Catholic Life

At the heart of St Mary’s are the Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust values which recognise the unique contribution that every member of our community makes. The Catholic life and mission of the school is underpinned by actions and experiences that ensure that these values are lived out in all aspects of school life and so our pupils grow to know God, understand their vocation, and feel safe, nurtured, valued and aspirational.

Our vision recognises the uniqueness of each person.  Our children recognise the uniqueness of each person.  Our children themselves have captured the essence of our vision in their shared Vision Statement:

Each One of Us is God’s Masterpiece! (Ephesian’s 2:10)

At St Mary’s School we are one big happy family as:

‘We Love, We Learn, We Live as followers of Jesus’

RE Policies

RE Policy	View
Catholic Life & Mission Policy	View
Prayer & Liturgy Policy	View
Collective Worship Policy	View

Parents have the right to withdraw their children from all or part of religious education and/or collective worship. Any such request shall stand until such time that the parent’s request is withdrawn.

Prayer

Prayer forms a central part of the Catholic life of our school. Children learn our school prayers in Reception class, and the prayers are part of our daily routine in every class. 

As a school the children worked together in creating our own St. Mary’s school acrostic prayer that incorporates our mission statement: 

In addition to our school prayers, the children will learn formal prayers throughout school, including: 

· The sign of the cross 

· Hail Mary 

· Our Father 

· Responses to greet the Gospel 

· Prayers at Mass, (including: I Confess, Holy Holy, Lamb of God)

· The Act of Contrition 

· Eternal Rest  

Year Group Prayer Booklets 

As pupils progress through school they progress from learning their school prayers to learn more formal prayers. These are outlined in the prayer booklets for each year group:

Reception Prayer Booklet	View
Year 1 Prayer Booklet	View
Year 2 Prayer Booklet	View
Year 3 Prayer Booklet	View
Year 4 Prayer Booklet	View

Children enjoy praying in our Prayer Garden:

Meditation

When the children come back into school after their lunchtime break, the first thing every class does, from Reception class to Year 4, is engage in a period of meditation. The children listen to a familiar piece of quiet, soothing music, which includes the refrain, “Maranatha”, meaning, “Come, Lord Jesus.” After this they enjoy a short period of silence, culminating in a final piece of music, asking Jesus to, “Open our ears to hear your voice, open our eyes to see your smile, open our mouths to speak your words, open our hearts to your love.” 

Meditation is always a very prayerful experience, and is an opportunity for the children to talk to God in the silence of their hearts. Often the children will be given something to focus on, such as the statement of the week or an image designed to promote and inspire reflection. 

Maranatha meditation

View

Our meditation is also a great way for the children to prepare for their learning in the afternoon.

Five Minute Prayers

Five Minute Prayers  Here is a 5 minute “Examen for children” which could be a wonderful resource to use before bedtime.      https://soundcloud.com/pray-as-you-go/examen-for-children

Collective Worship

n school, prayer and liturgy are central to our daily routine.  Sometimes, this can take the form of a simple meditation or sometimes we invite parents and parishioners into school to share in the breaking open of the gospels.  Visits to our beautiful parish church for Mass and visits from our parish priests, Father Jeff & Fr. Paul are a constant feature in our everyday life at St. Mary’s.  

Each month each class is given the responsibility of organising fun and creative crafts to display in our school foyer to help celebrate the church year. We refer to this as ‘living liturgically’ or ‘living the liturgical year’: 

Month	Class	Foyer Focus
September	Reception	St. Matthew (4 Gospel handprint)
October	Year 3	Feast of Guardian Angels
November	Year 2	St. Elizabeth of Hungary’s Feast Day
December	Whole School	Dedicate a Star for friends/loved ones
January	Year 1	Celebrate the Epiphany-making Kings crown
February	Year 4	St. Josephine Bakhita’s Feast Day
March	Reception	St. Patrick’s Feast Day
April	Year 4	St. Bernadette’s Feast Day
May	Year 2	Our Lady/Marian Feast Day
June	Year 3 & Year 1	John the Baptist-Holy Spirit Dove Craft
July	Whole School	St. Christopher-Patron Saint of Travelers

Open The Book

Although we are a Catholic school, we have strong links with other Christian faith groups and organisations in the local area.  We welcome the ‘Open the Book’ team into school on a weekly basis.  Visits to other world faith centers also form part of a rounded education.  In recent times, our children have visited Newcastle’s central synagogue and mosque.