"You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think."

Inspiration for this week's blog comes from Christopher Robin's words of wisdom to Pooh Bear, which I happily re-discovered when reading with my daughters over half-term.  I do hope that you managed to get some rest with your families as well.  I am glad to be back in school and am raring to go, which is fortunate as enthusiasm and boundless energy are pre-requisites at this exciting time of year. We have possibly the busiest few weeks of the school calendar ahead of us in the run-up to Christmas and, although our pupils' talents will quite rightly be concentrated on sport, music, and drama as well as all the other activities that they get involved in, I expect nothing less than total commitment and focus in the classroom.  There is nothing worse at examination time than looking back and thinking "If only I had/I should have/I wish I had.... worked harder".  

As I contemplate tomorrow's Remembrance Service, I am beholden to those courageous soldiers who gave their lives for our freedom.  This year's act of remembrance will be even more significant as our community will come together in school on the eleventh hour of the eleventh month of the 'eleventh year'.  Once again, I am very proud that our CCF will be representing the school at the Blackpool Cenotaph on Sunday.  I took real pleasure in reading Dr Treharne's account of our recent CCF Field Day, when many cadets conquered their fears and pushed themselves to the limits.  The photographs are well worth a look.  It is opportunities like this that we must continue to present to our children and which build their self-esteem and confidence.

Also on Sunday, Grace Card, Aimee Desmond and Chloe McConville will be representing the school in the world premiere of Howard Goodall's Oratorio, 'Every Purpose under the Heaven'. This 45 minute work was commissioned by the United Church Schools Trust (UCST) to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the influential King James text of the Bible.  The premiere will be conducted by Goodall himself in Westminster Abbey on Sunday as part of the evening service.  The orchestra and choir will be made up of professional players and augmented by pupils and staff from within the UCST group of schools.  This is a huge honour for Arnold and for the girls. 

The stars of 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat' entertained the Senior School during assembly on Tuesday.  Their exuberant joy fizzed off the stage and I was mesmerised by their passion.  Although there were those on stage who have appeared in previous school performances, there were some newcomers too, including Year 7 pupils.  Special praise should go to these plucky youngsters for standing up on stage for the first time to entertain their peers and teachers.   

Trying new activities that take us out of our comfort zone is a necessary part of the learning process and small acts of bravery happen at Arnold all the time.  Those three girls boldly agreed to take on extremely complicated singing parts at very short notice.  Huge audiences will watch many boys and girls perform courageously night after night in 'Joseph'.  The 150 cadets who tested their physical boundaries on the CCF Field Day each plucked up courage at some point to overcome personal demons, as do individual pupils who, on a daily basis, speak out in class when they would rather keep quiet.  'Bravery' may not appear on our curriculum but it is most definitely taught at Arnold and is much in evidence throughout our school.

Best wishes

Jim Keefe, Headmaster

Follow School headline news on Twitter: @jimkeefe_arnold

 

Posted by: J E Keefe
Date: Thursday 10/11/2011