A Warm Welcome to the New School Year and to our Michaelmas Festival
Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower- Albert Camus
Dear Pupils, Staff, Family and Friends,
It has been a busy but good start to the school year. Our new staff and pupils are finding their feet and settling into the new routines and experiences here at the Sheiling School.
It has been lovely to see the classrooms slowly fill with new work and displays and also to see the development of the second and third Bushcraft areas come along so well.
Autumn is such a special time of year; the days are gradually getting shorter, the air is cooler and the grounds are slowly winding down whilst we’re getting back into the rhythm of a new school year. For many of our pupils, Autumn is simply magic. The extensive grounds at the Sheiling School offer a varied display of wildlife and evidence of the changes in nature at this time of year. The many trees provide a display of colours, as well as items to collect and use for craft and display. The orchard and gardens provide us with flowers, fruits and vegetables and it is a real joy to see the pleasure on the faces of all the pupils when some of this produce is used to produce tasty food in the bakery.
The warm and sunny weather has encouraged all classes to spend time outside and enjoy the many learning opportunities found around the grounds. Our Class 3 have been spending Friday morning at the Hatch community and pupils and staff have been busy helping with harvesting the crops grown there.
Since the 9th century, 29th September has been celebrated as St Michael’s Day. The archangel Michael is of particular significance for our time. One of Michael’s special tasks is inspiring humanity with the strength to recognise the power of the spirit and allow it to become the working effective force in our human deeds.
As well as a festival of thanks for the harvest, Michaelmas gives us an opportunity to look at the theme of taking up a new task. How can we find the strength of will to come alive while nature all around is preparing to sleep? If we think of the meteor showers that are often visible at this time of year, and imagine the iron of Michael’s sword, we can hope to find the force within us to help gather our resolve, our strength of will.
This year we are celebrating Harvest and Michaelmas on Friday 30th September 2016. We would like to invite you to join us for Coffee & Cake and Folk dancing in the afternoon at 2pm. Hopefully, the sun will shine so we can enjoy a walk around the Nature Trail too.
We understand that not everyone will be able to come, but we would love to see as many of you as possible. This will also be a good opportunity to meet the new pupils and staff who joined us at the beginning of this academic year, as well as having a look around the classrooms.
Warmest wishes
Rikke Julin
Head of Education
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