Mr Bevis' Words Summer 6
This week - revealing our senior appointments, pupil voice goes party political and we join a national reflection in silence and stillness.
It has been a week in which political matters have collided quite sharply in the consciousness of the Senior Girls School. In assembly on Monday I gave an update on the election and a brief summary of the main points from each of the political party manifestos. It was interesting to note that many of the main promises were quite similar in nature; albeit different in degree. The real diversity was in how any initiative was to be funded. On Tuesday we had to postpone our planned election hustings as a result of the terrible events in Manchester, and tutors were asked to lead discussions with their tutor groups designed to explain and to reassure. To explain once again the sickening randomness of terrorist murders, to explain that any claimed religious justification was completely rejected by faith leaders, and to reassure pupils that such acts of terrorism were actually very rare.
Thursday morning saw us return to the political debate as Year 10s took on the role of party candidates for each of the main parties and present their arguments to their electorate, the enfranchised pupil body. With varying degrees of razzmatazz, political ideology and pinpoint detail on some proposed policies, our nascent Year 10 political apparatchiks gave us much to ponder. Perhaps most impressively was they way in which they came up with and answered question on the fly. When we return they will have a final opportunity to go on the stump into tutor rooms to persuade any floating voters to pledge their support.
Some of our Year 10 candidates showed that they understood the power of a charismatic, rousing and engaging speaker. These are some of the qualities that we look for in our Senior Girls pupil leadership and today we informed the girls who had been appointed to the positions of Head Girl, Deputy Head Girl and School Council Leaders. We have consulted with the senior pupils, teachers and tutors, and the applicants have undertaken a series of interviews. I am delighted to announce therefore the following appointments:
Head Girl: Deia Ayres
Deputy Head Girls: Marina Daniel, Cleo Sloggett
School Council Leaders: Serena Bhatti, Isabelle Molhoek, Louise Ditchfield
My congratulations to all of them. We shall be appointing and announcing further Senior Prefect positions, including House Captains, early next half term.
To return to the tragic events of Monday night. At 11am on Thursday morning the school bell was rung and we joined the nation in observing a minute silence. It was very moving to stand in the middle of the school and to see and hear the usual hustle and bustle of our community settle into stillness and silence. For a minute we all stood, reflecting, and then the bell was rung again and we resumed our normal lives. A return to normality will take much longer for the families of the deceased and the injured, along with many of those caught up in the aftermath. However we must not allow those that wish to tear our communities apart and damage our freedoms, the opportunity to do so.
Hopefully as schools break for the half term holiday we shall be able to focus on the good things in our lives, and the joy of spending time with our family and friends.
In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you. Deepak Chopra
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