“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Martin Luther King
In both the Prep and Senior Chapel Services last week, Archie L spoke about the significance and importance of Martin Luther King, one of the most pivotal figures of the 20th Century, in light of the annual MLK Day in the USA, a federal holiday that was celebrated on Monday 19th January. Archie spoke with great clarity and emotion when outlining the impact that MLK had not only within American society but also globally; there are very few individuals indeed that can be deemed to affected fundamental and real change; MLK is undoubtedly within that category as the unofficial leader of the Civil Rights movement whose work culminated in the most significant piece of legislation in 20th Century American history (The Civil Rights Act of 1964). The students in both Prep and Senior were visibly shocked and surprised to hear about the reality of segregation that preceded these changes and it was a reminder for everyone that, whilst we might not live in a perfect society, we have come a long way in ensuring that our diversity now unites rather than divides us.
It has been an incredibly busy week at school, with two days of scholarship testing with numerous external and prospective students joining our own for testing across academics, sports, music, drama, dance, art and other areas. It was wonderful to see so many students that have developed a real passion and interest in specific and varied areas of school life where they want to further develop their expertise and skills. As we look to further develop our scholars and extension programmes, there will be increased opportunities to experience new and exciting ways to broaden their horizons.
In the Head of Year Assembly on Monday for Years 7-9, Mr Grimmer introduced the Careers Programme that is now taking place in some of their lessons. With our partnership with PeopleHawk now entering its second year, and a new curriculum having been developed to support this key area of our academic provision, we are looking to expand this provision over the coming year with some new initiatives related to both local and national opportunities and professions. As always, this is an area where parental support can be vital; if you would like to help support our programme in any way at all, please do contact Mr Grimmer ([email protected]), not least as National Careers Week takes place in the second half of this term. The continued parental support in the form of the PTA provides a wonderful opportunity for parents to connect and help support the school in a myriad of different ways. As Cathy Pitt comes towards the end of her tenure, I would like to take this opportunity to thank her for everything that she has done for both the PTA and the school. With one more meeting left before she passes on the reins to Jess Astor, we are all so grateful and thankful for the huge amount of work that she has done to make the PTA so wonderfully effective and integrated into the school community. We also wish Jess the very best as she takes on this role. As Cathy’s parting gift, attached to this newsletter is the first edition of The Parent Post; I do hope that many of you can join me for coffee or tea and cakes on Friday 6th February!
It is a key weekend for those performing in The Addams Family, with two full days of rehearsals taking place on Saturday and Sunday. Excitement and anticipation is building across the whole school, and we hope that their weekend goes well and they feel they are making real progress as they enter the final few weeks before the performances. Booking is now open and please use the following link (https://www.trybooking.com/uk/FXHI) to make sure that you don’t miss out!
Our Football teams competed with great fortitude and skill against RHS Ipswich (1st XI) and Langley School (U14s), and whilst both teams lost on the day, they are making great progress showing a competitive streak that is admirable. Unfortunately, Sir John Leman cancelled the Netball fixture this week, but Freya J has impressed enormously with her coaching skills helping to develop the Year 8 students. With the Badminton Finals and the Saint Felix Cross-Country Competition taking place today, there is a wide array of competitive action for our students on a weekly basis.
Have a lovely weekend.
Yours sincerely,
Matthew Oakman
Head