Catholic Social Teaching

This week the children explored community and participation and what this means for them as young Christians. The children looked at Pope Francis’ message about being active participants in their communities and within school and to follow in Jesus’ footsteps by loving one another.

Holy Communion Thanksgiving Mass

Year 2 celebrated our Year 3 children and their commitment to their faith through their sacrament of Holy Communion in our thanks giving Mass. The children talked about keeping the Year 3 children in their prayers and celebrating the sacrament as they look forward to making their own next year!

Multi-Faith Visit

This week Year 2 Oak class undertook a visit to the Synagogue as part of their multi-faith learning. The children were able to reflect on their own belief in comparison to Judaism and experienced the place of worship from the perspective of a Jewish member of the synagogue.

Pope Francis 

This week Year 2 have been learning all about Pope Francis in our RE unit. The children found out interesting facts about his life and connected his name to that of Saint Francis of Assisi, the Saint he chose to reflect a life in which luxury is rejected. 

The Sacred Heart of Jesus - Year 2 Mass

This week Year 2 celebrated the Sacred Heart of Jesus Feast Day in our Mass. The children took turns to read during Mass and were reverent and prayerful throughout. The children spoke about how Jesus shines through in their lives helping them to be compassionate, learned and wise in their daily life.

The Year of Prayer 2024
We shared in celebration with the first of our class assemblies about the Prayer Jesus taught us, the ‘Our Father’. This is in preparation for 2025, the Jubilee Year ‘Pilgrims of Hope’. Pope Francis has asked us to focus on the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ inviting us into a special relationship with God ‘Our Father’.

Pentecost

This week in Year 2 we have been exploring the celebration of the Holy Spirit coming as a gift to the disciples. The children talked about how the Holy Spirit was a gift enabling the disciples to spread Gods word and how they too can receive the Holy Spirit and continue to live the word of God in their lives.

Our Lady Marian Procession

This week Year 2 celebrated our patron Saint, Our Lady, with our annual Marian Procession. The children brought in flowers to show our thanks and said a decade of the rosary for Our Lady.

Dignity - Catholic Social Teaching 

This week Year 2 looked at Dignity within our Catholic Social Teaching learning. We talked about the importance of treating others with dignity and the ways we could carry this out in our everyday lives. The children talked about ‘being made in the image of God’ and that we are all important to Him. 
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do’ Ephesians 2:10 

The Ascension 

Year 2 celebrated The Ascension of our Lord at Mass this morning showing thanks and praise to the glory of God. The children then thought about how they can be closer to God and the love that God has shown by giving His son to the world through Jesus Christ.

Preparing for May the month of Mary, and the Deanery month of prayer for vocations.

Year Two took part in a special assembly of preparation for May the month of Mary, and the Deanery month of prayer for vocations. We have talked in class about ‘Who is God calling me to be?’

St George’s Day Celebration

This week has been a special week celebrating St George. We came to school wearing the colours of St George’s flag and held a special Mass in celebration. 

One Life Easter Stream 

Today we celebrated with One Life Music focusing on the celebration of Easter! We sang to celebrate the risen Christ and how celebrating the resurrection of Jesus is the most important part of our Catholic journey.

Holy Week 

Year 2 have spent a prayerful and reflective week learning about Jesus’ final journey. The children learnt about the signs and symbols during Holy Week, the events in Jesus’ life during this time and reflected upon Christ our saviour through the crucifixion and subsequent resurrection. The children explored how this special event brought them closer to Jesus and how they can follow in his footsteps, following his teachings and spreading his word through their actions.

Stations of the Cross

Year 2 showed respect and reverence during our stations of the cross reflection in church this week. We talked about the importance of Jesus’ final journey before his crucifixion and reflected on the importance of the word sacrifice during Lent.

Year 2 Lenten Workshop

Year 2 participated in a prayerful Liturgy, thinking about the theme of 'Forgiveness'. We listened to Scripture readings and explored the story of 'Jesus and the thieves on the Cross'.

We know that the Cross is a symbol of salvation and a sign that if we make wrong choices then all is not lost, but that Jesus will welcome us back if we are truly sorry. 

We enjoyed making Salvadoran crosses which are a sign of hope for the people of El Salvador, who have endured conflict in difficult times. These crosses are often brightly coloured, illustrated with pictures such as doves, flowers and symbols that remind us of the hopeful and good things. They also sometimes include an illustrated picture of a Bible story.

'Jesus, remember me, when you come into your Kingdom'. Luke 23:32-55

Year 2 Lenten Assembly 

Year 2 celebrated Lent this week by performing their Lenten Assembly to the school and Year 2 parents. The children discussed the sacrifices that Jesus made in the desert and how he was tempted three times by the devil. The children were reflective of their own Lenten journey and encouraged school to be prayerful, focusing on their own sacrifices during this Lenten period.

Jesus' Care for Us

This week Year 2 have been finishing our unit looking at Jesus' Parables and Miracles. Children explored the meaning behind Jesus' teaching on nature and how the care of God for them and their creation enables them to live their lives freely. 

John 6:25-32 says that we can look at the birds in the air and the flowers in the field and observe God's care over creation. Neither the bird nor the flowers work or have any need to be anxious because God is faithful to them. And then Jesus tells us to note how much more people are worth than birds and flowers! Likewise we have no need to be anxious about our lives.

Celebrating our class Saint

This week the children were able to celebrate their class saint, SS Jacinta and Francesco. The children marked the occasion by wearing their own clothes to school and completing a reflective hearts and minds session themed around our Saint. We looked at art work depicting Our Lady with SS Jacinta and Francesco kneeling at her feet and thought about the thoughts and feelings of those at the scene. A very reflective and reverent session was had by all the children and it was wonderful to see the sharing of their knowledge on our class Saint.

Our Lady Of Lourdes Mass

Today was a very special Mass for our school, celebrating Our Lay of Lourdes. We have been learning all about Our Lady in class and are looking forward to celebrating in church with our community in Mass on Sunday.

Year 2 Benediction

We ended our school week with wonderful reverence in church with Deacon Tim for our Year 2 Benediction. The children showed compassion, keeping in our prayers those who are suffering, sick or who need our prayers at this time. The children were faith-filled and compassionate as Deacon Tim said prayers and in class afterwards discussed the importance of reverence when in the presence of the lord.

Followers of Jesus

This week we have been reflecting on how we can be followers of Jesus. The children wrote letters to our Reception class to talk about the wonder of God and Jesus in their lives. We then shared our letters with Reception by reading aloud. It was wonderful to see children sharing their knowledge and guidance to help the younger children share in Jesus' life.

Sharing in the life of Jesus

This week during our RE lessons we have begun our new unit of Sharing in the life of Jesus. During mass this week, we reflected upon the crib scene and the beginning of Jesus' life on Earth. We have been looking at stories from the bible and reflecting on their teachings. We thought about how we can learn from the teachings of Jesus' first miracle at The Wedding in Cana, helping others and showing care and kindness. This week's mass was an opportunity for us to say prayers for those we wish to show kindness to in our lives.

The Crib

This week in Year 2 we had the wonderful opportunity to visit the crib in church. It was a very peaceful and reflective session where some of our Year 2 Liturgy Leads lead our prayers. We talked about the importance of the crib scene and connected the scene with our Christmas Unit in our RE lessons.

O Antiphons

This week we have been learning about the O Antiphons, a set of prayers said each day from 17th December to 23rd. Each daily prayer address Christ with seven magnificent Messianic titles based on the Old Testament prophecies.  
 

Celebrating the season of Advent

This week we have enjoyed celebrating the season of Advent as a whole school family. We have lead the school in Advent preparation through our Advent assembly where we reminded our school community of the true meaning of Advent. It is a time of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.

Advent

As we begin our new liturgical season of Advent, we have been reflecting on this time being a time of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus at Christmas and the second coming of Christ. In class, we have heard and responded to Bible stories linked to this season and decided what we will do to prepare for His coming.

Break the Silence

This week we have worn red to mark the end of the week where we have been thinking about those who are persecuted for their faith. We ask you to share in our challenge to ‘break the silence’ and speak out for all those around the world who are unable to share their faith freely. 
 

Jesus is the light

In our Mass this week we were reminded that in the month of November we pray for the souls of those who have departed. Father Sean reminded us that we should not fear death because Jesus is the light and when we have departed this earth we will share in his light.

We discussed this in class and recorded how we share in his light in our daily lives.

Attentive and Discerning

This half term’s Jesuit values have really made Year 2 Oak class think about how we are attentive and discerning in our lives. We talked about what it means to make the right choices, show integrity and listen carefully to those around us. Lots of us recognised that making the right choices helped us to walk the path Jesus has laid out for us, as he showed us how to be the very best versions of ourselves! 

Let us remember

November is the month where we stop, think and remember those who have died. This week in class we have thought more closely about what it means to remember and pray for the souls of those who have departed. We know that with our Lord they are in eternal rest. 
This week we ask you to share in the Eternal Rest prayer as a family.

Mission Together

We have spent our week thinking more closely about the generosity shown by Jesus through our assemblies and by learning about the work done by Mission Together. We have pledged to try and be more generous by giving what we can to those in need around the world and in our local community. What will you do? 
 

Brighten up for Harvest

This week we have been sharing in the season of Harvest. As a class we have been thinking about how we can make a difference to those less fortunate than ourselves and make a difference to build a brighter a world. We give thanks for the harvest gifted by God. 
 

Praying the Rosary

We entered the week Praying the Rosary with the support of our Liturgy Leads. When we are Praying the Rosary we have an encounter with Mary and share in the mysteries of Jesus. It enables us to further understand that God has revealed himself and saved us and that Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, inspires us.

St Vincent de Paul

Today marks the feast day of St Vincent de Paul and this week we met our new Mini Vinnies who will lead projects throughout the year to inspire us to live our life more closely with him. 
Through our school and parish community we are reminded to show compassion and care to all people especially those less fortunate than ourselves. We have pledged, along with the Mini Vinnies, to contribute generously to these people this academic year. 
 

Jesus teaches us about tolerance 

Inspired by our whole school assembly this week about British Values we have thought more closely about tolerance and how Jesus teaches us through the Bible to be more accepting of others. In Matthew 7:1 it states ‘Judge not, that you be not judged.’ We ask you this week to remember these words and also to remember that Jesus shows us how to have good judgement without being judgemental. 
 

Celebrating Mass

Today enabled us to reflect our on virtue of grateful as we celebrated our first school Mass of the new year, The Exaltion of the Holy Cross. We considered how grateful we are to Jesus Christ for saving us by his crucifixion and showed reverence and respect throughout the service. A wonderful start to our Year 2 Mass celebrations!

A new beginning as the family of Oak

We have enjoyed our new beginning this week as part of our whole school community and in particular as a class. In Matthew 25: 31-40 Jesus makes it clear that we give to him by giving to others so we have reflected in our class liturgy and in our RE and Mission lessons what this message means for us as we begin our journey together.