Michael Hall Parent Portal - 14th November 2025

Friday Flyer - 14th November 2025

Dear Michael Hall Families,

“Man has to acquire his strength by overcoming obstacles in the world, one after another.” R. Steiner 1909

As the school year unfolds, we are reaching a point where differences in opinions manifest, academic struggles become more apparent as patterns, personal morals get challenged in group dynamics, and our thoughts show themselves in how we feel. We find ourselves reflecting on the quality that helps us, and our children, meet life with courage and adaptability: resilience. It is a quality that allows us to recover from setbacks, persevere through difficulty, and continue to grow in wisdom and strength.

Resilience is not seen as a fixed trait, nor as a fixed level or ability, but as something that develops gradually through experience through meeting both joy and struggle with openness. Our aim is not to shield children from every difficulty, but to support them so they can meet challenges with confidence and creativity. Kipling suggests that meeting “Triumph and Disaster” as impostors that we can “treat the same” as an aspiration in keeping ourselves on an even keel and upward trajectory. I interpret this as seeing each moment as one of import from which we can grow; some will make me feel great in the moment and some will not, but I can gain something valuable from each.

I might think of resilience in several dimensions. Emotional resilience helps a child to recognise and express feelings in healthy ways, to find balance after disappointment, and to trust that emotions are teachers, not obstacles. Social resilience grows through friendship and collaboration, when children learn to listen, to compromise, and to forgive. Moral resilience develops when they act in alignment with their values, even when it is not easy to do so. And academic resilience emerges when a child encounters a task that feels too difficult and, through encouragement and persistence, discovers the satisfaction of mastering it.

This process lies at the heart of what psychologists call a growth mindset (Popularised by Carol Dwek recently) the belief that abilities are not fixed, but can be developed through effort, practice, and reflection. In the Waldorf classroom, this is woven naturally into every lesson. Whether a child is learning to knit, play a recorder, solve a mathematical problem, or recite a poem, they are given the space to struggle a little, and in that struggle, to grow. Teachers and adults offer encouragement, not quick fixes, helping children to find their own way forward. There is a beauty in the word ‘yet’ and a value in sharing previous struggles. Our all through setting is full of opportunities for older pupils to share their journey and struggles with younger pupils as an almost tangible signpost showing where they can be in a relatively (and having turned 50 recently, relativity is shifting!) short space of time.

Our rhythm of learning, the balance of head, heart, and hands, and the artistic and practical elements of the curriculum all help build resilience. When children paint, carve, or sing, they experience that beauty and meaning can arise from effort, focus and discipline. When they work as part of a class community, they learn to rely on one another and to stand together. When they perform well in an academic test, they can see the how the engagement with the brain and learning brings knowledge. Each of these experiences strengthens an inner sense of stability a trust that, whatever comes, they have the tools to respond.

As parents, extended family members and educators, we too are called to model resilience. We show it when we meet change with calmness, when we respond rather than react, and when we approach each day with gratitude and courage. Working at Michael Hall certainly

helps our staff as each day we are greeted with a beautiful site surrounded by nature, warmed by the presence of children who are eager to learn and supportive parents who work with us to make the days and weeks successful for our pupils.

May we continue to nurture in our children, and in ourselves, the steady light of resilience. Fuelling and fanning the quiet fire of inner strength to meet life’s challenges, to learn from them, and to grow ever more fully into who we are meant to be.

Have a warm and wonderful weekend.

Stuart McWilliams
Principal