Dear Parents/ Carers,

After the sad news of the death of Queen Elizabeth II last Thursday, the school had a special collective worship for the children to reflect upon her life.

We thought about her life spent in service to others. One of our school values is Service, and the children looked at a photograph of the Queen, taken just a few days ago, when she met the new Prime Minister. We reflected on how, even though she was very ill and 96, she still got up, put on her best clothes, and did her duty for the country.

Speaking to many of you on Friday, it was clear that there is great sadness over her death. I know there will be many national events over the next couple of weeks where we will be able to reflect on our own thoughts about the Queen's death. She has been a constant figure in most of our lives, and the life of the nation, and whether you feel strongly about the monarchy or not, it is a change which we will all notice in one way or another.

I was so proud of the children in Collective Worship when I asked them what values they thought Queen Elizabeth had shown over her 70 year reign. The first answer was "perseverance" for keeping going for all that time; and the second was "service", for working for others.

Children in Year 6 are being given the opportunity to serve our school community this year. We have changed lunchtimes so that older children can play with, and look after, younger ones. Next week sees the first Y6 Lunchtime Crew starting work, supporting Reception and Y1 children as they come into the hall to eat. These Y6 children will help the little ones with their food choices, pouring their drinks, helping them with knives and forks, and showing them where to go. They are all volunteers who would like to serve others in this way.

Over the next few weeks, we will be looking for more Y6 volunteers to serve in other ways, such as Peer Mediators and Play Leaders. I will let you know how this goes once it is up and running.

Best wishes,

Mrs Seymour