January 21st 2023
The Moulsford staff are always keen to celebrate a variety of achievements both inside and outside the classroom, and to bring boys of different ages together. Our Celebration Assemblies, which have become a highlight for the Moulsford boys, do both. At these events, Year 8 boys celebrate the work and achievements of the younger boys in Years 3 to 6, with ‘celebrations’ ranging from more formal Maths and English, to music compositions and, a Celebration Assembly first this week, pogo sticking!
Besides giving much-deserved acknowledgement to the boys, Celebration Assembly gives a really valuable opportunity for older and younger boys to work with each other. For example, this week Elliot P interviewed Morgan T and Finn R about their wonderful fact file on India; Barnaby W and Seb R-F counted to thirty-one in Spanish with Conan F-G, and Alex W encouraged Freddie R-C and Jasper D to perform their Graphic Score, representing a piece of vocal music.
Boys of all ages also have the chance to speak in front of a large audience, and an element of improvisation is needed when ‘chatting’ with the younger boys. Celebration Assemblies are led by the boys for the boys, with minimal staff input, besides some behind the scenes coordination by Mr Weeks who ensures that all runs smoothly.
Last week we appointed Henry B and Henry N as Head and Deputy Head Boys for the Spring term. These are always such difficult decisions as there are numerous Year 8 boys who are excellent candidates for these important roles. Henry B has written a lovely piece on what it means to be a Moulsford boy, which sums up the ethos and culture of our community extremely well.
Henry’s words are echoed in the heart-warming email I received this week from a Moulsford parent, which read as follows. I’ve changed the names of the two boys mentioned:
‘The eagerly awaited Year 3 football teams were announced yesterday, which Chris was a little disappointed with, but all par for the course at this age and great for building character.
I discovered when home from work that Peter (Y7) had heard Chris was a little upset (we used to live on the same road as them when living in London) and took the time to send him a voice note, which was beautifully delivered and so articulate, telling Chris of his own experience of working his way up through the teams, to keep focused and work hard and that improvement/recognition would soon follow. He even offered to practice with Chris at school on the Astro turf.
We would love this to get flagged to Peter’s teachers as it really exemplifies the qualities of a ‘Moulsford Boy’, but was simply a very kind and thoughtful thing to do, which made Chris smile this morning when he listened to it before heading off to school.’
