Dear parents

I was talking to a colleague this week about the busy calendar of events between now and the end of term. Pupils and staff will be engaged in a hectic series of exams, trips, sports fixtures, drama activities, musical performances, and service-learning projects for the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme.

One specific thing he said made me stop and think. He described this part of the year as the "time to harvest". It surprised me because it is autumn in most countries which is most often associated with the harvest season, not late spring and early summer. Of course, his point was more profound than simply a comment on the agricultural cycle. He meant, in his wisdom, that it is at this time of a school year in which the hard work of the previous nine months comes to fruition and thus ready for harvesting. Pupils have been working throughout the previous terms to reach this point in their learning journey. Our graduates are readying themselves to move on to universities across the globe. Public examination candidates are in the middle of their exams. Whatever their age groups, younger pupils know that soon they will be moving up into another year or class. There will be two more graduating classes this year, of course. Pupils in years 1 and 6 will leave the security of their current classes and enter the new and unfamiliar worlds of the Junior and Senior Schools, respectively.

In this way, for all our children and young people, June marks the harvest time of their year. It is a time to reflect on their individual and collective achievements, whether for university admission, winning an award, performing on stage or competing for a sports team. In the end, though, it may be simpler than all that. This month is the time to reflect on a year spent leading a life more aligned with the core values of kindness, integrity, responsibility, courage, and respect for all those in our Wellington community. Those characteristics will long outlast any individual year or award.

Best wishes

Julian Jeffrey
MASTER