Dear Parents,
During a sunny afternoon walk on Sunday last it struck me that I cannot remember ever having found the autumn colours quite so beautiful. It was really glorious. It reminded me of a talk we had here at Dame Bradbury’s a good few years ago from an educational psychologist, who we had invited to come and talk to parents. One of her messages was that we should all try to find what she referred to as a “golden moment” each day, however hard the rest of the day might be; a moment when we stop and focus and be thankful for what we have. You can imagine that during a busy school day this can be hard to do, but I do appreciate the value of that moment, and this week in particular.
It struck me as somewhat ironic that Anti-bullying Week should fall within the same week as Remembrance, a week during which we will in effect be encouraging our pupils not to repeat the mistakes of their forefathers. The seed of tolerance needs to be planted now, and grown and matured whilst they are still young. For me it is possibly the most important of our learning habits, and one that we all know does not always come naturally. What we teach our pupils about solving playtime disputes through talking and listening is what will lay the foundations for conflict resolution as they grow up. I don’t think the importance of this can be overstated, and this was brought home to our Year 6 pupils in a very visual way when they visited Madingley War Cemetery last week.
Away from the moments of reflection, we have had the usual busyness at school. Maths has been high profile with Mrs Heywood’s presentation last Wednesday and our Year 3 to 6 pupils taking part in various ways in both the Primary Maths and BEBRAS challenges. We’re always struck by the positive attitude our pupils show to these tasks, which they seem to take in their stride. Watch this space for the results!
Our youngest pupils have continued to focus on the theme of thinking of others and were excited to welcome their visitors from Manorcourt Care Home for their termly visit. It is a delight to see how each generation provides stimulation and entertainment for the other, and all so apparently effortlessly.
Year 3 have made good use of the excellent and varied local community of Saffron Walden with their visit to St Mary’s Church to tie in with their current learning in religious studies, whilst Year 4 welcomed their Rosedale House counterparts for their Colours of History collaboration. Mr West went off to Old Buckenham Hall on Wednesday with a team of our Year 5 girls to take part in a STEM Olympiad, and they impressed both with their scientific knowledge and knowhow and with their behaviour and positive attitude.
I’d like to say thank you to everyone who contributed to our recent charitable events, the Link to Hope shoebox appeal and the Malim Charity Day in aid of Smile for a Child, as well as those of you who attended the excellent Bop for Beth here on Saturday. I know that Beth and Kate and the Shriever family were very appreciative of your support both for the event and more generally for Beth as she continues her Olympic bid and inspires our pupils in the process. It almost feels like we have our very own Olympian, and I was delighted (but not surprised) by how many children put their hands up in assembly when I asked them if they thought THEY could be an Olympic champion themselves!
I know that thoughts are now beginning to turn towards things festive, and that will certainly be the case in school, already in evidence in music lessons and singing practice in assembly. With our continued focus on sustainability, we will be talking to the children about ways they can make their own Christmas more sustainable without making it any less fun. As part of this, do watch out for our Digital Christmas Card competition which we will be launching next week.
It is probably not often enough said, but the staff and I are always very appreciative of the help you offer as a parent body in so many ways, from accompanying the children on school trips to running clubs, assisting the PTA, providing costumes for school productions, coming to talk about your job as part of our Inspire Me and so many other things. So my thanks to all of you for that.
With my very best wishes,
Louise Graham
Head of Dame Bradbury’s
