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This assembly focuses on a lesser-known part of the Easter story, namely Maundy, or Holy Thursday: The washing of the disciples’ feet. During the assembly, children will learn about Jesus’ total self-giving by reflecting on the story from John’s Gospel 13.1-17, 31b-35. During the story, Jesus was a special guest, but no one offered him water to wash his feet. Instead, Jesus got up from the table, took off his coat, tied a towel around his waist, poured some water into a large bowl, and began to wash his friends’ feet, drying them with a towel. To prepare for this assembly, there is an opportunity in the script for children to imagine being a disciple of Jesus and retell the story of the washing of the feet as if they were one of the characters involved. The script has a running time of approximately 20-30 minutes, including a hymn: ‘Make me a channel of your peace’, which is freely available online. The script can accommodate up to thirty children, and dressing them in traditional clothes would add to the story’s impact. Extract: Jesus shared a Last Supper with his friends the night before he died. On the topic of self-giving, we heard how Jesus took the bread and wine, blessed them, and gave them to his friends. In this story from John’s Gospel, we hear of something else that happened at that Last Supper. Jesus was at supper with his friends. He got up, put a towel around his waist, poured some water into a bowl and he washed their feet. His friends were tired, and their feet were swollen and dirty from their day’s travelling, because of the heat and dust, people had to wash their feet very often.

This assembly could be arranged to take place during a Jewish festival or as part of a school’s diversity and equality initiative. The purpose of this assembly is to introduce children to the Jewish faith, including the belief that there is only one God who created the world. Children will also learn about the teachings of the Torah and the Ten Commandments, which were given to Moses by God. The script was written as an introduction to Judaism for a Catholic primary school audience. It has an approximate running time of 15-20 minutes and can accommodate up to thirty children. Before the assembly, several children should be asked to compose their Ten Commandments and insert them into the script, encouraging them to think about God and their behaviour towards others. The assembly also includes the Jewish song of greeting and parting, ‘Shalom my friend’. The song is readily available online, by search the term ‘Shalom my friend’. Extract: Welcome to our Assembly, which this week is on Judaism. Judaism is the religion of people who are Jews. It is one of the oldest religions in the world. Jews believe in one God. They believe that God is a spirit. There are two signs which Jews often use. One is a special candlestick with seven arms, which is called a menorah. The other is a star which has six points. It is sometimes called the Star of David.

This script is for an Easter assembly and covers the events leading up to Christ’s Crucifixion and Resurrection on Easter Sunday, which is the most important festival for Christians. The script includes three eyewitness accounts of the Easter story: Simon helped carry Jesus’ cross up the hill. A Roman soldier took a prisoner to his death. Mary Magdalene discovered Jesus had risen from the dead and instructed her to inform the disciples. There are 8 concluding statements that promote a gratitude mindset. For example, “If you are healthy today, you are more blessed than millions dying this week.” Finally, the script asks us to remember our blessings, the true message of Easter, and to celebrate in the Good News that Christ is Risen! The script is designed for Key Stage 2 and can accommodate 30 children, but it can be edited to suit more or fewer participants. Its running time is around 20-30 minutes, but it can be edited. There are two poems mentioned in the script, which cannot be reproduced since they are not owned by the author. However, they should be available online, or you can substitute them with similar ones. The script suggests singing a hymn, “Christ, Be Our Light,” by Bernadette Farrell, but again, this cannot be reproduced. The hymn is merely a suggestion and can be edited or removed depending on time restrictions. Finally, the script includes a fully animated and transitioned PowerPoint presentation to provide a backdrop to the assembly. Script Extract: Good morning and welcome to our assembly. Lent is six weeks, lasting 40 days excluding Sundays, leading up to Easter. This period commences on Ash Wednesday and ends with Holy Week. Easter is the most important festival for Christians. Lent is a period of introspection and prayer during which Christians recall the story of Jesus being tempted by the devil in the desert. They also strive to reconcile with God before celebrating Jesus’ resurrection on Easter Sunday.

What do Christians believe? Jesus is ‘The Light of the World’. In the run up to Christmas, we are looking at William Holman Hunt’s painting ‘Light of the World’. The following pack includes 3 levels of differentiated worksheets that examine the theme of light and William Holman Hunt’s painting, as well as PPT, (full animated with transition), which explains the idea of Jesus at the light of the world with the following questions to support the children knowledge and understanding. Look at William Holman Hunt’s painting ‘Light of the World’. Don’t give children title of painting, in small groups let them explore the image. Questions to scaffold could be ‘Who do you think the person is in the picture? Who might be behind the door? What is the painter trying to show us? Then give children the title, ‘Light of the World’ and explain how Christians believe that Jesus is the Light of the World – He shows us the way, warns us of danger, lights up our lives etc.

Following a visit to The Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King in Liverpool, I developed this comprehension exercise based around the guided tour of this unique Cathedral. The text revolves around the construction of the building, as the present Cathedral is actually the fourth attempt by the Catholic Church in the North West of England to build a mother church for the Liverpool diocese – and the culmination of a story that stretches back over a century. Along with the text, which was intended for a Year 4 cohort, but could be easily adapted for older or younger children. There are 3 levels of differentiated questions. Lower Attaining - 6 questions with scaffolded answered writing frames. Middle Attaining - 7 questions no scaffolding Higher Attaining - 8 questions no scaffolding (some higher order thinking skills required comparison and difference) All ability groups have the same extension. Extension: Can you design a cathedral meeting the same requirements using your imagination?