Our Assemblies last week afforded us the opportunity to discuss the moon landing, with its anniversary being 20 July.
While talking about the space race, the adversity that needed to be shown in the face of disastrous setbacks, the ingenuity, grit and courage of all involved, there were three main ‘takeaways’ that I asked the boys to remember.
- It is estimated that 400,000 were involved in the moon landing, including engineers, scientists, mechanics, technicians, pilots, divers, seamstresses, secretaries and more who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to achieve the first lunar footsteps.
- Not everything is possible. Sometimes, despite our best efforts, we can’t achieve what we would want and this is important for our boys to remember, as it helps build their resilience. But having dreams, and striving towards them, IS possible. And if they are achieved, there is such a strong and infectious sense of positivity and accomplishment.
- Joanne Morgan was the only woman in the launch firing room for the Apollo 11 lift off. As a female engineer, she was initially only allowed to work the night shift, had to use a toilet in a service station across the road as there were no female toilets in the building, and was asked if she could make coffee for the other engineers. But through her determination and self-belief, she became an instrumental figure at NASA including being the first woman senior executive at Kennedy Space Centre (KSC). A brief article found here is worth reading. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/the-story-of-joann-morgan
Up until now 566 people have entered space, 65 have been women, no woman has walked on the moon. These are important discussions as a part of our continual discussions and culture of respectful relationships, and our understanding of the road towards equality and diversity.
We spoke about being part of a successful team and achieving an end result from everyone playing their role. While not quite the grand scale of the moon landing, our Superstan production was an example of this, with so many people involved on and off the stage. Not everyone has to be ‘the star’, but the star is only made possible by everyone else.
Adam Kenny | Head of Boys Junior School and Director of Students
Congratulations to Prep 100 Days of School
On Monday 1 August we celebrated 100 Days of School for our Prep class. It was a day of celebration and fun as all students were very creative in their dress up costumes as 100 year old.
