A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men
From the Headmaster’s Desk: 6th September 2023
Mr Hammond
Headmaster
As Willy Wonka said, wisdom and nonsense are not mutually exclusive. One can be prim and proper, but also light-hearted and fun.
Words matter; the idiom of sticks and stones is a nonsense. What we say to others has the power to please, but also to cause harm. We must be careful about what we say, and how we say it and use language to create something wonderful.
National Poetry Day’s theme this year was “refuge,” to give shelter or protection from danger or distress. Be kind; it is that simple. Nobody chooses to seek refuge or become a refugee – we ask for help when we need it and should give it when asked. Poetry also has the ability to showcase new voices and celebrate diversity – Benjamin Zephaniah says that he started to write verse because he disliked poetry. If everyone has a book inside them, I am sure we all clutch a handful of potential stanzas in our hearts.
The thought that it takes just one poem to make a change, make a difference is reassuring. Year 5’s assembly this week reminded us of the sheer range of styles that are available, with sources wider than they have ever been – if Tik Tok and Instagram must exist, then make good use of them.
I was brought up on a diet of Caroline Duffy and Seamus Heaney and once visited Dylan Thomas’ Boat House in Laugharne as a child and ate breakfast at the pub he frequented. I can remember little else about that trip (although I did lose a toy hedgehog), but the poet’s influence sticks – how did he write so much from a “shed”?
Senior pupils will have seen an extract from Beowulf on my office door. An Anglo-Saxon epic, it drips with narrative and impactful verse and has one of the great beasts in Grendel:
I drove five great giants into chains,
chased all of that race from the earth.
I swam in the blackness of night, hunting monsters out of the ocean.
So, I take this opportunity to implore you to visit your local library or book shop to read, read, read. North London is unusually blessed with a good number of local libraries (with branches within 10 minutes’ walk of either Lower and Senior School) and book shops. Daunt Books is on Marylebone High Street, for example. Print media is fading across the UK, but the demand for physical books has never been higher.
In parish news, I was very pleased with Mr Haverley’s first outing at the ISA London North Art Competition. The Abercorn pieces were of a very high standard, but the contest was extremely competitive this year and so we will be back with a vengeance in 2024.
Parents’ evenings begin next week; a important opportunity for us to strengthen the bond between home and school. In what ended being a moot points; thank you for your support during the strikes this week and bearing with us when we changed plans at short notice. We were delighted to be able to run our clubs and support our busy working families. I very much hope there will be no further strikes!
I return to my opening line – words matter. Let us all remember that.
All the best for a wonderful weekend! Mr Hammond
To see how busy a place our wonderful School is and for a more detailed look into all things Abercorn, follow us on social media; Twitter, Instagram and Facebook offer a wide range of updates. My personal thoughts on educational life can be found @hammondteacher.
