Thought For The Day – Wednesday 29^th November 2023

“COP 28”

Tomorrow marks the beginning of “The United Nations’ 28^th Conference of the Parties”, a global conference concerning climate change.

This is also known as “COP 28”. The first “COP” was in 1995.

You will see posters around TBSHS. Ms. Winterburn, who, with Mr. Reeve, has led our environment awareness so passionately and transformatively in recent years at TBSHS, has organized wonderful awareness, on-line lessons, projects, recycling and surveys. Mr. Harvey is delivering illuminating, insightful and inspirational assemblies on this topic. Citizenship lessons are focusing on “COP 28”. . Thank you so much also to the caretaking, catering and cleaning teams, as always.

Black, Gold and Green.

One of the themes of “COP” will be a “global stock take”. A stock take is something shops do to check what they have to do, and what they still need to do. We “stock take” in our lives too. At “COP 28”, the parties, the countries, will do the same with the environment. Where are we at?

We can also do our “TBSHS stock take” of the environment. What have we done? What do we still need to do? Personally and collectively.

Like with anything to do with goodness and kindness, we all play our part and the goodness and kindness together becomes massive.

In truth, “COP” is every day for us and the world. It involves good actions. “Black, Gold and Green” has come so far. But, like anything, it is a constant journey. And a journey that ultimately leads to our new eco-friendly school, and far beyond. A journey that leads to our personal and community lives, both in the present and in the future.

The environment is the issue of our times for all times. For, without care for the environment, and those within it, we have nothing and we are nothing.

We are stewards of the world loaned to us. Just as we owe the most wonderful debt of gratitude to those who came before us, so we mirror their selflessness in thinking about the future beyond us, reflecting on the data, information and science we have.

Past, present and future is our school motto for a reason. Both at home, in school, in life and beyond, these three words, combined with goodness, are everything.