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Dear Parents & Carers
Last week, Mrs Hughes, our Headmistress and I had the pleasure of leading our first Junior School assembly of the new academic year together. It was fantastic to welcome everyone back and, especially, to welcome our new Reception girls and all those joining us across the school.
We began with a thought that I hope will stay with the girls throughout the year. At the beginning of September, there is so much we don’t yet know. We don’t know which books we will love, which trips we will remember forever, what we will discover we are really good at, what we might find difficult or who might become an important new friend. And that is what makes the start of a new school year so exciting.
Sitting in Fairseat Hall last week was the September version of every girl. Somewhere ahead of us is her July version – and those two people will not be exactly the same. Because between now and July, something wonderful will happen. They will grow. Not simply taller. Their brains will grow. Their confidence will grow. Their friendships will grow. Their independence will grow. And, importantly, their character will grow too.
Using a cartoon as our starting point (see below), we explored a series of promises for the year ahead, connecting them with so much of what already lies at the heart of life at the Junior School: our Channing Promise, our Channing Characters, the Learning Pit, Kimochis, Conabor and, of course, being 10% braver. We encouraged the girls to do their best, rather than feel they have to be the best. Conabor does not mean “I always get it right” or “I find everything easy”. It simply means: I shall try.
We talked about making mistakes and why that is not only normal but an essential part of learning. There will be times when the girls find themselves firmly in the Learning Pit, thinking, “I can’t do this.” Our challenge to them is to add one small but powerful word: yet. Mistakes are not the opposite of learning; they are part of learning.
We also reminded them that there will be good days and not-so-good days. Our Kimochis help the girls understand that there is no single feeling they are “supposed” to have at school. They may feel happy, proud and excited, but also nervous, disappointed, cross or unsure. A difficult moment does not make a difficult day and a difficult day certainly does not make a difficult year.
We challenged every girl to try something that scares her just a little. Being 10% braver might mean speaking up in a lesson when she is not completely certain of the answer, auditioning for a part in play, joining a new club, speaking to somebody new, saying sorry first or simply asking, “Can I play too?” Bravery is rarely one enormous leap. More often, we become brave 10% at a time.
And we talked about kindness towards others, but also towards ourselves. A supportive school is not one where nobody struggles; it is one where nobody has to struggle alone. Asking for help is not the opposite of independence; sometimes it is one of its clearest signs.
All of these ideas led us to our final and simplest promise: I will grow. At this point, I revealed a set of stacking dolls representing the journey of a Channing girl – beginning with our smallest Reception doll and growing through every year of the Junior and then the Senior School until we reached Year 13. Of course, the dolls are not only about becoming physically bigger. They represent all of the growing that happens on the inside.
A Channing girl grows in confidence and independence. She discovers what she loves and what she finds difficult. She makes mistakes and learns from them. She falls into the Learning Pit and discovers how to climb out again. She experiences every kind of Kimochi feeling. She learns when to ask for help and when somebody else needs hers. She becomes 10% braver and then 10% braver again. Until, almost without noticing it happening, the little doll becomes the big doll.
Our new Reception girls, the Class of 2040, are the smallest dolls in our Channing journey, just beginning their extraordinary adventure. At the other end are our Year 13 students, the Class of 2027, now our biggest dolls and embarking on their final year at Channing – many of whom I have had the privilege of knowing since they were themselves in Reception.
We ended our assembly with a very special video of our Year 13 girls waving to and welcoming our newest Reception girls. Seeing the two ends of our stacking dolls brought to life; one group at the very beginning of their Channing journey and the other approaching its end was incredibly poignant and a powerful reminder of just how quickly these precious school years pass.
One of the greatest privileges of my role is watching that transformation unfold: seeing, year by year, the little doll become the big doll as our girls grow socially, emotionally and intellectually into the confident young women they will become.
There is an enormous amount of learning, laughter, friendship, challenge and discovery between the September version and the July version of each girl. I hope that, as parents and teachers, we can encourage them to embrace all of it: the successes and the mistakes, the easy days and the harder ones, the familiar experiences and those that require them to be just a little bit braver. I cannot wait to see how much they grow.
Finally, to all those in our community observing Yom Kippur on 20 – 21 September, I wish you a peaceful and meaningful fast and observance. G’mar Chatimah Tovah.
With warmest wishes for the term
Miss Dina Hamalis
Head of the Junior School
