Pocklington School Newsletter Lent Term 2020 | Page 5

Notes from the Chaplain Drama Roundup I have almost completed four months as the new Chaplain at Pocklington. The time has flown by speaking at four assemblies a week. I’ve found the school staff and pupils extremely friendly. I particularly enjoy both the challenge and opportunity of speaking to the main body of pupils at the Friday church service as well as engaging with pupils pastorally one to one. We welcomed the Bishop of Selby in February to lead our confirmation service with 8 pupils renewing their baptism vows their parents had made, with two more pupils to be confirmed at a later date. One of the pleasures of engaging with the organisation is to observe how caring the school is, seeking to enable each child to express themselves according to their interests. This has become self-evident to me when I’ve attended the evening music and drama performances. It has been a joy to see pupils express themselves in such a powerful and talented manner. I am keen to find ways in which the chapel ministry can be more supportive in this difficult time, but also in the years to come. Do get in touch if you would like to. Canon Dr Bill Merrington [email protected] HISTORY DEPARTMENT NOTICE Keep an eye on Twitter @pockhistory for a virtual adventure! They may not have been able to physically visit the Battlefields of the Western Front this Easter but they will do their best to entertain and inform us all with a virtual one instead! You can follow the trip real time starting this Sunday afternoon. This has been an exciting term for exam candidates at GCSE and A level, with sparkling performances from all. Also taking their GCSE exams were the technical candidates specialising in Sound who had to create interior and exterior sounds and soundscapes to help realise the moods and locations of the pieces performed. A level candidates brought Brian Friel's wonderful play Dancing at Lughnasa alive, relocating it in Yorkshire, then hit the topic of the moment with a blistering attack on Harvey Weinstein and the causes of the #MeToo movement. Featuring music, some real-life stories and some direct and sensible advice from police and victims of knife crime, pupils from First Year to Sixth Form were able to take on board some valuable lessons. Finally, it is worth saying how brilliant our pupils have been – in the last days while school was open their attitude and positivity were impressive. They have also thrown themselves into remote learning – and there will be plenty more of that to come. Housemasters, Housemistresses and Tutors will keep in touch throughout the school closure. Pupils and parents mustn’t hesitate to get in touch for support, but also to let us know the positive things pupils have been up to whilst away from school – we’d love to share and celebrate them with others! Alongside all of this, LAMDA Acting and Speaking Verse & Prose, and the Technical Theatre club continue energetically, with new members warmly invited. Alan Heaven, Head of Drama Pastoral Update Although term was rather curtailed by other matters (I’ll try not to say it), we still managed to fit in a good deal of engaging and important pastoral and wellbeing education across this Lent term. The ‘RAP Project’ (Raising Awareness and Prevention) delivered fantastic talks to Middle School and Sixth Form. Led by charity co-founder, Allison Havey, the presentations promoted awareness for teenagers negotiating social media and its influence on attitudes and expectations. Pupils openly discussed mutual respect, mutual consent and the talk succeeded in marrying hard facts with some humour, too. We also welcomed Humberside Police who came as part of their #nomoreknives campaign. We may not have made it to Charity Week, but we still managed to squeeze in a non-uniform day at the very end, raising not far off £1000 for the Houses’ selected charities. Pupils have been given the challenge of making the most of the opportunity to do good for others in these uncertain times (small or big) and we look forward to seeing what they come up with! Martin Davies, Pastoral Director 4