Kingswood residential 2018

It’s been a while since I sat here in the teachers retreat at Kingswood (They didn’t have one of these when I first started residentials!) after the bus journey from Leicester via the beautiful Wells Next The Sea. There is a sense of peace here at the moment, but the reason for that is detailed below – something to do with duvets and other items of bedding.

The coach journey, which many years ago would have been peppered with community singing , was  replaced with the silence created by earphones, gadgets and hushed conversations about what strategy to use next to compete with someone else’s high score, or the silent miming to the latest music. There were some examples of snoring, but I promised not to disclose which member of staff these came from.  Well not yet anyway.

Wells was welcomed with a loud round of applause, before we set off into the pine woods to enjoy lunch. After that, we took the opportunity to explore the wind swept beach, that lies beyond the sand dunes.

 

As beautiful as ever, Wells Beach provided first experiences of an English beach for some of the party, a chance to collect shells and stones for others and the opportunity for certain others simply to run around punctuating the air with piercing screams. Strangely the seagulls vacated the beach very quickly!

 

Back on the coach, we enjoyed the tight bends and rolling marshes of the Norfolk coast. With at least one point in the journey prompting Mr Chivers and I to take the opportunity to wishfully consider putting our bird watching skills into practice, but sadly that was not to be.

Finally, we were greeted by; enthusiastic couriers, unloaded the bus, went on a tour and were allocated to the dormitories, where of course the first fun of the evening began!

The challenge; take one duvet, one cover and then seek to somehow mysteriously collaborate them together, to provide sleeping provision. Of course, that doesn’t include the stubbornness of the bottom sheet to grip any part of the bed and as for the pillow case, they were strangely still left on the floor.

As staff we always seek to demonstrate, but of course watching and then putting into practice are two different things.  For some, the challenge is still being responded to!

Only half an hour until dinner!

Mr Marshall

 

FS2 and the kitchen

This week the children in FS2 have been invited to explore some foods using our senses. This has been arranged by Donna and Mel our school cooks. Each class has spent time at each table using our sight to recognise foods. We also used our sense of hearing to see if we could identify which pot had cornflakes or rice in it. After that we had a go at smelling some food items to try and identify them. Next we could taste Coriander, sultanas, rice crispies and carrot. Last of all we felt some foods, finishing off with feeling jelly before cleaning our hands. Thank you to Donna and Mel for organising this activity for us and thank you for making delicious dinners for us everyday. Many of the children have commented positively about the dinners in their end of year self reports.

Let your light shine

Lighthouse synergy - Raising the profiles of our lighthouses

Over the past few years, we have been using the image of a lighthouse to support our understanding of what it means to live out the life that God has called us to within our school community. The image has become a powerful vehicle for reminding us to be the lights that God calls us to be. But it has also become so much more than that.

It particularly reminds us of how important it is that we fully grasp what our true God given identity is. Just like the lighthouse, if we really want to be the lights that God calls us to be, we need to be rooted in strong foundations. As a school we passionately believe, that without understanding our true identity, we will never fully become the people God is calling us to be.

Equally, we have come to recognize that Lighthouse synergy (partnerships within our school community) is a powerful vehicle for change. Simply put, it reminds us that the collective efforts of each individual or different aspects of any community make more of a difference than just the efforts of any of these working individually. God calls us to bring light into this world, wherever he places us. The lighthouse has become a daily reminder of both that call, but also the power of synergy, when it is rooted in the community in which we work and live.

We have used the phrase ‘let your light shine’ as a very simple outworking of this message. It encourages us to be the best that we can be, to seek to respect and care for others and to know that we are part of something that is much greater than just ourselves. It is a call to ‘make a difference together’.

In seeking to develop this imagery further and to help us celebrate what the Lighthouse means to St John’s as a school community, we have commissioned a range of merchandise based on the lighthouse design we use around the school. This is both a fund raising initiative, but also a way of making the lighthouse a daily reminder to our whole school community of the call to let our light shine and to celebrate all that God has given us and calls us to be.

The merchandise consists of 3 different adult and child T Shirt designs, tea towels, apron, tote bags, mugs and the option to buy the banner that we have designed and placed in every classroom. There are three different designs for the T Shirts and also a choice of colours and sizes.

Full information has been sent out to all parents today. Orders need to be placed by Thursday 21st June to enable fulfillment by the end of the school term. 

We hope you will join us in letting 'your light shine'.

Founation Stage visit to West Lodge Farm!

On Monday 21st May the children in Foundation Stage visited West Lodge Rural Centre Farm. 
We were blessed with a warm and sunny day and learned lots of information about a variety of farm animals and were able to stroke some of them. We helped to bottle feed the Cade lambs and also enjoyed the piglet racing, going on the barrel ride and playing in the playground. We particularly liked the silly and disgusting facts that Farmer Ryan told us about each animal. Come and ask us if you want to know. Thank you to all the adults who came with us.

Ascension Day Service with guest rapper Jonezy

Last week we had the pleasure of welcoming the local rapper, Jonezy, to our Ascension Services. He performed to the children and gave an account of his life and love for God. The children were 'rockin' in the pews, if you can rock whilst rapping!

This week in school we are considering prayer in school through the assembles and class worship sessions. We are grateful as ever to Mrs B who has created two zones in reception which help the children to consider and reflect on this vital part of Christianity.