Happy New Year and the Year Ahead

I have had the pleasure of seeing nearly all the secondary year groups in assemblies this week to wish everyone Happy New Year and prompt some thinking about the year ahead. In preparing for these assemblies, I learned that January is named after the Roman god Janus. Statues of Janus’ two faces would have been found on gateways or entrances to villas. Janus was a god of transitions, with one face looking to the past and one to the future.

Using Janus as inspiration I challenged students to think firstly of the world as a whole. What events will 2023 be remembered for, and what does 2024 have in store? Climate-related disasters are intensifying, and conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine are continuing. Global sporting events such as the Fifa Women’s World Cup raised the profile of women’s sport, and we can look forward to the Olympics in Paris this year. 

Next, on an individual or school level, we considered how 2023 would be remembered and how we want 2024 to be remembered. I’m a big fan of the musical Matilda - the songs, written by Tim Minchin, are witty and thought-provoking. If you haven’t seen it, I recommend it! A line from the song “Naughty” is particularly pertinent in this context:

“But nobody else is gonna put it right for me
Nobody but me is gonna change my story.”

Through our habits, behaviours and actions, we all have the power to direct how our year will be remembered. Some things are out of our control, but by thinking about our goals for the future and taking action to step towards those goals, we can take ownership of our story. 

For me, New Year’s resolutions are not something different that happens every 1 January, but stepping stones that I choose to lay to continue my journey in a particular direction.

Thinking like Matilda and Janus can help to inspire us to take control and make positive changes in the year ahead, so that we look back on 2024 feeling content that we did our best for ourselves and our community.

Learning Conversation Day is coming up on Monday, 29 January and is a perfect opportunity for students to reflect on the past year and lay out some stepping stones for the future. Please see the Week Ahead for more information on this event. 

Mr Dan Norbury, Secondary Principal