Notes for an assembly

• Show the photograph of the fishpond and the gate post

• Talk them through one of them, probably the gatepost, actually, because of all the below ground level complications with the clay pipes, positioning of the posts, etc - plenty to talk about here

• Flag up the frustration of digging down two feet (show them what this looks like) only to find another pipe meaning that the post couldn’t be buried and a different solution needed to be found (this almost derailed the whole project!)

• Introduce the notion that it was everything I experienced during the struggle to get the job done - every emotion, action, frustration, every little problem met and solved - that created a profound and lasting connection between me and ‘the thing’; a connection forged in the fierce interaction between head, hand, heart (make it clear that this does sound a bit weird, but)

Main point: I want each of you to experience this profound sense of connection with your own achievements; with the things that you create here: the stories you write, the things you build, the songs you sing, the shows you perform etc etc. Whatever they are, wherever they are - they must have meaning, they must have value - to you (certainly) and to others (ideally). I want you to be able to walk over to your fish pond, your back gate, and simply know that it is here in this world because of you and your hard work, and that the world is a tiny bit better as a result. Absolutely it challenged you, and worried you, and that you found a million reasons not to do it, and that you stormed off and walked away more times than you care to admit, but in the end you did it - you persevered and you did it. And actually you did it really well. Better than you ever imagined possible.

To finish: You don’t need to share this knowledge with anyone else - sometimes I just go over to the fish pond and look at it, or up to the gate and open it, just because it pleases me to do so - no one needs to know; just know it for yourself.

Disclaimer: 'Let's imagine a school' is a work of fiction.