Children as young as three-years old have been able to identify a range of wild flowers. It all started with regular visits to Sissinghurst Castle where one can observe an attractive seasonal display of the flowers from the garden.
It had to be reproduced for the children, and so the work was done one weekend.
Once there was a display of the fornight’s prevailing wildflowers, the children engaged in a way that outstripped all expectations.
The field was prepared and the scene set for a sacred story from the life of Christ. Six water pots are the clue to which gospel narrative was the focus for the occasion.
The one important question mark over the event was what the weather would be like. Could it possibly be dry for a 3 o’clock gathering? That was an issue that called for prayer.
In fact, the rain was banished for all but a few minutes, and the afternoon ended with beautiful sunshine.
Mr Peter spoke of the highlights of the year, noting the Education for Sustainability award received and celebrated by raising a UN global goals flag, and the new staff team that had become established since Christmas.
The children sang their songs and portrayed the story of the wedding feast at which Jesus turned water into wine. Their final song and the essential message was ‘A little talk with Jesus makes it right.’
It all went off beautifully, culminating with the presentation of books on ‘Noah’s Ark’ to those graduating to pimary and prep schools.
A gift of £300 was presented from the parents to buy equipment, and a further £200 was raised from the sale of cakes baked for the occasion.
One of the graduates preferred not to be on stage at the crucial moment, and another could not be present on the day. We pray God’s blessing on all the children leaving at the end of the term.
On 6th June 2024, we talked together about what happened eighty years ago when British soldiers landed on the Normandy beaches. As across the country and all over the world D-Day was remembered, we raised a special commemoration flag and sang the national anthem.
For many years, Mr Noah’s has been committed to eco-school values. We hold the eco-school silver award and frame our policies in keeping. So we welcomed the opportunity to enter the Education People’s Education for Sustainable Development award scheme.
We wanted to celebrate boldly and give the children something memorable to mark gaining the award. Here was the gesture: we put up a flagpole and hoisted a flag bearing the United Nations’ seventeen global goals.
It has been great fun, and this is only the beginning of the pursuit of sustainability values.
Thank you to staff, most of whom have worked on this project since our initial training years ago. And thank you to past and present parents who have supported their children by encouraging them and helping them complete some outstanding work in their SDG booklets. Keep up the good work!
The first evidence that there had been mischief at Tarly Pit was that, yesterday evening, the distinctive mailbox was uprooted and thrown across the site entrance.
The damage done to the box is self-evident.
The police were immediately responsive to a call to report the incident. They said that a member of the forensic investigation team would be at the school within ten minutes. The van appeared on time. Material was taken for the sake of fingerprints.
Only in this morning’s daylight could the extent of damage be assessed. Then the clearing up began.
There were wood shavings and compost scattered liberally around the plat. The furniture on the field had been overturned or slung around. Most of it was not too difficult to begin to remedy. But …
this picnic table with benches is heavy oak; the ground was muddy and very slippery. Down went Mr Peter, head-over-heals rolling in the mire. Fortunately, the table did not land on him, but the spectacle would have brought laughter to the culprits – and any other witness.
No, unlike the winter of 2022, we did not have a week of snow thick on the ground. But we did cope (very well) with a spell of low temperatures. That prompted the fires that the children so enjoy.
Staffing has been the critical issue, but we shall start next term with a renewed team, having said au revoir to Miss Izzy in July and now to Miss Eve, as they have gone on maternity leave. The blogs ceased through the Autumn because of the pressures, but there are plenty of stories to tell, and we hope to feature the new staff team in January.
Christmas preparations have been a joy. The children made a greeting card, which we had printed for sale to parents.
They heard the gospel birth narrative and learned Christmas songs to share at the Nativity Service, held at Cranbrook Congregational Church. If only we could post photographs of the children all dressed for their parts as they retold the ancient story! They sang out clearly and remembered their lines. They were a delight.
The wise men – all four of them.
The long coronation weekend started early for our children when we marked the national event on Friday morning. The scene was set with the union flag, and a throne and crown waiting for the monarch. The children were so respectful and responsive to the sound of the national anthem.
The crown did not fit any of our children. Clearly, it was not intended for them. So they made crowns of their own to wear for celebration.
At the other end of the month, we had a Czech visitor to share a maypole. Children chose a coloured ribbon with which to decorate the wreath. There was the rehearsing of the names of colours in Czech before the pole was erected.
Then it was time to dance around the maypole.
At ten in the evening, all was well. By dawn, something was very wrong. The first sight on approaching the chicken run was one of the residents slumped on the ladder up to the hutch. All was silent, which did not bode well.
Two chickens had gone missing entirely and another was found dead, apparently having been dragged under the damaged chicken wire.
So the four brown chickens had all been killed. The identity of the preditor is in doubt. Perhaps it was a badger, or a polecat, or more likely a fox.
The chicken run fence needs to be strengthened, and the children must have it all explained appropriately.
We already had three or four new chickens on the way. They had been intended to supplement, not replace, the brown ones. Meanwhile, Rosie, the white chicken, continues in her old agae.
Larry lost his life last week. Because it was half term, it was not possible to have a burial service with the children. Instead, they heard the story of a rabbit who came to us in 2019, before we were at Tarly Pit, named Liszie, because we thought we had two girl bunnies. We soon noticed the mistake, and so Larry was named. He also had to go to the vet to avoid Annie having lots of baby bunnies.
In 2020, poor Larry was attacked by a rat, and one of his eyes was badly injured. He was back to the vet again and eventually recovered. That eye was always a weakness, and sometimes children noticed that “Larry’s eye is bad today.”
At Easter 2021, Larry and Annie Rabbit were stolen from the site. Through Facebook, they were traced and returned. See https://mrnoahs
They had endured a harrowing time, and Larry was particularly anxious as a result.
A week ago, Larry’s eye looked poorly and very soon he was found still warm but dead. He was buried on the north boundary of our field, and the children prepared a pot of bulbs to mark the place.
One of the best portraits we have of Larry was taken only a few weeks ago.
We were inspected by OFSTED in January, as recorded in an earlier blog post. Now the report has arrived by email. It is gratifying to be judged ‘Outstanding’, but there is so much more than could be observed on one cold winter’s day.
The inspector missed most of the normal activities on the plat because we sought the warmth of the sunshine on the field.
Then there are the log stepping stones in the woods which are so good for the development of balance, strength and awareness of the body. But we hadn’t constructed it in time.
And there has been the processing and spreading of compost – all that potential knowledge of the world.
This activity deserves a blog post in its own right.
Never mind, we are grateful that the inspector liked what could be seen on the day in question. Well done, staff! Thank you, parents for your generous support, and all those who pray for us.