This past week has seen the start of the new academic year in Kenya, and so most students have been returning to school. Two year groups are yet to return to school – they are the ones who took national leavers exams and are therefore progressing on to the next level of education. But for everyone else, this week was back to school.
I’d been into school a few times the previous week, when no students were present, so that I could deliver training to teachers without distraction. It was great to do the training, and it was good to have the undivided attention of the teachers, but it was kind of strange to be there without the background noise of children doing their lessons, charging around the playground, and calling out hello.
So, to go in to Spurgeons Academy yesterday and find it full of children again was a real delight. The reason for going along yesterday in particular was to attend, and take part in, a morning of celebration and thanksgiving. It’s a new event for the school, especially at the start of a new year. Previously anything like this would have been at the end of an academic year and primarily just for the year groups who were leaving.
But this new approach was to focus not just on giving thanks for the ending of the previous year, but also to give thanks for the start of the new year. It was about saying thank you to God for the provision to see the children through the long break – for food, for health, for being able to return to school this term. It was about saying thank you to God for the teachers who were committed to stepping forwards into the new year, and provide support to the children in their care. And it was about saying thank you to God that we can trust Him to provide all that is needed as we step into the unknown.
It was also a time to celebrate the achievements of the students, and of their teachers, and this came in the form of small financial gifts / incentives to those teachers who had achieved the highest grades through their students final marks. Support staff were also celebrated – from the social worker, to the cook, to the groundsman. And the talents of the children were celebrated through song and dance, from the youngest to the oldest.
It was a beautiful time indeed.
I had the wonderful opportunity to share some thoughts and information with the parents about understanding how the brain works, how different parts impact each other, and what influence that has on behaviour, learning, problem solving etc. I also shared some thoughts on how we aren’t all designed to respond to a situation in the same way, or learn in the same way etc, and that as a result, our children might not be doing things differently just to annoy us, but because it is their natural way of doing things. The ultimate message was to love our children for who they are, not wish for what they aren’t, and to support them in positive and open-minded ways, as they are gifts from God, made perfect and not a mistake.
It was a real honour to be the ‘guest speaker’ and as I looked out at the Spurgeons family, I was reminded yet again just how much I love them. I’m not there all the time, I can’t input into the life of each child, but I do have a role that I can play, and that is a real privilege. I feel so welcomed by staff and by children, and yesterday it was lovely to interact with the parents as well. When I am there I can listen, I can input to the teachers, I can encourage the children, I can look for openings to bring additional support. And as I leave and travel onwards, I can pray, I can advocate for, I can seek opportunities to raise additional resources. I gain so much more than I ever give when I go to Spurgeons, and I am forever grateful to God that I have this relationship with them.
The year ahead is not going to be smooth, there are some huge mountains to climb in terms of school development in line with new government requirements. It would be very easy to feel daunted and overwhelmed by it all. But instead it was a huge joy to embark on this year with the school in a state of thanksgiving to God for all that He has done in the past, does now in the present, and through faith will continue to do in the future.
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