Malling

SOUTH MALLING CHURCH: One of the Trinity churches, is combining its welcome to Riders and Striders who are walking and cycling round the Diocese this Saturday, with a range of activities to encourage especially Malling people to come and see their parish church and learn about its history and its future. At 10.30am, there is a major Art project for children focussed on the installation mentioned a few weeks ago based on the parable of the loaves and fish. Do take your children so that they can see what it is and how to be involved. At noon, Instant Teamwork will welcome potential and interested drummers to an All-Age Workshop and at 2pm Chris Burt will tour and talk about the wild life in Malling churchyard and show how it is being managed as a wildlife haven and part of the Sussex Wildlife God's Acre project. Meanwhile, there will be a hog roast from 12.30pm for anyone who is missing lunch and unsatisfied with the cakes and light refreshments around all day. Do come along and have a look at you parish church, which, alas, is mostly kept locked as a requirement of their Insurance Company.

On Sunday, there will be a Family Service at South Malling School, which will feature a finale of the Drumming Workshop as well as the usual, child-focussed but all-age worship. The service will be led by our new curate Revd Jules Middleton, with the Children, Schools and Families Minister, Neil Chisnall giving the talk. It is an enjoyable service, relatively short and begins at 9.30am. All are welcome.

SOUTH MALLING SCHOOL: Began again on Wednesday, determined to build on the strengths that the Ofsted inspection identified at the end of last year: high levels of engagement with learning, high expectations and the exceptionally good behaviour of pupils as well as the ‘one big family’ ethos that the school has. You can download the full letter from the Ofsted or the school website. We wish them every success in their endeavour and we are proud and fortunate to have such a good school for our children. We know that children need to be both happy and successful in their learning, but we also need to remember it is not just down to the school, parents and grandparents also have their own responsibility in helping children to learn, so renewed resolutions all round are definitely in order.

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