This half term, we are focusing on the Learning Powers of Flexibility and Collaboration and I am sure we will have many opportunities to hone these skills, given how many exciting opportunities and events are taking place over the course of the next month or so. It is proving to be an exciting term for the Music and Drama departments. A programme of informal concerts started before Half Term and it has been excellent to see the way in which the children are progressing with their instruments, as well as growing in confidence, as they have treated their audiences to some accomplished performances. As well as one more informal concert, we also have the Spring Concert to look forward to and it will be fabulous to have a live audience for this special occasion, on 10th March.

There have been a couple of occasions this term when I have struggled to focus on my work in my office because the VOCES8 workshops with our Chamber Choir have provided me with such a stunning distraction. I have always loved having an office under the Music rooms and this term it has been particularly enjoyable! Mrs Dallamore tells me the Year 4 rehearsals are going well and, again, to have a live production later this term will be a fantastic treat for the audiences at each performance.

LAMDA examinations take place in the next few weeks and I am very much looking forward to the Year 2 Arts Showcase which will give the children the opportunity to share their hard work with both their LAMDA poems and their instruments. Our new Head of Pre-Prep, Mrs Froggatt, who has been in School a few times already this term, will be our guest of honour at the Showcase and I know she is also very excited about her first SVPS event!

The Parents Association continue to demonstrate their Learning Powers in a myriad of different ways and this week it was great fun to celebrate ‘Twosday’ with their teacher-toddler quiz and extended break times, all in aid of some excellent causes. And yes, the picture of the two-year-old in a red convertible was me – my ‘serious driving face’ hasn’t changed over the years! We look forward to welcoming a team of parents into School for Shrove Tuesday next week and I believe they are getting in touch with the Easter Bunny about plans for the end of term.

One of the best parts of my job is taking visitors on tours of our School. These tours never fail to impress me as our visitors and I witness children engaged in their studies, excited about their topics, overcoming obstacles and meeting challenges. I am endlessly inspired, not just by the teachers who are so passionate about education and the subjects they deliver, but also by the children who are embracing our Learning Powers and achieving in so many ways. Today we had an Open Morning and another group of prospective parents were delighted by all they saw and by the warm welcome they received from children and teachers alike.

This week saw our first ever ‘Mega Manners’ week take place in the Prep department. This provided the staff in Years 3 to 6 with the opportunity to ‘catch’ children doing and saying the ‘right’ thing so they could reward them for being polite and considerate citizens. As the old saying goes, ‘good manners cost nothing’ but what a difference it makes to the world around us if we are surrounded by well-mannered, kind and helpful people.

Miss Corkran, Head