Summer Term – JUDAISM
During multi-cultural week, Year Three learnt about Judaism. After finding out about the origins and beliefs of the Jewish people, we researched the different parts of a Synagogue and created booklets and posters about these. Take a look at some of these here:
During our classroom worship sessions, we said part of the Shema, which is an important prayer for Jews.
We also researched the weekly festival of Shabbat and took part in a role play based upon our learning:
Here the mum is welcoming Shabbat and praying over the Shabbat candles:
The dad (wearing a tallit and kippah) then blesses the children and wine, saying a special prayer over the wine:
We then wished each other “Shabbat Shalom” and ate the special Challah bread and drank some wine (fruit juice).
Finally, we said goodbye to Shabbat for another week, by smelling the sweet spices as part of the Havdallah ceremony (the end of Shabbat).
Summer Term – FIRST HOLY COMMUNION
On Sunday 23rd June, seven children from our class made their First Holy Communion. In preparation for this we spent the day on Thursday 20th June, thinking about how they might be feeling, why God would want them as a follower and how making their First Holy Communion might help them to “Change the World”.
Take a look at the posters we (and they) all made about this:
Dear God, Please help the First Holy Communion children not be scared and to believe in themselves, Please help them to be brave, Help them to enjoy their day and let them be happy. Amen | Dear God, We pray for the First Holy Communion children, as they deserve to be cared for. Please help them on Sunday to get it right. They are going to be part of your family, please help them to be confident. Amen |
Dear God, Please help them not to be anxious and please make their day really good. Please help them to be brave and not be scared. Please help them not to be nervous and enjoy their First Holy Communion. Amen | Dear Lord, Please help the First Holy Communion family. We ask you to be with them as they take their First Holy Communion. Make them happy to be with God, give these children courage and bravery, help them to make a difference to our world. Amen |
| Dear God, Please protect me on the day. Amen | Dear Lord, Help me to have strength to help people after my First Holy Communion. Amen | Dear God, Help me to be brave for my Holy Communion. Amen |
| Dear God, Give me strength and the word of the Lord and also love. Amen | Dear God, Please help me to be happy on the day. Amen | Dear God, Look after me on the day I’m making my First Holy Communion. Amen |
| God, Please help me when I make my First Holy Communion. Amen |
CONGRATULATIONS to all of you on your special day.
Summer Term – PENTECOST
In the second half of the summer term we have been learning about how the disciples received the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
We imagined their thoughts and feelings, as they waited for the Holy Spirit and also after receiving the gift. We acted this out using our own sound effects for the wind and some dramatic music, as we told each other what the Good News is……
On Wednesday 5th June, we were very lucky because two of the Year 5 girls held a special class worship for us. We sang songs, said and listened to prayers and wrote acrostic prayers in groups. Take a look at us here:
Summer Term – EASTER
In the first half of the summer term we read stories of the risen Jesus returning to reveal himself to his friends and followers. We thought about how the travellers on the the Road to Emmaus felt at different stages of their journey and we re-told the story in our own way.
Palm Sunday
By Tamra
Jesus came to Jerusalem on a donkey and I saw him and I dashed from my house excitedly to see him. I saw the crowd and I heard people saying Hosanna. I tried to get to the front of the crowd and when I did I got palm leaves off a palm tree. Some people in the crowd put coats on the floor to make a royal path for the donkey to step on. People were shouting “Hosanna!” and I felt overjoyed and excited because Jesus our Saviour is finally here. Lots of people were welcoming Jesus and I thought Jesus was amazing.
Palm Sunday
By Levi
At the start of the Passover I was cheering because Jesus was here. People were waving palm leaves so I picked the nearest palm leaf and join in with the rest of the crowd. I shouted “Hosanna!” then I laid my coat to make a royal road for Jesus’ little donkey. I said “Here comes our Saviour!” I felt overjoyed because Jesus was finally here. I thought it was a dream.
We compared the words of Jesus at the Last Supper to those that the priest uses during the Mass. We also researched different words given to the bread and wine and decorated these for our display, which you will see in the school hall.
Spring Term – LENT
After our Ash Wednesday Mass we talked about how we have changed since joining Year Three. We also wrote our Lenten Promises and made ash crosses, using powder paint.
We read the story of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness and created booklets and posters to tell the story. We talked about how knowing what Jesus did when he was tempted can help us when we are also tempted. Take a look at our class worship about this:
We also held a class worship about how Jesus changed the life of the Widow of Nain and thought about how we could turn tears of sadness into tears of joy.
We wrote “Fasting and Feasting” prayers. Isabella was WRITER of the WEEK for her prayer. Take a look at it here:
Dear Heavenly Father,
This Lent I will,
Fast from snatching and feast on sharing,
Fast from telling lies and feast on being honest,
Fast from selfishness and feast on thinking of others,
Fast from ignoring and feast on listening,
Fast from being ungrateful and feast on being grateful,
Fast from bad words and feast on saying kind words.
Amen
By Isabella
Spring Term – RECONCILIATION
In our topic of Reconciliation we thought about different choices that we can make. We discussed and sorted choices into those that are good and bad and thought about how we feel when we make good and bad choices. We created our own role play scenarios to illustrated good and bad choices, making these into Puppet Pals films, which we included in our class assembly
Through the stories of the Prodigal Son and Zacchaeus, we learnt about God’s love for us and how God will forgive us if we say sorry. We also learnt about the different parts of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, have written our own sorry prayers and learnt the Act of Contrition.
We concluded our topic with our Spring term assembly on Friday 15th February. Take a look at some of the pictures from the assembly and the film clips that we showed:
20p for toast Mum washing up
Christmas
As part of our topic about Christmas, we have spent time thinking about the thoughts and feelings of the shepherds when they were visited by the angels and when they first saw Jesus in the stable.
Take a look at some of our illustrations of the manger scene:
Read some of our descriptions of the manger scene, from the viewpoint of a shepherd, below:
As I opened the door of the stable, I slowly tiptoed in. Then I saw Mary holding Jesus very tightly and I saw and heard animals breathing. Then I said in my head, “Thank you God for letting me see this wonderful Lord.” When I saw a shining beam of light behind Jesus I felt filled with joy because Jesus is a gift to me. I also felt very special because I saw the new born King!
By Sophie
When I arrived at the stable I tiptoed over to Jesus. I heard the baby Jesus crying softly in his manger. Then I saw a light shining down and I was amazed at the light. I heard the donkeys, cows and sheep. Then I stared into Jesus’ eyes. Then I saw Mary hugging and smiling at Jesus and Jesus asleep in Mary’s arms.
By Adam
As I opened the wooden door I heard the hay rustling under my feet. I looked up and felt the sheep nuzzling me. Mary and Joseph greeted me. Just then I saw a bright light and Jesus in a manger full of golden hay. I stood there in amazement, feeling excited. I crept towards him and I fell to the ground. This is the best day and I will never forget it I thought to myself.
By Louis
When I arrived at the wooden stable I saw little Jesus smiling gracefully at me. I heard tiny baby Jesus crying softly and I felt blessed and holy. I said “This baby is holy and a gift to me. I thought I would never see this.” I prayed, sung and glorified the Lord. I was not startled anymore, I felt more important than anyone. When I said, “The baby is a light” Jesus smiled at me.
By Levi
As I tiptoed slowly into the stable I saw tiny baby Jesus sniffling softly and his mother Mary gazing at him. I could hear the hens clucking loudly, donkeys neighing quietly and sheep baa-ing busily. I felt protected because I knew God was with me. I also felt like he was in my heart. As I walked to the manger, golden hay rustled under my feet. I dropped to my feet as I saw the wonderful sight and tears of happiness poured down my cheeks. I said to myself “How wonderful God is!” Suddenly I looked up at the sky. As I did, I noticed a large, bright start shining upon Jesus and his mother and father. I also saw white and gold angels in the roof praising God. Then Jesus started to cry and Ii went to touch his cheek. I thought, this is our true King I praise him.
By Madeleine
We have also written prayers about how we can be a child of God.
| Holy Child, Born under a special star, Sent to take away our sins, I will be like Jesus by helping the poor and being loving Amen By Olaf | Messiah, You were born under a golden star, Laid in a manger full of hay, You were sent to bring joy and love to the world, I will be a child of God by giving money to charity and giving food to the food bank. Amen By Levi |
| Messiah, Born under a golden star, You were sent by God to bring peace to the world, Sent to teach us about your heavenly Father, I will be a child of yours by helping other children if they fall over in the playground, I will also be a child of your by giving money to charity Amen By Patrick | King of Kings, Born in a stable under a glorious star, You were sent to help the poor, I will be like you by helping the poor and my family. Amen By Sophia |
Take a look at our display in the school hall:
Advent 2018
During Advent we have remembered the stories of The Annunciation, when Angel Gabriel tells Mary she will be the mother of Jesus, and the Visitation, when Mary goes to tell her cousin Elizabeth her good news.
We re-told these stories through role plays, puppet shows and letter writing.
We also thought about how we could get ready to welcome Jesus during this season and created prayers, which we wrote out on paper chains:
| King of Kings, You were sent by God to look after us and give peace to the world, I will welcome you by being nice and I will forgive people. You were sent to bring joy to the world, To welcome you I will pray more at home Amen By Sophie | Promised King, You were sent by God to bring peace and happiness to the world, I will welcome you by helping the poor and lonely. Amen By Anastasia |
| Messiah, You were sent by God to shine light in the darkness, I can welcome you by being kind and compassionate to others, You were sent to save us from our sins and to bring peace and joy to the world. Amen By Patrick | Holy Child of Bethlehem, You were sent by God to bring joy and happiness to the world. I will welcome you by loving people even if I don’t know them. You were sent by God to heal the sick people, I will welcome you by being nice to my sister and doing what I am told. Amen By Maegan |
| Christ the King, Sent by God, ruler of heaven and earth, to comfort us and be a light in our darkness, I will welcome you by noticing if others are lonely in the playground. I will set an example for the younger ones and forgive others. Amen By Madeleine | God’s Son, You were sent to wash away the sins of the world, I will welcome you by helping others, You were sent to bring peace. You were sent to show kindness, You were sent to bring joy. Amen By Jeremy |
Take a look at some of our Advent candles from the whole school retreat day on Wednesday 12th December:
Loving and Compassionate
During classroom worship sessions we thought about acts of love and shared these with the class:
| Christ, my Lord, you shine in the darkness, Sent by God to wash away the sins of the world, Please help me to be nice to the Reception children when they get hurt, And to help people when they are poorly. Amen (Tamra) | Lord, you are the light of the world, Sent by God to save the world, Help me to be kind and forgiving. Amen (Pryce) |
| Lord, you shine like a diamond, Jesus you shine like a star, You were sent by God to show us an example. God, help me to be a good son to my parents Amen (Alex) | Christ, my Lord, you shine in the darkness, You were sent by God because we were bad, Help me to be loving and caring, Guide me to be trustworthy. Amen (Anastasia) |
BAPTISM
After learning about the Baptism of Jesus, we thought about what the sacrament of Baptism means and what special things happen at a Baptism.
On Wednesday 19th September, Year Three were lucky enough to visit the church for the Baptism of Rebekah Eve. Deacon Pat helped us with the ceremony , which celebrates a person being welcomed into God’s family.
Here, Father Xavier welcomes the parents and God-parents.
