Following our success in the TTRS England Maths Week Challenge, the Shropshire Star have heard of how brilliant our children are at learning their timestables –

https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/education/2021/11/30/primary-pupils-show-off-their-maths-skills-in-national-competition-win/

Good Morning Brown Clee!

We have been continuing our theme of THANKFULNESS this week and reflecting on how important it is to appreciate the world around us.  Yesterday we looked at another word for THANKFULNESS – Gratitude – and how we can sometimes forget to say thank you.

I wonder why this is?  Why do we forget to show our gratitude and appreciation?  Is it because we are too busy or are we taking things for granted?

Have a watch of this video from The Pace Trust – it was filmed a while ago in the pandemic so you will see refences to being thankful for the NHS – but have a think as you watch it and think about what you can do to ensure you don’t forget to say thank you.

Have you thought – how can you develop an attitude of gratitude – so that we don’t take things or people for granted.

Prayer of the Day

For families and friends . . .
We are thankful.
For the beauty of nature and the world around us . . .
We are thankful.
For all the things in life that we too often take for granted . . .
We are thankful.
Please help us to be willing to show our thanks – not only in what we say, but also in what we do – every single day . . .
We are thankful.
Amen.

We have a fault on our second telephone line this morning, which might mean that you may have difficulties getting through as our main line is in use throughout the day for Parent Consultations.  If you need to contact school urgently it is probably best to email admin@brownclee.shropshire.sch.uk if you can’t get through by phone.

We have reported the fault and BT are investigating this morning.

Good Morning Brown Clee!

We are thinking about our Christian Value of THANKFULNESS this half term and yesterday we thought about the wonderful, diverse world that we live in – the planet earth, and how fortunate we are.

Today we are continuing this theme and are going to watch a video where we listen to a story about World War 2.  I wonder if you can think of another word that means THANKFULNESS?………….

Gratitude means being grateful – for example “I am grateful for the wonderful world we live in.”  Have a watch and listen to this story and whilst watching think about what it teaches you about Gratitude…

…what did the story make you think about?…………….

……It made me connect it to what we discussed when we were thinking about Respect and Kindness – how if we treat others as we wish to be treated, then they will treat us well.  It’s a bit like that with Gratitude – if we show someone gratitude, then they will be grateful back – just like Lucky showed his gratitude to Jack by saving his life, and Jack did not abandon his faithful friend. He, too, showed gratitude in return.

Have a little think about who you are grateful to and why?  Who has helped you recently?  Do we say ‘thank you’ often enough to show our appreciation?  Who can you show gratitude to today?

Prayer of the Day

Dear God,
Teach us to show our gratitude for what we have
By caring for those around us,
And for the wonderful world in which we live.
Amen.

Good Morning Brown Clee!

This half term we have started to think about our Christian value of THANKFULNESS.  In a school assembly last week I asked everyone what sort of things do you say “thank you” for – and amongst the answers one boy said “I say thank you for the world around us” – and this is something that I would like to think about today.

We all live very busy lives and it is very easy to take things for granted – as we are either going  too fast to notice what a beautiful world we live in, or we simply just forget to appreciate this beautiful planet.

So today I would like us all just to stop and think about our planet Earth – including Ditton Priors and our local area, but also the wider UK and world – and all its’ wonders.

Christians and many other religions believe that God created the world. Let’s enjoy watching this video that shows us what a wonderful world it is – as you watch try and think of something that you are thankful for – maybe the animals, mountains or oceans – what is it that makes this world so special and why?

Have a moment now to share in class – what is it that makes the world so special – what do you want to say thank you for?

For me – it would be the amazing physical world – the oceans and mountains, rivers and valleys, the glaciers and volcanos, the waterfalls and deserts – because for me, it is the diversity and differences in all the many countries that this makes the world a never ending feast of learning, and gives a sense of awe and wonder.  It’s also the seasons that bring the changes in colour – something that is very obvious now with the trees around us.

It is very easy to take our world for granted – but it is so important that we appreciate it and are thankful – because then we can learn to look after and care for our world that the Lord gave us.

Christians believe that although the whole of creation and nature are wonderful, God considers people to be the best part of his creation. He considers us all to be very special. Christians believe that God loves us to enjoy all that he has given us. He wants us to make the most of the fresh air and the outdoors, to use our bodies and to look after each other.

Prayer of the Day

Dear God,
Thank you for all that you give us;
For all of nature and creation,
And for the food that we grow, eat and enjoy.
Help us to know our place as part of creation,
And to look after each other
And all that you have entrusted to our care.
Amen.

We have sent emails to all parents with a letter and a booking form for our upcoming Parents Feedback Sessions.  Please return completed booking forms by Wednesday 10th November to book your appointment with your child’s class teacher.

Copies of the letter and bookings forms can be found here:-

Parent Feedback Session  Letter

Fireflies booking Form

Grasshoppers booking Form

Dragonflies booking Form

Scorpions booking Form

We kindly ask that parents continue to keep us informed of the outcome of any PCR tests during the half term break.  We have had another positive PCR yesterday so it is possible that the virus is still transmitting in school.

We are currently operating in ‘bubbles’ as part of our Step-Up measures but are hoping to be able to return to normal operations after the half term break – but this will depend on whether there are any further positive cases.  So it is really important that you continue to keep us informed, of both negative and positive PCR test results using admin@brownclee.shropshire.sch.uk

Good Morning Brown Clee!

This week we have been thinking about our feelings and emotions – and reflecting on how we shouldn’t let ourselves be defined by emotions – they are things that we feel for example we might feel angry – but this doesn’t make us an angry person.  The important thing for us to learn is to manage our emotions and try and take a step back from them so that they don’t overwhelm us.

This isn’t always easy – for adults as well as children – and sometimes we might feel that it is impossible to change how we react… that we are who we are.  What do you think?  Do you think you can change how you react to things?  Can you stop yourself over-reacting when feeling angry or sad?  Have a watch of this video from The Pace Trust about “Can people change?” and see what you think afterwards…

What do you think now?  Do you believe that you can make a fresh start and change?   I will be honest and say that I used to get very annoyed if I was ever late – and this would get me all worked up and niggled and it wasn’t a nice feeling.  Over time I learnt that I just had to do everything I could to ensure I wasn’t late but also learnt that if I had done everything I could and I was still going to be late (for example I got up in plenty time but I get stuck behind a tractor on the way to work!) and there was nothing I could do about it then there was no point getting annoyed – I’d only end up feeling horrible feelings – it’s much better to just stay calm.  So I learnt how to change how I reacted.

So what would you like to change about your ‘inner/inside’ you to help you live your life in a better way?

Prayer of the Day

Dear God,

We read in the Bible that you made me and you love me, just as I am. That’s good to know.

Will you help me change … It’s causing me a bit of a problem. Thank you.

Help us to ensure that we always give our best,

Always try our hardest,

And always strive to achieve.

Amen

Don’t forget to join us at 1:30pm tomorrow (Thursday 21st October) for our parental workshop on how to help your child with phonics and early reading.  This will be particularly helpful for parents of children in the Fireflies.

It is being held on Microsoft Teams and the link will be emailled to all Firefly parents tomorrow morning – so please check your emails if you are planning on joining us.  When you join the meeting, we kindly request that you join on mute.

If you have any problems accessing the session please ring or email to let us know and we will do our best to get you onboard!  If you are a parent in Grasshoppers and wish to join us please let us know so that we can add you to the invite list.

Good Morning Brown Clee!

We have been thinking about feelings and emotions this week – and yesterday we learnt about how we need to use our ‘thinking’ brain (the upstairs brain) to ensure that we can manage our feelings appropriately.  Today I would like to develop this further so that we can understand that as well as learning how to manage our emotions – we also need to understand that that we don’t just have feelings; we can think about them, too. We don’t have to give in to our feelings and let them tell us what to do.

Have a watch of this video which talks to us about our thoughts, feelings, emotions – and as you listen remember that it is often how we think about our feelings that affect us the most – and our feelings do not define who we are….

Have a moment now to share your thoughts from watching the video – what did it make you think?

It made me think of an example of when a BIG feeling can take over – such as when we feel angry – it is really easy to get lost in the anger but we need to learn to step back from these feelings and say, ‘I have angry feelings.’ This is much better than saying, ‘I’m angry’, because even though we feel angry, being angry isn’t all of us; we don’t have to let our feelings take over. This can be quite difficult to do – for adults too!

So, if you find yourself becoming overwhelmed with an emotion, remember to say, for example, ‘I have angry feelings’, not, ‘I am angry.’ This will help us to manage our emotions –  this is called emotional regulation – something that is really important!

Prayer of the Day

Dear God,
Teach us how to control our feelings.
Help us to be patient and kind.
Show us how to laugh with others and not at them.
Help us to spread a little happiness
by the way we behave towards one another.
Amen.

A quick reminder that we have a PD day on Monday 1st November after the half term break.

Good Morning Brown Clee!

Yesterday we started to think about FEELINGS – and how many different feelings there are and why they are important.  We also started to think about how we can regulate or manage our feelings in an appropriate way – and today I want us to think about that some more.

Today we are going to learn a bit more about what goes on inside our brain when we have feelings so that we can understand how to manage our feelings and be in control of them – rather than feelings being in control of us.  Have a watch and listen to this video which talks about the ‘upstairs’ and ‘downstairs’ parts of our brain – and have a think about which one you think is most important…

Did you decide which part of the brain you think is most important – the upstairs ‘thinking’ brain or the downstairs ‘feelings’ brain?  I think that most of the time the upstairs/thinking brain is most important – as without the ability to think and manage our feelings we could end up being overwhelmed by them.  Imagine if you felt sad because you’d lost your favourite toy and you didn’t have a ‘thinking’ brain – how would you ever stop being sad – would you just continue to cry and be miserable for ever?   What if someone accidentally hurt you in the playground and you felt angry – if you didn’t have a thinking brain, would that anger just build and build until you ‘flipped your lid’?

A big part of growing up involves learning how to understand and manage our feelings – and this happens as we develop and grow our upstairs/thinking brain – and we will learn more about this tomorrow.  Today I want us to try and be more self aware when we are experiencing a feeling – and try to learn to step back from our feelings so that we say in our minds, ‘I have angry feelings.’ rather than saying, ‘I’m angry’. This helps us to appreciate that we are more than our feelings, and that we can control them for example even though we might feel angry, being angry isn’t all of us; we don’t have to let our feelings take over.

Prayer of the Day

Dear God,
Thank you that you know me very well and that you love me.
Please help me to be patient with other people, even when they make me cross!
Please help me to try to understand them and be kind and caring.

Help me to use my thinking brain so that I can manage my feelings,
Amen.

We are having a regular number of children without a packed lunch but who haven’t had a school meal ordered via Parent Pay.  Can we please remind parents that it is essential to pre-order a school meal, even if your child is Free School Meals.

Good Morning Brown Clee!

I hope you all had a good weekend – and here we are back to online assemblies again for our last week of this half term!  Hopefully we will be back together in the hall after the half-term break – but in the meantime, this week I would like us to start to think about feelings.  I know that I feel sad and somewhat disappointed that we are back to ‘bubbles’ and online assemblies, but I also feel hopeful that we will be back to normal after half-term.

We all have them – and there are so many different types of feelings!  Feelings are part of what makes us human – can you name some?

I know that I have felt all of these feelings at some point in my life – I am sure many of you have too!  If we were asked to split these feelings into groups I would group them like this:-

1: Happy, Optimistic, Hopeful, Friendly, Glad

2: Sad, Pessimistic, Depressed, Miserable, Afraid

Can you explain how I have grouped these feelings?

…….

The lists have been separated into feelings that we generally like and those that we try to avoid….some are feelings that we would prefer to experience – and others some that we don’t like.  However our feelings are not as simple as we might think. For example, isn’t it good to feel a bit nervous before being in a play, playing a sports match or taking a test? Don’t we like being a tiny bit frightened before a rollercoaster ride or during a scary film? Don’t we need to feel fired up and cross at times if we are facing a challenge and things are tough? If we always felt calm and chilled – would we have the passion and drive to work towards our aspirations and dreams?

So feelings are complicated and are part of our lives – and we need to learn to understand why we have them..

…and we need to learn how to manage them so that we don’t have to give in to our feelings and let them tell us what to do…(more on that tomorrow!)…

Prayer of the Day

Dear God,
Thank you for all the feelings we have and that each one has its place.
It’s right to be scared if we’re in danger.
It’s great to be happy when we can.
Please help us to control our bad feelings and not be overwhelmed by them.
Amen.