Nov Knitting

As you can see it was a lovely Autumn day and we all enjoyed some sweets on our walk back to school.

Tuesday is also the day when I have school assemblies for the Prep and Senior school. To celebrate All Saints I drew two match stalk pictures on two whiteboards. Both the figures had halos above their heads and one had wings. The pupils could immediately distinguish that one was an angel because of its wings and the other was an ordinary person with a halo. All Saints is a feast day which celebrates all the people who have done something above and beyond to help others and to serve God. We talked about the importance of light, especially at this time of year when the clocks have changed and the day shortens. Everyone has the capacity to be a saint; to think of others before themselves and sometimes we describe people as being a saint when they have done something extra for somebody else. There are many saints and many good people and we prayed that we might follow their example.

In the afternoon I heard a loud knock on my office door as reception came to bring me a special Halloween cake which they had baked and wrapped up especially. It was a lovely surprise and the children seemed to enjoy bouncing up and down on the chesterfield sofas.

In return I gave the children a mini jumper I had just knitted. The knitting craze gets everywhere. It was a lovely end to a lovely day.

And for all of you who could not make it this evening here is a day in the life of Oakhill as I documented a Thursday which was refreshingly sunny after all the rain of the last week. As soon as I walked through the door this morning I realised that there was something different going on. Sitting outside my office was a young lady whom I barely recognised! All of Year 11 were dressed very smartly in their own clothes for their mock interviews with an RAF Officer. This is an annual event and provides valuable feedback to the pupils and staff about the pupils’ communication skills and confidence in an interview situation. Everyone seems to have enjoyed the opportunity offered to them. Congratulations to Danielle Thompson, who won the best interviewee award and to Elizabeth Pulleyn, who won the best dressed interviewee award.

Then I walked into the Millenium Hall where Prep were busy preparing for their special harvest Assembly which traditionally means everyone bringing food in to give to the people at THOMAS in Blackburn. Here is a picture of Year 5 with their rainforest trees which are cut down by different people. I am sure there will be more about this assembly in a news post as it is an important part of the Prep year.

After this I wandered down to see the children from Acorns who were hunting for numbers whilst having great fun in the stream. Everyone was very excited to be out and about and the pupils clearly loved showing off their freshly discovered numbers and sticks.

At lunch time the good weather continued and so does the Oakhill knitting group and their observers. Those blankets will soon be finished.

There is a taste of a Thursday in October at Oakhill where you can be guaranteed infinite variety.

A blog is rather like an internet photo diary and we hope to give you a taste of Oakhill from many different viewpoints – acorns children, prep children and senior children as well as staff. We hope that you enjoy this snapshot of a unique school from many individual voices.

Today I have been busy giving assemblies about the Olympic Relay of Prayer organised by the Salford Diocese. Oakhill College has been partnered with Djibouti, a small and not well known country in North East Africa.

We will be finding out all about Djibouti and supporting the athletes and people of Djibouti through the relay of prayer.You can find out more about the relay of prayer by following this link: www.relayofprayersalforddiocese.org.uk/

Year 3 have been very busy finding out facts about Djibouti and they amazed me with their knowledge about the country.Here they are waving the flag of Djibouti:

They knew that Djibouti is in North East Africa and that there was a volcano there.

They knew that most of the population of Djibouti live in Djibouti city.

The climate is so much warmer than in the Ribble Valley and averages 40 degrees in the summer months and 26 in the colder months! The landscape is varied and beautiful.

What the pupils didn’t know was that most tourists who go to Djibouti go to see the whale sharks and here they are:

I am sure that we will find out much more about Djibouti in the weeks to come. We are lucky because Toby and Oscar Knight’s grandfather was posted in Djibouti for some time. We hope that he will come and share his knowledge of Djibouti with us.

We prayed for the people of Djibouti and we are looking forward to the Relay of Prayer which starts relatively nearby on November 28th at Thorneyholme School in Dunsop Bridge.