Catholic Life
Our School Mission
Our mission at Our Lady and St Teresa’s Catholic Primary School is to “Aspire, Achieve, Learn and Love as One Family in Christ”. We do this by:
- being resilient and ambitious in our learning and sharing our knowledge
- showing kindness and respect to everyone
- being a welcoming, caring and loving school community
Aspire, Achieve, Learn and Love as One Family in Christ is our school mission and is fully understood and lived out by both children and adults at Our Lady and St Teresa’s. The children understand that they are all made as members of God’s family and have a responsibility to care for one another, and the world of which God has entrusted us to be stewards.
We recite the school mission as a whole school every Monday morning during Prayer and Liturgy. Through our Monday Mission we are sent out into the world with an active mission to fulfil, linked to the Gospel and our school mission. To support us in actively living out our school mission, our Mini Vinnie's worked with the Senior Leadership Team to create our school's Mission Prayer:
Our Patron Saints
Our school is really special because we have two saints as our patrons, Our Lady and St Teresa.
Our Lady is of course, the most important of all the saints as she is the mother of Jesus. God chose Mary from the very beginning of her life to be utterly perfect and sent the Angel Gabriel to ask her to become the mother of Jesus his beloved Son. He promised to send the Holy Spirit so that this could happen, and Mary said, “I am the handmaid of the Lord.” She welcomed Jesus into the world and cared for him throughout her life even telling his disciples to, “Do whatever he tells you.” When Jesus was dying upon the cross, he gave Mary to be the mother of his beloved disciple John and indeed to be the mother of all of us who believe in and follow Jesus her Son. Mary’s heart was filled with joy when Jesus rose from the dead and with the apostles, she waited for Him to send the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. At the end of her life here on earth, Mary was taken into heaven to be united with her beloved Son and share in the life of heaven.
Our Lady is a wonderful example to us of welcoming Jesus into our lives and following him. She also loves and cares for us for we are also her children and family, so she prays for us. Our Lady will always lead us to Jesus, and she will always pray for us when we seek the help of her prayers.
St Teresa is another wonderful saint. She was born in 1873 near the town of Lisieux in France. Her mother and father were people of great faith and alongside her sisters they grew up in a family that prayed and lived their lives as Catholic Christians.
From an early age Teresa wanted to become a Carmelite nun just like two of her older sisters, but she was too young to enter the convent in Lisieux. On a trip to Rome, she met and begged to the pope to allow her to enter the Carmelite Convent in Lisieux. He granted her request.
As a nun Teresa loved her life of prayer, reading the Holy Scriptures and following Jesus. She found that doing little things very well with great love was what God was asking her to do. She called this her “little way” and tried to practice this every day of her life.
Sadly, Teresa became ill with the terrible disease of tuberculosis, and she died in 1897 aged 24. Soon after her death many people recognised her holiness and closeness to Jesus. She was declared a saint in 1925.
Since her death millions of people have been inspired by her life and have asked St Teresa of Lisieux to pray for them and for all their special intentions. Many believe that she has helped them by her prayers.
St Teresa inspires us to do little things well out of love and have a great love for Jesus. Her ‘little way’ is something we can do every day in school and with our families.
It is the example set by our two patron saints that serves as a guide for all members of our school community; it is through their example that our mission statement was formed and Our Lady and St Teresa are both key figures within the daily prayer life of our school.
Our Parish
Our school is situated within the parish of Our Lady's Lillington, a small parish on the outskirts of Leamington Spa, serving the Roman Catholic community within Lillington, Cubbington and Offchurch. The parish of Our Lady's is now overseen by the parish of St. Peter Apostle in Leamington. Fr Stephen Day is the parish priest at both Our Lady's church and at St Peter's.
The beautiful church of Our Lady's, which is situated a short walk from school over in Lillington, was opened in 1963. Weekly mass is celebrated at church and the children often walk to the church, particularly in the summer, to celebrate mass or enjoy other worship opportunities.
The stained glass windows at Our Lady's church are truly spectacular and were designed by Dom Charles Norris OSB. The mostly abstract design represents the central Christian themes - Creation, Incarnation and Grace. The very rich and vibrant colours make for a beautiful interior in the summer sunshine, and a beautiful exterior on dark winter nights when the windows are lit from within.
Mass is celebrated at Our Lady's on:
Wednesday morning - 10am
Sunday morning - 9:15am
Father Laurence Crowe
Between 1994 - 2016, Father Laurence Crowe was Parish Priest of Our Lady's, School Chaplain and a member of the Local Governing Body. A faithful servant of our school community, Father Laurence will now be permanently remembered with a memorial bench and tree on our school field. The community and parish gathered on Thursday 21st March 2024 for a service of remembrance, led by Father Stephen.
Prayer and Liturgy
Prayer and Liturgy is an important part of our daily lives at Our Lady and St Teresa’s.
Prayer Areas
Throughout the school there are prayer areas that are based upon the liturgical year and support us in prayer at certain times of the year. For example, Remembrance and The Rosary. All classrooms have a prayer table that is in a prominent location so it is visible for all and a focal point for when we say our daily prayers and class Holy Time sessions. Each prayer space/table has a liturgical coloured cloth plus, a cross or crucifix, age-appropriate prayers/Bible and other artefacts that are appropriate for the time of year.
Daily prayers are led by Class Prayer Leaders and certain prayers are taught in different year groups.
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Prayers are said in the morning, before and after lunch and at the end of the day (minimum)
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School mission prayer said daily and at the beginning of all whole school assemblies and collective worship
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Holy Time (child led collective worship) takes place in each class on a Tuesday at 9.00am. Parents have an open invitation to class Holy Time
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Parents are invited to a ‘Stay and Pray’ child led collective worship in each year group.
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Formal prayers are learned in each year group in line with the Diocesan expectations.
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Meditation (Time for prayer) takes place after lunch in every classroom 3x per week.
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Rosary will be said each week in October and May, led by the Chaplaincy Team.
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Advent activity afternoon will end with class liturgies which parents are invited to join.
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The prayer room and prayer garden provide children and staff a place to pray and reflect at different times within the day.
Prayer and Liturgy - Led by Principal
This weekly Prayer and Liturgy is based on the Sunday’s Gospel and it allows us to come together as a school to reflect on the message within the Gospel. It gives everyone a focus for the week and reminds us of how we should live our daily lives. At the end of Prayer and Liturgy, pupils are set a 'Monday Mission' - a practical or reflective activity that brings together the week's Gospel message with our own school mission.
Sacramental Programme
The Sacraments of Reconciliation and First Holy Communion
The baptised children who are in Year 3 prepare and receive both the sacraments of reconciliation and the eucharist. In collaboration with parish catechists, school work with children and their parents to prepare them for this most special spiritual journey.
Following a parental information meeting in the parish hall, children will participate in an enrolment mass, readying them to undertake the holy sacraments.
Invitation Letter - 2024Reconciliation and Communion Schedule - 2024
The Sacrament of Confirmation
Confirmation is a Catholic Sacrament of mature Christian commitment and a deepening of baptismal gifts. It is one of the three Sacraments of Initiation for Catholics. It is most often associated with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Sacrament of Confirmation confers special graces of the Holy Spirit upon the person being confirmed, just as such graces were granted to the Apostles on Pentecost. Like Baptism, therefore, it can only be performed once, and Confirmation increases and deepens all of the graces granted at Baptism.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church lists five effects of Confirmation:
- it roots us more deeply in the divine filiation [as sons of God] which makes us cry, “Abba! Father!”;
- it unites us more firmly to Christ;
- it increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us;
- it renders our bond with the Church more perfect;
- it gives us a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witnesses of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross.
All you need to know about BaptismAll you need to know about ReconciliationAll you need to know about Confirmation
Act of Contrition
O my God, because you are so good,
I am very sorry that I have sinned against you,
And by the help of your grace I will not sin again.
Amen
Catholic Social Teachings
At Our Lady and St Teresa’s we support our pupils and staff to engage and respond to Catholic Social Teachings (CST). We ensure that it is rooted in our daily practise as people who ‘Aspire, Achieve, Learn and Love as One Family in Christ’. The Catholic Social Teachings serve as our moral compass, guiding us on how to live out our faith in the world. The seven principles of Catholic Social Teaching are:
Our faith calls us to love God and to love our neighbours in every situation. Following in the footsteps of Christ, we hope to make present in our unjust and broken world, the justice, love and peace of God. We work closely with the Our Lady of the Magnificat Multi-Academy Company when teaching and exposing the children to the seven principles.
Virtues and Values
Catholic schools within the Archdiocese of Birmingham ensure that as part of their Catholic teachings from Learning and Growing as the People of God, the values and virtues are a key focus. The values and virtues show how pupils are growing in their faith, as well as how schools help children to grow. Every half term there is a different focus.
These values and virtues are taken from the Jesuit Institute which is rooted in the teachings of St Ignatius. They have created a Pupil Profile in which 8 pairs of complementary words have been placed together. The Archdiocese of Birmingham have been allowed to use the Jesuit material and have renamed it the Catholic Schools Profile.
Each half term the whole school will focus on one pair of words; we will spend time reflecting on the meaning of the words; how we see these values and virtues in action in our lives and in the lives of others. Work on the meaning of the words is carried out in class and whole school assemblies. Demonstrating these values and virtues is celebrated in our weekly Celebration Assembly, during which a child from each class receives the Virtues and Values award; this is also acknowledged on the weekly newsletter, shared with all parents and within the parish.
| 2023 - 2024 | |
|---|---|
| Autumn 1 | Grateful and Generous |
| Autumn 2 | Attentive and Discerning |
| Spring 1 | Compassionate and Loving |
| Spring 2 | Faith-filled and Hopeful |
| Summer 1 | Eloquent and Truthful |
| Summer 2 | Learned and Wise |
| 2024 - 2025 | |
|---|---|
| Autumn 1 | Curious and Active |
| Autumn 2 | Intentional and Prophetic |
| Spring 1 | Grateful and Generous |
| Spring 2 | Attentive and Discerning |
| Summer 1 | Compassionate and Loving |
| Summer 2 | Faith-filled and Hopeful |
At the end of each half-term, a Goldfinch Award is given to the child in each class who has fulfilled the pair of virtues and values for that half-term. At the end of the academic year, the Golden Goldfinch is awarded to the child in each class who has exemplified all of the virtues and values throughout the academic year.
Mini Vinnies/GIFT Team
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” ~ Jeremiah 1:5
At Our Lady and St Teresa's, we take seriously our call to bear witness to the word of God, as stewards of His earth, and the roles and responsibilities that we are given as individuals within our community of faith. As such, pupil leadership is a key facet within the Catholic Life of our school community.
Mini Vinnies
Turning concern into action.
Our Mini Vinnies are a group of enthusiastic children from years 4-6 who want to make a difference in our school and local community. Mini Vinnies truly turn concern into action as they use the simple formula of ‘see, think, do’ to find people in need and help them.
We meet reguarly to pray and discuss ways in which we can help others. We have raised money for local charities, played bingo and sang Christmas carols at our at local care home and made Easter cards for members of our parish to name just a few of our projects!
The Mini Vinnies are part of the Saint Vincent De Paul Society in England and Wales, a voluntary organisation dedicated to tackling poverty in all its forms.
For more information please log onto the Minnie Vinnies website:
https://www.svp.org.uk/mini-vinnies
GIFT (chaplaincy) Team
Our GIFT Chaplaincy Team has representatives from every class in the school. The GIFT Chaplaincy Team provides support for our teachers and children, by helping to develop the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of all pupils across the curriculum.
GIFT Chaplaincy Team members assist with the delivery and development of the prayer life of the school by supporting assemblies, leading daily class prayer times plus prayer and liturgy.
Children live by our core values, which are witnessed by staff and children throughout the school day. Our faith and our understanding of the core values impacts on how we treat one another. We often ask the question “What Would Jesus Do?” as it is important that everyone bears witness to the Gospel Values, and how they live them out in their daily lives. We are a Christ-centred school where Jesus is at the heart of all we do. In our daily life at school we ensure that the children meet God every day.
When we witness the Gospel Values being lived out, we give praise and children are rewarded for being good role models for others. Our GIFT Team Chaplains and Mini Vinnies also provide an inspiration to children in our school through their loving and respectful behaviour to others.
The GIFT Chaplaincy Team work alongside the Senior Leadership Team to ensure that opportunities for prayer, reflection and spiritual exploration are available in a variety of ways. The GIFT Chaplaincy Team joined Father Stephen for the dedication and blessing of the school’s Prayer Room.
Charity Work
Every year at Our Lady and St Teresa's the staff and pupils work hard to support various charities, raising large amounts of money through different fundraising events.
We are also extremely fortunate to benefit from the charitable endeavours of The St Vincent de Paul Society, at Our Lady's Church o, Lillington, and St Peter's Aid for the Needy (SPAN), at St Peter's Church, Leamingotn Spa. They support our families throughout the course of the year with food vouchers and hampers.
Catholic Schools Inspection/Section 48
Our school was inspected by the Archdiocese of Birmingham in October 2016. The inspection looked at our Catholic Life, our worship and the provision for teaching RE across the school. Our Lady and St Teresa's is a "Good" Catholic school.
Archdiocese of Birmingham - Section 48 Report - October 2016
LiveSimply
At Our Lady and St Teresa’s Catholic Primary School, we have taken the pledge to live simply, live sustainably and live in solidarity.
At the heart of what we do is our Catholic faith, rooted in Gospel teachings and practices. From the moment you enter our school to the moment you leave, you will be met with virtues and values taught to us by Christ Himself.