The Week Ahead Weekly Updates and Communication for Parents
Psalm 1 v 3
Growing Lives that Bear Fruit
Thank you to everyone who joined in with praying for BCS last weekend, the family prayer submissions have been hugley encouraging! Please continue to pray for BCS especially the items listed below. Dedicated time praying which spans whole hours is great, but the Lord hears our "arrow" prayers, 5mins here, 5 mins there...
You can still send in prayers to prayer@bxs.org.uk at anytime, please put at the bottom if you're happy for us to use your message on The Week Ahead along with your name and any attached images.
We are so blessed that our community is standing in prayer with us and thanking, praising and requesting from our Father God in Heaven.
Blessings,
- Government change of heart about financial situation
- Our Families struggling to afford fees and who make sacrifices to pay
- Staff who are making sacrifices and could earn much more elsewhere
- Our building plans - currently paused due to financial situation
- Christian education in the UK - many schools are struggling right now
- New families deciding whether to join us
There are so many reasons to be thankful as well...
- Great Christian staff, Committed to our school and working for sacrificial salaries
- Opportunities to pray and share faith
Visiting speakers - who give willingly of time and experience - Flourishing status with Best Christian Workplaces
- IQM Award
- Beautiful classes
- A waiting list for some parts of school
- A thriving nursery
- Our AP meeting needs of many children who would struggle in mainstream
- Our lovely new Room 11 and 12
- Student leaders
- Student prayer
- Bursary donors
- Generous community
- Governing body walking alongside Jane
- A student support team
- Supportive churches
I've been reflecting a lot on prayer recently and how it connects us to God by revealing the deepest cries of our hearts. Prayer is a deeply personal practice, as unique as we all are, with no right or wrong way to do it. Sometimes we may want loud & at other times we want quiet. Sometimes we struggle for the right words. So I love the idea of these simple prayers and wondered if others may find them useful as we continue to pray for BCS.
"Breath Prayer is an ancient form of prayer and it is easily adaptable. Simply choose one or two lines to meditate on and inhale and then exhale through them. It really is that simple & can be prayed anywhere without any special rituals but you may like to find a quiet corner for a few minutes." Sarah Bessey
The idea is that you just pick one of the pairs that jumps out to you, take a deep breath in with the first line, then breathe out with the second. It can be repeated a few times.
Here are some examples, written by Sarah, which I thought were relevant to us praying for school & finances:
Inhale: You give us peace,
Exhale: My heart is not troubled.
Inhale: I will not despair,
Exhale: Hope is my daily choice.
Inhale: Your love is steadfast,
Exhale: You are our comfort and our hope.
Inhale: You are good,
Exhale: You are here.
Inhale: I will not surrender,
Exhale: I will rise to this day.
Inhale: This is not the end,
Exhale: You are our reliable hope.
Inhale: All will be well,
Exhale: and all manner of things shall be well.
(from Julian of Norwich)
Inhale: Your yoke is easy,
Exhale: and your burden is light.
Inhale: Draw near in our sorrow,
Exhale: with Your promise and faithfulness.
Inhale: I release despair,
Exhale: I embrace joy and trust.
Inhale: We are not invisible to you,
Exhale: You are the God who sees.
Quick Stop Notices
Planning for September 2025
Thanks to everyone who has been praying for our school this term. There will be a court case between April 1st and 3rd, when the government will be challenged about their decisions, and we still have hope about the outcome.
Thanks also to those who have shared our social media posts about admissions. We have had a very positive response and a number of new families applying for our school. This is encouraging for us at a time of uncertainty.
We are currently working our way through a waiting list of families requesting places for September 2025. We have waiting lists for current Years 5,6,7 and 8, and interest in primary classes.
It would help our planning greatly if you could let us know your intentions for September
It would be really helpful to know what your current thinking is. This will allow us to plan staffing, building use, and to know whether we can proceed with those families on the waiting list.
This is not a binding decision, but it will help with our planning. There is a two month notice period if you plan to leave and wish to receive a refund of any deposit held.
Our neighbours are becoming agitated by careless parking and unkind comments from some of our parents. They are trying to get resident only parking zones set up, liaising with police and the council who have encouraged them to photograph offending cars. Last week I had several complaints from residents of Primrose Lane.
Please be mindful of our neighbours as you drop off and pick up. If you are challenged, be apologetic and try to work with people.
Taking place last week of Spring Term - 31st March-4th April. Below is a list of items most urgently needed.
Fee emails were sent to all parents re the tax fee rise for September 2025 This does not include supplements as we work out how to make sure they remain tax free, £180 for middle school, £360 for upper. If you did not receive the email please contact the office - office@bxs.org.uk
Thanks to all who are praying for school. In April the case against the government will be heard, pray about this.
Football after school clubs coming up after Easter
Tuesday for primary, Weds for middle, Thurs for upper, minimum 8 students
Art Club and Photography Club Link
https://saturday-club.org/
club/bradford-college-art- design/ Performance and Theatre Club
https://saturday-club.org/
club/bradford-college- performance-theatre/ Film and Screen Club and Games Design Club
https://saturday-club.org/
club/bradford-school-of-art- bradford-college-film-screen/
There are various events going on in and around Bradford in the coming months.
Check them out here
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/UKBMD/bulletins/3cae677
Measles spreads easily and in rare cases can lead to serious illness including ear infections, pneumonia, and inflammation of the brain which require hospitalisation. On very rare occasions infection can lead to long term disability or death.
It is recommended that all children receive 2 doses of the MMR vaccine to give them long-term protection.
If you think your child is not up to date with their MMR vaccinations, please contact the team on 01274 221269 who will be happy to check your child’s vaccination history & if required we can arrange a clinic appointment .
The School Immunisation team are carrying out the following community clinics in the February school holidays –
17th February 9-4.30pm Horton Park Health Centre, BD7 3EG
19th February 9-4.30pm Keighley Library, BD21 3SX (Spencer Street access)
20th February 9-4.30pm Undercliffe Health Centre, BD2 4RA
There are two types of MMR vaccine – MMR VaxPro® and Priorix®. Priorix® does not contain pork gelatine, the school immunisation service only uses the Priorix.
If you have any questions you can call us on 01274 221269.
Many Thanks
Bradford School Immunisation Team
Missed a Week Ahead?
Go to our Parent Zone page to view the archive.
Next Week ➡️
Week commencing 17th March 2025
Monday
15:30 - 16:30: Study Club
Tuesday
The Tempest @ SBSJ- 3,4,5,6 and Acorns
15:30 - 16:30 - Middle School Drama rehearsals
15:30 - 16:30: Study Club
Wednesday
15:30 - 16:30: Study Club
Thursday
15:30 - 16:30: Study Club
Friday
Lunch menu from February 24th 2025
- Monday - Pasta Bolognese. GF option available
- Tuesday - Jacket Potato. Cheese, Beans, Tuna toppings
- Wednesday - Wraps - chicken or halloumi. Pudding
- Thursday - Spanish Chicken with rice. Veggie option available [NEW]
- Friday - Chip / fish finger butty
If you do not see this menu when ordering, please email help@bxs.org.uk before ordering, thank you.
Please order before 9:00 Monday
Lunch Menu
(click)
From Feb 24th 2025
- Monday - Pasta Bolognese. GF option available
- Tuesday - Jacket Potato. Cheese, Beans, Tuna toppings
- Wednesday - Wraps - chicken or halloumi. Pudding
- Thursday - Spanish Chicken with rice. Veggie option available [NEW]
- Friday - Chip / fish finger butty
If you do not see this menu when ordering, please email help@bxs.org.uk before ordering, thank you.
Please order before 9:00 Monday
IMPORTANT LUNCH ORDER UPDATE - PLEASE READ
With v.1.2425.8l of the Parent Portal, you can now edit or cancel your lunch options any time before 9:00 each Monday. To update the Parent Portal, sign out and on the login screen, refresh the page until you see v.1.2425.8l at the bottom, then sign back in.
To change your order, select or deselect a lunch menu itme, then click the blue 'Change lunch order' button. To cancel a lunch order, simply click the red 'Cencel lunch order' button.
Dates for your diary
Dates for your diary
March
- 26th - Spr2 PC issued
- 31st - Food Bank collection week begins
April
- 31st March - 1st April - Parent's evening
- 4th - School closes for Easter @ 12:00
- 22nd - Re-open for Summer term
⭐ Stars and Students of the Week ⭐
Love Class
Nursery
Aria for super maths work this week and helping others.
Ozma for super maths and phonics work and for staying calm with a nose bleed.
Reception
Abigail for very accurate measuring in maths
Peace Class
Eliza for creating a beautiful picture inspired by Henri Matisse
Alex for excellent contributions in Maths and for working hard on division this week.
Kindness Class
Mimi for thoughtful contributions in PSHE.
Zebedee for trying hard in literacy to use adjectives to describe nouns in his writing.
Bronze Award
Oscar
Joseph
Silver Award
Yarnaa
Timothy
🧑🏻🎓 Classroom News 📰
Pi DAY!!!
Upgraded resources
In the past few weeks we have upgraded our site with a new bike stand and basketball nets.
👨🏻👩🏼👧🏻👦🏼PTFA💬 Parent, Teacher & Friends Association
We're excited to announce we now have an all new Parent Teacher & Friends association (PTFA)!!!
If you would like to join the PTFA, email suzannewells@bxs.org.uk
Helpful Links
Fundraising
Stewardship are a Christian charity organisation who have been helping charities raise crucial funds since 1906! You can read more about them here.
If you or anyone you know feel able to give regularly to the work of Bradford Christians School, click the button below to get started and thanks you!
www.stewardship.org.uk/partners/BradfordChristianSchool
NEWS
1 NEW giver this week!
It's free to sign up to and start supporting us with Give as you Live. Send our unique campaign links to friends and family so they can support us for free too!
Regular campaign link - https://www.giveasyoulive.com/charity/bradford-christian-school
(Click)
£30 raised so far!
Please continue to engage with this campaign. Thank you!
Headteacher's Message
Our Mission
To provide a holistic Christian education for all and to inspire discipleship.
Our Vision
To be a Christian community in which everyone grows in character, faith, knowledge, understanding and wisdom.
Some of you may wonder what we do on a staff PD day, when your children are not in the building.
This week we started with feedback from Best Christian Workplaces, who have judged us ‘flourishing’.
We were encouraged by the staff survey results, comments such as:
- Employees feel like they are part of a family, with close, supportive relationships between staff, students, and families;
- climate of camaraderie, teamwork, and mutual care. A shared mission unites staff in their work;
- colleagues support and encourage one another;
- leaders and staff work together to create a healthy workplace culture.
- Freedom to express and share faith in daily work;
- Corporate prayer, spiritual encouragement, and a shared Christian mission;
- deep sense of calling and purpose beyond just a job.
This is why BCS works well and why our children can thrive.
We are working on upskilling staff in Christian education, and this time we were in the privileged position of being back to school, learning from our teaching colleagues. Staff had lessons in Spanish, Maths, Coding, English, Science and Music, and evaluated each other and themselves. Hopefully we will all be better teachers! I was humbled being a student, taught by some amazing colleagues.
We also were led in a Bible study by Mr Walker, who talked about Ephesians and the beauty of Christian unity, which has always been a strength of BCS. This was reflected in the staff survey. When you send your children to BCS, they are cared for by people who are called, who love them, and who work together to educate them.
Ephesians 4:1-6
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
