2018 marks the third year of the Middle Years program in the Senior School. It does seem like only yesterday that we were welcoming new students and families to the School back in January. The busy-ness of the School demands complete investment from all our staff and students, and a by-product of this is the speed at which times seems to pass as we balance the demands of life at Saints.
As it did last year, the Pentreath has provided a wonderful home for the Year 7 and 8 students, and has played a significant part in supporting their transition into Senior School life. We are exceptionally proud of the way the Middle Years students have conducted themselves over the course of the year. They have approached their studies with diligence and maturity. Their commitment to sports, music, the arts and our extra-curricular activities have been excellent. The students have embraced our focus of becoming increasingly independent and organised, and we commend them on the respectful and mature manner in which they have acted as stewards of the Middle Years facilities.
I’d like to recognise the contribution of the 2018 Year 8s to the Middle Years program over the past two years. They have proven to be excellent role models for our Year 7s this year and contributed significantly to the Senior School community over the past two years. It is very rewarding to see the growth in these students, as individuals and as a cohort, from the early adolescents commencing Year 7 last year to the mature young men moving into the Senior Years next year. We wish them all the very best for their time in the Senior Years and look forward to sharing this journey with them.
I’d like to thank and acknowledge the contribution of the Middle Years mentors this year. We are blessed to have a team of outstanding educators in this team who bring empathy and compassion to their work with the boys entrusted into their care. The Year 7 and 8 mentor teams have been exceptionally well led by Andy Payne and Michael Gilmore and I thank them for their commitment to ensuring staff and students of the Middle Years are so well supported.
This year we farewell from the team three of our inaugural Year 7 mentor team members. Andy Payne will step down as Year 7 Coordinator at the end of 2018 and Mark Coventry will take up this role. Andy will still be around the School teaching Technology part-time in 2019. Frances Zubreckyj has worked as both a Year 7 and 8 mentor over the past three years and made a significant contribution to the Middle Years. She has resigned as of the end of 2018. Marcus Tickner made the decision to move back home to the UK in September where he is working as Coordinator of English at St Swithun’s School. We thank Andy, Frances and Marcus for their significant contributions to the Middle Years over the past three years and wish them all the very best for the next steps in their personal and professional lives.
Thank you to the parents of the Middle Years boys. Your support has been integral to the success of your sons, and we greatly appreciate your commitment to work in partnership with the School. As the primary educators of your boys, it is imperative that the partnership between home and school is strong. Your support to get boys to school each day, transport them to practices, games, concerts, rehearsals and events, work collaboratively with teachers, communicate concerns as they arise and reinforce the values and expectations of the School is imperative. Thank you for all you have done throughout 2018 to make it such a fabulous year for the boys.
I hope the Christmas and New Year break provides a great opportunity for you all to spend some time relaxing with family and friends. We look forward to continuing our relationship with you all in 2019, and welcoming a brand new cohort of Middle Years students into the Senior School to commence their journey next year.
James Tamblyn
Head of Middle Years