RE DAY in KS2
Celebrating ‘faith’ on RE Day
On Thursday 8th February the whole of our Key Stage 2 took part in the first RE Day. Pupils and teachers shared a day learning new skills in various subjects through different world religions and faith. The aim of the day was to understand that faith and religion is not something that happens in RE lessons, but something we can embrace all the time in all areas of our lives and learning.
Inspired by this year’s Sacred Heart Goal of Active Faith Miss Gillespie and the Key Stage 2 teachers took on the challenge of incorporating religion into normal timetabled lessons as well as creating some new ones for the day.
Some children in Years 3 and 4 got to explore the Jewish Seder Plate. They made their own Charoset (type of sweet chutney) and Matzot (flat bread which has to be made and in the oven in less than 18 minutes) and tasted the other elements of the Seder Plate. Every element has its own specific place in explaining the different trials and hardships the Israelites experienced after escaping the Egyptians.
Years 5 and 6 went on a scavenger hunt around the school fields, finding clues which would lead to the theme of the day. Not realising they were running shortened cross country routes, pupils ran around looking for 10 clues to give them 11 letters. All questions tested their knowledge from RE lessons this half term, with Year 5 learning about Judaism and Year 6 learning about Islam, as well as some Sacred Heart and Catholic based questions. Only one group worked out the final phrase during the lesson, Active Faith, although many others had it figured out by the end of the day.
To celebrate the bicentenary of Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne travelling to America and setting up the first Catholic school in Missouri all pupils created their own #FlatPhilippine based on the stories of Flat Stanley. Pupils learnt about the history of the Sacred Heart Network and about Saint Philippine who in 1818 sailed to New Orleans before continuing up to Saint Louis in Missouri. They then coloured, cut and laminated their Flat Philippines in order to send them travelling over half term. Pupils were encouraged to take a selfie with their Flat Philippine and post it to our twitter and Instagram accounts, using the #FlatPhilippine, before leaving her somewhere for another person to find and take her on their travels. At the End of Term Assembly with the Senior School pupils will be awarded prizes for the Philippine who travelled the furthest away from school, the Philippine who travelled the most miles, and the Philippine who ended up in the most random place.
In the afternoon pupils took part in a carousel of Retreat style activities which concluded with a Liturgy in the Chapel where pupils, teachers and parents could reflect on the day. Each group were guided through two mindfulness exercises, a Lenten Reconciliation activity, and preparing something to share at the Liturgy about their day. The Liturgy brought everyone together to share their experiences and thank God for the day.
