Catholic Life News and Events
Food bank delivery
This week some of our Year 4 Prayer Council children helped to deliver the generous harvest collection to the Foodbank in Hersham.
Here are some quotes from the children about their experience:
"I found out they put the food in boxes in alphabetical order."
"We were able to help them put things in boxes. They told us that they need a lot of jam at the moment!"
"It made me think about home and how I am grateful that I have all I need."
"It made me think about how much I have compared to other."
Food bank collection
Thank you to all who donated towards the food bank collection. Your generosity is greatly appreciated.
Rosary led by the Prayer Council
The Prayer Council led the Rosary on Wednesdays and Thursdays during October. It was lovely to see lots of our families joining with us in the morning.
Green Class Mission Week
Green Class had their class Mission Week last. The theme was Our Lady of the Rosary. We know how important the Rosary is. The children enjoyed learning that Our Lady is honoured around the world. The children also enjoyed hearing and praying the Hail ary in the languages of their families. As their mission, the children decided to support Mary's Meals and did little jobs at home for 10p each, as 10p buys a dinner for a child. We have so far raised enough to feed one child for a year, which was our aim.
Feast Day of St John Henry Newman
We celebrated our school Feast day on Wednesday with the celebration of Mass in the morning followed by an afternoon of activities about the life of St John Henry Newman. We gathered together in the afternoon for us to hear from children across the school about what they had learnt. This year we particularly focussed on being a 'link in a chain' from the words of St John Henry Newman's prayer. The day concluded with a celebratory ice-lolly!
If you'd like to find out more about St John Henry Newman, there are some good resources here: Feast of St John Henry Newman - Mission Together
Amethyst Class Mission Week
Amethyst Class engaged with interest and enthusiasm during their recent Mission Week. As every year, Year 6 were entrusted with the very special mission of welcoming new members of the community to our school. To help our new Reception children settle into life at Cardinal Newman School, Amethyst carried out a number of important jobs, including: writing welcome letters to their new buddies, reading with members of Red and Orange classes, writing and filming an important safety video to help the youngest members of our school stay safe during Opal Play, and making each child a special Blessing Bag, full of special symbols, prayers and wishes for their journey ahead. Our attention also turned to those children who are unable to receive a full education due to illness. We proudly supported the Rainbow Trust, a charity which strives to support children, and their families, who suffer from life-long or terminal illnesses. Amethyst Class held their own bake sale at the end of their week to raise money for this worthy cause. We thank all parents who were able to support Amethyst Class in this important act of service.
Faith in Action Awards
On Friday 12th July, children and families from the Surrey schools of our diocese gathered at Christ Prince of Peace Church in Weybridge for the Faith in Action awards. This was the first year that children from Cardinal Newman have worked on the award. It was a brilliant experience for the Year 6 Prayer Council who have been putting their 'faith into action' all year by serving and praying. The liturgy on Friday was celebrated by Bishop Richard and included the children being awarded with their badge. We wish them every success and hope they take on the challenge of Bronze award next year.
RE Learners at St Georges Junior
On Thursday 20th June, Eve and Jack from Year 5 attended a greater depth in RE event at St George’s Junior school. The morning was led by Fr Andrew, a Salesian priest and Head of RE at Salesian school, Battersea. The children worked with other pupils from our local deanery schools to think about some religious concepts more deeply. Eve and Jack really impressed Fr Andrew with their knowledge and religious literacy. The morning concluded with a delicious lunch!
The Good Shepherd Celebration
On Thursday 27th June, Mrs Burnham and Miss Bealin-Kelly accompanied the Year 4 Prayer Council to the annual Good Shepherd celebration at Worth Abbey. Bishop Richard led the celebration for the schools of the diocese with the focus on the Year of Prayer. It was a lovely joyful celebration.
Some quotes from the children:
Sofia: "It was amazing to see the artwork each school had made about the Our Father, I love how everyone pictured the message".
Mia: "I was amazed at the size of Worth Abbey inside and I liked seeing the side chapel with the tabernacle. Also the event helped me to see the size of the diocese and I liked looking at all the different school banners".
World Faiths Week
Monday 8th July marks the start of our World Faiths week at Cardinal Newman. Year groups will encounter and dialogue other worldviews during the week in their RE lessons. It is an opportunity to learn more about others who hold a different worldview, alongside helping to build a culture of peace and respect. On Monday 15th July the PA have kindly funded a visit from Judaism for Schools who will lead workshops for children in YR-4. This will allow the children to ask questions and dialogue with an authentic Jewish believer.
Wintershall Life of Christ
On Tuesday 18th March Year 5 had the experience of watching the Life of Christ production at Wintershall. The children found the experience immersive as the play was acted out around them. It was lovely to see how our Cardinal Newman children were able to identify key moments in the life of Jesus and place these in context.
Some quotes from the children:
“The Life of Christ helps you to see Jesus as a person”
“It really helps me to understand the feelings of the people in the Bible stories”
“It brings the Bible stories to life”
Adoration
On Monday, the Prayer Council in Year 6 spent some time over lunch praying and reflecting with the Blessed Sacrament. This formed one of their reflection moments for the Faith in Action award. They thought about our commitment to serve and love.
The whole school spent some time with our Lord, with opportunities for reconciliation in Years 4, 5 and 6. Fr Richard led us in Benediction to end a very fruitful day. .
Faith in Action Award
Today we launched the Faith in Action award which is described on the website as:
The Faith in Action Award encourages young people through recognising, rewarding and celebrating their active faith lived out through service and reflection. The Award helps them connect their life and faith in a tangible manner.
In journeying through the Award, young people should experience a deepening of their relationship with God and find themselves exploring that relationship. It is hoped that through their relationship and action, others will see God's love through them.
The Faith in Action Award rewards young people's active service to others in their local and wider community. Young people accrue credits of service and reflect on that service in the context of the teachings of the Catholic Church throughout their award journey.
Our Year 6 Prayer Council will demonstrate their faith through their service in our school community, earning credits and recognition for what they do. We will have times of prayer and reflection to give space for us to listen to God's word in our heart as we work through the award.
Cardinal Newman Ash Wednesday
On Wednesday we celebrated our Cardinal Newman Ash Wednesday in school to mark the start of Lent with the children. We reflected on our commitment in Lent to pray, fast and share. The Year 6 Prayer Council distributed our ashes reverently and prayerful whilst we sang 'Jesus remember me when I come into your kingdom.' The children responded to our liturgy by writing their Lent promises.
CAFOD family fast day
Today as part of our CAFOD family fast day, the Prayer Council led the children in the school in some prayer activities during Lent. It was lovely to see so many of our school community engaging in active prayer.
"During our Lenten lunch when the Prayer Council ran the prayer stations I felt loved and appreciated by God."
"I got to read and I felt like everyone was waiting on me, and it was very holy, even though it was only on the playground."
"I felt happy to serve God and Jesus."
Rosary
We had a lovely start to our Rosary Fridays during Lent. The Prayer Council would like to invite as many families as possible to join us. We hope to see you next Friday 1st March at 8.30 am.
Celebration Mass for the work of Mission Together
On Thursday 25th January our Year 5 Prayer Council children attended a celebration Mass for the work of Mission Together. The Mass brought schools from several dioceses together to pray and reflect on the charities work. It was a lovely occasion.
Quotes from the children
"I felt calm and reminded that I was part of the Church family."
"I felt very special there and I think all the others schools did too."
"During the experience I felt happy, excited and close to God. The hot chocolate was really nice!"
"I felt relieved and hopeful because Fr Noah told us that we are all equal."
"At the charity Mass I felt like I had a very important role. I also felt like God was speaking to me."
"I felt hopeful about the Mass because of how we got to send children around the world a message."
Wintershall Travelling Nativity
On Monday 20th November we were very blessed to have Wintershall's travelling nativity come to the school field. The whole school experienced the immersive workshops with characters from the Nativity story.
Here is what some of our Prayer Council had to say about the experience:
"I liked the different, unusual smells at the Wise Men staff because it was a really fun to experience new things from Jesus' time." Sofia
"Wintershall told me a different perspective of the nativity." Maia
"I liked Wintershall because the way they made it feel like a real pilgrimage." Evie
"I learnt to respect Advent and the journey to Bethlehem." Cianna
Hands on London coat collection
Thank you to everyone who donated coats on Wednesday. Five massive bags were delivered to Surbiton Fire Station to be distributed across London this winter.