Good morning, Prep School family,
Welcome to the last Bennett’s Bulletin of the 2022-2023 academic year! It seems only a few weeks ago that I was writing the welcome back Bulletin in September and looking forward to the year and the adventures ahead! Where have the past 10 or so months gone?!
This last Bulletin of the year is always a bittersweet one to write. School is a mixing pot of emotions at this time of year and this week is most definitely when things are reaching boiling point! The children are so excited to be moving up a year group, ready for the challenges ahead, but they are also really sad to be leaving behind the teacher that they have cherished being with for a whole year. Year 6 are so prepared and ready to be moving onto new adventures at their chosen senior schools but they aren’t quite ready to say goodbye to the school and the school family that they have been part of for many, many years. They are not sure of what the new ‘normal’ will look like – will they know people and make friends (YES), will they find their classrooms (YES and even if they get lost, enjoy it, it’s all part of the ride!) and will their new teachers be as lovely as the ones they have known before (YES!). Teachers are very proud of all of the children in their care and the personal growth and successes that they have witnessed in each and every one of their class since September. Parents are dealing with the fact that their children are growing up and changing and in the blink of an eye they are graduating Pre-Prep and in the next breath, they will be sitting their A-levels, getting ready for university!
Change can be scary but without change, we don’t grow. We don’t experience new and exciting adventures. We don’t meet different and inspiring people and we don’t push ourselves out of our comfort zones. Change is essential for growth and whether we like it or not, it happens to us all so my advice to you, no matter how scared or worried you are, embrace it . . . what is the worst that would happen?
I am going to end this Bulletin with a poem that I found a few weeks ago and I really liked it. It is applicable to all of the children in school, no matter their age and it’s also relevant to all of us adults as well.
*Keep your feet on the floor
… but let your love for learning soar.
*Keep your nose clean
… but soil your hands with hard work.
*Keep your good common sense
… but don’t forget to use it.
*Keep doing your work
… but remember the difference between “done” and
“well done”.
*Keep yourself in your own space
… but let your thoughts mingle with those of others.
*Keep your area clean
… but clutter your mind with knowledge.
*Keep your sense of humour
… but share it when it will make someone else feel
better.
*Keep returning your library books on time
… but never stop checking them out.
*Keep quiet in the corridors
… but speak loudly and proudly when presenting your
ideas.
*Keep striving for answers
… but never stop asking questions.
“Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change” – Jim Rohn
Quote of the week: “Being beautiful has very little to do with how you look.” – Stacie Martin
Well-being tasks for this week: Jump Back Up July
This month is all about building our own, personal resilience and ‘bounce-back-ability’.
Tuesday 4 July – Find something to look forward to today
Wednesday 5 July – Get the basics right: eat well, exercise and go to bed on time
Thursday 6 July – Pause, breathe and feel your feet firmly on the ground
Friday 7 July– Shift your mood, do something you really enjoy
Saturday 8 July – Avoid saying ‘must’ or ‘should’ to yourself today
Sunday 9 July – Put a problem in perspective, see the bigger picture
Monday 10 July – Reach out to someone you trust and share your feelings with them
Jokes of the week: The joke this week are for those of you born in the 80’s. They were inspired by a random conversations we had in our Senior Leadership meeting yesterday! You can tell it’s the end of term! Thanks to Mr Coles for this cracker!
I asked Rick Astley if I could borrow one of his Pixar Disney films the other day. . .
He said, you can have Cars and Toy Story, but I’m never gonna give you Up!
Sleeps til Santa: 173 sleeps til Santa
5 things that I am grateful for or looking forward to this week:
Can you try this simple exercise in gratitude and positivity?
1. I am looking forward to long lie-ins and late nights! No more alarm clock until September!
2. I am looking forward to going to Norfolk this weekend, it’s been a while.
3. I am looking forward to lazy breakfasts and long lunches with friends.
4. I am looking forward to Arthur and Amelie’s sports day – I can finally get to go to it this year!
5. I am grateful for an amazing year in the Prep School – I really do count my blessings daily.
6. I am grateful for a fantastic sleepover last week – it was so much fun!
Have a wonderful summer holidays – have a really good rest and enjoy the break from the daily routines and from school! Enjoy time with your loved ones, make so many memories and have lots and lots and lots of fun – that is what holiday times are for!
Stay safe over the summer and look after each other. I cannot wait to see you all again in September.
Much love,
Mrs Bennett
