At St. Teresa’s, prayer and liturgy are central to our whole school life. The patterns of prayer are embedded into our school day and these are reflective of our School Mission and the rhythms and calendar of the Church – the daily pattern of prayer is the heartbeat of St. Teresa’s Catholic Primary School.
Our Collective Worship Policy is our ‘go to’ document for the liturgical life of our school, it encompasses our Mission Statement, the Church’s year and seasons, our calendar of Masses and liturgical prayers and shows also how we interweave Statements to Live By into our diary.
We link weekly prayers to our Mission Statement and also make connections with events and feast days of saints e.g. St. Francis, St. Joseph, St. Cuthbert and anti-bullying week – in doing so we make the everyday life that we live at St. Teresa’s relevant and reflective of our common Mission. Here, also, we have our creative prayer times – children can experience the richness of prayer. Staff and children may pray together, for example, in prayer stations, through litanies, through novenas, mediation or dance and actions.
At St. Teresa’s, Mrs Strachan and Mrs Lindsay lead weekly liturgical prayers with our early years and key stage one and key stage two children. The children of St. Teresa’s engage deeply in prayer and liturgical experiences and participate fully. They are proud to sing and celebrate their faith through both contemporary and traditional hymns. Our children show deep respect and reverence and are full participants in responses.
Teachers at St. Teresa’s also lead daily Collective Worship in classes, they lead liturgical prayers based on the forthcoming Sunday Gospel, they lead children in traditional Catholic prayers and they lead and develop the children’s knowledge of supporting each other and liturgical practice through weekly Statements to Live by sessions.
Throughout the year, we invite parents, carers, relatives and friends to join us in our Class Family Liturgical Prayers in the school hall.
As the children of St. Teresa’s, progress through school, they become confident in preparing and leading their own well-constructed liturgical prayers. Our children show that they can use scripture, Catholic religious symbols, silence and music effectively. They use the 4- part liturgical prayer organisation to ‘gather’ their peers, ‘listen’ to the Word, make effective ‘responses’ and ask their contemporaries to ‘go forth’ with a linked Mission.
The children of St. Teresa’s are encouraged to realise the connections of turning their faith into action. With Christ at the Centre and the message of St. Teresa in our hearts, our children respond with actions such as being respectful of one another, supporting and being helpful to our families and carers, looking after the school environment, reaching out to the disadvantaged, taking care of our Common Home and making connections with our global neighbours.