Inside King's-Edgehill School

Headmaster's Weekly Newsletter – Week 1 (2021-22)

Dear KES Family:

In Chapel this morning, Reverend Curry’s message about the function of religion at KES was brilliant. He was in fine form, full of energy and passion as he described how we must take delight in differences rather than try and blend everything together into a kind of “mush”. As frequently happens, Reverend Curry says something which sparks my brain into thinking about something else. His comments this morning made me think about the plasticene I used to play with as a boy.

Much like Play-Doh, plasticene is a multi-colored modelling putty that children play with. The colours are not as bright and it doesn’t smell as nice, but it is great fun, nonetheless.  Like Play-Doh, however, there is always a challenge separating the colours after one has finished one’s creation. Little bits of yellow hair will stick to the red hat, the green buttons will leave traces on the blue shirt. One day I was so frustrated that I simply mushed together all the different colours I had used on my multi-coloured stegosaurus. The result was gruesome. Instead of inventing a cool new colour, I had a blob of ugly, brownish-grey “mush”.

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We are not perfect at KES, but I do love how we take delight in our differences. It is paradoxical to think that a school which has a strict dress code and takes pride in its uniforms and standards of grooming and behaviour, creates an environment where students can be celebrated for who they are and where they are from. Wandering around campus after class is a joy. There are students dancing and riding bicycles, there are students playing soccer and tennis and volleyball, and swimmers running with the cross-country team. Meanwhile, all our baseball and hockey players are doing their thing off campus. (Did I forget anybody?) Meanwhile, auditions start today for the play and our clubs sign up is on Monday.

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Today I had lunch with Grade 10 student Tim Bednara. He has just arrived with his brother Ben from Germany.  He is keen to play soccer (“football”) which he has not been able to play in quite some time. What a delightful thing it is, especially considering the times in which we live, that a young man can be at home in Germany one day and the next day running around the soccer pitch with new friends and teammates from a parade of nations.

The School has been empty for almost four months. It is a joy to have it full once again.

Click here for all of this week's photos.

Sincerely,


Joe Seagram

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