26 September 2018

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We all remember those first few weeks at secondary school: the nervous excitement of a new adventure and role reversal of going from being the oldest in school to the youngest. It’s a time of finding your feet and looking towards the future, but this week our new Year 7 students took a moment to remember the past and send messages of gratitude to their former primary school teachers.

“Thank you for being the kindest teacher in the school. You made me smile and laugh. You made me more confident at school and I am very grateful. You are my favourite teacher in the whole wide world and helped me every day. Thank you.”

“I am writing this postcard to you because I would like to thank you for motivating me to work and try harder. Without you, my handwriting would still be terrible. I hope you have amazing students and carry on doing what you do best. Thank you.”

The messages were handwritten on special thank you postcards. Students were encouraged to reflect on all of the positive experiences they’d had in primary school that have set them up well for the next stage in their education, then take the time to thank those teachers for their inspiration. Part of this initiative includes using gratitude to help with positivity and resilience; scientific studies prove that showing appreciation to others leads to greater happiness and improves an individual’s outlook. It’s a great way for our students to move forward in their studies here, mindful of the value of gratitude. With the postcards due to land in teachers’ post trays imminently, we’re sure there’ll be one or two smiles on their faces when they read the messages!

“Grazzi for giving me lots of opportunities in education. Thank you for your time helping me with ratios and other things. I also thank you for supporting me with the difficult decision of choosing schools, I’m truly grateful. There are new subjects that weren’t in primary school like drama, food tech and proper science, they’re all really good! Announcement… I’m in the top set for Maths, English and Science, so thank you for helping me all the way!”