Every Friday afternoon our KS1 and 2 classes gather together outside for our Celebration Assembly – a time to share and appreciate great effort, attitudes and achievements within the school.
Often, we find the need to pause patiently for a moment to wait for the distant rumble of an aeroplane flying overhead to fade (rather than see this as an noisy interruption, we sometimes wave to the tourists on board and wish them a wonderful holiday or return journey home). From the skies this past Friday, however, we heard rather a lot of squawking!
Looking up, it would appear that many birds seemed to want to be part of our assembly, perching to watch, gliding and swooping as they sang. The birds were American Kestrels, bird of prey in the Turks and Caicos Islands that are members of the falcon family. They are also known a Sparrow Hawks.
So why were they squawking? What were they saying? Were they joining in with our celebrations – accompanying us as we clapped and cheered? Or were they announcing the birth of a new chick, sending out warning signals to protect their young, or perhaps they were squabbling over who gets to nest in which palm tree?
Much as it would be lovely to think that the birds were joining in with our celebrations, we suspect that the different families were communicating with each other, rather than with us. However, at that moment, they were a reminder that birds are everywhere and allow one of the most exciting ways to connect with the natural world. There are so many questions that emerge once we start listening and looking.
Just like how our Celebration Assembly each Friday aims to connect us together as school and inspire us to do our best, the birds invited us to appreciate our interconnectedness with other living things we humans share the planet with. Watching them fly and swoop above us, we wondered if perhaps they also represent the possibility of freedom to soar without boundaries, inspiring each of us to reach for greater heights in life and in all we do for others and the environment!