So this week, we had our first meeting of the term. After discussing and sharing stories of our summer holidays, we began to look at the recent changes to the guiding promise.We discussed reasons for the changes and what those changes were. We had previously completed activities based around the promise and what we thought of it. After reading through and discussing the current promise, we were asked to give our opinion on each section of the promise and suggest what it meant to us. We were also asked to suggest any changes we thought should be made.

Our meeting this week was similar to the previous; we were evaluating the new promise and trying to realise what it meant to us. We completed an activity to show us the reason it had been changed. The original promise included the phrase, 'to serve my God'. Due to the nature of England being a cultural diverse country, it was felt by the majority that it was appropriate to remove the mentioning of God. It was replaced with the phrase, 'to develop my beliefs'. This means that no particular religion is referred to. The new promise is also a lot more open ended, so if you follow no religion at all, you are included.

To help us understand the need for change, we participated in an activity designed to show discrimination. The group was split into three subgroups. Each took turns to be either: the discriminator; the group being discriminated against, and the group who were shut out completely. This helped us to understand how it would feel to be a victim of any kind of discrimination, and is also useful in a much broader way than guiding.
         
We look forward to enjoying the rest of the term's busy programme!

Below is a picture of us enjoying our evening!