From Kay Dodsworth our Lay Chaplain
Values in action
At school this year there have been a multitude of opportunities for students to develop their respect of self, whether that has been in the context of academic learning and skill development or in extra-curricular activities such as dance or robotics. The regular charity work has given girls the opportunity to realise that what they do is valuable, in school and in the wider world.
Many will have discovered new and emerging gifts of organisation, co-operation and inventiveness when planning and delivering their form’s contribution to raising funds to send sick children to Lourdes, for example. We have all felt a sense of gratitude and pride in our achievement that we have been able to help fund the building of a secondary school in Mbizo in Zimbabwe.
It is in these contexts, too, that valuing friendship has been developed. Working together on worthwhile projects increases our appreciation of the joys and benefits of good friendship. Inevitably in the teenage years friendships can be tricky and we have been attempting to give the girls support in managing friendships themselves through our ‘Girls on Board’ programme. There has, in addition, been the usual support from the personal, social, and health education (PSHCE) programme, pastoral staff and student mentors.
One example of the value of friendship which I was privileged to witness was seeing ‘The witty and wonderful Mary Ward show’ in which years 7-9 devised and produced, with help from the performing arts department, highly entertaining and relevant sketches exploring the essence, the ups and downs and the value of friendship.
Days of Reflection
Days of Reflection included work on respecting self and valuing friendship. In Year 7, students shared a ‘special thing’ with the group, something they brought from home which they value. Being accepted and valued in their uniqueness is an important part of our school’s philosophy, based on scriptural teaching that we are all created by God and loved by God just as we are.
In Year 8, we explored ‘Bod’s classroom’, thinking about who we are and what each of us brings to any group, whether we bring our vulnerability, leadership, our studiousness or our sense of fun, we all have something invaluable to offer. In Year 10 we explored the ways in which friendship develops, often by chance proximity, and how it can have a healing, affirming and encouraging aspect. The stimulus for this was an excerpt from the film, ‘The Way’, the context of which is the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella.
Being role models
The benefits of respecting self and valuing friendship are apparent when younger students see older students working together and witness their enjoyment in shared endeavour and fun. To give one example, listening to Sixth Formers who had been to Lourdes sharing their experiences was one such occasion. It spoke volumes about how serving the vulnerable and working together had enhanced their self-respect and made them value their friendships.
They discovered they could do more than they could possibly have imagined and had forged bonds which are unbreakable, with their peers and with the pilgrims for whom they cared. They were without doubt following in the footsteps of Mary Ward and her circle of friends.
From our Senior Leaders