Dear Pupils, Parents, Staff & Governors,
As we approach the final week of term I wanted to thank you so much for your support and commitment to the school this term. I hope that all members of our school community are able to enjoy a peaceful Christmas break and come back refreshed to face the challenges that 2015 will present to us.
Over the last year I have conducted a review of the Christian ‘values’ of this school. As a Church school we have a responsibility to ensure that:
- ‘distinctively Christian values are made explicit and are deeply embedded in the daily life of the school.
- All members of the school community articulate the distinctively Christian characteristics of the school’s values and the significant impact they have on the daily lives and achievements of learners.’
From: The Evaluation Schedule for the Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools
What I found was that although very strong values (broadly Christian) were attributed to the school by all groups surveyed (staff, pupils, parents, governors) there was not a consistent message conveyed about the Christian mission/vision for this school. Over this term I have been meeting with staff and pupils to try and ‘capture’ a statement of Christian intent for our school. We explored what we would want to say to the outside world about our school and what we wanted to achieve by all stakeholders. The result of our thinking and discussion is the following statement:
“Learning within our school fellowship we pursue excellence and seek God’s justice for all.”
The core values then are ‘fellowship’ (or in the Greek ‘koinonia’) and ‘justice’.
Koinonia means ‘that which is in common’ and is often translated as ‘fellowship’ or ‘community’. Other translations might include ‘union’, ‘partnership’, or ‘being yoked together’. A yoke is a shaped piece of wood that goes across the shoulders, often linking two animals. By combining their strength, it helps work to be done and burdens to be carried.
Koinonia expresses the quality of relationship within the Christian community. It is based on fellowship with Jesus. Through him, Christians share the relationship that Jesus has with God. In John 17, Jesus prays that all his followers may be ‘perfectly one’ as he and the Father are one. Through him, Christians become sons and daughters of God and therefore brothers and sisters of each other. They are all members of the same family.
A central element of being a family is interdependence: all are needed and valued and each person is important to the whole. The same message is found in Paul’s image of the Christian community as the body of Christ. Each member of the body shares the joys and sufferings of the others and each depends upon every else.
The foundation of Christian koinonia is Christ’s self giving on the cross, the supreme demonstration of his love for all. We love because he loved us first. For the first Christians, this was expressed in a genuine common life with shared meals, shared possessions and practical support for the poor. The Christian church today continues to serve not only those within the Christian community but any who are in need.
(From http://www.christianvalues4schools.org.uk/pdfs/theological_backgrounds/Koinonia.pdf)
When thinking about ‘justice’, some people think first about giving wrongdoers the punishment they deserve. ‘Justice’ evokes ideas of ‘just deserts’, ’the punishment fitting the crime’, ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’.
However, that would be a one-sided picture of justice. Justice also means giving all people – particularly the poor and oppressed – what it is right and fair for them to have: life, health, freedom and dignity. It is about acting out of a concern for what is right and seeing right prevail. It is about social justice, especially for those who suffer most and are least able to protect themselves.
In Exodus, the people are instructed to deal with everyone fairly and never to show partiality to one group above another (Exodus 23:2,6). The Bible emphasises that ‘The righteous care about justice for the poor’ (Proverbs 29:7). Isaiah says: ‘Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow’ (Isaiah 1:17). Justice is the ‘plumb line’ by which society is measured (Isaiah 29:17).
According to Amos, its presence in society should be constant and abundant: ‘Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!’ (Amos 5:24) Throughout the Bible, it is emphasised that justice is immensely important to God. It is fundamental to God’s character. ‘For the LORD is righteous, he loves justice; upright men will see his face.’ (Psalm 11:7)
Justice is not about a culture which encourages everyone to insist on their own rights at the expense of others. It is about a community that knows that everyone’s well-being is bound up with that of everyone else. A commitment to justice leads to fierce opposition to injustice in whatever form it may be found. Justice is a pre-requisite of peace: without justice there can be no peace.
(From http://www.christianvalues4schools.org.uk/pdfs/theological_backgrounds/justice.pdf)
What I would really appreciate are your thoughts about this statement. Our thoughts at school are that ‘fellowship’ sums up the strong sense of care and support and interdependence that is evident in our everyday work. ‘Justice’ points to a sense of ensuring the best possible outcomes for all members of the school community and is also outward looking so would give direction to the work of the school beyond our immediate community.
There are three ways you can respond:
- On paper via the copy on the newsletter
- Via the school blog – post a comment to this article;
- Via the survey on the website (parents section)
I would like to wish all of you a very happy and peaceful Christmas and New Year and I look forward to seeing you on January 5th.
Many best wishes,
Ian Hickman
Headteacher