Coventry Cathedral ICONS

Today marks Hiroshima day. On the 6th of August 1945 the first atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima causing untold damage and devastation, the aftereffects of which, are still felt today.

Here at the Cathedral, during school our tours we tell the story of Sadako Sasaki a young girl who lived during the bombing and died as a result of it's aftereffects. Her story is shared with visiting students and the importance of her mission for peace is told to all.

If you would like to hear more of Sadako's story check out this site - https://sadakosasaki.com/

Today Jewish people observe Tish'a B'av - a day of fasting to end the period of mourning for the destruction of the first and second Temple in Jerusalem. This day is also used to mourn the many other tragedies in Jewish history. This holy day is marked by fasting and prayer.

We've seen some amazing SIAMS reports from our ICONS Schools recently so we decided to have a peek at some more, and what do you know, you are all amazing! - Check out these fantastic comments!

If you want to learn more about ICONS and SIAMS inspections get in touch!

Exciting News! We are now offering our fantastic ICONS Ambassadors course for Secondary School pupils! Coming this September, give your students the chance to gain invaluable skills to help them and their peers as they traverse there way through some of the most important years of there lives.

Get in touch to book now!

Do your pupils know how to resolve their own conflict? Teach them how with us!

Do you need new ways to deal with conflict and hard conversations in the classroom? Attend one of our half day training courses guiding you through how to have restorative conversations and teaching your pupils how to disagree well - led by the Canon Emma Griffiths MA.

Both a morning and afternoon course is available.

Book Now! - https://www.coventrycathedral.org.uk/visit/school-visits/school-events

Today is the Day of the African Child - 'A time to celebrate the energy, strength and creativity of children across Africa.' - George Akhor.

This year's theme is 'the rights of the child in the digital environment'. Some of our ICONS schools mark this day with their partner schools across Africa - how do you mark this day?

Are you looking for a way to settle your Sixth form pupils into a new school year? Look no further than our Reconciliation half day workshops. Establish strong bonds and relationships from the outset and equip your students with a unique and important skill set ready for the year ahead. Book now or get in touch! -https://www.coventrycathedral.org.uk/events/sixth-form-reconciliation-half-days

Happy Pride! 🌈🌈This month we celebrate LGBTQ+ stories and amplify the voices of those within the Q***r community. Pride is celebrated in June to honour the anniversary of the Stonewall riots of 1969. Originally this was celebrated on the last Sunday of June but due to it's popularity it quickly grew to encompass the whole month of June. Throughout this month many major towns and cities around the world will honour this tradition by holding a parade, festival or march. How are you celebrating?

Looking forward to session two of our teacher training session.
Interested?? message us

Today Coventry Cathedral turns 61 years old! As we celebrate today we hope you take the time to celebrate with us wherever you are!🥳

To celebrate the focus of our next academic year - Reconciliation with our planet - we are holding an art competition!

Accompanied by resources for every year group from KS1- KS5, this whole class competition is easy to integrate into your R.E. or PSHE curriculum.

These resources are accessible via our website - https://www.coventrycathedral.org.uk/shop/digital-resources

The art can take any form you'd like - junk models, painting, photography etc.
You can create a large-scale group entry or individual class entries (but it is limited to one entry per individual pupil).

Closing Date Thursday 6th July 2023.

For more info get in touch!

Calling all local Primary Schools ….. send a group of your yr 4 - 6 to learn how to be Peace Ambassadors. ….
DM us and we’ll send you more info.

Check out this fantastic poster that sits in the classrooms of one of our local ICONS Schools! Created by the wonderful Bablake Chaplain on FB 📚🥳

This time last week we had the great pleasure of presenting St John Vianney Catholic primary school with their Cross of nails - It was a joy to be able to celebrate the school's achievements and community together and we can't wait to see what you get up to!

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Emma Crick de Boom talks to staff about reconciling habits.

Today is Holocaust memorial day, a day in which we take the time to not only remember and memorialise the atrocities perpetrated against the Jewish people during the second World War, but also all genocide in the modern world.

This year is being used to highlight the idea of 'ordinary people' -
'Our theme this year, though, highlights the ordinary people who let genocide happen, the ordinary people who actively perpetrated genocide, and the ordinary people who were persecuted...Our theme will also prompt us to consider how ordinary people, such as ourselves, can perhaps play a bigger part than we might imagine in challenging prejudice today.' -https://www.hmd.org.uk/what-is-holocaust-memorial-day/this-years-theme/

We’re having so much fun today at our first on-site Ambassadors training session! Check out these fantastic bridges!

One more Sleep..... Happy Christmas Eve!

Today is International Human Solidarity Day

'International Human Solidarity Day is:
-a day to celebrate our unity in diversity;
-a day to remind governments to respect their commitments to international agreements;
-a day to raise public awareness of the importance of solidarity;
-a day to encourage debate on the ways to promote solidarity for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals including poverty eradication;
-a day of action to encourage new initiatives for poverty eradication.' - https://www.un.org/en/observances/human-solidarity-day

Today is World Arabic Language Day! Spoken by more than 400 million people, Arabic is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world.

Today is International Migrants Day - Through both voluntary and involuntary movement around 281 million people were international migrants in 2020, representing 3.6 per cent of the global population. This awareness day was created by the UN in an effort to harness the possibility of human movement and mobility, to see more visit - https://www.un.org/en/observances/migrants-day

Fun Fact! 📚

Do you want to install peaceful/reconciliatory practices in your classroom?

An ICONs Champion is someone on your school staff who is passionate about the concept of ICONs and understands the story of Coventry Cathedral and the Cross of Nails as a symbol of peace and reconciliation. This person will drive forward peace-building and reconciliation initiatives and encourage children and staff to engage with the school’s work in this area.

This training is for staff in ICON Schools who are intending to take a lead on embedding their ICONS status so that there is ownership across the school community

If this sounds like something you or your staff could benefit from then get in touch!

'Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December — the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR is a milestone document, which proclaims the inalienable rights that everyone is entitled to as a human being - regardless of race, colour, religion, s*x, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Available in more than 500 languages, it is the most translated document in the world.'- https://www.un.org/en/observances/human-rights-day

Are your Students Peacemakers? Could they be ICONS ambassadors?

ICONs Ambassadors is a leadership programme for children and young people which will develop their understanding of the story of ICONS, the theory behind ideas of prejudice, conflict transformation, forgiveness and reconciliation and how to apply their understanding to schools contexts.
Skills and values of peace-makers and reconcilers and how to plan for change within the school context.

If this sounds like something your pupils could benefit from then get in touch!

Today is International Volunteers Day! A day to celebrate those who volunteer their time to support others - we are so very thankful for our volunteers here at Coventry Cathedral ❤

Today is International Day for the Abolition of Slavery - This day was created to highlight the more than 40 million people worldwide that are victims of modern slavery. The focus of today is the eradication of all forms of modern slavery, to see how you can help visit - https://www.un.org/en/observances/slavery-abolition-day

Today is Prisoners for Peace day -
This day raises awareness of those imprisoned for their actions in aid of peace. Many of these are conscientious or nonviolent protestors of war, to support them visit - https://wri-irg.org/en/campaigns/prisoners_for_peace

Some Monday morning Inspiration for you all!🤩

White Ribbon Day is an awareness day and organisation which campaigns for an end to violence against women by men and boys -

'Our mission is to prevent violence against women and girls by addressing its root causes. Our aim is to change long established, and harmful, attitudes, systems and behaviours around masculinity that perpetuate gender inequality and men’s violence against women. White Ribbon UK’s work is preventative, we want to end violence before it starts.'

To learn more or support this campaign visit - https://www.whiteribbon.org.uk

Today is the 50th annual World Hello Day - a day you can support by just saying hello to 10 people! This awareness day proves the importance of good and friendly communication in peace work past and future. World Hello Day began 50 years ago in the midst of the Israel Egypt conflict as a way for people to demonstrate their want and concern for world peace.
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Today is International Children's Day - a day celebrated to commemorate the Declaration of the Rights of the Child by the UN General Assembly on 20 November 1959. This day is celebrated in many countries around the world in unique ways but this year the theme is equality and inclusion for every child, for more information visit - https://www.unicef.org/world-childrens-day

This week is Inter-Faith week - a week that aims to promote and strengthen relationships and understanding of the many religions of the modern world.

Today is International Day for Tolerance - a day created as a way to commemorate the passing of The Declaration of Principles on Tolerance in 1995.