Friday 16 December 2016

Something wonderful



Something wonderful

I love this time of year and the way in which it brings out moments that we might call times of awe and wonder.

The Christmas productions as ever brought to us the story at the heart of Christmas, that of a promise fulfilled and a gift of a child Immanuel – God is with us. There were so many moments throughout each of the performances where the message and truth that Christ came to bring shone out. Whether this was in the words of a song, the line from a script or just the magical moments of seeing children give their all with such wonderful smiles on their face. These as always were very special times and again many great memories will have been created.

This truth is also found in the individual conversations that children have with me as I walk around school, they are always eager to comment on something, to tell me about how they love to sing a certain song, that they have taught their parents the actions, or whether they sing it to cheer themselves up. Their enthusiasm and joy in sharing what they take away from our assemblies is what is very special about our school. The fact that they know they are special is something that we would all aspire for them to believe and it is the reason why that special baby was born in Bethlehem such a long time ago.

Equally those moments can be seen in the love of music that is such a strength of our school. The privilege of watching our school orchestra perform is something really special. They just don’t seem to get nervous or overawed by the moment. Instead they are just confident in their own ability, calm about what they are about to do and always deliver, even when placed on a raised stage in front of a few hundred adults! That in its self is certainly a moment of awe and wonder!





There is also awe and wonder in the innocence of our children’s experiences and how they see the world, something I was reminded of this week in a wonderful way. In the school foyer sits our nativity display and in the last few days I have added some LED candles and stationed a CD player under the table that plays Christmas carols. Yesterday two of our foundation children were delivering the class register. As they walked past the nativity scene, they stopped and listened. Looking intently at the scene, one child turned to the other and said very thoughtfully, ‘Look the candles are singing!’ a priceless and special moment!

I am also continually struck and encouraged by how the children seek to outwork their understanding of God’s love for them and his call to love others. This again was brought home to me very powerfully this week. After our Christmas productions we have been taking a collection for the Children’s society. At this time of year we seek, as a school community, to make a difference together and to give from what we have to those who are most in need. I had talked about this at one of our productions and explained why we did this. The next day one of the children came  to me and informed me that they had some money they wanted to give and that they would bring it to the production that evening and that’s exactly what happened. As I was putting the final touches to the sound desk, the same child approached me. ‘I remembered Mr Marshall’ they said and then dug into their pocket and drew out some money; ‘it’s for the collection’ they said with a great smile on their face. I am sure at that moment God had a great smile on his face as well, I certainly did.

Love in action, exactly what Christmas is all about!

We wish you a wonderful Christmas break and pray that in whatever you do, you may catch some of the awe and wonder that Christmas is all about.


Christmas in school

This week has been full of the usual festive fun across school. Parties, discos, Christingle celebrations, the amazing KS2 nativity production and of course Christmas lunch.

A wonderful way to bring the Autumn term to a close.

Huge thanks to all the staff who have made this such a special time of year yet again, as well as to all the families and friends that work together with the school to make it the very special place it is.

Have a wonderful Christmas.










Christingle

Our final school assembly today focused on the meaning of Christingles.

We considered how they are a visual demonstration of God's love for us and the fact that Christmas is all about celebrating the light that Jesus brought into the world.

The words of one of my favourite songs were sung as we came into assembly

Light of the world
You stepped down into darkness
Opened my eyes let me see

Our prayer was that we would know more of the light of Christ in our lives and that we too would seek to be lights to others.




Wednesday 14 December 2016

Rainbows concert

On Tuesday evening we once again had the privilege to take part in the Annual Rainbows Christmas concert at St James the Greater Church on London Road.



Following on from our performance at the LOROS concert at the Cathedral last week, the children once again demonstrated their musical ability for a very worthwhile cause.



We always enjoy taking part in this concert and last night was just as special.

A massive thank you to the children and families who supported us. We are very proud of our school orchestra and once again its contribution was highly praised!




Tuesday 13 December 2016

KS2 Christmas production

Our focus since last Wednesday has been our next Christmas production - our KS2 retelling of the nativity. As usual this is held over at St Johns church, which brings a very special dimension to our performance.





Over the past few days the children and their class teachers have been bringing all the final preparations together. We had our final dress rehearsal today and its all looking very good!







It is a wonderful privilege to be able to tell the Nativity story and to act out the great gift that God has given us in Jesus. This time of year it is so easy to rush head long into Christmas, seeing Advent as a race rather than a time to reflect and consider.

Our performance on Wednesday deliberately has one word built into it - PAUSE.

As we explore the Nativity together we will make a deliberate attempt to stop and reflect on the amazing story that it is our privilege to retell.



Hopefully in those moments we will catch a fresh the awe and wonder that shines out through the different events in this story.

From the shepherds, to the wise men, from Mary to Joseph, from busy Inn keepers to choirs of angels. There is one thing that stands out, this baby came to fulfil a promise and the world has never been the same since.




Friday 9 December 2016

FS2 Forest school Christmas



The FS2 children took part in an RE activity where they looked at Christmas items that Father Christmas had delivered in a sack to Mrs B. 

Each item had a gift tag on it explaining how that item could help people to remember the real meaning of Christmas. The children were then invited to create one of the items using the natural materials in the forest. 

Many chose to make stars, some found a stick in the shape of a shepherd's crook, wreaths, bells and angels were made as well as a manger for the baby.






A Christmas experience

Today we enjoyed exploring, through the eyes of the main characters, the Christmas story.

We got to meet Joesph, Mary, a shepherd and a king. All of whom gave us an insight into what their experiences were as the story unfolded.

We had the time to reflect and discuss certain questions and enjoyed a very amusing rendition of the twelve days of Christmas!

We were reminded of God's love for us and caught some of the awe and wonder of the first Christmas.

Many thanks to the Holy Trinity team for sharing this with us, we really enjoyed the experience.








Wednesday 7 December 2016

A time of waiting

As we move through advent, we are reminded of the fact that in all of the busyness it is vital that we stop to reflect and consider what the advent journey is really all about.

In school our main corridor contains one of our reflective displays. It is based on one of my favourite carols - In the bleak mid winter. This song evokes so much nostalgia for me. As a child I loved my time in the Church choir especially at Christmas.





Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve was always a highlight - we got to stay up really late! One of the main challenges for the evening was trying to wish everyone Merry Christmas the moment the clock struck twelve. This always happened in the middle of the sermon and as choristers we were on full display to the rest of the congregation, so we had to ensure that we did not cause a distraction. The fear of the wrath of the Choir master always kept us in check, but on this night we were always willing to push our luck!

But the real moment when the magic of Christmas really sunk in, was during communion when the choir would sing a number of carols. In the Bleak Mid Winter was a favourite of the Choir master and we sang it every year.

It is a song that encapsulates what is really at the heart of the Christmas story

Our God, heaven cannot hold him, nor earth sustain;
heaven and earth shall flee away when he comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed
the Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

But in addition to that it brings us to the core of our response to this amazing truth.

What can I give him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
if I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
yet what I can I give him: give my heart.

As we journey through Advent, let us take the time to stop and reflect on what the Christmas story means for us.

The star shone in the Christmas sky to bring light into the world, may this Christmas, that light bring us comfort, hope and peace.

LOROS concert at Leicester cathedral

We were very proud on Monday evening to have our school orchestra invited to perform at the LOROS fundraising event at the Cathedral.

Yet again the children's performance brought enthusiastic applause and many accolades after the service. They perform at such a high level for a primary school and every one of them should be very proud of their acheivement,including Mrs B the creative inspiration behind the music.

Next week we will also be performing at St James the Greater Church for the Rainbows fundraising event - another evening of Christmas magic for a very good cause to look forward to.







KS1 Christmas part 2


So the final curtain has fallen on this year's production for KS1. It was yet again a memorable event, with so many memories created of very special children, performing with enthusiasm the Christmas story.

As ever, no performance was the same, the little 'unplanned' bits made us laugh and we all certainly caught some of the awe and wonder that is Christmas.

A huge thank you to all the staff that worked so hard to bring this together. There is already so much going on in school that their creativity and commitment to bringing this off is something very special indeed.