| |  | Friday, 22nd January 2016
| Whole School Newsletter | | | | Alison Cobbin - Head of School
| 
| The D1 Theatre Arts students wowed their audience on Tuesday evening with two adaptations of Tennessee Williams classics. The first performance was an extract from A Streetcar Named Desire and the second was an abridged version of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. There were strong performances all round and the students adapted the scripts, cast and directed the plays themselves. The students skilfully captured Tennessee Williams’s intensely dark portrayal of life in the USA in the mid 20th Century and they should feel very proud of their achievement. Special thanks go to Mrs. Kennedy whose seemingly endless energy and drive supported the students in their preparation and performance.
| | | I was lucky enough to spend some time in the Year 6 classroom on Thursday morning. It was good to see the range of books they were reading; Roald Dahl, Michael Morpurgo and David Walliams were clear favourites. Year 6 student, Cedric, spoke to me at length about his love of action spy novels and I could see that he has already begun a journey to a lifetime love of reading. When I spoke to the Upper School in their assembly on Monday I shared that a love of reading was one of the most important things I took from my school days into my adult life. I would encourage all parents to talk to their children about the books they are reading. Not only is reading for pleasure an enjoyable way to pass the time, it is also a simple and effective way to support learning across a range of subjects and keep imaginations active. As well as chatting about books, Year 6 were preparing persuasive speeches about education and how they were more fortunate than children in other parts of the world. I was so impressed with what they were writing I wanted to share two examples in my newsletter. Ivan wrote, 'Education is like a weapon. People use it to protect themselves and no-one can steal it from you.' This echoes Nelson Mandela’s famous quote that ‘education is the most powerful weapon we have to change the world’. I was equally impressed with the introduction to Nikhil’s speech; 'Education is the bricks you need to build the house or the ball you need to play the game.’ Well done to all the Year 6 students and I look forward to hearing how their final speeches go. In the Jubilee building on Tuesday afternoon the rhythm and melodies of the choir rehearsing for their Carnegie Hall performance was filtering through the corridors. It promises to be a great concert and we have many excited young people looking forward to the trip. I can recommend that you take a few minutes to look at the short film on our website where you can see and hear the choir rehearsing against the backdrop of NYC. Wishing you all a happy weekend. Alison Cobbin
Head of School
| | | | | | | |
