Dear parents,
I hope that you all had a good break and the pupils are ready for the second half of the autumn term, which has already got off to a rather busy start. Yesterday the school was awash with moustaches, and oh my what a sight it was! I was rather surprised how well they suited some pupils, and it certainly made me smile and thank you for the kind donations; it is all for such a very worthy cause, and we raised £144.
‘Consent’ was my message of the week, gently reminding the pupils about the importance of understanding the meaning of the word and how to deal with some scenarios. A ‘shout out’ to Agnes in Upper Two, who amazingly remembered how I demonstrated this topic last year… by wearing Mrs Hardy’s coat without asking. We teach our children how to kindly say ‘no’, and to respect others when they do say no. This lesson starts in pre-prep and continues throughout the educational journey and into adulthood.
Our Lower School pupils enjoyed some exciting hockey and rugby matches this week, with the U8 and U9 boys taking on Blundell’s at home in rugby, whilst the U8 and U9 girls travelled to Blundell’s for some hockey matches. It is lovely to see these young sportsmen and women developing their skills, and there has been a notable ‘step up’ in the skill levels displayed, since the start of the term. They certainly entertained the many supporting parents and grandparents that enjoyed the sunshine on Thursday, and my thanks to them for their ongoing support of the players.
Next week it is Anti-Bullying week, and this year the theme is ‘Power for Good’, where we remind our pupils to be empowered as young people to use their Power for Good to safely speak up and raise awareness when they see bullying, face to face or online. At Exeter Junior School, we don’t limit our focus on this important issue to just one week — it’s woven into the fabric of our school life all year round. Through assemblies, our virtues, PSHE lessons, and everyday interactions, we continually promote kindness and inclusion. Kindness is a wonderful trait, and every child deserves to feel safe, valued, and special at school. We celebrate both our differences and our similarities, recognising that each of us is unique in our own way. I often remind our pupils that a school where everyone was the same would be incredibly boring and so I am pleased to have so many amazing pupils in our school community. To raise awareness, we are asking all pupils (and staff) to wear odd socks on Monday to raise the importance of being different. We will also be having a non-school uniform day next Friday in support of Children in Need, we are asking for a voluntary donation of £2 with all proceeds going to this very worthwhile charity.
I had several governors’ meetings this week with our Education Committee meeting being held over at the pre-prep, which was a great opportunity to visit our other site. I enjoy sharing with our governors all that we are doing in the junior school and am very appreciative of the whole governing body who generously give up their time to visit the school regularly and act as our critical friends.
And finally, a reminder that our scholarship application deadline is approaching on Friday 14 November. Full details and the application form are available on our website.
Have a lovely weekend and I look forward to seeing a variety of odd socks on Monday morning.
