PRAISING GOD FOR CREATION

During the last week of half term our focus in Collective Worship is using our creativity to be thankful to God for creation. In the bible it says:  "I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever." Pslams 86:12.

This week Y2 ,along with Miss Dromey, brought us the story of Lila and the Secret of the Rain by David Conway. In the story Lila helps the people of her village overcome a terrible drought. They spoke to us about how Lila could be thankful for the rain that eventually came and how we could ensure we are thankful in our everyday lives. Children in Y5 and Y6 reflected on this message and wrote some very thoughtful prayers to share with everyone.

Dear God

Thank you for giving us the freedom to be creative.

People feel grateful when thanks is shown creatively.

You can show thankfulness in many ways.

Thank you for helping us be all these things.

Amen

GROWING IN LOVE, CARE AND ENCOURAGMENT!

Year 4 told the story of Kevin the Koala Who Could by Rachel Bright in this week's Collective Worship to illustrate to the children what can be achieved when you know people believe in you. The children, along with Mrs Bullingham, spoke about using our creativity to help those around us believe in themselves and the positive impact this can have on everyone's mental health. After acting out the story they talked about  what was making the Kevin feel anxious and who helped him realise he could overcome his fears. The children wrote their own prayers where we gave thanks to God for giving us our own creative powers to help other people. They ended with this prayer.

Dear God

Thank you for the ability to face problems in our life and have amazing friends to take courage from and try new things.

Amen

Could you be a Mental Health Champion?

In Collective Worship this week we were discussing how we can use our creative skills to help others with their mental health and wellbeing. Staff from the PSHE Curriculum Partnership with a little help from some of the teacher launched their search for Freemantle's own Mental Health Champions as part of our continuing journey to show fellowship to all those in our school community. Here at Freemantle we want every child to feel happy, healthy and inspired which links to our discussion last week about what being creative really means when it comes to helping others. As part of the project the team would like to remove any stigma attached to mental health and ensure that people's mental health and wellbeing at school and in our community is good. It will also help support the development of Restorative Practice within our school ethos.

Welcome back! This half term our Collective Worship theme is Creativity. During our whole school Collective Worship we explored what this actually means. We looked at the traditional meaning of the word which involves using our imaginations to create something original but through discussion realised that it can mean so much more. It can be about inspiring people, thinking outside the box and expressing yourself which is all part of being unique. We shared a wonderful book which celebrates everything unique. There is Only One You by Kathryn Heling and Deborah Hembrook looks at how everything we come across in life is different and how this should be something we love and cherish about ourselves. Children from Y1, 3 and 5 wrote some wonderful prayers which we would like to share with you.

EASTER JUBILATION!

Y5 took centre stage in the church on Friday to deliver their dramatisation of the Easter story. It was the first time since 2019 that the whole school has been able to attend worship at Christchurch so was a very special occasion. Y3 wrote and read some beautiful prayers and the whole school raised the roof with their rendition of Easter Jubilation. Thank you to Rev Kathy Hicken from St Mark's for leading the service and to Reuben who worked with Y5 to deliver the Easter story. Mr Barnett was also able to share with the children which house had collected the most points this half term and to announce the winners of our Easter Wacky Hat competition. It was all in all a great way to start our Easter celebrations. We wish everyone at Freemantle a Happy Easter and look forward to seeing everyone in two weeks!

Our Easter Preparations!

Mr Jolly, children from Y3 and Tony the donkey led Collective Worship this week which was all about Psalm Sunday. As we prepare for our Easter celebrations at the end of this week the children spoke about the importance of Psalm Sunday in the Christian Calendar. They also explained the important role the donkey played by carrying Jesus into Jerusalem.They retold the story from the Bible with lots of audience participation. At the end the children shared a prayer that they had written.

Dear God,

Sometimes, we don't understand it when difficult or sad things happen.

Help us to remember that you are always there for us.

Thank you or always caring.

Please help us to trust you.

Amen

Help Us Sponsor a Rhinoceros!

Mrs Steinman and the Eco Warriors (pictured are the Y1 representatives) led Collective Worship this week and talked to the children about how we can show compassion for the world around us and the animals in it. They spoke about the animals that are in danger of becoming extinct and the impact this has and will have on us as a world community. More importantly they discussed what we could do to make a difference and live out our commitment to showing compassion to others. On Friday 1^st April we will be having a Wear Something Green Day and all donations made will go towards us sponsoring a Rhinoceros. Check out our website for pictures and to find out how much we raise.

Visiting Our Church

During Spring term every year group will be visiting Christchurch, Freemantle as part of class Collective Worship to help the children reconnect with our church community and understand the link between our school and the church. Due to the pandemic we have not been able to hold whole school services at the church which has meant some of our younger children have never been inside. During their visit William, the Church Warden, has been on hand to talk to the children about the building and its history as well as give them a tour. They have loved looking round and asking lots of questions.

Being Compassionate Through Play

Today Mrs Stewart, members of Y3 and two of our lovely lunch time supervisors led Collective Worship. They wanted to share with the children how we can show compassion in the playground by adopting some simple strategies and living our commitment to showing fellowship to those in our school community. Over the next few weeks they will be talking to the children about co-operation, turn taking, problem solving and following rules.

How We Can Show Compassion 

Year 4, alongside Mrs Taylor, led Collective Worship today on our new theme of compassion. They spoke about the fact that to show compassion towards others doesn't necessarily need to involve big gestures but can instead be the little things like saying 'well done' or 'thank you'. They shared the book, I Am Love- A book of compassion by Susan Verde  The theme links to our whole school 40 Acts of Kindness which we are undertaking during Lent. As part of worship children were chosen to come and plant sunflower seeds which will be transferred to our garden around our Peace Pole. The aim is to show compassion to the planet and our bee community who are need of more flowers to help them survive.

And We Are Back!

Today the House Captains were back in the hall welcoming all the children to this week's Celebration Assembly. We have waited a long time to all be back together for Collective Worship and it was wonderful to see everyone in the hall. To make it more special we were there to reveal our Head Teacher Award winners for last half term. It was also great to welcome back parents to our weekly celebration.

Collective Worship contributes significantly to the ethos of Freemantle C.E. Community Academy Trust and it is a time when we can…

• share our common values of creativity, courage and fellowship
• acknowledge the things that have meaning, value and purpose for the pupils as individuals, as well as for the school and the wider community.
• develop a sense of community within and beyond the school, exploring the world in which we live
• celebrate achievements, special occasions and special events in relation to individual pupils within school, to the school as a whole, or to the wider community.
• Make sure our approach to parents, pupils and adults is consistently invitational. Worship will provide the opportunity to engage whilst allowing the freedom of those of different faiths and those who profess no religious faith to be present and to engage.

The content of all acts of Collective Worship are planned with careful consideration to ensure relevance and suitability for the ages, stages and backgrounds of all pupils. Planning is provided as a starting point and is flexible to allow the inclusion of current and topical issues. This chart show the two cycles we follow. We are currently following cycle A so our theme for this half term is Compassion. 

At Freemantle we value and respect the beliefs of others and learn about the different religions and worldviews they may have. We follow the agreed syllabus, Living Difference III, in our RE lessons and, as a Church of England School, we also use the scheme Understanding Christianity, a recommended syllabus from the dioceses.  In KS1 the chosen second religion is Judaism. In KS2 we look at other religions such as Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Please see the attached document which outlines the topics your child will be taught in RE this year.