Life @ EA
Headteacher’s Blog
29 October 2020
As we move into the second half of term you should by now have received the minutes from the recent Parents' Association meeting. I would like to thank Mrs Caroline Orr for the time she has put into representing the parents in this way. I find the meetings extremely useful and hope that parents do too.
On the back of the meeting you should also now have received a note from Mrs Htet-Khin with reminders about the winter uniform and detailing the additional clothing that can be worn on PE and Games days.
On a different matter, as I am meeting with colleagues to discuss how we will be celebrating the usual end of winter term facilities at this extraordinary time, I have been reading about the way in which other countries (both pre and during COVID) have a claim to places much higher than the United Kingdom in the Global Happiness Index.
Denmark and Holland are two countries who both fit into this category. I have been interested in both as they are countries which are similar to us in many ways and, in Denmark’s case, could be viewed as having a less desirable climate and fewer hours of sunlight during winter.
In Denmark there is a national ethos which accentuates spending time outdoors (regardless of the weather) with friends and family, strong boundaries in terms of what constitutes work and home life and spending more time with loved ones in the winter. The term ‘Hygge’ encompasses this response to the hardship of the Scandinavian winter. It probably says something that there is not a direct translation of ‘Hygge’ into English but ‘cosiness’ and ‘togetherness’ come close.
In Holland, where we have close links with our friends in Nordwijk, there is something called ‘Niksen’ – purposefully doing nothing. This is not ‘mindfulness’ which is about being present in a moment but is about releasing stress by simply taking time to ‘be’. I am also fascinated by the work of Wim Hof whose method based on the three pillars of cold therapy, breathing and commitment are being adopted more and more widely.
In these strange times perhaps we can learn from others around the world and be less keen to wear the comment ‘I’m very busy’ as a badge of honour, making more time to enjoy the sights, sounds, smells and people around us.
Kind regards
Gavin Calder
Headteacher
