Today we held a special puja to mark the end of the Summer Term. It was an emotional occasion as we said goodbye to Year 6 and to several children from other classes who are also moving on. They read aloud some wonderful poems they had written about their time at The Dharma Primary School and Acting Teaching Head Phil Ferguson recited the inspirational Dr Seuss poem, “Oh, The Places You’ll Go!” Bea, our Acting Administrative Head, began with a silent meditation and Alison, our Head of Nursery, led an uplifting group chant to round off the ceremony.
‘Puja’ is the name given to various devotional and offering ceremonies practised across all Buddhist traditions. The word itself is derived from the ancient Sanskrit term for ‘flower’ and pujas probably developed from the custom of offering the Buddha flowers on his arrival in a particular place during his travels. When pupils join and leave our school, they are each presented with a flower at a special puja, in reference to the origins of this ancient Buddhist practice. When our Reception children joined last September they were each given a flower by Year 6 pupils and today the younger children offered each Year 6 leaver a flower to wish them well as they move on to secondary school.
Our staff also received flowers and personal notes from the children as a thank you for their hard work this year, and we were touched by the generosity of the parent community who brought in an abundance of beautiful flowers from their gardens for staff, along with delicious cakes and biscuits for our end-of-term tea.
A huge thank you to everyone - staff, trustees, parents and children - who have worked together this year to make our school such a special place. We wish you all a blissful summer break and look forward to seeing you again in September.
Main Photo: Year 6 Leavers in their autographed T-shirts