Diocesan inspection report said:
Pupils’ response to the present school prayer opportunities is outstanding, in terms of willingness to participate and a real sense of engagement in the life of the Spirit.’
Our Mission at St. Mary’s
Learning to live out our calling with compassion and love.
‘Christ has no body on earth but ours; ours are the hands through which He heals; ours are His eyes, His feet, His lips; ours are the hearts through which He loves.’
As part of our calling to carry out God’s work on earth, we seek to draw our inspiration from periods of worship and reflection. These spiritual moments are essential to build the strength needed to carry out our vocation in today’s world.
Collective Worship refers not only to whole school gatherings but to those acts of worship which take place in a number of different settings and groupings of people in and around the school:
Assembly
An assembly is a gathering of people. Strictly speaking, it is not a religious activity and is a means of communicating information to a group of people.
We take part in weekly assemblies where we reflect on the Sunday Gospel. We each write a mission task to show how we are going to live out our calling in relation to the Gospel reading.
Prayer and Liturgy
Liturgy is the worship lived and practiced by the Church. Liturgy encompasses all of the seasonal elements of the Church’s year (The Liturgical Year), the structure of daily prayer, specific rites such as the Funeral Mass and the celebration of the Sacraments. For schools, Liturgy is worship which incorporates elements of the rites and rituals, signs and symbols of the Church.
We conduct weekly worships in each classroom, with themes selected and planned by the children. Look at some examples of these below…
Prayer and Liturgy Gallery
We follow the four part structure of:
Mass
For Catholics, the Mass is central to practice of the faith. At Mass, the Last Supper is remembered but also recreated. Bread and wine are transformed into the body and blood of Christ. This belief (transubstantiation) is what distinguishes us from many other Christians. This sacrament is above all others because as members of the Church, “We receive the Body of Christ and are increasingly being transformed into the Body of Christ.”
Prayer
Deepen a personal relationship with God, prayer will help the pupils to become aware of God’s presence in their lives and of His love for them, by leading them to respond to Him.
Prayer Bags
We recently launched our wonderful prayer bags for children to take home each week and share in meaningful prayer and liturgies with their families. We ask that families try to link their prayer session to either something close to their hearts or the Liturgical Seasons.
Prayer and Liturgy Guidance
Amazing Examples of Home Liturgies
Year 1
Somdolma and Dougie
Year 2
Florence and Jack
Year 3
Jathusa and Sydney
Year 4
Elizabeth and Mason
Year 5
Janetta and Jeevan
Year 6
Kezia and Gab
Thank you to Maria and Joanna (from 4V) for leading such a beautiful Celebration of the Word last week.
The girls did a wonderful job sharing such an important message about putting our faith in God as they prepare to transition into Year 5. It reminded us that no worry is too big or too small for God.
Thank you to all the parents who came along to support and share in this special moment with the children. #year4stm #prayerandliturgystm … See MoreSee Less
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Thank you to the parents who took parent on our Year 2 Celebration of the Word on Tuesday. Zane and Serah led it beautifully and all the children and parents were reverent and respectful.
We then had our Storytime session, reading The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch #readingforpleasurestm #year2stm #parentstm
#prayerandliturgystm #celebrationofthewordstm … See MoreSee Less
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Thank you to all the families that attended our Year 1 Celebration of the Word and story time. The children loved having you there to share this lovely experience.
Some of parents commented ‘ Thank you for this afternoon. It was a lovely time to hear the children be a part of the celebration of the word and listening to the song.’ And ‘ Thank you for this lovely experience and teaching children how to be kind and grateful through the story of The Rainbow Fish.’
#year1stm #celebrationofthewordstm #prayerandliturgystm #readingforpleasurestm
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