We would normally have an assembly every day. However, with the school being closed, I thought it would be a good idea to continue to share thoughts and stories relating to our vision and values and spiritual capacities. These might come as pictures, videos or stories, but I hope they help you to think and learn and continue to live your lives as best as you can. 

If you would like to contribute a thought for the day, please e-mail it to [email protected]

Monday 1st June - Welcome back to learning

Thursday 21st May (shared by Miss Harvey)

Yesterday, whilst sitting outside in my garden in the 24 'C heat, I remember thinking to myself how glad I was that I put on some sun cream as I know that when I sit out in the sun for too long, I burn very quickly and easily. This made me think: does the process of me remembering to put sun cream on make me clever or wise? We have spoken time and time again about the difference between what it means to be clever and what it means to be wise in our assemblies.

What do you  think the difference is?

I think the biggest difference is that when we do something 'clever' it is often because of our understanding. Many people know the sun is hot which will possibly cause you to burn. However, when you have gone through the experience before, the past has taught you a valuable lesson. You may know that when you sit out in the sun, like me, you burn easily which means next time you do, you are wise enough to wear that sun cream!

Watch the video below to learn more about the differences between being clever and being wise.

 

Tuesday 19th May (shared by Mrs Shelley)

Our Collective Worship value for this half term in Wisdom. 

'Wisdom is the ability to make good judgments based on what you have learned from your experience, or the knowledge and understanding that gives you this ability.'

Today I would like you to take five minutes to stop and think about these questions and decide if you are being wise - Are you making good judgements and choices and keeping yourself safe whilst online playing and learning? Are you applying the knowledge you have learned from your E-Safety lessons?

Remember SMART -

Enjoy singing along to our E-Safety song. 

Thursday 14th May (shared by Miss Hughes) 

Despite living in Worcester City Centre, I have been able to enjoy daily exercise through taking long and relaxing walks around the River Severn. This is something that I find incredibly enjoyable (and did so even before lockdown). For a very long time there has been a picture painted on a cut down tree. This painting is of a kingfisher- it was even there way before I became a teacher at Abberley. Now- when I see it, I think of all the children in my class and wonder how they are?  How are they finding not being at school? Are they missing the learning and their friends? What are their thoughts and feelings about returning? Thinking about the children in Kingfishers class makes me then think of the rest of our school family, the Wrens, Skylarks and Merlins. Even though now this picture of the kingfisher on the tree is fading away, my memories and hopes for the children of Abberley are stronger than ever. 

Tuesday 12th May (shared by Mrs Lightfoot)

Today is International Nurse’s Day and it is also the 200^th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale. 

Florence Nightingale is often said to the be the first modern nurse and it is in her name that was given to the new hospitals built around the country to treat COVID19 patients.

 

Florence Nightingale became a nurse against her families wishes.  At the time few women worked, however, Florence believed she had a calling to help others and chose to study nursing.  In 1854 she took a group of volunteer nurses to care for the casualties of the Crimean War.  Florence quickly realised that death rates were increased by poor hygiene and poor conditions in the hospitals.  By implementing practices such as hand-washing and proper sanitation Florence significantly reduced the number of deaths.  Today we are all very aware of the importance of these things in fighting the coronavirus.

Florence Nightingale spent her childhood in a small village in Derbyshire.  I grew up in the same village and her former family home was just up the road from my house.  At the time I lived there it was a care home for the elderly.  Something Florence probably would have approved of.  I remember learning about Florence at primary school as we were very proud as a village to have an association with her.  So today on International Nurse's Day please take a minute to remember and be thankful for Florence and the thousands of nurses around the world who are working hard to care for all of us.

Thursday 7th May (shared by Mrs. Gregory)

The beatitudes are a set of teachings by Jesus and they start with the word blessed, meaning happy. Reading these got me thinking about all of the things I feel blessed with: family, love, health and a safe place to live to name but a few. What things do you feel blessed to have in your life? If you immediately think about your family, have you told them how grateful you are to have them or how happy they make you? It is important to take the time to think about what makes your life happy, especially at the moment.

 

Wednesday 6th May - Virtual school trip

Tuesday 5th May (shared by Mrs Postlethwaite)

Monday 4th May

A beautiful message from the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Thursday 30th April

Solomon was the biblical king most famous for his wisdom. In 1 Kings he sacrificed to God, and God later appeared to him in a dream, asking what Solomon wanted from God. Solomon asked for wisdom.

Wednesday 29th April

This week my daughter and I cycled into Evesham and went under impressive Bell Tower. You can see that it towers high up in the photo. However, once Evesham was home to the third largest Abbey in England, which was three times the height of the tower. The Abbey was built in Evesham because a swineherd call Eof reported seeing The Virgin Mary along the banks of the River Avon in this location. Following a visit from the Archbishop of Canterbury the siting was confirmed and this became a holy site where people travelled on pilgrimage from all over the country.

We have wonderful and interesting history all around us. Take some time to appreciate and discover more about the history of something. People are so interesting and learning about the past can tell you so much about the present.

Friday 24th April

Thank you to Hannah Polland for allowing us to share her story.

Thursday 23rd April

Happy St George's day. Thanks to Henry for sharing this with us.

Wednesday 22nd April

Our thought for today comes from Vickie, who volunteers weekly to support our CREW group.

I was sent some pictures of a local woodland area - filled with bluebells. 

A reminder that, in the midst of the lock down, God is still creating  - colour, fragrance and beauty are all around us. We give thanks for the wonders of creation and  join in praise with the writer of the psalms when he says, 

"Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens... "

We are fortunate to live in a place of peace and beauty, and we pray for God's peace in the hearts of all who are isolated, lonely or who are fearful at this time.

Tuesday 21st April (shared by Mrs Lightfoot)

Our Collective Worship value for this half term in Wisdom.

The story from the Bible that we have chosen as a School to represent Wisdom is the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders (Matthew 7. v 24-27)

 

In this story, Jesus teaches us that true wisdom comes from trusting in Him and His word. If we build our lives on the basis of God’s truth then we will have strong foundations in life like the wise man who built his house on the rock.  This wisdom will help us to persevere when the storms of life come.

Matthew 7:24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”

 

Monday 20th April

Our learning capacity this month is knowledge. Our certificates for the attributes all contain a quote. The one for knowledge says 

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” Benjamin Franklin

 

 

Friday 3rd April

The Diocese of Worcester has also created resources to help think of worship ideas during this period of home learning. Follow this link to find out more. Church of England - worship at home

Thursday 2nd April

When I first read the book 'The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse' , I didn't find this page that thought provoking. However, today I reflected on it. Without love, we cannot be happy as without love we are less likely to care about oursleves and others.  Many people would say hate is the opposite of love, but I think it is apathy or simply not caring for or helping others and ourselves. Would success even be success if we loved nobody to share that success with? We can only succeed with others to share our achievement. 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday 1st April

Even though things might be changing, keep your spirits high and remember our Abberley values: courage, thankfulness, compassion, justice, truthfulness, wisdom and forgiveness. Persevere with your challenges throughout the time we are not in school. Be curious with the world around us. Be creative with our work and use our knowledge to make the world better in the future.

Thought from Annabel

Tuesday 31st March

The moment chick number 5 hatched.

Monday 30th March

I would love to put a video together of you all learning  or practising a new skill. Please ask your parents to e-mail or share films (OneDrive [email protected]). Also, I am planning on running an isolation photography competition. Photos must be taken from inside the walls of your home or garden and can feature plants, wildlife or people, but should capture an important moment. 

Friday 27th March

This photo was taken near Broadway Tower this afternoon. It was wonderful to stop and watch the lambs for a short moment (in the middle of my daily exercise). They were playing happily, bouncing around in the beautiful sunshine. It is so important to look up at the sky and feel connected to the world. I hope you are all getting a chance to do your daily exercise, enjoy the sunshine and take small opportunities to be thankful.

Thursday 26th March

I'm not sure that all clouds have a silver lining, but I think that most do. The statement 'every cloud has a silver lining' suggests that something good always comes out of something which, may at first, seem bad. The news has recently suggested that carbon emissions and other dangerous gases have gone down so much since the start of the virus lock-downs. Whilst we may be stuck and business is quiet, this may prove a turning point in how we can shift the way we live to protect our environment.

BBC reducing carbon emissions

Wednesday 25th March

Two weeks ago twenty eight eggs were carefully placed into an incubator near Mrs Day's office. The eggs have now been relocated to Mr Turvey's home, where many of them have been candled and are showing a clear air sac at the one end (which should grow to about a quarter of the egg in the coming days) and several blood vessels showing. Life is a miracle and the chicks are due to hatch on the 31st March, just days before Easter. Life is a miracle and for those people who are Christians, Easter represents a time where we celebrate the gift of life in particular. 

 

Tuesday 24th March

On Friday, we sang Happy Birthday to every child who has a birthday between now and May. It was a sort of happy and sad moment. Happy because we were celebrating and have so much to be grateful for and sad because we would not be able to celebrate together closer to the time. Here is the video of us singing, so when it is your birthday, you can come here and watch so we are in a way together for your special day. 

Monday 23rd March

I have recently been reading The Choice by Edith Eger. Edith is a Holocaust survivor who went on to work as a therapist. The lesson of the story so far is that even in the most challenging times we have a choice. As we understand, control our emotions and forgive, we can still find hope and happiness.

As you learn and play today take a moment to think how lucky you are. You have food, space and a family who love you. Be grateful and choose to focus on the positive things. Be particularly patient with each other as we are at home together. We are not used to being kept in the same space with the same people. Forgive each other quickly and avoid being critical if you can.