Prayers for a new term
Creator God, we pause in your presence and hold this day before you. Still us, calm us, guide us as we enter this day.
Suggested reading: The Psalms or Matthew chapter 5-7
Creator God we hold our day before you.
We hold before you all those we love…
We hold before you those we know who are troubled…
We hold before you all those we will meet this day…
Lord God, grant me the faith this day to truly walk in the light of Christ:
Christ as a light
Illumine and guide us.
Christ as a shield
Overshadow us
Christ under us
Christ over us
Christ beside us on our left and on our right
This day be within us and without us
Lowly and meek yet all powerful.
Be in the heart of each to whom I speak:
In the mouth of each who speaks unto me,
Lowly and meek yet all-powerful.
Christ as a light;
Christ as a shield;
Christ beside us on our left and on our right
A Blessing
Creator God, may your peace go with us, wherever we will be this day.
May you guide us through the challenges, protect us when in need and inspire us with your love
May we acknowledge your presence in all the human goodness we will see
May you bring us back rejoicing to our places of rest this night
Creator God we now go into this day
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen
Education and schools work update
Headlines from the world of education and schools work:
Ministers launch investigation into special needs: Ministers have launched a formal inquiry into children with special needs amid concerns that the numbers being diagnosed have shot up in recent years.
A fifth of girls pregnant by 18, survey reveals: Almost one in five girls say they have been pregnant at least once by the age of 18, according to a Government survey.
Fall in drug use among schoolchildren: Biggest decline in smoking, where number of 11- to 15-year-olds who had smoked has fallen to 29%, from 54% in 1982. Fewer schoolchildren are smoking, drinking or taking drugs, according to an NHS report which contradicts the widespread belief that such behaviour is increasingly popular with young people.
One in five pupils receive wrong Sats grade: As many as one in five pupils are given the wrong grade in some Sats papers due to inconsistent marking, according to a study by the exams watchdog.
Sharp fall in pupils expelled from school: Dramatic drop in school exclusions prompts claims that problems students are being passed from school to school
Summer-born children ‘lag behind at school’: Summer-born children are more likely to fail their exams, be victimised by bullies and have special needs, according to a study.
Sats row as four-in-10 children ‘fail’ tests: Around four-in-10 children are expected to start secondary school in September without a proper grasp of the basics.
Who will advise young people if Connexions goes?: There is still no sign of what will replace Connexions when it has been decimated by cuts
Youth unemployment rising in most regions: TUC argues young people were hit hard by the recession and their outlook could darken as public sector job losses mount
Pupils do better at school if teachers are not fixated on test results: Institute of Education study finds exam performance improves if students concentrate on learning rather than grades
Universities chief declares death of “gap year” and proposes “bridging year” instead: The era of the traditional gap year is over and students should abandon plans to see the world before going to university, the head of the admissions body has warned.
3,500 straight A students ‘to miss university’: As many as 3,500 students with straight A grades at A-level face missing out on university, a Government minister has warned.
BT receives 24,000 applications for 220 apprenticeships: Telecoms group BT has received more than 100 applications for each of its apprenticeship places this year
Local authorities and schools losing track of children, claims Ofsted: Survey of 15 LEAs by education watchdog reveals none of them are confident they know about all children living in their area
A-level pass rate rises to 97.6%: A-level pass rates today rose to another record high of 97.6% while an unprecedented 27% of entries achieved an A, in results which will sharpen the intense battle for places at university this year.
A-level results: Gender gap narrowing: Boys are catching up with girls as the gulf between the sexes reaches its narrowest point in almost a decade.
Clearing 2010: a step-by-step guide
I thought Clearing 2010: a step-by-step guide was helpful guide from the Guardian, check it out:
Clearing can still get you the perfect place at university, even if you miss your first choice
If your exam results come as a horrible surprise on Thursday morning and cause you to miss your university place, you might feel like running away to a distant land where the word Ucas is never spoken. That is an option – slip in a few exam re-takes, call it a gap year and you could successfully re-apply to uni next year. But, before you sprint to Heathrow, listen up: there are still steps you can take to get in this autumn.
The first thing to do is phone the admissions tutor at your first-choice university. If there are places available and you only just missed your grades (or have special circumstances, such as ill health confirmed by a doctor), they might still let you in. Unfortunately, that’s less likely this year: a combination of fewer places and soaring demand means there is probably going to be a queue of students scrambling for every available place.
But there’s still another route to starting this September: clearing. Think of it as a matchmaking service. Clearing joins up students who applied for higher education courses through Ucas this year but missed their offers with universities that still have places available after A-level results have been issued. Clearing can also be used by students who declined all their offers or applied too late to go through Ucas.
The bad news is that the clearing pool is likely to be more crowded than a lido on a summer’s day this year. Demand was already very high in 2009, when 158,000 applicants did not get a university place at all, up from 120,000 in 2008. This year, Ucas estimates that at least 170,000 applicants will be left without a place.
But you don’t have to be one of them. Clearing might seem a bit complicated, especially if you’re feeling stressed, but play it right and it could be your golden ticket to a brilliant university experience. Here’s how to do it, with admissions experts’ tips to improve your chances.
- Before making the call: be prepared
- During the call: be specific
- After the call: stay focused
Be back soon…
Whether this finds you festival hopping, finally catching up on that office work or having a well deserved break, I hope you’re having a great summer.
This is a quick note to say that schoolswork.co.uk is out of the office for a couple of weeks. Summer camp is here and we’re looking forward to a week of madness, lots of fun and some deep stuff too.
We’ll be back later on in August continuing with updates to the site and categorising all the material already here.
If you have booked onto Imagine2010 we will be sending information out within the next two weeks.
Enjoy summer!
Peer Mediation
International Schools Mediation Forum – Friday 24th September 2010
at West Bromwich Albion Football Ground
Peer mediation in schools is a concept which has been grasped by many schools around the UK in recent years, but many more have not heard of it, or have different programmes dealing with conflict resolution and related issues.
The purpose of the International Schools Mediation Forum is to promote awareness of peer mediation and its benefits amongst schools, trainers of peer mediators and key stakeholders in Government, local authorities and other interested parties; to promote discussion of how best to bring a national structure to the concept of mediation in schools and to obtain a consensus on how best to co-ordinate the various existing schemes and develop a central resource of materials and database of information to help those involved.
It is intended that the forum will bring together school teachers and pupils who are either involved in or seriously interested in becoming involved in peer mediation, trainers and representatives of key bodies and agencies who will have a stake in peer mediation’s development in our school communities.
http://www.schoolsmediationinternational.org
For more information and the programme for the day complete the contact page on the website.
Welcome to the new site!
Welcome to the new world of schoolswork.co.uk online! We said goodbye to the old site a few days ago and are very excited to be at this stage, finally seeing the new vision for schoolswork.co.uk’s web presence become reality.
About a year ago a group of schools workers met in a monastery in Bedford to pray and dream about what a new website could look like. That grew into other conversations, plans, questions and designs and a year on here we are with the new site. In one sense, nothing has changed (schoolswork.co.uk has always been about connecting you with great people, projects, resources and inspiration), but in another sense, everything has changed (with regard to our presence here online). This new vehicle for the project, we hope, will give you better access to the things that are going to benefit you most in your ministry, will allow you to feel more in control as you navigate your way around the site and will be packed full of up to date information and links.
We hope you really enjoy exploring the new site, checking out the new features and customising your homepage modules (see user guide for info). Our prayer is that it is a useful part of your journey in accessing tools to equip you for your work in schools, in whatever capacity that may be for you. As well as the new features, the site still contains all the great content from the original site, including all of the useful ‘I Need To’ guides, the hundreds of resources in the Resource Toolkit and pages full of ideas and questions on the community blog. If there is something specific you are looking for, type it into the search bar to see what results come up.
We’d love to know what you think of the new site, so please leave a comment or get in touch with us and give us feedback (both on the things you like and the things which may not be working smoothly yet). What you see now isn’t the finished product…we have a long list of modules which will be added to the site over the next few weeks, so keep an eye out for those and we look forward to hearing how you’re finding it.
Enjoy!
Love it, love it, love it. Looks fantastic. Thanks to everyone who’s been working so hard to make this happen.
It looks fantastic! Congratulations not only on a good looking site, but tons of helpful information for us schools workers ;-)
Great stuff! Just gets better and better - love the customisable homepage plus of course its full of good stuff. I use multiple sites on my homepage now so don’t forget to add this to yours too!
Hey Ames, It’s looking great well done all of you! Wondered any chance of a gallery of school related images for people to use in presentations etc down the line of course…tho knowing you it’s already on the list!!!
Thanks for the encouragements! Great idea Lillie. Some pictures are already available to use as blog images here: http://www.schoolswork.co.uk/blog/post/. Over the next couple of months you should see the site developing in all sorts of interesting ways. This is just the start!
Imagine2010 Update…
If you have already booked on to the event, information will be sent to you via email in the week of the 16th August. We’re so excited about the day, and look forward to seeing you in Enfield on the 10th September.
We are now fully booked for the Imagine2010 event. Sorry if you missed out this time, there will be other events coming up in the year so do look out for those. We will be uploading the audio recordings from Imagine2010 to the website later on in September.
Artcards now available…
Thanks for your patience! The new schoolswork Artcards are now here and available for you to buy. This could be a great resource to get your hands on over the summer holidays in preparation for the new term in September. Take a look at the information and if you have any questions, feel free to get in touch!
Follow this link.
Amy
Education and schools work update
Headlines from the world of education and schools work:
Councils merge education departments: Westminster, and Hammersmith and Fulham councils’ attempt to slash budgets by pooling resources is first such move in UK
Street talk is ‘breeding illiteracy’: Teachers failing to correct pupils due to misplaced fear of interfering with self-expression, says a pamphlet backed by the London mayor, Boris Johnson.
Clearing 2010: the end?: This year, instead of giving out last-minute university places, staff are preparing to cope with distraught teenagers … and parents
Councils focus too much on ‘at-risk’ teens: Councils are focusing too much on providing support for “at risk” children and neglecting the needs of the majority of young people, a government watchdog said.
Minister urges unsuccessful university applicants to reapply: David Willetts says disappointed teenagers should do work experience or an apprenticeship and apply to university at a later stage
World Cup effect prompts primary school to ban playground football: Football has been halted in a primary school playground amid concerns that children could be copying the poor behaviour of professional players that they witnessed during the World Cup.
Ministers launch investigation into special needs: Ministers have launched a formal inquiry into children with special needs amid concerns that the numbers being diagnosed have shot up in recent years.
One in five girls pregnant by age of 18, government study finds: Overall figure at lowest for 20 years, but almost one in five girls who are sexually active at the age of 18 say they have been pregnant at least once, according to a major government study published today.
Artcard pics
Categories: Primary, Secondary, 16+, SEN, Other, Curricular, Lessons, General Resource
If you’re interested in catching a glimpse of the Artcard resource before they become available later on today/tomorrow, click onto our facebook page page to see the pics.
Update…
Hi, just a really quick update to let you know we’re still hard at work on the new website. In terms of when you can see the new site, we want to make sure we get it right and so within the next two weeks we will be there, and I will send round an email to members letting you know.
But for now, the exciting news is that the new Artcard resource is arriving today, which means we can start taking orders tomorrow. See a brief preview here. Thanks for all the interest and questions…more information and photos of the resource will be uploaded in the next couple of days.
Amy
Quotes & Poems for School Leavers Assemblies
Categories: Secondary, 16+, Blog, Curricular, Assemblies
Quotes
‘The future depends on what we do in the present’ - Mahatma Gandhi
‘Courage is the discovery that you may not win, and trying when you know you can lose.’ - Tom Krause
‘Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.’ - Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy
‘Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.’ - Herman Cain
‘How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.’ - Anne Frank
‘If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.’ - Mother Teresa
‘Jesus said love one another. He didn’t say love the whole world.’ - Mother Teresa
‘we must be determined to run the race that is ahead of us’ - Hebrews 12:1
Poems
‘Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.’ - Marianne Williamson
Prayers
‘Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.’ - Sir Francis Drake -1577
‘May God bless you with discomfort…
at easy answers, hard hearts,
half-truths ,and superficial relationships.
May God bless you so that you may live
from deep within your heart
where God’s Spirit dwells.
May God bless you with anger…
at injustice, oppression,
and exploitation of people.
May God bless you so that you may
work for justice, freedom, and peace.
May God bless you with tears…
to shed for those who suffer from pain,
rejection, starvation and war.
May God bless you so that you
may reach out your hand
to comfort them and turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless you with
enough foolishness
to believe that you can make a difference
in this world, in your neighborhood,
so that you will courageously try
what you don’t think you can do, but,
in Jesus Christ you’ll have all the strength necessary.
May God bless you that you remember
we are all called
to continue God’s redemptive work
of love and healing
in God’s place, in and through God’s name,
in God’s Spirit, continually creating
and breathing new life and grace
into everything and everyone we touch.’
And finally, the ‘Lost Generation’ Youtube video:
Imagine 2010 Programme
Whether you’re planning on coming on your own, with your project or with someone else from your church/school, there will be plenty of opportunities to chat to other workers and connect with new people throughout the day.
Each ‘lesson’ features brilliant speakers including Mark Roques, Lat Blaylock, Chris Curtis and Russell Rook. We know it is going to be an event you won’t want to miss!
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Book your place here: www.schoolswork.co.uk/imagine
Education and schools work update
Headlines from the world of education and schools work:
Sex education is a mess, so can a TV series help teenagers?: The Sex Education Show is important and useful but young people need compulsory school lessons.
Gove sets limit on headteacher pay: Headteachers are facing a limit on their salaries to the £142,500-a-year pay of the Prime Minister. Education Secretary Michael Gove wants to impose the cap on all salary deals agreed from September.
Every school needs a ‘naff’ teacher says Ofsted chair: Every school should have a “useless teacher” so children can learn to deal with incompetent people in authority, the outgoing chairman of the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) has claimed.
Council tells schools to rearrange exams and cancel swimming for Ramadan: A council has encouraged schools to rearrange exams, cancel swimming lessons and stop sex education during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Parents told packed lunches ‘too unhealthy’: Packed lunches filled with junk food by parents should be banned, the government body in charge of healthy eating has said.
School children disprove theory than spiders are scared of conkers: A group of primary school children have been honoured by the Royal Society of Chemistry for disproving the theory that spiders are afraid of conkers.
Up to a quarter of a million could miss out on university places: Almost a quarter of a million students will miss out on a university place after economy worries prompt a sharp rise in applications.
Youthwork Magazine’s Summer of Schools Work
You may have noticed that this month we hooked up with the wonderful Martin Saunders & Sarah Wynter over at Youthwork Magazine, to bring you a special issue dedicated to schools work. The magazine is out in shops now, and available through http://www.youthwork.co.uk.
If you’re not yet a member here on the schoolswork.co.uk site, click this link and get your free copy today!
Keep an eye out here on the site for downloads as they appear, links to articles and resources that we featured in the magazine.
End of term assemblies…
Categories: Primary, Secondary, 16+, SEN, Other, Young Leaders, Blog, Curricular, Assemblies
It’s that time of year again…
Please see this post for some ideas on how to finish the school year well through assemblies…http://www.schoolswork.co.uk/blog/entry/end-of-year-assemblies/
New site coming very very soon!
Here’s a quick update from the schoolswork.co.uk desk about all the fun and crazy things that have been happening over the past few weeks and months, which might explain why things have been so quiet on this site recently.
NEW website launch
...“so where is it???” I hear you cry. Well, it’s just around the corner, believe me we’re working very hard at developing the new schoolswork.co.uk website so that you can access all the great new features. It’s truly a labour of love, we’re really excited about it and hope you will be too when you see how things have changed. Bear with us over the next few days as we continue to work to make this ready for you, a beta version of the site should be live very soon. I may release a preview of some of the new features over the next couple of days, so keep visiting to find out the news.
Youthwork Magazine Summer of Schools Work
Coming out this week is the schools work issue of Youthwork Magazine. We hijacked the magazine for the month (shhhh, I don’t think they noticed) and you can read all about that in the August issue. If you don’t subscribe, get along to your local Christian bookshop to pick up your copy. Accompanying that issue is a special Youthwork the Podcast edition focused on schoolswork, which is live now over at http://www.youthwork.co.uk/magazine/podcast/. More to come on this soon…look out for all the accompanying resources and downloads that we refer to in the magazine.
Brand new resource launching this month!
On the front cover of the Youthwork Magazine, you will receive a FREE new resource, which is the first Artcard in a set of 12 we have developed for you to use in your schools work. It’s based on the idea of using art in your conversations with young people in helping them to explore faith and some of the big questions in life. This first series is called ‘Where is God?’, and contains 12 high quality Artcards, complete with questions for debate and discussion, which can be used in an RE lesson, lunchtime activity, conversation around school and in any context with a young person who has questions about God.
Throughout the years I’ve been involved in schools work, I’m not sure I’ve ever found a method which is more successful than this in helping to give young people a language to begin to explore their ideas and beliefs in such a deep way.
The Artcards are currently in production and will be available for you next week. This would be a great resource for you to explore over the summer in preparation for a new term in September.
Education Symposium
...And just because we felt we needed something else to do last month, we co-hosted a symposium in Parliament at the House of Commons with our friends at Chapel St. It was an incredible opportunity to engage with government on the theme of ‘the future of Christian schools work in education”. We’ll be posting a report from the Symposium by Martin Saunders along with some photos from the event on the new site.
Imagine 2010
So the final headline is a really exciting new event for the start of term in September. There will be more details about this event coming in the next few days, but places are limited so we recommend booking soon to avoid disappointment. You can do that here. Save the date, it’s Friday 10th September at the Oasis Academy in Enfield. There are posters and postcards available for this event, as well as PDF downloads available soon, so .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) if they will be useful for you to help share information with your projects and organisations.
Well, that’s given you a taster of what’s to come. I’m off to continue working on the new site, but do look out for all that’s coming. When the new site is live I will send around an email to members, so if you’d like to receive that email sign up here to become a member… (oh, and if you sign up during July or August you will receive a free Youthwork Magazine!!).
God bless, and enjoy the last couple of weeks of the summer term.
Amy
I definitely want to order the artcards and would like them for an event in two weeks. What are the chances of me getting at least 100 x artcard #1?
thanks
Nancy Lamb
Hi Nancy, that’s a great question. Firstly, the cards will be available from Wednesday 21st July, do check out a preview here: http://www.schoolswork.co.uk/resourcetoolkit/entry/artcard-preview/.
Secondly, the Artcards are going to be sold in packs of 12, so your question about getting 100x single cards of #01 is an interesting one. We would recommend using the cards in the context of the whole set as they give you a wide range of approaches of how young people have answered this question, and come from a variety of backgrounds and beliefs.
We will ordinarily only sell these in packs of 12, however we can discuss possibilities on a case by case basis if it will be helpful. Once the packs are out, we could get them to you within a couple of days if you have a particular event.
Email me if you’d like to discuss this more: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Thanks, Amy
Education and schools work update
Headlines from the world of education and schools work:
University clearing places ‘to be cut’: Thousands of students face being left without degree courses as universities are forced to slash the number of places available through the traditional clearing system.
Government to introduce ‘school Olympics’: The coalition Government is pledging to create an annual school Olympic-style games as part of a drive to bring competitive sport back to the playground.
Parents warned over exam binge drinking: Parents have been accused of fuelling binge drinking among their children by purchasing alcohol for end-of-exam celebrations.
Ucas to review university admission points system: The university admissions system is to be overhauled amid fears that the practice of scoring applicants’ qualifications has become outdated, and is being wrongly used by employers to recruit graduates.
England’s exams chief resigns over Gove’s plans: The head of England’s exams regulator has resigned. Kathleen Tattersall, chairwoman of Ofqual, said she was stepping down “with immediate effect”.
Building Schools for the Future plans to be scrapped: Michael Gove, the education secretary, postpones plans to rebuild more than 700 schools across Conservative constituencies.
AS-levels dropped to revive ‘deep thought’: Education secretary Michael Gove wants to limit the modularisation of A-levels and scrap AS-levels
Tory MP spurns ‘Oxbridge types’: The new Tory MP for Harlow plans to hire an apprentice instead of getting a free ‘posh’ researcher
Warning as quarter of schools boycott Sats: The Coalition risked a fresh clash with teachers by vowing to press ahead with Sats tests next year.
Teachers to get new powers over troublemakers: Teachers will be handed tough powers to search pupils for alcohol, drugs and mobile phones in a Government crackdown on bad behaviour.
Gap-year students choose jobs over jollies: School leavers are getting serious, says Christopher Middleton.
Supporting Primary & Secondary School Christian Group Leaders
An event for anyone involved in leading Christian Groups in Primary or Secondary School. Saturday 2 October, London, 11.00am-3.00pm
More details Wayne Dixon (Scripture Union Development Worker - Schools) wayned@scriptureunion.org.uk
http://www.schoolslive.org
Please help with my IDENTITY prep
Please help with any ideas you may have (including DVD clips, music, games, etc.). I am teaching for an hour for prefect students who have a training day on being a mentor to their peers. I will be teaching on Identity; Being secure in yourself so that you can be of help to others.
Thanks in advance for your help (i hope!)
Education and schools work update
Categories: Other
Headlines from the world of education and schools work:
- Are breakfast clubs under threat?: Breakfast clubs are a lifeline for children who come to school hungry. But will the new government continue to support them?
- Home computers ‘harm children’s test results’: Parents who buy computers for their children may be damaging their exam results, according to new research.
- Brightest pupils ‘need more support in school’: Bright children could be missing out in the classroom as education policies focus on “overcoming social disadvantage”, according to a leading head teacher.
- More students ‘opting for vocational courses’: Record numbers of teenagers are opting for practical courses such as construction and tourism to secure jobs in the recession, according to research.
- Warning over school ‘drinking culture’: Researchers have warned of a “drinking culture” in schools with large numbers of white, middle-class children.
- Chair of Ofsted resigns: The chair of the education and children’s social services inspectorate Ofsted Zenna Atkins has resigned, fuelling speculation that ministers plan significant changes at the organisation.
- Michael Gove lists the schools that could become academies: The names of 1,700 schools that have asked the government about becoming academies was published by the department for education today.
Who Is Jesus
Categories: Secondary, 16+, Blog, Curricular, Lessons, Multimedia
I wanted to have a good video of people sharing their views on who they thought Jesus was for a lesson. Unfortunately I didn’t come across any that were fairly short and snappy so we went into Leeds and asked some members of the public what they thought and this is some of their responses. I hope you find it a helpful resource.
Education and schools work update
Categories: Other
Headlines from the world of education and schools work:
- Boarding schools fight ban on cakes: State boarding schools are being threatened with court action for giving pupils sweet treats between lessons.
- Secondary school bans girls from wearing skirts: A secondary school has banned girls from wearing skirts, regardless of length, to prevent them from attracting unwanted attention.
- Puberty: little girls really are growing up faster: A new study says girls are hitting puberty at the age of nine.
- Theresa May halts ‘draconian’ child worker vetting scheme: Child protection measures are disproportionate and will be scaled back to ‘common sense’ proportions, home secretary says
- Charities warn against scaling back vetting and barring scheme too far: After home secretary pledges to bring scheme back to ‘common sense’ levels, charities appeal for system to remain robust
- Nick Clegg to unveil new taskforce on childhood and families: Nick Clegg announces the government is setting up a new childhood and families taskforce that will have to resolve fundamental coalition differences on family policy and whether marriage should be recognised in the tax system.
- Home school parents ‘should be made to register with council’: Parents of home schooled children should be legally obliged to register with their local authority and undergo annual “inspections”, Ofsted has recommended.
- Pupils in smaller classes score higher in exams: Pupils who are taught in smaller classes achieve higher marks in exams, a study claims, raising questions about group sizes in British schools.
- Two-thirds of top schools want to be academies, says Gove: But Catholic church warns its schools against applying for academy status. Nearly 70% of secondary schools rated as outstanding have now expressed interest in becoming an academy, the education secretary, Michael Gove, revealed.
- Michael Gove ushers free schools into shops and houses: Education secretary says planning laws were being rewritten to allow ‘imaginative’ use of small spaces; parents can set up their own schools in shops and houses.
- Separate GCSEs for boys and girls: Boys and girls could be able to sit different GCSEs under plans by Britain’s largest exam board to introduce gender-specific qualifications.
emergency assembly!
The way she wants the talk to look is about how jesus asked us to be disciples and make disciples but how discipleship grows by developing relationship with Jesus through prayer
Hi Louise, when is your assembly? I’m guessing by the title of your post that it’s soon. I’m also guessing this is a faith school?
When I talk about prayer in assembly like this I love to talk about communication and the different ways we communicate with our friends and get to know them. For example, we might meet up with mates in school, but we’re probably instant messaging them in the evenings on msn, leaving status updates on facebook, texting late into the night or walking into school with them in the mornings. We get to know our friends in so many different ways, and God, in a relationship with us, wants us to get to know him in ways that make sense to us and mean something more than just words. I encourage young people to communicate with God in real ways - be angry if you need to, be upset, be indifferent, be cautious, be excited, be doubtful, but above all be real, cos when we do that, discipleship will happen and it will change you.
If you needed quick video clips you could always use a classic snippet of bruce almighty to either reinforce what you want to say or to dispel a point! Holler back this way if you need to bounce anything…
i thought i’d just leave a few points of what I did, just if anyone wants to steal!
becasue junior apprentice was on, I looked at Alan Sugar and combined it with the idea of being a disciple. we then looked at JOhn 15v14-15, what would it be like if Alan Sugar asked us to be his apprentice, and his friend. we then had a game of friends like these, to show how friends know silly little things about each other and then asked why? (“because they hang out together and chat and stuff miss!”)EXACTLY! SO i got out some phones, i explained that when i was a teenager I used the landline: this meant to contact my friends i had to be in a certain place, at a certain time and so did they. I said sometimes thats what prayer seems like to people… we carried on through the phones ending with my blackberry to which i said, i can contact my friends all over the world, in many different ways and at all times, and thats how we can be with God, bell rings, quick prayer and they’re off!
CU world cup themed ideas
Following on from Chris Kidd’s brilliant blog about world cup prayers, we have been praying for the world cup nations in our CU groups.
Each kid has a country to pray for duirng the world cup, they get given a fact sheet about the country with prayer needs and are encouraged to pray throughout the month for that country. To aid them in this, each session we are planning to see if the kids have found out more about their country and we put in time throughout the session for us to pray as a group for the nations.
We include in these sessions fun world cup games including maltaser football (blowing maltesers across a a table with straws), world cup anagrams and world cup quiz’s, etc.
Please do comment if you have used any good world cup themed ideas for your CU’s?
Andy
E4 Games
Categories: Other, Blog, Break, Extra Curricular, Lunchtime Activities
I came across the E4 games page a while back when they featured a game called ‘Run Jesus, Run’, which caused a few moments of hilarity in the schoolswork office.
They post a new game every day. Yesterday’s game was ‘Own Goal World Cup’ (which perhaps is even more apt since tonight’s game)...and is basically an online version of table football..kinda fun if you need a few mindless minutes in between assembly planning this week.
World Cup Prayers
Categories: Other
With a slow start to the World Cup, two draws to be precise, I thought it’d be good to highlight blogging Bishop Nick Baines prayers for the World Cup - they might be useful if you’re doing an assembly in the next few weeks on football or the World Cup. The Church of England press release said:
The prayers, for personal use or during church services, were specially written by the Rt Rev Nick Baines, Bishop of Croydon, and the Communications Office in association with National Worship Development Officer the Rev Peter Moger.
Bishop Nick said of the prayers: “More than half the population pray at some time* and everyone will be affected by the World Cup in one way or another, so it makes sense to have some prayers for those that want to use them. This isn’t just about football; it’s about the rainbow nations of the world celebrating together with the people of South Africa.”
Prayers for all those involved in the World Cup
Lord of all the nations, who played the cosmos into being,
guide, guard and protect all who work or play in the World Cup.
May all find in this competition a source of celebration,
an experience of common humanity and
a growing attitude of generous sportsmanship to others.
Amen.
God of the nations, who has always called his people to be a blessing for the world, bless all who take part in the World Cup.
Smile on South Africa in her hosting,
on the nations represented in competition and
on those who travel to join in the party.
Amen.
A prayer for those simply not interested
Lord, as all around are gripped with World Cup fever,
bless us with understanding,
strengthen us with patience and
grant us the gift of sympathy if needed.
Amen.
assembly on dreams and ambitions
Great quote i used from Erwin Mcmanus’s twitter for an assembly on dreams and ambitions:
“You can protect your dreams by never attempting to make them a reality. To acheieve your dreams you must be willing to lose them, to risk.”
Also for the assembly i blew up a balloon, and put the forward the idea that dreams are like balloons. They have the poitental to fly high, to become a reality. Or they can just pop, fade away and disappear.
Education and schools work update
Categories: Other
Headlines from the world of education and schools work:
- Vocational students left in the dark as qualifications undergo reform: The shake-up of skills-based studies has left thousands of students not knowing if their courses will continue.
- Gove to abolish General Teaching Council for England: The teaching profession’s watchdog is scrapped, it is the third education quango to be scrapped by the coalition government.
- Failing schools ‘given a year to improve’: Head teachers will be given a year to turn around failing schools or face the sack, according to Michael Gove.
- Schools asked to ditch logos from PE kits: Families are struggling with the cost of sports wear. Headteachers are being urged to relax the rules on pupils’ gym kits to help ease the financial pressure on families struggling as a result of the recession.
- Schools failing to teach children the core beliefs of Christianity, says Ofsted: Schools are neglecting to teach children the core beliefs of Christianity in religious education lessons, a new report reveals.
- Primary curriculum to be axed: The government will scrap Labour’s new primary curriculum and its flagship “academic” diplomas, ministers said as they detailed a £359m programme of education cuts. Michael Gove, the education secretary, also said he would drop a proposed extension of pilot schemes offering free school meals to all primary pupils, although three existing schemes will continue to assess the case for increasing eligibility.
- Exams move to the bedroom: New technology allows students to sit tests at home while computer lock, webcam and microphone ensure they can’t cheat.
Where’s mission heading?
The conference covered topics like foundations for mission, mission and other faiths, mission and postmodernities, forms of missionary engagement, christian communities in contemporary contexts, mission spirituality and authentic discipleship. And whilst not aimed at youthwork, the conference clearly had areas of overlap as well as shared big questions I’m sure.
I stumbled on this whilst browsing http://jonnybaker.blogs.com/ - another good place to be inspired!
Thanks Lillie, looks like some good stuff to dig into.
There’s a youth multimedia competition that it will be great to see the results of when they post them: http://www.edinburgh2010.org/en/participate/youth-competition.html.
Telly addict
The site is http://www.televisiontunes.com, the quality IS a bit variable but mostly good.
A teacher friend who tipped me off about this uses the mission impossible theme at the end of a lesson (especially messy art ones) for the children to completely tidy the room before it ends. He even has a longer version if it’s a real mess!
As well as a lot of nostalgia they are also things like Ben 10 etc.
Brilliant! This is a Friday afternoon website for sure. Great stuff :)
Bring on the Revolution
“Reform is not enough anymore…What we need is not evolution in education, but revolution in education.”
This is a video I’ve been meaning to post all week, but it struck me as interesting again on several levels this morning following some of today’s headlines.
Brilliant!! well worth a listen too. Very thought provoking. Thanks Amy
Wayne Dixon
The challenge…
Categories: Other
Religious education is “inadequate” in one in five secondary schools in England, according to watchdog Ofsted.
Its study suggested many teachers were unsure of what they were trying to achieve in the subject.
Inspectors, who visited 183 primary and secondary schools in 70 areas, also criticised schools for not providing enough training in religious education.
The Church of England said the report was concerning but the National Secular Society said RE should become optional…read more
Where have all the children & young people gone?
“A morning of networking, resources and ideas for people working with children and young people in our Churches and in School. We’ll be looking at some alarming stats. and facts, hearing some encouraging stories and ideas and trying to make a positive difference to the key work you are involved with in church for those who attend and also making an impact on schools where children and young people spend most of their time.” Patnership between Scripture Union & Shoemakers
St Nicolas Church, Newbury. Saturday 3 July 10.00am-12.00pm. Cost is free.
http://www.st-nicolas-newbury.org/map.htm
Details Jane Sutton janesutton@talktalk.net or Chris office@christophershoemaker.org.uk
Wayne Dixon
Education and schools work update
Categories: Other
Headlines from the world of education and schoolswork:
- Gove invites every state school to bid for academy status: Academy status will become the norm for state secondary schools, the Education Secretary, Michael Gove predicts.
- Sixth of students regret going to university: One in six students would have reconsidered going to university if they had known how difficult it would be to secure a job once they graduated, a study has found.
- Fish oil ‘helps children concentrate’: US academics discover high doses of omega-3 fish oil combat hyperactivity and attention deficit disorder.
- Exam regulator to ‘fix’ A-level results: Exam chiefs have been accused of “fixing” this summer’s A-level results to restrict the number of pupils who are awarded the new A* supergrade.
- Two year degrees ‘would lead to academic sweatshops’: University staff attacked any move to introduce two-year degrees, warning they would lead to ‘‘academic sweatshops’’ and hit the quality of education to students.
- Why teenagers can’t concentrate: too much grey matter: New research has found that teenagers’ brains continue developing far longer into adulthood than previously thought. Adolescents may look like young adults but their brain structure resembles that of much younger children, according to the study to be published in the Journal of Neuroscience.
- A Level student asked for exam to be rescheduled because of World Cup clash: A schoolboy wrote to a national exam board asking for the date of his General Studies A-level to be changed - because it clashed with an England World Cup match.
400 Year Anniversary of English Bible
I found out today that 2011 is the 400th anniversary of the bible being translated into English - there’s a good site promoting this with video clips and handy information at:
The BBC are due to produce a BBC2 documentary to mark the event next year also, all of which means there will be loads of resources and ideas for us schools workers to put something together to be used in our school sessions…go for it guys!
I know that a whole load of bible resources are being produced, one of my close friends, Sam Richardson, works at Harper Collins and is in the process of sending of lots of new resources to the printers.
When I know more, I’ll post - or get him to post - some info here.
Love your local school
Love Your Local School is a day event happening in Orpington Kent on Saturday 10 July.
“Help your church get involved with local schools at a number of different levels, explore partnerships with other churches and organisations involved in schools work and discover further resources” Primary and Secondary.
Worship, Workshops, Networking and more. Cost £20.00 includes lunch. More details Colin Mcdermott 01235 517711 cmcdermott@baptist.org.uk
Further events planned for September and November in Houghton Regis and Chester.
Wayne Dixon
STREAM reminder
Categories: Other
Just a reminder about the next STREAM conference which is coming up on Friday 28th May. STREAM is a network for Christians in education across London and the South East. The theme is ‘Music in Schools’ and will include Bible ministry from Steve Clifford (General Director, Evangelical Alliance). There’ll be a bunch of creative input from different projects and people inspiring us to engage with schools through the art of music.
Fri 28 May 2010, 10.30-3.30
at London City Mission, 175 Tower Bridge Rd, SE1 2AH
£10 entry on the door
Please email admin@streamwork.org.uk to book your place.
Education reform bill is expected within weeks
Categories: Other
Interesting speculation on new education reforms ahead of the Queen’s speech at the state opening - “A number of Conservative party flagship education policies will be ushered in within weeks. The new coalition government is expected to launch an education bill as part of the Queen’s Speech on 25 May that will allow parents and private providers to set up new schools, introduce a pupil premium for disadvantaged students and overhaul accountability for schools. The legislation could also signal the end of the Building Schools for the Future programme and plans to raise the participation age to 18 by 2015….” Read more on CYP Now.
Pray for Schools Fortnight
Categories: Other
The 2010 PRAY FOR SCHOOLS FORTNIGHT runs from 14 – 24 May 2010.
The vision is to bring together people from local churches and those involved in education – parents, students, teachers, meals supervisors, Governors and anyone else with a heart for young people – to pray strategically for schools in their area and those involved in them.
Visit the website to see how you can get involved.
we recently ran our latest Pray For Schools event (we’re now doing one a term after the launch of the initiative last year) - anyone interested in seeing some pics can find them at http://www.facebook.com/bcyfanpage?v=photos#!/album.php?aid=167688&id=302769919394
we focused on issues students face in youth culture in general and it was a really moving night of prayer.
if you’re thinking about doing an event then all i can say is ‘go for it!’
and if you’d lke to have some of our prayer station ideas then just get in touch
matt
:0)-
We’re running a Pray4Schools prayer room this week here in Lurgan, Northern Ireland. Monday-Saturday, 7am-10pm each day.
Please pray for meaningful prayer experiences and encounters throughout.
Thanks.
James
We collated the GCSE exam timetables of our three local secondary schools and then gave them out to aid and inform people’s prayers.
We also gave out a dozen Exam Survival Kits to young people either at or known to the church.
Prayer Room went really well during the week - full report and pictures can be seen at the following site if you’re interested:
http://www.thefarmersyard.blogspot.com
Nice one ‘Pray For Schools’ - keep up the great work!
New Department for Education
Categories: Other
Following Tuesday night’s transition of power, the name plate outside the DCSF building was spotted yesterday as being removed and replaced with one for a new ‘Department for Education’. Michael Gove has been confirmed as Secretary of State for Education in the new coalition government.
In an introductory letter to his staff, Gove told workers that the Tory-Lib Dem coalition marks “a new era for our education system”.
“To help us achieve the radical reforms that we will need, I want to refocus the Department on its core purpose of supporting teaching and learning. So I am delighted that we have acted immediately to create a new Department for Education,” he said.
Read more here.
Missional school life
Categories: Secondary
http://theresurgence.com/7_ways_missionary_college
This advice is for Christians at college in america but is it advice we can tailor to our young people? we’re going through a real transition period in many of our CU’s at the moment, talking about what the purpose of it is and why we are joining together as a group. Is CU the main way to act our our Christianity or is there more…?
year 13 leaving assembly
Hi, I’ve been offered 2 minutes in the year 13 leaving assembly to say goodbye and good luck, but want to bring the Christian angle in some how without appearing too glib or patronising. Anyone any thoughts?
Thanks.
Sorry, should have been 16+, mouse must have moved!
Hi
If you search on You tube for Nick Vujicic he has some amazing stories.
I’ve sent this clip about finishing well to the Heads of year in the school I work in but there are ones that are more explicit about faith.
Shaped for Service
Categories: Primary
SHAPED FOR SERVICE
Developing & Reflecting on your Ministry Practice
Full-time schools, youth and children’s workers face ever-increasing challenges. The context is professional, fast-moving and demanding. This course provides the opportunity for you to take time out and become better equipped for the task to which God has called you. It aims to encourage reflection on existing practice and offer guidance and direction for future development. It is suitable for people working in either school or church contexts and at times there will be separate sessions to reflect those contexts
This course is only open to people who already have at least two years’ experience in schools youth and children’s work or who have previously attended our ‘Training in Schools Work’ course (or ‘School for Schools Workers’).
Please contact us if you have any queries about your eligibility
or the suitability of the course for your needs.
The courses will be led by a team of experienced professionals from the Scripture Union staff. The course manager is John Stephenson, Associate Director with Scripture Union. Details Becky Fawcett beckyf@scriptureunion.org.uk 01908 856020
Wayne Dixon
Education and schools work update
Categories: Other
Some headlines from the world of education and schoolswork:
Headteachers could have pay docked if they boycott tests: Primary school governors told they can punish principals who refuse to fulfil ‘professional and moral duty’.
Watching TV ‘makes toddlers less intelligent’: Parents, beware CBeebies: watching television makes toddlers fatter and stupider at primary school, according to new research.
Exam time: Hold your tongue, breathe - or leave: Parents should give teens space during exams, advises Marianne Kavanagh.
Left-handed children ‘struggling at school’: Thousands of left-handed schoolchildren are struggling in the classroom because of a failure to meet their needs, according to experts.
Sats boycott ‘to hit up to half of schools’: Sats tests for thousands of schoolchildren will be thrown into chaos next week as head teachers across England stage a mass boycott of exams.
General Election 2010: More freedom for schools, no matter who wins: Schools will be given more power to control their affairs under one of the biggest overhauls of state education in a generation.
stories from the edge
Categories: Primary
Jon Birch over at ASBO Jesus is sharing some great cartoons he developed for Dave Wiles book ‘stories from the edge’.
Examattack
Categories: Primary
For those in year 10-13 facing GCSE, AS & A2 exams have a look at http://www.examattack.org.uk Some helpful hints to put exams in perspective that has been used over recent years in local schools.
If you have exams coming up - all the very best for them. Give of your best-achieve your potential’
Wayne Dixon
Prayer walk
Last Friday, a couple of us went out for a prayer walk around our town and the secondary schools. As we came out of the first school we saw 4 lads, one of which I knew, standing there. They asked what we were doing? In that moment, I thought about saying ‘Oh just heading back to the office’ - not wanting to freak them out, but then I thought why not? So we told them what we were doing, that we were praying for the schools, pupils teachers, the town, etc. From this we ended up having a 15 minute conversation about God, faith, prayer, with 4 on the edge young people.
We invited them to a youth group we are attending this Friday, to which one of them said yes! Let’s pray he turns up!!
I just wanted to encourage you that when we step out for God, He meets us right there!! Keep up the good work!
Education and schools work update
Categories: Other
A round up of headlines from the world of education and schools work:
- Labour has failed to reduce ‘Neets’, say MPs: The number of school-leavers without a job or education place has failed to drop under Labour, despite a raft of high-profile reforms, according to MPs.
- Video game and cartoons used to shock school children about violence: Primary school children are being shown images from the controversial video game Grand Theft Auto in a project designed to prevent them from becoming violent.
- Inspectors give wrong ratings to schools: Three schools judged to be “inadequate” by Ofsted were later told that they were actually “outstanding”, in a move which has raised concerns over the quality of inspections.
- Selective schools not more socially exclusive, says study: Top comprehensive schools are more socially exclusive than selective grammar schools, according to a major study.
- Disadvantaged pupils learn faster in weekend schools: Children from disadvantaged homes learn faster if they have attended supplementary Saturday or Sunday morning schools, according to a government study.
- Home tutors reject ‘intrusive’ child safety database: Hundreds of thousands of teachers are refusing to register for the Independent Safeguarding Authority’s vetting scheme.
- Headteachers vote to boycott Sats tests: Two biggest teaching unions – NUT and NAHT – to take action against tests due to be sat by 600,000 children in May.
How to get unstuck
Feeling stuck / creatively challenged / finding it difficult to pick up the pace again after the Easter break?
From Indexed
Art in Heaven Competition 2010
Art in Heaven 2010
This is to draw your attention to the fact that NATRE is again promoting an art and RE competition this summer. Please do have a look at the inspiring pupils work samples in the attached – and plan to enter your own pupils’ work or pass it on to other schools and teachers everywhere. I’d be delighted to get entries from your pupils this summer.
We hope that this year we may have even more pupils involved – last year’s estimate was over 25 000.
There are five interesting themes and entries are open to pupils 5-19, with prizes for the best 30 entries, and certificates of commendation for two thousand commended entries. Video or DVD entries are increasingly popular, and we love to get work from SEN settings, or from 5-7s,or from 14-19s. The middle age groups are always well represented, but very welcome too.
Any questions or responses are welcome,
Lat
Lat Blaylock
RE Today Advisor and NATRE Executive Member
Church-School-Community link: Pop Connection
Pop Connection is a church-school-community link that I saw and experiended just a little taste of at Spring Harvest. Brilliant. Having chatted with Andy Silver and learned more it was great seeing it in action. Knowing the impact and connection of Christmas Unwrapped & Easter Cracked over the last 15 years with year 6 pupils visiting a local church, this initiative is for the whole primary school and can lead to something very special for the local church. Here’s just two quotes from church leaders
”This project has achieved in one week what we have been praying for for ten years”.
“ This project has brought school and church together. I am really excited by what’s ahead”
Have a look at http://www.popconnection.co.uk for background and much more.
Wayne Dixon
Election links
Rate the Debate is a Facebook application that you can sign in to and rate the debate as it’s happening live on ITV tonight. The application has been developed by the Facebook page for the election ‘Democracy UK’ which aims to ‘bring people and politics together’. If you’re looking for something fun they also have a link to ‘Ministry of Mates’ which is where you can create a cabinet of your friends!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/My-Manifesto/106979842670034?ref=ts
Care and The Evangelical Alliance have set up a Facebook page where you can share what you think the most important issues are for the next government.
http://www.ctbi.org.uk/427
Churches Together in Britain and Ireland have a dedicated website with some helpful links.
http://voteforpolicies.org.uk/
Vote for Policies gives you the opportunity to vote (in an online survey) for the policies you like, without telling you which party they represent. At the end of the survey you are given a summary of the results with the parties that you voted for.
Any interesting or helpful links, especially related to education, do post them here. I know they are popping up everywhere, but it would be good to hear what people are finding helpful and relevant.
Why Bother?...Here’s a good site from the ‘Live Simply Youth Network’: http://www.whybother2010.org/index.html, to help young adults and young people to engage with the election
Politics under 18: Youthwork helpfully ask and explore the question about how the election is relevant for young people… http://www.youthwork.co.uk/magazine/features/politicsunder18.html
Education and schools work update
More headlines from the world of education and schools work:
* Pupils humiliating teachers in interviews: Union considers industrial action to stop pupils’ questions that include: ‘if you could be on Britain’s Got Talent, what would your talent be?’
* Headteachers to vote on Sats boycott: Ministers are heading for a collision with headteachers over a threatened boycott of national tests for 10- and 11-year-olds.
* MPs warn over ‘shocking decline’ of school trips: Traditional school trips are in “shocking” decline because of fears over health and safety, lack of funding and bureaucratic rules tying teachers to the classroom, according to MPs.
* Schools should open at weekends, say Tories: Schools should operate 10-hour days and open at weekends to give children extra tuition in the three-Rs, music and sport, according to the Conservatives.
* Working class boys let down by ‘lack of male role models’: Traditional working class values are being eroded as children increasingly look up to highly-paid footballers, pop stars and celebrities, according to teachers.
* Smacking to be outlawed in all schools: The government promises to close a legal loophole that means it is still legal for private tutors and teachers in Sunday schools and madrasas to smack pupils [I still can’t believe this loophole hadn’t been closed down years ago - I know we’d never allow that to happen in our Sunday school]
* Primary teachers ‘most at risk of assault’: Primary school teachers are more than twice as likely to be assaulted by pupils than their colleagues in secondary schools.
* Hundreds of heads and church leaders oppose sex lessons for seven-year-olds: Compulsory sex education in primary schools will erode moral standards and encourage sexual experimentation, a group of hundreds of head teachers, school governors and faith leaders say.
* Parents struggle to help with homework: Five out of six parents find helping with homework too difficult.
Sharing faith in schools
Shine Your Light in schools - coming soon with LZ7 (Launch date 12 April) Young christians sharing their faith in words and deeds. More information in due course see http://www.shineyourlight.com
Wayne Dixon
Chaplaincy, a creative approach
There is a lot happening in our project at the moment, and so I really just wanted to blog to share my excitement! I work for the Luton Churches Education Trust, which was set up in 1993 to reach out to local High Schools.
Over a number of years we’ve radically changed the way we work in schools. One of our areas of work is chaplaincy within local schools. A year ago we took the scary step of stopping mentoring within our chaplaincy team, previously this had been a large proportion of our time spent in school. We’d ended up spending all of our time meeting just a handful of students and however much they needed support and the obvious benefits that gave, it meant that we just didn’t have the space to focus on spiritual development in the wider context of the school environment.
So, we stopped and had to create new ways to develop a sense of spiritual development across the wider school community. We trialled some different ways of doing detached lunchtime work, creating resources including 2 minute ipod reflections and walls of images to reflect on. We reworked some old assemblies in interesting ways and even commissioned an artist to work with a group of students to create a series of advent images around the theme of waiting, telling stories of local teenagers. We are exploring innovative approaches to engaging with the curriculum that get to the heart of what we understand ‘school chaplaincy’ to mean.
Thankfully this has been a good change. We still chat informally to lots of young people on a one to one basis, but it’s given us the chance to focus more on the creative, spiritual development side of what we do. Another bonus has been that school staff have commented on how they have found it much easier to understand the chaplain’s role. It’s still early days, but seems to have been a very positive move.
We’ve also seen our cafe growing in numbers. A year ago we would see just a few young people managing to remember that cafe was on each week. We are now regularly seeing 40-50 young people on a Saturday and a load more at our monthly Friday club nights. We’re in danger of having to limit numbers due to staffing issues!
I’m not a big ideas person, but I love the challenge to change, to reinvent and think through why we’re doing things. It’d be great to hear more stories of how people are creatively thinking through their work. If this connects with you or you want to hear more about what we’re up to or how you might even want to get involved in our work, we’d love to hear from you!
Education and schools work update
Categories: Primary
.
Stories from the world of education and schools work:
* Working mums fail to help with homework: Mothers who work full-time spend just three minutes a day alone with their sons helping them with homework, researchers have found.
* Schoolgirls could be allowed to swap skirts for trousers: Schools could be banned from forcing all girls to wear skirts because it may breach equality laws.
* Bringing up a child now tops £200,000, if you’re lucky…: The cost of bringing up a child has risen to more than £200,000 for the first time.
* Record numbers not in education, work or training: Almost 15% of young people are now ‘neets’, official figures show.
* Generation Y children are ‘harder to teach’: A culture of “instant gratification” is making today’s schoolchildren harder to teach, a headteachers’ leader said.
* Schools ‘push teen mothers to be dropouts’: Life chances of teenage mothers and their children threatened by barriers to education, Barnardo’s survey finds.
* Colleges cut bricklaying and plumbing courses to save cash: Colleges are preparing to axe courses and turn students away because of a £200m funding crisis, it was claimed today.
Minute to win it…loads of ideas
Came across this new crazy games show from the USA that uses lots of very simple games that look easy! The website tells you how to run the games. This means lots of simple assembly and talks illustrations:) I like the Bucket Head idea.
Brilliant find! These are just the kind of things we love to use! Thanks.
Youthwork Southwest Day Conference
If you’re anywhere near Exeter next Saturday, 20th March, get along to the Southwest Youthwork day conference, it looks like a day not to be missed! With sessions ranging from reflective practice, worship with young people, mentoring, practical tips and resources, through to how to get funding for your project, it will be a day that challenges, inspires and equips you in your ministry. With Keynote speaker Chris Curtis you’re sure to have a great time!
To book your place, contact Scripture Union on 01908 856198 or info@scriptureunion.org.uk, quoting “Youthwork SouthWest Day Conference”
And the winner is…
...Becky Hunter-Kelm…Congratulations you are the winner* of two tickets to go and see Rob Bell next Wednesday night in London! The tickets are in the post!
*The winner was chosen at random from all the emails I received with suggestions for questions for the new primary age playing cards. Many thanks to everyone who entered.
A victory for Yorkshire. Well done Becky and the Cross Project, Wakefield
STREAM schools workers conference
‘STREAM’ Friday 28 May London City Mission HQ 175 Tower Bridge Road, London, SE1 2AH. 10.30am-3.30pm. Near London Bridge Underground station. Networking Christians in Education in London & South East. With Bible Ministry from Steve Clifford (General Director of Evangelical Alliance), Music in Schools with John Hardwick, Simon Thomas, Mark & Helen Johnson and Langham Arts. Come and be inspired to use music in your schools work wether or not you consider yourself a musician. Cost £10.00 More details admin@streamwork.org.uk 020 8778 3181
Wayne Dixon
Pray for schools
Pray For Schools 10-31 May “Raising the profile of prayer for schools in churches and communities.” Being organised by Youth For Christ, Care, Scripture Union, New Generation and Churches Together in England Details info@prayforschools.org http://www.prayforschools.org
Wayne Dixon
Ode to Assembly
The pupils file in, class by class, to fill up the space in the hall.
When teachers and students are all in their place, you can end up feeling quite small.
The year-head begins with announcements of things and then says: ‘Today we’ve a guest’,
The clock-watching starts, it’s over to you, ten minutes to give it your best.
You look at their faces; there’s hair gel a-plenty, and girls wearing make-up so thick;
Some of them follow, many look sleepy, and some want this over real quick.
With so much to say, yet so little time, you hope that your message is clear.
Their world is so tough and image obsessed, a time marked by peer pressure fear.
You come to a close, the time is now up, your work in this hall is done.
Now safe in your seat, you survey the crowd, and hand it all back to the Son.
What seeds have been planted, what truth has been grasped? You battle with faith and doubt,
For now, you pack up and thank all the staff, remembering to smile and sign out.
What a great poem - James has summed up the feeling i know so well as somebody who has spent years doing Christian assemblies in both primary and secondary school…
“Well Done James”
Please don’t let your ink become dry as i am sure there are many more great odes in you that need to be put onto paper.
Rev Richard Pidgley
Discovery Church - Swindon
Primary age group discussion starters
I’m looking for suggestions for questions to go on the new set of cards. Your question/discussion starter should fit into one of the following four categories and be suitable for children aged 7-11.
DIAMONDS
The diamonds contain questions about you. These questions aim to get children talking about their identity, what’s important to them and how they see themselves. An example from the current pack: “If you could live moment of your life all over again, which one would it be?”
SPADES
The spades are about others, and contain questions designed to get children talking about others in their lives, who is important to them and the impact others have had on them. An example from the current pack: “If you had to describe each member of your family as a brand name chocolate bar, which ones would they be?”
HEARTS
The heart cards feature questions about the world, and get discussions going about fair trade, travel and various issues and needs in our world. An example from the current pack: “What cause would you be prepared to stand up for and support?”
CLUBS
The club cards are all about questions of belief. Get discussions going about prayer, doubt, possibilities and faith.An example from the current pack: “Would you pray if you were in trouble? What difference do you think it would make?”
To enter, simply send me an .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) including your suggestion.
Each suggestion will enter you into the competition to win two tickets to hear Rob Bell speak in London on Wednesday 17th March. Information about the event can be found here via ChapelSt.
*Terms and Conditions for Rob Bell tickets competition:
- Only one entry in the competition per person (although you can send as many emails/suggestions of questions as you like).
- Closing date for the competition is Friday, 5th March.
- The winner will be chosen at random from names collected in a hat and the name posted on the site on Friday 12 March 2010.
i work in a primary school as a TA, often there is conflict.
so my comment would be one aimed at children taking responsibility for their own actions-because it’s always someone elses fault.
“what could you do different towards someone that might prevent a falling out?”
“what good, kind or nice thing have you done today that has helped someone else?”
No school valentine’s
I was just browsing the BBC news education section and stumbled upon this story about a primary school that has banned it’s pupils from sending valentines cards
Some people think that it is a bit of harmless fun, while others think that it can ‘emotionally traumatic’.
Isn’t it good to allow children and young people an opportunity to express their feelings? Or should we discourage the sending of cards? I have very fond (be it only a few) memories of receiving valentines cards at school and the excitement of it all. Are we to be worried about these things??
I never got a valentines card when I went to school. It didn’t bother me. I say its just harmless fun.
Education and schools work update
Stories from the world of education and schools work:
- Girls to receive pregnancy tests at school: Schools criticsed for distributing pregnancy tests and other sexual health services to girls.
- Free laptops and broadband to help poor families: Gordon Brown will promise free laptops and broadband access for 270,000 low income families so they can better follow their children’s progress at school.
- Pupils could study Facebook and Twitter for new English GCSE: Facebook, Twitter and other social networking websites could become part of the school curriculum under plans for a new English GCSE.
- Pupils ‘must have a say on school rules’: Teachers will be forced to ask pupils’ permission before altering the curriculum and length of the school day under new plans.
- Schoolboys ‘learn better if they are allowed to walk around in class’: Schoolboys should be allowed to walk around during lessons to boost their learning skills, research suggests.
- Exams watchdog steps in over Facebook protest: The exams watchdog has stepped into the row over an A-level biology paper which led to thousands of students launching a Facebook protest against the exam board AQA for setting questions they felt were unfair.
- To do their homework, children need space at home: If the housing budget is cut, children who live in overcrowded conditions will be the losers – and their school work will suffer, says Peter Mortimore
- Excessive internet use linked to depression, research shows: Leeds University study finds people classified as internet addicts are more likely to be depressed than non-addicted users
- Violent deaths of children ‘down 40%’: Researchers say child death rate has plummeted in the last 30 years, thanks to ‘improvements in social care systems’
SWAP Conference
Coming up in February 2010, on the 17th - 19th, Life Church in Burnley will be hosting the PAIS GB Swap Conference. Swap is a national schools worker conference and is open to all youth and schools workers.
There will be input from Pais Founding and Global Director, Paul Gibbs, who will be bringing his ‘Talmidin’ teaching series - ‘Ancient Methods for Post-Modern Times’. This teaching focuses on discipleship and looks at the principles and methods Jesus used to make disciples.
Brad Hawkes from ‘New Generation UK’ will also be at the conference, specifically to speak to the M4 stream. New Generation is fast shaping peer to peer schools ministry in the UK.
M4 is for all those aged 14-18yrs. It is specifically designed for young people who want to reach their friends while they are still at school. It will equip them with practical principles and tools to reach their friends with the Good News.
To download the M4 Booking Pack, click this link: http://www.mypais.info/resources/documents/gb_m4_10.pdf
The cost of the conference is £35 for the 3 days.
For more information about Swap or M4 please contact the PAIS office on 01282 454149.
Things Happening Under the Surface
Last week we visited a secondary school in a near-by city, as part of our schools work with LMI (http://www.lmi-org.net). During the session a young lad, about 16 years old, volunteered to take part in one of the activities planned in the programme. He seemed to be a really confident young guy with no obvious struggles, a bit of a joker in fact, so he was a good volunteer to come forward and get involved.
Throughout the session, this lad, along with the other pupils, listened intently to the topic of wealth and riches and how many people eagerly pursue them longing to find fulfilment and complete happiness. We then presented an alternative source of ultimate happiness, to rival the pursuit of materials and possessions - having a relationship with God.
The view we shared is in contrast to the mantra of the world that is force-fed by the marketing man from multi-national global super brands on TV, in magazines, online et al.
As we shared the view that the greatest satisfaction in life is found in knowing God and not in the pursuit of possessions or the more and more materials we come to own (there is of course nothing wrong with enjoying possessions, just so long as they don’t become little gods battling for unrivalled position in our hearts – that honour, we feel, is for Jesus Christ alone) the pupils eagerly followed all that was said.
As the session came to a close, the plucky young guy who had volunteered earlier on raised his hand to ask a question:
“Are there any places, or clubs, or something that does this sort of thing round here?”
For this young man to raise his head above the crowd and ask such a question, which clearly highlighted his interest in the things that had been said, was really quite something. For him to speak up and single himself out amongst his classmates is a big thing to do, especially in his world of peer pressure, teenage angst and heightened image awareness. Maybe he’d grown weary of the materialistic montage his young mind gets bombarded with day in day out, who knows?
Thrilled to receive such a question, we answered by telling the class about the local events we knew of and followed this enquiry up later on by sending further information on to the teacher in an email once we were back in the office. We’re also in the middle of making arrangements for a local youth worker to come with us into the school to tell the students exactly what venues and clubs are operating in their city (very exciting)!
It was only after the pupils had left at the end of the session, when we were alone with the teacher in the classroom, that the full implications of this young lad’s question became apparent. His teacher went on to explain the situation to us; this young man was on report, with a possible exclusion from school looming, he has a history of disruptive behaviour in class and has been aggressive to the staff.
He clearly has some serious issues happening under the surface that we would never have known about, based on our short time with him. Finding this out gave new significance to his interest in the things that had been said. We have no idea about his background, what his home life is like or the specifics of the situation he is in….but Jesus does, and He used an RE class to reach out to this young lad.
It just goes to show that there must be people, young and old, all around us who are carrying baggage, issues, problems and difficulties; often hidden from view, sometimes boiling away under the surface, like the unseen lava of a volcano poised to erupt at any moment.
What an honour it is for those of us who get to visit schools to take part in assemblies, RE lessons and the like, who knows what things are happening in the lives of the young people we meet? Who knows how God might use these moments to encourage, help and inspire young lives?
Maybe you get tired of doing the work and seeing little visible results, maybe you need some encouragement? Keep going! The secret struggles and hidden trauma that lies beneath the surface of young lives in classrooms and assembly halls throughout the land needs to be addressed by Christ’s followers with messages of hope and love, whether we know that’s what’s taking place or not.
We return to the same school again next week, to take another RE class with the same group. Please pray for this young man in particular…there are definitely things happening under the surface.
great encouragement in christian schools work. just shows how effective we can be without realising it !!!!
Education Sunday
Did you know Education Sunday is this coming weekend? For information on what it is, who it is promoted by and what you can do to recognise it, click this link. There are a whole host of resources, including prayer station ideas, assembly plans, sermon notes and presentations to download. The theme this year is ‘called to serve’.
Education Sunday is a national day of prayer and celebration for everyone involved in the world of education.
For more than 100 years there has been an annual recognition of Education Sunday in England and Wales, traditionally on the ninth Sunday before Easter. How could your church support those working in education this weekend?
iWhat?
http://www.weblogcartoons.com
Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons at We Blog Cartoons.
Having only scanned a couple of news pages about this last night and listening to some of the rumours over the last weeks and months, I still can’t quite articulate what it is this new technology actually does that the iphone and laptop can’t? (Well yes, I get that it does ‘everything’, but…!). Maybe it’s just the idea of something new that we can’t resist…however the word ‘superfluous’ does spring instantly to mind, as does the issue of keeping scratches off the screen, or a protective film that doesn’t bubble up!
Thoughts? Possible uses for schoolsworkers?!
24-7 Prayer-in YOUR school
So it’s Thursday morning and once again I unlock the prayer room at Cathedral school Wakefield bleary-eyed. I have a tidy up, mop up sand and water that has spilt and restick the post-it notes on the map that have fallen off. As I do so I read some of the heartfelt and honest prayers that students have posted. Notes of love, requests for forgiveness - and most of all supplication for justice and rescue for the people of Haiti after the devastating earthquake. It has been a fantastic week and God has really blessed this sacred space in school with frequent staff and student visitors. During lessons on prayer with year 7,8 & 9 we discussed what prayer is, why might we pray and how do you do it. We hope students discovered that there is no ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ way to do prayer. When the students were asked what they liked about the prayer room these were some of the comments:
I like the prayer tent because I feel like I am hidden away from everything and just with God’
I like it when you drop the stone in the water imagining you’re letting go of all your worries’
The world map because you can see everythuing in the world at once’
We’ve also had the chance to pray for specific anonymous requests made by staff and students. The next question is, what next? A lot of people have just said they want the room to stay like it permanently. Before tomorrow after school when we de-rig the room, a friend is coming to see the prayer room, as she prepares to create another 24-7 prayer room in a school in Leeds in March. And so the prayer meeting continues…
Introducing the week…
Before the event, the dates were in the diary and our office gradually filled up with random objects that were actually resources we were collecting for the 24-7 prayer room we were planning in school. As i picked my way through fairy lights and post it notes I pondered- how do I describe to 1000 students what this ‘prayer room’ concept was?! We were given the assembly slots the week before for each year group and so we showed a short video and used the Florence and the Machine version of ‘You’ve got the Love’ to introduce the week. It was really important for us to inspire the students about engaging with prayer in creative ways and making it relevant for them.
If you are interested in running a prayer space in your school but unsure where to start, why not email schools@24-7prayer.com.
Thanks for letting us know Becky, sounds like a significant week for the school and makes all the prep you put in worthwhile! Look forward to hearing what happens from here!
Sounds great. Nice one!
In the run up to half term we ran a prayer room in one of the high schools I regularly work in in Leeds. We ran lessons for RE looking at prayer and spirituality and I was constantly overwelmed by the depth pupils were willing to share in front of a class of peers. Both staff and students commented on how much pupils had to deal with, having read their shared prayers. Their desire, a desperation even, for someone to be listening. I used the resources I found on schoolswork.co.uk with those in the 24-7 pack, which made the bringing together of activites much easier. God was in it all otherwise it just wouldn’t have happened, and I look forward to hearing the stories of answered prayer as I return to school this term. If you’re thinking of running a room, push some doors, talk to some people, visit a running prayer room in school, these guys at schoolswork and 24-7 are great support and there might even be someone doing the same local to you too!
Children’s and Family Ministry Conference 2010
Literally just back home from the Children’s Ministry “Hand in Hand” Conference in Eastbourne. We had a really brilliant weekend, and loads of fun on the schoolswork.co.uk stand. As well as meeting lots of wonderful children’s workers excited about the potential of approaching their local schools, we re-connected with old friends and embarrassed ourselves getting lots of card tricks wrong (which, by the way, is a great way to get discussions going!!). I did a seminar on assemblies with impact, which began perfectly with a computer meltdown….on the third macbook we finally got things to work (just like an authentic assembly then!). If you’re visiting the site after meeting us this weekend, really great to connect with you, and do keep in touch. Now….for some sleep!
Amy your short course on assemblies was brilliant! My fav was the Russian doll assembly, its such a good idea
Easter Cracked
Easter possibly the most significant event in history? Over the last 15 years I’ve been involved in a local church initiative where primary school pupils come into the church for a presentation that has been incredibly well received by both pupils and staff. Schools are into LOTC (Learning Outside The Classroom) and here is one example. Todate around 30 other locations around the country have started something similar from Altrincham to Woodley and Gravesend to Glasgow and this remains the most significant thing I’ve been involved with in Scripture Union. If you think this might be of use for your church and local school(s) then do check out these websites and feel free to contact us for more information.
Over the years we have had many visitors come along to observe this and many have then go on to do something similar in their area. Also, I’m sure other areas would also welcome visitors. We`set aside a week here and it is is 8-12 March and we run two sessions each day.
http://www.scriptureunion.org.uk/letscelebrate
http://www.sloughbaptistchurch.org.uk/schoolsweek
Best wishes
Wayne Dixon
National Storytelling Week Appeal - Parables needed
National Storytelling Week Appeal - Parables needed.
10th Annual National Storytelling Week
30th January – 6th February 2010
A decade in celebration of storytelling! Once a upon a time an idea was proposed for a week to highlight the art of storytelling - not just for the young but for all ages who share the creations of thought and the creativity of imagination. The storytelling week has grown fast; in 2001 (the first year), 200 events were held around the country. In 2009 National Storytelling Week reached 16,000 people of various ages with storytelling events and performances in schools, arts centres, libraries, theatres, museums, pubs, bookshops, storytelling clubs, retirement homes and prisons!
This year promises to be bigger than ever as storytelling in this country now has its first laureate, the wonderful Taffy Thomas. Schools, of course, are becoming more and more aware of the week and want storytellers to come in to help them celebrate. Could you be one? And what can the Christian youth worker offer that is unique, particularly let’s say in an assembly?
First lets remember what storytelling is for. In its sharing between teller and listener it gives and receives, it empowers, it creates and feeds the imagination. Stories contain meaning but cannot be reduced to one meaning alone. Our master storyteller understood this very well so he told parables and hardly ever explained them. Why not try the same?
There are two possible approaches. One is to take a real-life story or incident and tell it, without trying to interpret. I remember once, in a pupil referral unit, telling a small story about being slammed in the leg by the shopping basket of a hassled mum. I had apologised (in a very British way) without thinking and had then been subject to a tirade of verbal abuse for being in the wrong place. I told this story because it bothered me, but I had no interpretation or meaning attached to it. The story opened up a huge discussion on fairness which led into what it means to have empathy for others. This very deep discussion was led by a group of apparently very dysfunctional teenagers.
The second approach is to take one of Jesus’ parables and to tell it, not read it. But please avoid The Good Samaritan, this is the one parable most schools do to death. Find a parable which appeals to you, don’t think too hard about meaning, rather look for a parable which resonates in your spirit. (At the moment with the horrific situation in Haiti, the parable which resonates for me is that of the wise and foolish builders in Matthew 7.)
Walk with this parable – dedicate time on each day in the next week to reading the parable you have chosen so that you get it in your head. I always find it helpful to think of a story I am learning as a series of pictures like a comic strip rather than words. Then tell the parable to as many different people as you can and in many different contexts; to your family at home, to a friend over the phone, to your fellow workers in a break. Tell it at least once each day. You will find the words which work for you and the images you like. You will also develop different possible ways of telling it so that when it comes to telling the parable in a school you will be fully immersed in it. Then, of course, ring some schools and tell them you have got a story to tell for National Storytelling Week.
Go for it, you will have a ball!
Neil Ruckman (Credo Storytellers)
Thanks for the heads-up Neil. Hoping to organise some storytelling sessions in Northern Ireland during this week.
Leaders of tomorrow? Leaders of Today!
When reaching, teaching, training and building relations with young people, we often see them as a generation of leaders for tomorrow. This is obviously right and we must support them with this in mind, enabling and equipping those we see who shine out with leadership potential. I recently came across a great African proverb to this end: “A stick is straightened while still young” (check out afriprov.org for more African proverbs).
Yet I think we may sometimes lean with all of our perspective slanting towards tomorrow at the cost of today; we shouldn’t under-estimate young people in terms of their leadership now, in the present. I think there is much to be learnt from a young dreamer, unbound and unrestricted by the cynicism that tends to creep in over time, not forgetting the need for balance and the value of listening to the voice of experience, of course, but a balance of the two.
Working with young people in Jamaica (yep, I know, life and ministry is hard!) I was told a wonderful story (true) which helps to demonstrate the value of seeing young people as leaders for today too….
Each Sunday the Dad of the family would drop his wife and two kids off at the local church and then drive hurriedly away, not wanting to get involved with this Christian gathering. One day the church Pastor tried to speak to the man before his car pulled away, but the conversation was brief and difficult. The Mum and her two kids grew concerned about their Husband/Dad and desperately wanted him to come to know the mercy and loving kindness of God through Jesus Christ. They talked with the Pastor and prayed together about this issue; then one day the Dad saw his seven year old son crying, alone in his room. The Dad, concerned at the tears from his boy, asked him what was wrong. The boy went on to explain that he, his brother and Mummy were all on a train going to the same place, but that he was upset that his Daddy was not on the train and he really wanted his Daddy to join the rest of the family making this journey on the train. The story goes on to say how the boy explained his tale of the train journey in terms of living life together as a family following Jesus. The Dad, amazed at these words from his lad, fell to his knees, began to cry and was led into a relationship with the Lord thanks to his SEVEN YEAR OLD son.
Young people will be the leaders of tomorrow, but they can also lead today.
I came across this prayer request recently from the mission organisation OMF, another great example of young people leading today:
Taiwan: Linda M* tells the story of Peggy, a former resident at the B* Children’s Home. She now lives in her grandmother’s home which has a prominent god shelf. ‘Peggy has been teaching me to pray to your God’, said Gran to Linda, ‘It really seems that he listens more than the others on the god shelf do.’ Pray for the witness of nine-year-old Peggy.
Pray for the witness of NINE YEAR OLD Peggy!
Isn’t it wonderful?!
So, in your work with young people, keep on searching for those with genuine leadership ability for tomorrow and help them to fulfil this potential, but don’t miss out on learning from them and seeing them lead today also.
But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.
“Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “‘From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise’?”
(Matthew 21:15-16)
Love your local school
Love your local school is an event happening in Reading on Thursday 4 March. See below for more information. It’s hoped to be repeated in other locations in the future.
http://www.baptist.org.uk/training_events/downloads/love-your-localschool.pdf
Best wishes
Wayne Dixon
Scripture Union holidays - Developing young leaders plus
Scripture Union Holidays 2010 - we have many opportunities this year for developing young leaders and 3 specific events that some of your young people in church / school might be interested in? Have a look at the links below for more information on Charnwood, Training in Action & Geared for Growth.
http://www.scriptureunion.org.uk/SU_Core/Holidays/Regional/GearedforGrowth/78897.id
http://www.scriptureunion.org.uk/SU_Core/Holidays/HolidaysFolder/TrainingInAction/4463.id
http://www.scriptureunion.org.uk/SU_Core/Holidays/HolidaysFolder/Charnwood/104558.id
There are numerous other events for 8-19 year olds all over the place at Easter, and summer and the new year including two specific events for those just afer their GCSE’s or A levels at the beginning of July. Canal Turn@16+ and Canal Turn@ 18+ in association with UCCF.
http://www.scriptureunion.org.uk/SU_Core/Holidays/HolidaysFolder/CanalTurn16/4453.id
http://www.scriptureunion.org.uk/SU_Core/Holidays/HolidaysFolder/CanalTurn18/63547.id
see http://www.scriptureunion.org.uk/holidays for more of what is available
for more information. Happy new year (and DECADE!)
Wayne Dixon
The top ten tweets of 2009
Ok, so this is my last post of the decade…probably! Check out the most important tweets of 2009. This is really interesting, and has a lot to say about the development of the way we communicate and share information.