Wealden Times | WT232 | September 2021 | Winter Interiors supplement inside

Education
have an emailed newsletter that
helps us keep in touch remotely.
People still like to borrow physical
books, however, so we do have
a large physical collection.
The College is very lucky to have
three full time library staff: one
in the Prep school and two in the
Senior School. The Senior School
library staff are also responsible
for EPQ, which ties in very well
with their skillset. The Prep School
Librarian is a reading champion
and is always ready with a good
book recommendation for all kinds
of readers. Members of the Senior
School Library organised the SSBA
– Southern Schools Book Award
– for the first time in 2020. There
are also regular reading challenges
– for example, an around the
world challenge when pupils (and
staff) select books to read and as
they finish, their balloon is moved
around the world; if they complete
the challenge they win a prize.
Students can use the library when
they have a study period, at break
and lunch times, after school and for
prep. The library is also available if
teachers want to bring students in
for a lesson. The history department
are big supporters of the library
as the students use the books to
complete their coursework. The
student magazine, Oculus, is also
run from the library. We conduct
EPQ lessons on referencing and
electronic sources and, of course,
there is Crafternoon – where
students complete crafts whilst
listening to audio books.
We always encourage students to
borrow something for the holidays
– at Christmas the Senior School
library runs a Christmas reading
treat promotion and have a book
stand near the dining room to
showcase what we have to offer.
The Prep School Library runs
a Summer reading challenge and
loans (sometimes large piles) of
books to pupils for the vacation.
The library is also open for students
to study in many of the holidays.
hppc.co.uk
Get Involved!
Parents of Parkside create a new Outdoor Classroom
Parents of Parkside (PoP) is a
PTA with a difference. They
are an inclusive ‘Community’
of families connected to Parkside
School, who have a variety of
talents to bring to the table. They
are wholeheartedly supported by
the Head and Deputy Head of
Parkside, who are both actively
involved; along with teachers,
suppliers, and extended members
of Parkside families and friends.
During a particularly challenging
year, when few events could be
hosted, PoP launched a number
of creative and innovative ways
to raise funds. Recognising the
importance of supporting local
community businesses, they
partnered with them to provide
events which could be held
individually at home during
lockdown. For example, PoP sold
an outstanding £1700 worth of
beautiful Valentines’ roses and raffle
tickets where the winner enjoyed
a romantic meal delivered to their
door. Parents also forfeited their
discount on school fees, offered
during the pandemic, to raise
further funds for the development
of the Outdoor Classroom.
It was not only the money raised
which realised the completion
of the Outdoor Classroom, but,
more importantly, the generous
contribution of people’s time and
energy in building it. Having
raised sufficient funds, PoP
went about recruiting volunteers
to help build the classroom;
which largely consisted of family
members, pupils, teachers and
support staff from the school.
The passion to create an outdoor
multi-purpose classroom for pupils
at Parkside is truly inspiring.
Every pupil attending the school
will benefit from this area, which
provides them with a natural,
organic space to learn. It offers
space for everything from maths
and coding to photography in
the fresh air, where there is peace
to focus on the importance and
value of positivity, happiness
and working together.
Parkside’s Outdoor Classroom
project has been shortlisted at the
Independent School Parent Awards
for best Fundraising Achievement
2021, which is testament to the
school’s strong family ethos. Values
such as resilience, togetherness and
determination are underpinned
by the Head’s mantra of ‘Make
it Happen’ – never more relevant
and necessary than in the past
year. They are standards Parkside
live by, clearly demonstrated
through projects such as these.
parkside-school.co.uk
135 priceless-magazines.com