Week 1 (Beginning 09.09.24)
Kindness: Compassion
| INTENT (09.09.24) | IMPLEMENTATION | IMPACT |
|---|---|---|
| What does compassion mean to you? | On Monday Mr Storey introduced the weekly value of compassion. Several pupils were asked to place their shoes at the front of the hall which grabbed the children’s attention. Mr Storey then asked different children to go and try on the shoes and explain to the children how they felt. Using this representation, the children were able to understand the analogy of putting yourself in someone else’s shoes.  The children were then asked to identify which bible story portrays this message. The children then watched an animated video of the Good Samaritan. Before we concluded Collective Worship with the Lord’s Prayer, we took time to recognise two children who had completed the Mini Great North Run. Imogen had raised over £2,500 for charity and John had raised over £400. On Wednesday we welcomed back our Open the Bible Team who delivered a performance to begin the New Testament. The Birth of Jesus based on Luke 1-2 was fantastic. It was also lovely to welcome two new volunteers who have joined the team.  On Friday we held our weekly reflective collective worship and our celebration assembly. Awards and certificates were given out including to three of our adults who completed the Great North Run. We celebrated birthdays and discussed the up and coming Everest Climbing Challenge! | The use of a physical representation for compassion worked well as the children were captivated with the input. The chosen children explained how the shoes felt, “These shoes are too big for me.” “These ones are too tight and hurt my toes.” The children were able to make links to the value of compassion and relevant bible stories. The children were excited to see Open The Bible Team again. They enjoyed the story of Christmas and understood that it represented new starts and beginnings. It was lovely to hear how well the children have settled back into school and to hear about their hard work this week. The Head Teacher award was given to Alexander who has lived and breathed our school vision. |
Week 2 (Beginning 16.09.24)
Kindness: Caring
| INTENT (16.09.24) | IMPLEMENTATION | IMPACT |
|---|---|---|
| Why is it important to be caring? | Mrs Cross introduced this week’s value of Caring. We talked about caring for ourselves, for others inc animals and caring for the world God created. We talked about creation (Genesis) and also the message in Mark 12: 29-31 which tells us to love God, our neighbours and ourselves. Children were asked to reflect on who they care for and who cares for them. Mrs Cross highlighted the areas in school where children can get care and support such as the Reflection Zone and the Speak Out Stay Safe area. On Wednesday we took on our National Fitness Day challenge – Climbing Mount Everest. In collective worship we talked about the first climb and how the team had to care for each other during the challenge. The winner of our ‘best dressed adult’ went to Ms Ingwersen! On Friday we held our reflection collective worship on our theme of caring. It was lovely to hear how caring our children have been and the huge number of ways they have shown that care. We then had our celebration assembly, awarding certificates and special awards. This week was extra special as we also awarded the rosettes, certificates, prizes and trophies from our Stanhope Show Art Competition. | It was lovely to hear children talk about how they care for others, their families, their animals and the world around them. They talked about caring for Stanhope and for their school which was very special. It was lovely to see so many adults and children join in with our Everest Challenge on Wednesday. The staff really made a great effort at getting dressed up. The children took pride in their achievement for their school. Our children were all really pleased for each other and showed support for the Stanhope Show winners. Our Challenge & Support Partner observed and said it was a truly joyous occasion. |
Week 3 (Beginning 23.09.24)
Element of Vision: Kindness
Weekly Value/Focus: Supportive
| Intent Question: | Implementation: | Impact: |
| How can we be supportive of others? | On Monday Collective Worship was delivered by Mr Storey. The session began with a number of different images from several bible stories. The children were challenged to identify who in the story was showing supportive skills. The children received feedback from a learning walk on Friday where it was evident our school vision is lived continuously. The children were asked to keep up these high standards in and out of school. We also discussed Recycling Week where together we investigated that impact plastic has on our environment. Mr Clarke has set the School Council a task of improving how we recycle in class.  On Wednesday our Open The Bible Team performed The Star Watchers based on the story of the Wise Men in Matthew Ch2. A number of children took part in the performance and afterwards we discussed how the wise men made the difficult but right choice to ignore King Herod and not tell him where the baby Jesus was to be found.On Friday we held our MacMillan Cancer Coffee Morning where we invited parents/carers in to school and the children all bought a cake at playtime. | Daniel, “The inn keeper had no rooms but let Jesus and Mary stay in the stable and others sent them away.” Henry, “Noah listened to what God said and he made an Ark for all the animals and his family.” Children were skilful at making links between our values from last week and this week and described the wise men as being ‘caring and supportive’.Thank you to everyone who supported this event. We raised £102.50 for MacMillan Cancer! |
Week 4 (Beginning 30.09.24)
Element of Vision: Kindness
Weekly Value/Focus: Thoughtful
| Intent Question: | Implementation: | Impact: |
| How can we be thoughtful this Harvest time? | On Monday Collective Worship was delivered by Mr Storey who introduced this week’s theme of being thoughtful. This value was linked to our Harvest Festival which is coming up on Friday. We discussed how we can be thoughtful for others who have less than we do. Throughout the week we practiced our Harvest service including readings, poetry, songs and prayers.  On Friday we reflected on how we had been thoughtful this week. We looked at our Spirituality frame and talked about being thoughtful about ourselves (In), other people (Out) and about God/Jesus/Spirituality (Up). In the afternoon we held our annual Harvest Festival in St Thomas’ Church. Two of our children demonstrated ‘confidence’ in playing the violin in front of the whole congregation. The children sang enthusiastically and many people attending were really positive and moved by the event. | “I was thoughtful because I helped my mam to carry some heavy boxes when she was struggling” “It is thoughtful to think of how other people are feeling” Dexter “People were thoughtful about me when it was my birthday” Emily. The children were really articulate when discussing In Out Up. Our Harvest Festival was really well attended by parents, carers, grandparents and other members of our community. “This was a joyous event” Grandparent “It was really lovely to see all the children singing together” “It was awesome seeing the church so full” Rev Michael |
Week 5 (Beginning 07.10.24)
Element of Vision: Kindness
Weekly Value/Focus: Gentleness to Animals
| Intent Question: | Implementation: | Impact: |
| Why is it important to be gentle to animals? | On Monday Mr Storey delivered collective worship and introduced this week’s value of being gentle to animals. We read the story of The Kings Horse and discussed how we need to care for animals even when they get older. We used the example of Mrs Cross’ old horse – Morgan. On Wednesday our Open the Bible team delivered a performance of The Boy in the Temple based on Luke 2. We talked about Jesus being just like us, his parents worried about him when he went missing and loved him. On Thursday our assembly was delivered by our Happiness Heroes who talked about Our Voice Matters and how individual and unique everybody is. They launched an acrostic poem competition. Then Henry gave a presentation on his superpower – having an allergy and eczema. He asked others with superpowers to come out to the front and join him and many children did. He then talked about the stone he has decorated and how he would like everyone with a superpower to design a superhero based on their own superpower which could be autism, dyslexia, cystic fibrosis, Diabetes, allergies, eczema or anything at all. On Friday in our reflective collective worship we talked about how we have shown gentleness towards animals this week. We made the link to Noah’s Ark and how God values all animals. Certificates were given out, awards presented and birthdays celebrated. We used our Wheel of Fortune to award prizes to children who had completed their homework this week. | The children could give lots of examples of when they had been gentle to animals. “I was gentle with my dog when he was getting put down.” “I was gentle with the sheep when I helped dad on the farm” Two children were given certificates for being gentle with our Therapy Hens and Aela – our Therapy Dog. The impact of Henry’s presentation is overwhelming. It was amazing to see so many children have the confidence to stand up and say ‘I have a superpower too’. Henry talked with passion and determination to ensure all children know that their voice is important and will be heard in our school. A very moving and heart-warming assembly today. We are all very proud of Henry. Children were highly motivated by the new Wheel of Fortune. It was lovely to see all children celebrating each others’ achievements. |
Week 6 (Beginning 14.10.24)
Element of Vision: Kindness
Weekly Value/Focus: Gentleness to Others
| Intent Question: | Implementation: | Impact: |
| Why is it important to be gentle to others? | On Monday we talked about Gentleness with our words and actions. We discussed the Fruits of the Spirit and Mrs Cross explained that these are gifts or seeds that God gives us but for them to grow we need to look after them and practice them. The Fruits of the Spirit are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. We talked about the fact that it takes strength to be gentle and is not a sign of weakness but of power and strength. On Wednesday we read the story of The Woman at the Well John 4: 1-39. We talked about how Jesus was gentle with others even when they are seen as the outsiders. We talked about the Woman at the Well being a Samaritan who didn’t get along with the Jews but still Jesus was gentle to her. On Friday we celebrated success this week with awards and certificates, celebrated birthdays and awarded our Wheel of Fortune winners! | Children could give some lovely examples of how to be gentle towards others. They could make the link with the Bible story The Good Samaritan with the Woman at the Well which was really impressive. We talked about last week’s value of being gentle with animals and how we are looking after three hedgehogs who are hibernating in the school field. Children were genuinely happy for each other as they received their awards. |
Week 7 (Beginning 21.10.24)
Element of Vision: Kindness
Weekly Value/Focus: Reflection
| Intent Question: | Implementation: | Impact: |
| On Monday our violinists gave a performance with Mrs Millar from Durham Music Service to showcase what they have learnt this half term. |
Week 8 (Beginning 04.11.24)
Element of Vision: Kindness
Weekly Value/Focus: Forgiveness
| Intent Question: | Implementation: | Impact: |
| Week commencing 04.11.2024 Wednesday | On Wednesday the children gathered in the main hall to discuss this week’s focus of forgiveness. Using scenarios, the children identified ways in which they would show forgiveness. Together we discussed how it can be hard to forgive someone, however we referred to the bible: 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” During this session we also discussed War Week as Remembrance Day is next week. We discussed what each Learning Zone was doing in class and compared the difference to modern day, this will be revisited next week. This morning we have gathered for our celebration assembly. Initially, we recapped our theme of forgiveness where the children gave anecdotes of times they’ve shown forgiveness this week. | The children showed engagement as they discussed ways to react, “I would accept the apology and play with them again.” Logan “I would listen to the persons apology and see if they mean it.” Henry |
Week 9 (Beginning 11.11.24)
Element of Vision: Kindness
Weekly Value/Focus: Remembrance Day / Anti-Bullying Week
| Intent Question: | Implementation: | Impact: |
| Week commencing 11.11.2024 Monday | On Monday the children gathered for a memorial service led by Mr Storey. The session began with each Learning Zone outlining what they had been learning about the previous week. The children from EYFS then placed their poppies on the memorial stone. Following this the children paused as we listened to the last post provided by Miss Casewell and then took part in a two-minute silence. The children observed the silence perfectly before returning to school. | The children showed brilliant respect during the silence, here’s what some of the children said: “It made me feel sad thinking about the lost soldiers.” “I could hear birds in the sky. It was so quiet.” |
Week 10 (Beginning 18.11.24)
Element of Vision: Kindness
Weekly Value/Focus: Generosity
| Intent Question: | Implementation: | Impact: |
| Why is it important to be generous? | This week our value was introduced by Mr Storey. Initially the children were challenged to explain the meaning of generosity. Following this the children identified Bible stories where generosity was shown. The children then watched a video of how other faiths also promote generosity. The story is called The Rich Man and The Needle and is a story from the Sikh faith. The story tells how Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion, meets Duni Chand, a very wealthy man, and how Guru Nanak teaches him to be generous On Wednesday we continued the theme as together we read the Bible Story – Jesus and the Ten Lepers. The children were asked to identify how the one leper was grateful for Jesus’s generosity, whereas the others did not thank Jesus for his help. The children were reminded that being polite and having positive interactions with people is a great way to show kindness. The children provided their own examples. On Friday we gathered in the hall to celebrate this week’s award winners. The children showed kindness as they cheers and clapped for their peers. | “Generosity means doing something kind for someone.” Ollie “Jesus showed Generosity when he helped the fisherman catch fish.” Daniel |
Week 11 (Beginning 25.11.24)
Element of Vision: Kindness
Weekly Value/Focus: Gratitude
| Intent Question: | Implementation: | Impact: |
| Why do we show gratitude? | On Monday Mr Storey introduced the value of gratitude by playing the song – can’t buy me love by the Beatles. The children were then asked to reflect on the things in life money cannot buy and why they were so important to them. We also discussed what we plan to do in our Christmas break such as spending time with our families and friends. On Wednesday we were visited by the Open the Bible Team who performed the story of Down Through the Roof from Luke 5. The children identified how Jesus helped to heal. The children also reflected on last week’s story of Jesus and the 10 Lepers. The children enjoyed listening to the engaging session delivered. On Friday we explored what we mean by ‘Gratitude’ and talked about how important it is at this time of year to be grateful for how ‘rich’ we are. Children were asked to think of things which made them rich but not money or possessions. We talked about how at Christmas time some people get a lot of things and others don’t get anything at all or very little and that this happens in our school in our community. Some people spend time with their families and others don’t have any family and therefore we should be grateful for everything which enriches our lives. We then celebrated success with certificates and awards including our Wheel of Fortune for completing homework. The Head Teacher award went to the whole football team who got to the finals for the first time in over 10 years! | “I will spend time with my mam and dad because they are busy at work during the week.” “I am making cards for everyone to show I care about them.” The children are showing sticky knowledge with the Bible stories as they can recall features of stories they’ve heard. Children were excellent at giving examples of how they were rich without money or possessions. “My family makes me rich because some people don’t have any family” “My friends mean more than money” It was lovely to hear from a parent that this assembly inspired a child in Year 2 to make a Christmas shoebox. |
