" Very energetic and captivating. There is no doubt that the children have learnt a huge amount from this session. Thank you very much "
"The Christmas Unwrapped morning is an excellent way to teach & involve the children. It will be something which will have made a great impression on them. Thank you."
For the past 22 years at Slough Baptist Church we have put on a presentation at Christmas (Christmas Unwrapped) and Easter (Easter Cracked) for year 6 pupils from local schools. The aim is to give a positive and warm impression of being in a church and to communicate the message of these two key festivals. In that time we have seen over 12,000 pupils come to these events since our first one in March 1995.
The idea is that they come to the church and spend 90 minutes finding out the real meaning of Christmas and Easter in a fun, enjoyable and informative way. We have been blown away by how well it has gone and the positive feedback from staff and children. As a secondary schools worker I'm often having chats with teenagers who can remember their visit to the church, and the positive impression it made on them. See below for some recent feedback from March and November.
We set aside one week for each event, but have seen interest grow dramatically. At Christmas there were 15,000 pupils from around 50 locations and over 200 schools hearing the message of Christmas. Recent presentations include: Altrincham, Bath, Bo'ness, Brentwood, Bristol, Broadstairs, Canterbury, Cippenham, Colliers Wood, Coventry, Dollar, Dunblane, Edinburgh, Eton, Fleet, Glasgow, Gravesend, Guildford, Hamilton & Blantyre, Harrow, Heathrow, High Wycombe, Hockley, Holmer Green, Ingleton, Keighley, Kingsdown, Lanarkshire, Langley, Liverpool, Maidenhead, Milton Keynes, Newbury, Reading, Roath, Silsden, Spalding, Stockport, Stratford, Street, Sutton-in-Craven, Swindon, Thanet, Wales, Welwyn Garden City, Westbourne Park, West Drayton and Woodley.
"Every aspect of the presentation was well thought out and executed beautifully. The children's attention was focused from start to finish. I would love to see every school to have the opportunity to participate in such a presentation"….
Elizabeth Pearce (Retired RE Teacher)* If you would like to come and visit one then 'Easter Cracked' is scheduled for March 13th - 17th 2017 and 'Christmas Unwrapped' is scheduled for the end of November. Please e-mail or call Wayne Dixon (01753 201992) wayne@ccischools.org.uk to suggest a time. If you live further away then again get in touch and we can connect you with a venue closer to where you live.
Our latest method of spreading these presentations is to allow people to download all the files that we use. There is a small cost of £5 (payable via paypal), but that will give you access to all the material to download in open format, so you can make your own changes. You can download the material as many times as you like, and can get newer versions as they are made available. See our about page to view the files available, or the FAQ page for many of the frequency asked questions.
Some recent staff feedback:
"I really looked forward to coming back this year. It is good for us all to be reminded of the true meaning of Christmas which is so easily forgotten. Thank you"
"Amazing presentation! It has offered a lot to think about! Thank you"
Some recent pupil feedback:
"It was fantastic"
"I learnt a huge amount about the very first Christmas"
"I'd like to come again and do it a lot more time"
"I liked the quiz because the Nutty Professor was very funny and in the quiz he explained his answers well"
"I liked how the booklet had activities to do"
"I liked the rap the most because it was fun and it included everyone"
"I liked Andy dressing up as a Scientist"
"The Rap we done because everyone was having fun and had a smile on their face"
"I enjoyed making the mince pies"
"I think everyone learnt something"
"The trip was a bit short and next time can we make the dough of the mince pies please. Thank you"
"We really enjoyed it with you and want to do it again"
"You learn lots about Christmas and we loved it"
"I would love to go there again"
"I learnt that Easter is a time when Jesus died on the cross and rose back to life"
"It was wonderful and it taught me a lot more about Easter. I liked the idea of the Nutty Professor"
"A really fun afternoon which really taught me something"
"It was very fun yet educational" "That Jesus died especially for us" (Singing the rap song with Sarah (the AMAZING SINGER!)
"It was amazing and I want to go again"
"It was really fun and enjoyable just like the last time"