Rev Ben’s Ash Wednesday Worship
This morning Rev Ben led our Worship. First he lit our special candle and we had a moment's silence to pray for the families in Turkey and Syria who have been affected by the devastating earthquakes. Rev Ben asked us who was the greatest out of four celebrities, Marcus Rashford, Taylor Swift, Princess Kate and Rishi Sunak. The children had a discussion with a partner about who was the greatest and why. We had some super answers and several reasons why each one was the greatest. We then watched a video about the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee which was a story that Jesus told to some people who thought they were great and looked down on others. The Pharisee thought he was the greatest and looked down on others but the tax collector was actually great in God's eyes as he asked for help and forgiveness. Rev Ben explained that Ash Wednesday is when Christian's ask for help and for their sins to be forgiven by God. Rev Ben then talked to us about Christian greatness and we had some time to reflect and discuss what Christians think being great is all about and how we can put that greatness into practice. Again we had some brilliant answers such as showing kindness, friendship, generosity and service to others. We finished our worship with a special prayer led by Rev Ben and sang and danced to My Lighthouse, to symbolise that God is always there to hear our prayers of help and forgiveness.
Whole School Worship: Shrove Tuesday and Lent
To begin our worship, we lit a special candle and prayed for everyone in Turkey and Syria. As we entered worship, we watched a video all about when Jesus spent 40 days in the desert. Tomorrow it is Shrove Tuesday. On Wednesday, our altar will change to the colour of purple as we enter Lent and prepare for Easter. Mrs Ham asked the children ‘what makes you you?’ Neve said her freckles, Oscar said playing the piano and cello, Jake said his fingerprints and Grace said her flexibility. Our personality, emotions, behaviour, clothes, family and belongings all make us unique. Mrs Ham then asked ‘what made Jesus Jesus?’ Eliza said he was the son of God, Grace said his abilities to perform miracles, Ella said that he came down from heaven, Finn said his kindness and Leonora said when he rose from the dead. On Wednesday, Lent beings where we remember how Jesus spent 40 days and 40 nights in the desert. We watched a video all about this time. Jesus was tempted by the devil during his time but he trusted in God and didn’t give in to temptation. Jesus knew there was a plan for him. He knew that he was going to die on the cross so that all of our sins can be forgiven. During our reflection, we had a think about what we could do or give up to help us to feel closer to God. Eva said she is going to give up chocolate, Elsa said sweets, Carter said fizzy drinks, Isaac said he will give some of his toys to charity and Declan said his clothes to the charity shop. We also thought about how we could show kindness and which Christian values we could show during Lent. We finished our worship by singing ‘our God is a great big God’.
.png)
Whole School- Celebration Worship
Wow! We had lots to celebrate today. During our Celebration Worship this morning, the class teachers celebrated by presenting a value award to the children who have been demonstrating our Christian Values. This week, our overall house values point winner was Darwen tower with 258 points. We also celebrated Years 3 and 4 for their winning at sportshall athletics. Well done to the reception class and Year 3 for this week's best attendance. We also celebrated the children that have taken part in extracurricular activities, well done to everyone! We finished our worship with Rev Ben leading a prayer.
Safer Internet Day
During our worship today we celebrated safer internet day. Safer internet day is celebrated all over the world and it helps children to understand ways of being safe online as the internet is growing as well as social media. Children discussed all the amazing things that they use the internet for and understand that it is an amazing platform to use with lots of positives. Although the internet is a great tool, we have to be careful that we: remain safe, understand age limits, only play games with those who you know, avoid online bullying and be able to recognise ‘fake news’. Children discussed many ways in which we can avoid these negatives and to enjoy using the internet for all its all amazing uses it can have such as: - Do not believe everything you see online - Do not post anything that isn’t kind - If I see something that makes me feel uncomfortable tell a trusted adult, report it and block it - Play with people we know - Most importantly keep having fun! - Understand age limits and respect those limits - Keep microphones and cameras off when online gaming with people who you do not know. One of the aims of the session was to keep talking and to be very open with a trusted adult about your online activity. Whether you have seen something that makes you uncomfortable or whether you have done something you believe is wrong. A trusted adult will always be able to help you and help you to remain safe online. Most importantly we recognised that the internet is an amazing tool that can be used to help us gain knowledge, communicate with people and have fun. As the internet grows and gets more advanced we understand that it is not going away. But remaining safe is the key.
Whole School Worship: Children’s Mental Health Week Launch
What is mental health? Elsie said it is about your mind, Darcy said it is your feelings. Everybody has mental health. Sometimes our mental health might feel poorly like our bodies can feel poorly. One way to help our mental health is through our happy tank. Today we learnt all about happy tapping. We practised together as a school and then repeated after John whilst tapping. Mrs Ham explained how it is ok to feel different emotions. The children showed different emotions such as sad, scared, lonely, upset, ashamed, worried and guilty. Mrs Ham asked the children how you can exercise your brain. Isaac said by learning, Kaylen said by pushing passed your limit and Sophia said by eating healthily. This year, children’s mental health week is all about connecting. Connecting with others is vital for our wellbeing and can support our mental health. This links to our Christian value of friendship. Mrs Ham asked how have we all connected to others this morning. Darcy said she has hugged her Mummy, Harlow said she tickled her brother, Edward said he made his Dad a bacon sandwich, Harry said he spoke to his friend and Iris played with her brother. We listened to a poem called ‘together’. We discussed together why being together is so important. Lyla said if you don’t feel together and feel lonely, you could ask a friend to join in playing. You do not need to be a grown up to change the world. We can make a difference. During our reflection, we are going to have a think about how we can connect more to others. On Friday, we will all come together and will dress to express to show how we are unique and special.
Online Safety: Digital lives
#SaferInternetDay is coming!
Whole School Worship: Rev Ben
The children in year 6 played a game at the start of our worship. The game wasn’t as easy as it looked! Our children showed the Christian value of encouragement to help the children complete the task. Today, we learned about a man called Daniel. Daniel was taken far from his home and asked to work in a place where nobody believed in God. Rev Ben asked the children to think about how they would feel if that happened to him. Daniel found ways to keep trusting and God looked after him. Daniel showed the king that God was important. In the Bible, when people face a hard time, they praise God and they sing. Rev Ben asked the children why they feel it is important. Jack said that it will fill up your happy tank, Leonora said it will make you feel calm and relaxed, Carter said it can change your mood and Jenson said it can help you to express how you feel. When we find things tough, lifting our eyes up to God can really help us. Rev Ben asked the children to think of a time that it is hard to feel thankful. Iris said that when your Mummy and Daddy say that you can’t have chocolate it is hard to feel thankful. Rev Ben said in those difficult times, to remember that God is always with us. We finished our worship by singing my lighthouse.
Monday Worship: God’s Promise
Last week for our happy tank, we thought about affirmations. Mrs Ham shared Harlow’s affirmation, “You are worth it and are loved”. This week, we learnt about gratitude. We took a few minutes to think about what we are grateful for. Leonora said she was grateful for her life, Eliza said she is grateful for the staff, Ella said she was grateful for her family and Aisha said she is grateful for her hair. Mrs Ham explained how in the bible, God made up to 7000 promises. In Noah’s Ark, God made a promise to not flood the earth again. God’s promise to show this was a rainbow. God promised Mary that she was going to have a baby. God made lots of promises to us all. He said he will love us forever, he will comfort us, he will never leave, he will keep us safe and he will keep his promises. We watched a video that retold the story of Noah’s Ark. God wanted to see kindness. During our reflection, Mrs Ham asked for us all to think about a time when we made a promise and broke it. We had a think about how we felt and what we could do next time. Mrs Ham also asked for us all to think about a time that a promise has been broken and how we felt. We finished our worship by singing Waymaker.
Online Safety: Roblox
We have received reports of a viral post circulating on social media about an alleged self-harm ‘game’ being shared on popular gaming platform Roblox. Known as ‘The Game’, the post claims that the game appears through private chats in an attached Word document that contains the rules and instructions. While it is unclear who made the original post and who took the screenshot of the document, it has been noted by several media outlets and concerned parents and carers, which has increased the sharing of the screenshot. There are multiple risks that come with this, including potential physical harm to children and young people, as well as inadvertent exposure to harmful online content. Currently, online safety experts have not been able to substantiate reports on the validity of this so-called ‘game’ or the claim that children and young people are sharing it. Due to the potentially dangerous and worrying nature of this game, we understand the concerns that parents, carers, and safeguarding professionals may have. That is why we have provided you with practical advice to help you care for the children and young people in your life.
Monday Worship: Forgiveness and Friendship
This week, we began our worship with our happy tank. We learnt all about affirmations. An affirmation is when we say a positive thing about ourselves. Our heads and deputies helped Mrs Ham to show what an affirmation was. Our job this week is to think of affirmations to say to make us feel good. Mrs Ham’s affirmation to share was “I am amazing!” The children all joined in with this affirmation. The heads and deputies read lots of affirmations which the children copied to help fill up their happy tanks. Charlotte read an affirmation that said ‘it is ok to make mistakes’. Bobby read out “It is ok to ask for help” and Elsa read the affirmation “I matter in this world”. Today we focussed on our Christian values of friendship and forgiveness. Mrs Ham asked the children if they had ever broken anything. Lots of things can be broken but most of the time they can be fixed. If a book has a rip, Ella suggested that we could use cellotape instead of throwing it away. If a handle falls off a mug, Alfie said that we could use superglue. If we hurt ourselves, Jack suggested that we could use a plaster. Mrs Ham asked the children to think about what we could do to fix a broken friendship. Jesus said if somebody does something mean, you should always forgive them. Jesus told a parable called the unforgiving servant. Our heads and deputies helped Mrs Ham to retell the story. If we do not forgive others, then God will not forgive us. Jesus said that we should forgive people 70 x 7= 490 times! We shouldn’t keep track, we should forgive every time. God always forgives us for big and little things so we need to do the same to each other. For our reflection this week, we are going to have a think about how we can mend a broken friendship and how we can show forgiveness. We finished our worship by singing ‘As one’.
Friday Celebration Worship
We had so much to celebrate this week in our special celebration worship, it was lovely to see so many grown ups attending too. Mr Prescott stepped in this week and announced our attendance winners, well done to Reception and Year 5 classes. After our trials for Sports Hall Athletics we took all 31 children to compete this week. We received amazing feedback that our students were so respectful and represented the school superbly, so well done to you all. Their resilience and determination brought them into second place so we are so proud of you all. Thank you for bringing in your out of school achievements, it is lovely to share your success out of school and see such a wide variety of activities being enjoyed. A huge well done to all of our values winners this week who have demonstrated our Christian and British Values. You are all superstars!
National Online Safety: Twitter
New year, new Twitter?
.png)