Welcome to the latest FACCTS-Cast: Spring 2010

 

The following report runs from the start of January to the end of March 2010 and has been compiled by Mischa Constant and Sharon Gardner.

January 2010

Junior schools

Student Development: Our regular weekly Christian lunchtime clubs ran at Heatherside, Velmead and Elvetham Primary Schools. These clubs continue with fairly steady numbers and good relationships with students and staff.

 

Secondary schools

Ongoing staff support: Our popular weekly coffee mornings continue to serve both secondary schools.

Student Relational Development: Various assemblies at Court Moor as well as engagement with the Farnborough 6th Form Christian Union. Youth club:180 does well to engage at Calthorpe Park with the various year-group students that attend. Our Year 7 & 8 weekly youth club, a multi-agency project, continues to be a profitable extended schools club for Calthorpe Park. Our new youth club initiative at Court Moor, consisting of primarily Year 7 & 8 students, is developing into an extended schools project that has added value to the aims of Court Moor and FACCTS. Mischa participates in the usual January CalthorpeYyear 10 Calshot residential trip. This is a fantastic trip where students really develop in team-building and interpersonal skills. This is another great project for the FACCTS team to engage with. The Bulembu trip, another multi-agency project, continues to develop well into what we hope will be the first of many similar trips to Swaziland, South Africa.

Other: Mischa successfully completes his first term of Year 2 with the Centre for Youth Ministry (CYM). Ongoing weekly work on various youth projects with Hampshire Youth Services (HYS) continues to develop the wider youth practice of FACCTS.

February 2010

Junior schools

Student Relational Development: Our weekly Christian lunchtime clubs continue to run at Heatherside, Velmead and Elvetham Junior Schools.

 

Secondary schools

Events: Our weekly coffee mornings continue to successfully-brew at both schools.

Student Relational Development: All our regular youth clubs are running well and considered as quality extended schools projects at the schools.

Mischa and a group of the Court Moor Bulembu trip students participated in a successful car-wash fundraiser. This was supported by Court Moor staff and held on a very cold, but sunny, winter’s day! The students’ enthusiasm was fantastic! This is the second major fundraiser for the trip with more to come in the next few months.

Other: Mischa has continued to work with HYS on a weekly basis, invaluable in our development in youth practice as a schools work agency. HYS manager June Bing continues to work with Mischa to plan and co-ordinate the Africa trip that we plan to run with 25 Court Moor Year 10 students in the summer of 2010. Mischa and Bill Starring, an English teacher from Calthorpe Park, co-led the worship at the annual St. Peter’s Farnborough Youth Work conference, held at St. Peter’s Anglican Church – Farnborough.

March 2010

Junior schools

Events: Yes you’ve guessed it... it's The Easter Presentation month!

With a core-team from FMC and fantastically diverse teams from:

• Fleet Methodist Church (FMC) – hosted by Rev Stephen Robinson

• Church on the Heath - hosted by Rev David Price

• Christ Church - hosted by Rev Mark Nicholls

This wider FACCTS team successfully presented the Easter Story to well over 400 students from (in no particular order): All Saints, Church Crookham, Velmead, Heatherside and Elvetham Heath Junior Schools. It is always such a privilege to take the Easter message in fresh, creative and diverse ways to various students, staff and volunteers from all our local Junior Schools. By the grace of God, the feedback has been extremely positive all-round and makes the hard work of putting on these annual presentations worthwhile. It is such a great ‘witness’ to those who attend that most of the large teams from each church do this voluntarily.

Incidentally this has been the first Easter that we have done the presentation ‘on the road’ as it was to Church on the Heath – partnered with Elvetham Primary School and Christ Church, Crookham – partnered with Church Crookham Junior School. There is actually talk of taking the Easter presentation even further afield in 2011 – so watch this space!

Well done to all involved and thank you to the churches who hosted the events.

Lessons: Sharon did a series of RE lessons at Velmead relating to the Easter story.

Student Relational Development: Our usual weekly clubs continue to run well this month. There are plans afoot to expand Heatherside lunch time club from one club to two clubs each week, from September, subject to permission from the head teacher and being able to engage enough volunteers.

Watch this space for further developments in the summer!

URGENT: We continue to pray for the right team to volunteer to re-start Christian lunch-time clubs at both All Saints and Church Crookham Junior schools. This is an ‘open-door’ opportunity that, God willing, we will not let pass us by. PLEASE continue to pray for the right people to volunteer to begin these fantastic clubs again.

Thank you to our fantastic wider FACCTS team who continue to serve so faithfully weekly!

 

Secondary schools

Events: FACCTS Directors meeting successfully hosted by Church on the Heath.

Student Relational Development: Our usual weekly youth clubs continue to run well this month with some great conversations on ‘Life, the universe and everything!’ Andrew Darmanin, youth minister from St. Johns Hartley Witney continues to help Mischa in the development of the youth club 180 at Calthorpe Park. His ongoing, voluntary youth work skills are much appreciated!

Mischa participated, on behalf of FACCTS and Living Stones, in a Calthorpe Park Fair-trade, work-shop-style conference held at Calthorpe School. This proved to be a unique experience for all students and staff that participated with a guest agency from a Fair-Trade community in rural India. Look out for our picture in your local news-paper!

Sharon and Matt Luscombe (Fleet Baptist Church) helped to run an interactive day at Court Moor Secondary School, organised by the Court Moor geography department. Both Sharon and Matt received positive feedback regarding their contributions to the day from various staff members at the school. Well done Matt and Sharon!

Mischa and Matt presented the Easter Story in well over 10 interactive Calthorpe Park RE lessons in the last week of their spring term. This was done with various year groups, ranging from Year 7 to Year 10. Again, by God’s grace, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive from both students and staff. All in all over 200 students got to hear the Easter Story in ways that were relevant to them and faithful to the aims and vision of FACCTS.

A BIG thank you to Matt Luscombe who has helped FACCTS with many projects this term!

Other: Mischa continues to develop on a positive tangent with his degree, albeit with far too much work needed – this is a full-time, not a part-time degree! The second term of second year successfully completed. What makes you think I’m counting down the days? In all seriousness the CYM course is enhancing the overall youth praxis and professionalism of FACCTS which is invaluable in this day and age.

Our local ecumenical Christian youth worker meeting took place, discussing ‘next steps forward’ for town-wide Christian Youth development in 2010 and beyond. This continues to facilitate the bringing together of the wider ‘team’ together. Thank you to Helen Wolstencroft from Church on the Heath who ‘rounded-up’ the troops! Watch this space for further developments.

Thank you to all our faithful volunteers, directors, prayer partners and generally the wider team. We couldn’t do this without YOU!

 

May you have a blessed and sunny Easter celebration!

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