“Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.” – Ovid
I hope that the students have indeed all had an enjoyable, restful but fruitful half term break and are now fully energised for what is always an incredibly busy second half of the Michaelmas Term. They certainly seem to have come back enthused to thrive and the first week back has flown by with so much going on as they return to their academic studies and co-curricular pursuits. Over the break, I spent some time in Madrid and Berlin recruiting for boarding students, meeting with over 60 agents across every continent; it reminded me once again of the benefits of internationalism within our environment with so many different languages and nationalities represented here at Saint Felix. It makes us more representative of the world that our students will inherit and better prepared for all that this will bring.
It would seem that talk of Christmas is now unavoidable, with the annual John Lewis advert having been released and the radio channels now starting to belt out the classic seasonal favourites. With this spirit in mind, I would like to announce our very own Christmas Card competition. Last year, one of our Prep School students, Kasper N, created a beautiful Christmas picture for our school Christmas card which you can see here. This year, all students from Nursery to Sixth Form are invited to design the front cover for the Saint Felix Christmas card, along the theme of ‘Winter Wildlife at Saint Felix.’ Not only will the winner have their artwork feature on the Christmas card and be credited inside, but they will also win a book token that I will present to them. Mr Trigg has supplied the students with the necessary details, and all designs need to be submitted by midday on Thursday 27th November.
It is always a real pleasure to hear about student successes over the holidays that we have and this first one revolves around the number 44! In race number 44, in the 44th week of the year, where the final heat was his 44th race, Harry P-R not only secured his first podium finish in Redlodge Karting, but won the whole event. What a fantastic achievement and Harry was thrilled that all of his work and effort have paid off and it was lovely to read how he put this all down to the support that he has received from family and friends. There are very few who reach the pinnacles of their sporting profession without such support and whilst talent will get you so far, hard work and the right backing will make the real difference. Herbie S-C is another example of this and has just become Suffolk Boys Champion in the Net Competition having played in 13 competitions across the county and gained the most points across the series to win the trophy. As a result, Herbie has been selected to represent Suffolk Under 16s and we wish him and Harry all the best in their continued sporting endeavours. Two football matches took place this week on our splendid new pitch and whilst both games were hard-fought, unfortunately the 1st XI lost to RHS Ipswich 3-2 and the Under 13s 4-2 against Woodbridge; some very positive team performances and mush to build on for the remaining weeks of this term. Not quite sporting but certainly showing great bravery and skill, Lilly R-W will be skydiving and completing her first solo flight later this month; she is also hoping to raise £1000 to fund activities for the Beccles Air Cadets and please do support this if you feel that you can: Lilly Jumps.
The weather looks set fair for an excellent Fireworks Evening, and I look forward to seeing many of you this evening for this lovely community event.
Yours sincerely,
Matthew Oakman
Head