From the Head
In chapel this week we heard the weird but wonderful story of Pentecost. The overriding message for me on being a part of this story (there was audience participation) on Thursday was that although everyone was speaking in different languages, all present could understand. Taking the theme of diversity and understanding, I have found it wherever I look this week at St Michael’s. Our senior pupils have been making sense of new contexts and working together in teams in Wales, developing trust and companionship. Year 7 have tried out their other language as they make their way around Paris enjoying its sights, sounds, tastes and beauty.
Pre-Prep enjoyed learning about Sweden this week as Mrs Hume gave her a second assembly, beautifully targeted at the younger learners and filling them with fascination. We closed the assembly by singing “Incy Wincy Spider” in Swedish and doing the actions, great fun!
4N’s remarkably accomplished and polished performance poetry assembly today was brimful of pleasure. Style, humour, talent and skill mixed with some impressive and confident performances. Watching Michael Rosen at work performing one of his poems about chocolate cake was also unforgettable. Congratulations to 4N. Tonight the Year 8s will be finding out how well they have performed in CE. Each pupil should feel proud. I am delighted with their results.
We are looking forward next week to our show Guys and Dolls at the Stag Theatre. A huge amount of work has been going on since September and I urge you, if you have not got yourself a ticket, even if you don’t know anybody in the show personally, to come along and see what our pupils can achieve.
Governors get together next week to thank the staff for their hard work and enjoy their company over a drink on the terrace. They will say goodbye and thank you to those who leave us: Amanda McKnight, who is sadly off to Sevenoaks Prep, where her son is at school; Rosy Newman, who will be taking retirement as you know; Sally Worby, who is moving to Somerset, a beautiful house and a new life in the country, and Win Inkson.
Win has worked at St Michael’s for 25 years and has brought to the school humour, intellect and a healthy disregard for the benefits of technology! Everyone on the staff enjoys chatting with Win and she makes us laugh.
It has been fantastic to be able to have on the team someone so learned in the field of classics and when she leaves she will be much missed. In the classroom she is humorous and pacy and generations of pupils have enjoyed everything she offers. We wish her well as she moves to Peasmarsh and her house renovation project comes to its final conclusion. We hope that she will come and visit whenever she is in town.
Next week we will introduce James Tuck, our new Latin teacher.
In reflecting on the nature and scope of Prize Giving this year, we are again introducing new awards. We have also decided to make a significant change in the information about the evening and parents whose children are to receive an award at our prize-giving will receive a letter confirming this before the event. At that stage children will not know and we will congratulate them and let them know on the day itself in the morning rehearsal. We hope that parents of prize winners will therefore be able to make arrangements to be there and that everyone else who attends enjoys every minute of what is planned and will no longer be experiencing the uncertainty of waiting to find out if their child has won something.
I very much look forward to seeing you there.
I hope you have a good weekend and if you have time to pop to Shoreham I recommend the sculpture trail. I already have something quite fantastic in my garden.
Jill Aisher