Merry Christmas from the Saint Felix School Community
And what a busy week it has been to bring the Michaelmas Term to a close. From the PTA Christmas Cracker last Friday, there have been significant events filling the diary to ensure festive joy and delight throughout the school community. The Sports Hall was packed for the annual Christmas Cracker with entertainment from our Prep Department singers, raffles and competitions to win prizes, and the Year 8 entrepreneurs showcasing their business talents with a fine array of stalls that ended up making a considerable profit that is testimony to their budding ability to become the leaders of start-up companies in the future! The whole event raised a significant amount of money which the PTA will look to use wisely to help support the various initiatives and needs within the school provision. The work of the PTA is invaluable and our huge thanks go to Cathy Pitt as she nears the end of her amazing tenure as Chair; Jess Astor will takeover the reins at the end of January and this will provide the opportunity to say a heartfelt thanks to Cathy on behalf of all whilst wishing Jess and the new team all the very best.
This week has seen two delightful Christmas Dinners for the Senior Department with an innovative and popular buffet style approach to the cuisine followed up by a disco that had both staff and students throwing some shapes! The whole school enjoyed a sumptuous Christmas lunch yesterday whilst wearing their festive jumpers and accompanied by the songs of the season. With the Prep Department Santa Run, Carols at Care Homes and Christmas Entertainment provided by the Senior students, there has been so much to enjoy this week whilst the students have also remained productive and studious to the very end of the term.
And as always, the highlight of the last week of this term has been the two Carol Services that have just taken place in the divine St Edmund’s Church in Southwold. What a magnificent setting in which to close the term, come together as a community and celebrate the festive season before departing for three weeks. The choir were fantastic and the readings were all delivered with such confidence and poise; my thanks go to everyone who made today not only possible but such a joy to experience.
The annual GCHQ Christmas Challenge is Mr Chapman’s highlight of the year and as someone who finds such puzzles almost impossible to decipher, I am always so impressed by those who can find a way to uncover the fiendishly difficult answers. Their Christmas Challenge is designed to encourage and engage both students and the general public in codebreaking and critical thinking. It is organised by GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters), the UK’s intelligence and cyber agency and I am delighted to say that two students managed to solve every part of the challenge within 24 hours of the launch which is quite amazing indeed. Norayr G and Levon G (both in Year 12) deserve huge praise for showing all elements of the Learner Profile combined with huge perseverance; I am very proud of them both. And in case you were wondering, Mr Chapman also solved all elements of the challenge. I have attached the Challenge for those of you who might want to see if you too can crack their Christmas Challenge!
In other student news, Charles S has just been re-elected to serve a second term as Chair of the East Suffolk Youth Council. This is a real honour and also a reflection of how successfully he has managed to lead this new initiative to ensure that it has had a real impact on local government so that they listen to the youth voice. In an era where democratic principles are perhaps under greater threat than ever and the younger generation need a sense of positivity for their future aspirations, it is so important that our students fully engage in the world around them both domestically and internationally. Both Harley C and Charles S have served the East Suffolk Youth Council with great dedication and enthusiasm, and we are now utilising the Saint Felix Diploma to ensure that all students have a better and fuller understanding of the politics of our nation and how they can have a voice that is backed up by knowledge and understanding of the issues at hand.
The Michaelmas Term is a long one, and the students have excelled themselves across their academic pursuits, their sporting endeavours, and their co-curricular passions. They have been kind and considerate, curious, and inspired, and good company at all times. As Head, I cannot ask for more than that.
Good luck to Year 11 and Year 13 as they prepare for the mock examinations in the New Year. The break provides an ideal opportunity to consolidate their academic understanding whilst developing their deeper learning and mastery of the content material; I urge them to use this time wisely and get ahead of the game.
It only leaves me to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Yours sincerely,
Matthew Oakman
Head