Teversham Challenge Updates

Week Six - Gold

Following a GenR8 led worship mid-week, we devoted the whole of a day to preparing for Easter. All our classes were split vertically into 5 mixed age groups and spent 4 sessions in school and one in All Saints, our parish church. In school, a short teaching session was followed by practical activities – sewing Maundy purses, making Easter nests and cards and dancing with ribbons. In the church, we were joined by volunteers from local churches to man the stations of ‘Experience Easter’. As they journeyed through the Easter story, the children were invited to reflect and respond e.g. by writing their hopes and dreams on a stone for Palm Sunday, sharing bread at the Last Supper, making a clay model to represent being alone at the Garden of Gethsemane, laying red ribbon prayers at the foot of the cross for Good Friday and eating a small chocolate egg by Easter Sunday’s empty tomb. Some of the children’s responses were very heartfelt and moving to witness. We finished our term back in the church, for a service led jointly by us, our vicar and a local Baptist minister.

Week Five- Gold

Remember the World  T his week we shared the story of the Good Samaritan in our worship, with Year 6 role playing an old man who fell among thieves after collecting his pension. Having been ignored by a vicar rushing to take a service and a doctor with an important appointment, it took a ‘hoodie’ practising stunts on his scooter to minister to him. We looked at some of the Sport Relief videos in our classes to see who our worldwide neighbours were and what hardships they faced. Meanwhile Year 2/3 were planning a cake stall for the end of the week and making notices and invitations for all to attend their cafe, when all profits would be donated to Sport Relief, along with the donations brought by the children coming to school in sports kit instead of uniform and each one running a mile around our grounds. We raised £286.87.

Week Four - Gold

This week we have had a lovely time thanking our mums for all they do for us, and thanking God for our mums. In our worship we have learnt about Moses in the bulrushes and heard how he went on to pass on God’s commandment to honour our parents. We reflected on how Jesus wants to gather us under his ‘wings’ like a mother bird. Each child has made a card for their mum, and today our hall was packed with mums and other carers for a worship session led by the children, culminating in the distribution of posies and coffee and Simnel cake.

Week Three - Bronze

For this week’s challenge we gave our school grounds some TLC. We spent a playtime having a competition to see which of our four houses could collect the most litter in the grounds. We were shocked to see how much we amassed, but glad it has gone. We also reminded all the children which things should go in which bins, and focused our worship on caring for God’s world.

Week Two - Bronze

Our Year 6 children had a great 3 days at Grafham Water Centre, and it was lovely to see how encouraging and supportive of each other the children were as they faced new challenges. They experienced high and low ropes, bushcraft, canoeing, rock climbing, archery and problem solving activities, along with the challenge of being away from home. TV and computers were swapped for board games and fun team activities, plus other tricky activities such as keeping the bedrooms tidy and being in the right clothes and the right place at the right time. “We went on the very high ropes. When I went up there I was really scared but halfway through it my team encouraged me so I could do it and it really helped me face my fears...I was proud of myself and the other people in the group because they pushed themselves to the limit...bushcraft was sooo fun – we even made fire!”

Week One - Gold

In our Collective Worship this week we focused on the meaning of the words ‘shrive’ and ‘Lent’. We then went on to burn a palm cross, and one of our boys volunteered to have a cross marked on his forehead while the children were invited to reflect on something they needed to ask forgiveness for. Our green candle was changed for a purple one, and our cross made from the Christmas tree displayed, with its purple drape.

All 148 children made a pancake, tossed it and ate it, with several of our parents coming in to help. At lunchtime we held pancake races in the playground, and all the Lent Challenge was shared in our weekly newsletter.