Christmas Nativities
Christmas events are in full swing and St Faith’s has been a feast of festive fun this week. Try saying that after a glass of mulled wine!
On Wednesday morning, there was hardly a dry eye in the hall when the Foundation children lit up the stage with their musical interpretation of the Christmas story, ‘Christmas Counts’. The Narrators spoke with clarity, the children sang beautifully, Angel Gabriel appeared on cue, the shepherds had their sheep mostly under control and Mary and Joseph eventually found somewhere to stay for the night. The wonderful array of costumes and songs with, of course, the amusing unpredictable moments, made for an enchanting performance and one for which the staff and children should take great credit. It was magical.
On Wednesday afternoon, it was the turn of the Year 2s to perform their Christmas musical, ‘Christmas with the Aliens’, a modern twist on the nativity story. Colourful costumes, catchy tunes, confident acting, slick choreography and plenty of humour captivated the audience throughout the performance. It is wonderful to see all the children on stage, clearly enjoying themselves and revelling in the fun of a large group production. Congratulations to the Year 2 children and, of course, to their teachers for putting it all together so skilfully.
‘Them and Us’
It has been quite a dramatic week. On Tuesday, the after-school Drama club performed an adaptation of ‘Them and Us’, a one-act play by David Campton that begins with two groups of wanderers looking for a place to settle. They agree to share and mark the line between their territories, then build a small wall. The wall is built higher and then still higher. Suspicion and mistrust grow to the point where the groups must inevitably explode in conflict. As one parent commented to me, ‘how relevant in today’s world!’ The acting was confident and slick and the Drama Studio provided an atmospheric backdrop to this emotive play.
History
Speaking of conflict, I thought you might like to see these mobiles, made by Year 8 pupils to explain the causes of World War One. They worked in groups to debate and discuss the issues and then constructed a ‘visual essay’ that described the main causes of the outbreak of war. Another great example of interactive learning.
Advent Service
On Monday we welcomed Reverend Meharry, the Chaplain of The Leys and St Faith’s Foundation, to lead our whole school Advent Service. The Junior and Senior Choirs sang beautifully, Reverend Meharry told a lovely Advent story and our two youngest pupils in the School – Alisa and Ethan – lit the first candle on our Advent wreath.
Road Safety
On Wednesday, you may have seen our staff (The Rev’d Johnson and Miss Pearson), handing out lights to a surprisingly large number of unilluminated cyclists arriving at school in the dark. As a result, we have decided to keep a stock of lights in the office and bursary for those pupils who have forgotten or lost their lights. With the children’s road safety in mind, this home-made video was shown on the screens around school.
Next Week
Excitement is building for the many Christmas events next week. These include the Rotary Concert for the Senior Choir (Mon 1830, Great St Mary’s), the Pre Prep Christmas Party (Tues 1315-1500), Year 3 and 4 ‘Carols Around the Christmas Tree’ (Wed 1415-1515), the School Discos (Wed Years 5 & 6 1600-1730 and Years 7 & 8 1745-1930) and the inter-house singing competition, ‘Last House Standing’ (Thursday 1400-1540). I have highlighted the events to which parents are invited.
We hope that you will be able to join us for at least one of the three school carol services next Friday; the Pre Prep Crib Service (1100), Latham and Newton Carol Service (1330) and Bentley and Chaucer Carol Service (1440). These are always very special occasions which provide a most fitting end to the term.
And let’s not forget the School Christmas Lunch on Wednesday, when the Dining Room will be awash with turkey, Brussels sprouts, party hats and Christmas cracker jokes.
Finally….
This week we heard that St Faith’s has won the Independent School Parent Magazine ‘Healthy Eating Award’. We were informed by the judges that dozens of schools applied and St Faith’s was selected as the overall winner. This is a fantastic and much-deserved accolade for our catering team; they have worked so hard over the past few years to create a wide range of high quality, nutritious, fresh and innovative meals. Many congratulations to the team, particularly Peter Burt (Catering Manager) and Kevin Johnson (Head Chef). Further details of the award can be read here.
With all good wishes,
Nigel Helliwell
