Catholic Life in School
Catholic Life in School
Lord, be thy word, my rule.
Our Faith. Making Jesus known today.
As a Catholic school, Jesus Christ is central to every aspect of school life, permeating every aspect of what we do. All pupils are educated in the beliefs and devotional practices of the Catholic Church. Participation in our daily act of collective worship guides every morning and afternoon session, within RE lessons and at the start and end of each day. Every class plans and leads Mass throughout the year, with parents, families and parishioners warmly welcomed.
The Catholic RE scheme “Living and Growing as the people of God is followed throughout the school. This is supplemented by work on the Saints and stories from the Old and New Testaments, circle time activity and through our PHSE programmes. Our pupils take part in special liturgies during the school year which are timed to coincide with events in the Church’s calendar. Our Parish Priest, Fr Julian Green, works closely with school staff and families, to help prepare Y3 children for the Sacraments of Reconciliation and First Holy Communion, whilst pupils in Y6 prepare for Confirmation.
Relationships and Sex Education is taught formally in all classes and is integrated into Science and RE.
All pupils learn about other religions and cultures and are encouraged to show respect and acknowledgement for the beliefs of others through open discussions and shared experiences. This is reflected through the involvement of pupils, both within school and in the wider community.
We make Jesus known today by living out our values and virtues. Our pupils come together to lead approaches and help others to recognise the impact that working in Jesus’ name has.
“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:20
Values and Virtues.
Building on our work in Autumn Term 2018 on helping our children be “Faith-Filled” and “Hopeful” we now move to focus on what it means to be “Eloquent” and “Truthful” during our Spring term 2019.
Autumn Term 2018
Faith-filled in their beliefs and hopeful for the future… by passing on the living and faith-filled tradition of Jesus Christ; by having persevering faith in the pupils, and by encouraging them in turn, to have faith and hope in themselves and others.
Spring Term 2019
Eloquent and truthful in what they say of themselves, the relations between people, and the world… by developing an eloquent language which pupils can use to understand and articulate their emotions, beliefs, and questions, encouraged by the example of their teachers to be truthful in the way they represent themselves and speak about the world.
Our Diocesan Values and Virtues
Grateful and Generous
Our pupils are taught to be grateful for all that they have, all that they are and that that is. They are taught that generosity is the root of good deeds. They are encouraged to be generous with their time, their talents and to use them to support others.
Attentive and Discerning
Our pupils are taught to be attentive to always listen to the word of God. The Bible shows us how to live a good life. They are taught that the views of others are important and should always be listened to. Our pupils are taught that everyone deserves to be heard. They are taught that to be discerning is to choose between right and wrong in the light of God’s word.
Compassionate and Loving
Our pupils are taught that compassion means always trying to be respectful and kind to one another even if just means a smile to someone. Every year we raise money for charity and we support those in need. Our pupils are taught to love one another as God loves us.
Faith-filled and Hopeful
Our pupils are taught about their faith from home. They begin on their journey of faith with the Sacrament of Baptism, through to Confirmation. Our pupils are taught that hope is a feeling of expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen. The best not to feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope and you will fill yourself with hope.
Eloquent and Truthful
Our pupils are taught that it is important that are able to express their thoughts and beliefs and that they must learn to explain and convince others with great articulation and eloquence. That being truthful is being faithful to oneself and to Jesus.
Learned and Wise
Our pupils are taught that understanding the Word of God is the way for making the most important decisions in life. Through learning, observation and from the Holy Spirit’s inspiration we can come to understand the truth. Our pupils are taught we are wise because we know that life is about the journey not the goal. They know that they should treat everyone how they want to be treated. They are wise because they follow the school mission.
Curious and Active
Our pupils are taught that from curiosity comes great learning. They are encouraged to take increasing responsibility for their own learning and to be active in their engagement with the world and how it is changing and how they can make it a better place.
Intentional and Prophetic
They are taught that intentional acts are done deliberately. They have to think about the choices they make, the decisions they choose to take have a positive Impact on them and those around as well as the Earth’s resources. Our pupils are taught that they have a sense of belonging in the Church and in the World. They encourage people to come to their Church and support them to help in their faith to help them grow stronger
Supporting our Newman Catholic Collegiate schools.
One of our Newman Catholic Collegiate schools, St. Wilfrid’s Catholic Academy in Tunstall are in the customer vote for a Bags of Help grant from Tesco. It’s a scheme which gives community projects like us grants of up to £4,000 – all raised from the sale of carrier bags in Tesco stores. The public will now vote in store during January & February on who should receive the awards by using the blue tokens that you can pick up when you purchase your shopping at the tills. Please support St Wilfrid’s in your local store! (Hanley, Kidsgrove, Audley & Chell).
Supporting our Local Community by collecting for Foodbank and ASHA.
Visit and assembly from our Local Food Bank. This will be part of our weekly charity collection.
See below for information on local needs this Advent.
Remembrance Day Parade.
Remembrance Day Parade 11th November.
What Would Jesus do?
In order for Christ to be known in our lives today we have presented our pupils with some difficult scenarios to consider. We have asked them to think what Jesus would do if faced with a situation and consequently what they would do.
God has a plan for us!
Centered around our work on vocations our pupils have been considering what God is calling them to be and how they will use their own God-given talents in His service and the service of others.
JPP Booklet Birmingham (2017).pdf (jesuitinstitute.org)
http://jesuitinstitute.org/Pages/JPP/JPP%20Birmingham/JPP%20Booklet%20Birmingham%20(2017).pdf