Catholic Life
The children at St Mary's Priory have many opportunities for worship, including: daily class worship; collective worship during whole school and Key Stage assemblies; devotion to Mary during October and the month of May; Masses throughout the liturgical calendar.
Parents are invited to join us for many of these acts of worship. The children also lead class-based worship, which they plan and organise. Daily class worship involves prayers said at the beginning and end of the school day, as well as before lunch. The children are actively encouraged to think about and thank others for the gifts that they have received, as well as being asked to reflect on how they have acted on our mission of: "love one another; always do our best; take care of ourselves and the world God has given us."
Children express their spirituality and their knowledge and understanding of their faith through creative means including song, musical instruments, debates, poetry, art and crafts. Children take an active part in school life and lead our school prayer in assemblies, as well as working with Fr Clive to lead Mass. During Lent, our school house captains and vice captains walk their peers through the Stations of the Cross.
Newsletters are sent out each half-term which provide parents and carers with information about what their child/children are learning about in their RE lessons, as well information as to how they can help their child at home. The Wednesday Word is sent home each week and each class has a prayer book that goes home with a child each week.
The school supports various charities such as CAFOD, The Catholic Children’s Society, The Passage and many more. At Christmas, children in Years 5 and 6 perform Carol Concerts at local care homes for elderly members of our community.
Our school enjoys welcoming visitors, including those who represent other faiths. We have strong links with our local Shakhsiyah school, who we visit as part of our learning, and share our sporting spaces with. The children at St Mary's Priory enjoy talking about what it means to be a young Catholic in today’s society and are aware of the importance of tolerance and respect to everyone of all and no faiths.