Advent is one of my favourite seasons of the Church year and every year I discover new layers of meaning in the prophecies of the Old Testament and their fulfillment in the New Testament. There are also so many beautiful ways that the liturgy and devotions unwrap the layers of the greatest gift ever given.
This year is the first that all of the BGE classes have all been engaging with our brand new courses.
S1 started by studying life in Palestine at the time of Jesus’ birth and its place in salvation history or ‘God’s Timeline’. By applying their literacy and Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS), pupils engaged with a variety of Biblical and video resources to gradually build up a picture of the political, cultural and religious climate for the people of God at that time. S1 had a good idea of what God’s people were expecting from the Messiah and began to think about how Jesus fulfilled this.
S1 then went on to explore ways in which we practice our faith in Advent, dividing the learning into ‘Liturgy’ and ‘Devotions.’
S2 built on what they learned last year by studying the Old Testament prophets in the last part of November. They worked in groups to track God’s Timeline, analysing the messages of the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah and Amos. They saw that God is always faithful despite his people’s infidelity ad recognised the promise of the Messiah, the rescuer.
S2 continued to work in their groups through December to explore the clues of what the Messiah- The Anointed One- would be like. They studied the figures of the Old Testament who were anointed- Priests, Prophets and Kings and began to explore how Jesus would be the ultimate priest, prophet and king.
S2 concluded their study by analysing the O Antiphons and selecting ones that complemented their learning. Sadly, we could not sing them this year but maybe next year’s S2 will get a chance!
S3 expanded their prior learning by exploring the concept of Covenant in more depth. Applying their HOTS, pupils engaged with Biblical texts to identify the Covenant characteristics that they had learned. Again, by tracking salvation history and the development of the covenant through Noah, Abraham and Moses, young people then drew conclusions about the New and Eternal Covenant that Jesus was going to institute.
Unusually, S4 were in school for lots more of Advent this year due to the Absence of prelims. They followed the first episode of Word on Fire’s Catholicism series, deepening their understanding of the role of the Messiah and the paradoxical way in which God chose to rescue his people.
Advent Adoration 
In harmony with the curriculum, our chaplaincy programme offered opportunities for prayer and meditation on our need for the coming of Jesus in our own lives and in the world. This was most powerfully evident in our Advent Adoration on Monday lunchtimes- the Advent of Jesus present in the Blessed Sacrament at the heart of our school.
Prayers and Devotions
In place of Mass, which is not possible at this time, pupils and staff joined in morning prayers, novenas and other devotions. An adapted version of our Bearing Gifts retreat was undertaken for each class, reflecting on the Annunciation, the poem ‘In the bleak midwinter’ by Christina Rosetti and ending with the Angelus.
What can I give him poor as I am? If I were a shepherd I would bring a lamb. If I were a wise man, I would do my part, yet, what I have I give him,
Give my heart.
Family Learning
Advent is a season that is very rich in liturgy ad devotions and so our families were provided with a one-stop-shop for living Advent in the home. This blog post featured prayers, crafts, recipes and even playlists of traditional and modern Advent music!
Advent Service
On the last day of term we joined for an Advent Service on Teams in which we reflected on the promise of the Messiah, his Advent to us in the present and our readiness for his coming in glory at the end of the world.
They received a prayer card bearing the school prayer which they can keep as a reminder that once you become part of the Turnbull family, you are always a part of the community. S3 have been studying the sacraments of healing and we are grateful to Canon Hill for making the sacrament of penance available to them.
As we continue to follow the liturgical and devotional year, pupils will have the opportunity to take time in RE to revisit the great gift of the Holy Rosary and participate in October devotions. It would be wonderful if this were a point of unity between school and home and as part of our Family Learning initiative, I invite you to pray the rosary together at home- a devotion which carries plenary indulgence!
