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The Catholic Life of St Peter's
Our school motto is “Jesus is at the heart of all that we do”
At St. Peter’s we firmly believe this and that we are bound together, by the unity of our faith, and our children's education is developed in an atmosphere of caring, sharing and example.
Our Faith is at the centre of everything we do and our aim is to foster and deepen the children’s faith, to help them to enter into a personal relationship with God and to respond to him through prayer, worship and Christian living.
At St Peter’s we are a loving Catholic school community who seeks to live out the teachings of Jesus Christ in partnership with parents, carers, governors and our two parishes. We endeavour to be the people God calls us to be.
On this page we hope you enjoy reading about and seeing examples of how we live out our school Mission and Virtues, celebrating the many opportunities we have to deepen our faith.
Prayer and Liturgy
Prayer and Liturgy
At St. Peter’s, Christ is at the centre of all of our thoughts and actions. Prayer and liturgy allow us all – children, staff, parents and parishioners – to come together to know, serve and love God.
Prayer, Liturgy and Timetable
Monday: Whole School Liturgical prayer – 10:00 am / Class Mass 11am (timetabled)
Tuesday: Class shared prayer/liturgy. Modelled by the Class Teacher
Wednesday: The “Wednesday Word” Liturgical prayer (KS1 in class; Y3/4 at 10.15am; Y5/Y6 at 10.15am)
Thursday: Class shared prayer/liturgy. Led by the children.
Friday: Whole School Celebration Worship 9am (including shared prayer) Parents, Carers and family invited to attend.
Definitions of some forms of worship
Collective Worship is the legal term for the way in which we connect spiritually with God, our creator, following the example of Christ, guided by the Holy Spirit. This comes in a multitude of forms and there is no right or wrong way to give glory to God.
Mass is at the centre of the celebration of our faith. We celebrate the mystery of the Eucharist as a faith community, praising alongside our parish community of St Peter’s. Fr Peter, our Parish Priest leads our prayer and worship.
Liturgy has a distinct, formalised format that mirrors that of the Mass. There are four sections:
Gathering (coming together as a prayer community);
Word (listening to God as found in the scriptures);
Response (prayer time, reflection or action to digest and ponder over God’s word);
Mission (taking the message from the liturgy out into our school, home, community and beyond).
Prayer, according to St. John Damascene, is the “raising of one’s mind and heart to God.” This can be vocalised or internal, contemplative prayer. We can use traditional prayers of the Church or our own thoughts and words.
Whole School Prayer and Liturgy
Mrs Gili-Ross, Mrs Alfrey or Mrs Hazeldine lead the whole school in Prayer and Liturgy every Monday. Classes take it in turn to lead Wednesday Word in addition to, preparing for their Class Mass each half term.
Prayer and Liturgy themes are closely linked to the liturgical year so that all members of the school community have an understanding of the readings, colours and messages we listen to and see on Sunday at mass.
However, acts of worship may address current issues, events in the week (both secular and religious) or other feasts in the Church’s year.
Friday’s Celebration Worship is a further opportunity for us to prayer together as a whole school and for our children to celebrate the gifts given to them by God, sharing their achievements and talents both in and out of school. Parents, Carers and friends and family are warmly encouraged to join us for this special celebration.
Key Stage Prayer and Liturgy
Teachers lead Prayer and Liturgy in their Key Stage Assembly each week. This takes place on Wednesdays. The teachers lead worship by using the ‘Wednesday Word.” Physical copies of the Wednesday Word are no longer produced since the Covid-19 Pandemic; therefore, a digital version is shared on social media each week.
Please follow this link to find the website for the Wednesday Word.
Class Prayer
Teachers in school seek to empower children; they lead and model good practice and also give children the opportunity to participate, take ownership of their learning and develop their own relationship with God. Teachers aim to give children a real voice in planning and leading
worship. It is important that we all look to children as having an important role to play in
leading our faith communities; Christ himself said, “Let the little children come to me” (Matthew 19:4), welcoming them as models of faith – and so should we. We will pray together
as a class at regular intervals each day and share in Prayer and Liturgy daily, either as a whole school or an individual class. On a Tuesday and a Thursday, pupils and teachers lead worship within the classroom. This can be in any medium of worship. The theme for this worship may be based on our Come and See RE curriculum, the liturgical calendar, current events etc. The children will lead their own worship within the classroom at least once a week, though this is related to the pupils’ age with regards to their level of involvement.
• EYFS: the theme and style of worship is decided by adults and pupils prepare the Prayer
Focus, participating as appropriate.
• KS1: the theme and style of worship is decided by adults and pupils have varying levels
of input, according to their ability and confidence. This progresses through the key
stage.
• KS2: the theme and style of worship is decided by children with increasing
independence, though some support is still given.
Parent Worship/Stay and Pray
Parents are invited to worship with our school community at key events in the year, such as Termly School Mass, Celebration Worship, and the Y6 Leavers’ Prayer and liturgy. They are also welcomed to participate in giving glory to God during specific liturgical seasons, such as Advent and Lent.
Parents are also invited to attend Class Masses in every class, whereby they participate in the planning and delivery of our shared worship. This timetable is established across each Key Stage. These will take place in the classroom usually on Wednesdays at 2pm.
Please see newsletters and class pages for upcoming dates.
The Wednesday Word is also shared each week for our families via our Seesaw App to use to support prayer life at home.
Prayer Table
Each class has a Prayer Table that changes regularly. This is within a quiet area of the classroom in a setting where the children can encounter God at a time of their choosing. This usually involves some form of reading, reflection and action.
Our Prayers
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Whole School Morning Prayer Oh my God you love me You're with me night and day I want to love you always In all I do and say I'll try to please you Father Bless me through the day Amen |
Morning Prayer Good morning Lord We praise your Holy Name and Thank you for giving us this lovely new day Amen
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Prayer before Meals Bless us, O Lord, as we sit together. Bless the food we eat today. Bless the hands that make the food. Bless us O Lord. Amen. |
Prayer after Meals Thank you, God, for the food We have eaten. Thank you, God, for all our friends. Thank you, God, for everything. Thank you, God. Amen. |
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Evening Prayer God, our Father, we come to say, Thank you for your love today. Thank you for my family And all those friends you give to me. Guard me in the dark of night And in the morning send your light. Amen. |
Hail Mary Hail Mary full of grace, The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary Mother of God Pray for us sinners now and in the hour of our death Amen |
Watch this space! We look forward to establishing prayer partners with parish members as our Year 4 children commence preparation for their First Holy Communion.
As a school we regularly join the parish of St Peter’s and St Joseph’s for mass. We also have the privilege of planning and leading mass within our classrooms; Father Peter celebrates the mass and we invite parents and grandparents to join us.
Class Masses
On the first Friday of each month, a group of Key Stage Two children volunteer to join Parish Members for a special mass to pray for and with those members of our parishes who are sick. The children consider it a privilege to attend this beautiful service and join parishioners for tea and cake afterwards.
We are incredibly blessed that our school is in a wonderfully natural setting with an extensive, onsite woodland. It is here that our children take part in Forest School sessions. God teaches us many lessons through nature which are linked and interwoven through our Forest School.
Through learning about their natural environment and having involvement in the sustainable management of our precious woodland, our children learn to notice and respect the beauty of God’s creation.
In the bible, Jesus communicates with us through the oceans, the skies, birds singing, leaves rustling in the forests, and He uses nature in His parables. Many of our children draw comfort and their faith can be strengthened from spending time in the woodland during challenging times, particularly when experiencing grief and trauma.
At St Peter’s, we celebrate many religious feasts in our woodland throughout the year including, praying the rosary in October and May, journeying through our woodland with Jesus during Holy Week with The Stations of The Cross and focusing on The Season of Creation as Autumn begins each year, encouraging our children to become stewards of creation. In December, our woodland becomes Bethlehem as the children build a real life stable and we re-enact the Nativity with the help of a donkey.
Section 48 Report
Laudato Si’ Crew
“Let us be protectors of creation, protectors of God’s plan inscribed in nature, protectors of one another and the environment.”
Pope Francis
In the summer of 2015, Pope Francis addressed the people of the world with a special letter called an encyclical. He gave everyone an extremely important message. Pope Francis asked every human being on the planet to do their very best to take care of our world and to protect it by making changes to the way we live.
By making even small changes, we can help the problems related to climate change and protect and care for our common home, making the world a better place to live for ourselves and future generations.
Our Laudato Si group is made up of class representatives who meet regularly. We work hard to improve our environment and make others aware of our mission to follow Pope Francis’ teaching.
Some of our projects and plans include…
Our school uniform bank which is a big help to our families and recycles uniform, therefore saving money and reducing waste
Litter picking to protect wildlife and make our environment a better and happier place to enjoy
Maintaining our school grounds and Forest School by renewing pathways with recycled woodchip, making our woodland safe and accessible for all, including our friends from Pear Tree special school
Planting and growing vegetables, bulbs and flowers and learning where our food comes from and how to grow successfully
Ensuring taps are turned off and water is not wasted around school…without water, there is no life
Recycling everything that we can and ensuring that all our classes and the kitchens remember to recycle too
Creating a prayer tree in our woodland for all to reflect and enjoy time in nature and feel close to God
Taking part in the RSPB school bird watch to monitor the numbers of bird species and taking action so that they don’t die out
Putting nesting boxes up to provide homes and shelter for wildlife and a place for them to have babies
Reducing the amount of electricity that we use by ensuring that lights are switched off in empty rooms and only switched on when needed
Sharing our projects, plans and ideas with our classes, teachers, visitors and parents to ensure that everybody feels valued and is involved and included.
Click here to watch a short video and learn more about Laudato Si
The group is part of the Society of St Vincent de Paul. The St Vincent de Paul Society (SVP) is an international Christian voluntary organisation dedicated to tackling poverty and disadvantage by providing practical assistance to those in need. ‘Mini Vinnies’ are children aged between 7 to 11 who, with the permission of their parents and the support of their Schools, are encouraged to embark on their first steps as possible ‘Vincentians for life’.
As Mini Vinnies, the youngsters have their own ‘treasured’ Prayer, Pledge and Badge, a dedicated website (www.minivinnies.org.uk/) and a range of bright and colourful documents which guide them in their formative steps – helping and enabling them to become in every sense, young Vincentians – or ‘Mini Vinnies’. They will decide which worthy cause they would like to help each year and of course how they will do this.
Our group help people less fortunate than us by raising money, praying and doing things for lonely people. St Peter’s ‘Mini Vinnies’ group are children in Key Stage 2, we pray together each week and meet to discuss ways we can help others. We collect food on the first Friday of the month and take it to the Food Bank to help those in need. We have previously collected coats for the homeless and those in need and socks for a local charity.
School Ambassadors-Our School Ambassadors work alongside our other Subject Ambassadors to champion curriculum RE and to provide Mrs Hazeldine with feedback on what they are learning in class, what they enjoy and what they would like to know more about.
Our Ambassadors meet with the RE Governor and HRSE Governor to discuss their learning and the Catholic Life of the school.
Guardian Angels- Our Guardian Angels have been chosen for their care, kindness and willingness to put others needs before their own . The Guardian Angels are on hand to support and nurture those around them especially, on the playground. They help to make everyone who visits, joins and is a member of our school community welcome, cared for and included.
Our children look forward to this special role as they join Mrs Jose in Year 6. All our Year 6 children are ‘Gardeners’ to our Reception ‘Seedlings’ nurturing our youngest children in their faith, studies and social aspects of school life.
