Happy New Year! We are eight days into 2021 and already so much has happened! We have welcomed all pupils back to school for only one day and then it was swiftly back into lockdown. There was a flurry of activity among staff and the school community to put arrangements in place so that children of key workers could come into school while remote learning provision was rapidly deployed for pupils learning at home. There has been snow and ice and cold. We have officially welcomed a new Head Teacher. Needless to say, it’s been busy and has required a lot of team effort.
The KFC theme this term is fellowship and it is especially appropriate in this challenging time. The Greek word Koinonia means ‘that which is in common’ and is often translated as ‘fellowship’ or ‘community’. Other translations include ‘union’, ‘partnership’, or ‘being yoked together’. A yoke is a shaped piece of wood that goes across the shoulders, often linking two animals. By combining their strength, it helps work to be done and burdens to be carried. Fellowship expresses the quality of relationship within the Christian community. A central element of being a family is interdependence: all are needed and valued and each person is important to the whole. At Stanhope Barrington every member of the school community is valued.
2021 promises to be unique and one that will require strength, perseverance, grace and adaptability. We are fortunate at Stanhope Barrington to be part of a strong community. A community that pulls together to support one another when life is turned upside down. So as we move forward lets remember that we are all in this together although the path ahead of us is unknown. It reminds me of a quote from The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien:
“Do not trouble your hearts overmuch with thought of the road tonight. Maybe the paths that you shall each tread are already laid before your feet, though you do not see them.”
I wonder what the next 357 days of 2021 will bring? Whatever comes our way I know we will meet the challenges TOGETHER…
“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” 2 Corinthians 13:14
