Open the Book

The children enjoy taking an active part in the Open the Book assemblies where they learn about different stories from the bible throughout the year.  The Open the Book team are currently undertaking training so these wonderful assemblies can continue.

Being a church school we have a great involvement in our local churches. Throughout our school year we visit the church on a regular basis:

Harvest Festival is held at St. Mary's Church, Tattingstone as is Christingle.

Our school Christmas Nativity is also shared with the local community in the village hall and then repeated for parents in St. Mary's Church, Tattingstone.

At Easter we hold our service at St. Mary's Church, Wherstead.

At the end of the school year we hold our Leaver's service at St. Mary's Church, Tattingstone which is always a very spiritual end to the school year. 

There are many other opportunities for children to be involved with the life of the church including having real life opportunities to visit the church to enhance their learning in the R.E curriculum.

Church life outside of the school day

Many of our children visit our local churches on a regular basis and in particular at the family services.  Posters are always put up on the railings outside the church giving information about upcoming services. 

What is the family@church service?

The family service takes place once a month, usually on the 4^th Sunday of the month. It’s a short all age worship which is relaxed and informal. We always have a couple of hymns that are easy for the children to learn and some of the hymns are the ones they sing at school services.

With the family service there is always an opportunity to take an active part if adults and children wish to. The service is split into a welcome, a short reading from the bible and a talk and activity. The themes are different each month and include the main religious festivals and various stories from the Bible. Every so often we have a one-off special such as the Annual Pet Service where families can bring along their pets to be blessed.

What time is the Family Service?

Our Winter timetable which runs from October through to February is 3.30pm. After the service there is a small tea for the children and refreshments for everyone who would like to stay.

Our Summer timetable which runs from March through to September is 10am. After the service, there are biscuits, teas, coffees and cold drinks for the little ones.

Questions

We do truly welcome everyone who comes to church I hope these couple of paragraphs will alleviate any worries you may have.

1)  My Children will not sit still and be quiet for a 40 minute church service?

That’s OK, we don’t want them to! We have quite a few toddlers who come to our Church services and they happily “free-range” around the church. We want children to sing nice and loud and be a full part of the service and join in if they want to, it’s certainly not sitting still for 40 minutes.

2) I haven’t been to church before, I won’t know what to do and when?

Don’t worry the Family Service is very informal and the service is very easy to follow, someone is always on hand to help you with anything you may need.

Questions? Alison Hobson  is a Lay Elder and can answer any questions you may have about the family service. You can email her alison.hobson21@gmail.com. We look forward to seeing you soon