The return to routine

9th September 2019

The return to college

 

Thank you for all of your efforts this week. However much we prepare for the return of students it isn’t until they are in the building that we fully realise what is needed and what we need to do to support them in their learning. However much the students prepare it isn’t until they are in the building that they fully realise what is needed and what they need to do to make progress in their learning.

 

It’s been a very very good week. The students have settled very quickly into the established routines and even those students who are new to the college have fallen into step very smoothly and very efficiently. That is as a consequence of the established routines and expectations we have established at the college. The challenge for us now is to ensure that our expectations and our standards are met day in and day out throughout this long term.

 

I know that this next bit is going to feel strange for some people however, I do genuinely think like this: too much of a holiday is too much of a good thing. What I really mean is that we can and we should enjoy our holidays and being away from college or school. But it is the work itself, its complexity, its challenges and its successes, that we need to ensure we have a balanced life. Too much of one thing, be that work or play, is never that good for us at all; we may have an unbalanced equilibrium.

 

For me, I always enjoyed returning in September. There seems to be something quite correct about getting back to work once September arrives; the autumnal winds start to blow and the seasonal body clock determines that it is time for work again. When we are working we do feel, often, that we are drained by the experience but a counterbalance to that is the anticipation of rest and recuperation over the weekend or the holiday. I don’t understand how those millionaires can just spend months on end holidaying or partying. They must feel bereft in some way and the polarised experiences that we have gives us a better shape to our college lives and, more importantly, to our periods away from work; be that an evening, the weekend or a holiday.

 

I hope that you feel properly rested after the long summer break and now we are all back at it, I hope that you can feel some satisfaction and pleasure in working hard. We all can be comforted by the realisation that it’s been a job well done this week. We’ve started well. We know there is much more to do but getting off to a good start is desperately important.

 

‘My normal life is like being on holiday.’  Valentino Rossi

‘Like many parents after a long family holiday, I usually welcome the moment when my kids head back to school.’ Jose Andres

Thank you, once again for your efforts this week and I look forward to, not only the weekend, but the coming weeks, in which we will balance our equilibrium.

David Naisbitt

Principal