7 March 2025

Dear Parents,

Kathryn Peckham,  an early years’ education specialist, shared a syndrome  in a recent edition of The Guardian “….over the past decade I have seen children enter classrooms with fewer and fewer of the skills needed to begin their formal education. The key culprit, in my opinion? Screen time.

“Imagine spending a year immobilised in a cast – your muscles would weaken and your movements would become awkward. Now, think about children missing foundational years of muscle development, when practice should be natural and constant, because, instead of moving, children have been incentivised to sit quietly with a device.”

So, to walk through the Junior Primary this week and see two little girls impressively high in a tree and then to watch the their teacher walk past, look up just to check that they are not wearing their shoes and allow them to continue, epitomises Clifton’s championing of childhood in the best sense, and reflects perfectly our ethos and values. That tree is just one of our learning areas for developing muscle tone, self confidence and empathy for nature.

Read Kathyrn's full article by clicking on this link  

In January a number of farming parents commented about the heat and sunshine, conveniently punctuated by rain at regular intervals. At that stage one could almost hear the mielies growing. Things have changed in the past few weeks with the rain outpacing the sunshine. The downside has been the postponement of the Senior Primary Inter-house gala to the fourth quarter, the cancellation of a number of fixtures and, sadly the Berg Hike to Mahai. However, one upside was a fun afternoon of duck diving enjoyed by the boys and girls alike……when life gives us lemons, Clifton kids make lemonade! I hear from Old Girls that Clifton girls continue this fun while they are at St Anne’s!