September - New Beginnings
We start our school year by coming together to discuss the importance of rules and how these ensure we have harmony within our school. We set our class rules ever mindful of our responsibilities and rights.
We take time to read and listen to different forms of prayer. We all contribute to the writing of a class prayer book. Something we can refer to during our prayer time and add to during the school year.
October - The Rosary
This month we celebrate the Rosary as a form of prayer. We all make a class rosary and remind ourselves of the main prayers within the Rosary.
The Rosary is not only a mental prayer, but also a vocal prayer in which we meditate on the virtues of the Life, Death, Passion and Glory of Jesus Christ and His Blessed Mother, the Virgin Mary.
November - Remembrance
During November we remember the people who have died during conflict. We gather and recognise a minute’s silence. Afterwards we make fields of poppies to remember those that have left this earth and are with Jesus in heaven.
We also take time to think about Saints who have shown us how to live a good life. We recognise our four saints that we name our school ‘houses’ after: St Theresa, St Bernadette; St Joseph and St Francis. We pray to them to help us to be good people of God and make good choices.
December - Advent
Advent is the beginning of the Liturgical Year and is a time for anticipation, preparation, joy, and hope. We use it to grow in our understanding of Christian joy and hope and of what we celebrate at Christmas.
During Advent we celebrate and prepare to remember Jesus' entry into the world at Christmas and for the coming of Christ at the end of time.
We prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus by taking part in prayer activities to reflect on our own relationship with God and the gift God gave to us all, his only son Jesus.
We prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus by taking part in prayer activities to reflect on our own relationship with God and the gift God gave to us all, his only son Jesus.
January - Epiphany
The feast of the Epiphany is celebrated 12 days after Christmas on 6th January. It is an important Christian feast as it reveals Jesus as saviour for the world.
The Wise Men represent peoples of all nations who did not know the God of Israel, but whom God invited to share in the joy of Christ’s birth. God leads the Wise Men with a great light – the star – by which is revealed a new life for all.
We create welcome signs for our classroom doors to demonstrate our extended welcome to our whole school community, just as the Wise Men were welcomed to share the Good News of Jesus’ birth.
February - Ash Wednesday
Lent commences on Ash Wednesday and continues until Holy Week. On Ash Wednesday we receive the mark of the ashes.
We watch Father Chris burn the palms from the previous Palm Sunday. They are a symbol of repentance and are placed on the forehead of Catholics around the world. They are a physical sign that Lent has begun.
March - Lent
Lent is a time to rediscover the meaning of life and prioritise what is important in how we live our lives. We try to simplify our lives (fasting), take time out to reflect and pray (prayer), and listen and respond to those in need (almsgiving).
Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are concrete ways in which we can demonstrate our relationship with God. In prayer we speak through language and action, and in fasting through abstinence, and in giving we reach out to others.
April - Easter
During Holy Week following on from Palm Sunday we experience the passion of Jesus foretold in the Stations of the Cross and daily prayer activities.
The Paschal Triduum or the Great Three Days concludes Holy Week, beginning on the evening of Holy Thursday with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper and concludes with the Easter Vigil on Saturday evening.
It ritualises generous self-giving (washing of the feet); to the point of death (the triumph of the Cross over human selfishness); through to a new way of being (resurrection, to be light for the world).
May - Pentecost
Jesus promised the apostles that he would send the Holy Spirit to empower them. The Church celebrates this with the feast of Pentecost, 50 days after Easter. It could be said that when Jesus died, the Holy Spirit breathed forth and the Church was born.
The colour of Pentecost is red.
‘Come Holy Spirit fill the hearts of you faithful’
June - St Joseph
The feast of St Joseph, our patron saint, is on 19th March. We celebrate a little later in the year when the weather is warmer, and the sun is shining. At this time, we also celebrate our children receiving Holy Communion for the first time with mass and a party!
St Joseph was the husband of Our Lady and foster father to Jesus. Joseph fulfilled his mission to love God and serve others, and how by following his example, children can become missionaries of God’s love, too.