A class of Year 2 children from St John’s School C of E Primary School in Caterham recently entertained the residents of Clareville Lodge, a supported living care service in Clareville Road.
The pupils treated the residents to a rendition of five songs they had learned especially for the occasion: My Lighthouse; Be Bold, Be Strong; Father, King of Heaven; I Might Be Small and Jubilate.
St John’s vision is based on part of 1 John 3.18 in the Bible: ‘‘Dear Children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth’, and its students are actively encouraged to put that vision into practise during their school and home lives. Towards this, each class took part in an activity chosen to help them serve the community in the first half of the spring term.
The Year 2 children who visited Clareville Lodge took with them lavender bags and letters, made and written by children in Reception and Year 1 respectively. Other activities across the school included litter picking, sorting out the school’s lost property and reading to and working with the younger children. Year 6 pupils sewed pairs of identical fabric hearts, which were then given to the Children’s Hospital Pyjamas charity, with the idea being that the recipient keeps one for themselves and gives the other to a loved one.
Class teacher Philippa Espinoza accompanied the students to Clareville Lodge:
“The children spent several weeks rehearsing the songs, as well as some actions to go with them, and the residents were smiling as they performed for them. The manager of the home was really touched, and thanked us for taking the time to visit.
The children took a lot from the experience, and we are planning on returning to the home later in the year.”
