(The full version of St. Mary's Messenger can be found in the password-protected area of the website)

Dear Parents, Children and Friends,

That half-term break positively flew by. I hope that everyone managed to have a few days together as a family, enjoying each others’ company. The life of a modern family does seem to be so much more busy than ever before, organising every waking moment so that it is filled with something. At times it is good to do nothing in particular and, as they say, just chill out. If anyone in our house ever says that they are bored, I reply that they can always read a book.

This week has been back to the old routine though, lessons and all the rest of school life. The Cornerstone trip to the Arboretum was blessed with lovely, sunny weather as we try to enjoy the Indian Summer as long as possible after the absence of normal summer. It is marvellous how those little ones can conjure up a marvellous, magical world from what to us boring old adults is just a load of damp leaves and some mouldy sticks. Their childhood will be gone all too quickly, so along the way we boring old adults must try to enjoy every moment we are lucky enough to share.

Talking of sharing moments, I was lucky enough to accompany a Form 4 trip to Pizza Express, during which we all made our own personalized pizza, those of you who were privileged to get some - I’m sure you enjoyed it. There should be some photos of these trips on the website soon, but I’m afraid to say that the manager of the restaurant didn’t take any photos of the faces pulled when they had to taste the anchovies – it was like a gurning competition!

It's called Steep Hill for a reason!

With the Drama Trip to Queen Margaret’s, York for the girls in Form 5 and the trip to Whisby for the boys, there is plenty of activity going on. Thank goodness we are not strangled by the National Curriculum and can get on with education not just Learning Objectives. “Education is what is left when what has been learned is forgotten” is a quote I frequently turn to.

The first set of Effort Grades went home before half-term and have been generally well-received – though not necessarily received on the day planned. In the future, if someone doesn’t receive them on time, please email me (that is me, not the office) and I shall do my best to get them to you as soon as possible. If you have any questions about the grades your child received, ask the teacher to explain further.

 I think it most important that we are able to celebrate something extra to high-flying excellence and let those boys and girls who are trying really hard know that their endeavour is acknowledged and appreciated. There are plenty of prizes in life for being “top”, but not enough for achieving a personal best or sustained effort. You know that I aim for every child in this school to try to be the best they can, in whatever they can; our teachers have to fathom out the best way for each child in their care to work towards those personal bests. We are not all there yet, but the job has been started and is not going to be stopped.

Next week we are starting the Golden Book, a fortnight opportunity for a boy or girl who has done something remarkable (in a GOOD way) to have their achievement publicly celebrated. The Golden Book is definitely not about academic excellence or sporting prowess, it could be because a youngster learned how to tie their tie on their own or remembered not to call out in class all the time, some personal achievement that is well worth remembering.

Let us hope it is a Golden weekend!

Andy Salmond Smith