Friday Flyer - 18th September 2026
Dear Michael Hall Community,
As we settle back into rhythms, routines, cycles and systems, it is expected that there may be a little bit of fizz and bubble as our pupils make that shift from a more relaxed holiday routine back into the formal school cycles – some colleagues and parents are no doubt making those internal adjustments as well.
As a school we are aware of this and will always support our pupils and families in making the switch in lifestyle modes. In order to be supportive, a little clarity helps:
For the Lower, Middle and Upper School
- School officially opens at 8:00
- Pupils are expected to be in their class for registration by 8:10
- Pupils are considered late after 8:15 – and the gates are then closed
- Pupils arriving to school after 8:15 must sign in at reception
As part of allowing us to be a registered school (Classes 1 to 12), we must have an AM and PM registration time with clear start and end times. Our second registration point is after lunch (for those who spend the entire day with us) and is in our schedule as a 5-minute time slot.
Early Childhood has a longer window of arrival, with the gate closing at 8:40.
It has been wonderful to stand at the gate, greeting parents and pupils, and seeing the changes which have taken place over the summer holidays. Our first full week back has made me feel older and shorter! Where shoulder height and below was the case for many of the statures of our pupils, I am now greeted eye to eye or even looked down on – only in the physical sense of course.
The start of the new academic year is a great feeling. Despite the school being 101 years old, and I am half that age myself, there is a newness I feel. The opportunity to leave the old behind and transform into something: something more refined, something more ambitious, something with more purpose, something that allows the best version of yourself to come out and flourish. I am really looking forward to seeing our pupils, colleagues, and our school flourish across the year ahead.
We have already started our clubs and activities, with study club, craft club, watersports, felting, volleyball and basketball all underway. Clubs and activities are a great way for our pupils to pursue a passion beyond the curriculum, and I hope that they are adding to the fun and joy of being at school.
Thank you to those who came to the community gardening event up in the Early Childhood area of the school. There has been a great deal of clearing and tidying at the front of the building and it looks much better. I am sorry I could not attend, but I will be at the next one, willing, able and ready to take gardening instruction.
Having re-read my contribution to the Friday Flyer this week, I can see it has a bit of fizz and bubble represented with points of order and points of emotion and reflection. I promise to settle down to more coherence next week.
Warm wishes,
Stuart
Stuart McWilliams
Principal
page-0001.jpg)
Ways to Contribute
Following the success of the ceilidh-dance workshop with the string players towards the end of last year and the Forest Row Fiddle Summer School we will be running an intensive, three-day fiddle workshop during the October half-term.
