Today we explored some ways in which Christians try to bring Jesus’ ‘good news’ to others. For example, just like Jesus was ‘friend to the friendless’. We watched a video from John 14:27 which showed us how Jesus promises his followers peace. We talked about if they believe Jesus loves them and forgives them, how does that bring them peace? The children then thought how we can find peace, and the children were challenged to take a photograph of what represents peace to them. Here our some of our ideas!
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This afternoon we looked at how churches and mosques have similarities and differences. We were like detectives and spotted people pray in both, they have celebrations and learn about God and Allah. We found lots of differences too, for example Jayden said the mosques don't have candles like churches do. People do not wash and take off their shoes when they go into a church, and in a church you sit on a pew. We also noticed that in a church you can put your hands together to pray and in a mosque you hold them out flat. We then used our iPad to draw pictures of mosques.

This afternoon we recapped who churches are special for, and what they might find there. The children all had great knowledge of this! We then watched a short video about where special places were for Muslims and talked about what we could see. We spotted there were some similarities between churches and mosques, as people pray in both and they both have special books. 

 Today the children in Daffodils were thinking carefully about what is forgiveness, how can we do it and how does it make us feel? 
We found out Matthew (one of the disciples) wrote "Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. "
In groups we looked carefully at different scenarios and decided how easy it is to forgive.
We shared our ideas as a class and had a chat about peace and forgiveness and how that is 'Good News'

 The children in Bluebells were so engaged learning about what happens in a church that Mrs JJ brought her traditional, family Christening gown that has been passed down from her great, great grandparents to share with them! The children couldn't believe it was over 100 years old and had been made from a wedding dress. Mrs JJ then shared pictures of her children wearing the gown for their own Christenings. What a super enrichment of out RE topic!

We found out that Churches are very special places for Christians. The children in Bluebells recounted their experiences of church, we all remembered when we visited St. Oswald's Church to do our Nativity play! We found out that churches are special places for Christians because they can listen to Bible stories there, sing songs about God and pray. Clara told us all about when her sister was christened, she wore special clothes, they sang songs and the baby was welcomed into the family of God.  We looked at the names of things you might find in church, like pews, the alter and beautiful stained glass windows. 
The children were super creative and made their own windows, we even tried to add Christian symbols to them. Others were busy building churches using construction blocks - Skylar made an excellent church making sure she added the stained glass windows and pews.  

We began todays lesson thinking about who you'd expect Jesus to choose to become one of his disciples, we all thought it would be good, kind people. 
After listening to the story of Matthew the Tax Collector (Matthew 9:9–13), we found out that Jesus actually chose people we wouldn't expect! We decided that Jesus chose Matthew because he could see the good in him, and after spending time with Jesus, Matthew became a good disciple sharing Gods word. We found out that these stories are part of the ‘Gospel’ of Jesus, meaning ‘good news’. Here are some of our illustrations of part of the story;
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Our big question today focussed on what type of people can change the world and how! The Daffodils class has some amazing ideas, for example Laila said Firemen change the world because they save people and save the planet when big fires happen. We made a very long list of who and really decided that everyone can have a small part in making the world a good place to be. We discussed how Jesus made the world a good place by sharing his stories and teaching others. Here are some of our lists;
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This afternoon the children in Bluebells had a wonderful discussion about their special places. We talked about where they were and why they were special. Liam told us about when he goes to Banana Bens with his family. He loves spending time with his brother, playing on the big slides! Dexter told us about how Water World is a special place to him, because he spends time with his family having fun. We all decided that our special places make us feel happy, safe and loved. 

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Christmas is such a special time for us all. Across the school we have talked about the traditions in our own homes. It was amazing to learn how each family celebrate differently, for example some Polish families celebrate wigilia, which is one of the most longstanding and widely cherished of Polish rituals. In the vast majority of homes, both among believers or non-believers, a formal meal is celebrated and served on the table which is covered with a white tablecloth. 
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Every child in school made a Christmas Card to share their love at Christmas with people who are special to them...

The whole school also took part in a Christmas service in St Oswalds Church, Oswestry. The children had the opportunity to look inside the church, sing a range of Christmas Carols, take part in a Christingle, join in with musical instruments and share the Christmas story.