There are some weeks when a blog simply can’t do justice to the rich range of activities experienced. This has been such a week.
What should I focus on? The spectacular lesson on the biological reproduction of flowers that I saw when I visited Jessica Smith’s 5th grade class on Monday afternoon? The startling range of themed fashions worn by the students (and the faculty)
this week to support our Homecoming Week – clash day, crazy hat day, homecoming T-shirt day, pajama day, together with the imaginative signs posted around the quad to support our teams? The spectacularly deafening pep rally in the PAAC on Friday morning with its sensational performances by our cheerleading squad and pom-pom waving Primary School students? The ongoing treat of engaging in stimulating and often lateral discussions with my fabulous Theory of Knowledge class, undoubtedly one of the best class groups I have ever taught? Having the opportunity to reflect on the school’s ‘big picture’ as I prepared my report for the next board meeting? The wine and cheese reception with the Alumni Parents on Friday evening? The great soccer match between Awty and Northland Christian School that was the culmination of our Homecoming Week? (Yes, we won 3-0). Perhaps the good-humored passing conversations I had with several students and faculty as I did my daily ‘walkabouts’ around the campus this week? Saturday’s board meeting where we discussed some fundamentally significant future directions for the school? Each and every one of these is worthy of a blog in itself, and together they have helped to form the diverse tapestry of my life this week.
In the face of such a vast range of activities, what were the highlights? As always, the number one highlight for me was spending time with students. For example, on Wednesday I hosted a pizza-and-cupcake lunch for the students who had performed most strongly in the inaugural term of the “Where in the World is Dr Codrington?” competition.
I began the weekly “Where in the World…” competition earlier this term at the suggestion of one of our parents in the hope that it would increase geographical literacy among our younger students. I have been thrilled by the response of our students in Grades 2 to 8, and deeply impressed by the analytical research skills that they have been showing in locating the sometimes obscure photos I have chosen. The research skills they have shown, working in cooperation with
our librarians, has been nothing short of breath-taking, and I look forward each week to reading the best of the answers that the librarians send to me for uploading on this website.
I hosted this week’s congratulatory lunch for the children in the board room, which a very special place that very few of our students have ever seen. This gave me an opportunity to answer some great questions (such as ‘what is a school board?’ and ‘why do we need one?’) before taking the children across to the other side of the building for a mini-excursion to see my office.
I loved watching the students explore the artifacts that I have displayed from various parts of the world, asking some very perceptive questions that sometimes related back to the photos that they had successfully identified. As happens so
often at Awty, I was deeply impressed by the curious, articulate nature of our students - they are surely this school’s greatest asset and a source of genuine joy for those of lucky enough to work with them on a daily basis.
I would like to add my public congratulations to the top-scoring participants from the Middle School – Amelia Ward (7th), Gabriella Murdoch (7th) and Juliane Gauttier (6e) – and to those from the Lower School: Alex Karni (2nd), Mathys Gambier (CE2), Ariel Karni (4th), Eleni Zabaneh (CM1), Mariana Suarez (4th), William Ward (5th), Sofia
Doroshenko (5th), Chloe Houy (CE2), and Zoya Zulquernain (2nd).
I am beginning a completely new round of photos this week, and I hope some of my readers here will encourage their children to enter the competition. You can see this week’s new photos by clicking HERE.
Friday morning’s pep rally in the PAAC was one of the amazing events of my life. Superbly coordinated by our Athletics Director, Mr John Hoye, the pep rally was a brilliant demonstration of our school spirit, recognition of our soccer team, performances by our musicians and cheer leaders, and some clearly unrehearsed dances by several teachers. My ears were ringing after the rally, such was the noise of the cheering, the music, the screaming, the applause and the singing. It was certainly a great event, as I hope the photos below illustrate.
On Wednesday evening, the APPA hosted an information meeting in Café South, and I was grateful to be invited to share some of my thoughts on the start of the school year and the direction of the school. For those who missed the presentation, I have attached links below to my presentation in two formats, clickable Quicktime (on the left, that includes transitions, but is lower resolution and has a smaller file size; 6.2MB - and keep clicking if you get a few false starts), or pdf (on the right, that does not include transitions, is higher definition and has a larger file size; 36.7 MB - may take a while to load on slow connections).