So here we are – the final Wetherbridge for the 2019-20 school year! I am sure you will all agree that Mr Stephenson has done an excellent job as our Newsletter Editor and the new format showcases our school at its best. Thank you from us all at WPNY for your great work over the year!
And what a year it has been- like no other we have ever known. My end of term letter is published on Wednesday 10th June, next week and it records the tremendous journey of highs, lows and currents we have all experienced since September. In the letter I sent out to you all yesterday, it has been a period that has defined our value for life and each other. It has also been a period that has inspired real ingenuity and creativity, despite recent events. This last week has been such fun for the children, as they have visited the Aquarium, been to space, eaten s’mores by the virtual campfire, celebrated Home School Supporter Appreciation Day, dressed up as super heroes, practised their lines for Summer Prizegiving songs and made dinosaur fossils out of dough, amongst many other activities.
Like so many across the world, I have been enthralled by the progress of the SpaceX NASA Mission and its two chosen astronauts, Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken. In 2015, they were among the astronauts chosen to work with Boeing and SpaceX on the commercial space vehicles that the company were developing. In 2018, they were assigned to the first SpaceX flight. After blasting off from Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Centre on Saturday, last weekend, and then whizzing around the Earth at speeds that eventually hit 17,500 mph, the SpaceX aircraft docked with the International Space Station on Sunday morning, completing the first leg of its historic journey. It could be months before the NASA astronauts return to Earth, but the iconic words from 1969 and the American astronaut Neil Armstrong as he put his left foot on the lunar surface and famously declared, ‘one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind’ still stand as true as ever.
As we all look to our safe and strong return to school and WPNY in the Fall, it is my deepest wish and hope that we can all take brave steps to reunite at 7 East 96th Street in September. Every little step we take together will bring us closer and the chance to move forward. ‘One small step for return, one giant leap for WPNY!’ See you next week- we shall be sure to end this year on a high note for your children – they thoroughly deserve it, as do you!
