Kindness Week

Dear Parents and Students,

The 6th November was UNESCO’s international day against bullying and cyberbullying in schools under the theme: ‘Screen smart: Learning to be safe in the digital era’ so we decided to use this opportunity to celebrate kindness and friendship in our school. We continue to remind students about the need to remain safe online in our wellbeing sessions, in assemblies and using outside trainers as we did the week before half term. We use the international programme called Common Sense Media to help us deliver the message to our students that whilst it can be educational and fun to be online, sometimes there can be dangers and it is important for them to be smart when navigating the digital world. We also encourage students to report to us any concerns they have about worrying behaviour online or if they think fellow students may be in danger in the digital world. Furthermore, Thursday 13th November was International Kindness day. We try to cultivate positive relationships in our school through our constant reinforcement of our values of love and respect in lessons and during play and recreation. Building positive relationships with others is one of the key elements of having good wellbeing and being happy and balanced.

In Primary assembly, we explored the school value of positivity and how it connects to being kind. Students practiced saying positive things to one another and reflected on how small words can make a big difference. We also introduced our new Primary Student Council Team, who will serve as a positive voice for all students. Congratulations to:

Viktoria 3), Vasilisa 3B, Liam 4A, Leia 4B, Anastasia 5A, Devora 5B, Evangelina MP, Damian W4, and Arina W5! Our new council held their first meeting on Wednesday, where we were joined by outgoing member Rebecca, who shared some highlights from last year’s projects. In Secondary, students used assembly time to write kindness notes as part of their ongoing Kindness Activity Schedule.

On Thursday we focussed on Kindness Day, random acts of kindness and noticing other people’s kindness. All week in primary students have been doing different activities related to kindness. They are also building a kindness tree! Being kind to others also improves our overall wellbeing and helps us to be positive too. And of course it makes a huge difference to the person to whom we were being kind!

Also this week our Waldorf community celebrated the beautiful Martinmas Festival. The central tradition is a nighttime lantern walk, where children and adults carry homemade lanterns to symbolize bringing light into the darkening season. It marks the end of the autumn season and the transition to winter. In line with our theme of kindness the festival also commemorates St. Martin of Tours, a 4th-century soldier who famously shared his cloak with a beggar. Students, parents and teachers came together on Tuesday evening to create lanterns and other items, to eat and drink together and the festival culminated in a lantern walk and an opportunity to sing together. It was a magical atmosphere and the children enjoyed the whole experience.

This week Grade 7 MYP as part of their History of Cyprus studies into earliest civilisations in Cyprus visited the historical site of Choirokitia linking their academic learning to a visit to a real historical site and helping them to understand the origins of Cyprus.

On Monday we held the first of our Options events for MYP 5 parents. Our CP and DP coordinators and our University Counsellor shared detailed information about the different pathways available to students in Grades 11 and 12. We hope those parents who attended found it valuable. The same presentation was given to Grade 10 students on Wednesday as they start the important process of choosing the next stage of their learning journey.

Today we welcomed visitors from the Tech Leaders of the Future Team who came to visit our TLF students, visit lessons and discuss the new programme with our academic leaders and teachers. This programme is an IB programme but has additional lessons and activities in the afternoons so students can focus more on STEM subjects, leadership and entrepreneurship.

We also held two Earthquake evacuations this week. The first was a planned practice and the second was an evacuation due to a real earthquake we experienced on Wednesday. Everyone exited the building safely and there was no damage but we followed our protocols in order to keep children and adults safe and well. We held our termly Health and Safety Committee meeting this week. We are constantly revising our safety policies and procedures in school and evaluation practices also form part of awareness raising and a review of best practices. Safety is another of our core 8 values which we promote within our community.

I wish you all a peaceful weekend where you are able to celebrate and practice kindness.

Best Regards
Deborah Economou
Head of School