🎉 Today, as a whole school, we held a very special Celebration Assembly to wish Paul all the very best as he leaves us to retire.  Over Paul’s time at Southill Primary, he’s always been a big fan of these joyful assemblies and enjoys playing host – but today it was all about HIM!  Each class had prepared a segment dedicated to a memory or particular Paul Mason theme – we even sang a bespoke ‘Praise You’ song (after practising in secret all week!)

All the very best memories were selected to celebrate Paul and his time with us as Headteacher, we packed so many fun elements into the afternoon and created a really fond and reflective atmosphere. Children (and staff!) all embraced the purpose and took part with great enthusiasm, choosing to include:

🚲 A mini (and very encouraging!) Bike Bus

🍪 Name that BISCUIT (with a catchy theme tune!)

🎵 DJ Express with a beach-themed Macarena

🧁 Clever cupcake creations with a posh tea set to accompany (of course)

🗞️ Headteacher’s News (with way too many GIFs)

📷 Random ‘Photos of the Week’ (with a lil’ bit of roasting too)

⭐️ A VERY special Star Learner and Out-of-School Achievement presentation from none other than Mrs Richardson – Paul’s teacher from back in the 1970s (AKA Emily Jones in disguise) with actual school reports and awards he had won!

🏆 The announcement of The Paul Mason Award for Cycling from our Governor, Sheena (more news on this next year)

♥️ A heartfelt message from Caroline who had written some very special words reflecting our time with Paul and his impact on our school

👕 The presentation of Paul’s very own leavers’ hoodie!

We even looked back at some of Paul’s best efforts at entertaining us through lockdowns as part of our unique (and very unusual) Virtual Assemblies. What fun they were!

As part of the assembly, we looked at the artist Matisse and in particular one of Paul’s favourite pieces of art entitled ‘The Snail’ from 1953.  Paul told us why he liked it so much and how he appreciated the artist’s use of colour, placement and our perception before surprising us with a gift of our own – a framed picture of the print to display here at school and to remember him by. We were thrilled!

Our afternoon concluded with the presentation of many gifts including a handmade memory book packed with messages from pupils, families and our school community.  Paul was very touched by all the effort involved and just couldn’t wait to sit and read the content; beginning so right away before we’d even left the hall! We’re grateful to all those who contributed.

And so .. it’s time to say Goodbye and Thanks to you, Paul Mason.  We hope you’ve enjoyed all the surprises and our special celebration today.  As Caroline said, please come back to see us as often as you can – you’ll always be part of our school community.  We were so glad to praise you, PM, as we should.