Dear parents,
I hope you are all safe and well.
Public Examinations
School is a little quieter this week because Years 11 and 13 have embarked on study leave in preparation for their external examinations. I wish them every success in their quest for the best possible exam results for their own ability. If they revise well and do their best, that’s all we can ask of them! I get very sad when I see them so anxious.
Please remember exams are stressful for the pupils and you the parents also. However, I would like to share something I read this week:
Amongst all students who will be sitting their exams is an artist who doesn’t need to fully understand Maths. There is an entrepreneur who doesn’t care about History or English Literature. There is a musician whose Chemistry marks won’t matter. There is an athlete whose physical fitness is more important than Physics.
If your child gets top marks that’s great but if he or she doesn’t, let us not take away their self-confidence and dignity.
Tell them no matter what grades they get you love them and will not judge them. Please do this. One exam or a low mark won’t take away their dreams and talent. Please do not think that doctors and engineers are the only happy people in the world!
Parent Consultation Evenings
Thank you to all parents, Primary and Secondary, who attended the parents’ meetings this week. Any feedback you have is always valuable.
Good cheer
One of the Year 7 pupils said to me this week “Miss, you are always cheerful!” This principle is so easy to pass over and yet it is the glue that holds everything together. Cheerfulness keeps people together. Let’s all try it! It has a direct impact on your children’s learning.
One of our visitors this week said to us that our pupils always seem cheerful and happy. We agree, but it was lovely to hear!
Far away from exams, I thoroughly enjoy watching our Primary children leave the school at the end of the day and rush to you to start to tell you all about their day. I can imagine their talking doesn’t stop throughout the whole journey home!
Have a lovely weekend with your families.
PRIMARY SCHOOL
Your children were very excited about visitors looking around our school; ask them about it and watch this space for future information.
This week Emma Rose Dear from Miss Christina’s Nursery class shared with me her favourite story, “The Gruffalo”. She loves the story so much that she can retell it using the pictures. Thank you Emma!
The children of Year 6 were delighted to see Miss Catherine Scott return to school after being unwell – it is so nice to see how our children have such a strong, loyal relationship with their class teachers.
All the children in Miss Georgia’s Year 2 class received a sticker this week for working so hard and fully endorsing our value of CARE. Well done!
At the end of the day on Wednesday I caught Miss Chadwick’s Year 3 class all tucking a chocolate Kit Kat into their bags – not sure why??? They will tell you more about it…
Now, look at this achievement!
This video received the 2nd prize in a recent International COBIS Competition.
I am so proud of our lovely children. Thank you Miss Meryl for coordinating this and well done to all the children instrumental to our success
April’s BLOSSOM Award – TO BE A COLLABORATOR
Congratulations to all the children and in particular to:
Parents’ Consultation Meetings – Thank you to all Primary parents who attended their virtual appointments with class teachers and Spanish teachers over the past two weeks.
Pause for Reflection – On my journey to school each day at 7:45 am I listen on the radio to a “Pause for Reflection”. This week it was reminding us that each day we need to take just a few minutes to rest our body and mind and reflect on the previous day or on what is happening now – it helps put our busy lives into perspective. Try it!
Have a lovely weekend with your families.
May Personal Learning Goal – TO BE ETHICAL
Next week’s Aloha Value – HONESTY
Yours sincerely
Elizabeth Batchelor
Principal
SECONDARY SCHOOL
Dear Parents,
A question that is often asked at job interviews is: What are your strengths and weaknesses? We normally prepare for such questions in advance so responses are generally very good. We changed the strategy the last time that we interviewed the four shortlisted candidates for the Head Student position. They came in pairs and were asked to tell us a strength and a weakness of the person who was sitting next to them. This was tough, especially when they had to come up with something negative about their peers. I must say that they managed the task extremely well!
I then thought that it would be a great idea to ask my friends about my weaknesses too and see how accurate they were. I was not upset about what they told me, but I was not expecting that two of my friends said that a weakness of mine is my relationship with food (in plain English, I am basically a glutton!). One friend pointed out that I am extremely fussy when I eat and the other one said that every time we go out for a meal together and share food, I eat so quickly that people hardly get a chance to try it. How embarrassing!
My friends’ feedback has made me reflect about the importance of healthy eating habits. For the last three weeks, I have looked closely at what I eat and how I eat. After making a few tiny changes, I have already seen some positive results.
I often snack during the day. I am not talking about a healthy snack such as a piece of fruit or a cereal bar. I usually crave bad sugar in the middle of the day so I reach out to my drawer where I have a bag of colourful Haribo sweets. I have taken the bag away now and bring in two pieces of fruit instead. I have also started having a filling breakfast, such as whole grain toast with an egg, which has stopped me reaching for unhealthy snacks during the day.
Another terrible habit I have is the time I take to eat my meals. I do not eat quickly, I simply gobble up my food. I was averaging less than 10 minutes for lunch and not much longer for breakfast and dinner. No wonder that I always feel like a walking balloon about to pop! I have really tried to eat more slowly and allow myself more time to savour it; this has made a difference.
I am not a nutritionist who will give you advice on what you should or should not eat. What I can tell you is that I have noticed a change, not just to my body but also my mind. I am convinced that my regular morning runs and healthier eating habits will make a huge difference.
It is all about balance. So rather than cutting out the treats we love completely, start with small changes. I will not give up on Harribo though, I will just eat less of them!
I hope you have a nice weekend.
Francisco Escobar
Head of Secondary
