As the term draws to a close and we prepare to hang up our stockings, I have been pondering how to sum up the last few weeks. Amongst the carols, cantatas, and concerts; amid the christingles, the charity events and the Cheeselets, there is one word that, like a shiny red ribbon, ties all our festive activities together. That word, as is so often the case at Brighton Girls, is ‘community’.
If you are wondering what the Cheeselet reference is all about, let me explain: two weeks ago, Mrs Haustoerfer and Mrs Woodcock launched the Festive Treats World Cup – the sequel to The Biscuit World Cup, a staff challenge last seen in January 2021. Back then, of course, the BWC was part of a much-needed staff wellbeing initiative. We had entered a second national lockdown, we were missing a sense of community, and a daily email which asked us to choose between, for example, a Jaffa Cake and a Wagon Wheel was just the thing to lift the spirits. This time around, with our community very much together and thriving, no such boost was needed and so the daily emails only added to the festive cheer that was all around. In fact, it’s been such a joyous end of term that I joked to Mrs Haustdoerfer that having to decide between Frazzles and Onion Rings in the savoury round was genuinely one of the toughest decisions I’ve had to make in weeks!
As Buddy the Elf knows,“The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing aloud for all to hear” and this is an instruction we’ve followed to the letter this year. We’ve had no less than three concerts at the Church of St Nicholas; we enjoyed a superb Carol Concert at All Saints last Friday; we sang together at our annual Senior Citizens’ Tea Party this week; and, today, the school was buzzing with the House Song competition – simply one of the best things we do and an event that generates enough Christmas cheer to power up Santa’s sleigh.
The end of this term can sometimes feel frantic, with the last-minute rush to tie up loose ends and a flurry of events and engagements, but there is something so special about the way that this term brings out the best in us all and the way it brings our community together.
So, that’s a wrap, as they say on Autumn Term 2024; see you in the New Year.