Year of Prayer in Year 1- Sorry Prayers
This week, Year 1 have been writing sorry prayers, screwing these up and throwing them in the bin. Year 1 wrote prayers to say sorry for sometimes shouting at a family member or a friend, being unkind to their brothers and sisters and not listening to their mummy or daddy when they are asked to tidy up for example. We discussed how we all make mistakes and do things that we often later regret but it is how we learn from our mistakes that is important and this is why we say sorry and move forward.
Reception- Year of Prayer- Rubbish Prayers
In class we were looking at rubbish prayers as part of the year of prayer. The children wrote or drew something they would like to say sorry for on a strip of paper. We then quietly said sorry to god and asked him for forgiveness. We then screwed or ripped the piece of paper up and threw it in the waste bin to represent God forgiving us and getting rid of our sins.
Year 5 - Year of Prayer
This week’s Year of Prayer focus is all about forgiveness. The children took time to reflect on their actions, writing down things they wished to be forgiven for on a scrap piece of paper. As a powerful symbol of God’s grace and mercy, they then ripped up their papers—reminding them that, through faith, they are forgiven and can move forward with a fresh start. By embracing forgiveness, the children are learning to let go of past mistakes and live life in all its fullness, just as God intends.
Singing Worship and Year of Prayer
This morning in Worship we started by introducing the Year of Prayer to our classes this week which is about using rubbish to create sorry prayers and then throwing them away. We then learnt a special action prayer to help our love to grow as part of the Year of the Prayer. After that we had a joyous time singing some of our favourite Easter songs and hymns in preparation for Easter. We sang Lord of the Dance, We have a King who rides a donkey, Rich in Kindness and Give me oil in my lamp. We also started to learn a new upbeat song called 'He's Alive!'. What a joyous way to start a Monday morning together as a school family!
Year 5 - Year of Prayer
As part of the Year of Prayer, Year 5 took part in this week’s prayer focus, reflecting on those who feel lonely or without friends. Using pipe cleaners, they each created a link while offering their prayers, before joining them together as a symbol of unity and togetherness.
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Year 3- Year of Prayer- Linking Pipe Cleaners
This afternoon, Year 3 participated in a hands-on activity to symbolize connection and prayer. We each formed a pipe cleaner into a bracelet, then partnered up and linked our bracelets together.We then prayed for people who may be lonely and have no friends and thanked God for always being with us and caring for us.
Reception- Year of prayer- Pipe cleaner prayers
In class we each chose a pipe cleaner and a button charm and then chose a partner. We made our pipe cleaners into bracelets and linked them together with our partner we then prayed for people who may be lonely and have no friends. We then unlinked our pipe cleaners and looped them around our wrist and thanked God that he cares for us and is always with us.
Worship-Shrove Tuesday, Lent and Ramadan
This morning in Collective Worship we built on our knowledge of Lent from yesterday's worship and focused on things we could give during Lent, the time of preparation for Easter. Some children said they would sort their clothes and toys and give them to charity, some said they would raise money through walking for the Big Lent Walk and some said they would help others. Yesterday Leonora said she would show kindness everyday during Lent which then led us to take up a 40 day Lent generosity and kindness challenge. Over the next 40 days in school, we will take part in generous acts in order to spread kindness to others. We said our special Year of Prayer prayer today too which was about compassion and how Jesus showed compassion to others and helped them and we can be like Him and help others too. We then learned about the holy month of Ramadan that Muslims around the world are taking part in at the moment by fasting, praying to God and giving back. We discussed the similarities between Lent and Ramadan and agreed that they are both times to feel closer to God, give things up or fast and give things back. They are also times to prepare for celebrations as Christians will be celebrating Easter and Muslims will be celebrating Eid. Miss Kachwalla and Ms Lohar are both fasting at the moment during the day and we learned that Muslims fast to understand how it feels to be hungry and think about and pray for those less fortunate around the world, as well as feeling closer to God. As part of our Big Lent Walk, we can make a difference to the lives of those who don't have enough food by raising money to help them. At the end of our worship we sang some Easter hymns and shared pancakes together as a whole school family as today is Shrove Tuesday. We then reflected on how we can 'be kind' and show generosity to others this Lent.
Year 1- Year of Prayer (Pipe Cleaners)
For this week’s Year of Prayer challenge, Year 1 were each given a pipe cleaner. We worked together to connect our pipe cleaners together to create one huge circle to represent community and togetherness. We prayed for all those who may be experiencing loneliness and for people to show them kindness and friendship. We said that if we saw anyone looking lonely or sad on the playground then we would show our Christian Values and include them in our game or conversation.
Year 1- Year of Prayer (Paper Planes)
This week’s prayer challenge focused on teaching the children a way of letting go of their worries. To do this, the children drew pictures of their worries on paper such as the worry they feel when leaving their mummy and daddy, worries about things that we can’t always control such as fires and war and worries about getting things wrong. The children then threw the paper planes as a way of saying goodbye to their worries so that they could feel happier and calmer.
Reception- Year of Prayer- Paper planes
During the year of prayer we have been exploring different ways we can pray. Today we made paper aeroplanes. We went outside with them and each shouted a fear we have before flying the aeroplane to represent us asking god to help take our fears away.
Worship with Rev. Matt
Today, we had a worship session with Rev. Matt, where the children began with a team game of “the wave.” They had to follow the movement and actively participate, reinforcing the idea of unity, direction, and how we are all connected. Rev. Matt then showed a video clip of Jesus at the Last Supper, highlighting the true power of prayer. He explained that, just like in the wave game, we need guidance in our prayers—someone to lead and show us the way. He reminded the children that Jesus prays for us all, giving us strength and support even when we don’t realise it. Following this, the children reflected on their own prayers, thinking about what they could pray for and the impact those prayers could have. They considered how prayer could bring comfort, hope, and change in their own lives and the lives of others. This time of reflection allowed the children to quietly offer their thoughts and prayers, reinforcing the importance of faith and reflection in their daily lives.
Reception-Foam Prayers
As part of our year of prayer we made foam using warm water and a squirt of washing up liquid. We made lots of bubbles using a whisk to make the bubbles turn to foam. We then said a thank you prayer to thank god for the energy which allows us to move and be active.
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Year 4 - Year of Prayer: Foam Prayers
As we continue the Blackburn Diocese Year of Prayer, this week we took a moment to be thankful for our ability to move. We chose different whisking implements in order to create bubbles in our soap solution whilst showing gratitude for the fantastic things we can do by moving different body parts. We said thanks for our legs to play football, our mouths to speak and our arms to swim, to name just a few. We are really enjoying having the opportunity to explore different ways to pray and we’re already developing some favourites.
Year 1- Year of Prayer
This week, the theme for the ‘Year of Prayer’ was making foam. The children in Year 1 created foam using fairy liquid and hot water. They experimented whisking the solution to see what would happen. They discovered that the solution became more foamy and bubbly as they added more and more energy. Whilst doing this, we said thank you to God for energy that allows us to move and be active. Children thanked God for giving them the energy to dance, use a skipping rope, play football, do cartwheels and play with their friends. We also had some prayers to say thank you to God for giving us the energy to learn and think wisely. Well done Year 1!
Year 1- Year of Prayer
This week’s theme for the Year of Prayer is praying through the use of a ‘Prayer Band’. Year 1 have enjoyed drawing people that they would like to pray and thank God for such as their mummy, daddy, grandparents, siblings and pets. Some children also chose to draw and think about the wider community such as people who are sick in hospital, those who are in the midst of war and refugees who are having to flee their homes. Whilst saying their prayer, the children held on to their prayer band. We are really enjoying learning about lots of new ways in which we can pray. Well done Year 1
Reception: Year of Prayer
This week in Reception, the children have created prayer bands. They drew people who they wanted to prayer for and then spoke to God about their special person. The children chose their parents, friends, siblings and teachers. Thank you to our WOW group for delivering the paper strips to each class.
Year 1- Year of Prayer
This week’s theme for the Year of Prayer is special fingerprint prayers. In Year 1, the children made themselves using their fingerprint and said a prayer to thank God for making us special and unique. We had children saying thank you for their families including their mummy and daddy, for their special talents such as football and dance and for giving them characteristics such as perseverance and strength when things get tricky. Well done Year 1!
Worship with Rev. Ben
Today’s worship with Rev. Ben began with a lively game of Captain’s Orders. In the game, forgiveness was straightforward—a simple cue to face the window—but in real life, forgiving someone is often much harder. Rev. Ben explained that one of the things Jesus taught us is that forgiveness can be challenging because we may not always have the right perspective. The children then listened to The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, which highlighted that true forgiveness comes from the heart. Through this parable, Jesus illustrated the importance of showing others the same grace and forgiveness that we receive. Afterward, the children engaged in a thoughtful discussion, exploring key questions such as: What did Jesus want people to learn about forgiveness from the parable? and How could this story help you in situations where you need to forgive others? The discussion encouraged the children to reflect on the value of forgiveness and how it can bring peace to their lives and relationships.
Collective Worship- Year of Prayer
This morning in our Collective Worship we focused on our prayer for this week of the Year of Prayer from Blackburn Diocese. We discussed and shared our responsibilities in school and at home such as cleaning our rooms, loading the dishwasher, helping look after younger siblings, helping with the cooking and cleaning, counting values points (Heads and Deputies) and planning and leading sports events (Sports Leaders) . We then said together a special prayer for our responsibilities and discussed how God is always with us during those responsibilities and having a smile on face whilst carrying them out benefits others. Mrs Ham then shared the responsibility of selecting songs to sing and choosing children to demonstrate the actions at the front. The children chose to sing 'Life is always better when we share it with each other', 'Waymaker' 'My Lighthouse' and 'Build Up'. Build up is also the theme for our class Year of Prayer this week too. Our WOW group members informed each class of the special build up prayers they would be saying this week.
Reception: Year of Prayer
This week, Mrs Wilkinson gave each child in Reception a piece of ribbon. We discussed how we sometimes receive special looking presents with ribbon wrapped around them. We all took it in turns to tie our ribbon to our prayer tree and gave thanks to Jesus who is the best gift ever!
The W.O.W. Group - Preparing Ribbon Prayers
Our WOW group had some preparing to do this week, showing the Christian value of service. Each week for the Year of Prayer, it is their job to be equip each class for the theme and introduce it in Monday worship. Next week, the theme is ribbon prayers, so the children were making sure that each class receives a selection of ribbon to use in their prayers.
Reception: Bubble Prayers
At the end of our school day, Reception class lit our candle and signed the holy trinity. We then burnt some Frankincense which was lovely and calming for all of the children. This week, for Blackburn Diocese's year of prayer, we focussed on bubble prayers. We discussed what we were thankful for. Some of the children's responses were God, the Holy Spirit, Jesus, parents, teachers and friends. It was lovely for the children to stop and reflect which aided them to explore their own spirituality.
Reception: Year of Prayer
As part of the Diocese of Blackburn's Year of Prayer, this week's focus was on alphabet prayers. Reception class thought about what brings them joy. Evie said her star on her Christmas tree, Max said playing his memory game, Beau said her family and Mikey said visiting the dinosaur museum. It was wonderful to see the children reflecting and listening carefully to one another. At the end of our prayer we thanked God and said Amen.
Collective Worship: Peace at Advent
Our school is starting to get ready for Christmas and has been decorated. There was one final job to do- our youngest child, Annie placed the star on our Christmas tree. This week we started our worship by looking at the Year of Prayer, which we will be taking part in along with lots of other schools from across our Diocese. Our WOW group explained what we would be focusing on this week in classes. All classes will have a go at alphabet prayers. The children will all think about something that brings joy to them. We then looked at our whole school focus which was on the value of peace. Mrs Wilkinson led the children in prayer. Mrs Wilkinson recapped what Christians focus on in the first week of advent: hope. She lit the first Advent candle. We then looked at what we would be focussing on this week which was peace. The children watched a video all about peace. Leonora said that if we experience conflict in school, we could walk away or not argue with our friends and remain at peace. Matthew said smiling brings us joy and peace. We all reflected on what the world would be like if it was always at peace. The children discussed how loving everyone can bring peace. We ended our worship by singing 'We Three Kings' and 'Ding Dong'.