Objective: Students know the importance of preparation and setting the foundation for success and growth in the new school year.
Welcome
Welcome to the start of a new school year!
(Show a picture of trash and a picture of good compost or use the powerpoint presentation and ask the students what they can see. The students should state that one is soil/compost and the other is trash. Show them the picture of an empty plant pot in the next slide and ask which would be the best material to fill the empty plant pot. The students should point at the good soil.
Discuss why good soil is better over trash: good soil has what it needs to help plants grow healthily. Discuss what happens if we were to place our seeds in the other one? Would the seeds be able to grow properly and happily? No.)
Reflection
We are like seeds made to grow happily and healthily. If we do good things like loving, being kind and respecting each other, we will create a happy class and grow happily like seeds in good soil. So let’s learn how to be friends this coming year so that we might grow in a happy school. Let’s see examples of kindness in the following video.
Video: Sesame Street: Kindness | Elmo’s World
Prayer
Dear God, help us grow into happy children by doing good actions that make us and others happy. By being friends with everyone, you teach us how to create a happy school. Amen
Objective: To make students aware of the importance of preparation and setting the foundation for success and growth in the new school year.
Welcome
Good morning, and welcome to all! This month’s theme is starting fresh and preparing for a new beginning, just like gardeners prepare their soil at the start of a planting season.
(Use the ppt to show a picture of trash and a picture of compost . Ask the students what difference they can see. The students should state that one has good soil and the other has trash. Show them a seed or a picture of people sowing in a field and ask which soil the seed should be placed in. The children should point at the pot with the soil. Ask them why this is better? Good soil will help the seed grow. Ask what happens if one had to put the seed in the other one? Would the seed grow happily and healthily? No.)
Reflection:
We are like the seed. If we do good things like loving, being kind and respecting each other, we will create a happy school and grow happily like the seed in good soil. So, let’s learn how to be friends this coming year and grow in a happy school.
Inspirational Quote:
Share an inspirational quote from Audrey Hepburn, a famous actress who said: “To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” Encourage students to believe in the seeds of hope they plant today, knowing they will bring a brighter tomorrow.
Song: Together by Songs for School. It is a song to celebrate unity, community, and belonging.
Prayer
Dear God, help us prepare our minds and hearts like a farmer prepares the soil. Give us strength, wisdom and hope to nurture kindness, patience, and curiosity. Show us how to support each other and create a community of love and learning. Amen.
Objective: Opening our minds and hearts at the beginning of the new scholastic year
The educator greets students and then leads them to quiet down, starting with the sign of the cross and a simple thanksgiving prayer / a short moment of silence to think about the beauty of a new morning and of a new year.
Sharing (4 mins)
- The educator introduces the theme of Sowing Hope for the special morning reflections.
- The educator suggests that to sow any seeds is to have hope that they will grow.
- The educator asks about the kind of fruit we’d want to achieve this year and allows time for suggestions.
Reflection (4 mins):
- The educator explains with the optional aid of the following video clip in the background (1:30 mins maximum from the start) that we’d need to start by preparing the ground.
- The educator mentions how in a famous parable (Mk 4:1-8), we hear that only the “good soil”, the one ready to receive the seed, can produce much fruit – the other seed that the Sower sowed fell either in the pathway (where they ended up eaten by birds), on the rock places (where there was shallow soil – growing and dying quickly due to the scorching sun and for lack of roots), and in the thorns (where they were choked).
- The educator helps students ask reflectively about the meaning for us to ‘prepare the ground’ and suggests that we’d need to open up and be grateful for the promise of good things.
Prayer (1 min): Dear God, thank you for this new year and the new opportunities to learn and grow. Help me trust you with this process, and I always hope in your promise that I will produce much fruit. Amen
Objective: Opening our minds and hearts at the beginning of the new scholastic year
The educator greets students and then leads them to quiet down, starting with the sign of the cross and a simple thanksgiving prayer / a short moment of silence to think about the beauty of a new morning and of a new year.
Sharing (4 mins):
- The educator introduces the theme of Sowing Hope for the special morning reflections.
- The educator suggests that to sow any seeds is to have hope that they will grow.
- The educator asks about the kind of fruit we’d want to achieve this year and allows time for suggestions.
Reflection (4 mins):
- The educator explains with the optional aid of the following video clip in the background (1:30 mins maximum from the start) that we’d need to start by preparing the ground.
- The educator mentions how in a famous parable (Mk 4:1-8), we hear that only the “good soil”, the one ready to receive the seed, can produce much fruit – the other seed that the Sower sowed fell either in the pathway (where they ended up eaten by birds), on the rock places (where there was shallow soil – growing and dying quickly due to the scorching sun and for lack of roots), and in the thorns (where they were choked).
- The educator helps students ask reflectively about the meaning for us to ‘prepare the ground’ and suggests that we’d need to open up and be grateful for the promise of good things.
Prayer (1 min): Dear God, thank you for this new year and the new opportunities to learn and grow. Help me trust you with this process, and I always hope in your promise that I will produce much fruit. Amen