Monthly Archives: May 2012

Surprise, Surprise! – Christmas

Topic:

Christmas

Aim

To show that Christmas is about discovering more than the birth of a baby.

Things you’ll need

  • 3 shoe boxes with lids
  • Christmas wrapping paper
  • 3 gift tags
  • 3 presents that no one would ever want! (Eg a brick, some rubbish from the bin, an empty perfume or after-shave bottle)
  • Sellotape
  • Lots of money (notes only)
  • A flipchart and a pen (for the ‘Response’ time)
  • A Christmas wrapped box containing enough sweets for all the children in the assembly (only for the Key Stage 1 option)

Preparation

1 Wrap the boxes and the lids separately with the Christmas wrapping paper. For each box, hide some of the money between the wrapping paper and the box. The paper has to be removed during your presentation, so don’t tape the edges down too well.

2 Once you’ve wrapped the boxes, place a ‘present’ into each one and write the name of the person who will receive it onto the gift tag. Choose three adults who will be at the assembly to receive the presents, to avoid upsetting children.

Bible Base

John 3:16a

Content

1 Talk to the children about Christmas – the story of the birth of Jesus which is celebrated all over the world by millions of people.

  • Ask some questions to make them think about Christmas being celebrated all over the world (eg do they know which parts of the world will be hot/cold at Christmas?)
  • Ask if they know where we can read the story.
  • Explain that we give presents to each other at Christmas in the same way that the Wise Men gave their presents to Mary and Joseph for their son, Jesus. Ask if the children can remember what the gifts were.

2 Tell the children that you have gifts for three people. They are for…surprise, surprise… Read out the names on the gift tags. You could ask three children to deliver the gifts to the appropriate adults.

3 When the three people have received their presents, ask each one in turn to open them and show everyone what they have been given. Ask each person what they think of their ‘gift’! Ask them to give their honest reactions (eg ‘Rubbish!’ ‘Disgusting!’ etc). It shouldn’t take too much persuasion to encourage them to give you back your presents (and the boxes). When they do, act as if you are really disappointed about having your gifts rejected.

4 Once all the gifts have been returned to you, let the children see you smiling as if you know something that they don’t! Then choose one of the boxes and show everyone the present (eg the brick). Put it to one side and then pull out the money which is hidden in the box and lid. As you are doing this talk to the children about how X (the name of the person who received the gift) was so busy looking at what she thought was the gift, that she managed to miss the greater present. It was there for her and she would have found it if she had only looked a bit harder. Show the money. Ask the adults who were given the gifts how they feel about their loss!

Application

A Christian viewpoint

1 Read the first part of John 3:16 from the Good News Bible:

God loved the world so much, that he gave his only Son…

Explain that the Bible teaches that this is what the Christmas story is all about. Christians believe that God gave the greatest present ever – his own son, born as a baby in Bethlehem, born so that people could be friends with God.

2 Say that today…(name your adult helpers)…looked at the presents they were given and decided to reject them. We all know what they missed out now on don’t we? Explain that the Bible teaches that God gave the gift of his Son Jesus at Christmas. Some people say ‘Thank you’ to God for his gift. Some people say ‘No thanks’. And some people are still thinking about it.

For everyone

For those who believe the Bible’s teaching about Jesus, Christmas is one of the most important times of the year. Those who don’t believe, or who are not sure, can still enjoy the presents, the parties and all the good things of Christmas and in school we can all enjoy the celebrations together.

Response

1 Ask the children what things we can enjoy together about Christmas. Using the flipchart, write down their ideas and then use them as a focus for their thoughts or prayers.

2 Allow about fifteen seconds of silence to think – or talk to God – about what has been written.

Key Stage 1 option

1 Instead of the surprise ‘horrible’ present, give a member of the staff a Christmas-wrapped box which contains enough sweets for all the children (could be expensive!).

2 Ask the children whether the person receiving the gift said ‘Thank you’. Point out that they don’t know what the gift is. It could be something really horrible. Let the member of staff open the box. Then ask him/her to show the children what the gift is, explain who it is for and when they will be allowed to eat the sweets!

3 Talk about the gift God gave at Christmas and what different responses people might make to it. (Then continue as above in the ‘Application’ section.)

 

Learning from the past – Remembrance Day

Topic:

Remembrance Day

Aim

To help children understand that it is important to learn from others in history.

Things you’ll need

A variety of objects on a tray covered with a tea towel for Kim’s Game.

Bible base

Daniel 5

Content

1 Ask for two volunteers to play Kim’s Game. Allow the volunteers thirty seconds to look at the objects on the tray, then cover the tray with the tea towel. Ask the volunteers to take turns to name one object at a time. See who can keep going the longest.

2 Now tell the story of Belshazzar’s feast from Daniel 5. Explain that God expected Belshazzar to learn from his grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar had learnt that he was not more powerful or important than God. God expected Belshazzar to remember and learn that lesson.

The story:

King Belshazzar was a rich, powerful, proud ruler who thought he was more important than God and could do whatever he liked.

One night he gave a huge party and invited hundreds of his wealthy, important friends. There was a lot to drink and they drank too much. They didn’t care what God thought. They even drank wine from special ceremonial cups they had stolen from God’s Temple.

Suddenly, something amazing and terrifying happened. A hand appeared all by itself and began to write strange words on the wall. King Belshazzar went white. His knees knocked together. The great king was shaking with fear!

King Belshazzar sent for Daniel – who did care about what God thought, and had a special gift for understanding things like this.

Daniel told the king that he should have learnt from his grandfather, King Nebuchadnezzar. He had been a proud man who thought he was more important than God and did all sorts of evil things. God punished him. He lost his throne and became an outcast. But he had come to his senses and realised that he wasn’t as important as he had thought and he began to do things right. Then God let him become king once again.

King Belshazzar hadn’t remembered and learnt this lesson from history. He had carried on doing what he wanted, not what was right. Daniel explained to the king that the strange words written on the wall meant that God was going to punish him for all the evil things he kept on doing. The message said that his life and his kingship were over. He should have remembered what had happened to his grandfather.

That very night King Belshazzar was killed.

Application

A Christian viewpoint

God expects Christians to look back at what he as done in the past and to learn from that. Usually that means looking at the Bible, but also it means looking at what God has done in the lives of people since the Bible was written and learning from them.

For everyone

Remembrance Day is a time for us not to be like Belshazzar, but to look back and learn. We can look back and see how people hated others because of their religion or nationality. We can learn from that and decide that we will respect and be friends with those who are different from us, not hate them.

Response

Finish with this, or a similar, prayer:

Dear God, thank you for people who stand up for what is right. Thank you for people who have learnt from what others have done. Help each of us to learn from others and from what we know happened in the past. Amen.

 

Great timing – Harvest

Topic:

Harvest

Aim

  • To teach children that Christians believe God created the world.
  • To encourage a sense of wonder at the amazing precision and balance which sustains the plant kingdom.

Things you’ll need

  •  An alarm clock. Check that no wall clock is visible in the assembly.
  • Some apples
  • A large card with the word ‘photoperiodism’ written on it
  • A knife and suitable surface on which to cut apple in half
  • Segments of apple, enough for a piece each for the children (optional)
  • A flip chart and pen

Bible Base

  1. Genesis 1:11
  2. Genesis 8:22
  3. Ecclesiastes 3:1,2

Content

1 Show pupils the alarm clock. Make the alarm go off. Talk about time and how a few minutes can seem like a long time when we’re doing something we don’t like doing (like sitting still waiting for something), whereas time seems to fly by when we’re enjoying ourselves!

2 Ask all the children to stand up in silence. Say that you want them to try to judge when a minute has passed. You are going to tell them when the minute starts. They must sit down when they think the minute has passed. Praise (or give a prize to) the pupil who was closest to guessing the time correctly. Make the point that it’s hard to guess time without a clock.

3 Show the apples and ask if any of the children has an apple tree in his or her garden. Do they know when apple trees blossom? Talk about how important it is for the trees to blossom in spring so that insects can pollinate it and the fruit can grow in the warm summer months.

4 Ask the pupils how the trees know it’s spring? They never make a mistake. Explain that it’s as if each tree has a clock inside it! Hold up the clock again and explain that it’s not a clock like this. It’s more like a microscopic computer programme. Explain how in the winter it gets light quite late in the morning, and gets dark early in the evening. Then as winter turns into spring, the days start to get longer. It only changes very slowly, but the trees can tell how much daylight there is each day. When the days are exactly the right length, it’s like an alarm clock going off inside the tree and the tree starts to produce the blossom. From the blossom the fruit grows until the apples are ripe at harvest time.

5 Tell pupils that there is a long word which describes this ability trees have to tell the time. Hold up the card with the word ‘photoperiodism’ written on it. Ask if anyone can read it? Practise saying the word together.

6 Ask pupils what they think would happen if the trees didn’t have this special clock? They wouldn’t know when to produce the blossom. If the blossom came on the trees at the wrong time, the fruit wouldn’t grow and there would be no harvest.

Application

A Christian viewpoint

1 Read some of the Bible verses from the Bible base (eg Genesis 8:22, Ecclesiastes 3: 1,2)

2 The Bible teaches that it was God who made all the plants and trees. He decided the seasons and he made sure that the trees obeyed the rules. He put his clock inside them!

For everyone

Talk about how amazing the precise timing in the plant world is. Encourage a sense of wonder in the children.

Response

1 Cut one of the apples in half. Talk about the pleasure of biting into a ripe apple. If the assembly is not too large, you could pass round segments of apple for the children to eat at this moment. As they do so remind them of the precise timing that was needed for apples to exist so that we can eat and enjoy them.

2 Ask the children to help you write a prayer of thanks for a fruit of their choosing. Write their ideas up on a flipchart. You could use the pattern given in the Key Stage 1 option below. Finish the assembly by saying the prayer and inviting those who would like to do so to join in with the ‘Amen’.

Key Stage 1 option

Instead of asking the children to write their own prayer, you could finish with this one:

Thank you, Lord God…

for apple trees,

for the clock inside them so they know when it’s time to make blossom,

for the sun that makes the apples grow,

for the juicy flavour of ripe apples at harvest time. Amen.

 

Reflections of a schools worker

Wayne Dixon reflects on assemblies.

When I was at primary school in East London I remember my Headteacher, Mr Windsor, taking assemblies and using large drawings as illustrations. They were like the outlines in the Good News Bible, only bigger. Assemblies are where you can make an ‘impression’ on a large group of people that can be built on elsewhere, as well as being ‘stand alone’. What drives this is the opportunity to give the listeners and watchers something of what Jesus said and did that still makes a connection TODAY. You start with where they are at and take them to where you want them to be! They are scary and nerve racking experiences STILL but I do love them; I’ve found them to be a platform for explaining who I am and what I believe. Despite the many changes over the years that are perhaps placing assemblies more on the fringe of school life, it is great that they are still being used by so many visitors who are able to contribute to this part of school life and make a difference. I have been encouraged.

In the early days most schools had some sort of assembly every day. Today that has changed significantly from maybe one assembly a week for a year group or part of a school, to ‘nothing’ for days. Exam season is a particular example especially because halls are useful venues for exams, meaning that assemblies are either shifted or cancelled. It is also very difficult to get the whole school together in one place. It is more common now to find year group, lower or senior school, or house assemblies becoming the norm in many schools. FLEXIBILITY is vital here for adapting to the on-going changes.

If you don’t feel able to lead an assembly on your own why not consider working with others and be part of an assembly team. When I started working for SU I remember one church group, Plan A from the River Church in Maidenhead, having a team going into schools and doing some great work. Today this continues with all sorts of combinations: ‘Open the Book’ is one that is developing and making a great impression. What I like about this is the flexibility of the project, and the fact that it is developing people to make a significant contribution over a consistent period of time. Every Thursday, or whatever day it is, a team will come in and do an assembly. It sticks, is very worthwhile and I trust it will continue while we still have the opportunities. To find out more about Open the Book check out www.openthebook.net

Wayne Dixon

 

Secondary School Assemblies

Secondary School Assemblies

Secondary School Assemblies

So, Monday morning has arrived after a wet & cold half-term break, and the assembly is waiting at a school half an hour away.  Of course, you’re well prepared, having established what is to be presented and what materials are going to be used. And having cemented the outline into your head, you’re now rehearsing how it will go on the journey to the school.  Of course, you’ll need to allow for the many eruptions of belly-laughter from the 200 Year 11 students who are going to be truly blessed by your phenomenal wit in just a short time….

Once signed in, you make your way to the hall to discover that exams are underway and the hall is out of action.  But they’re delighted to announce they have a backup location for you in the large common area where several classrooms meet.  It will seat 200 easily…if they’re 4 years old!  On entering the common room, your obvious delight at the room change is magnified further by discovering there is no projector, no screen – in fact, no plug sockets!  Plan ‘B’ will have to come into action – but you’re prepared for that too…aren’t you?

With seconds to go, the head of year 11 enters and gives you a double-take that any Oscar nominee would be proud of and says “Is it today you’re coming in?”.  You decide not to reply as you feel your presence is a sufficient answer.

So, you’re in and ready for Plan ‘B’ assembly as the Year 11 students make their way to the common area.  You can sense their delight at how soon Monday morning has arrived by their slowly-than-snail-pace to get into the area.  Their pace is further reduced by the wonderful news that they won’t be sat on chairs this morning either…the girls particularly love this revelation.

Still, you are here as their Monday morning superhero…here to save them from an otherwise dull beginning to the week.  But just before your shining moment, the HoY announces they “just want to make a quick announcement before handing over to you”.  And then it comes.  The biggest rollicking you have experienced since Delia Smith’s motivational half-time rouser to Norwich City in 2005.  As the Year 11s discover that all lunchtime privileges have been removed following a minority groups’ antics at the end of last Half-Term, and that their Leavers Prom is hanging on a wire, the teacher ends with “and now we hand over to our visitor today….”

Over to you, then.

Granted, this should be a one-off, or hopefully something we prepare for but never experience.  But it does raise the question “what is the best way to plan and deliver an assembly?”.  So, the following pointers are a mixture of tips & objectives that help me effectively communicate the Gospel in assemblies.

Make it count  It’s quite obvious, but we can easily see assemblies as a ‘box tick’ rather than a fresh opportunity to share Jesus.  Each assembly should have a strong and relevant message, a punchy relation to Christianity and a clear challenge for students to leave with.

An audience of One? It’s not a case of scoring points with Him, but God deserves the very best.  So, our last assembly after a tiring week should have as much clout as the first – and conversely, the first should be as practised and ironed out as the last.  He’s already proud of us, but let’s make every moment on school soil appear as if it’s our last surviving opportunity to share Jesus.

It’s a marathon, not a sprint With the above in mind though, God also gives us tact.  If we treat an assembly as a Billy Graham moment and have altar calls and a plea for students to change their ways, we may find it really will be our last opportunity to share Jesus…because they won’t want us back!  We experienced this ourselves with a keen volunteer a few years ago…it took several months to restore trust with staff and even then our input was limited.  My hope is that assemblies are a foot in the door to other work in the school.  So, while it’s important to fulfil the Great Commission, glorify Jesus and claim more souls for Christ, we can also sow some cracking seeds to be reaped in the coming terms and years.  It’s always a balance, and we can ask God to help us get it right.

Teachers have ears too I’ve had amazing conversations with teachers over the years, and have even had some commit to Alpha Courses and be part of local churches.  So, if there is an opportunity to have a coffee in the staff rooms and have a natter – seize the moment!  It’s also a chance to chat about any other work that can be done in school, and for them to see that you’re normal.  Unless you’re not.  But have a coffee anyway.

Be you If you’re not a natural stand-up comedian, a Monday morning assembly may not be the best place to put fear into Harry Hill.  Teenagers are the best judges of character and can spot a phoney!  They also have huge respect for folk who may not fit the mould but are so comfortable with who they are.  Interestingly, this will be a massive message in itself to the year group before you even deliver the assembly…!

Get critical If you’re blessed with colleagues, get to a place where you can critique each other’s part in the assembly.  It’s a great way to stay on track, not develop any bad habits (like saying “erm” every five seconds!) and ensure the assembly is as slick as it can be!

Do your flies up! While we may not experience wardrobe malfunctions, it’s good to make sure any props are in the right place, presentations are cued up and we are ‘owning the space’.  I prefer not going on the stage and aim to stay on the same level as the students, but it’s still important to have a good presence at the front.  So get into the middle at the front, not apologetically from the side, give good eye contact with students and create a good presence at the front (your ‘critics’ can help with this).

Enjoy it! Yes, assemblies can be nerve-wracking and you may have moments where you wish the ground would swallow you up.  But God is delighting in us every time we share His amazing news with others – so we’re allowed to have a good time as well!

Give it back to Him We started with God as the whole point of the assembly…so it’s only right we give it back to Him afterwards.  Find time during the day to give thanks to God and reflect on How best to share Him in the next school…

It would be pretty arrogant (and completely stupid)  to say the above list is all that’s needed to deliver the best assemblies the world has ever seen.  With God at the centre though, and our desire to serve Him through effective communication of the gospel, we can’t go far wrong.

But for those of us still dreading an assembly on Monday morning, remember that “God is striding ahead of you.  He’s right there with you…!” (Deu. 31:8).

Written by Matt Ager, Secondary Schools Coordinator cYo Braintree District Trust

Top Tips for leading assemblies

Top tips for leading assemblies

Top Tips for leading assemblies

Wayne Dixon has been working with Scripture Union for over 20 years as a schools worker. His work is primarily with the secondary sector though he has experience of the primary context through It’s Your Move! and Christmas and Easter Presentations with churches in Slough and the surrounding area..   Wayne’s top tips when leading assemblies are:

  1. Be you, yourself and no-one else
  2. Arrive early (not on time) to allow for holds up and to set up
  3. Be flexible with timings (you may have been given ‘x’ minutes but in the end time is lost for a variety of reasons)
  4. Be careful with language (you need to explain? – As a christian I believe – Christians believe)
  5. Use the bible  appropriately  (don’t just talk about it – read it / quote it but not large chunks)
  6. Think carefully about praying  ? Tricky one
  7. Put assemblies in context (they are not the be all – but an opportunity in a short time to create a good impression on a fair size group)

Rob Steward joined Scripture Union early this year after being a primary school teacher for 9 years. From a teacher’ perspective Rob’s  top tips would be:

  1. Be on time and ensure you keep to the time you have been given.
  2. Keep it simple.
  3. Keep it multisensory
  4. The power of a story still remains. Children love stories. Get them involved in acting it out as you tell it.
  5. One of the main keys to behaviour management is eye contact with the children and effective use of voice ( slow, fast, loud, quiet)
  6. Be on good terms with the secretaries – they are important people in schools!
  7. Take another person from the local church with you. I think it is always good for children to see a wide spectrum of Christians.