I think there’s nothing better than stepping back into school after a good holiday feeling refreshed and revitalised. Last week I had a real sense of everything just feeling ‘better’. There had been time to re-energise and rest and time to reflect without the trappings of daily life in school. This week I’ve been able to see the small things that should make me smile every day. The blossom on the tree in the back playground, the small hand that slips into yours as you do playground duty, the pleasure of starting a new story in reading worship. There is always plenty to smile about – but often these small things can be forgotten in the bigger issues of daily school life.
This year I have found the hardest since the pandemic started. The constant need to create a sense of normality when everything is far from normal has been draining for everyone whether you are a leader, in the classroom or in an office. There have been legacy learning gaps to fill, illnesses to navigate both in staff and children and cover to organise, risk assessments to write and adapt, whilst continuing with school improvement, balancing budgets and keeping morale high. It’s easy to feel as a school that you are the only ones in that situation. That your struggle is just that – your own.
Over Easter, I took some time to prepare this term’s worship, including looking for new songs to sing. I stumbled across an iSing Pop song ‘Lead me home’. The lyrics imply that when we feel like we are alone and that things are difficult, Jesus is there to take us by the hand and to be our guide. It resonated so much, as Orsett’s vision statement is based around Psalm 119:105 – ‘God’s word is a lamp to guide our feet and a light for our path’. No matter how hard things become as church schools we know that we can always turn to God’s word to guide us in our decision making and that he is our shelter in the storm. How very refreshing that is.
This term I will certainly keep that song and verse in the forefront of my mind. That when things seem hard, to remember that there is always someone to help you through to the other side, someone who has probably experienced just what you are dealing with or has support they can offer. We just have to look for it around us.
JOHN 15:5
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From Phonics to Bookworms