This week we held our first Open Morning of the year via Zoom. It was a wonderful occasion where we shared pupils’ views and some superb musical performances. As expected, the pupils stole the show; their speeches and performances sparkled with confidence, care and passion for life at St Michael’s. I think my favourite Open Morning moment came from Nik in Year 2 when asked why parents should send their children to St Michael’s: without hesitation, he replied: “Why not?!”. Thank you to everyone involved in this event.
The performances and speeches from Open Morning are being shared on social media currently, and I encourage you to have a look at recent content on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram which give you an insight into what the children are doing each day. Whilst we are not able to invite you in to see school life in person, we hope that this content enables you to see what the children are experiencing at school.
My job at Open Morning was to summarise St Michael’s in under ten minutes. As you can imagine, this was a huge challenge! However, I do love a good challenge, and the children will be able to tell you that it’s good for the brain. In response to my challenge, I focused on the core reason why our teachers teach: to prepare our children for life. One of the only certainties about the future is that it will be different from what we know now. With technology growing at an incredible speed, our children need to be prepared for things that we have not yet experienced and find hard to imagine. So, how do you prepare a child for the unknown?
We prepare our children by having a significant focus on their skills as people. They learn about the importance and value of kindness, of being helpful and how to think creatively and solve problems by working collaboratively with others. The children also learn to be grateful for the incredible opportunities that they have access to each day and that embracing curiosity and wonder is exciting and will add passion and joy to the everyday. These are the skills that will help them to deal with the challenges and set back backs that they will undoubtedly face as they grow.
In a future of increased technology that will do many jobs for us, what will set the children from St Michael’s apart is their ability to communicate, to connect and to care. The world needs more people like the wonderful children that race into our buildings each day, and we are all excited to see what they will go on to achieve.
I know that for many of our Year 6 pupils taking the Kent 11+ test next week, anticipation may be growing in their minds. It is important for them all to remember they are and have been, working really hard and that they need to keep a balance between study and rest. The children are well prepared, can only do their best on the day itself and, unfortunately, worrying about what’s to come will not help them. I recommend some important ‘down time’ this weekend, with plenty of fresh air and racing about as well as perhaps snuggling into a cosy corner and finishing their current book.
Thank you for your ongoing support. I wish you a happy and restful weekend.
Mary Bridges
