RE News
10th Anniversary Mass
On Tuesday 21st November, we celebrated 10 years of being in our new school building. We were delighted to welcome Bishop Paul and Fr. Kim to celebrate Mass to mark the occasion. The children had been preparing for the Mass for a number of weeks and this was evident by the fantastic reading, singing and prayers that were shared on the day. It was also a lovely opportunity to welcome governors, parents, ASCAT representatives and previous members of staff to our school to celebrate this milestone with us. A big thank you to Fr. Kim and Bishop Paul for celebrating Mass with us and to Mrs Sheehy for preparing the hymns and accompanying the singing on the piano.
All Saints
On Wednesday 1st November, KS2 represented St Albert’s and attended Mass at Our Lady’s along with representatives from each school from ASCAT. The Friends in Faith did a fantastic job with the readings. EYFS and KS1 watched the Mass via YouTube.
Harvest Afternoon Tea
On Friday 13th October, we hosted our annual Harvest Afternoon Tea. We had over 50 grandparents and members of our parish community attend. Our Friends in Faith provided wonderful service of tea, coffee and cakes while each class provided some entertainment for our guests. They were treated to a wide variety of songs, poems, artwork and even some homemade treats. All of the performances were warmly received. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Just some of the comments were, “Congratulations on putting on such a great show. The children were attentive and polite. Well done.” We look forward to hosting this event again next year.
Friends in Faith – ASCAT Retreat Day
The Year 6 Friends in Faith attended a retreat day along with the other primary schools in our academy trust. It was a wonderful opportunity for them to meet others from our family of schools. Throughout the day, the children took part in a variety of activities which helped them to develop their leadership skills. Some of the activities they took part in were planning and leading a liturgy as well as some prayer writing workshops. The day culminated in attending Mass after which, the children were commissioned into their role as pupil chaplains. An enjoyable day was had by all.
May Devotion
Just before half term, we came together as a school to celebrate May Devotion. The Friends in Faith planned and led a wonderful service during which hymns were sung and prayers said as a way of honouring Our Lady. Each class laid flowers on our May Altar with our Head Boy and Head Girl crowning Mary.
Stations of the Cross
The Friends in Faith led the whole school in the Stations of the Cross. They led the whole school and some of our parents in a time of reflection. They heard the story of Jesus’ journey on Good Friday to his crucifixion.
Epiphany Day
On our return to school from the Christmas holidays, we celebrated the feast of the Epiphany. The children came to school wearing crowns that they had made over the Christmas holidays. We gathered for a whole school assembly during which the children learned more about The Wise Men and their journey to visit Jesus. Following this, the children engaged in a wide range of activities in their class.
CCS Advent Service 2022
On Wednesday 29th November, The Friends in Faith attended an Advent service run by The Catholic Children’s Society at Westminster Cathedral. They had the opportunity to hear the story of Jesus’ birth and reflect upon the true meaning of Christmas.
As a result of attending the service, The Friends in Faith shared their experience with their peers and encouraged reflection and prayer during this time of Advent.
Harvest Celebration 2022
On Friday 21st October, we were delighted to welcome grandparents and members of our parish community to our Harvest Afternoon Tea. This was the first time that we have been able to host the event since the Covid 19 pandemic. The children have worked hard in the last few weeks to put together an enjoyable afternoon. There were songs, poems, prayers and artwork showcased. The Friends in Faith did a fantastic job hosting the afternoon and the feedback from our guests was very positive.
‘Thank you for such a lovely opportunity to join my grandchildren’s school in a lovely celebration. Beautiful singing and lovely smiles.’
‘Such a delightful afternoon. The children are so polite. Great singing. I liked all the displays around the
hall.’
It was a wonderful opportunity for us to strengthen our ties with our parish community. The Friends in Faith are already busy planning more events which will allow us to continue to invite our community into our school.
Pupil Chaplaincy Day
On Tuesday 4th October, some of our Friends in Faith team attended a pupil chaplaincy day run by the diocese in London. Throughout the course of the day, they participated in a range of activities that helped them to develop their leadership skills. They also got the opportunity to experience different forms of prayer such as lectio devina and guided meditation. The children were buzzing with excitement and gained some great ideas on how to lead their peers in prayer. They look forward to implementing what they have learned.
New School Year Mass
On Monday 26th September the whole school attended a Mass at Our Lady’s to celebrate the start of our new academic year. It was a wonderful opportunity to come together with our parish community and celebrate Mass.
Our New Friends in Faith Team
On the 20th of September, the interviews for our new Friends in Faith team were held. We had a record number of applicants and we now have a strong team of 16 Friends in Faith. They are excited and eager to begin making a positive impact on the Catholic Life of our school.
May Devotion
On Friday 20th May we came together as a school to celebrate May Devotion. The Friends in Faith led a beautiful service during which we sang hymns and prayed as a way of showing our love and respect for Mary. As part of the service, the children laid flowers on our May Altar, with Head Boy, George and Head Girl, Willa crowning Mary.
Easter Celebration
On Wednesday 20th April, the Friends in Faith led a whole school prayer and liturgy session during which, they shared the reading from the Gospel of John which detailed how the disciples were feeling before they knew that Jesus had been resurrected. They also shared some prayers of intercession.
Stations of the Cross
On Thursday 31st March, we came together as a school to engage in a time of prayer while reflecting upon the Stations of the Cross. The Friends in Faith led us through Jesus’ journey on Good Friday to his crucifixion. It was a wonderful opportunity to reflect upon the sacrifice that Jesus made for us.
Ash Wednesday Mass
On Wednesday 1st March, Years 2 – 6 attended Ash Wednesday Mass. This was the first time that we have been able to attend Mass with our parish community since the beginning of the pandemic. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to engage in a time of prayer and reflection at the beginning of the season of Lent.
‘God Who Speaks’ Scripture Roadshow
On Friday 4th February, some of our Friends in Faith attended the ‘God Who Speaks’ Scripture Roadshow in St Alban’s Cathedral. They began the day by taking part in a gospel choir workshop. During their workshop, they learned the songs that were going to be sung during mass. The workshop was enjoyed by all with one of the children saying, “These songs make you really think about God in
a fun way.”The children thoroughly enjoyed this and it was a fantastic start to the day.
Following this, they had some free time to explore the exhibition tents. During this time, the children had the opportunity to listen to a wide range of bible stories and write prayers reflecting on what they had heard.
To finish off the morning, the children attended midday Mass, where they sang the songs they had learned in their gospel choir workshop.
Before returning to school, the Friends in Faith paid a visit to the shrine of St Alban to engage in a time of prayer and reflection. This was especially meaningful as St Alban is one of our new house saints.
Our New House Saints
On Friday 7th January, we launched our new house saints as well as our class saints. Our new house saints are St Josephine Bakhita, St Martin De Porres, St Ursula and St Alban. The class saints are as follows
FS1 – St Ambrose Novena – The patron saint of learning.
FS2 – St Ceilia – The patron saint of music.
Year 1 – St Monica – The patron saint of mothers
Year 2 – St John the Apostle – The patron saint of hospitals and the sick.
Year 3 – St Francis of Assisi – The patron saint of animals.
Year 4 – St Sebastian – The patron saint of archers and athletes.
Year 5 – St Catherine of Alexandria – The patron saint of students.
Year 6 – St Christopher – The patron saint of travellers.
The children spent the day learning about their new house saint and researching their class saint.
Epiphany Feast Day
On Thursday 6th January, we celebrated the Epiphany. Over the Christmas holidays, the children were invited to make a crown to represent one of the Wise Men. On the day, the children wore their crowns into school with pride. It was wonderful to see their creativity. All lessons were centred around the Wise Men and their journey. An enjoyable day was had by all.
Advent Liturgy
This week, we marked the first week of Advent. Some of our Friends in Faith team filmed a liturgy during which, the first candle on our Advent wreath was lit. This video was then shared with every class during one of their Prayer and Liturgy sessions this week.
St Albert’s Feast Day
On Monday 15th November, we celebrated St Albert the Great’s Feast day. We would like to say a big thank you to Fr. Kim for saying a beautiful mass and for helping us to celebrate our patron saint. Year 6 and Year 1 attended at the church with the rest of the school attending via the church’s YouTube channel. Well done to the children from Year 6 that did the readings you did a fantastic job.
Harvest 2021
On Thursday 15th October, we held our annual Harvest celebration. Unfortunately due to COVID, we were unable to hold our annual ‘Harvest Afternoon Tea’ so the Friends in Faith thought of an alternative idea. We asked for donations of tins, tea, milk and chocolate etc. The Friends in Faith will make up hampers using the kind donations and they will deliver them to the elderly members of our parish family that would usually attend our ‘Harvest Afternoon Tea’. Each class was given a time slot to come and place their donations on our Harvest display. Following this, the Friends in Faith led each class in prayer.
Start of Year Mass
On Tuesday 5th October we celebrated the start of the year Mass. Year 5 and Year 2 attended at the church and the rest of the school attended via the Church’s YouTube channel. The Year 5’s did a wonderful job of doing the readings and prayers. The Mass was a wonderful opportunity for the whole school to come together in prayer and celebrate the start of the new academic year. There are already dates in the diary for other year groups to attend Mass at the church.
Leavers Celebration
This year’s Leavers’ Celebration was a little bit different than usual. Due to the inclement weather, instead of a full mass, we had a wonderful celebration of the Year 6s’ time at St Albert’s which was shared by parents Fr. Kim gave the children a blessing while the children presented gifts that represented the different talents/skills they have learned while here at St Albert’s such as books, pens and paint.
Prayer Garden Statue
This year, we have worked hard to redesign our prayer garden. We chose to have a statue commissioned by Paul Margetts. The design of the statue was the children’s job. They were set some homework to think of a statue design that represented our school. The children thought about how they could incorporate our Gospel Values as well as the learning powers they use each day in school. Designs were submitted by children from FS1 right through to Year 6. Have a look at some of the design ideas below.
Once all of the designs had been looked at, a final statue design was chosen. The final design incorporated ideas from many different submissions made by the children. We were lucky enough to have Fr. Kim bless our new statue. Each class spent some time in the prayer garden discussing the meaning behind our new statue as well as spending time reflecting and praying.
May Devotion 2021
On Friday 21st May we celebrated May Devotion. Each class was given time to come to the hall, where each child laid a flower on the May Altar with our Head Boy, Preston and Head Girl, Anna Crowning Mary. The Friends in Faith filmed a May Devotion service which was watched by everyone on their return to class.
