Letter to Family and Friends

Dear Families, 

There is a scripture that has sat quietly in my heart: 

Teach children how they should live and they will remember it all their life. Proverbs 22:6 (GNT)

Recently I was reminded of this verse as I prepared to farewell a beloved family member. Looking through photo albums, journals, and belongings, and listening to songs from long ago, spoke volumes about how a life is shaped in childhood.

This is a verse that speaks not of control or direction imposed from above, but of something far more tender - the act of walking alongside a child, noticing who they are, and gently pointing them toward all they might become.

As we pause to reflect on this term, I find myself thinking about the moments that shape us. Sometimes the grand ones - the awards, the milestones, the achievements we can measure - but also the quieter ones. The games, stories and songs, the tears and laughter, the thoughts and feelings shared.

We know from our own lives that we are formed by our experiences - the people who believed in us before we believed in ourselves, the opportunities we were given that we perhaps did not even recognise at the time. Our role here at Pilgrim is to offer those moments with intentionality and care - to create the conditions in which every child can flourish in their own way.

We are grateful for the partnership of families in this work. You are your child's first and most enduring teachers. The values you nurture at home, the conversations you have at the dinner table, the way you show your children how to treat others - all of it matters, more than you may know.

I encourage you to enjoy these moments - to celebrate the small victories alongside your child, to ask them what they are proud of, and to remind them that they are seen, known, valued, and deeply loved. When seasons come and go, when they are older, these are the moments they will remember.

Blessings,

Yiota Chesterfield

Inclusive Education Coordinator