I have just come back to my desk after Celebration Huddle and, as I said to the children, ‘I do believe we go to the happiest school in the world’. Watching the children (and staff!) clap and dance their way out of Huddle to Robbie Williams, really did make me very proud and feel extremely lucky!
Celebration Huddle (or, as one child renamed it today, ‘The Egg Huddle’, as this is where we celebrate our Good Egg Awards) really does show Pennthorpe at its best. Children celebrating others’ success; clapping and cheering for their peers for Positivity Awards, Good Egg Cups, Head’s Awards, Council Representatives, Sports Ambassadors and House Captains is just such a happy occasion, and one that fills me with genuine pride and energy!
At the end of today’s Huddle, I shared with the children that on Wednesday we were visited by a representative from Muddy Stilettos, a magazine and lifestyle guide which, amongst other things, visits and reviews schools. I spent two hours on Wednesday talking with and touring Hephzibah Anderson, who was visiting Pennthorpe for the first time. After our tour and subsequent chat, her final comment was about the genuine happiness she felt from our children throughout her visit. She was absolutely right. The children had been amazing during the tour and, had I prepared them (and I honestly hadn’t!), they could not have been on better form! Smiling, laughing, running up to speak with us, demonstrating beautiful manners, showing kindness, asking questions – they were, in all honesty, perfect! I explained to Hephzibah that what she experienced was, for Pennthorpe, ‘normal’, and that it sometimes takes someone coming in from outside to remind us that, actually, what we have here is far from ‘normal’!
This week, I missed a day of school due to illness. An extremely rare occurrence for me as an adult. However, it did remind me of something that I remember from being unwell as a child. As miserable as it was feeling poorly, when you started feeling better and eventually felt ‘OK’ again, it was such a great feeling! We can often take the simple fact of being healthy for granted, until we don’t have it. I reflected on this being a little like Pennthorpe in the way I have explained above. It is easy to take what we have here, for granted. To assume that all schools are happy, that children can be themselves, that they walk into school happy and smiling, engage with their teachers, laugh, have fun and be children. But I can assure you that it’s not the case. Pennthorpe is unique, and I try to remember this as often as I can, and I hope you do too. We are part of something special, and we are really lucky to have it!
With half term starting today, we have the first of our Fireside Fridays at pick up. I hope you were able to stop for a hot chocolate and a s’more on your way out of school at the end of what has been a really busy week. We are often busy at Pennthorpe, but this week has seen two dress-up days, a visit from Dr Digby, a school trip, Year 7 & 8 delivering flyers to the local community, nine fixtures and an orchestral music trip! I am so proud of what we offer here, and this week perfectly highlights the strength of our community and staff. The opportunities we give our children are incredible and, whilst I know it has been a long seven weeks and many of the children are tired and ready for a break, I also know they have loved their learning and love their school.
When we return after half term, we will also be welcoming Danielle Norwood back to Pennthorpe. Many of you will remember Danielle from last year and her work as a 1:1 in the Prep School. Danielle left at the end of the academic year but recently got back in contact with a desire to return. This shows the ‘Pennthorpe Pull’, and Danielle is very Pennthorpe! She is not only an incredibly kind, hard-working and warm individual, but she also builds the most incredible relationships with the children she works with. Just hearing the reaction of the Year 7 children when they saw her back at Pennthorpe for her interview on Wednesday was enough to show the impact she has. Danielle will be returning to work in the Learning Support Department and will also once again be leading the Pennthorpe Esports team. After our amazing success in IAPS last year; watch out world, we’re back!
Finally, a couple of reminders for you; if you are heading away for the half term break, please do share a photo from your travels for our ‘Where Have You Been?’ display so we can celebrate ‘Pennthorpe Around the World!’. If you have not yet purchased your tickets for our Firework Event on Thursday 5th November, we have now sold over 300 tickets and are expected to sell out before we return to school! So, if you do plan to attend, please book your tickets ASAP by clicking here.
I hope you all have a wonderful half term break. Thank you as always for your support, engagement and passion for our school. I hope you and your children all enjoy some downtime and I can’t wait to welcome everyone back again in November!
Mr Jon Marler
Head of School
