Snow fall on Boxing Day evening

And so it snowed

At first it was just a few flakes, but as the evening went on the intensity increased. The joy that this brought was significant. Flashing smiles, jumps of joy, cries of ‘White Christmas ‘ and that contented glow that rounded off a Boxing Day evening. 

Snow always seems to have a significant effect on our emotions. Joy or frustration seem to be the main experiences that are associated with the innocent flakes that fall from the sky. Yet the outcome of the snow fall is always quite magical and very beautiful. Nature seems to have a way of painting God’s creation in silent splendour in such a way that makes things new. The silence that seems to accompany any heavy snow fall is peaceful and in some ways reassuring. Peace on earth brought not by angels announcing good news, but in this case by thousands of flakes that fall silently from the sky. 

Walking in the fields that surround our house is always something special when the first snow has settled. The silence and the beauty, the sense of the world standing still and the feeling of peace are all there to be experienced and yet this is in the full knowledge that time will soon pass, the peace will be disturbed, the snow will melt and the earth will be once again exposed.

 But one thing has greater durability, one thing can be present what ever the weather or season, one thing is not dependent on the shifting weather fronts and the challenges in forecasting what exactly will happen tomorrow with the weather.

One thing is less tangible, less transient and more durable, durable for eternity.

Psalm 136

136 

Give thanks to the Lord because he is good.

    His love continues forever.

2 

Give thanks to the God of gods.

    His love continues forever.

3 

Give thanks to the Lord of lords.

    His love continues forever.

As the snow continues to fall and the world is slowly transformed, may the love that lasts also transform our lives and bring the reality of the kingdom to the world in which we live. 

The Advent candle

A time to reflect

It is always a sign of how busy the Christmas period has been when we arrive at the 23rd December and the advent candle has been burnt no further than the 12th of December! 

As a family we always start off with good intentions, taking the time each evening to pause and to follow the psalmist advice of being still, but all the good intentions seem to get lost in the pace of life.

Looking back it seems to have been the same this term, September a distant memory. The first days of school and a whole term ahead. But looking at our advent candle this Christmas Eve, there has been little time to be still and to reflect on the moments that have been so special, both in school and out of school .

 Maybe this is why the psalmist urges us to be still and to know. It is in the stillness, the pausing to reflect, that we have the opportunity to really value what has been. To be thankful and to remember; the laughter, the success, the new friendships, the healing, the achievements and the time spent together.

Before we launch into the sales and the celebrations of the New Year, it would be good to pause and to reflect, before this year has gone and the new one has started. Not just to reflect for ourselves but for our families too, for their moments are equally important and something that we are thankful for.

I have always been struck by the words in Luke 2:19 

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

The things that matter most to us are the things that we treasure and store up in our hearts. Mary remembered and at times I am sure that she will have watched the growing Christ child and reflected on those events, those special moments. So If like me, when you light the advent candle and let it burn down this Christmas Eve, may it be in remembrance and celebration of all that has been before and in hope of what is to come.

Christmas around school

'They said there'd be snow at Christmas, they said there'd be peace on Earth'


A final snapshot of the school this Christmas time. It's been a very successful term and we wish everyone a wonderful Christmas and a very joyful New Year. 2015 is on its way and we will soon be back at school for the new Spring term.

A Christmas blessing

“May the Blessings of Christmas be with you,

May the Christ Child light your way,

May God’s love guide you,

And keep you safe each day.”

 

 

 

Christmas jumper day

Fundraising to make a difference together

Yesterday saw the whole school entering  into the spirit of making a difference together by raising funds for Save the Children. The whole school, staff and children, wore Christmas jumpers or something of a Christmas theme and donated money to the charity. Raising over £200 we were delighted to hear in our assembly from the Save the Children representative that this was enough money to pay for a camel library! This would enable the joy of reading to be brought to many children in remote areas of Africa.

In addition our KS2 signing group took a trip to one of our local residents homes to share aspects of our Christmas performance, these included renditions of Mary's boy child, The Band Aid 30 song, Light of the World and of course we wish you a Merry Christmas. The time spent with the residents was enjoyed by all and the group made it back in time to enjoy our Christmas dinner. A fantastic effort by our dinner staff, cooking in excess of 400 meals. They certainly need a rest this Christmas!

The amazing dinner ladies!

 

In the footsteps of Tigers!

Tag Rugby Sucess

On Tuesday 16th December, some of the children in Years 5 and 6 took part in a Tag Rugby League fixture against other schools across the city.  Even though the children have been extremely busy with the run up to the KS2 Christmas Production, the children threw all their efforts and energy into each and every game.  This hard work and determination paid off, as the children won every single game!  A huge well done to everyone who took part and supported this event in any way.

A wonderful celebration!

Stable Manners December 2014

KS2 delighted us all once again with their Christmas production of Stable Manners. Held in church, each class contributed their own dramatic interpretation of one of the songs, as well as contribution to the overall presentation as part of the mass choir.

This saw dancing sheep, angels wearing sunglasses, line dancing shepherds, rocking kings and camels, a martial arts chicken and a whole host of other characters and animals. All contributing to a festive celebration of the birth of Christ.

In addition children from year 5 took the main parts in a drama that gave us a talking chicken, a sheep and a cow as well as rats, and a performance in memory of  'poor Neddy'!  As part of this we were treated to some wonderful solo's, some engaging banter and lots of humour.

Creativity and energy flowed through the whole performance and the final presentation by our signing group of the latest version of the Band Aid song, ' Do they know its Christmas' brought the presentation to a wonderful conclusion.

Staff and children have all worked hard to bring this together and they should be very proud of their achievement. St John's church is always a very atmospheric setting for this production and I know that both audiences thoroughly enjoyed the presentation.

We have been collecting after each of our presentations in order to make a donation to The Children's Society and we have really appreciated the support that we have received again this year. Many thanks.

St. John's carol service

This afternoon St. John's church celebrated Advent with a Christmas carol service. A number of children from school were involved in the singing, reading and dramatic interpretation of carols and it was a great opportunity to remind ourselves of what Christmas really means.

 The service helped us to focus on the good news of Christmas, seeing through the trappings of the commercialisation that is so dominant today and focusing on the original good news that the shepherds heard on the hillside. 

It is hard at times to grasp the significance of the happenings of that night many years ago. The message that the shepherds heard certainly shook them up. In some ways they were over awed by the fact that the angel came to them, but the important thing is that they listened and responded to the good news of the birth of the Christ child. They left their flocks and went to seek the fulfilment of a promise made so many years ago. 

In all the trappings of Christmas, may we too find the good news that was contained in the birth of Christ and may we find the joy that the Angels proclaimed and the sense of awe and wonder that the shepherds must have felt as they approached the resting place of the child who was 'God with us'.

My Lighthouse

My lighthouse

This song is a real favourite in our assemblies and we used it in church on Thursday at our Christingle service. The song is by REND COLLECTIVE and it speaks of our reliance on God's love. I have shared some of the lyrics below, but if REND as a band are new to you, a simple Google search will give you an insight into their music.

In my wrestling and in my doubts
In my failures You won't walk out
Your great love will lead me through
You are the peace in my troubled sea
You are the peace in my troubled sea

My Lighthouse, my lighthouse
Shining in the darkness, I will follow You
My Lighthouse, my Lighthouse
I will trust the promise,
You will carry me safe to shore
Safe to shore
Safe to shore
Safe to shore

A snapshot of our displays

As we enter the last week of this term I thought that it would be good to share some of the art work that is currently on display around the school.

Christingle and Christmas Journey

A time to travel and celebrate light

Today all the children were involved in our Christmas Journey. This involved each class meeting four characters from the Christmas story and hearing their story. Joseph shared his thoughts, Mary her experiences of the first Christmas, Shepherds and kings told their tale and the children reflected on the meaning of all these amazing events.

This was followed in the afternoon by our Christingle services in church. Every child had their own Christingle and our service focused on the symbolism of each aspect of this intriguing creation. A number of candles were lit and we took the time to pray for those in need of comfort and hope this Christmas.

Christmas part 2!

Yesterday saw the final performance of the KS1 Christmas nativity and it was yet again a wonderful experience. The 'awe and wonder' created by each classes performance was tangible in the room, they spoke, sang, danced and shared the Chrsitmas story with us in a way that would have melted even the resistance of Scrooge! 

I am sure that every parent and family member will have taken away one of those special moments that make Christmas in a primary school so special. The buzz at the end of the performance and the real sense that 'Christmas has really started now' was very evident. 

A big thank you to all the staff who work so hard and put so much creativity into these productions. they are all over for another year, but it never seems long before preparations begin for the next one!

Many thanks also to all who made donations to our charity appeal for the Children's Society, this is a charity that we support every year and one that makes a real difference to individual children's lives every day by seeking to share the light of God's love, that is at the centre of the Christmas story.

An angel appeared

Good news and great joy

As Advent gathers pace we have been reflecting in our assemblies and through our Christmas productions on the words that the angel brought to the shepherds on the hillsides around Bethlehem. Shepherds were not exactly the most important people in these times, they were on the fringes of society and yet it is to these potential outcasts that the angel comes. 

Luke 2:9-10 NIV

[9] An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. [10] But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.

For them the good news was something that they had been waiting to see fulfilled for many generations.  It is incredibly hard to even catch a glimpse of what this moment must have been like, they were clearly terrified, as I am sure we all would have been, and yet they received the good news and believed it, taking immediate action.

Luke 2:15 NIV

[15] When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

The words of the angel still ring true today 'do not fear for I bring you good news'. This is not the news of the tabloids or the instant streaming of the Internet, a story that is there in front of us one minute and then fades away to be forgotten.

Instead it is the same good news as it was when the angel first spoke. God reaching out to all of us, who ever we are, seeking to bring joy into our lives and proclaiming His love for us through the birth of His son, the Christ child. The one that Mary laid in a manager and that the shepherds sought out that night many years ago. 

Christmas at St. John's

A Christmas Nativity part 1

Today the children of Key Stage 1 yet again performed a magical Christmas nativity. Each class presented their own part of the story, with angels, wise men, camels, sheep, robins and even Elvis making an appearance! The creativity and imagination that the staff put into these productions each year is amazing. Although I must say that I think for some it is just an opportunity to relive their youth, the appearance of a Pet Shop Boys hit record in one of the presentations is surely testimony to this!

The story led us to the place of the first Nativity and in doing so allowed us to see afresh many aspects of the Christmas Journey. Well done to everyone, only one more performance to go!  

Rainbows Hospice Christmas concert

An evening of music and fundraising

Last night members of the school orchestra took part in the annual fundraising event for Rainbows, the hospice for children and young people. The event was a huge success with contributions from The Knighton Community Choir, local schools and the Rainbows Hospice Choir. The evening served to bring attention to and raise funds for this very important charity that makes a real difference in the lives of children, young people and their families.

The school orchestra's contribution to the evening consisted of Silent Night, Sad Movie, Tinga Layo as well as Broadway or Bust and Spy Movie 2. As ever the orchestra excelled itself and the children and their parents should be all proud of their performance. Many thanks to all the staff who supported the evening and for all the hard work put in by the school's musical director ( a title used on the night and rightfully deserved!) in continuing to inspire the children to perform at such a high level.

 

Light of the world

'Light of the world you stepped down into darkness, opened my eyes let me see.'

On the second Sunday of Advent it was a great pleasure to attend the 9:30am and 11am services at St John's church to share something about our vision for partnership between the school and church.

Light is such an important aspect of Advent, as we light a candle each Sunday we focus on the coming of the one that the bible describes as 'the light of the world.' His birth at Christmas was the fulfilment of God's promise made a long time before, but His light is something that is just as real and present this Christmas. For Christmas is only one part of the story, a story that draws to a conclusion in the resurrection of Jesus at Easter. The light that shines is not that of the past, the light from a star extinguished long ago. Instead Jesus, the light of the world, is alive and present today, the good news that the angels proclaimed to the shepherds is still good news today. The news of God's grace and love for each and everyone of us. 

The sharing of this grace and love is at the heart of the partnership between school and church, it is something we are called to share together and in doing so to proclaim the good news that 'Christ was born in Bethlehem.'

Today was a wonderful opportunity to begin to explore together how we develop this partnership. For those who were there, we won't be needing the map or the Sat Nav! Instead we need to seek to listen and to look, to hear what God is saying and to see what God is calling us to. Like the Magi, we are called to follow the light, but in this case not the star, but the light of the world himself. 

Stirring up

As the Christmas songs begin to resound through the walls of the hall, there is much that is familiar. In fact the majority of the songs I think I know every word to and possibly every mistake that has ever happened during the practice of them as well! Familiarity with the Christmas story can be a comfort, but also it can dull our thoughts, emotions and senses to the enormity of what we are really celebrating. 

The answer though is not to reinvent the story, or to make up a completely different one, but instead we need to be reminded of the impact that the first telling of this story would have had.

My daily reading for Advent brought this to my attention with these challenging words

‘What you and I need is not usually a brand-new teaching. Brand new truths are probably not truths. What we need are reminders about the greatness of the old truths. We need someone to say an old truth in a fresh way, or even just to speak truth.’

Sometimes to rediscover the greatness of these truths we need,as Peter states in 2 Peter 1:13, to have our sincere minds stirred up by way of reminder.

As we approach our nativity and Christmas plays next week and the week after, may they seek to ‘stir’ us up to ensure that the great truth of the familiar songs and story may not be forgotten this Advent.

The band in the garage!

Part two of out pioneer training saw the children being introduced to different aspects of Dropbox, but also the creativity of Garage Band. They had the opportunity to explore different instruments, how to record and place on the mixing panel, as well how to review and improve their creations. 

The opportunities for using this software to not just introduce composition skills, but also to provide a creative stimuli to go along side other learning is endless.

The silence in the room, apart from the noise of drum kits, electric guitars and keyboards was a testimony to the level of interest this particular package stirred up. I am sure that it will be a very popular download at home, if not already a well established APP.

Getting ready

It was a real joy today to spend time in our Foundation Stage classes. They are working hard on their part in our Christmas production and as ever it will be a very creative presentation. There is even a bit of eighties music in there somewhere! 

The children have been exploring the theme of winter through their various activities and they were very keen to share with me the things they had learnt. Although I am not sure that I enjoyed the moment when a small group came in from outside where they had been enjoying working with ice. They all seemed very keen to demonstrate to me how cold their hands where! 

As ever the foundation area is full of art work and collages that bring to mind the key aspects of the current theme the children are learning through and the excitement and anticipation that is all part of Advent is very clear to see in all areas. I look forward to my next visit.

A new Nativity scene

The school foyer is always a focus for reflection and interaction which the children always enjoy and participate in. This advent we have a new display that celebrates the story of Christmas.

This week in assemblies our theme is travelling, we are focusing on the journey of the Wise men or Magi as they might have been called. These men gave up the comforts of their homes to travel a great distance, following a star, to find the Christ child. They travelled in faith, there was no certainty about what they might find, although they believed personally that there was enough evidence to convince them to travel and follow the star. 

The recent production of 'The  Nativity' portrays these key characters in the Christmas story in a refreshing way, it's well worth a watch if it appears on our TV screens again this Christmas. The discussion and analysis of what they hope will come to pass is quite fascinating and shows the human aspect that any journey of faith involves. Faith, as the book of Hebrews tells us , is 'being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see'. The Wise men put their faith in the Christ child, but their discovery required a journey, one that was not always easy, one that certainly faced difficulties and opposition, one that they did not make alone, but a journey that was certainly made in faith. We do not have a star in the sky to lead us, but our journey of discovery requires the same faith, but also an awareness of the fact that we travel together, and it is this traveling together that certainly makes a difference.

ICT PIONEERS

Today we launched our first ICT pioneer training event. The vision for this is to train up a number of children in each year group to be able to confidently use our iPads and the software that we will be looking to use in school. The children learnt some housekeeping tips, explored the use of Simpleminds, a mind mapping tool, as well as considering how to use the school's Dropbox facility. 

Two children were chosen from each class and they will receive a number of training sessions over the coming weeks. The first session was certainly enjoyed and all the pioneers were keen to share their new found knowledge and skills.

Angels, decorations and the start of Advent

The school hall has once again been turned into a creative space, adorned with angels and stars. All the children have been working within their class groups to prepare borders and hoops to decorate the main hall. This year's theme builds on the role that angels and a star played in the Christmas story. Both serve to bring good news, both point towards the baby Jesus and both provide direction for those that seek to discover the truth of Christmas.