Year 1 RE- Mock Baptism in Church with Rev Ben
Yesterday afternoon, Year 1 wore their celebration clothes and went to St Barnabas Church. They learnt all about baptism and welcoming babies, teenagers and adults into Christianity. Year 1 named their baby Annabelle and Rev. Ben showed them what it would be like if Annabelle was baptised. They learnt that baptism is like a badge that people wear to show they belong to the church. A sign of the cross (using oil) is drawn on the head of the person being baptised to symbolise this. They also learnt that Baptism is like a bath. They learnt about the significance of the water and how it is to symbolise cleansing and new life. They witnessed Rev. Ben pour water over baby Annabelle’s head which came from the font. To end the Baptism, Annabelle received a baptism candle and a Bible. We then came back to school for a baptism party. The children enjoyed a dance, some juice and a biscuit. Thank you Rev.Ben for creating a memorable experience for our children.
Year 3- R.E-The Story of Moses and The Ten Commandments
In today’s R.E. lesson, the children began by discussing the relevance of the Ten Commandments in today’s world. They explored whether these ancient rules still apply and why they might be important in modern life. The children unanimously agreed that the Ten Commandments are still very relevant, as without them, society would face chaos and disorder. Following this discussion, the children listened to the story of Moses and the giving of the Ten Commandments. They reflected on how these commandments, which were received by Moses on Mount Sinai, continue to influence religious and moral beliefs today. The children explored how these commandments promote values such as respect, honesty, and responsibility, and how they shape the way people live their lives according to religious teachings.
Whole School Worship - V.E. Day & The Lord’s Prayer
Our worship began with an introduction to V.E. Day. Mrs Ham gave a short explanation about the Second World War and the celebrations that took place after Europe’s victory in 1945. There will be a number of worships and activities taking place across the week to commemorate 80 years since the end of World War II, including our Red, White and Blue day on Friday. Mrs Ham and Mrs Araujo then launched this week’s Year of Prayer activities. Our focus was then directed to The Lord’s Prayer. Mrs Ham spent some time explaining the first few lines to make sure everyone in our school family understands what they are praying about when they recite The Lord’s Prayer. We focused particularly on the word “hallowed” and that this means holy. We shared our ideas of how we can carry out God’s wishes and that we can all try to be like saints. The children had some extremely thoughtful ideas about welcoming people and why it is important to make others feel welcome. We finished by reciting The Lord’s Prayer once more and then singing one of our favourite worship songs, My Lighthouse.
Year 6 - Year of Prayer
Continuing our Year of Prayer activities, year 6 took part in a reflective walk along the markings on the school yard. We had to follow the lines, reflecting or praying, remembering that we can trust Jesus and ask him to help us to follow the right path.
Year 1- Year of Prayer (Follow the Lines)
This week as part of the Diocesan Year of Prayer, Year 1 went outside onto our playground and ‘followed the lines.’ Before doing so, they thought about how we try our best to lead our lives by Jesus’ example. We thought about all the amazing things that Jesus did such as sharing his power to perform miracles such as healing the sick and feeding the hungry. We thought about the Christian Values that this shows such as kindness, generosity and friendship and how we can live out these values each and everyday. Year 1 suggested that we can lead by Jesus’ example by helping each other when we fall over, holding the door open for one another, complimenting each other to spread love and joy and supporting one another with our work. We followed the various lines (the correct paths) on the playground as we thought about all of the things that we had discussed. We also thought about what we can do when we are finding things a challenge. We said that we could pray to Jesus and ask him to help us to make the right decision to take the right path.
Year 3:Year of Prayer- Where Lines Led to Prayer
The children drew chalk lines and followed them on an adventure. It was a lovely reminder, as part of our year of prayer, that just like following those lines, we can trust Jesus to guide us on the right path through prayer.
Year 4 - Class Worship in the Spirituality Garden
We took advantage of the beautiful sunshine and gathered for our class worship in the Spirituality Garden today. This half term, our collective worship theme is the Lord’s Prayer, so we drew some symbols to help us remember and understand it. We then used the symbols to help us recite the prayer. We finished by retelling some of our favourite stories from the Bible.
Year 5 - Year of Prayer
Today, Year 5 took part in their Year of Prayer, focusing on following the guidance given by Jesus. As part of the reflection, the children followed a series of lines and various markings on the playground that symbolised the path Jesus sets for us. This activity represented different aspects of His teachings—such as love, forgiveness and courage—encouraging the children to think deeply about how they can follow His example in their daily lives. This meaningful activity helped them reflect on the choices they make and how they can strive to live life in all its fullness—by showing kindness, compassion and remaining faithful to their values.
Year 4 - Year of Prayer: Following Lines
The Year 4s are loving this week's prayer theme. We have been thinking about walking the right path and remembering what Jesus taught us. They followed the line markings on the KS2 playground and thought about how we can walk the right path in our daily lives. I think their favourite part was jumping at the end and shouting, "Amen!"
Whole School Worship - Exploring Prayer
Today’s worship marked the beginning of an exploration of prayer: what it is, why people pray, how, when and where they pray, and why it is an important part of faith. We started by reciting the Lord’s Prayer and signing parts using the Makaton symbols we already knew. Jesus told his disciples this prayer twice when they asked him how to pray. We watched a short video explaining that prayer is simply talking to God and that there are no specific rules when communicating with God. We also learned that he is never too busy to listen to us. The children spent time recapping some of the ways they have prayed including through the Diocesan Year of Prayer, and thinking about what they might want to tell God. We then had some quiet time to say our own prayers to God. Some children said thank you for God’s wonderful creations, some said sorry for making wrong choices, some were thankful for their family and friends and some were grateful for their homes and food. We finished by singing our special Lord’s Prayer song with our Makaton actions.
Year 1- Year of Prayer- New Life
This week as part of the Diocesan Year of Prayer, Year 1 planted cress seeds. As we did this, we prayed to Jesus to say thank you for the new life that He brings at Easter. We enjoyed some beautiful prayers to say thank you for the baby animals such as the chicks, rabbits, lambs and calves that are brought into our world. We also said thank you for the beautiful plants that are in bloom, including those that provide us with food.
Year 6 Class Worship
Today, year 6 took part in a class worship and discussed moments when they have felt genuinely surprised, shocked, puzzled, amazed and confused. These are emotions that Mary would have undoubtedly felt when she discovered the empty tomb and heard Jesus saying her name. We then heard from Bishop Phillip who spoke about how Jesus won victory over death and that means Christians can be friends with him forever.