Patience - what is it really all about?

Our focus for assemblies this week is the first attribute of love that Paul describes; patience.

It's interesting how easy it is not to be patient, in a world full of fast food, instant downloads and the ability to communicate across the world curtesy of modern technology. The concept of patience and the association with waiting that is almost integral to this aspect of love being put into practice, seems to be almost a forgotten virtue.

Yet there are times when we have to wait, but this doesn't mean that we are patient in the waiting. The traffic snarls to a halt and the horn is so easily reached for. The response when the Internet slows down and the web page seems to take forever to load. Waiting in a queue for the shops to open, at the supermarket or even to get into the school hall for lunch  All of these frequently test our ability to wait and demonstrate just how patient we are.

Joyce Meyer sums this up wonderfully with her quote " Patience is not the ability to wait, but how you act while waiting." Maybe Paul deliberately put this at the front of his list of what love is, for it is something that we all seem to struggle with at times and yet if we exercise true patience and demonstrate this through the way we act towards ourselves and others whilst we wait: What a difference it might make!

A thought for the day

It has always struck me that there are certain people who have a way of getting to the heart of big questions. Nelson Mandela, for me, was one of those people. His life was a testimony to the many things that 1 Corinthians 13 talks about and if you have ever come across some of the quotes from his speeches and writings you can see even further evidence of this.

' Long walk to freedom,' as a film and a book, made a significant impression on me and Nelson Mandela has been a regular feature in my assemblies over the years. His commitment to diversity and unity at such personal cost is something that should always be an inspiration and something that must never be forgotten. For this reason he will continue to be a part of our school's on going reflection on how those in the past can inspire us to make a difference today.

 If you are short of a ‘thought for the day’ his quotes are certainly worth a few moments reflection.

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”


“The greatest glory in living
lies not in never falling,
but in rising every time we fall.”


“As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison.”

ICT Pioneers - the quest continues

Our ICT Pioneers engaged in another afternoon of training yesterday, getting to grips with some of the more common software we are using on our IPADs. The training certainly equipped them to support their individual classes, giving them the knowledge and confidence to trouble shoot, advise and even point the class teacher in the right direction!

It has been great to see the different ways in which this technology is being used to support and enhance learning in the classroom and we are looking to build on this over the coming weeks by expanding the range of APPs that we are using.

This initiative has certainly been well received and I even understand that some of their skills are being cascaded to other family members as well.

We will be continuing this training for another three weeks and then will be offering the opportunity to different children as well as rolling this out to year 3.

Mathematical success

Congratulations to our team of young Mathematicians from year 6 who were presented in assembly today with their regional winners trophy. An excellent achievement and one that brought them very close to attending the national final.

The team were praised for their confidence, articulation and ability to work together to solve what were very challenging mathematical problems. 

Another trophy for the school's cabinet and a just reward for the team's commitment and hard work!

Forest school development

So what is the Forest School approach  all about ? 

Well the philosophy is to encourage and inspire individuals of any age through an innovative, long term, educational approach to outdoor play and learning in a woodland environment. 

We are very fortunate at St John's to have wonderful school grounds that include a nature trail, woodland areas and plenty of open space and it is for this reason that we have embraced the concept of Forest Schools this year. We have also made a number of changes to our nature areas and we are currently working on developing a more robust access route to the main wooded area.

The Forest school approach has been a fantastic hit with all the children that have taken part so far and we are grateful for the financial commitment that the school's PTFA provided to allow this to take place. 

We are currently looking to embed this into our curriculum to provide this opportunity for years to come and at the same time are carrying out a review of the other nature areas that we have in school. 

All of which will provide more opportunities for engaging with our local environment!