VES Team End of Week Update | Spotlight on Class Assistants
Dear wonderful VES team,
Hope you are well! Thank you for another super strong “short week” together.
Even though we only had classes running on Wednesday and Thursday, it was a full and fruitful couple of days, with lots of students welcomed, taught, encouraged, and helped to take good next steps.
It will also be really good to be back to a full week next week - I’m looking forward to seeing the Monday and Tuesday teams in full flow again!
Spotlight this week: Class Assistants
One of the highlights of our VES Team Training Morning on Tuesday was taking a deeper dive into the role of the class assistant.
I’ll send round a more comprehensive write-up from the morning in due course, but for now I just want to say how encouraging it was to hear the wisdom in the room as we asked:
What makes a great class assistant?
The answers were brilliant — and they reminded us that a class assistant is never “just an extra pair of hands”.
At their best, class assistants help shape the whole atmosphere the school. They notice the student who is lost but too embarrassed to say. They encourage the quiet person to have a go. They support the teacher, spot practical needs, model participation, and help the room feel warm, safe, and joyful.
In a VES class, a great class assistant helps turn a lesson into a community, and I see this happening time and time again!
So this week I want to say a particular thank you to every class assistant across the VES team. You are key in making VES, VES!
You are warmly invited — "Power and Presence" Event this Friday
This Friday evening, 16th May, Croydon Vineyard is hosting Power and Presence — a worship and prayer evening where we make space to seek God together. These moments are a lovely opportunity for anyone connected with the school to come and experience more of the wider church community. You would be very welcome to come! Sign up here: https://croydonvineyard.churchsuite.com/events/7hlafzdq
Baptisms — Sunday 17th May
We also have a Baptism Celebration coming up on Sunday 17th May. This is always one of the most joyful moments in church life — people publicly sharing that they have decided to follow Jesus and going through the waters of baptism.
And there may be a VES team member going under the water — so we would love as many of the VES team as possible to be there to support, cheer, pray, and celebrate! All details here: https://croydonvineyard.churchsuite.com/events/gnwvokm1
Half term reminder
Just a clear reminder that there will be no VES classes during half term:
Week commencing 25th May — no classes
VES Dashboard — “Short” Week at a Glance
● 9 classes delivered across 2 days (Plus 2 creche sessions and 1 youth drop-in)
● 139 student sessions enabled
● 47 team sessions given
● Weekly participation number: 211
● +86% increase on this time last year
Behind each of those numbers is a person being welcomed, taught, encouraged, and helped to take good next steps. Thank you for making that possible.