I got to bring my toys into school today, even though it wasn’t the last day of term.  The special reason?  Well, today is Star Wars day of course; May 4th be with you!

My assembly took the form of a Star Wars quiz, and I brought in my own Star Wars toys from when I was a primary school child, shown in the picture below.  It was wonderful to see the younger pupils nearest the front of the hall unable to contain their curiosity about toys which are 35 years old and pale in comparison to what is available to them today.

The main message of the assembly was twofold.  Firstly, a film franchise that has lasted over 40 years, employs thousands of people across the globe and grosses billions of pounds in annual profit relies heavily on 2 of our 6C learning behaviours, namely Commitment and Collaboration.  The children were made aware that without these things, nothing is ever achieved in their school work and home life.  Secondly, in revealing my two other childhood obsessions of Lego and Liverpool Football Club, I stressed to the children that they need a balanced range of interests and activities, no matter how much they may like one particular thing.  I told them explicitly that a healthy life involves limiting their time on Fortnite, or coming off Roblox, and doing a range of indoor, outdoor and sociable activities during their free time.  Sound advice, I hope, for a long Bank Holiday weekend.

May the Force be with you

Mr R Cunningham

Headteacher (and secret Jedi)