Welcome to the latest Faccts-Cast: Spring 2009

Once again in the Faccts team we’ve been hard at work in service to our local community over the past few months. This report begins with the latter half over December and spans to the end of March 2009. The report is compiled by Mischa Constant and Clare Shepherd.

December 2008

Junior schools:
Events: In the second week of December Faccts and the usual talented team of children’s workers from Fleet Methodist Church delivered a fantastic Christmas Presentation to various Year groups from: Velmead, Heatherside and All Saints schools. The feedback from staff and students was positive and encouraging that this annual event is a valuable and worthwhile production.
Student contact development: The weekly junior school clubs at All Saints, Heatherside and Velmead ran well this month too with action packed programmes. These weekly lunchtime Christian clubs see young lives empowered in creative and encouraging ways. Well done to the team of various associates!

Secondary schools:
Events: Various successful assemblies at Court Moor (CM) and Calthorpe Park (CP) working with many different year groups throughout the month of December. Clare and Mischa also had the pleasure of working with local Christian youth workers: Matt (Fleet Baptist) and Helen (Church on the Heath) in these projects. Matt and Helen hope to work with us further in the future.

Mischa and Clare delivered an ‘inter-house’ day of successful lessons at CP that went well. Clare did especially well as this was her first time doing lessons! We also ran a CP prayer breakfast for interested staff members with Church on the Heath which was well attended by various staff CP staff members.

Our weekly staff coffee mornings are now ‘part of the furniture’ at both CP and CM.

Student contact development:
The assemblies and lessons that we ran this month were a useful time of student contact and continue to assist relationships that we have with the students that we serve at these schools. The weekly secondary clubs ‘180’ have been going well at both CP and CM. This is a valuable time of students able to voice their opinions on: ‘Life, The Universe and Everything’ and continues to develop into a sustainable addition to the extended schools options at of both these secondary schools.

Mischa and Clare are also involved in homework/games/sports clubs that are run weekly at both CP and CM. These are continuing to diversify our student contact at both schools in useful ways that open more ‘doors’ for further work.

Other

Mischa completes the first term of his Youth Work Degree. We celebrated God’s favour in our community with a fantastic FACCTS associates Christmas lunch!

 

January 2009

Junior schools
Events: None specifically this month, however Church Crookham Baptist and Church on the Heath are hoping to begin similar clubs in the New Year.
Student contact development: The weekly junior school clubs at All Saints, Heatherside and Velmead ran well this month with well-organised programmes.

Secondary schools
Events: Mischa participated in the Year 10 residential trip to Calshot, Southampton. As with last year our help on this trip is much appreciated and overlaps with our ‘student contact development’. In my opinion, residentials are probably one of the most helpful and engaging ways to develop this area of our work with local schools. Clare and Mischa also ran a few assemblies at CM. We also ran a CP usual monthly prayer breakfast for interested staff members with Church on the Heath which was well attended by various staff CP staff members. Our great weekly staff coffee mornings!

Student contact development:
The weekly secondary clubs ‘180’ continue to go well at both CP and CM. This is a valuable time for students participating and continues to develop into a sustainable addition to the extended schools options at of both these secondary schools. Mischa co-ordinates the CP 180 and Clare the CM 180. We include our homework/sports clubs in the area of student contact development.

Other:
Events: The start of 09 began with a FACCTS presentation by Alan, Mischa and Clare at a Churches Together meeting held at Christ Church, Fleet. This was well attended and a useful time to update the various church representatives on the work of FACCTS.

Clare and Nicola delivered a talk to the Ladies’ group at the Methodist Church in Fleet on the work of FACCTS; this seemed to be very well received.

There has been quite some interest in both Court Moor and Calthorpe about taking up our offer of a mentoring project. This would be in a similar context to what Louise Shorey ran when she served with FACCTS. There seems at the moment to be more of a possibility that this could come about at Calthorpe. Clare is heading up investigation and communication into this potential area with Helen Wolstencroft (Youth worker at CotH) interested in assisting this potential FACCTS initiative.

 

February 2009

Junior schools
Events: We have discovered that CCBC youth team have been running a successful after school club on their premises for youth in and around their area. They have agreed to become FACCTS Associated and therefore this club will add to our student contact development. The CCBC team will become official FACCTS Associates towards the end of March/early April 09.
Student contact development: (Same as the month of January); it is also useful to note that various local ministers run complementary and effective assemblies in all the various schools.

Secondary schools
Events: God willing, the network of local Fleet youth workers and N:VISION UK hope to organise and deliver an evangelistic event in either the summer or autumn of 09. This will be working with and empowering the youth that are in churches already to help co-ordinate the project and reaching out to those that are ‘un-churched’. Mischa is co-ordinating the local Fleet youth worker meetings and prayer meetings that will be taking place between now and delivery date. So far, so good! Matt (FBC youth worker) organised initial meeting with the representative from N:VISION.
Student contact development: (Same as the month of January)

 

Other

We ran the worship at the ‘Youth leaders training day’ held at St. Peter’s Farnborough which resulted in a day of great resources and seminars organised by Martin Cornes (Youth Minister at St. Peter’s Farnborough). We assisted Martin and team with communication by FACCTS to local Fleet youth leaders on this event.

 

March 2009

 

Junior schools
Events: Clare and Nicola are co-ordinating our annual ‘It’s Your Move’ (IYM) initiative in all the Fleet Junior/Primary schools. Almost all the dates are booked in for the summer!

 

We also had a useful FACCTS Associates lunch at CCBC. Being a diverse organization working in different schools and environments, we believe in the importance of developing as a team with our associates and our directors. Termly associates’ lunches are a vital way of bonding as a team, sharing how our work is going, and providing an opportunity for a small amount of training and information sharing. Clare is heading this up with opportunities for additional training days for the team. We hope that this would become a regular means of adding value to our associates as an organization. It could also be a valuable tool for the wider church community and a means of increasing our volunteer associate base.

 

Student contact development: (Same as the month of January) as well as the FANTASTIC team at FMC and FACCTS putting on the Easter Presentation!

 

Secondary schools

Events: (all the usual diary)
Student contact development: Staff coffee mornings (much of our student contact opportunities come as a result of these mornings); the 180 club’s; Mischa and Clare are also continually serving the schools in homework/games/sports clubs that are run weekly at both CP and CM.

 

Other

This month has seen the growth of our town-wide (and beyond) youth leaders' meeting. This is held every 6 weeks on a Friday in the Living Stones lounge. Exciting new members are: Andreas Sistig (St. Philips & St. James) and Andrew Darminan (St. Johns Hartley Witney). There is a good ‘buzz’ about these get-togethers and as FACCTS facilitates these opportunities we are expectant for greater things! Mischa has also completed his second term of University.

 

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