Alburgh with Denton C of E School, Norfolk

This school is using the pack ‘Values for Life’ in their collective worship. They have created a values focus board in the hall where pupils and staff are encouraged to make personal contributions.  This half term their theme is ‘Friendship’ and lots of people, adults and children, have contributed photographs of their own friends.  Teachers incorporate the value into the curriculum and all staff look out for good examples in behaviour which is then acknowledged in the celebration assembly.

St Martin at Shouldham C of E School, Norfolk

The Stained Glass Museum in Ely has been working with St Martin’s primary school at Shouldham to make a stained glass window for the school. The school’s head, Marika Mears and the Museum’s Education Officer Sally Austin, were very keen that every child in the school, all 150 of them, should be involved with the project.   Over the course of two weeks the children visited the Stained Glass Museum to learn something of the meaning of this beautiful art form. They also learned how to cut coloured glass and to create their own glass tile for the window. ‘We thought there was no point in the children making stained-glass tiles just to take home!’ said the Head teacher.  The whole design was brought together by glass artist Althea Braithwaite before being fired and assembled into a beautiful cross for the school assembly hall and here it is.

St Martin at Shouldham C of E School, Norfolk

In the Summer of 2008, much to the delight of tourists, elephants could be seen strategically placed all around Norwich.  Six of these were decorated by St Martin at Shouldham School, which used the opportunity to spread the message of Eco-sustainability and Fair Trade.

St Mary's C of E Junior School, Ely, Cambridgeshire

This eye-catching stained glass display is attached to a light box in the foyer of the school.  It was created by pupils form Y4.  They were each responsible for designing and then making a square to be included.  They were able to go to the Stained Glass Museum at Ely Cathedral to do this and learn about how the stained glass is created as well as making their own.  This was in small groups over a period of time and was very labour intensive , but the exercise was felt to have been a great success, and pupils are very proud of the finished product.  The word RESPECT (the school motto - see below for details) is contained in the clear glass of the central cross as the lettering is raised, and so can best be seen form the side view.

The Stained Glass Museum is happy to work with other schools on their own Stained Glass Project - contact them direct.

RESPECT stands for: Responsibility; Excellence; Spirituality; Partnership; Enjoyment; Caring; Tolerance.

Harleston C of E School, Norfolk

Schools are often very good about praising children for their achievements in and out of school at events such as celebration assemblies, but at Harleston they go one step further and send a postcard home.  The card has room on the back for the class teacher to explain exactly why "your child has been a credit to you" and families appreciate this extra information on how their children are progressing at the school.

St Peters C of E Junior School, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire

Sometimes schools in East Anglia find it difficult to help their pupils understand the multicultural nation that we have become.  One exciting way of giving children new experiences is to stage a multicultural festival. This is exactly what St Peter's did, and, by staging the event on their playing fields, they were able to open the day up to other local schools in Wisbech and to local families.  This has now become a special and regular occasion for the school and the locality.

Bury C of E School, Cambridgeshire

The assembly hall at Bury is filled with photographs of the island of Omitepe in Nicaragua.  The school has twinned with a school in the town of Urbaite through the Seed International Fund Trust.  the governors allowed the headteacher to take two weeks paid leave to visit the school in Urbaite and set up the initial contact.  This has led to a close link between the two schools and their local communities.  Pupils at Bury have learned about the way of life of the people in Omitepe, all the different things thy have to do and how similar their lives are to those of people in England and their part of it, as well as the differences.

Since then they have provided equipment and assistance to the pupils in that area and to their families.  The headteacher has visited a second time to take the materials with him (such as a parachute!) and was able to report back to school what was happening.  He was also able to speak to the whole of Bury school through a Skype call made during an assembly. 

Pupils and their parents have provided shoeboxes which were packed with useful items such as pens and pencils, paper but also a toy of some sort.  There were also teachers bags containing equipment .  These have been sent out by the charity as well as taken by the Head.

The headteacher had spoken in the church in Nicaragua and in the church in Bury, including them in the link.

A teacher has since come over to Bury from Nicaragua for an extended stay.

Some sponsorship is also offered e.g. one of the Nicaraguan pupils was talented at drama and poetry, and Bury school found the money to help her go to the drama school in the capital city.