Good morning, Prep School family,
I hope you are well and enjoying the week so far? Can you believe that it is nearly July and yet another school year will be over in only 8.5 days. . .time flies when you are having fun but when you get to my age (24!), it is scary how fast time goes in general. That is why we all need to make the most of every opportunity handed to us, why we need to embrace each day and enjoy life – its ups and its downs. We never know what is around the corner.
I hope you all had a super weekend. I had a lovely one – I spent most of Saturday with my nephew Arthur. We had breakfast together and came to the School fayre. What a great day. A big thank you to the Friends of Highclare School for organising it. Arthur was in his element – fair ground rides, tombola’s, name the teddies, Bake off’s, hot dogs, teachers in the stocks and ice-creams to name but a few! I had the best time, too. It was great to be able to see so many of you there and get to chat to you and your wider families. I was so proud of our school community and the atmosphere that was created. My Saturday ended watching Glastonbury in the garden with friends. . .perfection. What else could you want from your Saturday? Sunday, however, was slightly more boring – food shopping, cooking and a bit of work but, looking on the positive side, I got to spend time with Mr Bennett and my dad, my fridge is full ready for the week and I cooked a delicious meal to share with family. It’s all about those small wins.
I cannot tell you how proud I was of Key Stage 2 on Thursday night at the Town Hall for our annual Prize Giving. To say that we haven’t done an in person event like this for 3 years, it was amazing. I was so proud of all of the children – those who spoke, those who sang, the body percussion, those who played the hand bells and the ukuleles. I was proud of those children who won prizes but I was equally as proud of the reaction of those who didn’t. The children congratulated each other’s successes with genuine happiness and excitement. The children demonstrated real maturity, resilience and the Highclare spirit in bucket loads. I always say to the children that the mark of a person isn’t about how they react when things are going well, it is how they react to situations that they find may find challenging, disappointing, upsetting or hard to deal with. This trait is a life skill and one that they are lucky to have mastered at such a young age. It is a skill that will last a lifetime.
I have to mention the wonderful teachers who also took part in our surprise finale on Thursday – you would never have guessed but we had so many nerves leading up to the event. We had some ‘diva-ish’ moments from the teachers who didn’t get to hold the microphones (mentioning no names, Mr Greenfield!). We had teachers that told us they couldn’t sing and then they belted out their parts, we had teachers who didn’t want to be part of the song but soon changed their minds due to the persuasive wiles of Mrs deVisser and Mrs Witham. But one thing we definitely didn’t have was the ever shy and retiring Ms Jones saying that she did not want to start the whole thing off. . . Miss Baden’s skills to get a starting slot alongside Ms Jones have to be admired! (J Thank you, Ms Jones! Well done, Miss Baden, none of us thought that the start would be shared!). Thank you to everyone that took part. It has to be the best ending to a Prize Giving that I have EVER done or been too (and I have done/been to a lot). The reaction of the children and the audience was just excellent and we were so please to end such a special event with such a fabulous memory, it’s definitely one for the history books, we just have to start thinking now about how we top it next year! Ideas on a postcard please. . . and no, Mrs Darke, we cannot do the ‘Death Slide’. . . or can we. . .
On a more serious and practical note, I was sent this information through today from the Birmingham Safeguarding board. It is all about TikTok. It makes for interesting/frightening reading. I thought I would share with you as knowledge is power and the more that we know and understand about these things, the safer we can make our children.
*Parents’ Ultimate Guide to TikTok (Commonsense Media)
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/articles/parents-ultimate-guide-to-tiktok
*TikTok app safety – What parents need to know (Internet Matters)
https://www.internetmatters.org/hub/esafety-news/tik-tok-app-safety-what-parents-need-to-know/
Quote of the week: “We can’t always choose the music life plays for us, but we can choose how we dance to it.”
Well-being tasks for this week: These tasks for are for a Joyful June and Jump Back Up July – helping us to bounce back from situations and develop resilience;
Tuesday 28 June – Say three things that you are feeling positive about this morning
Wednesday 29 June – Go outside and run, play and appreciate nature
Thursday 30 June – Read a book that you wouldn’t usually read
Friday 1 July – Take a small step to overcome a worry or a problem
Saturday 2 July – Adopt a growth mind set – stop saying “I can’t. . .”, change this to, “I can’t yet. . .”
Sunday 3 July – Ask for help if you need it
Monday 4 July – Find something to look forward to today
Jokes of the week:
Did you hear about the girl who ran away with the circus?
The police made her bring it back!
Why is it hard to hire a clown?
They have big shoes to fill.
What happened when the lion ate the clown?
He felt funny!
What’s pink and stuck between an elephant’s toes?
Slow Clowns.
Did you hear about the human cannonball?
He got fired!
Sleeps til Santa: 179
5 things that I am grateful for or looking forward to this week:
Can you try this simple exercise in gratitude and positivity?
- I am looking forward to our Prep School sleepover and my following Saturday afternoon nap after the Prep School sleepover!
- I am looking forward to the Enterprise Days at HPW and HPP.
- I am looking forward to Swans (HPW) graduation.
- I am grateful for the amazing team who I work with daily – I couldn’t do my job without them.
- I am grateful for the sound of laughter and happiness in School.
Have a super week, it is a busy one but one filled with exciting opportunities. Enjoy!
Take care of each other,
Mrs Bennett
