Good Morning Brown Clee!

We have been thinking of courage and self belief, and reflecting on our own uniqueness and how we should be proud of who we are!  Today I want to take you back in time to 1838, September the 7th to be precise, to the Farne Islands just off the coast of Northumberland,  where a young girl called Grace Darling lived with her family in a lighthouse.

Grace and her father saved 9 lives that night, and Grace received many awards for her bravery, as well as becoming famous.  But she didn’t do it for an award of fame and fortune – why do you think she did it?   She wasn’t worried for herself, she was just determined to save the shipwrecked sailors.

Grace was only 22 years old – she didn’t think she was anyone special, she was just the lighthouse keeper’s daughter – but one stormy night she did something exceptionally brave and heroic, something that she has been remembered for ever since…

I think this story just shows what you can achieve if you are brave and determined.  It doesn’t have to be saving lives, it could be as simple as over coming a fear of snakes, or riding a bicycle without stabilisers.  Being brave and courageous comes in many forms – and we are all have the potential to be as heroic as Grace Darling.

https://youtu.be/JBKxfad2G-s

Prayer of the Day

As we remember Grace Darling and her father,
we think of those today who brave frightening seas to help and rescue others.
May they be given the courage and wisdom they need in facing danger.
Lord, hear our prayer.
Amen.

We are getting closer to the 6th July, when we start Archie’s Kenyan Safari challenge, and travel the entire border of Kenya, a massive 2,141 miles in just 7 days!

We need everyone to take part….children, parents, brothers and sisters, staff and governors! We need everyone to do some walking, running, cycling, horse riding, swimming, and clock up the miles to raise money to support our school charity, the Karibuni Children.

We have already raised £492.50 but we want to get to £2141….a pound for every mile….so please help support us too…https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/BrownCleeSchool

News of the challenge has even reached the communities that we are supporting in Kenya, as we have received this message from George, a social worker at the project in Tharaka….

“I appreciate the efforts of Archie. Miss Sue Relph thank you very much for raising this boy and supporting his ambitions of touching lives. Both you and the boy is an enough lesson for the world to learn. That touching lives require a willing heart and not material wealth. I have liked your organisational strategy as an administrator. The contribution of Brown Clee C.E. Primary school will make a huge impact to the vulnerable children in Kenya. They feel excited on the mention of your names. Plan through Joy and pay a visit to see things for yourself if an opportunity comes. You will confirm that your contribution touched needy children and made a recommendable change. Congratulations Archie, Miss Sue and the entire Brown Clee C.E. Primary School. Looking forward to meeting at God’s appointed time.”

So come on everyone in the Brown Clee Team, get yourselves warmed up for next week’s challenge….I know we can do it!

Today we have emailed a letter to parents of children who use or are entitled to school transport to help us with our planning for September. It is important that we get a reply by Friday 10th July, so please check your emails. If you haven’t received it please let us know and we will resend.

Good Morning Brown Clee!

Yesterday we learnt about the inpirational Ezra Frech, a young boy born with physical disabilities, but as a result of his outstanding courage and self-belief is an inspiration to us all.

What is Self Belief?  We might all have a different idea or definition.  In the Oxford dictionary it says that ‘Self Belief is having confidence in oneself”.  It can be difficult to have ‘confidence in oneself’ all the time – especially if you are trying something new and for the first time, or if you go somewhere new, like starting a new school, or visiting new people.  Can you think of any other examples when it might be difficult to believe in yourself?  I know I found it hard to believe that I would be able to swim in the deep end when I was young, as I was so scared about being out of my depth.  I didn’t believe that I could swim without armbands – but guess what – I could!

Here is a short film called ‘Piper’ about a hungry, young sandpiper hatchling who ventures from her nest for the first time to dig for food by the shoreline. The only problem is, the food is buried beneath the sand where scary waves roll up onto the shore.  Enjoy and have a think about how much self-belief does Piper have at the beginning – what is she scared of?  What changes and why?

Poor Piper – she was so hungry, yet so scared of the sea and didn’t really believe in herself, didn’t believe that she could catch food herself – until she watched the hermit crabs, and learnt from them.  She then discovered the wonderful underwater world – and after practice and trial and error, suddenly she was an amazing shell catcher!

What message have you learn from this?  Is there anything that you are finding difficult or challenging today, that with a little more self-belief, you might be able to overcome?

Enjoy this cheerful song, that reminds us that it doesn’t matter what the weather, sing along and smile!

https://youtu.be/73_y1ESHxqI

We also need to sing happy birthday to Millie and Poppy in Class 1, as today they are celebrating their 5th Birthday! Happy Birthday girls!

Prayer of the Day

Thank you, Lord,
that you promise to be with us always.
Thank you for the new beginnings
you give to us in our lives.
Help us to make the most of them,
to learn from them
and grow through them.
Help us to trust you as we step out into the future.
Amen.

Good Morning Brown Clee!

This half term our Christian value is Courage, and we have talked and thought about what courage is and how it can take many forms.  Today I’d like to think about how sometimes it can take courage to just be you!

We have talked about how we are all different, and how we should be proud of who we are, and that our differences make the world a much brighter and more interesting place.  But sometimes our differences can attract negative attention, and this can cause us to feel sad and lonely, and it might make us want to not try or give up – which is why it is so important to learn to be brave and be proud of who we all are – and always strive to be the best person we can be.

Here is the story of one 9 year old boy called Ezra – who is different because he only has one leg, but he has the most amazing outlook on life and immense courage….have a watch and see what you think (his story finishes at 3 minutes 47 seconds, but I don’t know (yet!) how to edit it to stop it there – sorry!)

Why is Ezra brave? How would you feel if you only had one leg or arm?   Could you be as brave as Ezra?  Ezra is rightly ok and happy with who he is and is an inspiration to us all……to be happy in who we are, to be confident and courageous about our differences and to appreciate our own individual lives….

We have another song to sing as well today as it is Rueben’s birthday today – so Happy Birthday Rueben!!

Prayer of the Day

Dear God,
Thank you that you have given us different things to be good at in our lives.
Please help each one of us to find something we are good at
and to get even better at it this week.
Help us to be brave and confident, and to keep going even when it’s hard.
Amen.

The Reception Foxes have been learning a new song this morning…Suki Over the Ocean! They enjoyed adding some actions and also making up their own verses!

IMG_1733

We thought it important to share amongst our community that we had a possible attempted break-in on Tuesday evening.  The school alarm was activated at 9.45pm which alerted our security company who immediately send out an officer to the school site to investigate.  They arrived on site within 15 minutes and carried out an external and interval patrol.  There were no obvious signs of a breach or damage, but on further investigation in daylight on Wednesday, we found some suspicious damage to a number of door frames.

We have notified the West Mercia police and the local Police Community Support Officers will be increasing their patrols in the area.  We felt it important to share this information to make our neighbours aware and to help us all be vigilant, and we have been advised to inform you that if you do see anything suspicious then please report to the Police on 101.

We thought we would also let you know about Smartwater.  It is a forensic tracing liquid which can be used on all valuables, allowing them to be traced if stolen.  We use it in school to protect all our valuable equipment.

Good Morning Brown Clee!

Yesterday I introduced you to Archie’s Kenyan Safari Challenge – where he has set a challenge for us all to travel the distance of the Kenyan border to raise money for Karibuni Children.  This is going to be a mammoth team effort and will need everyone to join in and work together to see if we can cover 2141 miles in 7 days between us!

So I thought it would be an ideal opportunity to think about teamwork, and why it’s “teamwork that can make a dream work” –

So take a moment and have a think – how can you help to make Archie’s dream of helping those children in poverty in Kenya – what could you do to help his Kenyan Safari Challenge?  Could you run or walk a mile a day?  Could you persuade your family to all join you in cycling 10 miles? Could you share the challenge with all your family and friends?  We know that Archie can’t do this alone – but he is part of our team, so let’s support him and see if we can all help to make a difference!

https://youtu.be/pDt_39G8214

Prayer of the Day

Dear God,
Help us to work together as a team.
Help us to remember that sometimes we need our friends to help us to do things better.
May we not be afraid to ask for help.
Please help each of us to play our parts in the community and wider world.
Amen.

Good Morning Brown Clee!

We have been thinking about Respect, Diversity and Kindness the past few weeks, and today I would like to share a story that Jesus taught his followers, about The Good Samaritan.  You can find it in the Bible in the book of Luke in the New Testament.  Jesus was asked “what is the most important commandment?” He responded saying that the greatest commandment is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” and the second to “love your neighbour as yourself”. He was then asked who counts as a neighbour and he told this story that is an example for everyday life.

What do you think Jesus was trying to tell people through this parable?  Could it be to love others as you love yourself – be kind to others as you are kind to yourself?  We are all equal and equally deserve to be respected?  What are your thoughts?

Here is a song to share about being ‘Together’…

https://youtu.be/LpMWOZZfki0

Prayer of the Day

Dear God,
Thank you that you made us all differently.
Thank you that you love every one of us.
Help us to show care for all people.
Help us to learn to appreciate differences.
Help us to be inclusive and always to make others feel welcome.
Amen.

Good morning Brown Clee!

I’d like to carry on with our theme of Respect, Diversity and Kindness with a funny cartoon fo you to watch. As you watch it think about what words you would use to describe the small birds and the big bird. Also, see if you can pick a message from the story….there are lots of different ones…

Can you describe the small birds’ behaviour? What about big bird?

What messages did you pick up from the film? It made me think about how important it is to be kind and friendly to everyone, even if they are different, and that we should never make fun of people just because they look different.  I also think that there is a message about ourselves…imagine being big bird. The smaller birds laughed and made fun of him because he was taller, and had lots of feathers sticking up in different directions. But he didn’t get cross or upset, he just wanted to be friends. So I think it is teaching us that being different does not matter and we should all be like big bird and be happy and proud of who we are….

Today is a special day for Ollie – HAPPY BIRTHDAY OLLIE!

Also, we missed Isabel’s birthday on the 12th – we do apologise! So HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISABEL!!

Prayer of the Day

Dear God,
Thank you that you made us all differently.
Thank you that you love every one of us.
Help us to show care for all people.
Help us to learn to appreciate differences.
Help us to be inclusive and always to make others feel welcome.
Amen.

Good Morning Brown Clee!

We have been thinking a lot about Respect, and how important it is to treat everybody equally – no matter what the differences, and that being kind is often the easiest way to show respect.

Kindness is very powerful – because often by simply doing something kind to someone else, it can have the magical affect of making you feel better about yourself too!  Watch this short video and see what it makes you think about…

Can you create a spark of kindness today?  If you do, have a think about how it makes you feel?

It is amazing how often, one little act of kindness can really make a difference – YOU can make a difference!

https://youtu.be/JBKxfad2G-s

Prayer of the Day

Dear God,
You have made us all different
And given us to each other for friendship and support,
To share with and enjoy each other’s company.
May we always value each other
And always look for opportunities to improve the lives of those around us.
Amen.

Good Morning Brown Clee!

This week we have been thinking about Respect, and how it is important that we treat others as we wish to be treated ourselves.  Sometimes we can forget this, and sometimes we don’t treat everybody equally or fairly, sometimes we can be disrespectful, especially if people look or behave differently to us.  In the Bible there are many stories that help to teach us how we should behave, and how we should follow Jesus’.

This is a picture of  Paul, who was one of the first friends of Jesus. Paul travelled all over the ancient world telling people about Jesus and wrote many books about being a Christian which are found in the Bible. Paul wanted everyone to hear the good news that Jesus loves them – old and young, men and women, every race, religion, nationality – no-one was left out when Paul was speaking!  Jesus loves everyone!

In a letter that Paul wrote to the church in Rome, he said:

“Each one of us has a body, and that body has many parts. These parts all have different uses. In the same way, we are many, but in Christ we are all one body.”

What do you think Paul means?  I wonder if he is trying to say that we may all look different, and be different, that we may live in different places across the world, but we are also all human, and as Christians, we are all part of God’s team. Therefore, we should be respectful and treat everyone equally, irrespective of differences. and we should celebrate and appreciate our differences and work together to help make the world a wonderful place.

Here is a video of children from across the planet who wanted to connect the world through music, as they share the belief that music has the power to break down boundaries and overcome distances between people.

Prayer of the Day

Dear God,
Thank you for all of our differences here at this school.
Thank you that you created a whole world full of different people.
Help us to know that this makes the world a beautiful and interesting place to live
Because we are all special to you.
Amen.

In the statement made by the Secretary of State for Education this afternoon, Gavin Williamson announced that there was no longer an expectation that all Year 2,3,4 and 5 children should be in school for a month prior to the summer holiday.

This was a relief for us, as we do not have the capacity to extend the school to receive more children unless we operated on a rota basis, and the government guidance currently states that rotas are not to be used.  Therefore, we will continue to remain open for children of Critical Workers and children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 until the end of this academic year.

We will continue with our remote learning activities for those children at home, and are always here to answer any queries.

Good Morning Brown Clee!

Yesterday we listened to a story about diversity and thought about how wonderful it is that everybody is different!  We also talked about RESPECT and how important respect is to enable people to work, play and live together in harmony.

Today I have a video that focuses on Mutual Respect. The word mutual means shared between people’, and in this video you learn find out what two pupils, Amelie and Shaeya, discover when they asked people in their school community what respect means to them.

In this video, children offered different ideas on the word Respect, including: ‘showing tolerance’, ‘listening to others’, ‘being open to their opinions and beliefs’, ‘treating others as equals’, ‘playing by the rules’, ‘being polite to others’ and ‘being loyal to your friends’. All the interviewees agreed that it is important to treat others with thoughtfulness and consideration, in just the way that we would wish to be treated ourselves.

Here are some questions to help you think about your thoughts about Mutual Respect…

When is it easy to show respect?

When is it harder to show respect?

What do you need to do to show respect?

Do you have to earn respect? And if so, how do you earn it?

Here’s a song that we have sung before, about showing a Little Bit of Kindness – as being kind to others, is always a good way to earn respect!

https://youtu.be/iGUABWgeA1Q

Prayer of the Day

Dear God

We thank you for giving us the patience and understanding to reach out to others and treat them with dignity and respect.

Help us to remember that everyone is equal, to value other people, and to treat them well, just as we wish to be treated.

Amen.

Thank you to the Keyworker parents who have been keeping us informed of the need for child care.  We are aware that with more relaxing of restrictions, that the demand for Keyworker Child Care might increase, so we thought it would be helpful to provide the following information:-

• We can offer Child Care for children who have a parent with a job that is classified as being on the “Critical Worker List”  – Click here to see the guidance.
• The government also states the following principles for Critical Workers who are seeking child care in school:
  1. If a child has a parent who is a critical worker, then educational provision will be available for them.
  2. Parents must do everything they can to ensure children are not mixing socially outside of school. They must observe the same social distancing principles as adults, as far as possible.
  3. If your work is critical to the COVID-19 response, or you work in one of the critical sectors listed in the guidance, then your children will be prioritised for education provision.
• Our child care is available from 9am to 3.15pm and needs to be booked in advance, ideally by Midday on the Friday of the week before needed.
• We have a maximum capacity of 8 children, due to social distancing rules and staffing ratios.
• Children access and exit school using the main school reception door.
• Children can bring their own toys/resources in to play with, as well as a packed lunch if required (school packed lunches are available – please ask if required).

Good Morning Brown Clee!

I hope everyone had a good weekend, even though it was rather blustery!

Last week we were focusing on our Christian Value of the half term – Courage, and we learnt how we can be brave in so many different ways, and we don’t need to be a superhero to be brave!

As a school, we have 6 core Christian Values, one of which I think is kind of an umbrella that encompasses all values – and that is Respect!  We talk about respect a lot in school – as it comes in many different forms: Respect for yourself, Respect for others, Respect for School…..and when we discuss it and children explain what it is – they often say “Respect is treating other people how you wish to be treated”.  Which I think are wise words!

In school we learn about other countries and cultures and we discuss how we are all different, but yet all the same and we celebrate the diversity of the world.  We appreciate that this wonderful world is amazing because of it’s diversity, and because of it’s differences.  So this week I would like to think about differences and diversity – and here is a story that makes a good introduction…as stories can help us to understand the world!

Here are some questions for you to think about from the story:-

What is the main problem in the story?

How is the problem solved by the end of the story?

What is the message and lessons learnt in the story of “Mixed”?

For me, the story has made me think what a boring world it would be if we were all the same, and how wonderful it is that we are all different, in so many ways!  But that we should always treat each other respectfully, irrespective of our differences. Here is a song that helps to teach us how to get along …

Prayer of the Day

Dear God,

Thank you that you made us each different from each other,
yet each the same in some ways.
Help us to love the differences in other people.

Help us to be kind to those around us.
Help us to think about the needs of other people.
Please help us to seek to live in peace.
Amen.

Good Morning Brown Clee!

We have been thinking about courage this week as it is our Christian Value of the half term, and today I would like to share a story from the Book of Daniel, Chapter 6 in The Bible, about a very brave man called Daniel.

Daniel was a man of God, who always put God first in his life. He was also a clever and important young man who helped King Darius to rule his kingdom. Daniel was so good at his job and so trusted by the king that he was in line for a big promotion. Sadly, this made the king’s other helpers jealous. The king’s helpers got together to hatch a plan to bring Daniel down.

Why was Daniel brave?  Was it just for facing the lions without fear? …….  I think he was brave for staying true to his faith that God is the only one God – rather than doing what everyone else was doing.  He knew it was wrong to worship Darius as he was not a God.

When Daniel decided to continue praying to his God, the true God, he didn’t know what the outcome of his decision would be. He must have been scared of the lions, but he had faith in his God,a God who had promised never to leave him or to forsake him. He knew that it was right to continue to trust in his God.

Sometimes it is hard to stick with what you know is right when everyone else is doing something different and wrong.  It is hard to be the ‘odd one out’.  But we should maybe take a leaf out of Daniel’s book, and be brave and have faith.  Maybe we can make a difference and encourage others to follow our lead, and lead them down the right path….

https://youtu.be/pDt_39G8214

Prayer of the Day

Dear God,
Thank you that you promise to be with us always.
Thank you that you promise to be with us in every situation.
When things are hard to understand, please give us strength, faith and perseverance.
Amen.

Good Morning Brown Clee!

We have been thinking about COURAGE this week as our Christian Value of the Half term.  We have thought about how sometimes we can be afraid of the unknown but that maybe we should be brave and think positively about it as we might be pleasantly surprised!  We have learnt about Derek Redmond, a courageous athlete who never gave up despite being in agonising pain, and as a result he achieved so much more than a medal!

Today I have a video asking ‘What is Courage?” showing that you don’t have to be a super hero to be brave, and that sometimes you can be brave in a very quiet mouse-like way!

Can you think of a time when you showed courage in school?

How can you find and use your courageous voice today!?!

Sometimes it helps to sing if you’re feeling a bit worried or scared, so here’s a song you can sing along to any time to help you feel brave!

Prayer of the Day

Let’s say our School Prayer together, so those of us at home and at school can be together in spirit…

Dear God

Thank you for our wonderful school.

Help us to be good learners.

Help us to look after each other.

Help us be respectful and kind and to make everyone welcome.

May our school be a happy, safe place where learning is fun.

Where we all work together to be the best we can be.

Amen