We’re back!
Finally, after nearly six months apart we’re back together again. Not quite as normal, but learning, playing, talking, making ideas happen – and it feels really good! We are so excited to be in our new long term home at Buckland House. It’s been a really busy few weeks getting things ready but we’ve done it. The sofas are ready for hanging out on, the art tables are ready for creativity, the piano is ready to make music, the JC room is ready to sort out fort disputes, the goal is up in the playground waiting for balls and the mugs are hanging ready for tea. We’re back.
And the moment you’ve been waiting for, a tour around our new home.
A thousand thank you’s
We really could not have made it to this point without the hard work and generosity of so many people. So I wanted to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to everyone that has helped us over the last four years to make EKS possible and in the last few months especially to ride the rollercoaster that has been 2020.
Thank you to everyone who donated furniture for making our building a home, who donated money during the lockdown and made it possible to come out the other side, and incredible hard work getting us ready to reopen in record time – we have been blown away with your kindness.
Thank you to Anastasia for all the incredible furniture (and for your amazing van moving skills), Katie for simply stunning sofas, Dalziel for tables to eat at and drums to wake everyone up, Elizabeth for helping us buy enough chairs and other things and for all the books and support, Lorna for all the boxes, Jovana and Elena for the beanbags and essential office furniture, Louise for looking after all our things while we were between homes and for being a rock solid supporter for the last three years, Louise’s lovely neighbour, Rochelle and John, Helen for the tables and chairs, to Guy and everyone else who generously donated during the lockdown, to my mum Joanne who gave us almost everything in her house when she moved and Becky for essential storage (and for delivering).
Thank you to everyone that helped us load, unload and move furniture (especially the heaviest upstairs and then down again when we changed our minds) Fraser, Rachel and Brenton, Ryan and Kate, Anna and Chris, Diane and Richard, Steve and Louise, Jovana and Elena. And to everyone that helped sort, clean, build flat pack and put up shelves and pictures and a hundred other things especially Antoinette, Dwight, Cesar, Alfie and our new parents who chipped in every minute they had.
Thank you to everyone that helped along our founding journey with advice, wisdom, inspiration and support. Thank you Kate, Naomi, Claire, Sarah, Louise H, Louise G, Flo, Marc, Helen, Jay, Derry, Mel, Larry, Marc and everyone at AVS, Danny, Mimsy, Hanna, Scott, Mikel and everyone at SVS, Maaike, Cecile, and all the other Sudbury staff around the world, Henry, Will, Andrew, Zoe and everyone at Summerhill, Barry, Lucy, Danny, Sally, Rowan and everyone at Phoenix and the Freedom to Learn Forum.
Finally, thank you to our amazing staff who work so hard and often long hours as volunteers to support our students and who have made EKS what it is today.
Here’s to a fantastic year and many more ahead.
