The wonders of technology

In KS1 children have been using our ICT resources in various ways to learn and to express themselves. Some wonderful butterflies have been the result, as well as lots of learning about other countries and phonics.

No place like home

Foundation stage are currently enjoying the theme of 'homes' and it was great to see how many creative ways they have adapted this into their learning. Lots of outdoor links and a great willingness to share their thoughts and experiences.

Sharing God's peace

This week in assemblies, we will be considering how we share God's peace with each other. In the sermon on the Mount, Jesus says 'blessed are the peace makers for they will be called children of God.' It would seem that being one who shares and brings peace is a very clear sign that we understand how God calls us to live together and how we outwork His love for us and the love He calls us to share with others.

Sharing peace is something that can be done in so many ways. The prayer of St Francis of Assisi that we considered last week, gives us many practical ways in which we can be peace makers. It would seem that at times we see peace as something that is about relationships between countries and warring nations. But St Francis seems to see it as something that everyone can be involved in, that our individual decisions and actions can bring peace or bring division. That if we focus on the small things, big things can happen.  A few months ago we focused on 'random acts of kindness' as a school, St Francis challenges us not to be random but to be consistent. That surely is one way to bring peace? 

As we move towards harvest festival time, we will be considering as a school how our actions can make a difference in other people's lives by sharing what we have. For those on the receiving end of this generosity, the receiving of such a gift is one practical way that peace in some form can be brought into other people's lives. 

To be or not to be

As a school we have been offered a fantastic opportunity to perform at the Curve as part of the School's Shakespeare festival. A wonderful opportunity for all that will be involved.

So on Friday, an intrepid band of troubadours came together to begin the process of performing an abridged version of Romeo and Juliet. We had a great afternoon considering the structure of the play, its main characters and their roles, as well as the main themes that the play considers. We also did some improvisation scenes to get us into the mood for performing on stage. 

The atmosphere and positive collaboration in the group was great to see, very much a 'all for one' and 'one for all' approach to the first session. 

As we move towards our performance in November we will map our journey via the lighthouse blog!

A cake for assembly

Today we had a fun time when the Vicar of St John's, our partner church, took one of his regular KS2 assemblies.

He decided to make a cake for a friend who was feeling a little sad. Great idea one might think, until you consider what he put into it!

Now the beans and the tomato sauce wasn't too bad. As for the sugar and the flour - well that was ok. But the Flash and the washing up liquid... well things were starting to get a little weird! The end result - well not sure I would eat it!

The point? Well prayer is about communicating with God, it's about bringing our needs and our concerns to him as well as other things.

Jesus makes it very clear that God is one that loves us and cares for us - so if we ask for something he is only going to give us what is good for us. So no way would God be giving us a cake like that!

So we paused for thought - to reflect on the great truth that God loves all of us and that we can be confident that he hears our prayers and responds to them out of the great love he has for us.