In short...
Themes: St Andrew's Day; patron saints; celebrating special days.
Summary: This assembly is suitable for the days preceding St Andrew's Day (30 November) and the actual day itself. At its heart is a short CBeebies film about two young boys celebrating St Andrew's Day in their home town - St Andrews in Scotland. It marks the importance of the patron saints and the celebration of special days.
Resources: the framework to download / print (pdf) and an image of the ruins of St Andrew's Cathedral.
The video
Archie: Hello, it’s St Andrew’s Day.
George: And we’re going to start the day with our favourite Scottish breakfast - porridge.
George: Mummy, can we help?
Mum: Come on then, over here.
George: What’s the first ingredient?
Mum: Well, what do you think?
George: Porridge oats?
Mum: That’s right. Well done. How many cups?
Archie and George: Was it two?
Mum: Yes, that’s right, what’s next?
George: Was it the milk?
Mum: It’s the milk, ok. So how many cups of milk?
Archie: Three.
Mum: It is three. Yes, ok. What’s the other ingredient?
Archie: Water?
Mum: Okay boys. Time to sit down. You ready?
Archie and George: Okay. Oh this looks delicious.
Mum: Well done. That’s it. So we’re ready to pour. You’re ready. Down it goes. Tell me when. Right now?
George: I’m quite happily enjoying my porridge, which is very hot.
Archie: Oh yeah.
Archie: Now we’ve had our breakfast, we’d better get dressed.
George: It’s nearly time to go to the church service.
Archie: Today we’ve got a special job to do in church.
George: We’re going to read out loud to everyone.
George: It’s time for our big moment now.
George: So we want to see Jesus. Philip went and told Andrew and the two of them went and told Jesus.
Archie: And my father will honour anyone who serves me.
Archie: Now we’re going to surprise our neighbour Margaret with the Scottish shortbread we made for her.
Margaret: Hello Archie, Hello George. Aw don’t you look smart today.
George: We made you some shortbread.
Margaret: Come on the way in then. Did you make this yourself?
George and Archie: Yes.
Margaret: Shall I have a piece?
George and Archie: Yes.
Margaret: Would you like a piece?
George and Archie: Yes, please.
Margaret: And would mummy like a piece?
George and Archie: Yes
Mum: I would love some, thank you very much.
Margaret: Very good. Yummy.
George: Yes.
Margaret: And what else have you done today?
George and Archie: We did a reading.
Margaret: Did you? Well done.
Margeret: Did they read well?
Mum: They were absolutely fantastic.
Margaret: And did you both stand up at the same time?
George: And you told me that you nearly cried.
Mum: I did nearly cry. It was so wonderful seeing you up there. You were so fantastic.
Archie: The celebrations are going to be outdoors this evening.
George: So we’ve wrapped up warm for them.
BAGPIPES PLAYING
Mum: Here they come.
Archie: There’s going to be a procession to take us to a special surprise.
George: The town has started to get really busy.
Archie: Look at the lights on the buildings.
George: There’s loads going on.
Mum: I think it’s a ceilidh next. Have you got your dancing shoes on?
George: Everyone’s dancing – in Scotland we call this a ceilidh. Come on mummy. Let’s go.
Archie: Everyone’s having a great time.
George: We hope you enjoyed seeing the St. Andrew’s Day celebrations with us.
Archie and George: It’s great to celebrate. Bye!
Two young brothers, George and Archie, welcome us to their home town - St Andrews. It is St Andrew's Day (30th November) and the two boys are getting ready to celebrate.
After breakfast they get dressed in traditional clothes (kilts) and go to church where they are doing a reading. Later they take some shortbread to their elderly neighbour.
Then, in the evening, George and Archie head for the town centre with their parents to join in with the celebrations - including traditional music and dancing.
Duration: 4' 22"
End of speech: 'It's great to celebrate! Bye!'
Video questions
- What do Archie and George eat for breakfast? (Porridge - made from oats mixed with milk)
- What special clothes do the two boys wear? (Kilts worn with traditional Scottish dress)
- How do Archie and George surprise their neighbour, Margaret? (They bring her some shortbread they have made)
- What celebrations do the boys see in town after dark? (Traditional music (a pipe band) / traditional dancing ('ceilidh') / fire dancers / the ruins of the cathedral lit up for a special presentation)
Key links
Assembly framework (pdf) document
Download / print the assembly framework ready for use
Image: St Andrew's Cathedral. image
Click to display the image full-size
Suggested framework
1. Entry music
Do an online search for traditional Scottish music.
2. Introduction
Ask the children if anyone knows what a patron saint is? Lead the responses towards understanding that a patron saint is a saint who has a special meaning for a particular place or group of people - often a country. Tell the children that each saint has their own special day and that today is / soon it will be St Andrew's Day. St Andrew is particularly celebrated in Scotland - he is the patron saint of Scotland. Ask the children if they know anything about St Andrew. Lead the responses towards understanding that St Andrew is the first of the 12 disciples of Jesus. There's a story that St Andrew travelled across Europe spreading the word of Jesus and that he built a church in Scotland in a place that is now named after him - St Andrews. Every year the people of St Andrew's celebrate their special connection with the saint. Tell the children that the short video will show two children from St Andrews celebrating on St Andrew's Day.
3. The video
Play the video. The duration is 4'22" and the final words are: 'It's great to celebrate! Bye!'
4. After the video
You could use the Video questions (above) to help children recall the details of the film:
- What do George and Archie eat for breakfast?
- What special clothes do they put on?
- How do they surprise their elderly neighbour?
- What celebrations do they see in town with their parents?
- What is the name of a traditional Scottish dance?
5. Time to talk
Return to the historical perspective. Andrew was a fisherman and became the very first disciple of Jesus. There is a famous story about Andrew from the Bible. One day Andrew and his brother, Simon, were fishing - but each time they pulled in their nets they were empty. Jesus appeared on the shore about to address a big crowd of people. The brothers rowed him out so that the crowd could see Jesus and afterwards their nets were full of fish. Andrew and Simon left everything to become followers of Jesus. After Jesus died Andrew travelled spreading the word of Jesus…even though it meant putting himself in danger.
6. Opportunity to sing
Suggestions from BBC Collections below: 'Being a friend' (Andrew was a faithful friend to Jesus) and 'Give me oil in my lamp' (Andrew's determination to spread Jesus' teachings and celebrate the 'King of Kings').
7. Opportunity to reflect
Today we have heard about St Andrew - someone who gave up everything to follow Jesus and someone who had the courage to spread the courage of Jesus - even when it meant putting himself in danger…
And we've seen how the people like to celebrate the life of St Andrew in the town that is named after him…
Think about the different ways that Archie and George celebrated in the film…
If you could celebrate the life of someone who is very special to you who would it be…?
And how would you choose to celebrate them?
8. Opportunity for prayer
Use your usual form of address ('Dear God', 'Lord Jesus' etc) and:
Thank you for special days when we can celebrate the lives of special people.
Help each of us to see the special people around us…
…and find ways, both big and small, to celebrate those people as well.
Amen.
Suggested songs
Song: 'Being a friend' (All about our school, no 8. Vocal version)
Being a friend is the best thing you can be,
‘Cos in the end friends are something we all need.
You could score a goal for England,
Be a pop star on TV,
But being a friend
Is still the best thing you can ever be.
Being a friend is the best thing you can do,
Time and again it’s our friends that help us through.
You could be a millionaire,
Or fly a rocket to the moon,
But being a friend
Is still the best thing you can ever do.
Whatever we grow up to be,
And live in harmony,
Together we all need to see
That friendship is the key!
Being a friend is the best thing you can be,
‘Cos in the end friends are something we all need.
You could score a goal for England,
Be a pop star on TV,
But being a friend
Is still the best thing you can ever be.
Being a friend
Is still the best thing you can ever be.
Song: 'Give me oil in my lamp' (Come and Praise, no 43. Vocal version)
- Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning.
Give me oil in my lamp, I pray.
Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning,
Keep me burning till the break of day.
ChorusSing hosanna, sing hosanna,
Sing hosanna to the King of Kings!
Sing hosanna, sing hosanna,
Sing hosanna to the King!
- Give me joy in my heart, keep me singing.
Give me joy in my heart, I pray.
Give me joy in my heart, keep me singing,
Keep me singing till the break of day.
Chorus
- Give me love in my heart, keep me serving.
Give me love in my heart, I pray.
Give me love in my heart, keep me serving,
Keep me serving till the break of day.
Chorus
- Give me peace in my heart, keep me resting.
Give me peace in my heart, I pray.
Give me peace in my heart, keep me resting,
Keep me resting till the break of day.
Chorus