Category: Events

Advent Term 2024 has begun with three events that have required sensitivity to present in age-appropriate ways. We want children to engage with difficult issues without fear.

The first challenge after the half-term break was to share with the children news of Patsy, the duck’s death. We held a simple but moving burial service. The children saw the remains of Patsy in the cardboard coffin. Psalm 23 was read, and the coffin was placed in the grave with the words, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Then, children were given the opportunity to shovel some soil into the grave.

The very next day was Guy Fawkes Night, and we believe in participating in national events and celebrations as a means of engaging with the wider community. So, the story of Guy Fawkes and the plot to kill King James 1 was recited with a suitable sketch. Then, in the afternoon, a fire was lit, and a paper effigy burned.

The third and most important memorial was that of Armistice Day. Children made a display of poppies, the story of the First World War trenches was recounted, and then silence was observed at 11 a.m. The little people were amazingly respectful as they heard a bugle rendering of the last post, stood for the silence, and listened to the reveille. It was another very special occasion.

Young children cannot process all of this cognitively, but they can sense the events and offer appropriate responses.

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 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.

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.

Monday, the rain fell, and the temperature was freezing. It was all a bit of a challenge, but the children coped wonderfully. They are not afraid of being outdoors. The rest of the week, every day was cold, with children arriving on site in minus degrees centigrade.

On Wednesday, we had the dreaded phone call from an OFSTED inspector to say that we were to have an inspection on Thursday. It would be the first full inspection since we moved to Tarly Pit.

We were blessed that day with sunshine and a fire that lit so easily. Between the two we were kept warm on a day when the temperature ranged from -2 to +6 degrees centigrade. All went very well and we were so grateful.

Most memorable will be the boy who was squealing from a tree he had attempted to climb, with another already on a favoured perch. We all assumed that the fuss was a dispute about rights to that branch, until the distraught lad demanded, “Get me down!” It then became apparent that the problem was nothing to do with territory. Unseen even standing immediately in front of him, the boy had caught his hood on a broken branch and could not move an inch. It could only happen in view of an inspector.

All went well. The tree climber was rescued, and the day ended happily. The children went home; the inspector offered feed-back; the staff felt proud.

On Friday, we were doing it all over again, but only under the gaze of heaven.

That was the ultimate week.

In our second year at Tarly Pit, it seemed as if we had sorted many of the teething troubles and had taken off. Of course, we benefited from the country having come through Covid. And so we were able to put on sports day and the end of school year celebration with a graduation ceremony.

Parents mounted a fundraiser which generaated enough for the purchase of four super wheelbarrows.

As ever, children were rising to the physical challenges of over, under and through.

Crops were ripe for harvesting. Garlic and onions were lifted, and tomatoes ripened faster than in years.

There was evidence of children’s enthusiasm for literacy, including what might be labelled graffiti.

But eventually, it was time for just one more hug before farewell for the last time.

Now the silence until September when everything begins again.

We were all prepared for sports day a few weeks ago. Then the threatening clouds began to gather, and we knew we would have to postpone the event.

The intended seed exchange table evolved into a fundraising plant sale, which has proved popular and successful.

The white lines had been washed away and had to be repainted. It is an expensive business at half an hour for each line,

Now we are back on track (if you can forgive the pun) and almost ready for the second attempt at the sports event.

Conclusion

It is evening before the sports and we are set to go.