Welcome to the Summer Term!

Dear all,

Well, that was a fun, exciting, tiring and brilliant first week at Chagford Primary School. What an amazing welcome from the staff, pupils and families - I feel very grateful indeed and very humbled to be accepted into this very special community.

I've seen some lovely things as I've looked around the site - children showing real kindness to each other, pride in each others achievements, good sportsmanship, a unique cheeky sense of humour... I could go on.

There's a huge amount to be proud of at Chagford and a huge amount to look forward to as well. Cricket coaching will start again very soon - thanks to Andy from the cricket club. (Please see the attached flyers re cricket.  Both All Stars and Dynamos are currently fully booked, but they are taking names and placing them on a waiting list.) We're looking forward to swimming lessons restarting after half term - after a long forced hibernation it feels like the mighty creature we call a school is starting to move and flex its muscles again. I'll be in school tomorrow morning with some community members to take care of some jobs to try and make this place a safer and better for our children to learn and grow. 

What makes me proudest of all is seeing a learner trying hard to learn something new, not giving up when it's tough, sticking at it and making progress. I don't mind if that's a child in the Foundation Unit working out how best to fill a plastic brick with dirt, a Year Four child improving their handwriting or one of my colleagues working out the best way to teach a tricky point in Maths. It's the hard work, the resilience and the sticktoitiveness that I find beautiful and moving.

I'd love to hear your stories and see your photographs of when your children learn a new thing or make a breakthrough - taking a catch on the cricket pitch, getting their next belt in karate, mastering a new chord on the guitar, riding the bike without stabilisers. Do share those stories and let me celebrate them in assembly and in my newsletters. It's the hard work we care about - nothing worth very much ever came easy.

And I'll tell you a secret - when I see those children really working to master something new and modelling resilience, it makes me more determined to do that myself. To be a better friend and a better dad. To be a better headteacher for all the brilliant children of Chagford Primary and for the community around the school.

Have a wonderful weekend good people. I'm looking forward to a rest and then to next week and to all the weeks after. We are off on a most wonderful journey together.

Best wishes, Mr Finch