Jolly January in the Junior School

Long hours of darkness, the post-Christmas blues and colder weather all contribute to the depressing January stereotype, possibly more so than ever this year. However, rather than sitting back and writing January off as something we have to ‘get through’, in the Junior School we decided to turn it into a positive for the girls and staff and so the concept of ‘Jolly January’ was born. We took the approach of allocating each week in January a specific theme and then related a task or activity to go along with it. The aim was to spread the positivity of Jolly January through our school community, into our local community and then further afield into the global community.

Our first theme, Laughing, was chosen to kick start the initiative with a smile. In the launch assembly we talked about the importance of laughter, the way it makes us feel and how it can bring people together. All girls chose and performed a joke to their class, who voted for their favourite. We collated the jokes and circulated them to the whole Junior School community – which is your favourite joke?

Connecting

During the second week we chose the theme of Connecting. We considered the ways in which the pandemic restricts how we are able to connect with others and gave particular thought to those in our community who might find this particularly isolating as they are not able to see family and friends, those in care home for example. In an effort to reach out to them all girls in the Junior School created a card or wrote a letter that can be delivered to those in our local community who might be in particular need of this contact. Our Nursery girls are in school, so their beautiful cards have already been delivered to two local care homes and we are looking forward to gathering all of the other letters and cards upon our return to school and distributing them as widely as we are able.

Giving

Within the topic of Giving we explored the range of things that we can give to others, from material items to the less tangible, such as time, love and friendship. The girls were challenged to give to others in their family and it was lovely to hear some of the ways that they had done this – by giving their time in helping around the house, by tidying and cleaning and even helping to make meals. In addition, we also arranged a collection of food and other essential items at the same time as one of our book swaps. Families in the Junior School were so generous in their giving and we were able to offer a sizeable donation to Selsdon Contact, which will be used to support families in the local area for whom circumstances are particularly challenging.

Protecting

Our final theme of Protecting was chosen with the aim of having an impact on our surroundings and the wildlife that calls them home. Girls were offered a range of activities that they could enjoy within the theme and it has been a delight to see the results of this already – from bug hotels to litter picks, there is plenty to keep them busy whilst also having a positive impact on the environment. In addition all girls will be sent a packet of wildflower seeds that they can plant at home. These have been chosen specifically because they offer a perfect habitat for butterflies and bees and we are looking forward to hearing all about their growth over the next few months.

Jolly January was introduced with the aim of giving us all something positive to focus on, but it has done more than that. At a time when we are physically apart, it has also offered another reminder of how lucky we are to be part of the Croydon High School community and of the power we have to share that with others.

Mrs Sarah Raja

Head of Junior School