This term has been different once again but it was great to spend the last two weeks visiting schools again. We managed to finish some OT Mini courses at Beechwood and La Houguette. Forest has two more weeks left which will be completed after the Easter break. We also got to deliver two assemblies at Amherst for their infants and juniors. Phil and Sarah looked at ‘Impossible Easter’ – using a quiz, some illustrations and videos to present how some things can sound impossible but actually be true! Including the resurrection of Jesus! We’re very grateful for the work we have achieved this term despite lockdown and look forward to the busy summer term!
We’re very pleased to be getting back to ‘normal’ next week and resume our schools work! We have a few things booked in ready to go, particularly the courses we had to cut short in January. We will be finishing some OT Mini lessons and meeting together to plan for the summer term.
The team have also started another study course together and we’re looking forward to some discussion, learning how we can develop our work and connect with students more. We are following a Christian course helping us to think more about identity and relationships called ‘Living in Love and Faith’.
Finally we have a new video! Victoria has been working hard again on this one and we’re excited to add it to our Creation lessons for Year 7. It’s not quite ready to post but when it is we will let you know!
Please continue to pray for the teachers and students of our local schools.
With the great news of schools going back on Monday 8th March, we’re looking forward to also being able to continue our work, however we realise this may not be for a while yet. Please continue to pray for the children, teachers and staff as they prepare to go back on Monday.
As we mentioned in our last post, Victoria did an amazing job of putting together a “virtual assembly”. We have now added a conclusion to the end along with some reflection questions and have sent it out to all the primary schools. So far we’ve had some great positive responses! Here is the full version! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slC2EhhXNOs&ab_channel=PACEGuernsey (please note this link may not work through the email preview so please visit the blog post).
Finally we’ve also taken part in some training sessions over Zoom. This was with Prayer Spaces in Schools, looking at how we can adapt events but still be able to run them with restrictions. We also shared our DIY Pack with them! The other training session we took part in was for an exciting resource called “Easter in a Box: The Movie” which looks very exciting and we will be looking into this more for perhaps Easter next year!
Over the last few weeks, Victoria has been working hard on a video that we decided to make after not being able to complete our primary assemblies because of the current lockdown. Using the images we had found for the assembly and few added in she produced this amazing video – can you recognise the voiceover? We hope you love it like we do!
We will be sending this to our primary schools in the hope that they can use it either in schools or as part of their distance learning!
As part of our working from home, the team are using the time to read, spend time in prayer, listen to podcasts and attend online conferences. Before half term the team joined the Hand in Hand Conference 2021. This was the conference Sarah attended last year in Eastbourne. The content was brilliant with speakers looking at children’s and family ministry in a post-pandemic world; the presence of the Kingdom in the community and schools, How can we help the children and families we work with, and ourselves, cope with the impact of lockdowns and much more. One sessions looked at Prayer Spaces in lockdown and shared some new resources that we will be looking into.
We found the conference really helpful and it gave us a lot of ideas for new things to try or explore. It also gave us a bit of a boost, seeing all these organisations encouraging and helping each other during this strange time! You can find all the sessions from the conference here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyDqOLF9mFo0bumVUfX3khg
As always, thank you for your continued support, prayers and encouragement. We ask that you keep the schools of Guernsey; the teachers and students in your prayers too. Here is a reminder of our schools.
Firstly we hope you are all keeping safe during this second lockdown and have settled back to working from home. As a team we are meeting again on Zoom to check in with each other and discuss any work we can do at home. We have refreshed our DIY Prayer Space Pack for schools after some feedback during the last lockdown and Victoria has been busy creating some exciting resources to send to schools!
The day before Guernsey went into lockdown, Phil, Sarah and Janet were at St Mary’s and St Michael’s reception class for their own mini Prayer Spaces lesson. In class they had been looking at the Feeding of the 5000 so we tailored some stations to bring out some aspects of the story. As a class we went through the story using Bob Hartman’s version and then explored being thankful for food by making Playdoh loaves and fishes, knowing Jesus listens to our worries using Worry Lillies and learning how we are all special and God cares for each one of us using Fingerprints! It was a little hectic as you can imagine but great fun!
We ask that you join us in praying that our island situation improves and that schools can begin to open, especially for vulnerable and key worker children.
Our primary assemblies are going well with visits to Blanchelande, Vauvert, Capelles, Forest, Acorn House, Castel, St Mary and St Michael and La Houguette! A busy few weeks! The children have been responding to the story of the wise men well. We first remind them of the story using this funny Lego video.
We follow this with reading the Lion Storyteller version. Below is a picture of Victoria at Acorn House this week.
OT Mini courses have been going well with a new course starting at Forest with Sian and Sarah presenting. Eleanor and Sarah-Jane move into Week 3 at La Houguette along with Capelles and Beechwood. We have now surpassed 6000 children on island having been taught the courses! As one child pointed out at Phil’s recent church visit to Vazon Elim, that’s (almost!) 10% of Guernsey!
We continue to be busy and so ask for your continued prayers for strength, health, energy and confidence as we deliver our lessons, assemblies and lunch clubs.
Happy New Year! We hope you had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed the celebrations.
We are very blessed to be able to be back in schools this week, with no restrictions unlike the UK. We are still probably the only OT Mini team up and running in Great Britain with Hautes Capelles, La Houguette and Beechwood courses all starting this week. La Houguette will be taken by Sarah-Jane and Eleanor in their first solo course – please pray for confidence, peace and enthusiasm from the children.
This week we were in Le Murier School working with a group of Year 9 students on a module towards their ASDAN qualification. Phil and Lisa will work with this group of students for 7 weeks helping them to plan, prepare and deliver an assembly to their fellow students. This is the fifth year we have been invited to help out and we are really looking forward to working with this group of students. This year our story is ‘The Good Samaritan’, we will develop a drama for the students to act out as well as an activity for the introduction and reflection at the end. Our theme will be the importance of helping others even those we might not get a long with all the time.
In our last blog post of 2020 we would like to share with you the fun Christmas activities we’ve been up to over the last few weeks!
Firstly, as is becoming routine, we took 7 Christmas lessons with Year 3 at Hautes Capelles, St Mary and St Micheal’s, Castel and Notre Dame. These are always a really lovely time, talking about how special Jesus is and hearing the children exclaim how “Jesus bought peace and love” or “he changed the world because he was God.” These children, at 7 or 8, may not go to church but they clearly understand the importance of Jesus and for us to share an hour with them discussing this, making booklets and talking about Christmas always makes us feel very blessed. Blessed to be able to be a presence in the schools at this time, and blessed that Jesus has not been lost amongst all the festivities that happen in schools.
As part of the lesson, the children make a booklet and write their own descriptions of what’s happening in each picture. Below is a picture of one of the booklets made.
As well as Christmas lessons, we also held a Christmas Prayer Space event at Amherst. The stations we had looked at the journeys and characters from the Christmas story. We spent three days with 265 pupils in Years 3-6 looking at forgiveness, our gifts, thinking about other people in the world, who guides us and what we are waiting for this Christmas. Through chats with teachers, we hear that the children really enjoyed the sessions and there was a sense of calm about the school during a very busy week! Thank you to all of our volunteers who gave up their time to help us. We hope you enjoy these photos of the different stations.
Finally yesterday we went out for our Christmas lunch at the Deerhound, always a special time to end the year. We hope you all have a lovely Christmas and wish you a Happy New Year! Thank you for all your support during 2020!
This week we’ve led our Advent primary assembly at Amherst, Forest, St Martins, Vale, Melrose, Vauvert and La Houguette.
We also had great fun delivering an Advent themed assembly at La Murier this week. The students engaged well with the activities as we looked at the importance of waiting and preparing ourselves for celebrating Christmas.
Our OT Mini courses are coming to an end with Vale, Melrose and La Mare concluding. This term we have completed 7 courses at 5 schools with 255 students.
In senior lunch clubs as the term draws to a close we are looking at the Christmas story and having some fun with parties! BOLT will also be finishing next week with Party Week.
Finally we took Mad, Bad or God lessons at La Mare with Year 9s. These sessions always bring about good questions and discussions as we look at who Jesus is. Thank you to Matt Gregor and Tim Berry who joined us for these sessions.
