Year 6 - Year of Prayer
As part of our Year of Prayer, the focus this week has been to immerse some fruit/herb tea bags in warm water and then to smell them to see if we could identify which flavour they were. We then said prayers to thank God for the variety of fruit and vegetables that he has provided us with to eat.
Whole School Worship - Resolving Conflict
Yesterday’s worship began with some fantastic news! A representative from East Lancs Hospice came in to tell us that our Hop, Skip and Jump event raised £163. Following this, Mrs Wilkinson introduced this week’s Year of Prayer theme: Favourite Places. We spent some time sharing our favourite spaces and then we talked about how God has created so many amazing and healthy spaces for us to enjoy. This led us on to considering the fantastic outdoor spaces we have around school in which we can enjoy time with our friends. We were introduced to our Year 5 peer mediators and Mrs Wilkinson explained how they are going to help us all resolve any fallings out between us and our friends. We are all looking forward to learning to compromise and play together more harmoniously.
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Year 4 - RE: Significance of Light in Hinduism
In RE this week, we began by watching a clip of a special Aarti ceremony being performed at the River Ganges. The children were given time to observe and ask questions about the artefacts used, the clothing worn and the actions performed. They then learned about the purpose of the ceremony and that not all Aarti ceremonies are as grand. We discussed what an Aarti ceremony might look like within a Hindu’s home. The children then read testimonies from a number of Hindu children about their experiences of worship and they drew symbols to represent what they thought would be the key features of an Aarti ceremony for Hindus.
Whole School Worship-The Road to Damascus - Change, and Forgiveness
Today's worship with Rev. Ben began with the sign of the Trinity. Rev. Ben then presented the children with images of four well-known fictional "Super Villains": Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter, The Joker, Mrs. Trunchball, and Gru from Minions. The children enthusiastically shouted out the characters' names. This engaging activity led into the story of Damascus, focusing on the transformation of Saul into Saint Paul. The narrative explored how Saul, perceived as a "Villain", could undergo a profound change. Saul was initially a fervent persecutor of early Christians. While on his way to Damascus with authority to arrest followers of Jesus, a blinding light from heaven suddenly enveloped him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" When Saul asked who was speaking, the voice replied, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." This encounter left Saul blind for three days. He was led into Damascus, where a disciple named Ananias, guided by a vision from Jesus, healed his sight. After this miraculous experience, Saul was baptised and became a devoted follower of Jesus, changing his name to Paul. He tirelessly preached the Christian message from then on, becoming one of its most influential apostles. Following the story, the children were given time to consider a key question: Can a 'baddie' become a 'goodie'? If so, how and why?" This prompted thoughtful discussion among the children. The worship concluded with everyone singing "Shine from the Inside Out. and a prayer led by Rev Ben.
Year 4 - Linking Schools Visit to St Matthew’s
Our Linking Schools project reached its final part on Monday with Year 4 visiting St Matthew’s C of E Primary in Blackburn. We had a fantastic day designing “together towns”, creating poetry about living well together and even joining an assembly with local author, Dan Worsley. We have thoroughly enjoyed learning about our new friends and sharing work throughout this year; it has helped us to realise our similarities and celebrate differences.
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Year 4 - Class Worship and Year of Prayer
Year 4's class worship this Wednesday was from Blackburn Dioceses' Worship Together. We heard the well-known story from the Old Testament, David the Giant Killer. We thought about this story in different ways - about trying hard and using critical thinking when tackling a huge problem. We finished our worship with our Year of Prayer for this week, I Spy prayers, in which children hid objects around the room for everyone to try their best to find. We prayed about not giving up and asked for God’s help so that we may persevere.
Reception- Year of Prayer- Playdough
Today as part of our Year of Prayer we thought about situations where people are fighting with each other and countries that are involved in conflict. We made two different colours of playdough to represent two countries and we took a piece of each colour and blended them together to make a new colour. Whilst doing this we prayed to God to bring peace to the situations we had been thinking about to help the two sides come together.
Year 3- Class Worship-Jesus Teaches Us to Forgive
Today in class, we watched a worship across the diocesan video that helped us explore one of our important Christian values: forgiveness. Through the story of Jesus and Peter, we learned how meaningful and powerful it can be to forgive others and to accept forgiveness ourselves, even when it's not easy. The story showed us how Jesus sets a great example of how to mend friendships and love one another, so we can live together in peace and understanding.
Year 6 - Class Worship
In class worship, year 6 focused on the story of Peter betraying Jesus 3 times and discussed times that they have made mistakes or felt ashamed of themselves. Bishop Philip then spoke about the importance of forgiveness and facing our mistakes head on rather than avoiding them, as this allows us to make a lasting change to our behaviour. In addition, year 6 then focused on prayers and hymns used in Christian worship during their R.E. lesson and how some of the words reveal the nature and characteristics of God. The children provided some thoughtful insights and understood that no one can be compared to God in the Christian faith.
Year 1- Year of Prayer- Resilience
This week, as part of the Diocesan Year of Prayer, Year 1 reflected on the theme of resilience, praying for God’s strength to help us persevere—even when things feel challenging or we feel like giving up. To bring this theme to life, the children chose 12 classroom items. Miss Flynn then hid these items around the classroom, and the children were tasked with finding them. Some were tucked away in tricky spots, but with determination, teamwork, and a resilient mindset, they rose to the challenge! The activity was great fun, and the children thoroughly enjoyed this week’s focus in our Year of Prayer.
Reception: Class Worship
We started our worship across the Diocese with a call and response with God loves us, all the time, Amen. We discussed if we have ever done something wrong to a friend and if we have ever had to say sorry. This does happen in class and this is what our story is about today. The story comes from the New Testament and is about the Salvation. The story is called Jesus forgives Peter. Bishop Philip explained the story further. Bishop Philip asked us to imagine that we have done something really bad to somebody. He asked us what we would do the next time we see that person. Bishop Philip hoped we would walk towards them and try to mend the relationship. Peter pretended he did not know Jesus three times. He was full of guilt and shame. Peter swam towards Jesus to say sorry and wanted Jesus to forgive him. Jesus forgave Peter and said I love you. The friendship was mended. We discussed how when we do things that are wrong, it is important to be like Peter and say sorry to mend the friendship. Forgiveness is one of our Christian values and it is really important to help to make the world a better place so that we can all live well together. We ended our worship by singing Build up.
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Year 3- R.E-Exploring Sawm: Islam's 4th Pillar
Today in R.E., Year 3 explored the 4th Pillar in Islam: Sawm (Fasting). We discussed what it feels like to go without things we enjoy, imagining life on a remote island without modern amenities. This led to a deeper understanding of why Sawm is a Pillar of Islam, as an act of obedience to the Qur'an during Ramadan. The children also watched videos and took notes on key aspects of Ramadan. Following this, the children individually wrote in their books about how Sawm makes Muslims feel, giving examples such as feeling empathy for the less fortunate, a closer connection to Allah, and developing greater self-discipline and gratitude.