established skills they have gained throughout their time at St. Helen’s College.
Our great outdoors is such a wonderful vehicle for you as parents to engage your children with the building blocks for scientific enquiry. Not only is being in the outdoors good for mental wellbeing but it opens up so many opportunities for learning.
It is no surprise that the recent results from the Children and Nature Survey to understand how the Covid-19 Pandemic impacted on children’s experience with nature has highlighted the following:
“The positive role of nature in supporting well-being has also been revealed, with eight in ten children agreeing that being in nature made them very happy, while 70% said that they want to spend more time outdoors with friends post-pandemic. These findings build on Natural England’s latest People and Nature Survey, which reveals that the nation’s gardens, parks, woodlands and rivers have played a huge part in helping with mental health during the coronavirus pandemic, with almost nine in ten adults in England reporting that being in nature makes them very happy.”
A happy child is a child who will learn. So please embrace those outdoor activities and those ‘Why?’ questions, get your children to make predictions, test things out and allow them to try out simple investigations (see this wonderful website here for 40+ backyard experiments). Enrich their vocabulary with appropriate but challenging scientific vocabulary - (you may find some of the lists here which are recommended for 5- 7, 7-9 and 9- 11 year olds useful).
Science is so exciting. It surrounds us and it is fundamental for our next generation to be well equipped and skilled for what lies ahead. As I engage with the children every day at St. Helen’s College, I see future scientists and researchers who will influence the way forward. I am sure you are excited as I am to be a part of their journey!
Mrs, Drummond
Posted on: 6/11/2020Children Learn What They Live
This week’s blog is from Mrs. Smith and I am sure that this poignant and thoughtful poem will resonate with us all.
Children Learn What They Live
I grew up in Rochester, in Kent, where my twin brother was a member of the Rochester Cathedral Choir. I have fond memories of afternoons spent in the great, draughty crypt of Rochester Cathedral with my mum, where we would prepare ‘choir teas’ for the choristers, to be consumed between rehearsals and evensongs, or between services.
The crypt also included the cathedral book shop, where not just books but other items of merchandise were sold. It was there, in the mid-1980s, that I first came across a poem that has stuck with me all my life. The poem was printed on a ‘card of inspiration’, of which the shop sold several. I used 50p of my pocket money to buy the card, and stuck it on my bedroom wall by my bed, because I loved the words so much. I instinctively felt the poem to be true as a young teenager, I believed it to be true when I first became a mother in my mid-twenties, and I absolutely know it to be true now as a mother of older teenagers and a senior leader of a prep school. The poem was written in 1954 by a lady named Dorothy Law Nolte, an American writer and family counsellor. In 1972, she copyrighted the poem and it became more widely published and finally, in 1998, the poem’s themes were expanded into a book, which Dorothy Law Nolte co-authored. To me, it sums up everything that is true about child-rearing and it is also very much in tune with the St. Helen’s College values of love, harmony and growth.
There are several shortened versions of the poem available but I think the original, longest version is the most powerful. I am sharing it with you in the hope that you will agree that my 50p was well spent! I hope that you will find these words as meaningful as I did then, and still do now.
Mrs. Smith
Children Learn What They Live
by Dorothy Law Nolte, Ph.D.
If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.
If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.
If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.
If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.
If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.
If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.
If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.
If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.
If children live with fairness, they learn justice.
If children live with security, they learn to have faith.
If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.
If children live with acceptance and friendship, they learn to find love in the world.
Posted on: 16/10/2020What's All The Fuss About?
On 9 October, the Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2020 was announced, recognising the outstanding achievements of people from across the United Kingdom. On this year’s list were 133 individuals who have been recognised for their services to education during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. These include teachers, head teachers and principals who have gone above and beyond to provide education to young people.
One Head who has very deservedly been recognised is Katharine Birbalsingh. Katharine is the Head and founder of the Michaela Community School, an 11–18 mixed, free secondary school and sixth form in Wembley, established in September 2014. I have followed the work of the school and Katherine’s social media presence over the years and sadly Katharine has, on several occasions, had to defend what she and her staff do at Michaela to inspire the pupils to be their best. I have always stood back and refrained from judgement; I feel that much of what her school stands for reflects what any good school should be doing.
For example, her school has a stringent behaviour policy which the pupils are expected to fulfil, the school has “family lunches” where staff sit with the pupils and the children are expected to make conversation, use their cutlery correctly, pour drinks, and clear their guests’ plates. The school asks children to walk on a particular side of the corridor when passing each other; the school asks children not to ‘loiter’ between lessons, arriving promptly for their next lesson, and the pupils are asked to memorise poetry by heart and recite it back.
Over the years of reading about Michaela and watching Katherine being interviewed I have reflected on life at St. Helen’s College. Many of the Michaela Community School routines and expected behaviours resonate so closely to what we expect of our children here at St. Helen’s College! So what is all the fuss about it being branded ‘Britain’s Strictest School’?
Our Ducklings may only be 2 years old but, with encouragement, they tidy up their toys, they sit beautifully at snack and lunch around their tables, they say please and thank you and they recite a little prayer and song of thanks for the food they receive.
Our Nursery pupils learn poems off by heart and recite these to their peers and parents in a special poetry assembly - the beginnings of our annual speech recitation event which, as you know, continues throughout the school.
Pupils at Lower School and Upper School walk calmly along corridors, with the Upper School children knowing that they stick to the left hand side on the stairs. At both Lower and Upper School the children understand the behaviour expected of them and the children sign a classroom pledge together to state that they will uphold the standards expected from them. Those who find it difficult to uphold these behaviours are supported appropriately and there may be the occasion for further actions if required. Ultimately, the children know that behaviour routines are based on our mantra of ‘Ready, Respectful, Safe’ and, as a school, we have taken the best aspects from UK behaviour specialist Paul Dix and embedded them into our daily routines with the children.
I truly believe that children enjoy structure and routines and they need consistency, but most importantly they need to feel safe and loved. I take my hat off to how the staff at Michaela Community School have weathered the social media storm over their routines and how the school is run - but I say keep up the great work!
I feel so blessed to have the most amazing staff here at St. Helen’s College and this half term has been a testament to their stamina and professionalism as they are back doing what comes naturally to them all - bringing out the best in your children. I also feel blessed to have the parent body we have! You are truly invested in St. Helen’s College and what we do TOGETHER brings out the best in your children!
Have a wonderful half term break with your children and do speak with them about the activities and lessons they have engaged with this half term but also discuss some of the routines which we have at school - I am sure that you will agree that your children - ‘our’ children - are not in the ‘strictest’ school, but that they feel loved, safe and are thriving in a school environment which has good solid routines and boundaries. And that is a good thing!
I leave you with an interesting article written back in 2016 by ResearchED’s Tom Bennett and his impressions of Michaela Community School some years ago in the early days - I would love to hear your impressions!
Mrs. Drummond
Posted on: 9/10/2020Does It Matter?
For those of you interested in Mindfulness, I am linking below a super article which has recently been written by Claire Kelly, the Director of Curricula and Training at the Mindfulness in Schools Project.
The article resonated with me, since we frequently hear the notion of Mindfulness or the word ‘mindful’ bandied around, but it is often misunderstood.
I am delighted that, at St. Helen’s College, our children are increasingly becoming more aware of what exactly Mindfulness is and is not. Today in assembly the children were led through a Mindfulness practice by one of the MiSP (Mindfulness in Schools Project) experts, Niamh. They were encouraged to notice what was going on in their body, in their mind, and eventually to bring attention to their breath.
What the pupils participated in may have been really challenging for some of them. Do ask them about the experience which they had in assembly today and ask if they will strive to take time to pay attention to their breath at least once a week.
The number of St. Helen’s College staff who have participated in training to spread our mindfulness education around the school is also increasing; we now have Mrs. Crehan, myself, Mrs. McLaughlin, Mrs. Hunt and Mr. Roche, with more staff showing an interest in taking the next steps to becoming a qualified Mindfulness teacher.
https://mindfulnessinschools.org/just-calling-something-mindful-does-not-make-it-mindful/
I will leave you with this quote from Jon Kabat Zin, a Mindfulness Master, as he explains what Mindfulness is...
“… a way of being in wise and purposeful relationship with one’s experience both inwardly and outwardly. It is cultivated by systematically exercising one’s capacity for paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgementally, and by learning to inhabit and make use of the clarity, discernment, ethical understanding, and awareness that arises from tapping into one’s own deep and innate interior resources for learning, growing, healing and transformation, available to us across the lifespan by virtue of being human.”
Please do read the article. Namaste.
Mrs. Drummond.
Posted on: 2/10/2020Mrs. Sal Cheema
On Tuesday this week, our community came together as staff and parents paid tribute to Mrs. Sal Cheema, who made her final journey from Parkway surrounded by family and friends. Mrs. Cheema very sadly passed away last week, having lived with cancer for many years. She and her family have been members of the St. Helen’s College community since their oldest son Suraj joined us back in September 2008, with their youngest son Amar joining the school a few years later in September 2011.
Mrs. Cheema was one of the most inspirational women I have ever met and I know that everyone who knew her has been touched by her courage and selflessness over the years. She embraced every day to ensure that her boys were happy and she and Mr. Cheema are such amazing role models to us all in how to live alongside cancer and not allow a disease to take over one’s life.
Back in September 2018, Mr. and Mrs. Cheema joined with five other couples to work alongside the national Breast Cancer Now campaign and they raised awareness through sponsorship with Marks and Spencer, appearing on posters in store and nationwide via social media. Amar, then in Year 5, delivered the most heartwarming assembly to the Upper School children about his experience of his family living with cancer. The sense of pride he showed that day in assembly as his mum filmed him from the side of the hall will never be forgotten.
Mrs. Cheema also started to blog about her life online, in a blog very aptly named ‘My Beautiful Life’, which carried a strap line encapsulating both her upbeat attitude and her intrinsic values:
If the risk of getting cancer in a lifetime is 1 in 2 and I have had cancer twice, I believe I have taken one for the team. You are very welcome!
Her blog is raw and emotional but also joyful and always full of hope, with her boys and husband an integral part of her writing. I have shared Mrs. Cheema’s blog with many family members and friends over the past few years; she brings a sense of reality to those who read it and an appreciation for the gratitude we should all feel. Her words and her attitudes remind us to live every day in the best way we can.
Mrs. Cheema was also involved in other fundraising activities throughout her illness. She supported the Willow Foundation back in 2016 and then in 2018 raised the profile of the Noah’s Ark Hospice. Most recently, in September 2019, she organised a 12 hour walk around Hillingdon Athletics Stadium to raise money for AMMF, the UK’s only bile duct cancer charity. Family, friends and staff joined together on this day and, yet again, Mrs. Cheema’s endless positivity and stoicism shone through.
Mrs. Cheema was also Chair of the Parents’ Association at St. Helen’s College and the family were always keen supporters of school events. In the summer of 2019, we were delighted that Mr. and Mrs. Cheema joined us as our Guests of Honour for Amar’s last Sports Day at St. Helen’s College. It was a wonderful day, during which Mr. and Mrs. Crehan and I were able to reminisce with them about the boys’ days at St. Helen’s College and to thank them for all that they had done to support the school over the years. It took a lot to stop Mrs. Cheema from participating in the mums’ race, but thankfully she had forgotten her running shoes! The photographs I have shared above are from that wonderful day.
Mr. Cheema has now launched a just giving page in memory of his wife to raise funds for the Michael Sobell Hospice. If you would like to join the community in donating in memory of Mrs. Cheema please follow the link here.
Mrs. Cheema’s values have always been the shared values of our school community. She will be dearly missed by us all and our heartfelt condolences go to her whole family. She has taught us all so many life lessons and her memory will live on through her wonderful boys and husband.
God Bless.
Mrs. Drummond
Posted on: 25/09/2020Family Instinct
This week I have a guest blog from Mrs. Hunt, our Head of Lower School.
When Mrs. Drummond asked me to write a blog, my first reaction was one of panic! What would I write? What would be worthy? I have never been a fan of Facebook or the like because I think who would be interested in my life!
I am genuinely never happier than when I am with my family; we are lucky enough to share the same interests and the adage of ‘families that play together, stay together’ rings true for us. That said, I find myself in a position which many of my friends and colleagues are facing or have faced. My baby is off to uni! This, and the fact that I am about to reach a very significant birthday, has made me somewhat more reflective than usual.
Many of you will know that I have been at St. Helen’s College for numerous years and was privileged enough to see both my children pass through the school. I have very fond memories of Tom staring lovingly through the nursery door, waving patiently as Miss Carmichael gently coaxed him back into her room.Whereas, a few years later, Lois would just burst in demanding the attention of Mrs. Mummy! How quickly those days flew by and how treasured they are.
When I show prospective parents around at Lower School, I often refer to the ‘feel’ of the school. I will always remember when Mr. Crehan showed me around in 1999 and how I knew it was not only where I wanted to work, but also where I wanted my children to start their schooling. I would also like to add how impressed I was by the fact that Mr. Crehan was able to refer to each child we saw by name, something I have always tried to emulate. (It is at this point that I can hear my new Year 1 children calling, ‘but you always get in a muddle’!! I refer back to that aforementioned birthday as an excuse and the fact that there are approximately 164 of them at LS and one of me!).
Anyway, going back to that ‘feeling’ you get inside when you know something is right; I have continued to trust that with many decisions, including future schools. I truly believe that when children are happy then they will learn.
Late last year I became aware that my eldest, Tom, was not truly happy. He was at Swansea University, half way through his engineering degree. We would communicate by text and the occasional phone call and he would make the occasional comment that hinted that things were not as they should be. My instincts were on high alert and over the Christmas holidays my husband and I managed to get him to tell us what was wrong. It turned out that he had realised that engineering was not for him, which was not an easy decision for someone who had been committed to a career in engineering since his first box of Lego! Anyway, after a great deal of discussion, he left Swansea behind and set forth on his new career path to be a paramedic. He has been an ECA on the frontline since June and he loves every minute of it - it is wonderful to see that he is happy once more.
We are all currently coping in situations that none of us could have foreseen, but when I walk around the school I am greeted by joyful and happy children who, with dedicated support from the staff, are showing remarkable resilience and acceptance of their new normal. As I stand sentry at hometime, I am witness to more true happiness as I see them being reunited with you, their loved ones, their family. I am also delighted to report that despite our necessary adaptations, my recent prospective parents spontaneously commented on the ‘feel’ of the school and, I might add, complimented me on my ability to name the children we encountered!
So in summary, is there a profound message in my blog? Well actually I think there is.
Family is everything. Treasure time together, laugh, cry, talk, listen and play together. Trust your instincts; they will serve you well.
Posted on: 18/09/2020Caring
CARING
(Adjective. feeling or showing care and compassion)
The value which we are focussing on around school at the moment is ‘Caring’ and I am so proud of the whole school community as I observe such incredible examples of ‘care’ from the children, staff and parents. Over the past two weeks with our return to school there really has been an abundance of ‘care’, from the carefully planned and staggered gradual settling in of our very youngest new Helenians to the care shown by children welcoming new pupils joining existing classes, and the care shown by teachers as they lovingly and thoughtfully establish relationships and routines with their new classes.
As you know, part of our school motto, written by the children, is ‘Care for each other’ and I will repeat also the wise saying Mr. Crehan quoted in his blog last week: ‘it takes a village to raise a child’. I have actually been quite overwhelmed since the start of term at how our ‘village’ is coming together to support each other with such kindness and loving care.
We have 79 new children, from Ducklings through to Year 5, who have just started at St. Helen’s College, and I trust that all of our new families feel that they have received a warm welcome and feel cared for by everyone: staff, pupils and ‘older’ parents alike. If you are one of our new families, we look forward to many happy and fruitful years as a community, working together to care for your precious children and develop them into caring, responsible and loving members of our school and the wider community.
The fact that we all show care ourselves is so important. Children learn best by example and it is every parent and educator's responsibility to raise caring children. Research in human development shows that the seeds of empathy, caring and compassion are present from early childhood but our children need adults to help them throughout their childhood to nurture and develop these virtues. We can do so by leading, suggesting or ‘instructing’, but surely the most effective way is by modelling: showing our children that we care, and that caring is rewarding and generates happiness and security.
We need to cultivate children’s concern for others, partly because fundamentally it is the right thing to do, but also because when children can empathise with and take responsibility for others, they are likely to be happier and more successful. They will have better relationships their entire lives, and strong relationships are a key ingredient of happiness. In today’s workplace, success often depends on collaborating effectively with others, and children who are empathic and socially aware are also better collaborators - and likely to make better friends!
As your children move through St. Helen’s College and they develop these key virtues, our young learners apply them every day - in the playground, in the classroom and at home. It is heartwarming for me to take a virtual ‘learning walk’ around Google Classroom and pop into the classes - collaboration and care is evident in abundance as the pupils and staff question, support and challenge each other in their learning with the utmost respect and care for each other. Feedback is given, additional challenges are set (pupils and teachers) and the sense of belonging and pride in these virtual classrooms is phenomenal. As a Head, I never envisaged the day where I would be able to take a virtual tour of the school and I feel such a sense of pride in the progress and outcomes of our pupils.
I am, however, grateful for now that Google Classroom has returned to its usual place as our flipped learning platform for homework (or home learning as I like to call it - the adults go to ‘work’!). There is no doubt that it is wonderful that face to face teaching has returned for our pupils, and that it is easier and more natural to show in person the care that is such an important part of the teaching/learning relationship.
Our current Year 6 pupils are stepping up to their new positions of responsibility and showing real care for others as the oldest pupils in the school; they should feel very proud of themselves. They are also preparing to sit the 11+ examinations which were postponed from early in the term and I would like to thank all the parents and teachers for the care they are giving the children as they approach this milestone in their educational journey. Our Year 6 pupils are superb ambassadors for St. Helen’s College and it is the exceptional care that they have received over the years which has enabled them to blossom into such inspirational young people: they are budding lifelong learners who contribute greatly to our school community and beyond.
Finally, a word about self-care. Through our focus on Mindfulness, philosophy and positive psychology, as well as our wider PSHCE programme, we teach children that caring for themselves is one of the most important things they can do. As a school, we believe that when a child feels loved and valued, they are best able to learn and achieve their full potential. This is why school staff and parents show our children such exceptional care, but it is important to recognise that a significant part of feeling loved and valued is loving and valuing ourselves, too. So I encourage you to take care not only of your children but of yourselves and, in doing so, to set another excellent example for them. In this busy, busy world of full time jobs, parenting and caring for others, we can lose sight of how important it is to look after ourselves. You might like to re-visit the Self-Care September calendar from Action for Happiness, which has some great tips for self-care this month.
Mrs. Drummond
Posted on: 11/09/2020Back To School
It is so good to see all of the children and staff back at school! There is a real buzz of enthusiasm in the classrooms, and the sound of children’s laughter in the playground is a delight.Last term the children showed great resilience and determination with their learning and engaged fully with the online lessons and activities, but they are clearly thrilled to be back at school with all of their friends and teachers.
I am not surprised. A good school is, if you will excuse a cliché, a ‘home from home’. And if I may employ another wise saying, ‘it takes a village to raise a child’. Children benefit enormously from the variety of interactions and mutual love that a small community can provide, whether it be an extended family, a close, local community or a school. Nowadays, with smaller families (my parents’ Irish country background was very different), and less cohesive neighbourhood communities, school, for most children, provides a daily multiplicity of human interaction which educates, enriches and enlivens.
Not so long ago, ‘BC’, some forward thinking educational pundits argued that schools would gradually become obsolete. A brave new world of online classrooms and remote teaching would replace the existing arrangements, eliminating wasteful practices such as the school run and playtimes. A recent review of over 1500 studies carried out by academics at the University of Dundee concluded that online and blended learning are often more effective than traditional instruction. Certainly, last term’s lockdown experience showed us the enormous value of communication technology, and proved that pupil learning and well-being could be promoted very effectively remotely by skilled teachers using advanced online methods. But I am sure that every parent, pupil and teacher will agree with me that, while online use of IT can be used to support learning really well as part of a blended learning experience, actually being at school makes all the difference.
We are social creatures, and learning is a social, interactive process which is built upon strong relationships. It is very difficult to build and sustain such relationships online, and with the best will in the world they can never match the quality of face to face interactions, which foster friendship, trust and love. A huge amount of learning takes place during playtimes, working together in sports teams, choirs and clubs, through taking on positions of responsibilities, and by observing respected role models such as staff and senior pupils.
Covid-19 continues to constrain us, but the most important step has been taken – everybody is back at school. I know that my colleagues on the staff are totally committed to promoting your children’s education in the broadest sense to the very best of their ability, and that your children will flourish under their loving guidance.
Mr. Crehan
Posted on: 4/09/2020Journeys
(Definition: travelling from one place to another)
One of the groups which I am involved with outside of school supports and inspires each other in our jottings or blog posts and this month the theme to write about is ‘Journeys’. This has sparked many ideas for me in the last week as I have begun reflecting on what this means to me both personally and professionally and what it may mean to our St. Helen’s College community.
We all go on journeys of one form or another, be it physical, emotional, mental or, more recently, virtual!
Over the weekend do give yourself some time and space to reflect on the following:
Journeys we have been on
Journeys we are on
Journeys we will go on
Perhaps you could find a way of bringing the family together to discuss this theme or even inspiring older children to write reflectively or creatively about their journeys?
Journeys we have been on
Many of us look forward to physical journeys each holiday and this summer, although there were many restrictions on our travel, I still managed to travel north to visit my mother and friends in my home town of Oban on the west coast of Scotland. I then continued my journey eastwards to Aberdeenshire for a long overdue visit to my sister, brother-in-law and nieces. There were no visits to the airport this summer, packing sunscreen and beach towels, but my journey this summer was nourishing and grounding and took me back to my roots. For the first time in a long time I really appreciated the ‘journey’ and did not dwell on the destination and I soaked up the scenery, taking in the magnificent views as I drove from the south to the north. I am sure that many of you also appreciated our local environment and explored areas which we have perhaps neglected in the past when opting for overseas journeys for our summer holidays.
Journeys we are on
The journey we all find ourselves on at the moment during this global pandemic has been unique and one which we could never have ever imagined. However, it is so important to reflect on the positives on this journey. Families have found themselves spending so much time together, new routines have been established, and we have perhaps learned more about ourselves and others around us then ever before.
Journeys we will go on
I have not planned any physical journeys for the immediate future; however, I have promised myself some sea air as often as I can in the next few months. Visits to my daughter at university in Kent may be the driver of these journeys! The emotional and mental journeys ahead for us all are unknown at the moment and I will most certainly be using my mindful meditation, bringing attention to my breath and grounding myself to assist in coping with future journeys in a calm manner. Upper School pupils have taken part in some ‘grounding’ mindful exercises in our remote assemblies this week to help them through the journey of their busy day - please do ask your children how they ground themself and the effect that this can have for them.
I know I have commented on this before, but I will reiterate that our St. Helen’s College community is incredibly committed to working together on this strange journey we are currently experiencing. The trust, mutual respect and relationships between us all are being forged ever stronger as we journey together through this most bizarre time of our lives.
If you would like to pen your thoughts on ‘Journeys’ - those you have been on, those you are on or those you will go on - please feel free to share them. Over the course of this new academic year it would be wonderful to have some more guest bloggers to share this spot with me!
Have a wonderful weekend and a safe ‘journey’ to all this year.
I will leave you with you a photo of one of my favourite creatures - to whom I managed to get up close! - and a scenic view from my journey this summer.
Mrs. Drummond
Category / Head's Blog
Categories
Archive
