New to Prayer Life at St Anne's Catholic Primary School
Catholic Life-Our Bishop’s vision- Bringing People closer to Jesus Christ through His Church.
“Let all you do be done with Love.”
As children of God, we want to be the best disciples that we can be by following the teachings of Jesus.
Children of St Anne's aspire to be F.A.I.T.H.F.U.L everyday, in all we do and all we say.
'You are greater than you know.'
Mother Teresa
Our vision is central to everything that we do. It inspires our curriculum design, is the basis for policy decisions and underpins our whole school culture and ethos; something which we are extremely proud of. As the children develop and mature they are encouraged to put their faith into practice in their own lives, through their interactions with others and kindness and generosity to those less fortunate, both within our local community and further afield.
Below are some examples of how the children at St Anne's put their FAITH INTO ACTION
Catholic Social Teaching-the Bishop’s vision- Bringing People closer to Jesus Christ through His Church.
At the core of Catholic Social Teaching (CST) are a number of key concepts and principles. At St Anne's CST is embedded in our curriculum and beyond. Please see below.
- Human Dignity
- Community and Participation
- Rights and Responsibility
- Help the Poor and Vulnerable
- Dignitiy and Rights for Workers
- Solidarity
- Stewardship
Diginty
What we do at St Anne’s:
- We ‘live’ our School’s Vision
- We celebrate special days
- We teach about other faiths
- We pray for those in need
- We celebrate different nationalities and cultures by having themed days or weeks.
- An RHE scheme of work that promotes human dignity.
- Mental health awareness days
God made each of us, so every life is important and should be protected.
Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.
Jeremiah 1:5
‘Catholic social teaching believes that human beings, created in the image and likeness of God. This means that God is present in each and every one of us, regardless of race, origin, sex, orientation, culture, or economic standing. Catholic Social Teaching emphasises that we must see within each other a reflection of God and we must honour and respect this dignity as a divine gift.
Common Good
What we do at St Anne’s:
- We support CAFOD national and local charities.
- We organise charity events e.g Christmas hampers and Sponsered walks.
- We donate to Food banks.
- We link our Lenten Liturgy prayers to our local parish
- We pray for our community at every Mass
God made us to be part of a family, a community and a country. So that, we can share and help each other.
We are not created by God to live alone. Living in community is an essential expression of who we are. But Community does not just happen – it is something that all of us must work together to develop.
THE COMMON GOOD
You are not making a gift of your possessions to the poor person. You are handing over to them what is theirs.
Saint Ambrose (340-397 AD)
“Pursuit of the common good is one of the ways in which Catholics practice solidarity: the common good is not just shared with those nearest to us, or even with all those in our own society; it is a universal principle, which fosters the unity of the whole human family.” (Catechism of The Catholic Church-CCC, paragraph 1911) In practising it, Catholics are called to have particular care for the weak and vulnerable, because they are our neighbours in a pre-eminent way. (Luke 10: 25-37).
Peace
What we do at St Anne’s:
- We take part in Anti-Bullying and Safeguarding Week
- When we have the opportunity to represent the school, we have a duty to do so positively
- We are taught that our actions and words are an example to others
- We learn about climate change and ways to help protect God's creation.
God wants us to make sure that everyone is safe and healthy.
Peace…is an order that is founded in Peace, nurtured and animated by charity and brought into effect under the auspices of freedom.
Pacem in terris 1963
The Catholic traditions teaches that human dignity can be protected and a healthy community can be achieved only if human rights are protected and responsibilities are met. Therefore, every person has a fundamental right to life and a right to those things required for human dignity. Corresponding to these rights are duties and responsibilities to one another, to our families and to the wider society.
The Option for the Poor
What we do at St Anne’s:
- Give to Charity
- Pray for those in need
- Hold charity events to raise awareness and money
- We do not judge others
- We make available pre-loved clothes
- Monitor all children to ensure they have the same opportunities
- Offer support to vulnerable parents/families
God wants us to help people who are poor, don’t have enough food, a safe place to live and don’t belong to a community.
The spirit of the Lord is on me, for he has anointed me to bring the good news to the afflicted. He has sent me… to let the oppressed go free.’
Luke 4:18
The option for the poor reminds us of God’s preferential love for the poorest and most vulnerable people. God’s love is universal; he does not side with oppressors but loves the humble.
The Dignity of Work and Participation
What we do at St Anne’s:
- Thank staff and show our appreciation
- Be polite and attentive to special guests and visitors
- Say each other’s names when we greet each other
- Supporting staff through training
- Support staff members going through challenging times through prayer and actions
- Treat everyone in our school as family
Work is important in God’s plan and their families, so jobs and pay should be fair.
A small number of very rich men have been able to lay upon the teeming masses of the labouring poor a yoke little better than that of slavery itself.
Rerum Novarum, 1891, #3
Catholic Social Teaching holds that work is dignified and an intrinsic good, and workers must always be respected and valued.
Work must be undertaken responsibly, and labour treated well, this includes how we approach the work we do, what it is we do with our work and how employers treat their employees. Jesus speaks a lot about work, while much of this is in parables, we shouldn’t restrict interpretations of these parables to be only spiritual ones.
Solidarity
What we do at St Anne’s:
- Roger Coveney, our School’s CAFOD volunteer has delivered C.S.T themed workshops
- We are encouraged to turn off taps so we do not waste water in solidarity for those who do not have access to safe clean water, and turn off unnecessary lights to show solidarity for those hit hardest by climate change
- We have written and shared prayers to show support and worn flowers to show support and solidarity for the victims of war.
- We supported our school community through the Pandemic. We remained open throughtout the pandemic, including bank holidays and ususal school holidays.
God made each one of us and we are all unique. We are all brothers and sisters in God’s family, wherever we live.
In truth I tell you, in so far as you did this to one of the least of my brothers (or sisters) of mine, you did it to me.
Matthew 25:40
‘We are all one family in the world. Building a community that empowers everyone to attain their full potential through each of us respecting each other’s dignity, rights and responsibilities makes the world a better place to live.’ Sollicitudo rei socialis – ‘On Social Concern’ (1987)
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Care of Creation
What we do at St Anne’s:
- We try to recycle as much as we can at school and home
- We have grounds day, planting bulbs and learning outsid in God's creation.
- We help one another
- We reuse things to help us in lessons, such as DT & Art
- We put litter in the bin
- We teach children to be Stewards by treating our outside areas as God’s garden
God created our wonderful world. We should take care of all creation.
Who turned the wonderworld of the seas into underwater cemeteries bereft of colour and life?
Catholic Bishops of the Philippines, 1988
Respect for human life means respecting all of God’s creation. We must re-engage with our environment and take responsibility for it; live sustainably, live so that there are enough resources for everyone.
‘Creation is not a property, which we can rule over at will; or, even less, is the property of only a few: Creation is a gift, it is a wonderful gift that God has given us, so that we care for it and we use it for the benefit of all, always with great respect and gratitude.’ Pope Francis
