Collective Worship is an important part of who we are at St. Teresa’s. We pray and worship in a variety of ways at different times and different places. We have whole school Masses in our hall, Masses at our Parish Church and whole school and class liturgies led by both teachers and children. On the first Sunday of each month, children from our school read at the parish Mass, with KS2 classes taking a lead on this. From the spring term, each class from Y2-Y6 have their own Mass in classrooms, which is an intimate celebration that parents are invited to attend. We take our lead from the Church's liturgical year, helping our children to know and understand the teachings of the church and to reflect this in their daily life.  

Key events can be seen below. There is also regular news and information shared on the weekly newsletters which can be found in the 'News and Events' section.

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.