Church & Worship

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Our Christian Ethos
A Christian School
Collective Worship
Worship Diary
Reflection Rangers
Policies
Prayer Groups

Our Christian Ethos

We work closely with our local and associated church, St Thomas a Becket as well as with our local community. We value the contribution that everyone makes to school life, placing importance on the welfare of individuals. It is our aim that at the end of our pupils’ time at Northaw Church of England School they will have developed a sense of achievement and self-esteem as a result of their experiences here and will leave us for their secondary school, happy, effective learners, with a positive attitude to life long learning.

We have an Ethos group who are representatives of the Governing Body and school staff. For more information please click here.

For our RE policy please click here.

A Christian school

The school’s aims form its objectives both in relationships and through the curriculum. Whilst we have a Christian foundation, our school is not merely a school for Christians and we welcome children from other religious denominations, faiths and world views.

We are proud of our strong links to St Thomas a Becket Church and with our Vicar Reverend Christopher Kilgour, who spends much time working with the Head Teacher, the teachers and the children of our school and who is a member of our Governing Body. In the context of this, all children will receive teaching in Religious Education which, whilst having a multi-cultural element, which will be based on the beliefs of the Church of England.

Theology and philosophy are explored through a range of faiths and worldviews. We build on our understanding and interpretations as we grow and learn throughout the school and the children learn through an enquiry based approach using 'ultimate questions' and philosophical debate as a foundation.

Collective worship

Worship in our school is inspirational and uplifting with carefully planned themes based firmly on the Bible and Christian values. Revd. Kilgour, the Head Teacher and all staff are keen to ensure pupils have a meaningful experience where God, Jesus and the Trinitarian nature of Christianity is at the heart of worship. Prayer and reflection are central to the experience of our collective worships and in addition pupils are offered a deeper and more personal experience in class through teaching, discussion and further reflection. Consequently, our pupils talk articulately, confidently and enthusiastically about their beliefs and ideas about faith.

For our Collective Worship policy please click here.

Worship diary

22nd February 2021

This half term’s Christian value is Justice. The children will be learning about Lent. At Northaw, we always think about ‘Giving Back for Lent’. I think that this is even more relevant in today’s climate.

Our acrostic prayer this week is about Justice:

Judging what is right

Understanding what is fair

Standing up for those who need help

Trying to listen to both sides

Informed and wise decisions

Caring enough to take action

Equal opportunities for all.

8th February 2021

There were several Bible stories used last week to exemplify our Christian value of perseverance. One such story was about Job, there is so much to learn from Job. He was faithful no matter what happened to him. In the end, God eventually intervenes, commanding Job to be brave and explains various detailed features of his creation.

Overcome by the appearance of God, Job recognizes God’s infinite power and accepts the constraints of his human understanding. God restores Job’s health, granting him twice as much property as before, new children, and a remarkably long life. In the end Job never completely gave up hope or faith in God as an inspiration to everyone enduring suffering of their own.

1st February 2021

WORSHIP last week was based on perseverance in connection with animals.

We set the scene at the beginning of the week with the Parable of the Lost Sheep; a story told by Jesus to His followers. It appears in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.

It is about a shepherd who leaves his flock of ninety-nine sheep in order to find the one which is lost. The children reflected on the meaning of the parable and felt that God made everyone on the earth and that each and every person is important to Him.

25th January 2021

Worship last week was based on The Unjust Judge (Luke 18.1-8). The main element of this parable is that God loves us and wants to bless us with wonderful things. Not only that, but we are His children and should talk to Him at all times, whether asking for something or not. We can be assured that God hears our prayers and that He is a good father.

The children were also invited to look at the story of Piper, the bird which gets swept away by the tide but perseveres. This is an inspiring story that shows children that you needs to be resilient through harsh waters that you can come out with something that you didn’t expect. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPuRBiBCxyk

18th January 2021

Worship last week focused on ‘The Flight to Egypt’ for Jesus and his family (Matthew 2. 13-15) and the plight of refugees in today’s world. We are so lucky that we have homes and families.

This video highlights the questions that children ask of refugee children. If you get a moment take a look; it certainly makes me feel grateful for what I have.

11th January 2021

In worship this half term we will be looking at the Christian value of perseverance and boy do we need some of that at the moment!

Last week we not only looked at the Bible passage in Hebrews …but we also watched the video of Derek Redmond in the 1992 Olympics.

Please see a summary of the Derek Redmond story in our weekly newsletter.

It is what our Bible lesson is about. It teaches us that life is like a race that has been set before us. We may struggle and face many obstacles, but we have a great crowd of witnesses who are cheering us on. We have a Heavenly Father who loves us and will help us when the pain is too great. We have a Saviour, who left his place in heaven and came to earth to show us how to run the race. If we will keep our eyes on him, how can we help but finish the race?

7th December 2020

Worship last week focused on lighting the first Advent candle and the story of the Angel Gabriel appearing to Mary. The children’s responses to how Mary might have felt were very thoughtful and their participation in discussion is always respectful. Last week they gave some very reflective answers as to why God chose Mary.

If you haven’t seen the film The Star, enjoy some family time and this very beautiful example of the Christmas story.

30th November 2020

Last week the children and I enjoyed sharing the story of the Centurion. We discussed how Jesus needed to trust the Centurion and that the Centurion needed to trust Jesus! The servant, who was ill, needed to trust both of them. We also talked about religion, belief and faith; the children were asked if they were different!

Trudy and I were also discussing the gift of ‘time’. An excerpt from “Devos for teens” reads:

The exciting (and frightening) thing about time is the fact that it’s continually moving forward. We can’t recall it. Once you’ve spent time doing something, you can’t change your mind and undo the time you’ve already spent.

That makes time the most precious gift you can ever give. Think about it. When you give someone your time, you’re giving them something that can never be replaced, given back, or exchanged. Time is a precious commodity; the time you spend on this particular day you’ll never get back.

23rd November 2020

Last week in worship we talked about putting our trust in God. The children heard the story of how God protected the Israelites on their long journey. We talked about Psalm 121- trusting in God’s protection

1. Even when it’s hard, trust in God.

2. God is stronger than any problem.

3. God promises to protect us.

16th November 2020

Worship last week focused on Remembrance and trusting people who help us. It was great that we were able to commemorate Armistice Day with a visit to the War memorial and a short service led by Revd. Chris. The classes made poppy wreaths to recognise the occasion. We were also able to sell poppies and other Royal British Legion items in school as a separate box was provided for each class.

This week we are focusing on personal prayers; if your children would like to write a prayer and would like to share it with us in school, please email it to Trudy.

9th November 2020

Last week the children heard the story of Moses and how God chose Moses to set his people free. God gave Moses the responsibility to help the Israelites escape from Egypt. The picture of the parting of the Red Sea is displayed in our school hall to represent ‘responsibility’, one of our 6Rs. As part of our worship, I asked the children: “How can you show people that they can trust you?”

An Oak Class Reflection:

You can make someone trust you by showing that you are a loving, trusting and reliable person who is also honest and kind to everyone including strangers. You should never trust people who are unkind, lie or are irresponsible.

2nd November 2020

Worship begins this half term by introducing the Christian value of ‘trust’.

We begin with learning to TRUST OUR FRIENDS. We will be combining this with links to the 6Rs and our own School Vision: LOVING FOR TODAY, LEARNING FOR TOMORROW, FOREVER IN FAITH.

We will also be talking about how to be a good friend to others. Perhaps you could share some of your good friendship stories at home and discuss who you think are good friends and why.

19th October 2020

This week our worship focuses on simple acts of kindness. This includes kind words and actions. Our Bible story is The Good Samaritan, which exemplifies kindness. Children understand they should treat others how they themselves would want to be treated. Oak class are studying this in the context of Black History and will be writing to councillors about their support in the Black Lives Matter campaign. Are there any ways in which your family or your work colleagues have shown acts of kindness? Please share these examples with your children and with us.

12th October 2020

Last week in worship, the children talked about the Parable of the Talents and when doing so explained their own talents. Thomas found this short video really funny and asked if I would put it on the newsletter: https://safeYouTube.net/w/g24U

This week we will be looking at the story of The Widow’s Mite and asking the children ‘What can you give?’ Appropriately, the PTA have their meeting tomorrow; perhaps you can ask yourself ‘What would I give?’ It doesn’t have to be money; it could be kindness or time. Let us use this time to be generous to others, to reflect on our generosity and to act in resourceful ways.

5th October 2020

Worship this week is focusing on being thankful for our talents.

The parable of the talents from the book of Matthew emphasises that we should use what God has given us.

It was lovely of Mrs Flowerdew to share her talent with us last week. Do you have a talent that you could share with us?

28th September 2020

This week in worship we will be saying thank you for our food in God’s amazing world. It’s Harvest time and we would normally be enjoying our Harvest Worship Service in church so we will endeavour to celebrate this special time in our class worship instead.

The children will also be learning about St Francis of Assissi and sharing their love of animals. You might like to find out more about the lives of animals by looking at some of the videos on this website

https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/videos/amazing-animals/

21st September 2020

In worship last week we talked about Jesus being Light of the World: Jesus said, “I am the light of the world whoever follow me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.’’ (John 8:12) The children have written HOPE prayers and coloured in ‘hands’ to represent Jesus giving us a helping hand.

This week we will be focusing on the beauty of God’s creation. The children will be performing ‘echo’ prayers. Take a moment to ask them about these.

Echo prayer

Rejoice in the Lord always

Rejoice in the Lord always (repeat)

And again I say rejoice

And again I say rejoice (repeat)

(Repeat two or three times)

Thankfulness – “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father”

14th September 2020

Worship this week concentrates on the opportunities that God gives people. We will be exploring the stories of The Lost Sheep and the Tax Collector. Take a look at this video to think about the opportunities that God has given you.

Our prayer comes from the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich- Hope, Courage and Endurance. It fits in nicely with our 6Rs this week-responsibility and resilience.

Give children the opportunity to be still and thank God for all that He has provided for us. Amen

7th September 2020

This week we will be focusing on our School Vision LOVING FOR TODAY, LEARNING FOR TOMORROW, FOREVER IN FAITH and our 6Rs.

We will be saying thank you for our school and explaining how we must all work together to make learning a success for everyone. We will be using several Bible stories to exemplify the Christian value of thankfulness.

Unfortunately, we are not allowed to sing in school so perhaps you could sing and do the actions to the hymn in this short video! (God’s love is bigger than a burger!) https://safeYouTube.net/w/Tz4U

24th August 2020

Our Christian value for this term is THANKFULNESS. I shall be handing out my ‘thank you’ letters to the children next week. These show my gratitude for the gifts that you gave me at the end of term. In our worship we will be exploring these themes and sharing some Bible stories that demonstrate how different people gave their thanks to God. I wonder what you would say thank you to God for? In the Bible it says ‘Always be thankful’ (1 Thessalonians 5.18). Please would you talk to your children about the many different ways can you think of to show your thankfulness to God?

Click here for Worship Diaries pre September 2020

Reflection Rangers

Spring 2020

In Northaw C of E primary school, our Reflection Rangers work hard to teach us important lessons from the Holy Bible. On the 23rd January, the Reflection Rangers did a story called the Tempter. The whole school really enjoyed it because the acting they did was brilliantly presented. I would give the quality of the Reflection Rangers in our school a definite five stars!

Autumn 2019

Each week the Reflection Rangers meet up to discuss about how to deliver worship. We do it to teach the younger children about Jesus and what the Bible says about him. Our assemblies are all about our Christian value and sometimes the 6Rs. This term we did the Rainbow Fish. The story represents generosity. We also choose a song to sing for assembly for example: Thank your lucky stars, Harvest samba and Shine Jesus Shine. We choose prayers from the prayer tree that children have written themselves. Sometimes, we need volunteers. We always pick different people so it is fair. We do quizzes. Once we told a story to see who was listening and for fun. We also help church services like Harvest Festival, Christmas and spring. By Miley. H, Martha. P and Grace. T

Summer 2019

Reflection Rangers this term taught us how we should look after our world. They connected this to the Bible text in Matthew chapter 6 about Jesus using the natural world to illustrate his stories. Everyone sang, Don't Build your house on the Sandy Land and the Rangers connected the worship to the value of 'responsibility' which is one of our 6Rs.

It was good worship because the lady from Save the Children Fund talked about how children in other countries do not have the resources that we have and that we should be thankful.

Policies

Prayer Groups

Parents Prayer

Parents Prayer is a small group of Christian parents and carers who support the school by praying together. We believe that God cares for all children, and loves us to bring our cares for our children and everyone at our school to him in prayer. There are post-boxes in the school hall and the front lobby, to enable children, parents and anyone else connected with the school to ask us to support them by praying in specific ways.

Twice a term, all parents, carers and small siblings are welcomed to a local parent's house for drinks, snacks, chat and some time praying. We would love to see you there! Please contact the school for dates and other details.

Prayer Groups in school

Click here to learn about our prayer corners and reflection areas

Click here to learn about how we introduced Prayer Bear in order to encourage our children to involve their families as part of our school community.

Northaw C of E Primary School