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Community and our part in it

A number of things have happened over the last week or so to remind me of why my family and I are so lucky to be part of this great school. Firstly,  I was sitting on a bus yesterday and I saw an advert that read, “ Never give up on someone in need. When “I” is replaced by “We”, illness becomes wellness”. That, to me, is a great tenet by which to live and I believe it is at the heart of the culture at St Andrew’s. I have witnessed first-hand how the community have rallied and supported and it is truly heart-warming.

There has been a focus on self-reflection this week and it is important that children learn to do this. We all need to stop and take a look in the mirror from time to time because, if done properly, it can re-affirm our self-worth and reassure us that we’re doing the right thing; it is of course important to be confident in ourselves. But looking in the mirror too often can lead to feelings of insecurity, self-obsession and a total lack of confidence; It can also lead to a lessening of compassion for those around us which is clearly not good for society. Teaching children how to self-reflect without over-analysing themselves is therefore crucial for building confident, happy children who have a strong understanding of the part they must play in their communities.

I have seen some really excellent teaching recently which underlines what I have written above. With positive relationships and compassionate understanding pouring out through collaborative tasks, quiet words of encouragement or inventive links to the current wave of thought-provoking Christmas adverts, the children are extremely lucky that they are guided by a group of staff who work so hard and care so much.