The Same, but Different
A new school year
by Becky May
Suitable for Whole School (Pri)
Aims
To encourage us to feel positive about change and new beginnings.
Preparation and materials
- You will need the PowerPoint slides that accompany this assembly (The Same, but Different) and the means to display them.
Assembly
- Welcome the children to the assembly and to the start of the new school year.
Ask the children how they are feeling about the start of this new school year: what are they looking forward to? Is there anything that they are nervous about?
Explain that we will think about this during the assembly. - Show Slide 1.
Ask the children whether they can spot 15 differences between the two pictures (answers could include the time on the clock, the mountains in the picture on the wall, the cupboard handles, the older lady’s hairpin and collar, the child’s mouth, the bowl on the shelf, the smiley plate, the child’s foot, the cat’s lollipop, the number of bananas, the cookie on the tray and the flowers on the plant).
You could ask the children to call out the differences when they see them, or work with the person next to them to spot them all. - Highlight that the two pictures are the same, but different. Mostly, the pictures are the same, but there are 15 little differences that make them non-identical.
- Explain that this is a bit like our experience of coming back to school. Mostly, things are the same as they were when we were last here, but some things have changed, so things may feel different.
- Ask the children to think about two things that have stayed the same, and two things that have changed since before the summer holidays began.
Listen to a range of responses. - Ask the children how they feel about these things.
- Which things make them feel happy or excited?
- Which things make them feel a little nervous?
- Which changes were they looking forward to?
- Which changes caught them by surprise? - Explain to the children that we often like things that stay the same, because they feel familiar and comfortable. Sometimes, we feel unhappy about change because it can make us feel unsettled.
However, change is important. If everything always stayed the same, life would be very boring! Change is how we grow and develop; it can be very exciting.
Time for reflection
Invite the children to make themselves really quiet. Ask them to spend some time thinking about some of the changes that we have discussed and how they feel about them.
Explain to the children that there is a story in the Bible that can help us to understand the idea of things being the same, but different.
Show Slide 2.
Some fishermen had spent the whole night fishing, but they had caught nothing. Suddenly, Jesus appeared on the shore and told them to throw out their nets on the other side of the boat. At first, the fishermen didn’t believe that it would work. However, they did what Jesus had said, and caught netfuls of fish - so many, in fact, that the nets were breaking! Jesus invited the fishermen to follow him, which they did, becoming his disciples.
Show Slide 3.
After Jesus had died, the disciples didn’t know what to do, so they went back to their fishing. One morning, the same thing happened as before. The men had spent a long time fishing, but hadn’t caught anything. Suddenly, Jesus appeared on the shore and told them to throw out their nets on the other side of the boat. Guess what? They caught so many fish that the nets were breaking!
By doing this, Jesus was telling the men that although everything had changed - he had spent three years teaching them, he had died and he had come back to life again - things were still the same; he still wanted the men to follow him and do the work that he had given them to do.
Christians believe that because Jesus died and rose again, we can all have a fresh start with God, like we have a fresh start at the start of this new school year. The Bible tells us that change can be good - it’s how we grow and develop - but also that God never changes; he is always the same.
Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for brand new starts and for this new school year.
Please help us to make the most of every new opportunity so that we grow and develop well.
Amen.
Song/music
‘Back in school again’ (Songs for Every Assembly by Mark and Helen Johnson, Out of the Ark Music), available at: https://www.outoftheark.co.uk/songs-for-every-occasion.html
‘Yesterday, today and forever’ by Vicky Beeching, available at: https://youtu.be/LRd0q9u5Gig (3.55 minutes long)
Extension activities
- Allow time for circle time and class discussions about how we feel about the start of the school year, to enable the children to voice and share their anxieties and think positively about the new beginning.
- Challenge the children to ‘spot the difference’ around the school site, noticing all the changes that have happened over the summer break. You could create a display where they can be marked up.
