Reflective Advent
Nativity plays – with their dancing snowmen and hilarious mishaps – remain a much-loved part of Advent in many schools. But some teachers are now finding new ways to encourage children to think about a deeper meaning of the season.

Pupils at St George’s Catholic secondary in Maida Vale, London, are raising funds to buy shopping vouchers that will be distributed to parents in need by the Catholic Children’s Society in Westminster. At Downside school, in Somerset, pupils are collecting tins of food for the Sisters of the Church – an Anglican order which supports the poorest people in Bristol’s city centre. Up at St Vincent’s primary, in Newcastle, Christmas raffle money is being used to buy packs for homeless people, provided by the St Vincent de Paul society. And at St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, in Wigan, pupils have created a calendar featuring Catholic-themed pictures of themselves, a monthly spiritual reflection and reminders of feasts and fast days, which will be sold to raise money for Cafod.