As the school year draws to a close, all around is the bustling excitement of our students as they prepare to embark on the summer holidays ahead. These last few days of being together in classes have a unique quality. There is palpable excitement for all that is to come mixed with inner yearning and deep reflection on what has been. Whether articulated outwardly or gently held in the heart, each child feels a sense of togetherness with their class and with the school community but also a sense that something has passed, not to be found again. These deeper feelings are accessible for us adults too as teachers and parents.

In our busy modern lives we can easily observe childhood as fleeting and passing all too quickly. Another year has flown by. “Haven’t they grown so much! Are you really going into class three…seven…twelve?” It can feel like a race which isn’t slowing down, especially at this time of year with all the busy preparations for the festive season ahead.
Thankfully, at this time we can also slow down and contemplate just what is Christmas? Essentially, it is the celebration of the birth of a pure and innocent child. Parents know this miracle well. Nothing brings joy, wonder, love and hope like a new born child. This love and hope step outside of time and link us with the divine. Rudolf Steiner tells us:

… knowledge of Christ links the inmost core of humankind’s being with primal innocence, links the state of childhood, not, as yet, that of mature life, with the very heights of cosmic being. When, in the Holy Night of winter (or summer) our minds turn to the Christ Child, there is enacted before our souls the greatest of all festivals of consecration, the festival that rings through all the Aeons—and we know that the deepest realities of humankind’s being and nature are indissolubly connected with all cosmic evolution.

And so we wish you all a very happy Christmas filled with joy, love and laughter. We are honoured to have held your children in our care once again this year. We wish you all the best for a fantastic summer ahead and look forward to uniting together again in the new school year.

Ken Peney, College Chair