RE- Catholic Life

The Catholic Life of our school is rich in opportunities for the children to encounter God and work with our community. The Gospel Values are a golden thread throughout the school and in all that we do. Through RE displays, dedicated prayer and liturgy areas in all classrooms, outdoor opportunities to connect with God in our inspiring outdoor areas, and through regular teacher and pupil-led liturgy, Catholic life is engrained in our school and learning.

Each term, we gather together for special RE Days, where the whole school takes part in focused activities centred around a liturgical theme or an important feast day in the Church’s year. These days give us the opportunity to deepen our understanding of faith in a creative and meaningful way. Children enjoy coming together in their house groups, working collaboratively on prayerful, reflective, and engaging activities. Through prayer and reflection, these RE Days help strengthen our sense of community and support everyone in growing spiritually as part of the Catholic Church.

As a Catholic school, we are proud to be taking part in the Jubilee Year, embracing the theme of Pilgrims of Hope announced by Pope Francis. This special year invites us to renew our faith, strengthen our relationship with God, and become signs of hope in our community and the wider world.

Throughout the year, our pupils will take part in prayer, liturgy, acts of service and charitable outreach, reflecting on what it means to journey together in faith. As Pilgrims of Hope, we are reminded that even small acts of kindness, forgiveness and generosity can bring light to others.

By walking this journey together, we continue to live out our Catholic mission — growing in faith, spreading hope, and serving with love.

Each year, during the month of May, we hold our special May Procession in honour of Mary, the mother of Jesus. In the Catholic Church, May is traditionally dedicated to Mary as a way of recognising her faith, obedience, and love for God. As a school and parish community, we process prayerfully down to our woodland area, where Father Jim leads a service filled with hymns, prayers, and reflection. This beautiful tradition helps us grow closer to Mary and reminds us to follow her example of trust, kindness, and devotion in our daily lives.

Each year, we mark Remembrance Day as a time to pause, reflect, and pray for all those who have lost their lives in war and conflict. We remember the courage and sacrifice of those who served their country, and we think especially of the families and communities who were affected by their loss.

As part of Catholic life, Remembrance Day is an opportunity to pray for peace in our world. In the Catholic Church, we are called to be peacemakers, following the example of Jesus. Through prayer, silence, and reflection, we ask God to guide us in building a more loving and peaceful world for everyone.

Our school is proud to support the annual Coffee Morning in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. Through generous donations, baking and volunteering, our pupils, staff and families come together to raise funds for those affected by cancer.

This event reflects our commitment to the Church’s call to serve and is a strong expression of our Catholic Life. By supporting those in need, our community lives out Gospel values of compassion, dignity and love in action.

Each year, our harvest collection is an important part of living out our faith in action. As members of the Catholic Church, we are called to care for those in need and share the blessings we have received. By donating food and essential items to our local foodbank, we support families in our community who may be struggling. This tradition reminds us that Catholic life is not only about prayer and worship, but also about kindness, generosity, and serving others.

First Holy Communion is a deeply meaningful milestone in the life. It marks the first time a child receives the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. This sacrament strengthens their relationship with God and helps them feel more fully part of their faith community. It is also a joyful moment for families, as they celebrate their child’s growing understanding of faith, responsibility, and spiritual commitment.

We work closely with CAFOD, the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development, to support people living in poverty around the world. CAFOD works with communities to provide clean water, food, education, and emergency aid, as well as helping families build brighter, more sustainable futures.

Each year, we take part in the Big Lent Walk, raising money and awareness during the season of Lent. Through our fundraising efforts and special assemblies, we learn more about the challenges faced by others and the importance of standing in solidarity with our global family. Supporting CAFOD helps us to live out the mission of the Catholic Church by putting our faith into action and caring for those most in need.

The residents and staff were so grateful to Class 4 for sending them gifts and letters to tackle loneliness in the community. 

Class 4 have been working so hard on their Bright Stars project to tackle loneliness in the community. When decided on our focus for this project, we spoke about our Gospel Values and how we would really like to make a difference to people. The children wrote lovely postcards and drew self-portraits for all the residents, as well as giving them bee bombs to plant in their garden and lavender bags. We are so very proud of their dedication and commitment to this project.

Our 'Co-Creators' were very grateful to receive the solar panel from Siemans Energy today. It was wonderful to meet John Rogers; the children are excited for it to be installed on our hideaway house when it arrives. The Co-Creators are inspired by Saint Francis of Assisi and their aim is to do as much as they can to protect our Earth and God's Creation. The solar panel will help them to get a step closer to their goal.

As May is the month of Mary, Class 3 have decided to record a version of the Hail Mary for you all to enjoy.

We all loved being involved in National Youth Fun Day today. 

For our RE day, Class 3 made some beautiful Rosary beads from scratch. Well done Class 3.

Online learning doesn't stop us from enjoying our RE sessions. Today we learnt about the Rosary and made their very own rosary beads at home.

Today we enjoyed the most beautiful May procession to celebrate Our Lady. We made our own flower crowns, processed to church, crowned Our Lady in the church garden and enjoyed a reflective service from Father Paul. It was a very special day for us all and the sun was shining down on us too! (May 2019)

Hand bells! Here are our talented Class 2 pupils practising the hand bells for the nativity next month. The children have picked up the music and skills so well and we can't wait for their performance. 

Today we joined 1 million children from all around the world to say the Rosary; it felt very special. It was amazing to think how the internet brought us together in prayer and reflection as a community of children. Class 2 were very reflective and did so well.

Delicious cakes! Here is Mrs Byrne and two of our pupils serving cakes to raise money for charity. 

We feel hungry just looking at this photo of Class 3's Rosary biscuits. Well done Class 3!

Look at our beautiful displays for Holy Week. We love filling our school with creativity and colourful displays.