This week marked the first week of the Summer Term and we welcomed all of the pupils back to school. At the gate I saw many smiling faces as the children saw their classmates and teachers after the long break. If there was any hint of trepidation, our Year 8s were on hand to welcome and escort our younger pupils into school. I hear that much fun was had on the Ski Trip, and we hope to bring you a video of their adventures very soon.
I want to share something I learned over the break. You might know this already, but I was very interested to read that this year, in the first week of April, major festivals for three of the world’s major religions overlapped. Easter, Ramadan, and Passover were taking place simultaneously. Apparently, this happens only three times every century, due to the lunar calendar. You may be interested to know that we are in the year 1444 of the Islamic epoch, and the year 5783 by Jewish reckoning. What that means is that over two billion people, or one quarter of the world’s population, shared a very important part of their faith’s holy days. I loved reading this, and I felt very hopeful because I believe that people are much more alike than we are different. Despite the differences in the events they celebrate, and the beliefs behind them; Passover, Easter, and Ramadan all place importance upon time spent with family around a table, and remembering those less fortunate. We can all agree that these are important values for everyone. May I wish Eid Mubarak to all those in our community celebrating the end of their fast this weekend.
The latest copy of our calendar should have reached you this week, and the list of things to look forward to over the next ten weeks is enormous! Our Artists’ Open House event is now firmly on the horizon, and we look forward to a huge range of trips and visits including Year 7 heading off to France for the first time since Covid, the Leavers’ Programme for our Year 8s post exams, a Piano Recital, the Summer Concert, and the Upper School production of Fame at the Barn Theatre, Southwick. To top it all, it’s Cricket season, and the weather seems to have adjusted in accordance!
Ms Elizabeth Lyle, Head