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The WOW Group - Spiritual Garden Activity Planning
This week, the WOW group planned some spirituality activities to carry out at break times in the spiritual garden. They chose an activity in groups of 3 and prepared all the resources they needed. They then decided which year groups they would invite to play.
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Wow Group: Tree Planting
What a fantastic afternoon our WOW group had on our school grounds! They had a wonderful time planting a brand-new orchard across two different areas of the school- next to the MUGA and next to our infant yard. We added a variety of plum, apple, and pear trees to our landscape, and it was a great learning experience for everyone involved. Ian and Aileen joined us to explain the life cycle of the trees, teaching the children how they will first burst into blossom during the spring and early summer. They learned that once those flowers are pollinated, they will begin the transformation into delicious fruit, just in time for the start of the autumn term. WOW group really got stuck into the hard work, digging the holes, positioning the trees, and carefully installing guards and stakes to keep them secure. It was a joy to see them working so well as a team, showing great care for our new environment. We are all really looking forward to watching these trees grow over the coming years, and we certainly can’t wait to eventually taste the fruits of our labour!
W.O.W. Group - Messy Church: The Sower
The WOW group ran their final messy church this week. They did a fantastic job planning a fun session based on the Parable of the Sower. First, they read the story and discussed its meaning and how Jesus wanted his followers to root their faith in God. Then the participants decorated a plant pot. Once the pots were decorated, the children filled them with rich, nutritious compost and added Nigella or Candytuft seeds.
The W.O.W. Group - Messy Church
Our fantastic W.O.W. Group have been busy planning and this week was our first messy church of the year. The theme was “promises” and the session began with a reading of the Parable of the Two Sons. The attendees compared the two sons in the story - the one that promised to do a job for his father but never did it, and the one who originally grumbled but then decided to help - and agreed that promises don’t mean anything if they are not kept. The W.O.W. Group then led an activity in which participants decorated promise jars and wrote down a promise that they vow to keep. They then drew messy church to a close with a prayer asking God to help us to keep our promises.
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Whole School Worship with Rev Matt
Whole School Worship was led by Rev Matt this morning and it looked at the Bible story - John the Baptist. We started with the usual challenge that helped us think about being courageous in times of change. How easy do different people find change. Rev Matt gave instructions that the children had to follow. This included clapping, sticking our tongue out to make an ocean, using our hands to make a V shape and rubbing out tummy whilst we pat our heads. The children loved this challenge but found different ones more challenging ~ not everyone found the same challenge to be problematic and this shows how we are all different. Next Rev Matt shared the Bible story and he asked the children to say the word “Wow” every time the word “special” was used. The story of John told us that he lived simply in the desert, wearing camel hair and eating locusts and wild honey, growing close to God. John preached a message of repentance (saying sorry for wrongs) and baptized people in the Jordan River, telling them God's promised Messiah (Jesus) was coming. When Jesus came, John baptized Him, and the Holy Spirit came down like a dove, showing everyone Jesus was God's Son. Baptism is all about change and through the story and our discussions we learnt that even though Jesus doesn’t need Baptism he shows us the way anyway.
The WOW Group - Messy Church Planning
This week, the WOW group were busy planning for our upcoming parables messy church. The children split into two groups and discussed ideas for crafts linked to their chosen parables. Next week, they will be choosing how the session will run, who will deliver each element of the session and which prayer to say to close. The WOW Group members were also very proud to receive their brand new badges.
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Year 6 - Class Worship
Year 6 took part in a thoughtful class worship exploring Herald the King and what it means to live out God’s Big Story in our daily choices. The children reflected on themes of hope, kindness and responsibility, discussing how they can shine God’s light in school and at home. To celebrate this special time of year, the children created ‘wishful stars’, each one expressing a personal hope or commitment inspired by the worship. These stars now serve as a gentle reminder of the messages shared and the values we choose to carry forward.
Whole School Worship - Power for Good
Our theme in today’s collective worship was “Power for Good”. Continuing our focus on Anti-Bullying Week, Mrs Ham shared some of the fantastic answers the children gave on Monday about standing up to bullying. These included saying stop, being assertive, asking why, and telling a trusted adult. We learned of how Jesus was a power for good, even when others turned against him, and we reflected on the ways in which we can also be a power for good by being a good friend and spotting when someone needs our help. The WOW Group also shared how they are being a power for good, by protecting our planet and leading our school’s Switch Off Fortnight campaign. They shared posters recommending ways to save energy around school, including turning off lights and computer monitors when they are not in use, and they explained that they will be checking how well each class is doing at saving energy every break time and lunchtime during the campaign.
Year 6 - Remembrance Worship
Today, during our class Remembrance worship, we watched a special Diocese video that helped the children reflect on the importance of remembering those who have fallen in times of war. The video told the inspiring story of a medic who bravely risked his own life to save many injured soldiers during World War I. The children showed great respect and empathy as they listened and discussed the values of courage, sacrifice, and compassion shown by those who served. After the discussion, the children created their own poppies to express their thoughts and feelings about Remembrance. Each poppy included personal reflections, words of gratitude. Together, these poppies formed a beautiful display to remind us all of the importance of remembering and honouring those who gave so much.
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 .
Whole School Worship with Rev Matt
Today our whole school worship was led by Rev. Matt. We started Worship with a challenge. The challenge involved trust. Elsie and Grace took part in the challenge. Elsie was blindfolded and Grace had to guide Elsie around cups that Rev Matt had placed on the floor by giving verbal instructions only. They were super quick but the reason the activity took place was to link it to today’s story which was all about trust and how Abraham trusted God. Abraham was a rich man who had servants and lots of money but he trusted God. One day god asked Abraham leave his home and trust that it would be the right decision. God led Abraham to Canaan. Abraham didn’t have children but God asked him to look at the sky and count the stars. God told him that one day he would have more children than stars in the sky. Abraham had three visitors sent by God who he fed and looked after. Sarah, Abraham's wife then became pregnant with Isaac and this was because they trusted God's word and this led to good things. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. remember the Lord in everything you do, and he will show you the right way” We then went on to discuss who do we trust and what is something generous that we could do for them? We shared that we trust our families, God, friends and teachers. Something generous could be that we give them a gift, trust them with all of our heart and treat them with respect. We finished today's worship with a prayer to reflect on how we may show kindness and generosity to everyone around us.
The W.O.W. Group - Lego Club Training
Our WOW Group has miraculously grown in size this week! And the room was alive with enthusiasm and excitement as we prepared for our Autumn 2 Lego club. This week, the children learned how to introduce the build, support their peers during the build and help them to reflect afterwards. They experienced a build session, completing their own unique builds that represented what God’s Power means to them. Next week we will be planning our first WOW group-run activity.