On Sunday morning we truly witnessed a moment in history when Eliud Kipchoge crossed the finishing line in Vienna running a marathon in a time of 1 hour 59 minutes and 40 seconds smashing the 2 hour barrier by 20 seconds. It truly was another moment in history.
However, I love the quotation above where he truly appreciates the work and support of his team mates and it was fantastic to see the team coming together to acknowledge such a historic achievement as one. This is where the role of team becomes really important especially within the Junior school – you will experience more joy celebrating as a team than you will through individual achievements because you and your friends have worked hard together to gain success. Nonetheless, sometimes you lose and as a team you will receive the support of friends and classmates to get up and try again and just like Eliud Kipchoge you will become a winner because you never give up. This is called resilience.
Defining moments in history only come along once or twice in a generation and it is the 50th anniversary of the First man to set foot on the moon – Neil Armstrong. This will form the theme for our annual STEM week in Willow beginning on Monday the 11th of November. Once again Neil Armstrong became the name and face of the historic Apollo 11 landing in 1969. However, I always think about the army of scientists, astronauts, engineers, administration and cleaning staff who worked tirelessly to put Armstrong on the moon.
One final story illustrates this perfectly. President John F. Kennedy was visiting NASA headquarters for the first time in 1961. While touring the facility, he introduced himself to a janitor who was mopping the floor and asked him what he did at NASA.
“I’m helping put a man on the moon!” — The janitor
The janitor got it. He understood the vision, his part in it, and he had purpose.
We all have a purpose within our wonderful Junior school and in the words of Eliud Kipchoge – No human is limited.