Homerswood
Primary and Nursery School
‘A pathway to grow, be curious and discover’
Religious Education
RE at Homerswood
Homerswood Primary School follow a new RE Scheme of work called Discovery RE.
This scheme maps itself to the Herts agreed syllabus for RE and supports British values.
The scheme focuses on an enquiry based approach to learning and covers spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. It aims to develop critical thinking skills, subject knowledge and understanding and the children's own spiritual development.
Children will be encouraged to reflect on their own beliefs and values whilst acknowledging that others may have beliefs different from their own.
The children learn about Christianity, in each year group, as well as focusing on at least one other religion.
Where possible we visit different places of worship and invite visitors of different faiths into school.
The whole school participate in services at a local church for Christmas, Easter and Harvest.
RE at Homerswood
Our Gold Standards
Impact Statements
Resources
Summer Term 2023
In summer term, each class continues to focus on two enquiry questions from Discovery RE relating to Christianity and for some another religion such as Islam, Buddhism, Judaism or Sikhism.
Year 6 have been exploring how a Muslim can lead a good life, revising the 5 pillars of Islam and the meaning of Jihad.
We had a visit from Father Rob for our assembly this week in order to explain some more details to allow us to become more knowledgeable about the King's Coronation. He described the dove at the top of the sceptre and the cross on the orb King Charles will be given within the ceremony as well as much more.
Spring Term 2023
Welcome back to Spring term, where we have another exciting term of learning ahead. We have celebrations such as World Religion Day, Multi-faith week and Easter this term; we have many interesting enquiries from Nursery to Year 6 such as What makes people special? Could the Buddha’s teachings make the world a better place? And Is anything ever eternal?
A wonderful celebration for the Holy Week this year at the Church with the whole school.
Here is our Easter Service for our Church visit on Thursday 30th April 2023.
Ramadan is a very special month that is observed by 1.8 billion Muslims all over the world. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims do not eat or drink from dawn until sunset. This is called fasting. Fasting in Ramadan is one of the Five Pillars of Islam.
Year 2 discussing why Hot Cross Buns are a symbol of Easter and exploring what resurrection means.
Reception have been exploring the season of spring and what it may bring for our environment.
Shrove Tuesday, also known as Pancake Day, is the traditional feast day before the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday. Father Rob visited us all yesterday for our assembly to remind us of the story of Jesus and why some Christians fast for 40 days like Jesus in the desert. Equally, he explained this period can allow us to be still and quiet or to reflect... but also don’t forget those pancakes!
Happy Chinese New Year!
Autumn Term 2022
Welcome back to a new school year. We have come exciting events this half term including the whole school visit to our local church to celebrate Harvest. In classes, we are continuing our Discovery RE questions such as 'does God want Christians to look after the world?' 'does joining the Khalsa make a person a better Sikh?' and 'what is the best way for a Muslim to show commitment to God?'
Keep up to date with all of our class activities and events on this page.
Another successful whole school visit to our local church for our Christmas Service with Selina and Father Rob. As always, beautiful singing of the carols and wonderful speakers from across the school.
Year 2 visited St John’s Church for their Christingle service. They also made wishes for the new year and discussed how they could support others.
Year 4 have been discussing the symbolism behind a Christingle and made one of their own!
Reception celebrated the festival of Diwali by creating and painting their own diva lamps for the Festival of Lights.
Year 1 have been reflecting on the creation story in their RE this week: ensuring their learning is sticky from creating their own wheels!
Congratulations Father Rob, or Canon Rob, for being chosen as an Honorary Canon of the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban. How fantastic for himself and our community.
We celebrated a wonderful Harvest festival with the whole school at St John’s Church. The children sang beautiful, reflected on creation and things we are thankful for and families donated generously to support local food banks.
Rosh Hashanah is the celebration of the completion of another year, and the beginnings of the new year in the Jewish calendar. It is a time of rejoicing and reflecting. The Challah (traditional bread) is made and eaten, alongside apples and honey.
Summer 2022
Welcome back to Summer term at Homerswood! Following on from a fantastic Easter celebration whereby the whole school sang and performed whilst understanding the meaning of Easter at the Church together.
This half term across the school we have some interesting key questions such as ‘Does going to a Mosque give Muslims a sense of belonging?’, ‘What is the best way for a Buddhist to lead a good life?’ and ‘Do beliefs in Karma, Samsara and Moksha help Hindus lead good lives?’.
Look out for the regular updates of the learning in RE across the school.
Eid Al-Adha is celebrated on the tenth day of Dhul-Hijjah (the twelfth and final month of the Islamic lunar calendar) and is considered to be one of the holiest festivals in the Islamic calendar. Eid Al-Adha is also known as the 'Festival of Sacrifice' and commemorates Allah's test of the Prophet Ibrahim's (Peace Be Upon Him) devotion.
Year 3 making Coconut Barfi for Bandi Chhor Divas (Prisoner Release Day) celebrating Sikhism.
We were very excited today to listen to a whole school assembly from Father Rob! He told us all about his recent learning in Manchester as well as about the Easter ceremony at St Johns Digswell Church before Easter Sunday and the 6 weeks Easter lasts for until the end of May.
Spring 2022
Welcome back to a new term at Homerswood. We am very much looking forward to seeing a new set of Religious Education questions including ‘Does praying regularly help Muslims everyday?’, ‘Could the Buddha’s teachings make the world a better place?’ or ‘Is anything ever eternal in Christianity?’.
Alongside our RE owls we can enquire into our questions to deletion our curiosity and knowledge into each Religion.
This term we can also look forward to our Easter service and celebrations after half term.
Easter Service at the Church. Proudly, Selina shared: Wonderful, joyous singing by the whole school, then a profoundly moving rendition of Dona Nobis by the Year 6 pupils. All those who read did so beautifully with their heads up and voices strong.
01.03.22 - Shrove Tuesday is an important day in the Christian religion, which takes place the day before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Shrove Tuesday always falls 47 days before Easter Sunday, so the date varies from year to year and falls between February 3 and March 9. Traditionally, Shrove Tuesday was the last opportunity to use up eggs and fats before embarking on the fast for Lent. Making pancakes is a simple and tasty way to use up all of these ingredients!
Year 3 enjoyed some bread and blackcurrant to introduce them to their new topic by understanding the Easter story and the Last Supper. Their big question is: What is ‘good’ about Good Friday?
Here are Year 5 Sikh bowls made from clay.
World Religion Day is celebrated every January on the third Sunday of the month. ‘Its aim is to promote understanding and peace between all religions, encouraging people to learn about other faiths and their followers’. Whether you are attending a special event, listening to a faith leader or learning more about the world’s six major religions, take this opportunity to understand more about our world!
06.01.22 - the Christian festival of Epiphany, which celebrates the visit of the Wise Men to Jesus. This is sometimes called the Three Kings’ Day. We discussed the meaning of this celebration in our whole school Assembly this week.
Autumn 2021
Welcome back to our new school year, I'm sure you're all excited for the new learning ahead. In classes, we are starting the year with learning about Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Sikhism and asking questions such as, is it possible to be kind to everyone all of the time? Each class has an enquiry question on which they will focus their learning on, so be sure to ask the children what they are and interact with the learning at home. We are lucky enough to have our first Church visit this half term to celebrate Harvest. Make sure you keep an eye out for updates, photos and more information throughout the year.
What wonderful Nativities from Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 this Christmas. A big well done to all of the children, parents and staff for their support.
Year 2 celebrated Christmas with an amazing Christingle service with Selena!
Happy Hanukkah! Hanukkah is a holiday in the Jewish calendar, also referred to as the Feast or Festival of Lights. It is a celebration of their defeat over the Greeks over 2000 years ago to be able to practise their religion freely.
Interfaith week - across the school it has been wonderful to see the celebrations and appreciation for the different religions and communities within the UK.
Votes for Schools this week are focusing on the topic of Interfaith Week. This is a week intended to celebrate the UK’s religious diversity and to strengthen ties between communities of different faiths and religious beliefs.
The Reception Class enjoyed their trip to St John’s Church this week - they even have a Church role play area within their classroom now!
The children in nursery were creating their own Rangoli patterns and mark making in coloured sand.
Diwali - A wonderful celebration across the school for the five day festival Diwali. The festival of light is celebrated by many religions, including Hinduism and Sikhism, across the world.
Just some of the great RE work across the school from this half-term
30.09.21 - Whole school Harvest Festival at the Church! Big thank you to all the families who came to support and for your generosity for your donations. The teachers and children were amazing.
Have a look at our Harvest Festival Service ready for Thursday 30th September at 9:30am at the Church!
Great to see each class getting started with their first Discovery RE enquiry questions this half term!
20.09.2021
Today we enjoyed a whole school assembly discussing and celebrating the Jewish Festival of Yom Kippur. This is the Jewish day of Atonement (making up for something you have done wrong by asking for forgiveness from God.)
It is regarded the holiest day of the year for Jewish people. In order to seek forgiveness, people will: reflect on their wrongdoing; pray; use the Torah for guidance; and give to charity. On this special day, Jewish people will fast, not bath or wash, not wear leather shoes and not wear any perfumes - making the body feel uncomfortable but bearable to feel pain as well as others.
In the assembly, we discussed things we may be apologetic for or when we say ‘sorry’ and how we may show we truly mean it.
2021 - Easter at Homerswood. Father Rob held assemblies with the different year group bubbles. He was really impressed with the children's knowledge of the Easter story.
Nativity Assemblies at Homerswood
Year 3 welcomed Maryam, a Muslim faith visitor, to their class.
On Wednesday 12th December Year 2 went to St John's Church to make Christingles and hang Christmas wishes on the tree.
On Tuesday 20th March, Year 6 visited St John's Church to learn all about The Stations Of The Cross.
On Wednesday 15th March Homerswood School welcomed Father Rob from St. John's Church.
On the 7th March Homerswood School welcomed the Saltmine Theatre group who performed a play called the Secret Angel. Following the performance years 5 and 6 participated in a workshop focusing on Christian beliefs and stories from the bible.
Year 5 Trip to the Synagogue
On Tuesday 19th July, Year 5 visited the Synagogue in Welwyn Garden City. They all enjoyed learning about Judaism.
The Servant Queen
On Thursday 23rd June Selina Evans and two parishioners (Mary and Katie) from St John's Church visited Homerswood School.
Selina talked to the children during assembly and told them stories about Queen Elizabeth II. Each child was given a booklet called "The Servant Queen" which celebrated the Queen's 90th birthday.
Year 2 visited St John's Church on Friday 13th February. They had fun observing the interesting artefacts and ringing the bells.
