The Lord your God is with you

As we come to the end of our summer term, we will be focusing on the last part of Joshua 1 v 9, where God reminds His people that He is always with us. In fact it is for this reason that we should not be discouraged. Not an easy thing to achieve at times, but then I am sure that this is something that God understands. We only have to read the book of Psalms to see evidence of that!

In assembly today we thought about the fact that we can have confidence that God is with us even though we cannot see him.

We looked at Hebrews 11 v 1 where Paul tells his readers that faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Faith we considered, is trusting something beyond what we can prove with our intellect and senses, but it is also based on past experience or evidence. Not just our evidence or experience either, but those of others we know and who have walked the path of faith before us. In Joshua the people did not walk blindly in faith, they walked in full knowledge of the God who had proved Himself to be trustworthy and faithful to His promises.

Sometimes faith is tough, but it is always based on the confidence that God is always with us, even when we can't see him.

For our year 5 and year 6 leavers this is something that we hope they will take with them. That as they leave our school and begin new journeys  they can be confident that God is with them and because of this they will be

Strong and courageous

They will not be frightened or dismayed

For the Lord their GOD will be with them where ever they go.

Birds of prey and a few other things in year 1

Following on from the birds of prey visit some of the children in year 1 have been finding out about the similarities and differences between Andean Condors and Marabou Storks. We then talked about what Andean Condors look like and made some models of them.

Year 1 visited St John's church as part of their RE topic on Christianity. The children looked around for crosses, objects with St John The Baptist on them, patterns and something which they thought was beautiful. The children took their own photographs using the iPads and then made leaflets about St John the Baptist Church.

 

 
 

Redwings and Ladybirds go 3D!

Redwings & Ladybirds have been learning about 3D shapes. Our model lasted for 3 days until it was accidentally knocked down!

All in a game of tennis

Yesterdays KS1 assembly saw myself and another member of staff attempting to show off our tennis skills; sadly we didn't seem to have any!

 

Despite our best efforts we became very discouraged and despondent, until the children began to offer us advice and even a bit of personal coaching.

What a difference this, along with all the encouragement the children gave us, made! We even managed a short rally by the end of the assembly!

 

Our closing song was one of our favourites - Shine from the inside out!

 

The words remind us that the way we relate to others and treat them is key to God's call to love our friends and neighbours. In fact our daily choices about how we encourage, value and respect others are a clear sign of God's love at work in us.

 

As the words of our song says:

Shine from the inside out, so the world will know you live in us!

 

Children in KS1 certainly shone today!

Around the school this week

As our year 6 leavers prepare for their end of year performance, the programme design competition is well under way as you can see below. In addition Year 4 have been using their artistic talents to support their topic on Japan and our assembly focus is brought to life with our ' bag of worries' display that encourages us not to be discouraged!

 

 

Celebrations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week we have seen the celebration of both the school's musical and sporting abilities.

Wednesday night's Summer concert was a huge success with children from across KS2 involved in many different ways.  The standard of performance was excellent and the breadth of musical talent on show was stunning. From children in year 3 to our year 6 leavers, the audience were entertained by woodwind, brass, string, percussion and voice, as well as some Strictly Come dancing demonstrations by class 3B.

In addition we were treated to the musical talents of St James the Greater Church choir who brought a very different, but wonderful dimension to the music of the evening.

All of this came about due to the hard work and creativity of many staff, who have worked so hard over the year with all the children to bring this to fruition.  A wonderful summer evening that I am sure will live long in our memories.

 

 

In addition on the same day our year 3 and 4 children’s athletics team carried away the champions trophy from the West Leicestershire games. A fantastic sporting achievement and an amazing trophy to somehow fit into our cabinet. All the children involved should be very proud of their achievement and their attitude and conduct  throughout the day.

 

 

St John the Baptist Day service

It was great to be able to celebrate St John the Baptist Day over at church this morning. All classes were able to attend and partake in the service and it was wonderful to be joined by parents and other family members as well.

Our service reflected on the life and purpose of John and how he was a messenger who God sent to point people towards Jesus. His lifestyle was rather interesting and his choice of food and clothing maybe not one that we would wish to follow. However his message was clear and he was instrumental in the early part of Jesus' ministry.

As ever our service was fun and interactive with different classes leading us in prayer and sharing readings from the bible. At one point some of the children even got to experience a little of the way John baptised - by being showered with water.

Joe Homan Charity

Every year we raise money to support the Joe Homan charity in Indian. We currently sponsor a young boy called Santosh and it was with great pleasure that we welcomed Mr Bowman from the charity to our whole school assembly on Friday.

Mr Bowman was able to tell us about the work of the charity, show us pictures of his recent visit and share with us a video of Santosh and his family.

The charity has just celebrated its fiftieth year and has made a real difference to the lives of many boys over these years. A real example of making a difference together!

Falconry experience

Year one were delighted today to have a group of very special visitors from Kinder Falconry. They saw talons, learnt about different owl eyes ( day and night hunters) and got to touch some of the birds if they wanted to.

 

Great to have our visitors again as it is always a highlight of the year.

A look inside Foundation stage

As ever our foundation stage is a hive of creativity and artistic talent, all inspired by the curriculum, their topic on the seaside, as well as their recent visits to the farm! Also great to see Robin Hood and his merry men making an appearance!

Artisitc talent on show

A walk around the school demonstrates the great range of artistic talent that is evident in each year group.

Lots of different styles and approaches to composition, as well as techniques and materials, all demonstrating fantastic curriculum links and  work inspired by great artists.

Spiders web - a testimony to freindship

Links to the fantastic story of Charlotte's web have appeared in year 4 and in the corridor. A wonderful story of friendship that has been woven into the class curriculum. All providing a very close link with our recent focus on love and hope. Friendship is so important to all of us, it is an outworking of love and it certainly brings hope!

As it says in Ecclesiastes 4:9 - 10

 

⁹ Two are better than one,
    because they have a good return for their labor:
¹⁰ If either of them falls down,
    one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
    and has no one to help them up.

Though one may be overpowered,
    two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken

 

 

 

 

A baby in the bulrushes

Monday's KS1 assembly started with a Head Teacher holding a baby and trying to sing it to sleep with the classic song 'the animals went in two by two' ! Lots of personal memories came flooding back to me in that piece of acting!

Not a real baby of course, but it certainly entertained the children and allowed us to begin to think about the next part of our theme on COURAGE.

The story of Moses' discovery in the bulrushes and his adoption by the Pharaoh's daughter is a very famous bible story, captured so well in the film ' The Prince of Egypt'. But it is also a story of great courage and confidence in God, as demonstrated by Moses' mother.

Of course, I'm sure she never realised, or thought that he would turn out to be a great leader of Israel who would actually challenge the household he was brought up in. But her faith in God's provision for her child, was used by God to bring His people out of slavery.

Faith is at times quite scary, especially when we face something new or unknown, but we do so in the knowledge that God is with us and that he can always see a bigger picture than we can.

Our assembly song reminded us of the fact that God is real and present in our lives and the last time we repeated it, it was so loud I think the whole school will have heard us proclaim that God is not dead, but well and truly alive!

God's not dead - No He is alive

God's not dead - No, He is alive

God's not dead - No , He is alive

He is alive in me

Feel Him in my heart

Feel Him in my feet

Feel Him in my soul

Feel Him all over me

An old, classic song, but one that can still be performed with enthusiasm!

A group of spies

In assembly today we considered the story of Joshua and the spies that were sent into a strange land to find out more information.

This must have been a very dangerous mission, quite 'Impossible' possibly!

Our illustration of this used a few spies, cool sunglasses and hats and of course the theme music to Mission Impossible.

In Joshua 1:9 God commands His people to have courage and not to be afraid, not always the easiest thing to do, but knowing the God is with us makes a significant difference.

We have adapted the words of Joshua 1:9 and put actions to them. As a whole school we have then joined together to proclaim the words that God spoke to Joshua.

 

 

Have I not commanded you?

Be strong ( SHOW YOUR MUSCLES!) and courageous ( ARRGGHH!)

Do not be frightened (SCREAM!!)

Do not be dismayed ( NO WAY!)

For the Lord your God is with you

wherever you go.

 

The scream was so loud maybe you heard us ?



Class 5W assembly

A truly magnificent retelling of a classic Greek tale was the focus of 5W's class assembly today. The children produced their own script, costumes and props as well as choosing a few well timed sound effects. The end result was certainly a classic!

The story focused on the tale of King Atticus  and his two children Atticus and Iona, and the quest that they were set by their father to decide who would rule after him. Initially the story is one of deception and rivalry, but it ends with forgiveness and the restoration of a relationship.

The assembly was thoroughly enjoyed by the whole school and it is one that will be remembered for a long time to come! Well done 5W!

Sacrewell Farm Visit

This week Foundation stage made the most of the weather and enjoyed a brilliant time at Sacrewell farm near Peterborough.



The children had the opportunity to see and learn about a wide range of animals, have a tractor ride and enjoy the opportunity to explore a wonderful farm. Packed lunches were enjoyed as well but none had anything as creative as this tractor!

Great fun was had by all and just like the pig below all (staff included) were ready for a sleep on their return!