Longbenton High School
The Waffle
Issue 7 - 13th June 2025
A Message from Mrs Jennings Recently I made the decision to make a concerted effort to learn how to play chess… Well relearn. I used to play all the time with my siblings. Much to my utter frustration, they both were always so much better at it than I was. (It is important to note.. I am an INCREDIBLY competitive person. I like to be good at things and if you ask any member of staff, I get really into even the friendliest of competitions here at school!) So when I say that my little sister, five at the time of these particular memories, somehow managed to utterly destroy me every single time we would sit down in front of the board, it's a big deal! I would storm off in a rage of frustration, shouting how I never wanted to play again. Once, I even toppled the board in a fit of childish petulance! The two of them continued to play one another and so their tactics improved and they would sit for hours at a time out manoeuvring one another and developing new ways to outdo the other. On a number of occasions I remember them offering to help me to get better. I saw this as something patronising, that they pitied me and were laughing at me because I was bad at a game they seemed to find so easy! And so, I fell further and further behind simply because I couldn’t put aside my ego to say ‘yes’ and accept their help. But when I look back on this memory, I realise that what I lacked was in fact resilience. Given that this week KS3 and KS4 participated in ‘Resilience Day’ it felt apt to reflect on this but from the perspective of Sixth Form. We live in a world that often prioritizes caution and certainty. There is pressure coming from everywhere to avoid being ‘bad’ at something for fear of looking silly or feeling foolish. But the truth is, nothing great happens in the land of certainty. It’s when we push ourselves into the unknown, when we take that leap of faith, accept that we don’t know everything and can’t do it all alone, that we find the growth, the change, and the opportunities we didn’t even know we were looking for. Whether it’s taking on a leadership role, traveling to a new place, stepping into a new class or social circle or simply taking the offer of help to improve your chess game, each “yes” carries a lesson. It teaches us about ourselves, about others, and about the world in ways that staying within our comfort zone never will. When we say “yes,” we give ourselves permission to stretch beyond the boundaries of what we thought was possible. So, as we move towards the end of this school year and beyond, I encourage you to start saying yes! Say yes to that wild idea, yes to that ridiculously tough challenge, yes to the opportunities that scare you a little bit or make you feel uncomfortable, yes to being really, really bad at something. Take a chance and be resilient when it feels tough because you’ll never know where it will take you if you don’t try. As I love to say to my classes when faced with a difficult task, it may be tough, but you are tougher! So, here’s to all the chances we haven’t taken yet—and all the ones we will…..and all the Art by Kathryn McKenna, Year 9 games of chess that lay ahead!