Hello everyone,

I hope that you are all well and keeping safe.

What a busy term it has been! The children have been working hard on their ‘God Matters’ curriculum learning for Revelations and Lent. We have reflected upon the Light of the World and how He sacrificed His life to save us from sins. In particular, we have been thinking carefully about our Lenten promises and how we can “Pray, Fast and Give” during this challenging time in the Liturgical Calendar – please see a photo from our school foyer display, below. For example, we would like to thank all of our students and their families for the generous donations that have been made recently, to support the many families who are suffering in Ukraine.

Recently, we have celebrated Diversity Week as a whole school community, studying and exploring in further depth the following faiths: Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism. The children have had a fantastic time investigating and learning more about each religion, drawing comparisons between these faiths and how prayer and worship takes place in Christianity. Year 2-4 have enjoyed taking part in Jewish Workshops with Rabbi Svi – we turned the Unity building into a Synagogue and explored many items of worship as part of an engaging and interactive Q&A session (photos from Year 3 and 4, below). Years 5 and 6 also joined Rabbi Svi through Virtual workshops, learning lots of new facts and information about Jersualem, the Bible and the links between both the Jewish and Christian faiths (photo collage from Year 5, below).

As part of our Diversity learning, the children have also enjoyed taking part in a variety of creative Art workshops with Mrs Pearon, in order to explore these four faiths. In EYFS, the children took part in a Holi Festival of Colour for Spring, then created their own Kalgi Turbans as part of their learning on Sikhism. Year 1 explored Islam in more detail by creating their very own prayer mats using felt shapes. Rangoli sand patterns were created by Year 2 when they studied Hinduism, whilst Year 3 made their own Star of David models and Hanukkah candles using craft skills. Year 4 explored the story, ‘Four Feet and Two Sandals’ to create their own pairs of sandals which they gifted to one another. Meanwhile, it was great to see that Year 5 enjoyed creating and decorating intricate designs for their elephant crafts, whilst learning about Hinduism. Year 6 continued their studies on Judaism by exploring the meaning of ‘Shalom’ and how this could be represented in various ways through Art. Please see below for a selection of photos and displays that showcase the fantastic projects created by the children during the Diversity Art workshops.

As we near closer to Easter, the children have been exploring a wide range of Whole School events including ‘Passion Plays’ led by Year 5 and a ‘Lenten Day of Reflection’ on Tuesday 5th April 2022, whereby each class travelled to various points around the school to spend time at prayer stations that enabled them to reflect on the events leading up to Good Friday and the Resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday.

I would like to end today’s blog post with the following prayer.

We pray for the Church throughout the world: that we may follow Jesus’ example and show understanding and forgiveness to all people.

Lord, in your mercy…  

We pray for all people throughout the world: that we may treat one another with love, respect and fairness so that everyone has an equal chance in life. 

Lord, in your mercy… 

We pray for our parish, our family and our friends: that we may always try our best to do what is right, so that the world becomes a fairer place for all to live.

Lord, in your mercy…  

God of love, you forgive us when we go wrong, and encourage us to try again to be better. Guide us to do what is right and to make this world a fairer place for all who live in it. 

Amen. 

I wish you all a pleasant and restful Easter break, and look forward to seeing you all again in the Summer Term.

Best wishes,

Miss Honeywell