A Very Special Friday…

“Dear Lord.” We hear these words ring out so often in our life, but never in such a special way as the way in which they were said on Friday. The day 3 of our children met the Archbishop of Canterbury in Worcester Cathedral! The day began with a thought provoking discussion and poem writing activity based on ‘reconciliation’ and the ‘Cross of Nails’.

It was amazing to watch our children alongside the other children coming up with such high calibre ideas and interesting phrases to describe reconciliation. They then made a clay print of the Cross of Nails to replicate the one that the Archbishop of Canterbury wears and the replica that hangs in St’ George’s Chapel in the Cathedral. It was whilst taking part in this activity that our 3 stars had their first encounter with the Archbishop. He was very keen to talk to the children about this activity, as it was fresh in his mind from his recent discussions with the Pope where the theme was reconciliation. It was also at this point that they were swamped with cameras, cameras and more cameras!

It was a privilege to watch the children talk so confidently and positively to the Archbishop (although they were a little ‘star struck’ at first). In the afternoon we took part in a variety of Harvest activities around the Cathedral and a service.

The service was led by the Archbishop and was everything you would want from this special occasion. He was wonderful. He talked openly and honestly to the children about his uniform/clothes, his life and his job.

The children got to try on his Archbishop clothes as the service went on and he finished with a number of great anecdotes and prayers. This truly was a fantastic experience and it was a joy to be part of it. The day was well organised (thanks to Sue Adeney and her team), the children were brilliant and the experience was inspiring!

We will be starting this new academic year off with the Christian Value of ‘Friendship’. Over the next half term we will be taking part in a number of ‘Friendship’ activities during Collective Worship and across the broader school.

If you are keen to continue the Christian value education at home then we have a number of help sheets located within our website.

They are within the ‘Key information’ page or simply click here.

 

 

Teaching is the best job in the world (yes I am biased) and I know this because it is a job that has so many amazing moments. But every now and again there is an activity that tops everything else and the children that we know are amazing, prove to be even better that that! On Friday the 16^th October Mrs Sauntson and I (Mr Bundy) were witness to just such a moment.
 
During last academic year CREW (the Collective Worship RE team) were invited to a Diocese course to talk to teachers about their role in Collective Worship at our school. The organisers were so pleased with the overwhelming positive feedback from the 15 participants that they invited CREW to do their presentation again at the Worcestershire Diocese Head Teachers conference on Friday.
 
We arrived at the Pear Tree Hotel at Smite and there was an air of excitement amongst the children. We waited patiently in the restaurant ready to be called into the conference room. After a few minutes the organisers came through and introduced themselves. The CREW all got given their own name tag and we were then shown through to the conference room… the very large conference room… the very large conference room filled with over 100 head teachers! This was a very different event to what CREW had experienced before and ‘wow’ were our (yes, mine as well) tummies whirling. We were greeted by the host of the conference who then told CREW that they needed to use a microphone and swiftly went into an explanation on how to use it.
 
It was at this point that the realisation of what was going on hit us all. I know that there are not many adults that would cope in this situation and yet the CREW stood at the front of this conference room and looked smart, proud and eager to start.
 
The host did an introduction and they began their presentation to over 100 head teachers.
 
THEY WERE BEYOND AMAZING!
 
They all talked confidently, clearly, slowly and proudly about their role and what they do. They passed the microphone back and forth and used it like they had been presenting for years! They used the scripts they had written but also had time to look up and smile! The head teachers looked on in awe and were inspired by what CREW had to say!
 
The presentation lasted about 20 minutes and it did not finish there. They then answered a variety of questions from the head teachers and did not stumble once!
 
Each and every member of CREW rose to the occasion and did themselves, their families and the school proud.
 
Well done Ben, Louise, Darcey, Kate, Jessica, Keira, Scarlett and Grace.
 
This is why teaching is the best job in the world; I bet you wish you were a teacher now!

At the start of this academic year we paid with the money we raised for the refurbishment of one of the classrooms at Maweni that had been condemned. The cost of the repair work was £1600 and has proved to be a great success. It has enabled the school to teach children in smaller groups in an environment that has been conducive to learning and so has made a huge difference to the pupils’ progress.

Unfortunately, a couple of months ago, there was a big storm at Maweni and a tree was blown down and collapsed on to one of the other classrooms. As you can see from the photon the left, this room can no longer be used. They have no insurance and the local council will not support the school financially in paying for repairs. I have spoken to Wallace at length about the situation and also to the children here at Hanley Swan.

We would like to support the rebuilding of the classroom and as a result we have organised the event below to raise much needed funds and to coincide with Wallace and Christina’s visit from next week.  

Cross Country Cash Dash - Tuesday 21st June

How far can your child run, walk, jog, dance? On Tuesday 16th June we will be finding out in our next Maweni fundraiser – The Cross Country Cash Dash. We are asking the children to collect sponsorship towards a very special cross country (ish) activity. We will be blocking off all access to the school and the children will be able to run, jog, walk or dance around the inside perimeter of the whole school.

Along the way there will be a variety of simple obstacles for them to have a go at if they wish and, as always, we expect lots of fun and giggles throughout.

Please make sure your child has a hat in school on this day if the weather continues to be hot and it would also be helpful if your child has a water bottle in school that day. 

This is a new and exciting entrepreneurial fundraising venture we are taking part in this year.

Each class has borrowed £10 from Mr Pratley and they have to use it wisely to make money for our friends in Maweni primary school. 

The concept is simple - create something to sell at a school market. What will they sell? Which class will raise the most? 

Class 1 will start the venture on the 25th April at 3:15pm. Please come along, bring some money and support the fundraiser.
 

We have planned an African enrichment week.  The children will be mixing up with each class spending the afternoons in their family groups.  The teachers have planned African based workshops based around animals, music, art, Maasai warriors, the Swahili language and much more.  It is going to a great week that will really enhance our link with the children and Maweni. 
 
On Monday 8th February at 9.15am we would like to invite you in to our open classroom event where we will be displaying the amazing activities that we have been working on.  We hope to see you there!

Our whole school have been very busy today constructing and decorating the lanterns in preparation for the Malvern Town Christmas light switch on parade this Saturday.  

The theme this year is 'Under the Sea' and in Class 2 we have enjoyed making our lantern into a large shiny fish!  

Thank you to all of the families that came along after school on Tuesday to hear about Mrs Price and Mrs Harrison’s time at Maweni. It was lovely to see so many of you there. The presentation informed every one of the success of the current projects and how we are looking to develop our partnership even more. At the end people got to taste some ouji, pea and tomato soup (with rice and chapattis) and Tangawizi. Thank you to Mrs Price and Mrs Harrison for all of their hard work in putting the afternoon together.