Prayer life of the school

Prayer and Liturgy in a Catholic school is concerned with giving glory, honour, praise and thanks to God. It is our loving response, in word and action, to God’s invitation to enter into friendship, made possible through Jesus, God’s Son, and the witness of the Holy Spirit. It is an integral part of the life of the Catholic school, putting Christ at the centre of education, helping to create and sustain the Catholic ethos, making it tangible.

Collective Worship

As a Catholic primary school collective worship plays a fundamental part of daily school life and enables us all to join together as one in prayer and worship.

Growing Closer to God

In its simplest form, prayer is defined as “talking to God.” It is a personal time of opening our hearts to our Heavenly Father and bringing everything in our hearts to Him. Through the Apostle Paul, God asked us to pray. Prayer can be a powerful force for change in our lives, and the importance of doing it on a daily basis should be instilled in our children.

Communication is the foundation for success in any relationship. When we communicate openly and freely with each other, we learn to know each other as individuals. This principle also applies to our relationship with God. By talking to God, we can learn more about who He is and what plan He has for us.

Prayer Has a Purpose

It is important that our children understand that there is a purpose to prayer. Jesus frequently prayed during His life on Earth. He had a reason for doing so. Our prayers are something that God deeply desires. But our prayers are not for His benefit; as a perfect Divine Being, God is complete in His power and knowledge. 

Children are encouraged to pray in different ways according to their age and personal development. The most important aspect of prayer for children is that they realise it is their way of communicating with God and is first and foremost a personal occasion.

Our R.E. curriculum offers progression for children as they move through the school.

Children are introduced to a variety of different ways of praying:

• quiet reflection / meditation

• praying together

• writing own prayers

• prayers through music

• learning traditional Christian / Catholic prayers

Our School Prayer

St John Bosco School Prayer

This is our school.

Let it be full of love:

Love of one another;

Love of life itself;

But most of all,

The love of Jesus Christ

Our Lord.

Amen

Classroom Worship

Each day worship takes places in the school:

Hymn Practice

On Thursdays all classes sing songs of praise to God and practise hymns and songs that we use for our collective worship and for Mass and sometimes we even learn some new ones.

Key Stage Assemblies

Each Key Stage (Reception and Key stage one, Key stage two) gather together each week for collective worship linked to the liturgical season or other religious themes such as Saints. Teachers from each stage take turns leading the children in worship.

Child Led Liturgy

Each week, different children in each class prepare and lead their class in worship. In key stage one the children are guided by adults to prepare for this. In key stage two the children independently plan their own worship.

Teacher Led Liturgy

Teachers plan a weekly worship for their class to allow time for reflection and prayer based on a religious theme.

Celebration Collective Worship

Each Friday the whole school community comes together for a time of collective worship. We also celebrate the achievements of the school that week. We end the week together by thanking God for all He has helped us to achieve that week.

Mass

Throughout the year we have the joy of celebrating the Sacrament of the Eucharist . Children help to prepare and lead the Mass through Altar Serving, reading and bringing up the gifts during Mass. On different occasions parents and guardians are invited to join us for Mass.

Liturgies

Throughout the year, to mark important events in the Church’s liturgical year, we hold special Liturgies.