Croydon Faith Education Resources September 2013 Autumn Edition Welcome to the Autumn 2013 Edition of the CFER newsletter. We are now settled at our new location on the same site as Oasis Academy Shirley Park and the Ashburton Library. CFER has its own entrance with space for parking behind the Library look out for our sign. Since our last newsletter there has been a change in personnel at CFER, Fauzia Ali returned to a teaching position in a faith school in September 2012 and the post of Resources Officer is now held by Sheila Fenner. Talking of changes, there have been a few changes in faith leaders in 2013; in February Justin Welby was installed as Archbishop of Canterbury, in March a new Pope, Francis, was elected, and in September Ephraim Mirvis was installed as the new Chief Rabbi of the UK and Commonwealth. New RE Syllabus for Croydon On 10 th June CFER hosted the launch for the new Croydon Agreed Syllabus for RE 2013. The event was well attended by over 40 teachers representing primary and secondary schools across the borough, members of Croydon SACRE and the CFER Management Committee. We were delighted to welcome the Mayor of Croydon, Councillor Yvette Hopley, to support the launch. Mayor Hopley spoke of the importance of faith awareness and education in promoting understanding and respect in society. Dr Sharma, Mayor Yvette Hopley and Richard Chatterjee Dr Sharma, Chair of the CFER Management Committee welcomed all visitors to the Centre and encouraged them to subscribe to ensure the benefit of the artefacts and resources remain available to schools.
Cheryl Hudson, of Parish Church Junior, shared her approach to teaching RE Christmas Unwrapped for which she won a Hockerill Foundation prize for innovation in RE teaching. The programme is included on the syllabus CD. By now all schools should have received the syllabus on CD and have started to use it. Cheryl Hudson, Mayor Hopley and Penny Smith Orr Councillor, Richard Chatterjee, Chair of Croydon SACRE, concluded the formalities with an interview with Penny Smith Orr, RE Officer for Croydon, on the preparation, production and delivery of the new syllabus. Penny s commitment and the hard work in bringing the syllabus to launch were acknowledged along with the input of local teachers and faith leaders. Spirited Arts Last term CFER took on the care of the Spirited Arts pictures from Westhill Endowment Trust. The pictures are the winning entries from the Spirited Arts Competition from over the last few years. There are 14 framed pictures depicting children s views of the Spirit in an artistic way. The pictures are available for free short-term loan to schools and faith groups. The collection will be on display in Croydon during Inter Faith week 17 23 November, or you can view them online on the Westhill website http://www.westhillendowment.org/spirited.php If you wish to borrow the pictures for an exhibition or to inspire your own Spirited Arts activity, please contact the CFER Resources Officer. For more details about the display during Inter Faith week keep a look out at the Events section of the Faiths Together in Croydon website http://www.faithstogetherincroydon.org.uk/
From Penny Smith-Orr - RE Officer for Croydon SACRE As you have seen elsewhere the New Agreed Syllabus for Croydon was finally launched in June. You will either have got your copy at the launch or received it in July by post. If not please get in touch with me. If you have signed up for membership of CFER you will soon be able to access extra resources for teaching the syllabus via Fronter which are only available for members. There are already some resources and information on collective worship on the Croydon SACRE page of Fronter. Although the unit content of the religions is quite similar to the previous syllabus there are some changes and to help you with these there is a series of courses, bookable on Croydon cpd online, where I will be talking about strategies and ideas for teaching these units. At the RE Coordinators meeting on 24 th October (CFER 4.30-6.00pm) I will be looking at the content of the Challenge units, which have all changed, so you might put that date in your diary. There is also a course for the New RE Coordinator from 1.30-4.30pm at CFER on 8 th October so if you are new or have a newish RE Coordinator in your school please book for that course. If you are thinking about applying for the RE Quality mark for your school, or even just want to ensure the best practice RE, I am running a workshop at CFER on 30 th September from 4-6pm to help you. An event of interest to the RE coordinator is a course on Faith Based Bullying on 4 th November in Leon House. Hope to see you at some of these. Penny Other forthcoming events Croydon Celebrates Black History. There are events and activities throughout October including a display at CFER. For more details of what is happening across Croydon visit www.croydon.gov.uk/ccbh Holocaust Memorial Day is 27 th January 2014. Schools are invited to take part in the presentations at Croydon Clock Tower. If your school would like to be involved please contact Penny Smith-Orr Penny.Smith-Orr@croydon.gov.uk. Resources on the Holocaust are available to borrow from CFER.
From the Resources Officer I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those of you who have welcomed and supported me as I have settled in over the last 12 months. CFER is now a Traded Service with members able to borrow books, artefacts, pictures and DVDs to promote understanding and knowledge of the beliefs and practices of all religions. For membership and all general enquiries please contact me at resources@cferinfo.org.uk or call 020 8656 6535 Sheila Fenner CFER Resources Officer The Centre is open Monday to Thursday 9.30am to 5.30pm and on the 1 st Saturday of the month 9.30am to 12.30pm. Visit our website at www.cferinfo.org.uk If a school would welcome a visit from the CFER Resources Officer to view a selection of resources please contact me. For advice on RE teaching, faith issues or preparing for the RE Quality Mark please contact Penny, Penny.Smith-Orr@croydon.gov.uk Thanks to Good Shepherd Primary, Beulah Junior and Beaumont Primary for the pictures and writing we have on display at CFER. We are always very pleased to receive items for display here on your RE activities. Thank you all for your continuous support and encouragement, which enables CFER to enhance the education of RE and promote the importance of Inter-Faith relationships. Sheila Fenner Other Useful Information The RE Today website is extremely useful for resources, events and information about what s happening in the RE world - www.retoday.org.uk RE:ONLINE has recently been relaunched and is a brilliant resource for RE teachers www.reonline.org.uk The Oxford Foundation Publications is offering a number of publications which are free to download and will be of use to RE teachers - www.theoxfordfoundation.com Culham St Gabriel's have expanded the 3forRE scheme enabling teachers & teaching assistants to apply for funding to help them gain an MA qualification with an RE focus. More details of the scheme can be found at - www.cstg.org.uk
Sept/Oct Autumn Festivals 2013 Harvest Festival - a celebration of thanksgiving for our food and all the good things God gives us. 5 Oct Navaratri - (nine nights) symbolises the triumph of good over evil (finishing with the festival of Dassehra). 13-17 Oct Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. The fifth pillar of Islam is for every to make pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their life 14 Oct Yaum-Arafah - the day on which the Islamic religion was perfected and Allah s favour was completed. 15 Oct Eid-Ul-Adha - the 'Festival of Sacrifice', celebrates the occasion when Allah appeared to Ibrahim in a dream and asked him to sacrifice his son Isma'il as an act of obedience to God. Hindu 16 23 Oct Interfaith week of Prayer for World Peace Other 19 Oct Pavarana a time of celebration marking the end of a time of reflection or retreat. Buddhist 1 Nov All Saints Day - an opportunity for believers to remember all saints and martyrs, known and unknown, throughout history. 2 Nov All Souls Day - the day to commemorate the faithful departed. They remember and pray for the souls of people 3 7 Nov Divali - festival of lights celebrates the victory of good over evil, light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance. 5 Nov Al Hijra. - the Islamic New Year, the first day of the month of Muharram. It marks the Hijra (or Hegira) in 622 CE when the Prophet Muhammad moved from Mecca to Medina, and set up the first Islamic state. 10 Nov Remembrance Sunday - the day to remember all those who have given their lives for the peace and freedom we enjoy today. On this day people across the nation pause to reflect on the sacrifices made by our brave Service men and women. 17 Nov Birthday of Guru Nanak the lunar celebration of the birth of the founder of the Sikh religion in 1469. 28 Nov Hanukah - Hanukkah or Chanukah is the Jewish Festival of Lights. It marks the restoration and 'rededication' of the temple by the Maccabees in 164 BCE. In Hebrew, Hanukkah means 'dedication.' 1 Dec Advent Sunday marks the start of the time of preparation for the coming of Christ. 8 Dec Bodhi Day - Buddhists celebrate the attainment of enlightenment by the Buddha, Shakyamuni or Siddhartha Gautama under the Bodhi tree. 20 Dec Human Rights Day - recognizes the work of human rights defenders worldwide who act to end discrimination. 25 Dec Christmas Day - for s, this is one of the most holy days of the year when the birth of Christ is celebrated. Hindu/Sikh/ Jain Other Sikh Jewish Buddhist Other