Thought For The Day – Friday 3^rd October 2025

We hope you have had a very good week and are continuing to make progress inside and outside of class.

Sunday is “World Teachers’ Day”.  The theme this year is collaboration in teaching,  a reminder of the importance of community in education.

This is a very good opportunity to think about the role teachers play locally,  in the schools in our area, as well as nationally and internationally.   We further reflect on teachers working in challenging contexts globally.

We can expand the word “teachers” to encompass all who work in educational communities, for all staff are important, and indeed all those who coach, lead, guide, and inspire in homes, families, communities, and teams.  And, indeed, students can be, and are, good teachers of one another.

This all includes faiths.  As the new academic year is well under way, yesterday was Yom Kippur in Judaism. This important day was the end of ten days marking the Jewish new year.  The sounding of a shofar, or horn, signified the commencement and closure of this new year period which began with Rosh Hashanah on the evening of the 22^nd of September, remembering God’s creation of the world.

Yom Kippur is the most holy day in Judaism.  This is called “The Day of Atonement” as people make up,  or atone for, sin through:  confession (honestly and humbly reflecting);  repentance (turning away from sin and making life changes);  prayer; and, if appropriate,  fasting.  The Jewish community give great thanks for the profound love and forgiveness of God, thinking of the year just passed and the year ahead. There are special services at synagogues.

We are one world.  We are one community.

In our diversity, united. In our unity, diverse.

All creation is unique. And yet all creation is so very deeply connected.

Our humanity is our humility. Our humility is our humanity.

We very deeply think of, and act and pray for,  all who suffer beyond words, whether they be personally known to us or not personally known to us.

Negative prejudice, negative discrimination, hate, and violence are wrong and evil.

We think and act with care, compassion, humility, kindness, peace, respect, and love.