Whole School Mass

We will be having a whole school Mass on Friday 28th June for the End of Term Two. This will be in the Church at 9.00am. Everybody is most welcome.

A snapshot of RE Learning in 5/6MM

This term The Yr 5/6 students have been studying World Religions. They were required to write a script and then record a podcast where an interviewer is interviewing an experts on a specific world religion.

We studied Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Taoism and Sikhism

We had to research our Religion first.

Recently in class we have been learning about different religions. Our group has been learning about Islam.

Islam is one of the biggest religions with over 1.9 billion followers of Allah. They believe that Muhammad is the Messenger of God. This is central to Islam. The main language of this religion is Arabic.

Lakyn

Judaism is a religion, it is the religion that Jesus came from, even though they don't celebrate Christmas they still believe in God. Did you know that Jesus himself was a Jew?

Instead of celebrating Christmas, Jews celebrate a holiday called Hanukkah, Hanukkah lasts for 8 nights and days. Instead of buying presents for Hanukkah they make gifts for each other each day for eight days.

Judaism was created by Abraham from the Bible.

As well as being one of the smallest religions, with only 15 million world wide followers, Judaism is an incredibly important religion.

Jews believe that God is one and has completely no form and that he created the world and is still on it, and they also believe that their Messiah hasn't come yet but will someday.

Winter and Audrey

Recently we have been learning about different religions, our group has been researching Hinduism. Hinduism is one of the biggest religions in the world with over 1.2 billion followers across multiple countries, though most live in India where Hinduism began. The Hindus believe in one supreme force called Brahman who is believed to be in everything in the world. Another thing that most Hindus believe in is reincarnation, and they believe that once your soul is perfect and pure, that your reincarnation cycle is broken and you will become one with Brahman.

Sophie L and Amelia L

In the last few weeks 5/6 MM have been learning about different religions. We have chosen the religion Sikhism. We have found the learning a lot of fun and the facts very fascinating, so we would like to share some with you. Sikhism was created by Guru Nanak and his teachings but Sikhs still believe in hundreds of different gods. There are about 26 million Sikhs (that is what someone is called if they believe in Sikhism) that makes Sikhism the 6th biggest religion in the world. Sikhism was created in 1469, making it over 500 years old.

Tom B and Arlo P.

Recently we have been learning about different religions. We have studied Buddhism. Buddhist people believe in Buddha. Buddha is an Indian god which has over 520 million followers. 7% of the world follow the Buddhism culture. Buddha was born with the name Siddhartha.

Emilia and Henry

Sikhism was founded in 1469. Sikhism was founded by Guru Nanak. Guru Nanak told all of his people to wear a turban, and that's how the religion Sikhism started. There are 26 million Sikhs all over the world. They pray in a temple called Gurdwara, at the end of praying you get free food called langar. The Sikhs have lots of hobbies, in India there are lots of 3 story houses so therefore they love flying kites at the top, and love playing cricket.

Jack T and Nick D

Here is one example of a script:

Taoism

By Betty and Luca

Luca : Hello everyone, welcome back to today's lesson. At the moment we are going to be talking a little about what Taoism is.

Betty: Well, there are lots of things that are special and unique about Taoism. Is there anything in particular you want to know?

Luca: Well, we could start by a basic answer of, what is Taoism?

Betty: Well, Taoism is an ancient Chinese religion that instructs believers on how to exist in harmony with the universe. Now this may sound pretty complicated, but in simplified words it’s just a way of life with a different way of looking at things.

Luca : So how exactly did Taoism start?

Betty: Well, Taoism is a religion that started about 2,500 years ago in Ancient China and is still practised in Asia today. Lao-Tzu, (the person who started Taoism), believed in a universal energy called Tao, known as 'the way’.

Luca : Wow, that's a long time ago!

Well, can you tell us now what symbols Taoisim has and what exactly they represent?

Betty: Well, The most well-known symbol from Taoism is certainly the Chinese Yin Yang. The Yin Yang is a symbol that represents the world's polarities, light and dark, male and female, life and death. Etcetera Etcetera.

Luca : Wow, isn't that interesting! Now, what are some celebrations or festivals of taoism.

Betty : Well, Some of the most popular Taoist holidays include the Lantern Festival, The Supreme Purity Festival, and the Qingming Festival. These festivals are filled with deep spiritual significance, offering opportunities for reflection, remembrance, and the celebration of the Taoist principles of harmony and balance.

Luca: So what are some rules that are followed in Taoism?

Betty: Well some of the main rules in the Taoism religions are you are not allowed to tell lies, steal anything, commit murder (obviously) or drink alcohol.

So there are some pretty strict ones to follow!

Luca: Wow that's a few, so what are some of the leaders in Taoism?

Betty: Well some people shaped Taoism over time, making it what it is today like Lao Tzu, Lao Tzu is the traditional founder of Taoism and the author of the Tao Te Ching. He lived in the 5th century b.c.e.

Luca: So what are some places to worship these leaders?

Betty: In Taoism, the place of worship is a temple that is called the Gong. The Gong temples look somewhat similar to Buddhist temples, but they are different because in Taoism they have statues of the Dragon and the Tiger in front of them, where Buddhist temples do not, but may instead have statues of large giants.

Luca: Now what are some different books that are read by followers and worshipers?

Betty: The Tao Te Ching, or Book of the Tao, is a guide for creating harmony in your life. It describes a force called the Tao that operates throughout the universe and is the causal agent of everything that happens.

Luca: What are some different teachings and beliefs in Taoism?

Betty: The important Taoist principles are inaction, and living in harmony with nature. Taoist principles rested on a belief in the law of unity of the two opposite forces also known as the yin and the yang.

Luca: So what does worship look like and how is it done?

Betty: Well in Taoism everyone revolves around The Tao. And all the followers of Taoism are to learn about the Tao.

This Chinese word in English means the way or a path to follow throughout your life’s story.

Luca: Well isn't that a nice thing to follow!

Would you know anything about Taoism and the Gods they believe in?

Betty: Well in Taoism they actually don't have a God to believe in yet they still follow and pray about the Tao I was talking about earlier.

Luca: Well I'm not sure about you but I've learnt a lot about the Taoism religion, thank you so much for joining us today, and to all you fans make sure to stay tuned for our next session on Friday.

Sunday Gospel

The liturgy of the Catholic Church provides a framework for reflection which is used by Catholics throughout the world. Each week in the Newsletter, you will find the Sunday Gospel as well as some discussion questions to have with your child/ren.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark

With the coming of evening, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Let us cross over to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd behind they took him, just as he was, in the boat; and there were other boats with him. Then it began to blow a gale and the waves were breaking into the boat so that it was almost swamped. But he was in the stern, his head on the cushion, asleep. They woke him and said to him, ‘Master, do you not care? We are going down!’ And he woke up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Quiet now! Be calm!’ And the wind dropped, and all was calm again. Then he said to them, ‘Why are you so frightened? How is it that you have no faith?’ They were filled with awe and said to one another, ‘Who can this be? Even the wind and the sea obey him.’

Discussion Questions

1. Have you ever been in a boat when the waves were rough?

2. Have you ever been frightened about something?

3. What do you do when you are frightened?

4. Do you think Jesus can help when you are frightened? How?

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