Collective Worship
To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God and to devote the will to the purpose of God. Archbishop William Temple (1881 – 1944)
Our school is a Church of England Voluntary Controlled School.
Founded in 1712, Whitewater C of E Primary School preserves and develops its religious character in accordance with the principles of the Church of England and in partnership with the Churches at the parish and diocesan level. The school aims to serve its community by providing an education of the highest quality within the context of Christian belief and practice. It encourages an understanding of the meaning and significance of faith and promotes Christian values through the experience it offers to all its pupils.
Whitewater C of E Primary School is part of the Diocese of Winchester and works actively with the Diocesan Education Team. We are part of the Whitewater Benefice and have two active Foundation governors who regularly visit school and support our distinctiveness as a Church of England school. Our Rector, the Reverend Marion De Quidt, delivers collective worship each Thursday morning. Members of the Church community lead 'Open the Book' weekly in school, an assembly which engages the children in stories from the Bible.
The school meets daily for collective worship, which is educational and inclusive and focuses on Christian themes. Collective worship is an integral part of our school day and reflects Anglican beliefs, practices and values in accordance with the requirements of the Trust Deed. Worship themes are planned to help children experience awe and wonder, to promote willingness to reflect on their own experiences and those of others, and to learn about the life and teachings of Jesus.
Here some examples of our Christian Value focussed collective worships:
Collective Worship - Patience
Throughout the first half of the Autumn Term, our Collective Worships focussed on our Christian Value of Patience. Patience is being able to wait for something while having a positive attitude and without getting upset. This is particularly relevant as we build up to the wonders of Christmas. In addition to this, we reflected on Remembrance, Children in Need and our Junior Road Safety Officers delivered an assembly on Be Bright Be Seen and staying safe.
We spent time looking at bible verses including 2 Chronicles 15:7 - “But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.” and Proverbs 15:18 - “Hot tempers cause arguments, but patience brings peace.”
Collective Worship - Respect
Throughout the first half of the Autumn Term, our Collective Worships focussed on our Christian Value of RESPECT. Respect is about valuing everyone and everything and celebrating our differences. We are all God's people and we all matter. Respect involves taking responsibility for each other and speaking and interacting with others in a courteous manner.
We spent time reflecting on how we can show respect in school, in the community and for our environment. We spent time unpicking several bible verses including John 13:34-35 - “I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too are to love one another. By this, everyone will know that you are My disciples if you have love and unselfish concern for one another.”
Collective Worship - Dignity
Our Christian Value this half-term is Dignity. It is the right of a person to be valued and respected for their own sake, and to be treated ethically. The quality of being worthy of honour or respect.
We will be exploring dignity through bible verses including: (Gn 1:26-27) Human dignity originates from God and is of God because we are made in God's own image and likeness and (Titus 2:7) In all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified.
Throughout the half term, we'll be reflecting on big questions such as: How can we show dignity to others? How can we show dignity when we make mistakes? How can we show dignity in the face of change?
Collective Worship - Wisdom
Our Christian Value this half term is Wisdom. Wisdom is different to just being clever. Often wise people have lots of experience and can give good advice to help us make difficult decisions. Some people pray because they believe God can help them to live their lives wisely. We will look at verses from the bible including: Proverbs 4:7, Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do! And whatever else you do, develop good judgement.
In addition, we will reflect on; what it means to be wise, how our new king may show wisdom and can wisdom help us to respect diversity.
Collective Worship - Perseverence
This half term we have been looking at the Christian Value of perseverance in our Collective Worships. We have looked at how we can show perseverance when we are challenged both in school and out of school. We have looked at individuals who have shown perseverance in different aspects of life including the shortest basketball player in NBA history - Muggsy Bogues as well as the inspirational Story of Nick Vujicic who you can find out more on the following link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNnVdlvodTQ). We used these stories alongside the story of St Peter, who persevered despite many setbacks.
Collective Worship - Community
Throughout this half term, our focus value has been community. We’ve been exploring ‘big questions’ around the theme which have included: What is a community? and How can we welcome others into our special community? as always, Rev’d Marion and Rev’d Shona have been in delivering some of our collective worships and engaging the children in a range of creative ways. We’re looking forward to making the short walk to Rotherwick Church on Thursday 13th October for our Harvest Celebration. We will be asking for donations of non-perishable foods which we will use the mini bus to deliver to a Hart Foodbank in Hook.