Good morning, Prep School family,
I hope that this Bulletin finds you well.
I cannot believe that it is time to write this Bulletin again. The last seven days have flown by. It has been a very busy week but nothing out of the ordinary, it has just been lovely to have been able to spend some quality time with the children without rushing from event to event. My week was actually filled with lots of fun things – from morning gate duty, to lunchtime duties, to reading lots of stories to different classes, to taking Patsy to meet our new children to helping to find parts of uniform that have been eaten by our uniform monster. . . it is amazing though, he doesn’t seem to eat clothing that is named! All of these things might seem mundane or boring but these are my small wins! I love spending time and interacting with the children, that is why I became a teacher after all! However, as my career has progressed and changed over the years, the time I spend on the ‘coalface’ has reduced. That’s why these times, no matter how manic or seemingly tedious are so special to me. I love the energy of the children and the excitement they bring. They make me smile so many times each day and for this, I feel eternally thankful. An example for you, I was sat at my desk writing this and I heard a conversation with Mr Sneekes and a child at football club. Said child had lost a sock – the conversation went as follows:
“Mr Sneekes, I have lost my sock.”
“Have you looked in your bag?”
“Yes, I have I looked a hundred times. One hundred times. I took everything out and looked one hundred times!”
“That’s a lot of times, come on, I’ll help you look.”
“Thank you but I have looked one hundred times already!”
Needless to say, sock was found – it only took Mr Sneekes one look! I was giggling away to myself whilst trying to work on a policy document! One hundred looks! Small wins!
One battle that I am not winning at the moment is the fight against the invasion of the house spiders. For those of you who know me, know that I am ok with small spiders. I can do the ones with really thin legs that are almost see through. However, once they are bigger than a 50 pence piece, I literally turn to jelly. After a night away, Mr Bennett and I came home and I found five HUGE (I’m not even joking when I say that they were palm size with thick legs and massive bodies) spiders in my house. They were everywhere. Upstairs, downstairs, in the kitchen and in the porch. I was on the verge of moving out! So now, I have a new nightly ritual! Mr Bennett has to do a ‘spider search’ throughout the house whilst I stay in a safe room, that has already been made spider free. I then go around and spray my house with essential oils that (apparently) repel my 8-legged friends. I sleep with a glass by my bed to trap any strays in the night and my slippers are no longer left on the floor. . .just in case. My house smells like a cross between an old people’s home due to the lavender and Christmas because of all of the orange and cinnamon candles (thank you, The White Company!). I am a grown woman and I know that this fear is completely irrational but I just cannot help myself. So if any of you have any tips that work in keeping the spiders out, please do let me know. Can you imagine my horror when Mr Greenfield showed me a spider in his classroom that he was ‘keeping as a pet’. It was elephant sized. . . safe to say that, after a very brief discussion with myself, Mr Greenfield skilfully removed the spider and realised it back into the wild. Highclare Prep School now has a new rule – no spiders as pets!
I read a super article at the weekend about fear – how to explain fear to children, how to accept your fear and how to own it. It was packed full of information, helpful tips and reassurances. I have included the link for you below in case it is of interest/help to you.
https://childmind.org/article/
Quote of the week: “Have patience. All things are difficult before they become easy.” Saadi
Well-being tasks for this week: These are all based on self-care. These are good for all ages.
Tuesday 27 September – Free up time by cancelling any unnecessary plans
Wednesday 28 September – Remember to see mistakes as a chance to learn
Thursday 29 September – Write down three things that you appreciate about yourself
Friday 30 September – Say two kind things to yourself – you are more than worth it
Saturday 1 October – Forgive yourself when things go wrong – everyone makes mistakes
Sunday 2 October – Aim to be as good as you can be – perfect is unattainable
Monday 3 October – Wrap up and get active
Jokes of the week:
What did the tree say to autumn? Please leaf me alone!
How do you fix a broken pumpkin? With a pumpkin patch!
What did one autumn leaf say to another? I’m falling for you!
How do trees get on the internet? They log in!
Sleeps til Santa: 88 and counting!
5 things that I am grateful for or looking forward to this week:
Can you try this simple exercise in gratitude and positivity?
- I am looking forward to walking on the beach this weekend
- I am looking forward to seeing my friends on Friday
- I am looking forward to baking a cake
- I am grateful for the beautiful September sunrises
- I am grateful for the radio that keeps me company on my commute to and from school
Have a wonderful week and enjoy the last of the summer sunshine.
With love from,
Mrs Bennett
