Catholic Life
Mission Statement
We are a Catholic family growing in Christ’s love.
We value everyone in our community.
We learn, play and pray together through the love of Jesus.
We strive to be the best that we can be.
Prayer Booklets
Wednesday Word
Follow the link below to access the Wednesday Word. The Wednesday Word shares the Sunday Gospel, connecting Home, School and Parish with the Sunday Gospel to pray for the best for our children.
Ten:Ten Resources
Click on the link below to access the Ten:Ten website which contains enriching, innovative and inspiring Christian faith-based resources for schools.
Chaplaincy Team
At St Teresa's we have a passionate team of Year 5 chaplains, who play a vital role in enhancing and promoting the School and Gospel values alongside our faith to students, staff and the wider community. Their aims are to strengthen our mission, deepen prayer and enable communion.
Who's who?
Praise, Jasmine, Sarah, Sofia, Stacey, Francis and Eva are our Year 5 Chaplains-see their pictures below.
Policy Documents
Catholic Social Teaching
Catholic Social Teaching (CST) is rooted in Scripture, formed by the wisdom of Church leaders, and influenced by grassroots movements. It is our moral compass, guiding us on how to live out our faith in the world. Our faith calls us to love God and to love our neighbours in every situation, especially our sisters and brothers living in poverty. Following in the footsteps of Christ, we hope to make present in our unjust and broken world, the justice, love and peace of God. Modern Catholic Social Teaching is said to have originated in 1891 with the encyclical letter, Rerum Novarum. Since then, a wealth of teaching continues to give new life to the Scriptures and shape the Church’s response to our modern world. Pope Francis’ continues to add to Catholic Social Teaching with his own encyclicals including Laudato Si’ (2015) and Fratelli Tutti (2020). From these Catholic social teaching documents and encyclicals we derive core principles. There is no fixed or official list of principles. Different organisations and writers include different ones. However, they will include the same ideas and beliefs. At St Teresa's we are guided by the following 9 principles: Human Dignity, The Common Good, Participation, Subsidiarity, Stewardship, Solidarity, Preferential Option for the Poor, Distributive Justice and Promoting Peace.
"Love and charity, are service, helping others, serving others. There are many people who spend their lives in this way, in the service of others. … When you forget yourself and think of others, this is love! And with the washing of the feet the Lord teaches us to be servants, and above all, servants as He was a servant to us, for every one of us."
Pope Francis - Jubilee audience, March 12, 2016
Fundraising
In December 2020 we asked our families to donate food items for the Trussell Food Bank Trust in Dagenham. The donations were collected on the 14th December and we had a very impressive total of 1600 items. This number is even more impressive when we consider we are a small school compared to others and it proves what generous, kind and considerate families we have at St Teresa’s. The Trust support a nationwide network of food banks and together provide emergency food and support to people locked in poverty, and they campaign for change to end the need for food banks in the UK. This is a simple way for our school community to put the Catholic Social Teaching principles into action!
In April 2021 the children completed a sponsored Easter Bunny Dash. The children could wear their own clothes and they completed a certain number of laps around the school field. The money we raised was put towards the Father John Memorial Garden and at the final count we had raised £1500-what an amazing amount!
In April 2022 the children completed a Peace Run. The children asked for sponsors and raised an amazing £1580 which we sent to Cafod for their Ukraine appeal.
Chaplaincy Team CST Assemblies March 2023
In March 2023 The Chaplaincy Team delivered a short assembly to each class explaining all about Catholic Social Teaching. They worked hard in their lunchtimes to prepare a Powerpoint presentation and script and then delivered their presentation to every class in the school. The sessions were very informative and engaging.
May 2023
In May we will be honouring Mary, Our Lady and The Chaplaincy Team will be leading a Rosary Prayer Group every Wednesday and Thursday morning throughout the month of May, from 8.30am-8.45am in the school hall. Everyone is welcome.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
Amen
The Big Lent Walk 2023
On Monday 27th April the children took part in The Big Lent Walk to support CAFOD. The children asked for donations to support them as they walked around the school field. They were able to wear their own clothes with something purple added to symbolise Lent. The children all did so well, and were able to walk around the field many times-even the Nursery children joined in!
Care Home Visits March 2023
The children have continued putting their Faith into Action this month by visiting our local Care Home. The Y5 and Y6 classes visited on two consecutive weeks to spend time with the residents, chatting to them, sharing Easter Cards they had made and singing some songs to them.
Parish Links
St Thomas More Catholic Church
St Thomas More is our Parish Church. Father John is the Parish Priest and Father Paul is the Curate. Both Father John and Father Paul visit school regularly to lead liturgies and to visit the classes.
First Holy Communion
The KS2 children, Year 4 and above have the opportunity to receive the sacraments of Reconciliation and First Holy Communion. A dedicated team of Catechists from the parish w
ork alongside the children and their families to prepare them for these important milestones. They follow a programme called 'I belong' which is based on everyday experience, and encourages the children and their parents to find the deeper realities behind everyday experiences.
Laudato Si
Laudato Si’ is an encyclical written by Pope Francis, it was published on the 18 June 2015. Encyclicals are open letters written by the pope.
Laudato Si’ discusses the damage being inflicted on the Earth by humans and calls on ‘every person living on this planet’ to make urgent changes to our lifestyles and how we consume energy in order to protect the planet.
It deals with many environmental issues including:
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pollution
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climate change
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water
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loss of biodiversity
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decline in the quality of human life.
In his letter Pope Francis implores us to work together to create a better world for future generations and asks us to make the necessary changes in our lives in order to take care of, respect and value our ‘common home’.
Laudato Si Week 2023-May22nd-28th.
Each year there is a week dedicated to Laudato Si and this year it is from May 22nd to may 28th 2023. In school the children will be carrying out activities to celebrate Laudato Si week-check back here later on to see what they got up to!
Fratelli Tutti
Fratelli Tutti is an encyclical, or open letter, written by Pope Francis. It was published on October 4 2020. In the encyclical Pope Francis asks us to reach out to our sisters and brothers in need, whoever they are, wherever they may come from. We are challenged to turn outwards and think of ourselves as one global family, becoming neighbours to all. Fratelli Tutti is a new dream for a world after coronavirus. It turns the world upside down, placing human dignity at the centre. Click on the link below to find out more...
A prayer to the Creator
(Pope Francis, Fratelli tutti, 287)
Lord, Father of our human family,
you created all human beings equal in dignity:
pour forth into our hearts a fraternal spirit
and inspire in us a dream of renewed encounter,
dialogue, justice and peace.
Move us to create healthier societies
and a more dignified world,
a world without hunger, poverty, violence and war.
May our hearts be open
to all the peoples and nations of the earth.
May we recognise the goodness and beauty
that you have sown in each of us,
and thus forge bonds of unity, common projects,
and shared dreams.
Amen.
St. Therese of Lisieux
Who Is St. Therese?
St. Therese had a simple yet powerful message that still resonates in the hearts of millions today.
She died at the age of 24, believing that her life was really just beginning for God, promising to spend her heaven doing good on earth.
Marie-Francoise-Therese Martin was born on January 2, 1873, and baptized two days later on January 4th. Therese was aware of her littleness. “It is impossible for me to grow up, so I must bear with myself such as I am with all my imperfections. But I want to seek out a means of going to heaven by a little way, a way that is very straight, very short and totally new.”
Known as “The Little Flower” by many, St. Therese’s words illustrate the symbol by which she shares with us her intercession and inspiration even from heaven. In living “The Little Way” by which she sought to attain eternal life with Christ, St. Therese performed small acts, unbeknownst to others, in order to give glory to God alone. She taught that we are to do “ordinary things with extraordinary love.”
Rose Prayer of St. Therese
St. Therese,
The Little Flower, please pick me a rose from the heavenly garden and send it to me with a message of love; ask God to grant me the favour I thee implore and tell Him I will love Him each day more and more.
Amen.
Little Way Award
The ‘Little Way’ Award is recognition for the children who follow St Teresa’s Little Way by regularly demonstrating small ‘acts of kindness’ which are done in a modest way.
These acts of kindness should demonstrate that they are thinking of others and showing great consideration and care towards others.
Anyone can nominate a pupil for the ‘Little Way’ Award
The nomination forms are kept in a box in the office and in the staff room. When you have completed your nomination place it in the Little Way Box.
The Chaplaincy Team will regularly check the number of nominations and when a pupil achieves FIVE nominations they will receive the Little Way Award.
Along with the trophy, which will be awarded in assembly, they will receive a special letter to bring home for their parents and a special copy of the ‘Little Way’ book.
Ash Wednesday 22nd February 2023
Father John came into school on Ash Wednesday this year to distribute ashes to EYFS and KS1 and to lead KS2 in an Ash Wednesday Service. The Chaplaincy Team organised the service and Father John helped us to reflect on what an important time in the Liturgical Year Lent is.
Holy Week Presentations 2023
In preparation for Holy Week the partner classes each focused on a day from Holy Week and prepared a short presentation for another class to watch. The presentations could be drama, musical, or informative and afterwards the classes presented their work in a frame for display. EYFS did Palm Sunday, Y1&Y2 did Maundy Thursday, Y3&Y4 did Good Friday and Y5&Y6 did Easter Sunday.
Easter Garden Competition 2023
This year the children were invited to make an Easter Garden at home depicting a scene from Holy Week. The competition winners were announced in school and received an Easter prize. We had some wonderfully creative entries-please see below.
Easter Blessing 30.3.23
On Thursday 30th March Father John came into school to deliver an Easter Blessing for the whole school. We gathered in the hall and each class presented the work they had done for Holy Week and sang an appropriate hymn. Father John helped us to reflect on the events of Holy Week and the deeper meaning of our Easter celebrations.
Culture Evening Thursday 7th July 2023
On Thursday 7th July we had our Culture Evening after school from 4.30-6.30pm. The PTA organised a wonderful evening where our families came and celebrated all the different cultures within our school community. There were foods to sample from many different cuisines and the children and adults wore traditional outfits which was fantastic. So many of our families and pupils past and present came along to enjoy the evening-it was so much fun!
