Children can write prayers for the school Prayer Tree as they wish and they are read out in Collective Worship on a rota basis.

Children write prayers covering a range of topics which may include asking for a friend or relative to recover from illness; seeking help to do the right thing or make the right decision; praying for comfort after the loss of a pet or relative; asking for God to help them and others in school.

There are reflection areas in each classroom and key questions linked to each theme ensure that Collective Worship can be shared, at a variety of levels (age and ability) in each class. It also allows links to be made between the Collective Worship themes and pupils' learning across the school.

Children may write their own prayers of thanks in RE.  The children say grace before lunch and often say a prayer at the end of the school day.

Families, Staff and Governors are invited to join us for Collective Worship for Christian Festivals, Class Assemblies and any other special services.

Christian Festivals are celebrated in Church together with families and community members in order that the children are able to understand that Festivals are not only celebrated in school and that we are part of a bigger Christian family.

We enjoy welcoming visitors from the community into school to lead Collective Worship.

BRIAN & MARGARET KIRKHAM

Brian and Margaret lead Collective Worship with the main theme being 'try not to take others at face value'.  They told us that there is more to a person than first meets the eye and to treat people equally.  The story they told us as an example was that of Jesus healing someone with leprosy - most people believed that those with leprosy were sinners.  Jesus reaches out to all, whatever they are like and we should do the same.

Their second theme was the importance of saying 'Thank you!' 

We sang Jesus loves ya!  Whatever you look like, Jesus loves ya!

Ruth Bilton

We welcomed Ruth Bilton into school on to lead Collective Worship.  She delivered an engaging assembly on how some little things in life can make a big difference.  The children were encouraged to think about how passing on a friendly smile, saying a kind word or making a small charitable gesture, can make a big difference in somebody's life. Following this, Ruth described the miracle of how Jesus turned a little amount of food, into enough to feed the five thousand.

Philip Kaye

Mr Philip Kaye joined us to lead Collective Worship. We started with one of the many songs with actions that he has taught us through the years, ‘The wise man built’ which we all enjoyed. Using his large fuzzy felt board with moveable characters he told the story of Elisha and the widow with a wonderful message that if you are ever troubled by anything or have a problem you find difficult to solve you should talk to someone you trust as they will probably be able to help you or put your mind at ease. The story of Elisha and the widow is one of a miracle. After the story we all sang another song with actions about God’s wonderful love. Mr Kaye then led us in a prayer reminding us of the message of the story to talk to someone you trust when you are troubled. Mr Kaye then presented the school with a book of bible stories, which we all thanked him for.

Hand to Mouth Puppets

Hand to Mouth Puppets visited us for their first story of the new school year. Mrs Parry welcomed Margaret and Liz as the children eagerly waited for the fun to begin. The story Margaret told was Daniel and the Lions. The children were introduced to Daniel who wished only to pray to his one God but the King decided that everyone should pray to him. Although other people told Daniel to pray to the King, he decided that was wrong and he remained true to his God and did not pray to the King. Daniel ended up in the Lions' Den but was saved from being munched up by the lions by God, who sent an angel to look after him. The children thoroughly enjoy the retelling of the story and listened thoughtfully to the message - to do what you think is right and not do something you feel is wrong just because someone else told you to. Be true to yourself. We are already looking forward to the next visit.

Church Information

The Rev’d Canon Joyce Jones is the Priest in Charge at St Nicholas’ Church.  Rev’d Joyce was officially welcomed as the new priest at the Commissioning of the new United Benefice of Cumberworth, Denby, Denby Dale and Shepley service led by Bishop Jonathan, the Bishop of Huddersfield on 20^th March 2016.  It was a lovely service which was very well attended by worshipers from all the churches in the new Benefice and also Shelley & Kirkburton parishioners.  Maggie Walker was invited to attend but unfortunately was unable to be there due to a prior commitment however Marina was pleased to represent school and welcome Rev’d Joyce to her new post on behalf of the school and our wider community.

Rev’d Joyce joins us regularly to lead Collective Worship and for school services in church wherever possible.

 You can find more about the church at their website:www.denbydaleanglicanchurches.org

 Squeals Praise and Pray

Squeals Praise and Pray is St Nicholas’ baby and toddler group.  They meet once a month in church on the third Thursday of each month from 2:00 – 3:30pm.

At school we are delighted to welcome ‘Squeals’ each year for their annual summer picnic.  They have great fun using our back pitch and if the weather is bad they know our gym is available so the picnic can always go ahead.

In R.E last week, we learned about the parable of the wise and foolish man.

Like the foolish man we built our Lego houses on sand. When Mrs Barrett poured water on to the houses they were washed away. We thought about what Jesus would do and how we could help our neighbours if this happened to them.

By Harry S and Joseph H

In RE KS2 have been learning about the Golden Rule, not only in respect of Christianity but also in relation to other world religions. They have interpreted the Golden Rule through art work.