Journey Day

March 22nd 2016 was a very special day at Blandford St Mary! It was a day we linked with the church communities of Blandford St Mary and The Blandford Parish Church. The aim was to explore Christian values, concepts and questions  through a series of cross curricular activities, reflections and fun!
The theme for the day was 'Stepping out on the journey'. It began with Reverend Triffitt leading a Collective Worship introducing the values of Trust and Faith and the Bible story of Jesus inviting Peter to walk with Him on the water.

Then we worked in mixed age groups. Everyone in Key stage one had the opportunity to explore the story further, making and using props to retell the story and thinking about what Peter might be feeling. We created a big picture of the story and thought about what gave Peter the courage to step out. We made our own boats out of recycled materials and put sails on our boats showing the values we would want to take with us on our journeys.

In Key Stage two we also enjoyed working with our friends in different classes. We re read the story and recreated it through art and drama. We considered the key feelings of Jesus, Peter and the disciples at the different turning points of the story.
We explored how we come across turning points in our own lives and reflected on what gives us strength and where Christians draw strength from. We thought about the values we consider important and how we use these to protect ourselves in our own life journeys.

 

 

 

At the end of the day Pippa Rossiter, our Church Support leader, and Father Joe, helped us to reflect on the key moments in the story and why it is important. Many of us felt that Peter had to be brave, trust in himself but keep his eyes on Jesus, and perhaps we should do this too!

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone from the local churches who helped to make this day so special, thank you.

Carol Service

On Friday 11th December we came together to celebrate the birth of Jesus through readings and carols. Every class performed a carol that they had prepared and the readings were confident and moving.

 

Christingle Service

Advent is a time of preparation.

Here are the Year 5 production team preparing for our Christingle service!

 

Advent is a time of hope. We welcome Jesus 'The Light Of The World' into our hearts and minds to lead us and guide us and bring us peace.

 Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Children in Need Day

For Children in Need day we all brought our teddies to school for the day along with a contribution to help raise money for this important charity.

Here are some snaps of the bears joining us for our lessons!

2015 Shoebox appeal

Every year we collect gifts during November to make up Christmas shoeboxes. This year our contributions will be distributed through The Trussell Trust. Each Christmas The Trussell Trust  takes thousands of shoeboxes filled with presents to some of the poorest people in Bulgaria. People of all ages receive boxes, ranging from Roma people living in freezing conditions and struggling to survive, to abandoned and orphaned children living in state care. Last year they hand-delivered thousands of shoeboxes to: orphanages, Roma communities, women’s refuges, prisoner’s children, housebound elderly people, rural schools and refugee centres. Christmas boxes show people who have been rejected or are living in absolute poverty that they are loved. For many, a Christmas shoebox will be the only gift they receive this year. These small boxes are received with smiles, laughter and even tears of joy.

Here are the before and after shots of our boxes!

Thank you all for the generous donations and particular thanks to the ladies who spent an entire morning sorting and wrapping!

Humility

This half term we will be exploring the Christian value of Humility.
Humility is something that is gained and practiced as we grow in wisdom and grace. Easton’s 1897 Bible Dictionary defines “humility” as: a prominent Christian grace. It is a state of mind well pleasing to God; it preserves the soul in tranquility and makes us patient under trials.


Psalms 25:9 He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.

In Collective Worship (10.11.15) children heard the story from John 13 1-20 and reenacted the act of feet washing just as Jesus washed his disciples feet.

Jesus said, "Iam happy to work for you like a servant. You must be ready, too, to serve one another in humble ways"

 

Harvest at BSM

Thank you to everyone who came to the Harvest Collective worship on Friday 23rd October.
The collection of food was, as always, fantastic. All these items will be speeding to the Blandford food bank to support local families going through difficult times.

Message from Blandford food bank ...........