By Alexis C-O and Deeksha C Year 5
On Friday 2nd December, four Edge Grove students were fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to interview Mr Stanley as he comes to the end of being Edge Grove’s interim Head Teacher. It was a lovely and informative experience and provided us with an insight into Mr Stanley’s beliefs, personality and life beyond school.
What do the Christmas Holidays mean to you?
For Mr Stanley, there is ‘a reason for the season’. He says, “The reason for me, is to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ, God’s Son. I believe this because I’m a Christian - there was a baby born who was sent by God all those years ago. In short, I celebrate Christmas to honour Jesus's birth.
Christmas also evokes quite a few meaningful connotations for Mr Stanley, such as spending Christmas with his family. “I can't remember a year without spending Christmas with my direct or indirect family. Christmas is synonymous with love and goodwill and I feel very fortunate to be able to spend Christmas in the company of my family.”
He also shared that Christmas is a time of holiday, a time of relaxation, reading books, visiting places and exploring other parts and cultures of the world. He also suggested that we should spend time reflecting on others. “We should think of the people who are suffering with illnesses, homelessness, or have no one else to spend Christmas with. I think Christmas is an opportunity to bless people. I have been very blessed, since being a teacher, I have always had a holiday around Christmas time, however, I know not everyone can say that.”
What have been the highlights of your time here at Edge Grove?
Mr Stanley stated that, “Edge Grove is a magnificent school where people are cared for, blessed, looked after and cherished. It’s a school where children are identified as individuals for who they are and appreciated equally. The students receive lots of love and are encouraged through lots of outstanding teaching. Children are encouraged to be creative, have enquiring minds, to connect with each other in ways that build each other up. I have been very impressed by that. It is a school that offers a lot of holistic enrichment. Even the fact that there are young, aspiring students here today, learning to be journalists, that is something you can never forget.” It was clear that Mr Stanley thinks Edge Grove is a very unique place.
What would you have loved if you were a pupil at Edge Grove?
“That's a hard question, but I have a few answers. When I was growing up, technology was not as advanced as it is now. We didn't have many digital devices, so I would say learning more about the digital world and what electronic devices can do would be something that I would like to experience. I just find it extraordinary what technology can do now in this day and age. Being able to make even better use of the benefits of technology used in the right way, would be wonderful.
I also just love my sports. Sport has always been an outlet for me - I was good at it - I could just go outside and be free, be myself and have fun. I would have loved to be taught different sports by the fabulous staff here at Edge Grove. Just like what Mr Craxton offers, table tennis, archery - wow!”
Mr Stanley is also impressed with the opportunities that we have in the performing arts which are just spectacular. He regrets that he never followed through with a guitar that his parents bought him for his tenth birthday. He says if he could go back in time, he would love to play the guitar and learn the violin.
It is clear that Mr Stanley loves nature. He said if he had more time at Edge Grove, he would start a bird club where he would go out with pupils early morning or late afternoon with binoculars and cameras in order to find some interesting species of birds. His favourite English bird is the Goldfinch. He has a powerful camera that helps him to record the birds that he sees in a gallery of photographs which he says is going well.
He played us a recording of the African fish eagle which is his favourite African bird, because of its incredible sound. He has been a birdwatcher since he was a child, “When I was younger, there was a teacher who would take us to the forest to look at the wonderful birds there, but there was one bird in particular called the Crimson-breasted Shrike which I found fascinating. That’s the bird that got me into birdwatching.
Do you have any advice for the new Head Teacher?
One bit of advice to Mr Balfour is to get to know every child individually, to work at growing every individual child, while sowing in them a love for themselves and a love for others; knowing-sowing-growing - however, I’m sure Mr Balfour does that anyway.
By Zueriela
Attended St. Mark’s Church of England Primary School and whose mother was born on Christmas Day, Mrs. Emmerson shared her personal views of what the festive season meant to her in the Journalism Club.
She recounted a series of Christmases from childhood to the present day. During her youth she earned a degree in Geography and came to Edge Grove in 2001 when she boarded on duty. For the Christmas spirit, she put on a big show with her colleagues where they would dress up in silly costumes, serve the boarders’ food and do an improvised play.
Mrs Emmerson also disclosed she had a younger brother and daughter who used to go to school at Edge Grove, and who she really hopes will make her a grandmother one day soon. When her daughter was little, Mrs. Emmerson informed us that she would always play games and eat lovely food at Christmas time; Christmas for Mrs Emmerson is all about family.
Mrs Emmerson remembers Christmas House events such as improvised pantomimes which would liven Edge Grove’s spirit; how the staffroom has a log fire and there’s often chocolate, and how Edge Grove has multitudes of traditions now that are all part of the festive season of our school.
Mrs Emmerson revealed how she loves to spend time with her parents and her brother who live in Birmingham. Mrs Emmerson also told us that she loved crime fiction novels, a personal favourite being a Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Furthermore, she disclosed how she loves ‘Love Actually’, a comedy movie about Christmas experiences.
Mrs Emmerson also revealed her favourite Christmas food. Breakfast would be scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, a glass of champagne, roast turkey for lunch, and cold turkey salad for the evening; she said she is not fond of desserts or Brussels sprouts. Lastly, Mrs Emmerson shared that in the future, she would like to work with homeless people on Christmas Day before having grandchildren. She has her mind set on a charity called ‘Shelter’ that provides food and a warm space for homeless people.
By Jannah M, Year 6
Mrs Warren does many things at Christmas but she has some traditions like seeing her brother, her niece and her parents. She also has other seasonal habits like adding a new bauble to her Christmas tree every year and hand-crafting a wreath to her door from ivy, red berries and mistletoe. In fact Mrs Warren’s favourite Chrstmas tradition is decorating her Christmas tree.
We asked Mrs Warren what she left for Santa - perhaps cookies and milk? Well Mrs Warren and her family leave a carrot, a mince pie and a cool refreshing glass of ginger wine. Mrs Warren said one of her most memorable Christmases was abroad in San Francisco where she went rollerblading in the Golden Gate Bridge park.
