The Week Ahead Weekly Updates and Communication for Parents
Psalm 1 v 3
Growing Lives that Bear Fruit
Quick Stop Notices
Dear Parent/Carer,
Your child is now eligible for the Flu vaccination which will be given at school on Wednesday 4th December
Please see the attached letter for instructions on how to complete an online consent or refusal.
If you already submitted a form before the summer holidays you can ignore this message.
Consent form link: https://www.bradfordschoolimmunisations.co.uk/Forms/Flu
School Code for Primary – BF107461A
Secondary School – BF107461
Consent must be given before Friday 29 Nov to receive the Flu Vaccination in school
If you have any questions you can contact the admin hub on 01274 221269.
Many Thanks
School Immunisation Team’
www.bradfordschoolimmunisations.co.uk/forms/flu
The code for your child’s school is:
Reception – Year 6: Code = BF107461A
Year 7 – Year 11: Code = BF107461
Come and learn the basics of games design with BAFTA award winning organisation Impact Gamers and build your own game.
These FREE sessions are suitable for 11-16 year olds who would like to learn how to use some development software to make a video game. No previous skills needed!
Note, sessions are repeated. You do not need to attend both sessions.
RPG Design - make an open world adventure (Role playing game)
- Wednesday 6th November, 4:30-6:00pm
- Wednesday 27th November, 4:30-6:00pm
Platform game - make an early Mario style game
- Wednesday 13th November, 4:30-6:00pm
- Wednesday 4th December, 4:30-6:00pm
Driving game - make an above view racing/travelling game
- Wednesday 20th November, 4:30-6:00pm
- Wednesday 11th December, 4:30-6:00pm
Spaces are limited. Booking essential.
Contact Manningham Library (01274 435353 / manningham.library@bradford.
Missed a Week Ahead?
Go to our Parent Zone page to view the archive.
Church Events in December!
There's so much going on in many churches around Bradford!
Weds 4th & Thurs 5th Dec
An evening of thanksgiving and gratitude, sharing food around a table with friends. You are invited to be both host and guest at a gratitude dinner where we will eat together in homes with a structured conversation around thankfulness and gratitude.
We would love as many as possible to be a part of one of these dinners so they are being held across two evenings, Weds 4th and Thurs 5th Dec and we are also having a breakfast version for our families with young children and a youth version.
You will enjoy one of three meals; either sausages, mash and veg, chilli or jacket potatoes and toppings (because it’s not about the food or culinary experience!) and some sort of dessert.
If you are welcoming others into your home, we ask that you let those coming join in the setting up, cooking or tidying away; this is hospitality, not entertaining. If you are being welcomed into someone’s home then you will be expected to bring something and to contribute in some way.
You need to let Margaret know you want to be involved and also whether you would like to welcome others into your home or be welcomed into someone else’s home.
Once we have a list of who wants to be involved and on what nights we will work out all the logistics, but for now it would be super helpful if you could let us know if you are planning on joining in.
Sat 7th Dec – 7:30pm
We invite you to an evening making a Christmas wreath. We have 15 tickets available for this event which will be held in Little Daisys. Each ticket costs £10 (which will go towards the costs of the materials) and will allow you and someone who we do not see regularly on a Sun morning to come and make a wreath which you can use for your Christmas decorations. Purchase your ticket from Margaret before they are all snapped up!
Sun 8th Dec – 4:00pm
The first of our Christmas services will be our all-age time together when we will explore the Christmas story as a whole family.
Note: It's the SECOND Sunday of the month.
*NOT a carol service!*
Sun 15th Dec – 7:30pm
Following the success of our recent songs and stories event we will be celebrating the season with a Christmas version. This will be an evening of individuals sharing songs, poems, or literature that has sustained or spoken to them.
These same individuals will also be sharing the stories behind these songs and writings and why they were impacted by them. Our aim is for it to be an evening of testimony littered with songs and writings. We will sing a couple of uplifting carols but this will only be a small part of the evening. Don’t worry though we are not changing everything! We are sticking with mince pies, mulled wine and candles.
Friday 20th Dec – 6:30- 9:30pm
*Aimed at age 12 upwards*
Who doesn’t want to try and roll a Malteser down 7.5m of tape measure? Or play bingo, or countdown or human hungry hippos? Join us at our Christmas party for a mixture of silly games and sit down games where you can join in everything or stay on the sidelines and enjoy the fun from a distance. We’ll have drinks and yummy desserts together and laugh a lot! And some of us will go home on the winning team…
Sun 22nd Dec – 9:15am
We’ll celebrate the season with our little ones as we share with them the message of Christmas.
Sun 22 Dec – 10:30am
Breakfast at 10am
If you need an oasis in the middle of all the Christmas related events, this is it. We’ll worship together and hear the Word taught.
Impact will be on this week and will be our Impact Christmas Party.
Mon 23 Dec 10:00 – 12:00am
A Christmas party focused on our under 5’s and their families. Games and fun along with a simple lunch to finish with.
Sun 25th Dec 10:00 – 11:00am
An opportunity to celebrate Christmas Day with your church family as we enjoy breakfast together. No meeting, just the simple joy of family and food!
Christmas Day Lunch
@ Shipley Baptist
This lunch is open to all, but especially those who would be on their own or would struggle to have a Christmas meal (CAP clients, Foodbank etc)
Up to 70 guests will be at Shipley Baptist Church and an 'at home' service for those who are housebound. It's funded by donations and run by an amazing team of volunteers. Who do you know that would would be alone? Could you volunteer to serve? Details coming soon.
Winter Shelter @ Shipley Baptist
20th - 27th January
Shipley Baptist Church is hosting the Inn Churches Winter Shelter from Monday 20th January - Monday 27th January. For the shelter to run smoothly they need a team of volunteers each evening/night. There will be a team leader overseeing the shelter each night.
Volunteer via this link.
For further information on the volunteer roles or if you have any questions, please get in touch, by email catherinefroud@hotmail.
On Christmas Day - all age service to celebrate Christmas together and to give us an opportunity to focus our hearts on Jesus as we celebrate his birth. We will meet at 11am for around an hour, sing pray and have a short reflection. All are welcome!
Next Week ➡️
A reminder to Parents & Carers, If you arrive at school before 8:45 and there is not a member of staff stood at the gate, please stay with your children until a member of staff is present. Thank you.
Week commencing 2nd December 2024
We have 2 students in for taster sessions this week, please pray for peace and wisdom.
Monday
9:30 - 12:30 - Primary & Middle Road Safety Session
15:30 - 16:30 - Study Club
Tuesday
15:30 - 16:30 - Study Club
Wednesday
Flu Immunisations (See Quick Stop Notices for more info).
9:00 - Upper School Assembly-Association of Evangelists
15:30 - 16:30 - Study Club
Thursday
14:00 - 15:30 - Middle School Topic Parent 'Drop In' - Middle School parents are invited to come and see what your child has been doing in Topic this half term on the theme of 'Turning Points'- this is an informal 'drop in' event from 2pm onwards.
13:30 - 15:30 - Upper School Refugee Play
15:30 - 16:30 - Study Club
15:30 - 16:30 - AP after school club
Friday
Teacher request - Mrs Prothero would like donations of clean jam jars for a classroom activity. Please bring to the main office any day next week before Friday, thank you.
9:00 - 12:45 - BCS Band Recording Session @ Bolton Woods Centre
Lunch menu from November 2024
- Monday - Pasta Bake - Tuna or Cheese & Tomato
- Tuesday - Baked potatoes
- Wednesday - Pizzas
- Thursday - Toasties
- 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)
Autum 1
- Monday - Pasta Bake - Tuna or Cheese & Tomato
- Tuesday - Baked potatoes
- Wednesday - Pizzas
- Thursday - Toasties
- 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
Dates for your diary
Dates for your diary
December
- 10th - EYFS & Primary Christingle
- 11th:
- Reception & Primary Open Event - 9:15 - 10:15
- Aut2 PC issued to parents
- 12th - Middle School Walking Nativity
- 13th - Christmas Cafe
- 16th - Yr 9/10 set off to Berlin
- 18th - Community Carols at the Bolton Woods Centre led by St James' @ 4.30pm 🎁
- 19th:
- Nativity - Tickets will hopfully be able to be booked from Tuesday 3rd December.
- Middle School Carols & Reading at St James'
- 20th - Yr9/10 return from Berlin
⭐ Stars & Students of the Week ⭐
Primary
Middle
Fisayo for made an excellent contribution to our class discussion during devotions.
Daniel for welcoming and friendly behaviour in the Linking Project.
Joy for working hard in Maths leading to a brilliant end of unit test.
Dylan for welcoming and friendly behaviour in the Linking Project.
Upper
Aaden for consistently working hard and supporting other students in science.
Alana for consistently focussed and reflective in English.
Sammie for focusing really well in Maths, reflected in improvement in end of unit test scores.
Autism Provision
Isaac for working hard and independently and producing some fantastic work.
🧑🎓Classroom News
Linking Network: Year 7 Student meet up
Students in year 7 welcomed year 7 students from Eden Boys Leadership Academy as part of the Linking Network initiative this week. They enjoyed getting to know each other and talking about their similarities as well as their differences. Our students will visit them in the New Year and we hope to keep this relationship going.
Middle School students have been focussing on peace in assemblies this term and we believe that links like this can only help to build relationships of peace in our City.
Students with gifts to help them focus their prayers on Peace from Andy Bowerman, Dean of Bradford Cathedral
Thanksgiving
As part of our 'Celebrations' Topic this half term, this week we have been looking at the story of the first Thanksgiving and how the day is celebrated in America. We made a paper chain of all the things that we are thankful for and made some Gratitude trees. We shared a meal together and gave thanks to God for all the wonderful things he has blessed us with. It was lots of fun!
Ballet
Year 3&4 enjoying ballet 🩰 with Mrs Ryan. A team from Born in Bradford are using our school to research how teaching dance can positively impact other areas of learning.
Christmas card making
Mrs March & Mrs Bullen have been enjoying Wednesday lunchtimes with girls from years 8,9,10 & 11 who have been listening to Christmas music, eating cake and making Christmas cards with the help and inspiration from a real artist - Jo Overend - mum to Isla and Leo
Visit from Rev Andy Bowerman, Dean of Bradford Cathedral
{From last week with photo}
Rev Andy Bowerman, the Dean of Bradford Cathedral, came in to talk to Middle School students about their theme for this term: Peace and Bradford.
He gave students three gifts:
A 'wedding hat': Andy wore this to a Muslim wedding which reminds him of unity - this is to remind us to pray for the Muslim community in Bradford.
A candle: to represent the impact conflict in the wider world has on our City. The colour blue reminds us of Ukraine and when lit the colour yellow made it look like the Ukraine flag. Children guessed correctly that around 140 languages are spoken in Bradford. Candles help us to focus when we don't quite know how to pray. We can think about light and how Jesus' light brings peace and healing. We can remember that Jesus said 'you are the light of the world'- we can make a difference- we have his light within us.
A wooden cross: Two weeks ago Rev Bowerman went to Pakistan. It can be difficult to be a Christian and he supports both Christians and Muslims in bringing peace to their communities. Last year Andy visited a Christian community that had been destroyed by being burnt down. On his visit this year the people gave him a cross made out of the houses and churches that were destroyed as a reminder of the hope that Jesus brings.
The children wrote some Haikus about these gifts and thought about war and peace.
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!
NEWS
We have received a £600 donation from an annonymous donor! Praise the Lord! Please pray for this mystery generous person!
One of our regular givers has increased their monthy donation by £20! Praise God for his provision!
Some of our parents have started donating to school to boost our income including Gift Aid!
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.
What colour was Mary’s dress?
I love working in Christian education, and have done so for almost twenty years. One of the privileges is working alongside other Christians, who come from different Christian traditions and expressions of faith. When there is enough grace, this can be a rich learning environment for children and adults alike. The questioning, discussion, and exposure to other views is one of the challenges I really appreciate.
During my ten years in Cambodia, I worked with Christians from 30 nationalities and a range of Christian backgrounds. There were a number of occasions where faith and culture had merged, for example, dealing with the sudden death of a fellow English teacher in a Cambodian context, or creating a ‘prom’ managing expectations of the Christian community. I embraced the challenge of growing together as a broad church.
One of my favourite memories was at Christmas, when school was performing the traditional primary nativity. A very kind Malaysian mum offered to make all the costumes for the children, including beautiful stars, angels, shepherds…and Mary. Imagine the response from our diverse staff when Mary’s dress arrived and it was pink! For some reason, the Brits and Americans thought her dress should be blue.
Mary’s dress is not described in our Bibles, but Western tradition, and artistic images have led us to believe it was blue. Much of the Nativity scene we recreate is a fictional interpretation of the Biblical account - if we name the characters who the Bible tells us were there, there are fewer than we would expect.
What the Bible does say, very clearly, is that Mary praised the Lord when she was told she would give birth to the son of God. Luke 1:46 - 50 tells her words:
Mary’s Song
46 And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
47
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48
for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49
for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
50
His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53
He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54
He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55
to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”
I don’t know what Mary wore, but I can read her response in the Bible and passed down to us. She was able to cling to God’s promises and trust in him.
