As part of the Year 8 enrichment offer, on Thursday 16th November, we were delighted to welcome Neetal Parekh into school to lead a year 8 assembly. Neetal is an Education Liason officer from Lancashire County Council. She spoke to the students about the festival of Diwali which recently took place.

The students really enjoyed listening to her speak as shown in the below quotes from the year 8 students. 

“I liked hearing Neetal talk about the festival of Diwali. She was really enthusiastic and I liked listening to her.”

“One thing that stood out to me was how Hindu Dharma is the preferred term over Hinduism. This is because dharma refers to a way of life. “

“It was fascinating to hear the Hindu speaker talk about her faith. She talked about good beating evil in the story of Rama and Sita and how this is the reason why Hindu’s use lights during Diwali. The lights symbolise goodness beating the darkness (evil).”

The Ramayana – The story of Rama and Sita is the reason behind the festival of Diwali. It is first studied in year 7 and then revisited with students in year 8 and 11 (core RE).

What is the story about?

“Dashratha, King of Ayodhya, has four sons by three different wives: Rama (who was the eldest), Lakshman and Satrugna (who were twins) and Bharat (the youngest). Rama has married Sita and Dashratha wishes to pass the throne to his eldest son. But the mother of Dashratha’s youngest son, Barat, is jealous and wants her child to be king. She forces Dashratha to exile Rama, Sita and Lakshman to the forest for 14 years. In the forest the evil demon Ravana seizes Sita and takes her to his island home of Lanka. Rama follows a trail of Sita’s jewellery and then meets Hanuman, the monkey-king. Hanuman uses his magic power of flight to discover where Sita is and then, with Rama, they raise an army of animals and march on Lanka. Rama kills Ravana with a magic arrow and then, their exile over, he returns to Ayodhya with Sita and Lakshman. The people light their way home with little lamps left outside their homes.” ( BBC Bitesize)

If you’d like to know more about the story follow the link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/school-radio/assemblies-ks1-ks2-festivals-diwali-rama-and-sita/zc84cmn

Future Guest Speakers Wanted

Dear Parent/Carer,

On the 13th December, year 11 will be taking part in a Religious Studies personal development afternoon 1:20pm-3:20pm. The focus for this year group’s session is the Penwortham Girls’ value of curiosity as we aim to encourage students’ to be curious about the faiths of others.

We would love to have a representative from each of the 6 main world religions to deliver a 20-minute in-person session to our year 11 students about their faith. The session should focus on festivals.

We currently have speakers representing: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism.

If you or someone you know belongs to one of the following religions and would be willing to come in on the 13th December for the 2-hour session, then please contact Miss Buckle by Friday 1st December via the email below for more details about the afternoon.

· Judaism

· Sikhism

Yours faithfully,

Miss A.Buckle

Teacher of RE (a.buckle@penworthamgirls.lancs.sch.uk)

As part of the Judaism module, Year 8 have been studying Anti-Semitism. As an example of Anti-Semitism, we have spent three lessons looking at the suffering of the Jews during the Holocaust. We used the Windermere Children as a case study. As a focus, we explored how Jews became ashamed of their religion as a result of their experiences. The year 8s were given the project of creating a Holocaust Memorial for Jewish people. They had to use their knowledge of the Jewish religion, combined with their knowledge of the Holocaust, to make a suitable memorial which would help them feel proud of their religion.   

Their teachers were blown away with the careful thought and design which were put into their creations. We have some very talented, aspiring architects!  We were so impressed with the memorials that we wanted everybody to have a chance to see the display of incredible work. We have set up a Holocaust memorial museum to showcase the fabulous work. This allowed them to see how religious knowledge could benefit them in a caREer.  

Year 11 student prefect, Hannah B, along with Gracie H and Sana K, chose Maayana C’s memorial as the most impactful. They said: “This is the best piece of work because the multi-media presentation makes it impactful. The complexity reflects dedication and thought put into the work. The religious connection highlights the different perspectives and impact it had on a variety of different people. In addition, the information is concise which simplifies the event, making it easier to understand. It also improves the overall presentation of the piece. The essay was complex and detailed which encapsulates the sheer scale of the Holocaust.”

Miss Hollier

RE Department

In Year 7 RE, students explore the theme of “where do we belong?”. The first topic focused on what it means to belong to a religion. As part of this topic students have learnt about core features that can be found in most religions from God/gods, rules and leaders to common ways of worshipping. After exploring their own sacred items, students focused on how we can promote respect for all religions. The Year 7s were then given the homework task of creating their own symbol that they think will promote respect for all religions. Take a look at some of the brilliant symbols they created…

1st place- Olivia AB 7A

2nd place- Isabelle C 7G                              

3rd place- Mollie S 7G

Congratulations!

Miss Buckle

RE Department

Year 10 – Solutions Not Sides (SNS)

As part of the Year 10 RE enrichment offer and Core Religious Education, the school invited an organisation called ‘Solutions Not Sides’ to deliver a session to students on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Whilst our guest speakers were not able to join us due to the escalation in violence in Israel and Palestine, the girls enjoyed learning about the history of the conflict and gaining empathy for all those involved through the ‘Solutions Not Sides’ resources.

The day ties into the school’s core values of ambition for a better, more united society and social responsibility. Students had the opportunity to develop their compassion for others. This event also builds on previous events we have taken part in as a school, such as Empathy Week and the UNITEE competition.

Who are Solutions Not Sides?

Solutions Not Sides aim to tackle Antisemitism, Islamophobia and the polarisation around the issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the U.K. The non-partisan programme has been formulated with the input of both Israelis and Palestinians, as well as senior members of Jewish and Muslim communities and is designed to prepare students to make a positive, solutions-focused contribution to debates on Israel-Palestine. The sessions form a critical approach to education on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. SNS use critical thinking tools and open respectful discussion with the aim of shifting attitudes away from supporting one side against the other and towards seeking a solution for the human beings involved.

For more information, please view https://solutionsnotsides.co.uk/

Whilst we understand that the topics covered are sensitive, we believe studying the Israel-Palestine conflict is a crucial part of the worldwide education and character development. I would just like to emphasise and reassure you that SNS are a completely neutral organisation. They do not promote either side of the conflict and, instead, will be promoting the idea of peace and harmony for all.

This is what some of the Year 10s had to say after the day:

“It is important to be curious about the news stories because some things we may see on social media or in the news may be biased. It is our social responsibility to ensure we don’t believe everything we see on social media because it might not be the whole story and we should try to understand the full story.” Rosie Y

“We can show compassion and dignity for all those affected by conflict by learning more about it, like we did today, and empathising with those in need.” Sophie S

“We should be ambitious and resilient in the hope for a solution for all because war shouldn’t be going on for so long because everyone deserves a peaceful life.” Nusaibah B & Alisha A-M

Miss Hollier

RE Department

As part of the RE Enrichment offer for Year 11, the GCSE groups had a university lecturer from Edge Hill University speak to them about where RE can take them in the future. The Year 11s spoke about the experience and said…

During the talk, Paul Smalley, the Edge Hill lecturer, shared some key points from the ‘theology and religious studies in higher education’ website. Some of the highlights were…

Studying theology and religion increases your understanding of the world

What is religion, and why are people religious? Where did each religion come from, and how did they grow? How have religious ideas influenced the greatest music, art and literature? What role does religion play in peace, violence and politics around the world? What can religious traditions teach us about today’s ethical challenges?  Theology and Religious Studies provide fascinating insights into some of the most influential forces shaping the past, present and future of humanity.

What A-Levels do I need?

Most universities do not require specific A-Level subjects for a degree in Theology or Religious Studies. You may find that an A-Level in Religious Studies or Philosophy and Ethics will give you a great head start, but this is not essential. Any subject that teaches you to analyse texts, ideas and evidence will be good preparation, like English, History, Geography, Sociology, languages or science. 

Theology and Religious Studies is for everyone – believers, doubters, agnostics and atheists.

Studying religion teaches us to understand some of the most influential ideas in history. Some students want to learn more about their own tradition or culture. Others want to learn where different ideas came from, why people believe them, and how we can live together in a diverse society.  Whoever you are, a good understanding of religion will help you to make sense of the world we live in!  

Career Opportunities

Click the link to watch the videos about different careers you can achieve with an RE degree.

Miss Hollier

RE Department

Year 9 students have been completing a topic exploring where Christians can find guidance on the afterlife and how this influences them today. The afterlife is what motivates Christians to live a good life. Different Christians have slightly different viewpoints on what the afterlife will be like. They use scripture to guide their views, but people can interpret scripture in slightly different ways. As part of the RE Enrichment offer, Year 9 have completed a spirited arts project exploring the afterlife. Their task was to create a piece of artwork to represent what they think the afterlife is like according to the Bible. We had lots of brilliant homework entries for this… 

We even had some brilliant baking entries for this competition!

The two cupcake pictures show a project depicting how Christians believe you only find out whether you got into heaven on hell on judgement day, so it may come as a surprise to many people! In this students’ cakes, if you got a green centre it symbolised heaven and if you got a pink centre, it symbolised hell. 

Spirited Arts competition entry winners will be announced at the end of half term.

Miss Hollier

In Year 7 RE, students explore the theme of “where do we belong?”. The first topic focuses on what it means to belong to a religion. As part of this topic, students have learnt about core features that can be found in most religions from God/gods, rules and leaders to common ways of worshipping. After exploring prayer and meditation, students focused on prayer flags used by Buddhists. Prayer flags are used to promote peace, compassion, strength and wisdom. Buddhist’s don’t believe in God so their prayers are not addressed to God but to the universe. Buddhists believe the prayers will be blown by the wind to spread good will, peace and compassion. The Year 7s were then given the homework task of creating their own prayer flag on which they could either write a prayer or a guided meditation. Take a look here at some of the brilliant prayer flags that they created…

This half term as part of the Judaism module, Year 8 have been studying Anti-Semitism. As an example of Anti-Semitism, we have spent three lessons looking at the suffering of the Jews during the Holocaust. We used the Windermere Children as a case study. As a focus, we explored how Jews became ashamed of their religion as a result of their experiences.

The year 8s were given the project of creating a Holocaust Memorial for Jewish people. They had to use their knowledge of the Jewish religion combined with their knowledge of the Holocaust, to make a suitable memorial which would help them feel proud of their religion. Their teachers were blown away with the careful thought and design which were put into their creations. We have some very talented, aspiring architects! We were so impressed with the memorials that we wanted everybody to have a chance to see the display of incredible work so we have step up a Holocaust memorial museum to showcase them. This allowed the students to see how religious knowledge could benefit them in a caREer.