Change is in the air

Despite the wind and rain, it would seem that nature is preparing itself to burst forth once again. The buds on the trees are beginning to become more evident and the blossom is a warming sight on a wet and blustery day. 

It struck me the other day how easy it can be to miss things at times. The subtle changes in nature around us in particular. One day there are no leaves on the trees and the next they are covered. So how did that happen? The pace of life is so quick, things get taken for granted. We filter information and experiences and suddenly wonder where time is gone. The slow yet deliberate unfurling of new leaves on the trees is amazing to watch, but it takes time to notice such things.

Just like the Easter story. We know it so well, the events and the main characters, the twists and the turns. But then suddenly it is Easter Sunday and we move on with summer firmly fixed in our minds and the chance to see anew the familiar Easter story passed us by once again.

So I have decided to try something different over the next few days. To read the familiar bible passages and to seek to notice things I have not picked up on before. Strangely on first read, the reality hits me that the story has become too familiar. So with a few days to go to Good Friday, I find myself drawn back to the need to see things anew and it's amazing how refreshing, challenging and thought provoking it is.

Around the school this week

Year 4 have been producing some excellent newspaper articles and Easter cards and there is also a wonderful new piece of art work produced by some of our year 6 students. This will take pride of place on the back of the KS1 piano

 

Easter egg hunt

Many thanks to the PTFA for organising today's Easter Egg hunt. Each class took part in wonderful sunshine, enjoying the challenge of finding the eggs as well as taking time to enjoy the refreshments on offer ( which includes the PTFA helpers!)

Kingswood 2

After a great visit to Wells beach on Wednesday the weather turned very wet on our year 6 children at Kingswood yesterday, but they still managed to enjoy the challenges of the day.

After a good nights sleep they found themselves facing the challenges of the wall, archery, the wonders of nightline and a huge Twister board to name a few.

Today though, the sun is shinning on them as they finish their expedition and head back to Leicester ready for the break and much needed sleep.





The big question's will remain though - has the flannel actually been used, was the suitcase unpacked at all and are they really wearing the same socks as Wednesday morning!

Easter reflections

This week we have been considering the fact that the Easter story is really a story full of surprises or maybe even a tale of the unexpected!

 

From the time that Jesus rode into Jerusalem until the unexpected event on the road to Emmaus, things never really turned out as people might have expected. The twists and turns in the story, the excitement and the disappointment, the fear and rejoicing, the questions and the unexpected answers.

 

All of these make the Easter story a roller coaster of a ride, a story that has so many central themes, but one clear message, that love is about forgiveness and forgiveness is God’s love in action, reaching out to the world that he created. As 1 John 3:16 so boldly proclaims, for God so loved the world that he gave his only son Jesus to bring reconciliation and hope, something that our world continues to need now as much as it did on that first Easter Sunday. 

 

Our Easter blessing reminds us of God's call to all of us to live out the love and forgiveness that the Easter story is so clearly about.

 

 

May the loving power of God,

which raised Jesus to new life,

strengthen us in hope,

enrich us in love,

and inspire us in faith;

So that we can make a difference together.

 

 

Easter Gardens

Year 1 have produced some fantastic Easter Gardens as part of their homework last week. The corridors are filled with individual interpretations of the garden that plays should a pivotal role in the Easter story.








 
 
 
 






A garden that started as a scene of great sadness, a grave and a tomb with a stone rolled in front of it. But ended with surprise and joy as the disciples and Mary discovered an empty grave and an angel proclaiming that Jesus was alive.

The final twist in a story that has continued to challenge people over the centuries to answer the question, ' who was this man that rode into Jerusalem'?

Year 2 explore Vincent van Gogh

Some wonderful art work has appeared in year 2 based on their study of a very famous painting by Vincent van Gogh, the classic The Starry Night painted in 1889.

I am sure you will agree that they have really caught the style and atmosphere of this picture.

 Now all we need to add is a little music from Don Maclean and the year 2 classrooms will really be celebrating the life and times of such an inspirational artist!

Year 6 visit to Kingswood

Our year 6 children left for their three day residential today to Norfolk. Lots of excitement and chatter in the hall as they gathered ready for the bus.








As usual we ensured that they had with them the real essentials - the legendary sick bucket!

The three day residential involves them taking part in a range of outdoor activities that include climbing, Go Karting, Zip Wire as well as the 'leap of faith!'

In addition they will also face the challenge of how to put a duvet cover on a duvet, keeping their dorm tidy and being asleep by 10pm!



Although from the picture below some had already decided to get some early sleep ready for the arduous challenges of the days that lay ahead!

Towards Jerusalem he turned

On Wednesday in our KS1 assembly we considered what it must have been like to have been in the crowd the day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem. We considered the emotions and the excitement, the stories that would have been circulating the crowd and their response to the man that rode into Jerusalem.

 

One of the questions that must have been raised was who really was this man? The crowd would have heard of his miracles and teaching, some may even have seen him or heard him. Some in fact might actually have been related to those he had healed, those whose lives he changed for ever.  But the symbolism in the way he was greeted as he came into Jerusalem, seemed to suggest that the crowd had already made up its mind. Their welcome was traditionally reserved for a king, a conqueror, a hero who was returning to his city. The shouts and cries of the crowd, the palm branches and the euphoria where all part of this.

 

But as the Easter story unfurls it seems that they did not get what they expected, the man they welcomed was clearly not a king in the earthly sense. But in many ways this probably only raised the same question again. If he was not an earthly king, then who was this Jesus, who turned and rode towards Jerusalem?

 

This question will be the focus of our assemblies this coming week. For it is a question that is central to the Easter story. Throughout the Gospel accounts of the events that led up to Good Friday this question is asked time and time again. Who is this man?

 

Dave Godfrey in one of his many excellent songs, frames this question really well and I will be introducing this song to the children this week.

 

What kind of man is this, who taught in Galilee
Who stilled the raging storm, and calmed the angry sea?
What kind of man is this, who healed the blind and lame
Gave the poor new hope, the girl her life again?...

Experiencing the eclipse.

Today we all experienced the solar eclipse via live web cam feeds in the classrooms, the use of pin hole cameras and just by being still and quiet outside to notice the changes in the atmosphere around us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The event has produced much excitement and certainly led to many opportunities to develop children’s knowledge and understanding of our solar system. This has included a greater understanding of the difference between an eclipse and a ellipse and many other different interpretations and understandings as well!

Year 5 sell chocolate!

As part of their year 5 topic on chocolate both classes made a range of different sweets and sold them today during break time.

 

The range of products on sale would have done Cadbury's proud. Lots of imaginative ideas, some brilliant packaging designs and all priced in such a way as to draw a large crowd.

 

The presentation and selling skills of both classes was really impressive, I certainly spent far more than I initially intended to!

The money will be used to fund a creative curriculum event towards the end of the term.

Well done to everyone! A great event that really brought the year group focus on chocolate to a scrumptious end!

Around our school this week

Lots of new displays have been produced over the last two weeks as we move towards the Easter break. There is so much creativity and talent to be seen around the school that it is a real pleasure to showcase it on our blog.

There is also a very interesting creature enjoying the delights of our Foundation stage!

 

The rainforest takes over



 Year 1 have been finding out about the rainforest and have used this as an inspiration for some creative construction work. The display in the corridor is full of wonderful art work and 3d representations of their own tree houses.

This built really well on their Forest School's work yesterday when they were building shelters for real!

Year 1 enjoy the forest school experience

Over the past few weeks year 1 children have been enjoying learning a range of different skills through our Forest School's programme. This has been a highlight of the year for all the classes that have taken part so far and it would seem that year one are no different from everyone else.

Today they had the opportunity to work in teams to build fires, using just the resources available in the grounds and a traditional flint stone. The partnership working was very successful and the end result was worth all the hard work and communication. 

The only thing missing it would seem was the marshmallows!

A rather unusual visitor

Today the year 2 children had a very special visit from Leicester Hedgehog Rescue as part of their current topic on 'NIGHT'.

This is always a very popular visit and it provides the children with lots of specialist knowledge about the life of a hedgehog and brings them up close to what is a fascinating creature.

Lots to talk about and follow up in class.

The children certainly enjoyed the afternoon, but as for the hedgehog's well we are not sure what they made of us!

Netball success celebrated!

Our school netball team continued its excellent season with another tournament success. 

Their report was shared in the school newsletter as follows:

On Wednesday 4th March, St John’s Netball Team participated in a tournament at Samworth Academy. Five other teams also played in this tournament including: Samworth Academy, Holy Cross, Overdale, St Thomas More and Parks Primary.

Starting with our first game against Samworth Academy, we won 2-0. The next game was against Holy Cross, when we scored an amazing 4-0 to us, after the match against Holy Cross, we then played Overdale and once again we won 3-1.

The penultimate match against St Thomas More was tricky but we won closely with 3-2. Our final match was against parks Primary and we had a 2-0 win, meaning that after five matches we had won all of them!

Congratulations to the team and their coaches!

To follow the crowd or to do what is right?

In our year 6 assembly this morning we thought about the challenges that come our way when we are faced with decisions about how to behave or respond in a given situation. Interestingly our friends came up as one the biggest influences on the choices that we make. 'Peer pressure' was the word used to describe this and as we discussed this we agreed that this pressure didn't just come from our friends but from the world around us as a whole.

The pressure to conform, the pressure to go with the flow, to follow the example of others. The pressure to not stand out or to be different, to be influenced by the media and the need to find approval from others. All of these influence us.

In the crowd that welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem, there were I am sure, some who just came along to see what was happening, maybe unclear of who this Jesus was. But I wonder how many were drawn into the celebrations, caught up in the euphoria of the moment and suddenly found themselves waving palm branches and shouting hosanna?

Likewise I am sure there were those who were part of a very different crowd that gathered before Pilate. Those who did not wish to see Jesus crucified and yet were either drawn into the shouts of 'crucify' and 'Barabbas' or were too intimidated by the animosity in the crowd to do anything but just keep quiet.

We all have choices to make and they are, at times difficult and challenging. One leadership Guru urges managers to 'keep the big picture in mind' when making decisions however difficult or unpopular they might be.

Jesus himself had to make a decision as he gathered with his disciples outside the walls of Jerusalem. To turn away and not enter the City or to push on towards a ' bigger picture' that he knew would bring his suffering and death.

As we approach our Easter assemblies and creative activities we will be considering what this 'bigger picture' was and why Jesus chose to ride into Jerusalem. We will also be considering the daily challenges that we face everyday to make the right decision and not just to 'go with the crowd.'

A visit to St John's Church

It gave me great pleasure to once again be invited to be part of the morning services at St John's church on Sunday 8th March. This is a very special part of our partnership and demonstrates the integrated way in both church and school can serve each other.

It was equally great to see children who attend both the school and the church join me in leading worship and in presenting the reading for the day in a dramatic and modern setting. Our Rend Collective song 'burn like a star' was clearly enjoyed and the introduction of the plastic guitars brought a whole new meaning to lively and engaging worship! Not sure the congregation were expecting such an active work out so early in the morning!

Both services focused around the identity and value that is to be found in our relationship with God. We considered the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax collector, noting how the Pharisee in the parable based his value and relationship with God on his own achievements. The use of the capital I in his speech, clearly drove home the point about what mattered to him. 

However, for the Tax Collector we saw that he looked to God's mercy as the way to establishing his identity and value. His approach meant that his faith focused on the love, grace and mercy of God and not on his own achievements. 

The parable raised questions for us about how we view our own identity and value. Are we dependent on our own success, the views of others and our own views of ourself to bring significance and value to our lives? Or are we able to rest in the knowledge that we are loved and accepted simply because God created us, loves us and has redeemed us through Christ?

The first is certainly a transient way to establish identity and value, whilst the second is as Jesus says, a rock that is unmovable and will stand the test of anything that comes against it. 

Something that left us all thinking about where we really find our true identity and value and how easily God can be pushed to the side lines and his truth and promises so easily lost in the business of life.

"Be still and know that I am" God the psalmist says.

Sunday was a good time to be still and remind ourselves of where our true identity and value really lies. 

IT Pioneers - the quest continues

Thursday saw Year 3 undertake their second round of  IT training, equipping themselves to support their peers and the teaching staff across their year group

The session was packed with hints on keyboard shortcuts, trouble shooting airplane mode, saving work to folders and an introduction to Dropbox. Esafety principles when searching the Internet were revisited and an understanding of image rights also helped the children to consider how to use images published on the web. All this was linked to our World Book Day celebrations, a very creative approach to linking the learning experienced today. 

Even after the first week it has been clear to see the impact of this work and this approach will be an ongoing aspect of our IT strategy.  Many things learnt and clearly there is an appetite for more next week!

Actions and words.

In our Key Stage one assembly on Wednesday we considered what it means to protect, hope, trust and persevere. Challenging words maybe for our younger classes and so we added in a few actions and words to make the key ideas come to life.

For protect we picked up on the Old Testament imagery of God as our rock and our shield and thought about how love always seeks to protect and provide support.

For trust, we spelt out the word itself in single letters and punched the air at the end.

For hope we considered how this is something that wants things to be better. Hope looks at how things are now and seeks to make a difference. To support this we came up with the line - You got to hold on. This was emphasised by focusing on drawing out the word hold and rolling our heads in a circle, great fun!

Finally for perseverance we linked to the idea that we need to keep on going, so running on the spot was an obvious action for this.

Great fun having nearly 200 children being involved at the same time!

The challenge at the end of the assembly, take the ideas home and see if you can get Mum and Dad involved!  

Now that might require some perseverance!