We are very fortunate to have
beautiful stained glass windows in our church.
Two of them are by the famous artist Evie Hone.
Here is the one called: ‘The Good Shepherd’
Today, Paul from the parish came to talk to us
about ‘The Good Shepherd’ and ‘The Lost Sheep’.
This was part of our preparation for our First Confession
which is taking place on the first Saturday in March.
We told Paul what we knew about the story.
Cian said that the Good Shepherd is
God our Father in Heaven
and the sheep are
all the people in the whole world.
How God takes care of each one of us
was something that we found
amazing and impressive.
Paul made a sacred space.
In it he placed some tiny sheep
and a shepherd,
a candle
and the singing bowl.
Paul lit the candle.
He struck the singing bowl three times.
We closed our eyes and listened
to Paul’s voice and the music he played.
Nicole said that she hadn’t felt so relaxed since
Paul came in the last time.
Senan said he hadn’t felt so quiet since the night before
when he was going to sleep.
We think Mark actually fell asleep.
He said he hadn’t felt as relaxed since
he was in a jacuzzi on holidays.
Niamh said she hadn’t felt as peaceful,
since going on a walk
one evening in Spain
when she heard the crickets chirping.
Paul has asked for some feedback on the meditation.
Well the only bad thing was that the quietness
was interrupted by intercom bell.
When asked how things could have been improved,
there was silence and then Cian said:
‘By Paul coming in more often,’
with which we all agreed.
Thank you again Paul!
Hi,
Mr Webb from New Zealand thought I might like to look at your blog. I teach foundation class in Australia and we have been doing lots of blogging.
I just had a quick look and am most impressed that you are learning about the Good Shepherd – so are we! It sounds like you had a lovely experience with Paul and the meditation. I wonder if he’d like to come to our school in Australia?!
What has been your favourite part of meditation?
From Miss P
Australia
Hi there Miss P,
Thank you for your comment.
We think ‘foundation class’ in Australia
must be the very first years in school.
We call the first two years in school
Junior and Senior Infants here.
We enjoyed our time there very much.
In fact we always have a good time!
This year we are preparing for our First Confession.
We are learning the story of ‘The Good Shepherd’
and ‘The Lost Sheep’ to help us understand better.
You are right, we enjoyed Paul’s visit a lot.
We are sure he’d love to visit you too,
but you are so far away.
Our favourite part of the meditation is ‘the singing bowl’
that Paul uses. It makes us feel quiet and still.
In our busy lives we are not quiet or still for very long ever
so it feels great. We feel very calm afterwards.
If you like we could visit your classroom blog
and make some comments.
With every good wish
and thanks again.
Hi again,
Thanks for replying! Yes, foundation is the first year of school in Australia. It used to be called Prep but this year it’s changed. We’re still getting used to the new name!
I had a “singing bowl” in my classroom at a previous school. After reading your post I think I should get one for my new class.
We would love you to visit our blog. My students have only been at school for 2 weeks but they are loving the blog already. Our blog is:
http://www.wildaboutlearning.global2.vic.edu.au
From Miss P
Australia
Hello Miss P and Prep Class,
We visted your blog.
Well done on all your wonderful work.
We love the story of The Good Shepherd too.
We learned that God is The Good Shepherd.
God loves us all so much, that if one of us
gets lost and doesn’t show love to others.
God will bring us back. That is a good feeling.
We haven’t really felt like The Good Shepherd much. Though sometimes our little brothers and sisters get lost in the supermarket and we find them.
But we have felt like The Lost Sheep. We have got lost in the supermarket, the town, the park, the beach and the zoo. Our big brothers and sisters or our grown ups found us.
The Good Shepherd and the Lost Sheep is one of our favourite stories from the Bible.
We also like Moses in The Basket
and Noah’s Ark from The Old Testament.
What are your favourite stories from the Bible?
With every good wish,
All the Boys and Girls in 2nd Class Room 6
(and Teacher)