Pocklington School Newsletter Michaelmas Term 2017 | Page 2

Headmaster’s Welcome
A Christmas
Message from
Rev Jan
God in a manger
Stars fascinate me! I love to look up into the sky
on dark, cloudless nights. Millions of stars,
spread out across the vastness of the sky, shining
down on this tiny planet. And if you keep looking
– I don’t know if you’ve noticed this – your night
vision improves; the sky seems to get deeper and
you see more and more stars. When I was little I
used to imagine that if I just had a tall enough
ladder, I could climb up, reach out and hold one
of those stars in my hands. I could bring a little bit
of heaven down to earth. What a magical,
childish idea. And yet maybe not so childish ...
We’ve enjoyed an eventful and rewarding term
at Pocklington School, and pupils and teachers
can begin the Christmas break with a real
sense of satisfaction and achievement. even extends to the Headmaster, I discovered:
fellow cast members were encouraging
throughout, giving me feedback which was
greatly appreciated.
From newcomers to the School who have settled
in and grown in confidence as the weeks
progressed, right through to our Sixth Formers
buckling down to serious study, there’s a positive
feel about the school which is great to see. I drew a huge amount of strength from the shared
experience this joint endeavour brought. Both
the anxiety when things didn’t quite come
together and immense satisfaction when it did
were – and are – an essential part of the creative
process which is far more enjoyable when
experienced as part of a team.
This newsletter contains many examples of pupils
who’ve pushed themselves to scale new heights,
and I’m confident there are many more pupils
who’ve made significant progress this term – an
achievement that’s no less valid for not being
included here.
I strongly believe that we never stop learning, and
that it’s good to challenge ourselves, no matter
how old we are. Thus, a couple of weeks ago, I
found myself taking to the stage as part of the
cast of Animal Farm, my first acting role since I
was at school. This was a challenge – but I
thought it would do me good to venture out of
my comfort zone.
I was keen to take part because the themes in Mr
Heaven’s adaptation, of challenging prejudice
and celebrating difference, resonated with me. I
was also determined that I was going to perform
to the best of my ability, to do the role justice, and
avoid letting the rest of the cast down.
I was touched and quite humbled by the way the
cast welcomed me among them. The wonderful
Pock sense of community, which I’m so proud of,
Huge credit to Mr Heaven, who was calm and
focused throughout, to Steff Ryan for his
impressive set, lighting and sound, and to Cheryl
White for her amazing costumes and the way she
soothed actors’ nerves. The pressure of being in
the spotlight in front of the audience reminded
me how much courage children have who take to
the stage in school productions. Whether or not
they had lines to say, every cast member had to
be engaged the whole time, as it was such a
physical performance that any lapse in
concentration undermined the visual effect of the
play.
It’s been quite a journey for me and I’m now very
pleased I pushed myself to do it. I not only
learned a lot about myself, our wonderful school
and its talented staff and pupils, but I feel
energised by my own small achievement – This is
true!
Have a wonderful Christmas break, everyone, and
I look forward to seeing you in the New Year.
The Christmas story really captures the
imagination and it has been retold many times in
lots of different ways: angels, shepherds, wise
men, a slightly bewildered young woman
cradling her first child. We hear about them all if
we attend Carol Services; small children act the
story out in nativity plays. It’s a great story; it
almost twinkles around the edges as we recall it.
But we shouldn’t fall into the trap of thinking that
this is just a story for children. Looking at the
Christmas story is a bit like staring into the night
sky; the longer we look, the deeper it seems to
get and the more we see.
If we can really develop our night vision then we
might find ourselves arriving at the stable open
mouthed, just as the shepherds did. As we stand
at the door of the stable, under the light of one
particular star, and gaze at the child in the
manger, we have good reason to be open
mouthed and astonished. Because if we look
long enough, with the eyes of faith, what we will
see is God asleep in a manger; the creator of the
world revealed to us in human form. We don’t
need to climb a ladder and reach for a star to
bring heaven down to earth because God has
already come down. The Christ-child, the baby in
the manger, is Emmanuel: ‘God with us’. That
really is something to celebrate.
Christmas Blessings
Rev Jan