Celebration of the Word

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Celebration of the Word is an integral part of school life at St Teresa’s and is central to the Catholic tradition.
It provides opportunities for our school community to join together to contemplate the mystery of God, reflect on spiritual and moral issues,
experience a sense of belonging and grow in liturgical understanding. 

At St Teresa’s, we use a four-part approach to Celebration of the Word, taking the mass as a perfect example of this.

 

1.      Gather – We welcome everyone and prepare ourselves to get closer to God.

2.      Word – We experience a piece of scripture using methods such as drama,
art, music, movement, silence, story, song and poetry to bring it to life.

3.      Response – We consider what we have seen and heard and how it relates to us.

4.      Mission – We rejoice and go forth to live out the Gospel of the Lord in our lives.

 

Each week, we gather together as a school for our assembly to share the Gospel and think about its meaning to us and how to live out the Word of the Lord in our lives. 

Our aim is for all children who leave our school to feel confident in leading prayer and to support with this, all classrooms have: -

·         Interactive resources, such as stones, shells, plants and music

·         Resources related to the time of Liturgical year (Rosary beads in October, wreath during Advent etc.)

·         Children’s Bible and/ or Good News Bible 

The timetable of Collective Worship in our school is as follows: -

As well as regular, weekly Celebration of the Word, we hold celebrations in line with the church liturgical year including;
Advent and Lent services, Advent Wreaths blessing, Remembrance and Holy Week services.

Children are taught to participate fully in Celebration of the Word and are encouraged to plan and lead as appropriate to their age. 

Events from 2024-2025

Start of the Year Mass

In September, we attended Mass at our parish church to celebrate the start of the new academic year. Our Year 6 Avilites were commissioned by Father Alfred and have committed to being leaders of the Catholic Life in our school for the year.

Harvest Festival

We had a special celebration for our harvest festival. The ‘charity’ Avilites led our collective worship, reminding us about why we celebrate harvest and that we need to always be thankful for what we have. All donations were taken to the church for their Caritas collections and we received a thank you card for our generous contributions. 

Feast of St Teresa of Avila

On 15th October, we marked St Teresa’s Day. Father Anselm joined us at school to celebrate Mass and the children shared lots of key messages. We were pleased to welcome Mr Gizzi to say farewell to the school. Our Chair of the Local Governance Committee, Mark Walsh, presented him with a rose and a plaque to thank him for his time and commitment to St Teresa’s over the years.

In classes, children then learnt the meaning of our school prayer and about the life of St Teresa. In the afternoon, children gathered in their houses to learn about the Saints that the houses are named after. You can find out more about this in the RE section.

Advent Wreaths

Each class made their own advent wreath to use during the season in their classroom.

Father Alfred joined us at school for a special wreath-blessing service. Each class wreath, as well as the main school one, was blessed, and the first candle on each one was lit. 

Christmas Mime and Carol Service

Year 4 led us in a beautiful carol service at the church. They told the story of Jesus’ birth beautifully, with the whole school joining in with the singing very well.

Advent Reflection

We ended the year by gathering as a whole school for a meditation by candlelight. This allowed us to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. We focused on remembering that God is ready within us and that we can use our hands, ears and heart to bring God to others so they will know God, too.

Jubilee Launch Day

On Friday 24th January, some of our Avilites led our Celebration of the Word for the Jubilee Launch Day. We were lucky to have so many parents, grandparents and governors join us for this special occasion. 

Jubilee Candle Celebration of the Word

Our CEO, Mrs Whittle, visited us with the special KCSP Jubilee Candle of Hope. Some children from St Simon’s delivered the candle to our school and it remained with us for our Celebration of the Word. This was a special occasion led by the Avilites, where the cross was dressed in the colours of the Jubilee logo.