WASP – Wonford and St Paul’s
Aimed primarily at the 5-12 age group in the Wonford/ BHL area of the Parish, the project has been on the streets since the start of the year, and is making great headway into the Estate, getting to know, and supporting the children, parents and staff (of Wynstream Sch). The Project is now also turning our attention to supporting and developing work with the Church Youth as well, which is another facet to the Project.
Church Groups
The autumn programme is now available from the Clergy; alternatively drop me a line and I can email one over to you (andy@heavitreeteam.org.uk). We have some real highlights ahead, including ‘How to Look Good Naked’ (with Fr Robin) and ‘You are what you eat’ (with Fr Paul) naturally we will be thinking about a spiritual aspect with these topics, and they should be really good and thought provoking evening, as well as a bit of a giggle.
I would like to take the opportunity to thank Alice Eastoe for all her input over the last year, Alice has brought her natural enthusiasm and energy to the group and has led some really good sessions. Unfortunately Alice now has some ongoing work commitments and won’t be as regular a member of the team (you knew this was coming) is anyone reading this article feeling the call to support the youth group? Do get in touch for more details about what this might involve.
St Michael’s Youth Evening
We are planning another youth evening at St Michael’s Church on Saturday 19th October (7-9pm), this has proved to be a great and popular evening, as usual we are aiming at Young people in School year 5 and up. We have a range of art, craft, games, as well as food for the body and the soul! Please do grab the clergy (or myself) for more details and to book your place, you won’t be disappointed.
Coffee / Chatter Club
We are now running the new time of 11-2pm every Friday, and the Old Post Office is open for all. Please feel free to pop in for a drink and a chat, we are also looking to open it up as a community session (we will be inviting the local Police and Councillors so if you have any issues or want some help or support then this is the place for you).
Many thanks to Peter Kelly, Marcel Choules and the St Vincent de Paul Society for running this important community session. I would also like to thank the charity for the generous donation of a disability ramp and some flooring.
Curtains!
As the nights draw in we are again conscious of the need for curtains in the Old Post Office, If anyone has spare time, material and ability we would love to make the place even more welcoming (and warm) please do get in touch if you can help with this (we did get a quote to have some made up but was around £500 and that didn’t include fixtures and fitting) We have a small budget for material, however we do have a lot of window! If you are a dab hand with a sewing machine or have any spare (preferably matching) material I would love to hear from you.
Schools Work
The Children’s Society:
The Clergy and I have met with the Children’s society and had a breakdown of the report, so the next stage is to arrange a meeting with the schools, and any local interested group or institution who might be able to support the community response to the findings (we are thinking about the local Police, Councillors, other Churches and individuals) I am currently liaising between the schools, the children’s society and ourselves to find a suitable available date
Thank you for your continuing support of the Project, and for individuals who have been able to help out practically as well as pray-fully, it really does make a huge difference, and let us remember ‘WASP’ is a church/ Parish wide project where we can all share in the good times as well as the challenges.
The Excite afterschool group:
We are now based upstairs in one of the larger classrooms, and we are encouraged by the growing numbers of children attending. We are still running the session for the Foundation and Key Stage One pupils, and offer the usual mix of games and stories, the age and setting means a quieter and more relaxed feel to the group and the children are very responsive to the time with us.
Wynstream School:
This Term I am working heavily with the year 5 year group, and running a session for the whole class on a Friday morning. In addition to this I am restarting the Forest School Programme on a Tuesday afternoon, the school have asked for the Project to work with the Year 5’s again as there are a lot of pupils who they believe will really benefit this.
ISCA Academy:
The new term has meant a lot of changes for the School (not just the very smart looking new uniforms) and while things settle down, we have decided to hold off running one of the intervention groups until the next term. It is hoped that in the mean time, some work will come out of the Children’s Society meeting and keep our contact and support ongoing.
Woodwater Academy:
I was able to spend some time with their year 4 in-school residential, and this was with some good friends from ‘Wildside Experience’, this was a great opportunity to get to know some of the pupils (and staff) better as well as share some of the work of the Project. I’m waiting to hear back from the school about ‘who, why and how’ they would like ‘WASP’ to work with this term (thankfully it’s a long term, so even if it ends up starting after Half Term I’ll still have 7 weeks with them).
Andy
