In assemblies this week we focused on our Lawford Mead value of respect. We learnt about the Jewish festival of Yom Kippur, a time to reflect on the year gone by and consider how we can be kinder and more considerate in the year ahead. At Lawford Mead it’s always a good time to challenge ourselves to be better. We looked at some kindness challenge ideas suggested by the NSPCC. Could you try a few of these next week?

•Get to know someone in your class you don’t normally talk to

•Smile and say good morning to someone who works in your school

•Help someone who is stuck on their classwork

•Write a thank you letter to a friend or teacher

•Listen to classmates during discussions and presentations

•Hold the door open for someone

•Say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ to teachers and classmates

•Invite someone sat on their own to join in your game

•Decorate Kindness Rocks and leave them around your playground

•Thank your teacher for teaching the lessons today

•Sit next to a classmate you don’t normally eat lunch with

•Pick up litter in your playground

•Give positive feedback to someone in class who presents or reads something

•Let your friend choose the game to play during break time

•Lend someone something from your pencil case

•Offer to hand out the fruit at snack time

•Sort out the reading books if they’re all jumbled up

•Offer to tidy up the equipment at the end of PE

•Include everyone in group activities and games

•Be kind to yourself by doing something you love

In last week’s reflection assemblies we talked about the Lawford Mead value that might not earn you as many house points as the others! That’s because INTEGRITY means making the right choice, even if no one will know except you!

Younger children read a book together about a koala who learnt about consequences and then made a kind choice, even though no one would have known if they hadn’t.

Older children heard the story of The Emperor’s Seeds, a tale of lies and honesty.

We discussed good choices we have made and the tough situations we might face, where it could be down to just us to make the right decision. Will we make OURSELVES proud?

In a bonus assembly for Year 5 and 6 this week, we learnt about AI disinformation. We discussed the Youtube channels we watch and how Youtubers make money. The following Newsround video then made us think about how fast AI technology is developing and how it means we have to be even MORE careful when we decide what to watch online AND what we BELIEVE.

Read the Newsround artice and watch the video HERE!

Don’t forget the following advice. Lawford Mead pupils came up with very similar top tips before we looked at these ones together…

Tips to avoid being misled by disinformation

If you want to try to make sure you don’t get caught out by disinformation, there a few things you can look out for.

Ask yourself:

• Has this claim been reported anywhere else? Genuinely surprising new information and facts are typically shared widely and quickly which means it will have been picked up by radio, TV or in the newspapers

• Have you heard of the content creator that published the video – how trustworthy are they – remember follower numbers and views don’t always make someone a reliable source?

• Is the video a copycat designed to look like another genuine video?

• Is someone speaking in the video and do they look and sound normal or is it a computer generated voice/image?

• Does the content seem believable and does it fit in with what you already know and have been taught at school?

In this week’s assembly we focused on our value of ASPIRATION – a strong desire to achieve something special.

We learnt about Frankie, a 7 year old boy who has become the youngest British person to climb Mount Olympus, the tallest mountain in Greece.

Find out more on the Newsround website.

Frankie wasn’t satisfied just walking the hills of the Lake District since the age of 3, so he climbed Mount Olympus. He’s not giving up there either. His next big dream is to climb Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world!

In assembly children discussed and shared THEIR aspirations. Do we have HIGH expectations of ourselves like Frankie?

What do YOU want to achieve this week? This term? This year?

Do you have an ultimate goal for life beyond Lawford Mead? What are your ‘inbetween dreams’ that will get you there?

In our first Tuesday assembly of the new school year, we focused on our value of RESILIENCE – the ability to recover quickly after something very difficult.

During the summer, the World Championships of athletics took place in Hungary. We learnt about Dutch athlete Femke Bol from the Netherlands. We watched a video of her falling over JUST before reaching the finish line in one of races. Ouch!

We discussed how she’d feel and what attitude and approach she needed for her next race. Then we watched another video, of Femke’s next race, where she came from behind to win the gold! What a great role model for us all. As the tv commentator said, “Femke Bol is AMAZING!”

We may stumble in our learning and it may frustrate or upset us. But can we be like Femke, stay calm and focused and strive for success next time? If so then WE will feel AMAZING!

In our final Tuesday assemblies of the year we looked back to September and thought about the progress we have been proud of this school year. We then thought about what our next steps and personal targets will be next year. Some final house points of the year were awarded to the children who shared their thoughts and opinions. We heard from children who feel great pride for what they had achieved this year, whilst still feeling inspired to achieve even more. What have YOU been proud of and what are your ambitions for next year?

Mr Poyton

In Tuesday assemblies this week we talked about the upcoming, Women’s World Cup 2003 and compared the tournament’s values and official song lyrics with our own school values.

The tournament mascot is called Tazuni. She is a penguin who dreams of playing football. She is named after the Tazman sea where penguins like her live and unity. Unity is key value of this world cup, a time when people from all over the world can come together. Find out more here.

The official song has some great lyrics. Have a read below and find out more here.

Do it Again – by Benee

I can’t, I can’t complain
I’m chosen, skipped down the block
No stopping
I couldn’t care who’s watching
Is it just luck?
Tried but I almost gave up
Feels like a dream takeover
Hope that I don’t fall under

[Pre-Chorus]
Do it, don’t quit, no stress, don’t miss
Don’t overthink – and do it again
Do it, don’t quit, no stress, don’t miss
Don’t overthink and do it again

[Chorus]
Wake up, this is the start of it
Heads up, we’re coming home again
You see me shining
I’ll keep my head up, I’ll do it all again

[Verse 2]
I had a dream when I was younger
But I think my dream was more like a hunger
Had to chase it down, had to hit the ground
Had to get back up and turn the tables right round
Now I’m looking out in wide-eyed wonder
Taking in a crowd that roars like thunder
And it took somе guts and it took some grit
And it took some time but I was nеver gonna quit

In our Tuesday assemblies last week we had a special visitor, Becky, from Essex libraries. We talked about all the library choices children have in our local area and checked our knowledge of how libraries work with our expert guest. Becky also told us about this summer’s Summer Reading Challenge. All children were sent away with a bookmark, excited to take on the challenge and collect the certificate, medal, stickers, and special glow-in-the-dark bookmark.

The Summer Reading Challenge 2023 is called ‘Ready, Set, Read!’ All children can join in from Saturday 15th July to Saturday 2nd September at any Essex Library. Find a library near you here: https://libraries.essex.gov.uk/digita… and find out more about the Summer Reading Challenge at https://libraries.essex.gov.uk/news/s… See you in the library! Ready, Set, Go!

In our upper school assembly today we learnt about the special journey (pilgrimage) many Muslims make to Hajj at this time of year and how they prepare for Eid celebrations. Even more helpful than the videos we watched were the two Lawford Mead pupils (brothers!) who were happy to come up the front and tell us about life in a Muslim family during this time. We heard about the ways some Muslims might challenge themselves to fast, sleep under the stars and avoid arguments. We discussed which of these challenges we would find harder and heard some advice from the brothers on how to stay positive and avoid arguments!

In our lower school assembly this week, some of Year 5 and 6’s most successful sporting superstars gave a ‘press conference’ for our younger pupils. They took questions from the children about their recent success in athletics and dodgeball, their love of sport and how they have needed to show aspiration and resilience in order to succeed. The children asked some brilliant questions and our athletes gave some thoughtful answers that inspired the younger pupils to think about what they aspire to achieve when they are as old as Year 5 and 6!