19th December 2016 The Christmas season is now under way for all of us here at Simon Balle. Mock exams are now over and a big “well done” to Year 11 for all their hard work and commitment. We wish them a welldeserved rest before they get their results and then more effort and resilience is needed as they continue to prepare for the summer. Meanwhile, our youngest members of the community have been well immersed with the Christmas story. We enjoyed watching the reception children in their nativity play and the Year 1’s in their Christmas play. It never ceases to amaze us all how the children delight in learning their lines, songs and show such confidence. Well done to them and a thank you to their families and staff who prepared them so well for their parts. Once again we are holding our traditional Carol Service at All Saints Church tonight (19 ). The event is for parents, families, friends and alumni. On Tuesday morning, all of our younger students will walk down and enjoy the music and readings. This will be followed by the whole school Christmas lunch where this year 600 students plus staff will sit and eat their traditional Christmas meal. The halls and tables will be decorated (with boughs of holly), staff serve the food, music is played and everyone really feels part of the community. A sort of “Hogwarts” moment! Something most other schools would never attempt! th
Sometimes amongst all of the commercialisation, we forget about the message of Christmas and it is important for us to make sure we build in time for everyone here at Simon Balle to do so. Those families of faith (not necessarily Christian) and those of none, as part of the wider community uphold certain values. Perhaps this year more than most, we should be reflecting upon others and their needs, promoting unity rather then discord. Genuinely saying and meaning “thank you” can never be under valued and I am so grateful to so many people here. Firstly, thank you to our parents who this term have volunteered and worked so hard. We are extremely thankful for the generosity in fundraising (Fun Run, Pamper Night, Frost Fair), which will make a great difference in terms of what we do. The aim this year is to enrich and improve our outdoor facilities- using the grant awarded last year from Tesco Bags and some of our other funds, we are developing an “outdoor” classroom with a pond and natural learning areas. We continue to fund raise for a “trim trail” at the Larch Centre so that our youngest children can develop their strength and agility. We want to increase seating and other areas but still need to further fund raise.