FAITH IN EDUCATION
CATHOLIC LIFE & MISSION
As a Catholic school we aim to inspire all those in our school community to model themselves in the image and likeness of Christ. Our Mission Statement 'Faith in Education' has been chosen to reflect the journey each individual makes as they grow spiritually and academically during their time with us. Our distinctive Catholic identity enables our children to become confident to articulate what their faith means to them and to respect those who are of different faith backgrounds. We believe that our work with home, parish and community are interlinked through an ongoing journey in learning and faith.
Living out our faith is central to our Catholic life. Everyone in our school community takes part in learning about the social injustices in our world and how they can show care and support to those in need. Children respond to charitable events with remarkable generosity and are often the driving force behind our acts of charity, initiating and planning the fund-raising events for themselves.
Children in Year 4 prepare for the Sacraments of Reconciliation and First Holy Communion throughout the school year. Their program of study goes hand in hand with the work done with the catechists in the parish and sits comfortably within the Year 4 RE curriculum.
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS INSPECTION
On 14th & 15th March 2019 we were visited by a Diocesan inspection team to carry our our Section 48 RE Inspection. The inspectors met with School Leaders, Governors, Staff, Pupils and Parents and observed Collective Worship and RE lessons in order to inform their views of our school.
We were delighted when they reported that they found St. Mary's to be an Outstanding School.
“St Mary’s RC Primary School is an outstanding Catholic school: The Catholic Life of St Mary’s is outstanding. St Mary’s is a welcoming Catholic community where leaders, staff, pupils and parents live out an authentic Catholic Life firmly rooted in the teachings of Christ.”
The full report can be viewed below.
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
At St Mary’s, our intent for Religious Education is to support children to acquire and develop a deep knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith. Religious Education is the core of the core at St Mary’s and is a thread running through everything we do.
St Mary’s is a caring community, where we support one another, explore the world through learning, challenge ourselves, discover and develop our talents, inspire each other and love one another. Alongside our Mission Statement, ‘Faith in Education’ and our core value ‘treat other people as we would like to be treated’ we teach our children to search, to explore, to discover, and to respond; this is part of what it is to be human. Our aim is to develop children’s love and enjoyment of RE. Children should become knowledgeable about their faith and deepen their understanding of how Scripture, Church teachings and traditions, shape their lives today.
Throughout their time at St Mary’s our children are taught to see themselves as members of a community – their class, their House, their school, their parish, their global family and finally, their role as a member of God’s family. They learn about their duties, rights and responsibility towards themselves and others. They also learn about Catholic Social Teachings and their contributions to the Common Good.
Our Religious Education curriculum leads our children to love one another, as God loves us. Children are taught about God’s love and their Christian responsibilities. Children are provided with experiences of church, Catholic and Christian traditions, as well as being taught to be respectful and understanding of people and traditions from other faith backgrounds.
As a Catholic school, Religious Education and the values of the Gospel remains at the core of everything we do - making Christ known to all, serving the local church and community and assisting parents as the primary educators of their children.
PRAYER & WORSHIP
As a faith community prayer and worship punctuate our days and weeks in school. The children experience a wide variety of opportunities to worship and these are purposefully planned to support their faith development. Every school day begins and ends with prayer and over the course of a school term there are opportunities to experience Liturgy, Celebration of the Word and prayer both independently and with others.
LITURGY
We are co-located with our Parish Church and this affords us the opportunity to attend Liturgy (Mass) regularly. Fr Andrew, our parish priest invites us to the Sacrament of the Eucharist as a whole school or as individual classes. We have 3 whole school Masses for our school intentions and also attend all Holy Day of Obligation parish Masses as a whole school. In addition to this each class prepares and leads 2 Masses per year and these take the place of the parish Mass of the day and are shared with our parish congregation along with members of our families.
CELEBRATION OF THE WORD
Our week is punctuated with a series of opportunities to 'Celebrate the Word'. On Mondays we have whole school Celebration of the Word, this is led by senior leaders and follows the liturgical calendar using the Sunday Gospel as the scripture focus. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are Key Stage Celebration of the Word gatherings and are led by class teachers or groups of pupils. These are theme based and always follow the liturgical calendar. Throughout the year each class prepares a class Celebration of the Word which extends the invitation to parents and family members to experience prayer led by their children.
PRAYER
Prayer in a wide variety of forms is an integral part of our school life. Each day begins and ends with prayer which enables the children to be familiar with some the traditional prayers of the church. Alongside this each class engages in a range of creative prayer including mandalas, labryinths, jorunaling, meditations,song and peer led prayer. Each class has a prayer journal where they can record some of the prayer experiences they have had.
VALUES CURRICULUM
The curriculum at St Mary’s is rich and diverse and offers our students opportunities to explore, reason, engage and learn about the wider world whilst preparing them for life in modern Britain.
We plan and deliver a values based curriculum to ensure that we are consciously and explicitly teaching British Values alongside our core Christian Values which, as a school centred on faith, are those which shape our character and moral perspective.
Each half term (or termly in Summer), we explore a Value that helps us grown and develop as loving Christian people. Each class has a floor book which depicts their learning on that Value. The work can be centred around a story, piece of art, current events or world projects. The children use their time to discuss, explore and understand the value in their world and the world beyond them and how they can live out this value in their lives.
The children bring their class floor books to an assembly and share their learning with their peers and we use social media to share this with the whole school community.
EXAMPLES OF OUR VALUES WORK
MINI VINNIES
The group is part of the Society of St Vincent de Paul. The St Vincent de Paul Society (SVP) is an international Christian voluntary organisation dedicated to tackling poverty and disadvantage by providing practical assistance to those in need.
Our ‘Mini Vinnies’ are children in Year 5 and/or 6 who, with the permission of their parents and the support of Mrs MacDonald & Mrs O'Brien, are encouraged to embark on their first steps as possible ‘Vincentians for life’.
As Mini Vinnies, the youngsters have their own ‘treasured’ Prayer, Pledge and Badge, helping and enabling them to become in every sense, young Vincentians – or ‘Mini Vinnies’.
As Mini Vinnies, they lead on many charity ventures such as Harvest, Poppy Appeal, Advent Angels and our Lenten Challenge. They also make seasonal cards and notes for lonely or elderly people in our parish and community.
OUR PARISH
St Mary's Primary is a Catholic school serving the parish of St Mary's Cullercoats and Our Lady and St Oswin's Tynemouth. We pride ourselves in the strength of our links with the parish community and are fortunate that our school and parish church stand side by side on the same site. This co-location of school and parish enables our children to play an active part in the life of the parish. Our celebrations in church are open to the whole community and are enjoyed by all who attend.
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Our Parish Priest is Fr. Andrew Faley who can be contacted at St. Mary's presbytery on 0191 251 3770.
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Sunday Mass is celebrated at St. Oswin's Tynemouth at 9.30am and St. Mary's Cullercoats at 11.00am.
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Further information about our parish is available on the parish website.