Good morning Brown Clee!  I hope everyone had a good day yesterday – from the photos that have been sent in, it looks like many of you were very busy!  I love all the cairns that were created!

Today I have another short video for you – I am not going to give you a theme – I wonder if you can watch it and have a think what the message in the story might be?

What did the story of Joy and the Heron make you think about?  For me, it was that kindness is so important, as if you are kind to someone, then they will more than likely be kind to you – Being kind means thinking about someone else and being willing to put their needs first.

We also have a birthday celebration today – as it is Kieran’s birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIERAN!

Prayer of the Day

Dear God,
Please help me to be kind towards others.
Please help me to be helpful, considerate and sympathetic.
Even at difficult times, when I’m busy or tired, help me to respond to others in the way that I would like to be treated.
Amen.

Good Morning Brown Clee!  It was so lovely seeing the fantastic photos and work that you kindly sent in yesterday. It has been 5 weeks now since we have been together and I know that the staff are all missing being in school with you all, and it must be as tough for you missing your friends – so hopefully being able to see each other on the class pages helps in a way.

Which has made me think about how much we value being part of the Brown Clee Team; which includes children, staff, parents, governors and the community! Being a team and working together is something that we really appreciate, and it is difficult at the moment as we are all in our own homes.  So here is a little video clip to enjoy about being a team – because at the moment you are home teams, and it is so important to keep thinking about working together!

(Moral of the story – don’t kick a pomegranate!)

And if you click here we can sing a little song called ‘Sing Together’.

SING TOGETHER

Prayer of the Day

Dear God,
Help us to work together as a team.
Help us especially in these difficult times to work together at home,
To support each other and appreciate each other.

May we not be afraid to ask for help.
Please help us to realise that even when we feel alone
you are always on our team.
Amen.

Here’s the leader board from Spelling Shed.

Zak still out in the lead! Can anyone overtake him?

Here’s the group leader board:

Class 4, the highest scoring class – just in front of class 2! However, Year 2 are currently the highest scoring year group in the school!

Good Morning Brown Clee!  I hope you had a good weekend and managed to make the most of the fabulous weather!  We seem to have a few cloudy, damp days ahead of us, so hopefully the activities that the teachers are posting on the website will help with keeping you in a purposeful routine.

Today I thought it would be nice to reflect and ponder over another page from Charlie Mackesey’s book “The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse”.  So take a look at the following picture and words, and have a moment to see what it makes you think about.

Does it make you think about the weather, and that there might be dark clouds above but they will pass and the sun and blue sky will come back?  Or does it make you think it could be referring to that when things get tough, or when you are going through tough times, be optimistic, as these tough times will pass and happiness will return?  It’s making me think at the moment, that we are going through a difficult time, away from friends and family and school, but that these difficult times will pass, and we will be back together again.  There is always hope and faith. Let me know what you think!

We have 2 birthdays to celebrate from the weekend!  Yesterday it was Penny’s 6th birthday and Chloe’s (Class 3) 8th birthday, so please join in and sing to wish them a happy birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PENNY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHLOE

Prayer of the Day

Dear God,
Thank you that you are always with us in every situation.
Please help us to share our worries with someone when we are finding things difficult.
Please help us to realise the importance of talking.
Please be with those for whom life is difficult at the moment.
Please help us all to help other people.
Please help us always to look for hope.
Amen.

The Shropshire Library Service have kindly shared a useful book for children on the coronavirus. It is illustrated by Axel Scheffler (illustrator of The Gruffalo) and helps explain the current ongoing situation in simpler terms.

Coronavirus_ABookForChildren

It is another absolutely beautiful day – the sun is shining, birds are chirping, flowers are blossoming. There is a lot that we are missing at the moment, including our friends, but there is also a lot that we should be thankful for. So here’s a song for us to sing together to show our appreciation and wonder for the world around us. (Click the picture)

Prayer of the Day

Lord, teach me to offer you a heart of thanksgiving and praise in all my daily experiences of life. Teach me to be joyful always, to pray continually and to give thanks in all my circumstances. I accept them as Your will for my life. Amen (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

Today is Earth Day 2020. What is Earth Day you may ask?  It began in 1970 (so today is the 50th anniversary!) as a unified response to an environment in crisis — oil spills, smog, rivers so polluted they literally caught fire.

On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans — 10% of the U.S. population at the time — took to the streets, college campuses and hundreds of cities to protest environmental ignorance and demand a new way forward for our planet.

The first Earth Day is credited with launching this modern environmental movement.

So today is a good day to think about our wonderful world and how precious it is.  What do you like?  Where do you like going?  What makes it so special?  And maybe most importantly of all, how can we look after it for generations to come?  What could you do today to help look after our Earth?  Could you make sure you put your litter in the bin?  Turn unnecessary lights off?  Or just watch and listen to the words in this beautiful song…

If you are interested in learning more about Earth Day here is there website: www.earthday.org

Prayer of the Day

Dear God,
Thank you for giving us our planet and all the wonderful living things in it.
Please remind us how important it is for us to take care of it so that future generations can continue to enjoy it.
Amen.

Our Value this half term is Thankfulness – and I think at this point in time it is particularly relevant.  We often take so much for granted and don’t take time to stop and reflect on how much we have to be thankful for.  So maybe today just stop for a moment and listen and watch this song by Josh Groban called ‘Thankful’.

What are you thankful for?  Here’s a short poem that might help you think of things…

Be Thankful

Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire.
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don’t know something,
for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations,
because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge,
because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes.
They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you’re tired and weary,
because it means you’ve made a difference.

It’s easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfilment comes to those who
are also thankful for the setbacks.

Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles,
and they can become your blessings

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.

I am sure everyone is aware of the amazing fundraising superstar called Captain Tom Moore!  He is an absolute prime example of our SMART learning behaviours – such motivation and ambition, and what an amazing achievement!  He has raised over £20 MILLION so far by walking 100 times around his house at the age of 99 – what a hero!

I thought you might like to know some of his background…

Captain Tom Moore was born on April 30th in 1920. His parents and family were local builders in Keighley, Yorkshire, where he spent much of his life. He attended Keighley Grammar School as a child, and later went on to complete an apprenticeship as a Civil Engineer. But in 1940, aged just 20, his education took a pause as he was conscripted into the army to fight in World War Two.

Tom joined the 8th Battalion of The Duke of Wellington’s Regiment, with whom he was sent to Cornwall to defend the coast as the threat of a German invasion loomed.

After being selected for officer training, Tom quickly rose up through the ranks to captain and in 1941, was enlisted to India. The journey to Bombay took six weeks by sea. There, Captain Tom was instructed to start a motorcycle course for his regiment, before moving onto Calcutta in a treacherous three week road trip in the the midst of the monsoon season. Later, he served and fought on the Arakan in Burma – a British colony which was invaded by the Japanese. He moved further south with his troops to Rangoon, then the capital of Burma and a major port, before the Japanese surrendered. After his overseas duties were said and done, Tom returned to the UK to become an instructor at The Armoured Fighting Vehicle School in Bovington, Dorset, where he continued to work until all tanks and troops were demobilised. But his life did not quieten down after that.

After he came out of the army Tom raced his Scott motorbike around Yorkshire and won several cups and medals. He also organised the annual reunion of his regiment for 64 years – the longest continual annual reunion in the Duke of Wellington Regiment.

If you click here you can see the video of his final lap of the house!

On the 30th April, Captain Tom Moore is 100 years old!  I wondered whether anyone would like to send him a birthday message, drawing or card?  If you do, email them to admin@brownclee.shropshire.sch.uk and we will send them onto Captain Tom!

Such an amazing achievement really shows what we can do when we try, and we work together!  So there’s a little song here you might want to join in with!

TOGETHER

Prayer of the Day

Dear God,
Thank you for the school, the clubs and the family that we are part of.
Please help us to encourage and support others.
Please help us to play our parts in the teams that we are in.
Please help us to encourage unity.
Thank you.
Amen.

Look what Lola has been up to during this lockdown!  She has created this giant giraffe in her window to remind people to stay at home and save lives!  As a well done she has received a certificate from the NHS!

Before the Easter holiday, Class 4 children had the opportunity to write letters to the residents of our local care home, where our Brown Clee Buddies normally visit weekly to share a story or a game together.  With the current situation this interaction isn’t happening, and we are missing seeing the residents.  We thought it would be nice for our children to write them letters – so they did and I have received an email from Ditton Priors Care Home thanking the children:-

” Good Morning, Thank you very much for the letters our residents love them. Keep safe and hopefully wont be long till we can see you all again :)”

Here are some of the letters that the children sent:-

Alex

Chloe

Elliot

George Ba

George Be

Maisie

We want to say congratulations to Mrs Heath, who has been awarded ‘Teacher of the Week’ in The Week Junior, a national current affairs magazine for young people. Mollie nominated Mrs Heath for “being so much fun” and “explaining things”. What a thoughtful thing to do Mollie….I know it has put a big smile on Mrs Heath’s face today!

Good morning and here is the THUNK for today – please feel free to share your thoughts/reflections via admin@brownclee.shropshire.sch.uk

And the song for the day is…

WATER, FOOD, REST AND EXERCISE

Another lovely day, and another ‘THUNK of the day’!  Yesterday’s THUNK “Is black a colour” provoked this thought from Miss Greenan:

“Black to me is a shade or a mood. We use black to represent sadness, mourning, shadows, dullness, darkness, negativity. When asked about happy colours black is rarely or never chosen. In art, black can be used to shade areas or to show night time or darkness.”

I also wondered if black is just a lack of light – so darkness?

Anyway – today’s THUNK, especially for Rosie B, who enjoys the book by Charlie Mackesey, “The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse” so much…What does this page from the book make you think?

Here’s a song to sing along to as you play/work outside in the garden!

THE SEED SONG

Good Morning!  I know this is technically the Easter Holiday – and there is no set work from the teachers, but because these are such strange days, and people might be missing contact, I thought we’d still say good morning!  I will be setting a ‘Thunk’ of the day each day and sharing a song!

The children are used to thinking and talking about ‘Thunks’ – but here is a little explanation and the rules that go with them:-

• Thunks are thought provoking statement, questions or pictures, that we have a moment to consider and ponder before responding.
• There are no wrong or right answers.
• We have to provide a reason or explanation for our response.
• We listen and respond respectfully.

Here is the THUNK of the day for today!

If you wish to share your ponderings about this THUNK, then please email them to admin@brownclee.shropshire.sch.uk and I will share!

Here’s a little Easter song as we approach the Easter weekend!

THE EASTER EGG TRAIL