Solemnity of The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Year Four led a whole school mass, celebrating the of the Solemnity of The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.  They were able to reflect upon the kindness and love we show one another and how we spread love throughout humanity.  This special celebration, reminds us of the eternal love God has for us  and that God is love.

Marian Procession

Sycamore Class joined in the whole school Marian procession in honour of Mary Our Mother in Heaven.  We processed around the playground and then laid beautiful flowers at Our Lady's feet.  We joined together in prayer and shared in a decade of the Rosary.  As we journey through the month of May, we give thanks to Mary, Queen of Heaven.  We thank her for saying yes to God's plan, for being a fine example to us all and for bringing us closer to Jesus Christ.  Our Lady Queen of Peace- pray for us. 

The Ascension of Our Lord

This week we celebrated the Solemnity of the Ascension Our Lord commemorating Jesus'

ascension into heaven.  We gathered as school to sing our praises to God in hymn practise and joined together later in the week to celebrate mass.  We listened to Father Sean as he explained to us that Jesus lives on in us and that when we go out and help others, Christ is present in our lives.  We gathered together during our RE lesson, creating prayers which we then shared in a class prayer service, asking Jesus to fill us with the Holy Spirit so that we can continue his work on earth just as the disciples did. 

Vocations Benediction

Today we joined in a whole school vocations benediction, where we prayed together in front of the Blessed Sacrament, praying for vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

As Mary was called by God to have a special vocation as Jesus' mother, we pray during the month of May, that we can follow God's plan for us and fulfil our own vocations.

The Resurrection of the Lord

As we enter the season of Easter, Sycamore Class wrote prayers of thanks to the Lord Our Saviour, for all that he went through in his final moments of his life.  The children understood why Jesus was sentenced to death and recognised that God has a plan for each one of us.  The children led a class prayer service, sharing their own prayers and also the Regina Caeli prayer as a tribute to our Blessed Mother and an exclamation of joy at the Resurrection of Our Lord.

Stations of the Cross

In the final week of term, Sycamore Class led us on a spiritual pilgrimage through the Stations of the Cross.  At each station we focussed on the pain and suffering Jesus endured and visited the final moments of Jesus' life before he gave up his life for us.  At each station we were able to reflect on our lives today and how we can continue to live through Jesus as he wanted us to, now and forever in heaven. .

Jesus, we praise you, we thank you, we love you.

You gave up your life to save us.

CAFOD Lenten Assembly

This week we joined CAFOD's Lenten assembly where we explored the importance looking after our common home and how we can help our global neighbours to preserve it.  We then had a group discussion on the importance of helping others in need and the different ways in which we as a school are going to be alms giving during the season of Lent.  Our Liturgy leads lead us in prayer, following St Francis of Assisi, thanking God for his wonderful creation.   

"Start by doing what is necessary,

then what is possible,

and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”

The Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes

This week in preparation for the Feast of Or Lady of Lourdes, we explored the apparitions of St Bernadette during our R.E lessons.  We recognised how important Lourdes is to Catholics today as many seek comfort and hope by visiting this Holy place on pilgrimage.  We shared in class based Liturgy, where we gathered and prayer to Our Lady and reflected upon her importance in our faith and the importance of the Holy Rosary.  Following this, we created abstract art of Our Lady in the Grotto.  

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

On Thursday, Sycamore Class led a whole school mass to celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.  We gave thanks to Mary and reflected upon her calling from God.  We know that she was free from sin and said yes to God.  We were able to explore ways we can also say yes to God and follow his plan for us.

Advent

For the second week of Advent we have gathered together to listen to the Gospel of St Matthew, lighting our second candle on our wreath as we prepare for the coming of the Lord.

Red Wednesday

This week we took part in Red Wednesday on 23rd November to break the silence on the persecution of Christians and all faiths, globally.  We came to school dressed in red and attended a whole school assembly focussing on the work of Aid to the Church in Need.

We pledged our prayers and recognised how blessed we are to be able to share and practise our faith openly.  We prayed and lit candles for all those who couldn't.  As a school, we wore red glasses so that we could see the world in red. 

The Faithfully Departed 

This week we led whole school mass to remember all of the faithfully departed who have sadly gone before us.  As we are in the month of November, we pray that those who have been reunited with Christ, will have eternal rest in heaven.  We also shared in a special whole school assembly of Remembrance where we pray for all those who have lost their lives due to war and conflict.

Eternal rest, grant unto them o Lord and let perpetual light shine upon them, may they rest in peace, Amen.

All Saints and All Souls

On Tuesday we joined together as a whole school to celebrate the Feast of All Saints.  We took time to reflect upon the work of the saints who have gone before us and asked God to give us the strength to follow in their footsteps.  Following this, as we have entered the month of November, the month of All Souls, we joined as a class to gather our own private intentions for close loved ones who have departed before us.  We created prayers that we will take to our class mass next week where we will remember the faithfully departed.

Prayer in the Presence of the Relics of St Bernadette

On Monday 10^th October we Joined Archbishop Bernard Longley and schools from across the Archdiocese of Birmingham and beyond, for a time of prayer and reflection in the presence of the relics of St Bernadette.  We were able to reflect on the life of St Bernadette and explore her apparitions.  Our Lady said yes to the Lord, and just like Our Lady and St Bernadette, we welcome God into our lives and try our best to please him in the same way that they did.

The Month of The Holy Rosary

This week our Liturgy Leads led our class in a decade of the Holy Rosary to signify the beginning of October.  We said the the first joyful mystery- The Annunciation when we remember how Mary said yes to God.  We took time to reflect upon ways in which we can listen to God and also say yes to his great plan for us.

Whole School Mass (29th September)

This week we joined the whole school to celebrate the Feast of the Archangels.

We listened to the word of the Lord shared during mass and recognised that through prayer, we can ask the angels to bless us each day and to keep us safe.

Classroom Blessings

This week we were visited by Deacon Tim for our classroom blessing.  This marked the new beginning of the school year and we were reminded how we were all given a new beginning when we entered into God's family.  The children reflected upon their Baptisms when Holy water was placed on the heads in a similar way and they shared great discussions about being filled with strength and love from God.  The children recognised their opportunities to reach new goals this year as they have God by their side.  

CAFOD National Assembly

This week Year 4 joined in with the CAFOD National Assembly.  The children listened to ways in which we can help our global family avoid hunger.  The children were able to reflect on how we as a family of God can ensure that human kind are treated fairly and we can support others in need.

Remembrance Collective Worship

Today we shared a child led liturgy in remembrance of Queen Elizabeth II.  We also offered our prayers for other sick members of our parish community.

Prayers Of Thanks For Our Talents

During collective worship time this week, we introduced our Liturgy Leaders to the class and they led us in prayers of thanksgiving.  The children gave thanks for their talents and asked the Lord to help them achieve their goals and aspirations for this year.  The children created a prayer chain for our classroom prayer table.

Our Class Charter

This week we discussed what roles and responsibilities we needed to include in our class charter in order to put Christ at the centre of our daily lives and follow in his footsteps.

Class Based Liturgy

This morning we gathered in our classrooms to listen and reflect on the Bible scripture, The Prodigal Son.  The children were able to identify feelings and actions of different characters, making links with our Jesuit virtue, Compassionate and Loving.  The children discussed who's actions were correct and how God would want us to act in our daily lives.