Good afternoon School. Please be seated. 

I want to start todays Assembly by making a comment about Wednesday’s Chapel and the singing that you boys delivered.  It was heartening to hear not just the volume but also the tune.  Rev Dunnett is correct in saying that these times (Assembly and Chapel) are special because we can gather as a whole school in the one place for the same purpose.  And to hear your response and engagement was truly special.  And I sincerely thank you for that.  It is at these moments of unity that we can reflect on us as a community.  A time when we are one. 

Our reading today comes from the book of Daniel and it will be read by Ashton Guy. 
 

Daniel 6:1-16   

Daniel in the Den of Lions 

It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the King might not suffer loss. Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the King planned to set him over the whole kingdom. At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. Finally, these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.” 

So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the King and said: “May King Darius live forever! The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the King should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den. Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.” So King Darius put the decree in writing. 

Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. So they went to the King and spoke to him about his royal decree: “Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lions’ den?” 

The King answered, “The decree stands—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.” 

Then they said to the King, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, Your Majesty, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day.” When the King heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him. 

Then the men went as a group to King Darius and said to him, “Remember, Your Majesty, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the King issues can be changed.” 

So the King gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!” 

This is the word of the Lord.  Thanks be to God 

Thank you, Ashton. 
 

Rectors Comments:    

In the reading that Ashton brought to us today, Daniel is then thrown into the Lion’s den with the King hoping that God will rescue him from this trap. The story finishes in the following way…… 

At the first light of dawn, the King got up and hurried to the lion’s den. When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?” 

Daniel answered, “May the King live forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.” 

The King was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. 

At the King’s command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions’ den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones. 

Because of Daniels Integrity, Character and trust in the Lord, the Lord protects and rewards him. Because of the underhanded scheming and lack of Character and integrity the administrators suffer the consequences of their devious actions. 

On Tuesday the Parents and Friends association organised a guest speaker to come in and talk about resilience.  It was great to see so many boys come along to the talk, but it was even better to hear the comments after about how valuable they found it.   

Resilience is the ability to bounce back when you are down – that might be in a sporting context or classroom or even in a social context.  One of the things that Mr Otis talked about was focusing on the next step, identifying what the next action would be rather than looking at the big picture, break it down into small achievable chunks. He talked about it being simple and not complex but he made the point strongly that action is required.  There is no point in just talking about it, you need to act. 

Linking our words to our actions is another way of talking about Integrity and as we all know this is a very important quality.  The ability to do what is right when no one is looking.  So, what causes us to come into conflict with our integrity.  It is when we are frustrated, angry, when we are tired, under pressure or stress.  We need to remember that nobody can make you angry without your permission.  You do not have to accept the opinions of others about you as the truth, but your attitudes are shaped by the people you mix with.  If you spend time with negative people, then your own self-esteem will be eroded. 

The ancient Greek philosopher Plato, said, “When people speak ill of you, live so as nobody may believe them”.  Your own integrity and character are the best defence against hurtful and annoying people.  Be true to yourself. 

A Rabbi once wrote, “God created oysters with the capacity to transform an irritating piece of sand into a pearl.  This serves as a model for us – every trial contains precious jewels which we can find and develop”. 

Your character is developed through self-control, the ability to judge whether that irritating piece of sand will turn into a pearl or just be washed away leaving no trace.  Your self-control gives you true power, to be able to keep your temper even when provoked, to hear an insult without returning it or even stewing over it, to turn away anger with a smile.  Self-control gives your character dignity and strength; it supports you in your everyday conduct. 

If you want people to be kind to you – you should be kind 

If you want people to be generous to you – then be generous to others 

If you want people to care for your feelings – think about how they feel. 

It is important that we learn and understand that to have integrity means to be truthful and sincere; to care for the well-being of others by how we treat each other. Displaying integrity is not always easy. It is one of our most difficulty character traits to live by and sometimes it takes years to truly understand what it means. 

"Remember Integrity is doing the right thing even if it's difficult; even when no one is watching." 

Use your integrity and character to help make the world a better place. Life may not always be easy for you, but you can always help to make life easier for others. 

If I could teach only one value to live by, it would be this: Success will come and go, you’re your integrity is forever. As I have said Integrity means doing the right thing at all times and in all circumstances, whether or not anyone is watching. It takes having the courage to do the right thing, no matter what the consequences will be. Building a reputation of integrity takes years, but it takes only a second to lose, so never allow yourself to ever do anything that would damage your integrity. 

We live in a world where integrity isn’t talked about nearly enough. We live in a world where “the end justifies the means” has become an acceptable school of thought for far too many. Dishonesty may provide instant gratification in the moment, but it will never last. I can think of several examples of people without integrity who are successful and who win without ever getting caught, which creates a false perception of the path to success that one should follow. 

By following that false path, you might make short term gains but those results come at an incredibly high price with far reaching consequences.  Those people will lose their ability to be trusted as a person of integrity, which is the most valuable quality anyone can have in their life. Profit in dollars or power is temporary, but profit in a group of people who trust you as a person of integrity is forever. So be like Daniel and stay true to yourself, maintain your integrity by aligning your words and actions and ensure that you are doing what is right even when no one is looking. 

HYMN:  Guide Me 

We continue our assembly today with some academic awards:  

ACADEMIC AWARDS  

I would like to invite our Head Boy Charlie Dods to come and present the academic awards. 

Excellence Awards-  

Excellence Awards - English Level 1 Daniel Diprose x 2 Certificates  

Hugh Kilsby 

Oliver Taylor x 2 Certificates  

Aidan Wilkins 

Joshua Wynne-Lewis 

Karan Rattu 

Excellence Awards - English Level 2 Boston Christensen x 2 Certificates 

Maxwell Duncan 

Matthew Goodwin x 3 Certificates 

Lanson Randell x 2 Certificates 

Ben Sloan x 2 Certificates 

Thomas Goodisson x 3 Certificates 

Tim Wilson 

Tomas Druzianic  

Excellence Awards - English Level 3 Toby Aspden  

Mankaran Kooner  

ZhiShu Lu 

Rory O'Sullivan 

Well done boys and thank you, Charlie 

Thank you, Harry and congratulations to all involved in our sports programme.  I particularly want to make mention of the intermediate school both in the way you competed in the recent exchange but also in the way that you conducted yourselves both on and off the field.  These are the actions that will help you display the values that we have in our flags outside the chapel. 

To all those who are competing this week end we need to emulate the intermediate schools’ actions and attitudes so that we too breath value into our words by making sure that our actions align to them.  That means that you are doing the right things at the right time for the right reason.  All the best for the weekend, stay safe and look after each other. 

The Chaplain will close our assembly in prayer. 

Article added: Friday 14 August 2020