Dear parents,
I hope that you are all keeping safe and well.
Spring brings with it a feeling of hope, and hope was the main theme in this week’s first Biggest Assembly that was broadcast across the nation. All the children currently in school took part in this yesterday morning, and I ‘hope’ that some of you had the opportunity to watch it at home as well (see the link on Facebook). It was introduced by the principal of Oak National Academy, with guest speakers Gavin Williamson, Education Secretary, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. In these difficult times it can sometimes feel very difficult to cope with the situation that we are in; for example, not seeing friends and family, or having financial worries. But hope helps us be optimistic and to help us get through it together. We use the word ‘hope’ a lot and it means different things to different people; here is what hope means to some of the school children in the national assembly and in our school, as well as a message about hope from the Archbishop:
School children from different schools and our school
‘Hope is something that is in my heart to let me have strength.’
‘Hope in the Bible means to have a confident expectation of the promises God has given us.’
‘Hope is at the heart of all we do.’
‘Hope feels like freedom.’
‘Hope feels warm, because of sunshine.’
‘Hope is light in the darkest room, something that’s always there.’
‘I hope that everyone has fun.’
‘I hope that everyone who is poorly gets better.’
Archbishop
‘In the Bible, hope means the certain expectation of something that you don’t have yet but you will have in the future because it’s been promised by God. Hope is hope of life, hope of purpose, hope of peace, hope of justice, hope of equality, and a good future.’
What does hope mean to you? What are your hopes?
On Friday 8th May it is VE day, and people across the Isle of Wight are being encouraged to have a ‘socially distanced’ street party, in your homes, gardens or driveway. We would love to see photos of how you are celebrating this – email them to the school and we can put them on Facebook (with permission).
As a school community, we say a very sad goodbye to Suzanne as she is retiring and embarking on new adventures in her life – we hope that she enjoys her much deserved retirement! She has been a part of the school family for over 27 years, and is much loved and respected by everyone – she will be very much missed. During her time with the school, she has always been much more than a member of staff because she means so much to everyone in lots of different ways: friend, listener, font of all knowledge, giggler, teller of jokes (some more naughty than others!), shoulder to cry on, advice giver, pocket rocket, ball of energy, mother figure, and an all round beautiful person! More adjectives that people use to describe her include: amazing, loving, kind, helpful, inspirational, incredible and a super star!
You have had messages from Mrs Jones about the plans that we have in place to give Suzanne the send-off that she deserves, and we will be in touch with further details when the school reopens. This isn’t ‘au revoir’ but ‘a bientot’!
Regarding office staff, Melissa is continuing her role as Family Liaison Officer (FLO), and she is now also the school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) (among other things), and news about our new administrator will be coming soon.
With best wishes,
Mrs. Lennon and the Brighstone Team
Brighstone Buzz – Issue 27 – 1st May