At last this week has held some sunshine for us and as I write this, the grounds will have the chance to dry out and recover from the battering of the wind and rain. Whatever the weather on the outside, on the inside of the building it’s always sunny at St Michael’s and I’m still enjoying the pleasure of this morning’s performance platform for our beginner musicians in Prep. All of us present took pleasure from the performances themselves, from the standards achieved and personalities shining through.
We were lucky to have assemblies and workshops from the NSPCC this week exploring children’s right to be safe and well-cared for and teaching children how to understand if adults behave inappropriately and how to access support and help. I commend the links sent by Mr Baird and look forward to being able to fundraise to support the teaching of the safeguarding curriculum in more schools. The wellbeing group had an excellent meeting yesterday I understand and are moving forward with their action plan.
It was good to see such large numbers of interested parents at our meeting in Pre-Prep on Wednesday, to discuss our plans for adding a third reception class and developing Stable Court and I’m grateful to all the colleagues who were present and for all the parents who came and were eloquent and thoughtful in their questioning. We were asked if we could hold a daytime meeting for parents unable to come in the evening and would like to invite any of you who prefer this option to attend a meeting on Thursday 1st February at 11:30, when we will set aside an hour and a half to present to you and take your questions. Do let us know if you’re able to come by email to Jane Gray jgray@stmichaels.kent.sch.uk
I enjoyed meeting and talking to pupils representing Year 3 over lunch in my office and they provided refreshingly honest feedback on things that made them happy and things that I could do to make them even happier! Hard on the heels of that, I was able to be better informed for my coffee morning with Year 3 parents and it was good to be able to iron out the important issues that bother parents and catch up and clarify information that has been missed or needs better explanation. Thank you to the Year 3 reps who collated and collected questions and were able to take back, I hope, useful answers.
Following the P & F AGM last week, I would like formally to reiterate the thanks of the P & F to Anna Smith, who has been an outstanding treasurer for them for the last two years. Cheerful, efficient, a magician with pie charts, she brings a great deal of wisdom and commitment to the whole endeavour of the P & F and although she is stepping down from her role and should be congratulated for doing it so successfully, I know we will all benefit from her continuing presence in support of the P & F. It is particularly delightful to report that Anna’s elder son Kobi has been playing at national level tennis recently and, having reached the semi-finals, is now ranked number four in Great Britain for his age. With one more competition to go we join his parents’ excitement at what lies ahead. Congratulations, Kobi.
Next week I shall enjoy interviewing scholars for Years 7 and 8. The standard of their applications is extremely impressive and I particularly enjoy the clear evidence that the vast majority of them have been done unaided by the children and are clearly written from the heart.
I hope this weekend that the sun will continue to shine that you will be able to enjoy some outside time and some time together. Have a great weekend
Jill Aisher