GIFT
GIFT – Growing In Faith Together
Our school Ethos Group to combines the development of our school Christian Distinctiveness and promoting our school values with caring for our world and our environment and becoming an ‘Eco Friendly School’.
The purpose of the Ethos and Eco Group is to further develop pupil voice and our children’s involvement in school decision-making, to raise and improve environmental matters and to have a whole school approach to eco issues.
Why have an Ethos and Eco Group?
The Ethos and Eco Group will support our school in developing our Christian distinctiveness and work to promote the school core Christian values. It will help guide, empower and motivate our school community to drive change and improve environmental awareness.
The group will report to the Head Teacher and the Governing Body about what it has discussed, planned and done.
The Ethos and Eco Group will be work with other adults, children, parents, community, clergy and church members to develop positive working relationships.
The work of the Ethos and Eco Group will be recorded in our School Development Plan and they have an active role in developing part of the plan.
What will the Ethos and Eco Group do?
- Meet regularly to discuss aspects of our commitment to our Christian ethos and values and look at the needs of our environment and the impact of eco activities with the meetings minuted.
- Ask our children about their opinions about Collective Worship, the School Values, RE, Ecological issues and developing and improving our School Environment.
- Will work with Mrs Hunter and other adults, the Lighthouse Crew, eco partners, St John’s Church and our community to plan and take an active part in a variety of activities.
- Will be involved in supporting the development of reflective areas in classrooms, reflective areas around school , outside reflective spaces and improving our school grounds, championing recycling projects and energy saving initiatives.
- Seek information about national and local charities and will be involved in suggesting how the school can support others within our community and the world. (School charity work)
- Look at global issues and how we at St. John’s can take an active part in world issues. For example reducing plastic in our environment.
- Develop an ‘Action Plan’ on how pupils and other stakeholders can help to make a difference in our school, community and society.
- Will be working to establish events (such as an RE week, art week, friendship week, grandparent day, environment day etc.) to put our values into action.
- Work hard to develop spirituality and increase environmental awareness within our school
This years team are-
Lucinda
Monroe
Maddison
Poppy
Lilianna
Leonidas
Elouise
Daisy
Maya
Last week we focused on mental health and GIFT group decided they wanted to raise money for MIND. Paula from MIND held a special assembly and asked the children to discuss how they would like the £55.00 raised to be used.
GIFT group wanted to do another act of kindness, a special GIFT to our local community. They asked the whole school to save glass jars, created posters and asked Miss Robertson to put them through the dishwasher. Year 6 were tasked with decorating the jars and creating labels and GIFT group worked together to make 80 mini mince pies to go into the jars.
GIFT group have been busy creating logo designs and as they are so wonderful they are going to try to combine different aspects from each into one. Look out for the final design. They have also been planning how they will support MIND charity and Middleton Lighthouse project.
Our GIFT group met today to discuss which charity school will be supporting over Christmas, they have been tasked to create a prayer that they can say at each meeting and they are going to design a logo for the group.
In their first meeting they thought about their work and what they want to achieve
Gift Group members 2021-2022 from Years 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.
Our GIFT group-
Monroe
Eloise
Liberte
Lucinda
Amelia
Ollie
Molly
Roary
Grayson
The blogs below show the work of the GIFT group from 2021-2022
GIFT group have written bubble wrap worry prayers toady. They have been thinking about any worries or concerns that they might have or others might have. They pop a bubble and send their worry to God.
The leadership team along with their Chaplin from St. Anne's Academy came to share their 40 acts of kindness with us for lent. Our GIFT team welcomed them into school and will share the posters with each class explaining the challenges and spreading kindness around our community.
GIFT group have been very busy over the last half term planning which charities we will be supporting and different ways to spread kindness. Look our for their Red Nose Day posters around school and their special happiness jars with notes to make people smile. They will be busy making more to share with our community.
Well done to our school for your kind toy donations to the GIFT group appeal to support The Lighthouse Project Christmas toy Appeal. Well done to GIFT group for your fabulous posters and to Mrs. Abbott for taking them to the projects headquarters!
GIFT group have been busy filling the advent stockings with little slips containing acts of kindness. They will be hung on the tree and shared with the school during Collective Worship as we count down to Christmas.
What an amazing Autumn display you have created with wonderful Autumn poems, Harvest prayers and posters for our festival encouraging people to donate food to the food bank!
Our GIFT group met today to decide on which heart they would like to present to the class with the most heart pegs for their weekly kindness challenge. Light blue it is! They are busy making Harvest posters for our Harvest assembly! Could you donate food to the local food bank?
Our GIFT group have been looking after our school grounds today. They have picked up litter that has blown into our playground. Great work everyone you have shown that you care about our local environment and the world around us!
GIFT group with the support of year 6 children have been busy creating cheer up jars full of messages to make people smile. We want to make lots more before we start to gift them to our community. Please save and send in any small empty jars you have.
