RE

The Intent of the RE Curriculum at Holy Family

At Holy Family, we provide our children with a religious education that encourages understanding of others and the world around them, providing opportunities for children to ask questions and learn about Christainity. We aim for religious education lessons and experiences to be unlike any other in school to create the opportunity for not only learning about the Catholic Faith, but also awe, wonder, reverence and spirituality in a creative way. 

We are committed to valuing and respecting every individual as being created special and unique, in the likeness and image of God. We learn about God's love and explore our Christain responsibilities, so our children can learn about their unique place within the home, school and parish community. 

We learn about and explore Catholic and Christain traditions, alongside traditions from other faith backgrounds, so we can develop an understanding and respect for all and the world around us. Visits and hands on experiences allow opportunities for children to explore and understand religions and their traditions and experience them for themselves. 

EYFS have used their amazing printing skills to produce the flowers for our Eastertide entrance display. All the children reflected on the importance of this special time of year and celebrating that Jesus has risen. 

Year 4 have learned about what New Life means to a Catholic at this special time of the year. The children read and discussed key scripture and discussed how this influences our way of life. 

During our topic on New Life, we retold the story of Penetcost through art. The children used water colours and annotated the story with speech bubbles and captions. 

Year 4 have studied what self discipline means and why this is important. 

Children in Year 4 planned and delivered a prayer liturgy about our whole school virtue 'love'. They wrote their own prayers, which they shared with the class and took home to their families. 

The children across school created beautiful Easter cards to take home to their families and to send to the sick of the parish.

Using other crafts- collage and printing- each year group took inspiration from this special time of the year and enjoyed getting crafty!

Take a look at our amazing work!

Year 4 have used their printing skills to produce some beautiful Easter cards to share with our parish community on Easter Sunday. 

The children in year 5 created and performed a tableau depicting each of the Stations of the Cross for pupils and parents on the last day of term. 

Our Child-Led Prayer Liturgy

The children in year 6 celebrated the end of their RE topic about Unity by holding a prayer liturgy for the whole school and parents and carers. It was wonderful to hear about what they had been learning and how this has impacted their life and faith.

All of the children and staff in KS2 were able to visit church to celebrate the Ash Wednesday Mass with Father Joseph and other parishioners. Children from each year group took part in readings from the bible and enjoyed singing hymns in the church.

Take a look at some of the wonderful photos from the visit.

Children in Recpetion learnt all about another faith -  Islam. They were introduced to new vocabulary and explored special days and ritual objects used within the religion. 

Children were introduced to the term 'Parish Family.' We discussed what the children already knew about celebrating in the  church. Children confidently remembered that we celebrate Baptism, Christmas, and Weddings in a church. 

Children learnt to pray 'Our Father,' named and labelled all the items used to celebrate in a church and write thank you letters to Father Joseph. Role play was used to reinact the Presentation Story where children were given opportunities to apply new vocabulary. 

The children in Year 5 explored Jesus' mission and how this has influenced the lives of people today. We looked at our diocese and discovered the importance it has within the community and how its work inspires others to do good.

The children in Year 1 have explored the special people in their lives and within the parish family. We have discussed the special people who help put at Mass on Sundays, such as the priest, greeters and cleaners. We have shared our thoughts and feelings on what we think makes a person special. 

Year 1 have explored and shared their own family stories with each other. We have explored and discussed the story of Muhammad and how he was a man who preached kindness who people looked up to. 

FS2 had a very special visitor from CAFOD today. The children learnt that we are all unique, we are all different and that it is is OK because that's how God made us. Children also learnt a song and joined in confidently with the words and the actions. Children identified similarities and differences when reading the story.

EYFS worked together to create our whole school Community RE display. Reception made the church, Our Lady of the Assumption and Nursery children made our Preist, Father Joseph. Together we became artists, inspired by Picasso, to create the Parish Family. We looked at portraits and discussed shapes and expressions. 
 

Our amazing 'Community' display was created by the children in EYFS.

The children, parents and staff enjoyed taking part in our Blessing of the Advent Wreaths service where wreaths, that had been made by parents and children, were blessed and given to each class to celebrate the special time of year. 

A wreath was also presented to members of the parish to be taken to church where the candles could be lit each week of Advent.

Our beautiful Advent display was made by the children in year 3 and year 5. Using a mixture of both printing techniques and oil pastel drawings, the children form both classes created images of the Advent candles to signify the special time of year.

Lest We Forget

The children at Holy Family are getting ready to commemorate Remembrance Day. The children in year one and year four have enjoyed creating art work using digital photography and collage to show that 'Peace is in our hands'. They have also used charcoal to depict the battle of the Somme and collage to adorn the poem In Flanders Field.

We have invited the children to place the name of someone they would like us to remember and pray for in our 'Memory Bowl'. This is to celebrate the end of the Liturgical Year where we remember those who are no longer with us.

November- Month of Remembrance

To commemorate November being the Month of Remembrance, we invite you to remember someone special in you life by lighting a candle in their memory.

Please visit the CAFOD website and light a candle with others around the world.

Year 5- Life Choices

The children in year 5 enjoyed learning about Life Choices.

They learnt about the sacraments of marriage and the blessing of the rings, where they performed their very own wedding. They also discovered what it takes to have a happy marriage and how others are called to have a different vocation committing to God.

Year Four have planned and delivered their own Liturgical Prayer. They decided how they wanted to gather, what word they wanted to share, how they wanted to respond and what the mission was. The Prayer Leaders then shared a prayer they had written.  

Harvest Donations

It was wonderful to see all the donations of food be taken to Stainforth Food Bank by members of the Care for Creation Team after our Harvest Mass. It was gratefully received by staff who work there, who will be able to spread the kindness of others to those in need. 

 ^"For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home."

Matthew 25:35

Harvest Time

The children at Holy Family enjoyed having the opportunity to celebrate Harvest at Our Lady of the Assumption Church. Along with parents and parishioners, the Mass led by Father Joseph with the assistance of the Chaplaincy Team was enjoyed by all.

It was wonderful to hear the children reading from the book of Leviticus and the Bidding prayer, finally finishing with a special harvest prayer written by the Prayer Group. Donations of food were collected and placed in front of the alter, before being taken to Stainforth Food Bank to help those in need.

²² “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you. I am the Lord your God.’”

Leviticus 23:22

A Trip to Church!

The Chaplaincy Team enjoyed an afternoon trip to church to take all of the donations ready for the Harvest Mass.

Take a look at the generous offerings.

The Month of the Rosary

The children at Holy Family have been enjoying celebrating the Month of the Rosary. Beginning with a special Prayer Liturgy to observe the Feast Day on October 7^th, the children learnt all about praying the Rosary and listened to a prayer written by the prayer team. This continued throughout the rest of the month, with children praying the Rosary in class with rosary beads that had kindly been donated to the school which they were invited to take home at the end of the term to share with their families.  

“The Rosary is the most beautiful and the most rich in graces of all prayers; it is the prayer that touches most the Heart of the Mother of God…and if you wish peace to reign in your homes, recite the family Rosary.” - Pope Saint Pius X

In RE, Nursery children learnt all about Baptism. They collected a white robe, candle, Bible and water. Children reinacted this special time.

St Bernadette Relic Tour 2022

The children in year 5 and year 6 were honoured to take part in a once in a lifetime opportunity- to visit the relics of St Bernadette.

The children travelled to Doncaster on the bus and continued their Pilgrimage of Faith by visiting St Peter in Chains church where the relics had travelled to, all the way from Lourdes.

Take a look at the video to join us on our journey.

The children in year 5 have been exploring the topic of 'Ourselves'. They have been learning about who they are as people in the world and also in the eyes of God. By identifying their qualities, talents and gifts, the children now understand how they are holy people and how they can use their qualities, talents and gifts to help others in the world. By learning about St Marguerite, the children are able to show an understanding of how the call to be holy shapes lives and can describe and show an understanding of Paul's letters to the Colossians.

Our topic is ‘People’ and we have explored what family means to us and that all families are different. We have discussed and explored scripture explaining how God is a loving parent and we are his children. 

Children in Recpeption re-enacted a Baptism. They welcomed the baby into Church, poured water on the baby's head and said, "I baptise you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit". They wrapped the baby in a white shawl and said, "Recieve this white garment".

Nursery children worked together using different media to create a welcome poster as part of their RE topic, Welcome.

Nursery children gathered in our main reception area to pray the Hail Mary.

Reception children gathered around the whole school display board to admire their art work; salt dough Rosary Beads. They learnt that the purpose of the Rosary is to help people remember the events in the lives of Jesus and Mary and to thank God for them. Children also practised praying the Hail Mary.

Children in FS2 have used the prayer chair to reflect. One child wrote a prayer asking God to, 'help mummy get better' whilst another had some quiet time just to sit and think.

FS2 children are becoming skilled in setting up their own Prayer Liturgy. Today we reflected on our virtue to live by: I am grateful for all I have and praise God for all he has given me.

Children selected objects which they could talk about that refered to their own gifts anf talents.

Children learnt the importance of their name - Explore

They learnt that God knows and loves each child and knows each child by their name - Reveal

All children aquired the skills of assimilation, celebration and application of all of the above - Respond

We explored the virtue of "Thankfulness" by gathering in a circle and the 2 of the children laid out the green cloth, while another turned the lights off.

We read the word of Luke 17:11-19 - Jesus Heals Ten Men With Leprosy. The children took away from this that” its kind to help people” and “when someone helps you, you should say thank you”

The children responded to this scripture by ringing the bells for something they are thankful for. "I am thankful for my sister”.

Year 1 chose to 'gather' in the prayer garden today. They enjoyed feeling close to God whilst being calm and peaceful. We used our senses to listen to all the things that God has created for us. 

Year 6 have completed their first RE journey - Loving. We met our learning objectives through different forms of writing, art, freeze frames and role play! The children have produced some fabulous work...

FS2 children have welcomed a new member to our class, everyone, please meet Prayer Bear. Prayer Bear is very excited to help the children learn their prayers at home.

In Year 4 in RE, the children have been looking at Building Bridges. The children have been exploring what makes a strong friendship and reflecting on our own friendships. This week, the children looked at the importance of admitting when you are wrong and being reconciled with God and one another. We listened to God's Story 3, based on Luke 15: 3-7. The children then participated in role play and played the part of the lost sheep. The children wrote on post it notes to say how the sheep might have been feeling when the sheep was lost and how the sheep might have been feeling when it was found. We then reflected on what makes a friendship strong, how to build bridges of friendship and what we can do when a friendship is broken. The children then wrote on post it notes to say what they will do to build a bridge of friendship and we made it into a shape of a bridge. 

Using bubbles to experience our prayers to God.

In Year 4 this week, we focused on kindness for one of our collective worships. The children chose the centrepiece which was a green cloth and a cross. They listened to reflective music whilst gathering in a circle and thought about how they had been kind today. The children had to make a fist of friendship, they thought of one friend they were proud to have, one person who they thought needed their friendship, one person who they find challenging and one person who they thought needed their prayers. They then placed their friendship fist next to their heart and listened to the word kindness. We read scripture from the bible (Ephesions, 4:32) and then the children thought about how they can be an example of Jesus today, showing kindness, helping someone in need, sharing with someone and looking after our world. 

In Year 4, the children have had a lovely school trip to the Jamia Mosque and the Sikh Temple in Doncaster as part of our Pilgrimage of Faith. The children learnt lots about Islam and Sikhism. At the Jamia Mosque the children learnt about the 5 pillars of Islam and even took part in a prayer. At the Sikh Temple we learnt about the history of Sikhism and the 5 K's. The children really enjoyed learning and visiting the different places of worship and finding out about how different religions pray. 

Year 2 have used collage to create stained glass windows surrounding Mary, Mother of God. 

In Year 4, the children have been continuing to learn about their New Life topic in RE. Today, the children read and highlighted the scripture: God's Story, 4: 1-26. We cannot keep silent. The children learnt about how the Holy Spirit gave courage to Peter and John and allowed them to speak out about the Good News of Jesus even when they were threatened. The children then created some interview questions and participated in role play in which they asked Peter and John different questions. 

In Year 4, we have been looking at the topic New Life. In today's lesson the children learnt about what Pentecost is. The children answered questions about Peter's message and the coming of the Holy Spirit. The children then looked at the painting 'Pentecost by Titian' and described what they could see. 

Year 5 created some outstanding artwork, using pastels,  to represent our Blessed Mother, Mary. 

In Year 2, we have studied Judaism. We have studied the Jewish celebration - Shabbat. We watched a video showing how families celebrate Shabbat and why it's important to their faith. We then labelled and wrote about special items that are used during Shabbat. 

Children from all classes, made a beautiful Easter basket containing lovely Easter cards for the parish of 'Our Lady of Assumption' Church. The cards were given to different members of the Parish community on Easter Sunday. We hope everyone enjoyed receiving them as much as we enjoyed making them!

Year 5- Lent

Year 5 have been learning about sacrifice during the time of Lent. Take a look at some of the wonderful work that we have been doing to observe this special time of year.

Children learnt that Diwali is a five day festival. Lamps are lit and windows and doors are left open.

The children also learnt other ways to celebrate the festival:

• Spring-cleaning the home - children swept the class room and surrounding areas and dusted everywhere!
• Wearing new clothes - children wrapped themselves in fine silks.
• Exchanging gifts - children made sweets and dried fruits to give as gifts.
• Decorating buildings with fancy lights - children attached fairy lights to the underneath of our tuff tray.
• Huge fireworks displays - children used brightly coloured paint to create a firework picture.

FS2 have been very busy and produced this wonderful 'Our Community' display in the entrance of school. They have been reflecting on the meaning of community and have learnt that it is a special gathering. 

Year 2 have been using art to reflect on the Feast of the Epiphany.

All classes have reflected on the special prayers of the rosary during this very special month.