A New Adventure

Moving to secondary school

by Alexandra Palmer

Suitable for Whole School (Pri)

Aims

To prepare us for the transition from Year 6 to secondary school.

Preparation and materials

• You will need the PowerPoint slides that accompany this assembly (A New Adventure) and the means to display them.
  
  
• You will also need some Year 6 children to be prepared to share some of the things that they are looking forward to as they move to a new school. These could be particular activities or lessons they are excited about, friends they are hoping to make, sports they are looking forward to, wearing a new school uniform and so on.
  
  
• Have available the YouTube video, ‘The Prince of Egypt (1998) – When You Believe’ and the means to show it during the assembly. It is 5.12 minutes long and is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTTxywB7b_U
  If you wish to shorten the video, show it from 1.50 minutes to the end.

Assembly

1. Explain that the Year 6 children will soon be leaving the school and moving on to secondary school. This can seem a bit daunting, but it is also exciting, with lots of new things to experience.
   
   
2. Ask the pre-arranged Year 6 children to come to the front to share what they are looking forward to as they make the transition to secondary school.
   
   
3. Ask the children if they have ever watched the film, The Prince of Egypt. Ask them if they know which Bible character the film is about.
   
   Explain that the film looks at the life of Moses. In the Bible, the Book of Exodus tells the story of Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt, where they had been slaves for many years.
   
   
4. Explain that the film clip that the children are about to see shows the people just after they had found out that they were allowed to leave Egypt after being held as slaves for over 400 years.
   
   Ask the children to watch all the different emotions in the clip so that they can describe them at the end of the film.
   
   Show the YouTube video, ‘The Prince of Egypt (1998) – When You Believe’.
   
   
   
   
5. Ask the children to describe the emotions that they identified in the clip, such as excitement, sadness, fear, concern, joy, laughter and apprehension.
   
   Explain that we are all likely to feel these emotions as we move from one school to another or try something new. When we do something new, it’s like setting out on a new adventure.
   
   
6. Show Slide 1.
   
   Explain that the Israelites had waited over 400 years to escape from Egypt. Moses was an Israelite, but he had spent 40 years living with the pharaoh as a prince because he was found by the pharaoh’s daughter as a baby in the bulrushes. However, Moses ran away after he committed a crime. He spent 40 years living in the desert and worked as a shepherd before God sent him back to Egypt to set his people free. So, everyone had waited a long time for this new adventure to begin.
   
   Explain that the Year 6 children have spent seven years at primary school. This probably feels like a long time, but as they move to secondary school, they are beginning a new adventure.
   
   
7. Show Slide 2.
   
   Remind the children that as the Israelites were leaving Egypt, they would have been feeling various emotions. In the clip, the elderly lady in blue looked quite hesitant. She probably felt scared because she was experiencing something she’d only been able to dream about and didn’t know how to cope with the situation. However, the little girl took her hand and helped her on her way. Some of the children in the clip seemed to be happy and excited.
   
   Explain that it is natural to feel a range of emotions when something new happens. We might feel worried or scared because the school building is much bigger or we don’t know many people. Alternatively, we might feel really happy and confident because we’re ready to move on to new things. Everyone will be experiencing a mixture of feelings.
   
   
8. Show Slide 3.
   
   When the Israelites started their trek to leave Egypt, they had to get used to living in a different way and learning new routines. All of them left their homes and had to get used to camping and moving from place to place. It would have taken them a while to get used to the different routines and lifestyle.
   
   Explain that it will take a while to get used to the new routine of secondary school. It may be that people will be walking to school for the first time or getting the bus on their own. There will be different timetables and lessons may be slightly longer. However, it will be surprising how quickly everyone gets used to their new routines.
   
   Point out the part of the film where a camel is eating his owner’s hair. Suggest that there will be lots of funny moments, so we will need a sense of humour to smile at some of the mistakes that we might make. There will also be some fun moments that will help everyone to settle in quickly.
   
   
9. Show Slide 4.
   
   Explain that as Moses left Egypt, there were many difficult moments. The best-known one is when the Egyptians decide that they had made a mistake in letting the Israelites go and set off to chase them. However, there were also some amazing moments, such as when God rescued them.
   
   Point out that secondary school will have some difficult times and some amazing times, too. All of these experiences will make the adventure even more exciting.

Time for reflection

Show Slide 5.

Explain that when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, he had the support of his friends and family, including his wife, brother and sister.

Explain that as people move on to different schools, they are not alone. Family, friends and teachers can all provide support, and the children are always welcome to come back to their primary school to see their friends there.

Point out that Christians believe that God is with us wherever we go. They believe that God will help them in any situation and at any time. They believe that just as God helped and protected Moses, God is with them every day in both the difficult and the amazing moments.

Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for the Year 6 children.
Please be with them as they leave this school and move on.
Please help them to keep hold of all their precious memories and friendships.
Please help them to make new friends.
Please help them to settle into their new school quickly.
Please be with them in both difficult and amazing times.
Amen.

Song/music

‘One more step’ (Come and Praise, 47)