Prayers for those taking the Sacrament of First Holy Communion.

We prayed this week for the First Holy Communicants, whom in some cases were family or friends. This is a special time for all, and a time to reflect on our faith in the Church and our faith in receiving the Holy Eucharist when Jesus is with us. 

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity.

'Lord, I know that Your love for me has no end.'

We enjoyed an assembly with Mrs Anthony, all about the Feast of the Holy Trinity. We looked at an image of the shamrock to help us understand how God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are three parts but all one. 

Exploring the Solemnity of the Pentecost through Art

We enjoyed looking at and appraising various pieces of Art based on the Feast of Pentecost. We found out that many artists depicted this event using a range of techniques. Following our water colour painting session, we talked about how the Disciples would have felt at this time and what Pentecost meant for how the Disciples would continue to build our Global Faith. 

Solemnity of the Ascension of Our Lord

Year One led our whole school Mass for the Solemnity of the Ascension of Our Lord. We all joyfully took part by reading from Scripture, praying and singing hymns. We had been learning about the Ascension of Our Lord in class and listened with wonder to the story of when Jesus ascended into Heaven to be with his Father, leaving his Disciples with the promise that he would be with them forever. 

After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.

 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” - Acts 1:9- 12

Marian Procession

Year One took part in the Marian Procession in May the month of Mary. Before this, we had an assembly with Mrs Lynch where we learned about the different names that Mary is known as, such as Hail Holy Queen and the Immaculate Conception. We also learned about shrines around the world where people go to worship and pray to our Mother in Heaven. We enjoyed offering flowers to our special prayer area while we said the Rosary, and the flowers were later taken to Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto. 

Saint Patrick's day

We celebrated the Feast day of Saint Patrick in school on Friday 17th March. We started our special day with Mass and were allowed to dress in green or Irish themed clothes. H had even made a statue of St. Patrick at home which we displayed in our prayer area. All the while we recognised that St. Patrick had brought Christianity to Ireland, pathing the way to Jesus.

"May the sun shine warm upon your face; the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand." - an Irish Prayer

Lent Workshop

We held a Prayer Service and workshop for our parents to attend during Lent. Our theme was 'Sacrifice', and we thought carefully about what Jesus had sacrificed for us, deciding that we too could make small sacrifices through our Lenten promises. 

We said that each time we prayed, gave, or fasted, that this would be our sacrifice and it would be like removing one of Jesus' painful thorns from his crown, and replacing with our heart. 

We made Lenten promise cubes too with our parents to help us make good choices during Lent. 

British Values Assembly

Rule of Law

We had an assembly with Mrs Grant where we talked about how laws work in our country. We decided that it was good to have laws because it keeps everyone safe. In class we reminded ourselves of the Class Charter that we all agreed to at the start of the year, and recognised that class rules are good because they help us make good choices.

The Feast Day of Our Lady of Lourdes

Year One enjoyed our theme week for the Feast Day of Our Lady of Lourdes, which began by being led by our Liturgy Leaders in praying the Rosary. Through painting, writing, praying and singing, they were able to become truly immersed in the events of when Our Blessed Lady appeared to St. Bernadette. 

Writing from the point of view of St. Bernadette encouraged the class to consider how Bernadette felt at such a wondrous apparition. They appreciated St. Bernadette's courage and faith, and are grateful that Lourdes is such an important and powerful place of Pilgrimage today. 

Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord

We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage. - Matthew 2:2

Year One attended a Eucharistic Service today with Deacon Tim, as it was the Feast day of the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. We talked about how we would have felt travelling to see the new born King and how we can pay homage to Jesus daily in our words and actions. 

Christian Unity

Year One took part in an assembly with Mrs Anthony about Christian Unity. She was talking about how Christians are all believers of God and followers of Christ, but over the years Christianity has branched off in different ways. Mrs Anthony explained this as being like one tree with strong roots, but with different branches. We recognised that although some people are different in the way they follow Jesus, that we are all the same in that we are made in the image of God and must show tolerance and respect for each other.

Monday 5th December

Following the first Sunday of Advent, Year One were thinking about Advent and how we can prepare for the blessed coming of Jesus. We talked about Advent being more than just about presents and Santa, but how we can prepare in our hearts to welcome Jesus. We thought about how Mary must have felt, and by how following her example, we can say yes to God. 

Wednesday 23rd November

'Red Wednesday'

On Wednesday 23rd November, Year One took part in our whole school assembly all about 'Red Wednesday', the day where we think about those who are persecuted for their faith. 

We wore red to highlight 'Aid to the Church in Need's cause, and said prayers asking God to protect those who suffer for following in the path of Jesus. 

Wednesday 16th November

Assembly with Severn Trent

Year One took part in a whole school assembly where we were learning about the importance of having access to clean water, and how important it is to stay hydrated. Back in class, we talked about how precious we are in the the eyes of God, and by looking after ourselves and staying healthy we are giving a gift to God. We also wrote prayers thanking God for his gift of Creation and our ability to have safe, clean water to drink and use.

Lest we forget

Year One were praying for the Faithfully Departed, both in Mass and in our own prayer service.

We know that November is the month when we remember those who have gone to be with God in Heaven, and we also think about those who have lost their lives through conflict and war. Whilst making poppies we thought of our own prayers and intentions to share in our prayer service before offering them up to God the Father and Mary our Mother in Heaven.  

We prayed the Eternal Rest prayer also and reminded ourselves that even though death can bring sadness, we can seek joy in the fact that our loved ones are safe in God's care. 

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
~Amen~

Solemnity of All Saints Day

We talked about Saints that we knew, and what we knew about their lives; such as St. Francis of Assisi, St. Vincent de Paul and St. Joseph. We said that by following in the path of the Saints and by following their example, we all have the chance to do good every day.

At Mass we listened to the Father Sean's Homily where he described a particular stained glass window showing the Communion of Saints. We loved the idea of the light shining through the Saints and out the other side for all to see, and said we can let God's love shine through us in this way too. 

The Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi

4th October

Elm class enjoyed celebrating the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, and have enjoyed learning more about his life during our recent RE Unit on Creation. They learned that St. Francis lived a simple life loving all things in nature, but they also learned that his life had started quite differently, teaching us that we can turn and listen to God at any time, and he will guide us on the right path. We listened to Laudate Si and explored the words 'Brother Sun and Sister Moon' which are taken from the Canticle of St. Francis.

The Feast day of Our Lady of Walsingham 

24th September

This week we were observing the Feast Day of Our Lady of Walsingham. We said our own prayers at the statue of Our Lady, where we were joined by Father Sean who said the Hail Mary prayer with us. We talked about how Mary said 'yes' to God and how this brought us Jesus, the Light of the World. Year One wondered how we, our school community and global family could be more like Mary and say yes to God daily. 

Back in class we talked about the Shrine and Place of Pilgrimage at Walsingham in Norfolk. Following this we painted some pictures of Our Lady. "Thank you for being our Mother in Heaven" 

Rights Respecting Assembly

This week we gathered for our RRSA assembly, considering what our own unique impact could be for our global family and common earth if we used the talents that God gave us. 

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross

14th September

This week, on Wednesday 14th September, Year One attended their first whole school Mass of the new school year. The 14th September is the Liturgical Feast day of The Exaltation of the Holy Cross so we talked about the meaning of the Feast day and recognised it was for honouring and commemorating the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on the cross for our salvation. To help us think more deeply about this we listened to 'When I think about the Cross'.

"Live, Love and Learn together"

Today we gathered to talk about our school Mission Statement and how this relates to our everyday life in school. We explored what we thought the words meant and offered our thoughts and prayers to Jesus, telling him how we plan to live by what he has taught us. We also thought about how our Mission Statement links to our class charter promises. Examples included, "Play nicely with friends", "Listen to what our teachers say", "Look after the whole earth" and "Try your best".

Jesus welcomes the children 

Mark 10: 13-16

In our Collective Worship today, we shared the story of Jesus welcoming the children from St. Matthew’s Gospel.  The children shared what they would have said to Jesus had they been there.  We shared some wonderful prayers about new beginnings as unique children of God.