Excerpt from: “Happiness” by Heather Harpham.

“On my first date we went to an intimate place on the corner of Jane Street in Greenwich Village. The kind of place where, to reach your table, you’re obliged to wedge sideways and apologize to strangers whom you’ve brushed with your hips. Seated, we leaned over the small table to breathe the same air and figure each other out. He said he’d read recently that everyone has a personal “happiness quotient,” that your happiness in life is essentially set, regardless of circumstances. He reckoned his was low, and guessed mine was high.

I’d never heard of a happiness quotient. I’d never stopped to consider happiness as anything other than an assumed default state, a place to return to after the occasional thick fog. If, as a kid, I had been asked to state the one thing I believed to be true about my future, I’d have said, “I’ll have a happy life.”

Not that I’d had a blindingly happy childhood. I hadn’t. Everything in my world moved fast, and my job was to hang on. Still, I’d emerged with the idea that my own adult life would be happy and essentially free of adversity.”

On March 20^th it was technically the first day of Spring. That is because it was the vernal equinox. The moment in the celestial year when the Sun crosses the Equator, and the seasons change. Meaning that “yesterday” was of equal length to “yesternight” (if that is a word). Sun up at 6:15, sun down at 6:15. Equilibrium, you might say. A moment when the Earth is in balance once again.

And so, in the spirit of bringing a little balance at a time when the human world seems overly weighed down with the doom and gloom of COVID and war and rampant economic inflation, I can also tell you that March 20^th was the International Day of Happiness. Hence the excerpt above, about the notion that we all have a ‘happiness quotient’. A fixed amount of happiness that we all return to throughout our lives.

I wonder if you believe that? I’m not certain I do. Mind you, I am not entirely sure how I feel about it being the International Day of Happiness just because the United Nations decreed it so either. On June 28, 2012, UN resolution number 66/281 was adopted. By consensus of the 193 member states of the United Nations, 20^th March officially became the International Day of Happiness.

I don’t know if anyone voted against it. Whether there was some rogue nation holding out for an International Day of Grumpiness to balance it all out? Anyway, it was made official. We were all supposed to be happy on March 20^th.

It is all very laudable of course. The person behind the UN resolution was an orphan, rescued from the streets of Calcutta by Mother Teresa herself. Who’s going to argue with someone like that? He grew up to found the International Day of Happiness Trust. Launched the first day in 2013 with the help of Nelson Mandela’s grandson and Bill & Hillary Clinton’s daughter, Chelsea.

The next year he had Pharrell Williams onboard. The guy who gave us one of the world’s most irritating songs. “Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth”. The song that will not fade away.

Then he went to the UN and name-checked a few of his other supporters: ancient sages and philosophers such as the Bhudda, Socrates, Confucius, Aristotle, Plato. Religious figures like Jesus, Abraham, Moses, and the prophet Muhammad. All of whom were pretty unanimous on the idea that happiness is a good thing.

The UN were hardly going to disagree, were they? Although they did manage to make the whole concept of happiness sound a bit less sexy by writing it down dry legalese, stating that:
“the pursuit of happiness is a fundamental human goal, which recognises also the need for a more inclusive, equitable and balanced approach to economic growth that promotes sustainable development, poverty eradication, happiness and the well-being of all peoples.”

What a way to really spread the joy!

They then went on to debate a report from the International Institute of Management which detailed something called the Gross National Happiness Index. The Gross National Happiness Index is an exciting little formula that measures multiple economic indicators and demographic statistics and calculates how happy a nation is. Economists are such fun people.

And then, when the debate was finally over and they decided that everyone should be happy one day a year, a flood of bureaucratic organisation poured forth. Campaigns and websites and hashtags and petitions and ‘Happiness’ resolutions and slogans and themes and media events and…. goodness it all got so exhausting.

I don’t really mean to criticise because I genuinely do think that it is admirable to want to spread the message that it is a fundamental human right to be happy. My only observation would be why wait for 20th March each year. Why not just start with ourselves, each morning? Today perhaps?

I would love for each of you be happy, or even to just think about being happy, tomorrow as well. To reflect upon what that means for you. By all means, think about the plight of the world’s people, those less fortunate than you, those who live in the shadow of sadness. Have a quick glance at the Gross National Happiness Index if you want. Put Pharrell Williams on repeat if you feel the need to.

But perhaps don’t get so guilt-ridden or world-worried or bureaucratically formulaic about the whole thing that you miss the opportunity to just simply reflect upon what makes you happy. As strange as it seems, psychologists say that we often don’t actually know what makes us happy. We know what we think should do it. What’s supposed to make us happy. But then we are often left confused and unsettled when some of those ideals fail.

So, I recommend spending some time just thinking about what actually works for you personally. Because here’s the thing. Once you get past the simplistic and the superficial. Once you’ve gorged on one too many Mars bars or binged on three solid hours of mindless YouTube surfing, or done whatever else it is you do for a quick fix of serotonin. Once you’ve done that, I am prepared to bet that the stuff that actually makes you really happy, in the lasting and meaningful way that Buddha & Co were on about, revolves around four things:

1. Succeeding at something you found really hard and then being proud of yourself. Really, laugh-out-loud, “Damn I’m good” pride in yourself. That is a great source of happiness, especially as exam season looms

2. The buzz that comes from doing something generous and unexpected for another person. Volunteering, donating, the whole random-acts-of-kindness thing. The amazing response you give to our Charity Fundraising events be it for Comic Relief, Children in Need or Save the Children’s Ukraine Disaster Appeal. Altruism makes you happy, that is now a scientifically proven fact

3. Being part of something bigger than yourself. The happiness that comes from a sense of belonging. Plenty of opportunity for that right here. As I have said previously, just look at the remarkable number of you who have competed for your House or the School so far this year. Or turned out to support others who represent you.

4. Or simply the number one source of happiness throughout human history. True for every age, every culture, every nation. Your relationships with other people. The very thing that this place is built on.

None of the superficial things: money, status, power, possessions. Just the good stuff – loving and being loved. Perhaps the arrival of Spring has lifted your mood. Maybe you even did observe the International Day of Happiness. But I hope that you are able to find a little happiness every day. To recognise it, to create it for yourself and to let it keep your world in a healthy emotional balance.

Stay well and safe.

Be kind to yourself and others.

Best wishes,

Dr Bird

On the evening of Thursday 7^th April 2022, the music department held its first in-person concert since July 2019. The event was very well attended with Big School close to capacity. With over 50 performers on a range of different instruments we enjoyed a wonderful showcase of classical music, jazz, pop and bhangra. The Instrumental Progress Evening is an opportunity for our younger musicians to take centre stage. The evening included the Lower School Guitar Ensemble (comprising year 7 and 8 students), String Ensemble (years 7 to 11), Year 7 Keyboard Ensemble, Year 8 Keyboard Ensemble, as well as solo items from Jovan Mann (dhol), Hritik Bansal (violin), Ziona Paulson (flute), Arjun Sond (classical guitar), Veeran Gill (classical guitar), Gopal Dey (flute), William Brookes (violin), Daniel Alloh (saxophone), Kaden Gabbidon (classical guitar), Abel Shane (violin), Rayhaan Hussain (trombone), Jayan Birdi (dhol) and Angus Huang (classical guitar). All of our soloists were in either year 7 or year 8; some had studied their instrument for almost two years and some only a couple of months.

This concert shows nothing can replace the thrilling experience of hearing live music. Our next event will be the Summer Concert on Thursday 30^th June 2022 All of our ensembles will be involved and should be a wonderful way to finish the academic year. We hope you will come and join us.

Click here to view more photos in the gallery.

Schools like ours have always prided themselves on producing leaders and our regular newsletters, letters and magazine are filled with so many wonderful examples of leadership within our community. The dreadful situation in Ukraine has made us reflect on the qualities that make a good leader. While he continues to receive immense respect from around the world for the authenticity and transparency of his leadership, one less well-known fact about President Zelensky is that he voiced the character of Paddington Bear in the Ukrainian version of the film. There is a remarkable image that has been created of a huge Russian black bear facing down a diminutive Paddington, who is looking back up at it with one of his most characteristic “hard stares”. The symbolism is extraordinary and what we are also witnessing is leadership, which, in its turn, depends upon bravery, honesty, being true to oneself, showing your strengths but at the same time admitting your weaknesses. Such values often come from where you were formed, from where you grew up, from the environment which moulded you and, if we consider those extraordinary examples of student leadership over the last two terms, I would like to think one of the real reasons why our students have the confidence to be leaders in their different fields is because of the values-based culture that we have here at HGS.

Here is another example of extraordinary leadership in the broadest sense which was reported recently by the BBC.

Russia’s space agency has rejected claims that three Russian cosmonauts boarded the International Space Station wearing Ukrainian colours, in a possible statement against the war.

The first arrivals since Russia’s war began were shown wearing bright yellow suits with blue trimmings. They were warmly welcomed on board, hugging and greeting their fellow American, Russian and German crew.

“Sometimes yellow is just yellow,” said the Roscosmos space agency.

The ISS is a joint project between Russia, America, Canada, Japan and several European countries.

It is led by a US-Russian partnership that has continued for two decades despite fluctuating tensions between the two world powers. Russian cosmonauts Denis Matveyev, Oleg Artemyev and Sergey Korsakov docked at the ISS after a three-hour flight which blasted off from a Russian-owned facility in Kazakhstan.

“Congratulations on the successful docking,” a voice from Russia’s mission control said.

A few hours later, two sets of hatches were opened and the three smiling men floated into the space station one by one in their yellow suits. The standard-issue Russian uniform is plain blue, and at least one of the men was seen wearing this before take-off. The moment was live-streamed by both Roscosmos and Nasa, the American space agency.

“It became our turn to pick a colour,” Mr Artemyev said when he was asked about the suits in a live-streamed press conference. “We had accumulated a lot of yellow material so we needed to use it,” he joked. “That’s why we had to wear yellow.”

Since the invasion of Ukraine, people around the world have used the colours of its national flag to show solidarity and support. But Roscosmos’s press service dismissed the reports as a “funny invention” by foreign bloggers and media. “The flight suits of the new crew are made in the colours of the emblem of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University, which all three cosmonauts graduated from… to see the Ukrainian flag everywhere and in everything is crazy.”

Food for thought and an example of leadership in outer space!

Stay well and safe.

Be kind to yourself and others.

Best wishes,

Dr Bird

When we arrived in the University of Birmingham, a student ambassador gave us a quick tour of the major areas of the university, such as the Great Hall and the 100m tall clock tower. The myth is that if you walk underneath the tower when it chimes you will fail your degree, so best to be careful! The football and tennis courts and the Olympic sized swimming pool were all amazing too.

For the Biology Quiz there were 6 topics in total, some of which were ‘Evolution and adaptation’; ‘Microorganisms’; ‘DNA’ and the special round of ‘Cancer causes and effects.’

After round 3 was lunch, followed by an interesting lecture on the effects of increased carbon dioxide concentrations on trees and wildlife, and the current experiments testing this.

All 15 of us that attended had a really enjoyable day, all of the students involved were:

Shrey Kapoor, Omar Ahmed, Tarandeep Saggu, Haasin Ali, Asher Jordan, Kai Dawkins, Hassan Sardar, Rafae Ajaz, Haisem Zeino, Moosa Khan, Basel Ziyara, Jay Sodhi, Malachy Hayes, Hariikishan Nemal and Anotidaishe Mudunge.

Well done to everyone, but especially to Basel, Moosa and Rafae for being second place out of more than 60 teams, and only 2 points away from winning the quiz!

Haisem Zeino (10A)

On Tuesday 22^nd of March it was a privilege to be one of the Year 10 students invited to the ‘GCSE Science Live’ event which took place in Symphony Hall, Birmingham. This event not only provided us with beneficial information for our upcoming examinations but also allowed us to hear leading scientists talk about interesting theories and explanations about Science. Many schools came to listen to the famous scientists and we heard theories about the Big Bang, Time Travel, Fertility, DNA and Chemical Reactions, some of which were mind-blowing. Everyone enjoyed the lectures which were presented by Professor Jim Al-Khalili, Professor Alice Roberts, Professor Andrea Sella, Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock and Professor Robert Winston. Overall, we were very lucky to be given the opportunity and I would like to thank Mr Jones for organising our visit. I would definitely go again!

Rafae Ajaz