News
A new school year brings new opportunities. This year Bridgebuilder will be BUSIER THAN EVER taking the Christian message into our Milton Keynes schools.
Last Update: 14 November, 2008
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Download our latest Bulletin - Autumn Term 2008
News
Our new Primary Schools Worker, Rachel Foster, joined us at the end of August. We’re so pleased she has is part of the Bridgebuilder team! Come to our Trust Representative and Church Leader supper on 29th September and you can meet Rachel. In the meantime, here is a brief introduction from her…
Our new Trustee, Rev Beverley Hollins,
introduces herself below…
As a girl, I thought I’d end up as a
primary school teacher, then as a
teenager I realised I was called to
ordination. So, inevitably. after
university I became a librarian! Marriage to Paul was
followed by blissful years as a full time Mum and
then work around our two daughters as development
worker and then youth officer for the Association
of Interchurch Families.
When the early revelation
of calling to ordination became a reality, we moved
to Milton Keynes where I worked in ecumenical and
Methodist ministries before taking up my present
development and training role for the Anglican
church in the Newport Pagnell/Olney area. Working
with children is what makes me happiest, and God’s
calling to children and young people to respond to
him is of huge importance to me. After all, the Bible
is full of very young people doing great things for
God – Samuel, David and Mary are the best
remembered examples and remind us all that young
people are not just there to be taught and supported
but also listened to and sometimes followed.
I am thrilled to be joining the trustees at Bridgebuilder and becoming involved with the Ministry Development Sub-group. I look forward to meeting many of the Bridgebuilder supporters too.
Welcome too to Tony McGinley who is our Gap Year Schools Worker. He started working for Bridgebuilder in September. He is spending a year with us, going into secondary schools with Rosie, and has already taken an assembly and has helped with lessons and a day in Walton High on anti-bullying.
Tony will be studying, with Centre of Youth Ministries at Oxford Brookes, to get a degree in Youth and Community Work and Applied Theology as from September next year.
I am thrilled to be joining the team at
Bridgebuilder! I have been working part
time during the last year for Impact, the Bedford
Area Schools Christian Support Trust, and am
delighted to now have the opportunity to be in
schools full time. I am really looking forward to
getting involved in MK schools and establishing my
role.
In the past, I worked as a Nursery Nurse for
over 20 years, mostly in a lower school as part of the
foundation team and providing cover for teachers’
non-contact time, mainly teaching RE, Drama, PE,
Music and PSHE.
During my time as a Schools
Worker for Impact, I took lots of assemblies and RE
lessons, and also started a couple of drama clubs
called ‘Acting-Up’ giving pupils the chance to explore
moral and Christian issues through drama. I took
some self-esteem sessions with small groups of
children selected by teachers and ran a programme
called ‘Moving-Up’ preparing children for the move
from lower to middle school. I hope to be able to use
lots of drama in my new role as a way to engage young
people and show them the amazing love of God.
Thank you for all your prayers and support as I start
this role, continue the established work, and aim to
move the primary schools work forward.
Where did it go? I have come to realise, after a year in my role, that the summer term is the busiest! Schoolswork has been very exciting with new projects being planned as well as regular assemblies and lessons.
This term looks to be another busy but exciting one. At the end of the summer, for a couple of days, we had a group of young people in the office, painting and decorating...each other mainly...although the walls have seen some colour!!
We have been busy trying to spend the Youth Opportunities Fund money that the young people received last term through a grant. Big plans ahead!! More about that in the next bulletin.
I am heading back in to schools shortly with lessons on creation and peer pressure and assemblies
entitled ‘Don’t judge a book…’. I will also be planning and running a Yr 7 Positive Behaviour Day in Walton
High School with one of the teachers there. I am always on the look-out for more volunteer help in
secondary schools...so do get in touch with me if you think this could be you!
I am looking forward to this Autumn
term very much. So far I am just booked up for
the first two weeks (arranged last term). It is
really good to have Rachel to work with. We may
visit one or two schools together to see what we
each do and then continue with our own patches.
Some schools will hopefully have both of us visiting
if they would appreciate more input. I also hope
that one or two people who have shown an interest
in the past in using the sketchboard in schools will
find themselves able to do so for the first time this
term.
It’s great that Diane (Midwinter—our newest
Voluntary Schools Worker) has a couple of schools
to visit regularly.
I would like to have a forum for
sketchboarders this term where everyone
interested can meet to share ideas and encourage
one another. There’s a small group of schools
workers based near Kettering who may like some
sketchboarding training too. Please contact Gill if
you have any questions about these ideas and if you
would like to be involved in any training events.
iBiblos is taking a well-earned break until 2009 in order for Carolyn to overhaul current and create new materials.
We are still
seeking new volunteers to help with this exciting
project in primary schools...if you can spare
some time on a Monday, please contact
Gill - Carolyn urgently needs extra help
in order for this project to develop.
Linda writes...Part of the time machine is
now operated by remote control...even
Star Trek’s Mr Spock would say
‘fascinating!’. We are using a board game,
played in pairs, to research information
about Jesus and our computers show us information
about Christians working around the world.
The
filming scenery has been
repainted by one of the
JQ volunteers, and the
scripts altered slightly.
The children still watch
cartoon stories of the
miracles of Jesus but now
answer questions with the
help of squeaky toys!
If you want to help Year 4 children in MK schools learn more about Jesus, contact contact Gill in the office.
Dates are:
23/10/08—Bradwell Village School
13/11/08—Queen Eleanor Primary
4/12/08—Summerfield School
'Bridgebuilder is Environmentally Aware!'
Bridgebuilder are now recognised as an organisation that supports Fairtrade in Milton Keynes – we offer Fairtrade tea, coffee and hot chocolate, and use environmentally friendly washing up liquid in our kitchen!
We are also rather too fond of Fairtrade chocolate brownies…
We have also introduced a compost system (which Gill empties weekly into her compost bin at home!) and we have been recycling our waste wherever we can for some time now.
