christian distinctiveness at st mary’s church of england infant school love one another as i have...
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Christian Distinctiveness at St Mary’s Church of England Infant School
Love one another as I have loved
you
Mission Statement
DO BE KIND, DO BE GENTLE, WORK HARDLOVE ONE ANOTHER AS I HAVE LOVED YOU
In an ethos of close support, encouragement and challenge, at St Mary's School we aim to:
•Embed Christian values of love, respect, courage, truthfulness, perseverance and friendship
•Deliver a challenging, stimulating curriculum in which children develop a sense of awe and wonder.
•Develop skills for life and a love of learning to help everyone to be the best they can.
•Empower children to appreciate others and to express themselves freely knowing they are valued and part of a wider community.
•Provide a calm and caring environment where everyone is happy and secure.
...we show our love by being
gentle.
...you can say a
prayer to show that you love
everyone.
...if you have no one to play with
you can always find
a friend.
...you can
work togethe
r. ...we show our love by caring for one
another.
At St Mary’s …
DO BE KIND, DO BE GENTLE, WORK HARD
Mission Statement Child friendly version
St Mary’s
A community
that sees th
e
face of God in
every child
The Christian Ethos comes through very strongly in pupil’ day-to-day life in school, and pupils from all backgrounds work and play happily together.Ofsted 2009
Welcome to St Mary’s
Interactive displays in the Entrance Hall
Car Park
Entrance
Teaching and Learning
RE in the Classroom Re-enacting the Easter Story
The Good Shepherd
Jack said to Mummy:
“I love the pause and reflect area because I can sit quietly and think about God”Reception Class April 2013
Topic links
In addition to discreet RE teaching we try whenever possible to link RE teaching to our whole school topics e.g. •Jesus as a hero in our topic on Super heroes•Looking after God’s beautiful world on our topics on Rainforests and Out of Africa•Belonging, community and our local church in our topic on Marlborough and Beyond
A performance of ‘Joseph’ in the topic ‘The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat’
Worship
The school has a schedule for collective worship suggesting themes for the week linked to the church’s year and the School’s six values.
Worship is planned to be interactive and engage the children.
Revd. Heather leads collective worship
The ‘Open the Book’ team
Christian symbolism
One of our wonderful TAs made altar cloths to use in line with the Church’s year and an elderly friend from St Mary’s parish made the candle holder and crucifix.
Display showing Christian symbols and the church’s colours
Inclusion
Children from the Complex Needs Resource Base (Starbase) are linked to mainstream classes and are included in all the school’s activities.
The way in which the school promotes equality of opportunity and eliminates discrimination is outstanding. Ofsted 2009
All children receive the very best education regardless of
race, background or socio economic status
Display
Displays in the hall, entrance hall and classrooms reflect the Christian character of the school.
Celebrations
Easter Pilgrimage Day at St Mary’s Church
The annual Nativity Play at St Mary’s Church
Links with the Church
St Mary’s School and Church work closely together to support the children:•Clergy from several local churches visit on a weekly basis to lead worship•Key events such as Harvest and Christmas are celebrated in St Mary’s Church•Bob Toogood, one of the School governors is also a retired vicar. He is a regular visitor to the school, supporting worship, presenting bibles at the leavers assembly and palm crosses at Easter time•The ‘Open the Book’ group from St Mary’s church visit regularly to share bible stories with the children •Children visit the church where Bob will give guided tours
Towards the end of YR all the children are given a Bible or Quran to keep in school. These are presented by Bob at the leaver’s assembly for the children to take home.
Other Partnerships
The Marlborough Area Education Partnership (MAEP). Joint school Council Meeting
Working with art students from Marlborough College
St Mary’s under 5’s visit
Teaching and learning at St Mary’s is enhanced through work with our key partners:•Parents•Friends of the School•St Mary’s Church•St Peter’s•MAEP•Other local schools•Under 5’s
Strong partnerships enable all stakeholders to work together for the greater good of the children
Community Links
Planting crocuses for polio relief Grandparent’s Day
Tree planting with the Marlborough
Community Orchard group
A visit from the residents of Marlborough
Lodge
Learning about other cultures
All children grow in the love of God to see
the best in themselves and
others.Action Through Enterprise is our School charity and
we have regular visits from Sarah Gardner who is organising free school meals for the children of Karbo Primary School in
Ghana
St Mary’s Church of England Infant School
Love one another as I have loved
you.