Don’t mind doing it for the kids
From the Headmaster’s Desk: 28 April 2023
Mr Hammond
Headmaster
The children have been an inspiration this week. They have enjoyed Drama workshops and talent shows, with Arts Week continuing next week in the form of theatre trips and workshops at Senior. It is worth noting that this inspiration comes from as broad a range of ages as is possible – from Alexander in Nursery creating bespoke jewellery for his Headmaster (see below), to William in Year 9 converting Shakespeare’s Macbeth into a graphic novel, nothing is impossible when children are provided with an environment of opportunity.
“Cereal” by Alexander is currently on a tour of North London and has been admired as far afield as Finchley Road. It has been valued as priceless and is not for sale.
With our celebration of the Coronation next Friday, the School Fayre on Saturday 13th May and the Senior Open House on the evening of Tuesday 16th May, events at Abercorn are coming thick and fast. A reminder that all families are welcome to the Senior School event on 16th May (from 5-6:30pm), with all children in Year 6-9 expected to attend; a letter with more details will be with you next week. It will be a pleasure to meet you all and discuss the strategic changes to the school and our plans for the future.
With so much positive change taking place at Abercorn this year (thank you to those parents who have spoken to me positively about the changes to our Sports Days), there will always be challenges along the way. I have previously described success as a path with many steps and it seems that NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo has a rather good answer to a journalist calling his team a failure: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/basketball/65412641.
I have had a swathe of eager volunteers at my office door since my call to arms, so I shall end with some words from Year 4 about the move to Senior School. These pieces are inserted verbatim (with a few formatting edits):
Why I like the Senior School:
Hello my name is David. Today I will be talking about why I like our new school.
Firstly, I love the theatre’s amazing space, since it is great for learning and practising speeches and pieces for Drama. My favourite thing about it is that the seats can slide back and forth and are not stuck in the same place. I also love watching my sister and my peers performing in the dazzling school musicals here. I also enjoy being so close to older year groups since it is easier to communicate and meet with them, as well as having all my favourite teachers around.
I really like the library because it has a big selection of books. In addition, I love that the room is so big and bright because of all the sunlight, which creates a great atmosphere. The new school is also very modern, with each room having one smart board and at least one more electronic device. Paddington Gardens is so close that it makes it easier to unwind and search for birds with Mr Robinson.
There are also a lot more opportunities, with more clubs, activities and time volunteering for Mr Hammond available 🙂. I want to give all the teachers a big thank you for helping to move buildings and creating such a challenging and positive learning environment for us.
I shall certainly take that review and agree wholeheartedly with David’s words. Next week, Sebastian will give us his thoughts.
As mentioned above, please remember that next Friday, 5th May, heralds our celebration of King Charles III’s Coronation – we would like all pupils to come in school adorned in red, white and blue, with some special food and a memento to send us all off into the second bank holiday weekend in May.
All the best for the 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.
