Year 5 - R.E.
In R.E., Year 5 continued exploring the sacred texts of different religions. We explored Hinduism and the teachings of their sacred texts including the Veda and the Ramayana, which emphasise duty, generosity and honesty. In our final lesson in the topic next week, we will return to the Bible and the different methods it uses to teach Christians.
Reception- RE- Thanking God, Harvest
During our RE lesson we have been looking at the things we were thankful for. We looked at some of the foods we were thankful for and we tried different types of bread from around the world. We then wrote prayers about some of the things we are thankful to God for.
Whole School singing Worship
This morning our children came together to learn about Diwali. We enjoyed some Hindi songs and spoke about the Hindu Festival of Light! We then sang together worshipping God through our Harvest festival songs ready to perform them to you during our Harvest Church Service on Thursday. We look forward to seeing you there.
Year 2 RE- Similarities and Differences between The Bible, Torah and the Quran
This afternoon in RE, Year 2 rounded off their unit by comparing the similarities and differences between the three holy books they have studied: the Bible, the Torah, and the Quran. We were incredibly impressed by how much knowledge they had retained, particularly about the Torah and the Qur’an. The children thoughtfully identified key similarities and notable differences between the texts, showing great insight and understanding. Well done, Year 2!
Reception: Diwali Super Learning Day
We have had a super Diwali learning day today! We made Rangoli patterns with natural resources that we created, made cards, created Mendhi, made Diva lamps, sang, learnt a Bollywood dance and explored lots of different Hindi artefacts too. What a brilliant day!
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Cidari Earth Conference
Seven Year 4 children represented our school family brilliantly at the Cidari Earth conference at Blackburn Cathedral. They participated in activities addressing environmental challenges like plastic pollution, war and conflict, and global warming. The children made new friends by working in groups with students from other schools in the Trust. Rev Ben led an opening worship about God's creation and our responsibility to care for it. After activities, they admired the "Gaia" Earth installation and listened to Bible stories like David & Goliath and Jesus calms the storm, which emphasised faith and courage in tackling these "insurmountable giants." Each group also created prayer stations, which will be displayed in The Temple Gallery at the Cathedral over half term. Families are encouraged to visit and see the Earth installation, photographs, and prayer stations. Some of the children said “It’s been the best day ever!” A huge thank you to Mrs Araujo for planning and leading one of the activities
Rev Matt’s Whole School Worship
Rev Matt led our Whole Worship today which focused on second chances. We started with a quick game in which we had eight items on a tray. Rev Matt then covered it over and removed some of the items and the children had to guess which were missing. The items included a duck, a bottle of cordial and tins. The children highlighted the fact that we were given second chances by Rev Matt to have a guess. Our Bible story had the actions for running, walking and watching. It was the story of Jacob. Jacob had cheated his brother in the story and his brother now wanted him dead. God watched and watched Jacob run away. When Jacob was tired he fell exhausted onto the desert floor. When he was ready to listen to God he had a dream with a ladder. At the top of the ladder was God and he promised Jacob that the land was his and his family’s and God would always protect Jacob. When he woke he said thanks to God and then he ran all the way to his friends and his mother told him he would be safe but also learnt a very important lesson. Jacob met a girl and after seven years she became his wife. On the day of his wedding, he pulled back the veil and realised that the girl was in fact the sister of the girl he thought he was marrying. He felt that he had been cheated. The cheater had been cheated. Eventually he could marry the correct sister and return home. On his return home, Jacob walked and walked eventually seeing his brother walking towards him. Jacob told his family to stay behind as he would face his brother alone. He believed that God would protect him. His brother forgave him and the two brothers were friends again just as God had promised. He had given Jacob a second chance. In our discussion we looked at why God gives us second chances even when we don’t deserve it . Rev Matt also asked us who we could give a second chance to? The children shared that they could have a second chance if they had made a mistake or done something wrong. We could given second chances to lots of people including our friends, family and people around us. We finished in prayer asking for God to give everyone a second chance .
Year 2 RE- Judaism
This week in RE, Year 2 have been exploring the Jewish holy book, the Torah. They examined pictures of Torah scrolls and watched a video to deepen their understanding. The children learned that the Torah is written in Hebrew, stored in a special cabinet called an ark, and can take up to two years to be written by a scribe. They also discovered that it is read from left to right using a special pointer called a yad, and that it contains the laws God gave to Moses, guiding how Jewish people should live their lives. To bring their learning to life, the class read Sammy Spider’s First Simchat Torah and enjoyed discovering how Jewish people celebrate the completion of reading the Torah each year. The children then made their own Torah scrolls and yads, and ended the lesson by joyfully reenacting the celebration of Simchat Torah.
Year 1 RE: God as a Creator
This afternoon, we started our new topic about Creation. The children had 5 minutes to create anything they could choose, either drawing something or building something. They then thought about how they felt when they are creative, whether they found easy or tricky and if they had an idea straight away or if their idea changed whilst they were making something. Then we learnt about the Creation story in the Bible. It took God 7 days to make our earth and all of the living things. We then sequenced the story to solidify our understanding.
Year 6 Learn About the Journey of Hajj with Miss Kachwalla
Today in Year 6, Miss Kachwalla taught an R.E. lesson about Hajj. As someone who has personally experienced Hajj, Miss Kachwalla shared her knowledge and reflections to help the children understand the importance of pilgrimage in Islam. The lesson began with the key question: “Why do people go on a pilgrimage?” The children shared many thoughtful responses, such as: People go to feel closer to God. It’s a way to express gratitude to God for everything He has given us. Pilgrimages help people to forgive others and start again. People go to remember important stories from their religion. It’s a special journey that helps you think about your faith. Year 6 then had an opportunity to ask Miss Kachwalla questions about her own experience. They were curious and engaged, asking things like: Why do people wear white clothes during Hajj? Why do Muslims have to go on Hajj? What happens when you get there? Miss Kachwalla explained that women have the freedom to wear any modest, loose-fitting clothing that is not white, but many still choose white or light colours for comfort and to symbolise purity. Men wear white on Hajj to symbolise equality, as the simple, unstitched cloth called Ihram removes signs of wealth and status, making everyone look the same before God. The white colour also represents purity and cleanliness, reflects the simplicity of life and death, and can offer a practical benefit by keeping the body cool in the heat. After all, it is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, a key act of faith and obedience to God. She described the experience as deeply spiritual, with people from all over the world coming together on the same day to worship, pray, and celebrate their shared faith. The children learned that Hajj is a joyful and humbling experience, a time of unity, reflection, and devotion. It was a truly inspiring lesson that helped the class understand the deeper meaning of pilgrimage and the strength of faith that connects people across the world.
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Year 5 - RE
In RE, we explored the Jewish sacred text called the Torah. We discussed the role that the Torah plays in worship at the synagogue and how it compares and contrasts to the Christian Bible. The children then wrote their names in Hebrew and we placed spiritual words on our prayer tree.
Year 1 RE: building a Sukkah
Today we looked at the Jewish festival Sukkot which lasts for 7 days. Jewish people celebrate Sukkot to thank God for helping the Israelites escape from Egypt with Moses. God gave Moses the power to part the Red Sea so that they could escape. During the festival, Jewish people build a Sukah which they live in for 7 days as a way to reflect and thank God for all that He provides, including food. This links with our own Christian festival Harvest as we say thanks for the food God gives to us. We then built our own Sukkah using chairs, ribbon, sticks and leaves. Year 1 even created a paper chain to decorate their Sukkah. It was lovely to see the children all working together and sharing ideas.