Our Year Of Hope 2020/2021
The world is slowly emerging from the coronavirus pandemic and we acknowledge that the end of the last academic year has been challenging for everyone. This year our planned learning opportunities will seek to rebuild relationships and will support our children to feel happy and confident.
The words of Barry Carpenter, CBE, Professor of Mental Health in Education, Oxford Brookes University, UK illustrate our aim, “Our mission as educators, should be to journey with that child through a process of re-engagement, which leads them back to their rightful status as a fully engaged, authentic learner.”
In support of this aim we have dedicated this year to be ‘Our Year of Hope ’. Throughout the year we shall be seeking opportunities for our school community to recognise that the Gospel of Jesus promises hope and joy. Hope is the virtue that enables us to look to the future with real confidence.
The hope that Jesus offers spreads from him through others; we can be signs of hope to each other. Hope in our courage and in our optimism. Hope springing from the love of God is always a reality, no matter how much it might seem otherwise. Where injustices are challenged, where love wins out, where courage is a motivating force, then the hope of the Gospel, seen in the promises and life of Jesus become a reality.
We have chosen the butterfly to be the symbol for the year. The Butterfly is often used to represent new life and the Resurrection of Jesus. A butterfly changes from a caterpillar into a butterfly by forming a hard outer skin known as a chrysalis and then changes into a butterfly. The caterpillar is transformed into a beautiful butterfly which spreads its wings and flies.
Around the world people often associate butterflies as representing endurance, change, hope and life. This year we will use the symbol of the butterfly to remember that we are children and people of hope.
To launch our school year of Hope, we have revamped our class garden areas and will now call this special area of the school; Our Garden of Hope. We would like our children and parents to use this area as a way of noticing and appreciating the environment around them, taking time to enjoy the gardens and seating area as its changes through the seasons.
Let us live in such a way that all may see the hope we have as Christians. May our hope give others hope as well, as we make known Christ Jesus.
