Junior Reflections Week 19 February 2025
Dear parents,
February has arrived and a lovely feeling of Spring is here. Daffodils were awash in the junior school, and I always feel like we have made it when January ends and the daffodils appear. We made it through the longest month of the year… January. My assembly this week was to impress on the pupils the importance of the word ‘consent’. I was ably assisted by Rev Close, who had made me a cup of tea, that I didn’t want…and I kindly wore Mrs Hardy’s lovely coat, which I had not asked to take… a lot of laughter was had but the message was clear. Everyone has the right to feel respected and have their own boundaries. If you don’t want a cup of tea, that is ok, and NO is NO, not a maybe or a sort of yes, it is NO.
Children’s Mental Health Week
This week, we have embraced Children’s Mental Health Week with enthusiasm and reflection. Our theme, “Know Yourself, Grow Yourself”, in partnership with Place2Be and supported by the beloved Inside Out characters, has inspired pupils to explore their emotions and personal growth. Through a variety of engaging activities – from thoughtful “getting to know each other” sessions to expressive poetry- our children have deepened their self-awareness, built resilience, and discovered creative ways to understand and share their feelings. It has been a truly uplifting week, reinforcing the importance of well-being and emotional expression in our school community.
Poetry by Heart
I was privileged enough to have been invited to be a judge for the Poetry by Heart competition where 58 children from across the junior school performed their chosen poems. Some poems were very old, some Victorian and some were modern. Some poems were funny, some were sad, some were enchanted, some mysterious and some contemplative. All of the children took us on magical journeys with their words and their interpretations. Children overcame nerves and showed great resilience. Some performed collaboratively; some on their own. All the children supported one another and appreciated the special kind of nerves that come just before a public performance. It was a truly difficult decision, but the following pupils have been selected to go through to the next round:
Rafe (F1C) who performed Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll.
Toby H (L2M) who performed Toilet Seat by Harry Baker.
Lizzie and Mabel (U2C) who performed Sky In The Pie by Roger McGough.
Connor (U2C) who performed The Story of Little Suck-a-Thumb by Heinrich Hoffmann.
Going through in the Classic category are Jennifer (U1W), Krithik (U2T), and Cressida (U2E).
The audience were also treated to a musical interlude, with performances from Vally, Isabelle and Ralph; well done to you all. And finally, thank you to my fellow judges: Mr Ayling, Miss Rose, Mrs Handley, Mrs Russell, Mr Pidwell and of course to Miss Cox for masterminding the whole thing.
Sports fixtures
On Tuesday, our squash team faced St Peter’s Prep School in an exciting fixture at the Exeter Golf & Country Club. The pupils had a fantastic time, showcasing great skill and sportsmanship in some thrilling matches. Thursday saw our U10 and U11 swim teams travelling to Millfield for the IAPS regional round. Competing at such a high level was an invaluable experience, and our swimmers represented Exeter Junior School brilliantly. We now eagerly await the results to see if any of our pupils qualify for the national finals in London. A huge well done to all the swimmers involved!
Strategic planning and parental forum next week
Thank you to the large number of parents who completed the strategy survey online this week. This has now closed. It is not, however, too late to sign up for the parental forum to look at strategy on Tuesday 11 February at 6pm. If you are interested in coming along to look at the data from the survey and to workshop the ideas with us, to feed into the governors’ strategy review, we would love to see you. Please go to “forms to complete” on MSP to sign up.
I hope that you all have a lovely weekend, and I am sure I will see many of you this evening.
