Team LGS
I can’t help thinking of lockdown whenever anyone mentions Teams! It was such a bonus during that period – and we are, of course, still using it – but I believe that the best and most rewarding teamwork and team building occur in-person.
Many of us were delighted by the teamwork between older and younger pupils in a most uplifting House Music festival on Wednesday, with the former displaying some sparkling leadership skills – ever encouraging, identifying and directing strengths which then contributed to the whole.
Last night, we were treated to our first ever Duke of Edinburgh Award presentation evening. Our Gold-awarders talked about their summer qualifier expedition, showing some beautiful pictures of the Lake District, as well as of increasingly exhausted smiles as the days went by! What shone through abundantly was the importance of everyone’s contribution to the group-effort, with each member playing a mutually supportive but discrete role. And it was clear too that, despite the challenges and sore feet, they recalled above all the highlights and had enormous fun. They learned to tolerate others’ foibles and to bring out their strengths, all the while deepening their friendships and their appreciation of the countryside. I am very pleased that we have more pupils than ever wanting to benefit this year, with 110 Bronze and 40 Gold entrants.
I have already alluded in my blog this term to some of the many other teams that we have in school, relating to sport, music, drama, competitions, pupil support groups and other aspects of the school community. We will finish this half of term with our Foundation Day service, led by the chapel team and our choirs. All these opportunities help our pupils to develop skills and qualities which will serve them so well in later life – while also giving them lots of enjoyment with others along the way.
Returning to my initial mention of Teams, some of my best senior leadership team meetings were actually held virtually at the start of the pandemic, when we met to find imaginative solutions to novel problems and then went away individually to plan, organise and innovate. We couldn’t have done it alone.
Thank you, team LGS (pupils, staff, trustees and parents), for a super first half of term.
Best wishes,
John Watson
Headmaster