ROCKCLIFFE CE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Christmas 2016

Christmas 2016
Rockcliffe School is full of festive cheer!
The children from each class have been busy creating fabulous displays for our school hall which tell the story of Jesus' birth- the True Meaning of Christmas.    

 


Class 1 and 2

Class 3 

Class 4

Class 5 

Class 6 

The story of Jesus' birth (the nativity) is often retold by children through 'Nativity Plays'  Our younger children will show the Nativity story on Friday 16th December 2016 while the older children accompany them by singing traditional songs- These are happy songs which help to retell the Christmas Story.    

The celebration of Christmas is often accompanied by the giving and receiving of presents and cards. This reminds Christians of the gift of Jesus, the son of God, beginning his earthly life.

 

In our final couple of weeks befor Christmas, our Collective Worship sessions have focused on Christmas around the world, reflecting on the traditions that we follow in our own homes.  
Do we share any Christmas traditions with other countries?
What is important at Christmas time?
 

The story of Christmas is celebrated by Christians all around the world. Although many of our western Christmas traditions and carols can be found across the globe, nevertheless a number of countries and cultures mark the Christmas Celebration by using unique imagery and customs familiar to their own people. 

We have looked at Christmas in the Phillipines, Peru and Uganda.  
Here are some interesting pieces of information that we discovered:
 

Phillipines 
Maligayang Pasko- Happy Christmas
Pasko is also the word for Easter, which underlines the vital link between these two important Christian festivals.

The majority of the population are Christians.
It is said that Filipinos celebrate Christmas the longest of any nation - the first carols can be heard on 1st September and Christmas doesn’t end until 6th January.
The Filipino Christmas celebration can be a mixture of native Filipino traditions and western influence, yet the warm- hearted Filipino traits, close family ties, true faith and devotion make the Christmas festivity incomparable.
Christmas may mean food, gifts, time-off from work and fun moments shared with family and friends, yet we should not forget the true essence of Christmas: the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ!

Peru
Feliz Navidad- Happy Christmas 
Christmas celebrations in Peru are a combination of traditions brought over from Spain and the traditions of the Native American Indians.
Christmas was first celebrated in Lima, the capital, in 1535.
The festival is marked by street processions with statues of the Virgin Mary, church services, sometimes fireworks and certainly plenty of salsa dancing.
Many families have a picture or model of the Christ child in their homes. Traditionally, the baby Jesus has a thorn in his foot to remind people of the day he died on a cross to rescue the world.
Christmas Eve is known as Noche Bueno (the good night) and this is when the main meal, the church service and the celebrations happen.
When visiting friends and family, it is customary to take cake. 

The planning for the Collective Worship Sessions was supported by 'Barnabas in Schools Website' 


Joy to the World 
Collective Worship

What does Christmas mean to you?
What brings joy to your Christmas Celebrations?

Children searched for clues around the school hall- the clues were symbols related to the Christmas celebration.
The symbols included: candle, advent wreath, camel, star, crib, Christmas tree, stocking, dove, wreath amongst many other symbols associated Christmas. 
Children volunteered to hunt for the symbols and explain their significance to Christians at Christmas time. 
They may have: been involved in the birth of Jesus, symbolise an element from the nativity or Jesus, or be part of a tradition which has evolved over the years. 
The children all joined in to sing 'Joy to the World'- an energetic and enthusiastic addition to the session.  

Reflection
What is Christmas all about for me?


Prayer

May we be blessed with the spirit of the season,
which is peace,
The gladness of the season,
which is hope,
And the heart of the season,
which is love.
Amen

Christmas Dinner- Wednesday 14th December 2016
All the children and staff would like to thank Mrs MacDonald, Miss Wilson and Ms Owen for their fantastic work to create our tasty Christmas dinner.  The children had such fun: pulling crackers, telling jokes and overall they enjoyed some fantastic time with each other while listening to some jolly Christmas music.  
After our Christmas dinner, the whole school went to the Sands Centre Pantomime 'Jack and the Beanstalk' and we all had a fantastic time, singing and dancing with lots of laughter. 

 
 

We were also joined by two of our governors:
Mr Deans and Mr Hanson.  From this photo, you can see that they thoroughly enjoyed their dinner and had fun sitting with the children.  

Our midday supervisors also enjoyed being served  by the teachers and teaching assistants.  They  work extremely hard all year looking after the children during their lunchtimes.  We would like to say a huge thank you to our midday supervisors.  
 

 

Christmas Play - Friday 16th December 2016
What a fantastic end to the Autumn Term!  The children were an absolute credit to themselves, their families and the school as they sang their hearts out during our Christmas Performance.  All of the children worked extremely hard to learn the words to some challenging songs and we would like to say a huge thank you to Mr Taylor for providing us with his expertise, both in the lead up to the performance and on the day.  KS2 children spent nearly 50 minutes singing to tell the story of Jesus' birth while Reception and KS1 children provided the roles of Mary, Joseph, Little Donkey, Shepherds, Kings and various animals. The performance concluded with an energetic rendition of 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' and 'We Wish you a Merry Christmas'.   All children and staff played an important role in our performance so a huge well done Rockcliffe School!

STAFF LOGIN
PARENT LOGIN
SCHOOL BLOGS
SCHOOL TOUR