Jan 082014
 
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Street Crew Finishes Term on a High Note

The final House Assembly of Term 1 went off with a bang! The children were engaged from start to finish in what was a celebration of the term’s successes! After a Mexican wave from the audience, the House Captains entered the hall to various festive tunes and got the audience dancing to each one. They then led an entertaining video round-up of sports days and spoke about upcoming events. The big finale was when the St Christopher’s Street Crew danced down the aisle to Lady Gaga’s song ‘Applause’ and got ready back stage for their big performance. There was an electric atmosphere as the audience eagerly awaited the performance. The children were first shown a video of some of the rehearsals. This proved to them that it is ok to get things wrong when learning and that while people learn at different speeds, with some perseverance anyone can do anything! A big congratulations to Mrs Etches, Mr Stephenson, Mrs Teague, Mrs Mulleague, Mrs Hewitt, Mrs Holness, Mrs Lodwig, Mrs Syson and Miss Bateinah who have rehearsed all term to ensure a fabulous performance for the children of St Christopher’s! Well done!

Our first “What have you done today to make you feel proud?” assembly for this school year

Entering and leaving the hall to Heather Small’s lyrics once a term we “step out of the ordinary” and have an extremely special Junior School assembly.  To be selected to take part pupils first have to be nominated by their year group or by a specialist teacher. These children then come together and share with the rest of the school what it is that they feel particularly proud of.

This term’s assembly began with Earsil (3B) explaining about the Young Lions Association and charity events he has taken part in.  Continuing the theme of service to the community, Charlotte and Aubrie (3F) shared with us how they raised money for the Dogfather by making and selling cupcakes.

Sofia (4F) explained how proud she is of her goal to become a doctor. She gave a short presentation on what she has learned about the heart and circulatory system.

Fatima (4E) described how a music box she was given inspired her to learn to play the piano and to be determined to play Fur Elise (Beethoven) for herself one day. She then played it note perfect for us all!

Anae (5B) shared her horse riding achievements and brought in her trophies and medals.

Another musical interlude was provided by Farah (5A) who played ‘Comic Sans’ on her flute.

Digby (6B) described his swimming achievements using a PowerPoint presentation he had prepared by himself.

Yasmina (6B) was very proud of her needlecraft and shared dresses she had designed and made herself. We were all very impressed.

Finally, Rakan (5E) who was the technical editor of the “Petit Journal” one of the very special highlights on our very successful French Day shared some tips with us. He taught his mother to use the software to import and edit French clips and the final result was a French TV news show set at St Christopher’s School which involved, amongst other things, the children occupying the staffroom, taking Mr Mannings hostage and demanding hot chocolate for his return!

Running through the assembly and underpinning the varied achievements was a very strong message. Without exception, the children spoke of the need to persevere and to believe you can achieve greatness.

Well done to this term’s participants – we are proud of you all!

Hark! The Herald, Angels Sing…

The Infant and Junior Schools held their annual Christmas assembly for non-Muslim children. The Infant Hall was overflowing with festive cheer, carols and quiet reflection.

We were lucky enough to have Rev Butt come and speak to us about Advent and how Christians prepare to celebrate the arrival of God’s son, Jesus. Mr Stephenson was very excited to share with everyone the advent calendar he had received from his Mum!

The children, in their RE lessons, had been practising two Christmas carols: ‘Hark the Herald’ and ‘It was on a Starry Night’; thank you to Mrs Patrick for playing the piano so wonderfully. The staff and children enjoyed the carols very much – let’s see what songs Mr Stephenson has up his sleeve for Easter!

The assembly finished with some quiet reflection in the form of a prayer, where Rev Butt thanked God for all of the gifts he has given us, in particular the gift of the baby Jesus.

Islam Assembly

On Sunday 1 December the Arabic Department held their annual prayer assembly for all Muslim children.

The purpose of the assembly was to explain the importance of prayer and its benefits. The pupils were taught how to pray; from the ablution and prayer times through and the practical application of the prayers. Pupils enjoyed the practical application of prayer. Thank you to all the pupils who took part.