The 5 Ws
In order for our school family to have life in all its fullness and glory, St Mary’s school community will:
WELCOME – Jesus Christ is at the centre of our school family and its very welcoming ethos. Everyone who visits our school always says how welcoming and friendly we are. We have strong links within our community and St. Mary’s Church. We have a very open door policy…just pop in and see for yourself!
WELFARE – we love, value and respect each other as we believe that everyone is made in the image and likeness of God, and we actively and openly reach out to those in need, aiming to make our world a better, fairer place. Through our charitable works we support a variety of local, national and international charities. Our GIFT Team lead a range of charity events such as: Macmillan Coffee Morning, Harvest foodbank collections, winter woollies for the local homeless, Christmas CAFOD appeal, Shoebox appeal, Lenten CAFOD events and more! Our Play leaders ensure every child has someone to play with. We provide very strong pastoral care and support to our children and their families and employ a Family Worker who does much work behind the scenes.
WITNESS – we show stewardship towards our local, national and international community and demonstrate our commitment to the Common Good. We are all witnesses to the faith and we all follow the examples of Jesus in all we do. Our school mission statement is not just words but is real and lived in all we do.
WORD – The word of God is at the heart of all we teach and learn. Our children learn about Jesus and the word of God, but also learn from Jesus – how does he want us to live our lives? We use Jesus and his word and examples in all we do. RE is not an add on but is at the core of all our learning. RE lessons are creative and encourage our children to ask those ‘bigger questions!’
WORSHIP – regular quality and meaningful worship helps to develop the pupils’ faith and relationship with God. There are many different ways to pray. We pray and worship God through: whole school assembly, phase group and class liturgy, whole school or class Mass and individual prayer/meditation, and, of course, through singing! Our GIFT Team also lead lunchtime prayer sessions which are creative and fun. These different ways of praying help our children to form and further develop their own personal relationship with God.