Dear Parents and Friends,
I am writing at what I freely admit is my least favourite time of the year. The excitement and relaxation of Christmas seem long gone, and daylight hours are not increasing as fast as I’d like. It’s a good time, though, for stopping to take stock; invited to do so traditionally by making resolutions for the new year, and setting goals and tasks for the months ahead. Our pupils are used to setting targets for their learning, encouraged to do so for themselves but also supported and encouraged by staff to “aim high”, whatever that means for each individual. At this time of year we do tend to spend more time inside and this can promote something of a cabin fever feeling, especially on the odd day when pupils are prevented by the weather from going outside at all. I have always been struck by the good nature and easy way of pupils at Dame Bradbury’s, though, and indeed that is one of the most compelling features of our community: and they are overwhelmingly quite happy to don their coats and venture outside with a no-such-thing-as-bad-weather attitude.
The one striking difference of Dame Bradbury’s school site this term is of course the opening of the first Stephen Perse Nursery in what used to be our Beehive. We are delighted to have had such a positive uptake of places, and I love popping in there each week for a few minutes of a quite different sort of ambiance, and always shoes-off! Last week I also made my first visit to our second Foundation nursery, at Salisbury Villas in Cambridge. What a fantastic job has been done on what was a tired and dejected site when we took it over. One colleague (whose identity will remain secret, of course) even went as far as to say that it was worth having another baby for!
Back to Dame Bradbury’s, and our younger pupils have thrown themselves into their new topic, People Who Help Us, with the usual gusto: and they have hosted a range of visitors, both from within our parent body and outside, who have come to talk to them about the very many ways a wide variety of people do help us in our daily lives. Thanks to all those parents who have given up time to help with this (even though I very strongly suspect that most of them enjoy these visits at least as much as the children do!).
Focusing on our current learning habit of creativity, we have shared assemblies already this term looking at innovative animals, revisiting the important topic of Internet safety, sharing Mr Blackman’s highly amusing epic poem in The Sparrow and the Crow, and analysing our Thinking Wheel and what it means for our pupils’ learning. Do ask your child about what the Thinking Toolkit, to give it its official name, means to them if you get the chance.
Year 6 had their second language taster day prior to making their language choices for Year 7, whilst all our year groups joined in the Bradbury House Charity Day in aid of the Ruth Strauss Foundation last week. A particularly poignant moment for reflection this week has been the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, which our Year 6 pupils had the chance to consider in more detail when they attended the annual Holocaust Memorial Day service at St Mary’s church here in Saffron Walden along with other local schools.
Finally, I would like to thank pupils and colleagues for making our new staff this term feel welcome and for helping them find their way round and work out what’s what and who’s who. Also on a staff note, we send many congratulations to Amy Williamson and her husband on the birth of their daughter, Ottelie; and to Kelly from the office, who cheered up the dreary weather by getting married on Saturday. We send them all our very best wishes, and to you and your families too.
With my very best wishes,
Louise Graham
Head of Dame Bradbury’s
