Alpha 2008 will run Mon May 12th - Mon Jul 21st (Away Day Sat Jul 19th). The Alpha course is a great opportunity to explore the Christian faith.  It is an easy way to share your faith with friends & neighbours ; just invite them along & come with them.  If you would like to know more Gill or Keith at Buckingham Church.

A Whaddon CE First School Teacher, Miss Sarah Tetlow,  and her fiancé, Mr. Gareth Ash, will be married on Saturday 22nd March 2008. On behalf of both the Governors of Whaddon and the PCC of St. Mary's Church I would like to offer Sarah and Gareth our congratulations and very best wishes!

Collection at our Christmas Performances of The Bossy King: A very big thank-you to everyone who contributed so generously to the collection for Willen Hospice in memory of Fred Green. A cheque for £120 was forwarded to Willen and we have received a letter of thanks which is on display in the school entrance.

After School Clubs: We have three After School Clubs this term. Our own clubs, which are run on  Thursdays by Miss Caffrey and  Miss Tetlow, feature Technology Club and  Dance Club. Sportstoons are also running a Multiskills Club on Tuesdays. At this club children will develop skills in a range of sports such as basketball, cricket, hockey, touch rugby and much more!

Curriculum Topics: Our new thematic based approach to the curriculum got off to an exciting start last term with topics such as Fire and Journeys. Several subjects across the curriculum are linked together in a topic to make learning more meaningful and more fun. This term our topics are Robots and Time.

Chinese New Year – February 7th We celebrated Chinese New Year with a special assembly and Starfish class made Chinese moon cakes and animal masks which told the story of Chinese New Year – see photograph.   

 Heating Problems: On January 17th and 18th we were without heating due to a gas fault. Parents and friends rallied round with portable electric heaters in true community spirit and we were able to keep the school open, although not able to use the hall. A fault was eventually found in the connections to the external gas tanks - so we hope there will not be a recurrence of the problem!

Visiting Games Coach: As part of the Buckingham School Sports partnership, we have had a visiting games coach for six sessions this term on Wednesday afternoons. Children have had great fun developing throwing and catching skills using balls and beanbags.

Activemark: The school has been awarded Activemark by the DCFS in recognition of our exceptional delivery within the National School Sport Strategy. Children at the school have been taking part in at least two hours of high quality PE and school sport each week.

Children’s Disco and Party: FOWS are organising a disco and party on Saturday 1st March from 3.30 to 5.30.pm in the Village Hall. Tickets cost £3.00 per child (adults go free ! ). Siblings and friends welcome. Children must be accompanied by an adult. For tickets and more details please contact the school.  

With best wishes from everyone at Whaddon CE First School.

“Fred’s Songs of Praise”, Saturday 5^th January 2.30 pm.  Fred left us with a long list of his favourite hymns and choruses … far too many for his funeral!!  So here is an opportunity to join us in singing some of his favourites.  Hope to see you there.  Sally, Matt and Annabel.

“START” is a short six week course for those who want to explore the basics of the Christian faith.  We are running a course in Buckingham Church on Saturday mornings beginning on January 26th 10.30 – 11.30.  Why not come along and bring a friend/neighbour?  Please contact the Rector if you would like to attend or want more information. The DEANERY RESIDENTIAL is January, Friday evening (18th) to Saturday afternoon (19th),when we explore together issues concerning our Churches. The theme is confidence in our faith.  You can come for the whole time, or just the Saturday.  Speakers will be the Archdeacon and Martin Cavender, director of ReSource. Contact the Rector for more details. "Living faith – a vision for evangelism" - A day conference in Oxford on June 7th 2008 to encourage, inspire and equip and offering a range of resources for the future.  Cost £10 including lunch – before March 31st, £15 thereafter.  Please book through Kevin or go to www.oxford.anglican.org for more details.

I would like to say a huge thank you to all the people who helped at the Christmas Fayre - those who did all the setting up, those who donated prizes and goods or baked cakes and sweets, those who ran the stalls and served all the refreshments, and those who helped clear everything away.  You all worked really hard to make our Fayre a success and I am very thankful for all your help and support. Our Treasurer tells me that the Fayre made over £700 - well done, all of you!

For more than 50 years, the North American Air Defence Command, NORAD and its predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) have tracked Santa. The tradition began after a shop's advert for children to call Santa on a special "hotline" was printed with a wrong telephone number. Instead of Santa, the calls went to the CONAD operations "hotline." The Director of Operations, Colonel Harry Shoup, received the first "Santa" call on Christmas Eve 1955. Realizing what had happened, Colonel Shoup had his staff check radar data to see if there was any indication of Santa making his way south from the North Pole. Indeed there were signs of Santa and children who called were given an update on Santa's position. The tradition has carried on ever since, and new technology has improved the tracking facility. Media from all over the world now call NORAD on Christmas Eve for updates on Santa's location. Last year their Website was visited by millions of people who wanted to know Santa's whereabouts - this year, the information on the website is provided in six  languages!  The NORAD radar system watches for signs of Santa lifting off from the North Pole, and then satellites in geo-synchronous orbit use infra-red sensors to detect the  infra-red heat signature from Rudolph's nose. High-tech high-speed digital cameras (SantaCam) then record Santa and his reindeers as they make their way past well-known landmarks, and occasionally CF-18 and F-16 jet fighter pilots are called on to confirm the identity of Christmas Eve's most famous Unidentified Flying Object! If you want to track Santa on Christmas Eve, then get permission from parents and go to www.noradsanta.org in early December to see  if you need to do any downloads to get your computer ready for the big night. If you are coming to St. Mary's Midnight Mass (which is of course at 10 p.m. - there's no understanding adults!)  you will be back home in time to check Santa's progress over the English Channel before dashing off to bed...

Our Festive Season kicks off with the Christmas Fayre on 24th November at 2 pm. in Jubilee Hall. Whaddon First School children are the stars at the Christingle on 9th December at 5.30 p.m., and you are welcome to come along and enjoy the service. The familiar and beautiful story of the first Christmas is revealed once again in the Nine lessons & Carols service, which will be at 6 pm. on 16th December. Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve will start as usual at the slightly early time of 10 p.m.  - an idiosyncrasy which allows the young, or young at heart, to be safely tucked up in bed before Father Christmas flies over in his sleigh (have YOU been good this year?).

Those who are lucky enough to find something nice in their stocking can bring it into church to show friends on Christmas morning, when we celebrate the birthday of Jesus at the short and very popular 10 a.m. Birthday Party round the Christmas Tree for all the family. If you are new to this event, you will find  the chairs turned round towards the Christmas Tree, the Music Group will be there to play a couple of favourite carols, and a Birthday Cake will be ready and waiting for us to sing Happy Birthday- a piece of cake and a party bag will accompany you home and if you are lucky, you might get to blow out the candles! Chief Cooks & Bottle Washers, please note that this is a fun and friendly 30 minutes and you will still be home in plenty of time to roast the Goose or stuff the Turkey!

Whichever services you manage to come along to, you can be sure of a warm welcome. St. Mary's PCC wishes you a joyous and peaceful Christmas.

I am pleased to confirm that 26 shoeboxes from St. Mary's joined 12 from Whaddon School, 13 from East Claydon School and 10 from Whaddon Playgroup making a grand total of 61 boxes for delivery to the Samaritan's Purse Distribution Warehouse on 14th November. Your generosity will make a real difference to the children in Ukraine  who receive these gifts - a big thank you from Nikki, Maureen and Sally.

This term we are delighted to welcome Miss Sarah Tetlow to the school as class teacher for Reception and Year 1. We wish her a very happy and successful time at Whaddon School.

It was lovely to have so many parents and friends at our Harvest Festival Service on Oct. 2nd that we almost filled Whaddon Chapel !  It was a very special occasion and we were very proud of the children who presented their songs, poems and actions so well.  Thank you to all those who contributed to the collection for “Water Aid” which raised £47-70. Our Harvest theme was followed by Healthy Living Week (October 15th-19th:). This was a very exciting week which has inspired us all !! Teachers planned a wide range of activities in Literacy, Maths, Science, and Technology. Mrs Helen Geaves from the Royal Latin School led a session about the effect of exercise on our bodies and brought an amazing selection of equipment for measuring pulse, heart rate etc. The workshop for parents  included tasting exotic fruits and breads and putting together ideas for a healthy lunchbox.

Dolphins Class had a very exciting visit to the Planetarium at the Royal Latin School on Wednesday 10th October. The children were involved in a fantastic presentation with information about the planets and stars through special effects in a dome.  We are very grateful to Chris George at the RLS for organising the Planetarium and for providing the transport. (The Royal Latin School Science Fair is taking place on November 29th at Roundwood School (Gawcott site) - children in Years 2 and 3 will once again be taking part.)

Our Open Day was Tuesday 12th October. This event was well publicised by the Governors’ Marketing Group with the banner, newspaper advert and flyers throughout the local area.  Despite the very wet weather, we had a good turn-out which we hope will have a positive effect on our future numbers!  If you know of anyone who was put off by the weather, do encourage them to contact the school and for a personal tour.

 Year 3 were very excited to receive a letter and cards from French pupils in Madame Leman’s class at the Victor Hugo School. Our children have responded with cards and a photograph of themselves. This year, we have extended our teaching of French to include Year 1 and they have been learning songs, rhymes and French greetings.

This year we have supported the Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift appeal. We sent 12 colourful gift boxes to children in the Ukraine.

 Do come and join us for the traditional  Christingle Service in St Mary’s Church which will take place on Sunday 9th  December at 5.30.pm. Our Christmas production this year is called The Bossy King.  Please come and join us for the performance in the school hall on Tuesday 18th December at 2.00.p.m. Refreshments will be served by FOWS. Seasons Greetings from everyone at Whaddon CE  First School.

Our Gift Day back in October raised an amazing £2189 (including £425 in Gift Aid) - thank you all for supporting our Gift Day so generously. A big thank you also to those who did refreshments and cream teas, played the organ, rang the bells, displayed models, made and sold produce, sang, ran the quiz, laid out and collected in parish records, and cleaned it all up afterwards - we couldn't have done it without you!

In the words of our Treasurer, David Spencer: "Gift day is important to us at St. Mary's Church; it is the only occasion each year when we try to raise funds for the upkeep of our church. All those of you who are house owners will be aware of increasing costs of maintenance and a 12th Century Church is no different except that costs for each item are more extreme! So on behalf of the PCC of St. Mary's Church, a very sincere thank you."

WANTED - generous, kind-hearted volunteers who can make and donate some old-fashioned sweet treats for young people (aged three to one hundred) to buy at the Christmas Fayre on 24^th November…We will not have the usual sweets at the Christmas Fayre this year – instead I hope to fill a table (next to our popular cake stall) with the kind of glorious sweet treats that you and I remember from our childhood; delectable temptations, wrapped in cellophane and tied with pretty ribbons…For example: Popcorn, Chocolate truffles, Peppermint creams, Fudge, Gingerbread men, Coconut ice, Brandy Snaps, Cookies...   If you are willing to whisk up a batch of any of the above (or other delicious sweetmeats like little fruit jellies, chocolate coated candied peel, boiled sweets, etc….. I’m open to suggestions and feeling hungry already! ), please let me know ASAP so I can make sure we will have enough delicious stock on the day.  Many thanks for your help.

We also need willing volunteers to bake scrumptious cakes for our Cake Stall, bottles for the ever-popular Tombola, and  prizes for our fabulous Raffle. If you can help with any of these, or are able to man (or woman) a stall for us, please contact Nikki on 01908 501731 or nikki@hpit.uk.com

On 13th October the church will be open from 10 a.m. till 4 p.m. for a fun-packed day.   Have you ever wanted to have a go at bell-ringing? Now is your chance - pull on our ropes with expert tuition from Hugh Butler and the team from 10.30 a.m. Climb the steps of the 14th century Tower, if you dare, to see the view (old clothes and sensible shoes are recommended !).  Try brass-rubbing on a 16th century tomb, and see Barry's fabulous photographs from Nepal. Enjoy searching the Archives with registers dating back to the 16th century (but handle with care - these hand-written records are very old!). Explore the church and churchyard with the help of our History Quiz. Be entertained by our very own Fred Green and Alex Aitken on the organ from 2 p.m., or enjoy the Haig Family Musical Entertainment  from 2.30 p.m.  See how filling a shoe box can help poor children in other countries to have a very special Christmas with our Operation Christmas Child display. Throughout the morning there will be Tea, Coffee and delicious home-made cake available, and from 2 p.m. you can enjoy a St. Mary's Cream Tea for only £1.50. Join the party in our pews - see you there!

The day dawned and it was dull at first, with a poor weather forecast, but I went out to the Praise In The Playground at Whaddon First School - a lovely gathering of people in nice surroundings. The weather stayed fine and warm, and the chairs were out ready to sit on. There were some heavy clouds around but thank the Lord they kept going away. Lots of lovely hymns were sung, music being kindly supplied by Alex Aitken, Jan Smith and Alistair Haig. Prayers were said by Claire Wood and Sally Green. Afterwards it was time to clear and tidy away the chairs, etc. into the school building. The picnic was due to start at 12.45 and the weather was still fine, praise the Lord, so I came home to get my food and drink together. I even decided to wear my shorts!        

I ventured forth to the school field, with chair in one hand and refreshments in the other. I decided to sit with Kieren and we had a good chat about a lot of things, plus I met for the first time Hayley and Paul from Stock Lane and their children. Gatherings like this are wonderful at bringing together people! After finishing my drinks and food, Hazel Dudley spoke about getting together two teams to play rounders. There were lots of youngsters about so I decided to join in. Also about were other games to play -  very kind of people to loan these for this lovely Sunday afternoon.  Hazel got together a team and Alex formed a team too. I played for Hazel's team. There were 2 matches. Alex's team won by a nice margin both times. I was impressed by Heather Bloomer who got 2 rounders - I could not get one! There was a minor accident in which Anna King was struck in the mouth by a ball - the brave girl carried on playing regardless. In one match Bethany Bloomer ran out 2 people in one go - one of them was me! Well after that someone suggested the girls play the boys - it could be my chance to be on the winning side, I reckoned! Well the girls held a huddle together. They had a plan, I thought, a cunning plan. It was a close match. Once again I was backstop. Trouble was, the ball beat me at times and it went in the hedge! The girls beat the boys 6 and a half to 6!

At the end of the picnic all I can say is a big thank you to all who attended. It was a wonderful Sunday  - Praise in the Playground and the picnic, two wonderful events bringing people together in a happy, friendly manner, and the weather was sunny and fine too. Thank the Lord!    Report by Frederick Hayward

This is being typed as snow is falling heavily outside when only last week we were basking in a few days of beautiful sunshine and thinking that Spring was just around the corner. Hopefully when this article is being read Spring will be well and truly here.

First a big thank you to all who contributed to the raising of over £700 at the Christmas Fayre held in November and for over £260 collected for Helen House Hospice from the Carol Singing around the village. All of the Christmas services were very well attended and the newly re-ordered area at the back of the church was put through its first real test on Christmas morning when we had over 90 people attend Jesus' birthday party.

The first three months of the year always seem to be quieter but this year we have been busily preparing for the Wycliffe students who will be coming to the benefice, as part of their training towards ordination, between the 17th and 25th March. They are hoping to be involved with all aspects of village life and we are sure you will give them a very warm welcome.

There are already a number of events scheduled throughout the year: Summer Fete on 9th June; Florrie's Coffee Morning on 4th August; Harvest Festival on 9th September; Harvest Supper on 10th September; Gift Day on 13th October. We look forward to seeing you at one if not all of these gatherings.

Finally, the Annual Church Meeting will be held on 25th April in the Chapel Schoolroom. Having served the three years promised as church wardens we will be standing down at this meeting. We would be appreciative of your prayers as the PCC and members of the Electoral Roll seek guidance as to who will be called to take on this role. Thank you for all the help and support given to us during our time as church wardens.        Sally Green and Maureen Hobbs

Students from Wycliffe College will be visiting us  March 17^th – 25^th. Please are there any volunteers who feel they can offer accommodation to a student or two from Wycliffe Hall during their visit? Please contact Joe McMorrow on 01280 822357.Thank you. Could the group/organisation you are involved with (in the Church or wider community) invite in a student during that week to speak … or just be there?  If you have an idea or an offer, please contact the Rector or Juliet Gilliland (01296 730867) as soon as possible, as we’re just drawing up the programme.

Christmas Pudding Club - Saturday 16th December 2006, 10am-1pm at St Peter and St Paul Buckingham: "Bubble Gum & Fluff!" A fun opportunity to make friends, with music/craft/graffiti wall/ making mince pies and lots more fun. £1.50 for age 5-10 years. (Children of Pre-school age and under are welcome but must be accompanied by an adult at all times). Parents/carers can also make friends over a coffee or 2!

 

We send our best wishes to John King, Pam, George & Anna, after John’s recent ordination to the priesthood. John's first communion service at St. Mary's on 2nd July was well attended with support from family and friends from Nash and Whaddon. Congratulations, John!

At the Annual Church Meeting held in April we were elected to serve for another year as churchwardens for St. Mary's. We count this as a privilege and pray that with the support of the PCC and the village community we will be able to carry out our duties to the best of our ability. The is not only about services on Sundays, there is much more that happens on a day to day basis, and as in all villages, you are our eyes and ears. for your church in Whaddon. The building may stands on the hill, but the heart of the church is living within the community.

There is a lot happening at your church within the next few months, the re-ordering of the back of the church started in May and work to the bells will begin in June, so if all goes according to plan you will be able to see the results of all the hard work in August. The organ has now been repaired. The toddler church continues to be well supported and the young people will be leading our village worship in July. There will be the usual Praise In The Playground in August followed by the Family Picnic, and in September it is hoped to have another Pet Service.

We would like to thank all who support St. Mary's in any way and look forward to seeing you at some, if not all, of the events above.

Sally and Maureen.

Our very exciting building projects are currently in full swing and should be completed by half term. At the front of the site, the playground has been lowered, enlarged, and will be resurfaced with tarmac very soon. The old building itself has been completely refurbished with new floor, walls, toilet facilities and decor. It looks really smart and so bright and fresh! At the rear of the building we have built a fantastic outside activity area for all the school to use but particularly to meet the needs of the youngest children. It includes an adventure trail, climbing wall, hard play area and covered area with sand and water for use in all weathers. Everyone is invited to the Grand Opening Ceremony which will be performed by our MP John Bercow and Sir Beville Stanier on Friday 7th July at 2.00 p.m.

This year, as always, the May Fayre was a great success with many children and adults dressed in costume from countries around the world. The children put on a superb display of maypole dancing. A big thank you to all those who worked so hard to make the day a big success. The day raised over £3000 for the school. Funds are being used to purchase equipment for the outside area.

Children from years 2 and 3 will be taking part in the Small Schools Sports festival in Stoke Mandeville stadium on June 15th. Activities will include badminton, athletics, new age bowls and tag rugby.We will be celebrating culture - art, dance, food, literature and music from around the world - in a special week beginning June 19th. This will include workshops for the children on African drumming, Spanish dancing, Indian dancing, cooking from around the world and much more.

January saw the launch of the Toddler Church services. A totally new venture for all concerned but one which has been warmly received by Mums, Dads, Toddlers, grandparents and helpers too. No one is too old or young to join in the fun! The hour consists of arts & crafts, songs & story time plus, of course, refreshments. We meet at St Mary’s every Thursday from 1.45pm – 2.45pm (not half term week 16^th Feb). A warm welcome awaits you so come along and join us all. We look forward to seeing you.  

Sally Green (01908 526033)

The lead up to Christmas began in earnest when the school came to St. Mary’s for their Christingle service on the 4^th December.  As usual the church was packed with standing room only for some of those who wanted to be part of the service.  Thank you to the children and their teachers for all the hard work & for the songs and nativity story.

 On Sunday 18^th December the candle-lit service of 9 Lessons & Carols was held.  As in previous years the readers were drawn from various organisations within the village. This service is always well supported and this year was no exception.

 Christmas Eve was again a candle-lit service.  The bells rang out to call people to church and very soon St. Mary’s was full for this very special service.

 On Christmas morning the church celebrated with a birthday party for Jesus.  This short gathering is always an unknown – all the arrangements had been made, invitations had been sent to every house, the birthday cake made, party bags filled and ‘pass the parcel’ ready to play – but who would come?  At ten minutes to ten there were only a few gathered but suddenly families started arriving and by the time the service began at 10.00 a.m. the church was full with over 100 people who had come to join in the Christmas morning celebration!

 Thank you to those who helped in any way to make Christmas special for all came to worship at St. Mary’s.

The Harvest service, led by dynamic duo Maureen and Sally, was  both highly enjoyable and very thought-provoking as usual. The collection raised £174, and the sale of harvest produce on the Monday evening raised £265.50 which will go to Christian Aid  for the Malawi appeal. A big thank you to all who helped make this weekend so successful.

St. Mary's Church's Annual Gift Day was held on Saturday 15th October and this year the event took the form of an Open Day in aid of the "Church Bells Appeal".The structure of Whaddon's church bells (i.e. the ringing gear; wheels, staves, etc.) is in need of substantial repair and refurbishment, work which has to be undertaken within the next 12 months if the danger of the bells falling silent is o be avoided. To this end, we have to raise the sum of £10,000, hence the Gift Day launch of the "Bell Appeal".

Happily, October 15th was a day graced by fine, dry weather, especially in the afternoon when the sun broke through, and a steady stream of visitors throughout the day - both from the village and the surrounding area- clearly enjoyed the various events, activities and entertainments arranged for the occasion. These included guided tours of the bell tower; watching our expert team of bell ringers "ring the changes"; tuition for those who wished to try their hand at bell ringing (not as easy as it looks!); brass rubbing (also under instruction); climbing the spiral steps to the top of the tower to admire the wonderful views of the village and the delightful rural panorama of Aylesbury Vale; browsing through the archive of ancient church records (some dating back to the middle of the 16th century).

Musical highlights of the day were provided by Fred Green and Alex Aitken on the church organ, Fred responding readily with his usual consummate skill and adaptability to visitors' requests for favourite hymns. In the afternoon, the beautiful soprano voice and winning personality of Whaddon's own eminently talented young songstress, Emily Haig, captivated a wholly attentive and highly appreciative audience with an eclectic recital of songs and arias from musical shows and opera.

Thus, St. Mary's Gift Day 2005 proved, in all respects, a thoroughly enjoyable and eminently successful occasion, both socially and financially.

Warmest thanks are due to those who helped and supported the event and to all who contributed so generously to the "Bell Appeal". As a result, the princely sum of £3080 (including a potential £580 tax recovery under the Gift Aid scheme) was raised on the day - a highly gratifying outcome and one which, from the outset, carries us well along the way towards our £10,000 target. We are indeed fortunate to live in such a supportive and responsive village.