Ocean Class have just finished a matinee performance of their play, “Alice’s Adventure’s in Wonderland”, based on the book by Lewis Carroll. A second performance will take place tomorrow evening.
“We really enjoyed it, well done everyone and and thanks to Lou [an Ocean Class parent] for making our amazing costumes!” - Ocean Class pupil
This morning our visiting monks from Plum Village held a puja for school parents, children and staff. They began by introducing each other and explained a little about their backgrounds:
Brother Stream (aka Br Phap Luu) flows through life “like a river”. He is from the US and ordained as a Buddhist monk in 2003. He graduated from Dartmouth College with a B.A. in English Literature in 1997. The other monks said he was very wise and sometimes teaches them Sanskrit. Brother Stream does a lot of work for Plum Village’s Wake Up Schools initiative.
Brother Reason (aka Br Phap Ly) is from France. The monks said that because ‘PhapY’ is pronounced ‘Fapplee’, he is also known as Brother ‘Happily’ because his name sounds a bit like that word!
Brother Ben (aka Br Phap Lai) is from Yorkshire in England and the monks said he is very good at connecting with children and helping them to understand the teachings of the Buddha in lots of fun ways. He has been a member of the core group steering the Wake Up Schools initiative since its inception, helping organise and run many of the educators retreats in Plum Village in the last few years.
We all sang songs together and Brother Ben spoke about the ‘four gratitudes’ and how gratitude helps us to feel happy; we talked about why we are grateful for parents, teachers, friends and all beings on Mother Earth. Then Brother Stream invited the bell and we used the sound to stop, and to “come back to ourselves” for a few moments of calm and reflection.
Later this morning our visitors will share a pebble meditation with the children and this afternoon they will offer a workshop for teachers and staff.
From Tuesday 25th - Thursday 27th March, we are being visited by Brothers Phap Luu, Phap Lai and Phap Ly, and lay practitioner Luc, from Plum Village. Today our visitors are spending time with each class so that we can all get to know each other; they invited questions from the children and we all sang songs together.
Among the questions the children asked were, “What do you do when you are feeling bored/sad/embarrassed/lonely?”, Brother Phap Luu - who is also known as Brother Stream - explained that the answer was the same with regard to all of these feelings…the monks “return home” to their breath. By focusing on breathing in and out and giving time to ourselves to reflect, we are more able to fully understand our feelings rather than just reacting to them. Then the feeling may pass, or because we are feeling more calm we are better able to understand how to act with clarity.
Breathing in, breathing out
Breathing in, breathing out
I am blooming as a flower
I am fresh as the dew
I am solid as a mountain
I am firm as the earth
I am free
Breathing in, breathing out
Breathing in, breathing out
I am water reflecting
What is real, what is true
And I feel there is space
Deep inside of me
I am free, I am free
Mountain Class visited Sussex Wildlife Trust at Woods Mill near Henfield, as part of their class topic on Minibeasts. They undertook a range of activities including a bug hunt, a wildlife nature walk, pond dipping, calming sitting and listening games, and a camouflage scavenger hunt. They found four different types of newt during the pond dipping, two of which hadn’t been seen before in the Woods Mill Pond, so the staff there were very excited!
Sport and exercise are an important and enjoyable part of our school’s curriculum and we even have a ex-international Welsh rugby player in our midst – Ocean class teacher, Gill Davies! We offer football, tag-rugby, hockey, basketball, orienteering, cricket and rounders, and yoga is taught across the school. Circus skills equipment is also available at break times for children to use in the playground and activities such as hula-hooping, diabolo spinning and juggling are great ways of encouraging balance, focus and coordination. Once a year, during the Summer Term, we hold a school sports day which is always great fun.
As a small community school, we are fortunate in having a large public park next to us which we use for P.E lessons and sports activities. We run an after-school football club on Tuesdays (Years 3-6) and play fixtures against other local schools. Today our football team is looking forward to playing Carden Primary School and teacher (and team coach) Ross Young will be cheering them on from the sidelines:
“The key thing I want children to take away from playing competitive sport at the school is a sense of community and working hard for each-other and encouraging their peers regardless of ability. Win or lose, it’s about trying to improve their skills together and playing mindfully; being fully in the moment in order to see opportunities and act on them.”
– Ross Young, teacher and sports coach
“Although it’s great to win, we really just want to do our best and support each other so that we keep on getting better. It’s fun playing together and I love our kit!”
“There are three girls on the mixed football team and we also have an all girls team that plays in the local girls league. No-one thinks about whether we’re boys or girls, we just play as a team.”
- Football Team members